Activists accused multinational Dow Chemicals Co on Monday of side-stepping responsibility for the 1984 Bhopal gas leak disaster in India while thousands continue to suffer from toxic contamination.
In a letter obtained by activists, the Michigan-based company urged the Indian government to drop a clean-up suit against the firm for the industrial disaster, saying that would help create a climate for future investments by the company in India.
"This letter is another indication of how Dow is trying to avoid accepting Bhopal as their liability," Rachna Dhingra from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action told a news conference. The letter dated November 8, 2006 and written by the firm's chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris to India's Ambassador in Washington, Ronen Sen, said the government "should now withdraw its application for a financial deposit against remediation costs."