On the 3rd of December
1984, 40 tonnes of toxic gases escaped from the Union Carbide pesticide
plant in Bhopal, India. The result was catastrophic. 3,000 people— men,
women, and children— were dead within the hour ; after 72 hours the
death toll had tripled. Over 22,000 have died to date from gas-related
afflictions, and permanent injuries run into the hundreds of thousands.