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The Chronology of Disaster
- 1924 Union Carbide opens first plant in India - a battery assembly plant near Calcutta.
- 1981 Plant operator in Bhopal plant, Ashraf, killed by phosgene gas leak.
- 1982 Phosgene leak in January 1982 severely injures 28 workers.
- 1982 'Business confidential' safety audit conducted by a US team in May 1982 identified "61 hazards, 30 of them major and 11 in the dangerous phosgene/MIC units"
- Dec 2-3, 1984 Methyl Isocyanate gas leaks from the Bhopal plant. According to Bhopal Peoples Health and Documentation Clinic, 8000 people perish in immediate aftermath.
- Dec 7, 1984 Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide, arrested in Bhopal. Anderson posts bail for $2000 and flees the country.
- 1985 Government of India passes Bhopal Gas Leak (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, and appoints itself as sole representative of victims in any legal dealings with Union Carbide. Under this Act, GoI files suit for compensation in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for $3 Billion.
- May 1986 Judge Keenan sends case back to Indian courts.
- December 1987 Justice M W Deo of Bhopal District Court orders UCC to pay interim relief of Rs. 350 crores.
- April 1988 UCC appeals in Jabalpur High Court. Justice S. K. Seth upholds the order, but reduces the relief amount to Rs. 250 crores.
- February 14, 1989 After five years of legal wrangling the Indian Government agrees to a "full and final" settlement for $470 million. Criminal cases against UCC and its officers withdrawn.
- October 1991 Final judgment by Supreme Court revokes criminal immunity. Non-bailable arrest warrant issued against Anderson. Shares of Union Carbide in its Indian subsidiary attached by Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal.
- September 1993 Union Carbide successfully sells its entire stake in Union Carbide India Limited to McLeod Russell India Ltd., a company of the B. M. Khaitan group for Rs. 290 crores.
- 1994 The International Medical Commission on Bhopal (IMCB), an independent group of 14 professionals from 11 countries, found significant multi-organ damage such as lung impairment, marked reduction in control of limb movements, reduced memory function in survivors and a range of other neurotoxic injuries.
- 1985-1994 Indian Council for Medical Research carries out 25 research studies. Several studies prematurely terminated and rest ended in 1994. Twice-a-year morbidity surveys by ICMR show that number of people with exposure related symptoms actually increased from 1987 to 1991.
- 1999 Survivors' organizations file for relief in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.