Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) today introduced a bicameral resolution designating December 3rd as National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day. The resolution spotlights the ongoing crisis of chemical disasters nationwide and marks the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, which is considered the deadliest chemical accident in world history.
“Chemical disasters are often the result of corporations cutting corners and prioritizing profits over safety,” said Merkley, Chair of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee overseeing environmental justice and chemical safety. “These catastrophes cloud communities with toxic fumes, upending lives and threatening the health and property of those living and working close by. Four decades after the Bhopal disaster, the need for action remains urgent, and we recognize National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day to reaffirm the need for stronger laws to prevent chemical disasters and keep our communities and workers safe.”
“The Bhopal disaster was one of the worst environmental and industrial catastrophes in human history, killing thousands of people and causing permanent injuries in hundreds of thousands more,” said Jayapal. “As we mark 40 years since this tragedy, it remains incredibly important that we continue working to both hold Union Carbide Corporation – a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company – accountable for their role in this incident and ensure that all victims and their families are properly compensated and cared for. Far too often, large corporations are able to easily escape accountability for their wrongdoings, especially when those affected are poor and underserved communities. I’m proud to lead my colleagues today in standing alongside these communities to demand justice and raising awareness for this horrible disaster as we fight to right these wrongs and prevent similar incidents from happening ever again.”
“From Detroit to Bhopal, we have the right to breathe clean air,” said Tlaib. “It’s been 40 years since the Bhopal Chemical Disaster and the survivors are still sick and waiting for justice. Union Carbide, driven by corporate greed, caused one of the worst chemical disasters in history, poisoning the residents and local communities. Dow Chemical knowingly took responsibility for this disaster when it bought the company, yet still refuses to compensate the survivors. Dow must pay what’s owed to the people of Bhopal for the countless deaths, sickness, and environmental destruction it profited from when it bought the corporation that caused this tragedy.”
The National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day resolution is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Peter Welch (D-VT) and in the House of Representatives by Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Jim McGovern (D-MA-02), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08).
In the United States, a chemical disaster occurred almost every day in 2023, including high-profile events such as the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s Reportable Accidental Releases list from April 2021 to October 2024 includes hundreds of reportable events, including 239 events with serious injuries, 63 with fatality, and 206 with substantial property damage.
“To keep corporate control of its Indian subsidiary, Union Carbide recklessly compromised on safety procedures at its Bhopal plant, setting the stage for history’s worst industrial disaster,” said Rachna Dhingra, International Coordinator for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB). “Bhopal’s survivors, who continue to live with sickness, intergenerational harms, poisoned water, and gross injustice, hold as their dearest hope that no other community anywhere in the world should suffer as they have, or as they still do. By designating December 3rd as the National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day, the U.S. Congress sends a powerful message to Union Carbide, Dow, and to other chemical manufacturers inclined to cut corners and to socialise costs: ‘We will remember, and you will be held accountable.’”
A full list of the 70+ organizations supporting the National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day resolution can be found by clicking here.
The full text of the resolution can be found by clicking here.
###