Biologist, scientist, author and environmental activist Dr. Henry Regier has shared recent results of studies done on following generations of victims of the 1984 Bhopal, India industrial disaster (Union Carbide). These studies indicate that this particular accident not only injured and killed thousands of men, women and children but also seriously affected babies still in the womb at the time of the accident. The toxic chemical released was methyl isocyanate (MIC) and now with the passage of time, scientists, doctors and researchers can see its' full, multi generational effects.
These include higher risks of cancer, lower education accomplishment, higher rates of disabilities, high blood pressure, diabetes, miscarriages and other reproductive problems including birth defects. The other huge issue discovered is the radius of impact of the release of MIC. It is not a mere five kilometres but closer to one hundred kilometres (62 miles).
In India, citizens, governments and health authorities are beginning to ask the question "What is owed to victims who weren't born yet at the time of the accident?"
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