Bhopal water still toxic after 25 years

New Delhi, Nov. 30: Groundwater at the site of the world’s worst industrial accident in Bhopal is still toxic making the residents sick 25 years after a gas leak that killed thousands, a study said on Tuesday.

The analysis conducted by the UK-based Bhopal Medical Appeal also cast doubt upon government-sponsored research into the impact of the disaster at the Union Carbide pesticide plant, where methyl isocyanate gas spewed from a storage tank on December 3, 1984.

Activists said more than 350 tonnes of toxic waste strewn around the site will pollute soil and groundwater in the area.

“This report will nail their lie,” said Mr Satinath Sarangi, Bhopal Group for Information and Action. “There are still high concentrations of carcinogens and birth defect-causing chemicals and heavy metals in water,” he said.