Dow's Involvement In The London Olympics Has Bhopal Victims Protesting

By Theodora Filis

In 2023 it was determined while Dow’s claim that the gas victims were paid compensation “twice over” may appear true, the truth is that each gas victim on average – despite being paid “twice over” – actually received less than one-fifth of the compensation amount that each should have received as per the terms of the 1989 settlement.

In a recent press release, Andrew N. Liveris, Dow's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “Dow has committed to leveraging its science and technology expertise, sustainability focus, and global network to support a range of events and activities that promote the role of chemistry in the advancement of human progress, environmental protection and economic development.”

As a sponsor of the International Year of Chemistry, Dow will conduct

a year-long project uniting students around the globe to test the water quality where they live and learn about purification and filtration as part of “Water: A Chemical Solution”.

Does this mean Dow will now stop producing poisonous chemicals like Chlyorpyrifos? Marketed by Dow as Dursban it is a well-known home and garden insecticide. Dursban is also a nerve toxin and suspected endocrine disruptor and has been associated with carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and acute toxicity.

And, what about dioxin leaks along Michigan's Tittabawassee River, which runs within yards of Dow's main plant in Midland? Waters there were found to contain elevated levels of the cancer-causing chemical dioxin in November 2006. The dioxin was located in sediments two to ten feet below the surface of the river. People who eat fish from the river have elevated levels of dioxin in their blood.

Dow claims that because it bought Union Carbide 16 years after the disaster it shouldn't be held responsible for the clean-up – reporting legal claims were resolved when Union Carbide reached a settlement with the Indian government and paid $470 million as compensation for those killed or injured.

Half a million residents of Bhopal, India who were poisoned in 1984 disagree. Last week in India, hundreds of survivors burned the effigies of two Olympics officials to protest Dow Chemical's sponsorship of the London Games. The protests were on the eve of the 27th anniversary of the disaster in Bhopal, India.

Nearly 200 people, some carrying banners that read, "Down with London Olympics" and "We want justice," marched to the now-abandoned plant.

Twenty-five years after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh government, and the US Supreme Court re-opened the case. The Indian supreme court hopes to answer questions that have haunted the people of Bhopal for 27 years now.

Should charges of culpable homicide be back on the table?

Why does the Bhopal factory continue to leak poisonous chemicals into the air, soil, and water after 25 years?

Who was responsible for the clean-up, and why hasn’t anyone been held accountable?

How will the Dow Chemical Company explain its lack of sustainable efforts in India and the rest of the world? 

“Our collective future depends on what answers we develop today — to ensure a healthy planet for tomorrow.” Andrew N. Liveris, Dow Chairman, and CEO

The audacity Liveris has to make such statements while his company is directly responsible for many of the health problems our planet faces today.