I/II. http://www.asiaprogressive.com/bhopal-victims-letter-to-japanese-pm-stop-india-japan-nuclear-agreement/
JAPAN Bhopal victims’ letter to Japanese PM: stop India-Japan Nuclear Agreement December 5, 2015 To, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister, Japan. December 5, 2015 Dear Prime Minister, Bhopal StatueGreetings from the people of Bhopal. Ours is a city in India which has witnessed the world’s worst industrial catastrophe. As you may be aware, the disaster,itself a result of criminal neglect by callous profiteers, was only followed by political complacency and administrative apathy. The victims of Bhopal continue to struggle for justice, adequate compensation and proper medical, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation In our city, we have a commemorative statue of a mother and her child with “No More Bhopal, No More Hiroshima” written beneath it. And in the fifth year of the ongoing disaster in Fukushima, we can identify with the continued suffering and struggles of its residents. We are writing to you to rethink the idea of selling nuclear technology to India after Fukushima, and to terminate the India-Japan nuclear agreements. To make our pleas heard citizens in Japan and people in India living near existing and proposed nuclear power plants would stage protests during your upcoming visit to India. Bhopal, a city where more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate and other deadly gases leaked from the multinational Union Carbide manufacturing facility and turned it into a gas chamber killing ove 8000 people on the night of 2nd and 3rd December 1984. The white fog crawled through the city and killed thousands while they slept. More than 25,000 men, women and children died and over 500,000 people have suffered injuries and slow deaths over the years from the incident. Women face the worst. They face the worst illnesses. Their children are born deformed. They get cancer. Girls who are 15 look like they are six. Women don’t have their periods, and then they can’t have children. And the problems have only been compounded after 31 years. There are children born with birth defects. Women have to watch as their children endure all kinds of operations. A 2002 report revealed poisons such as 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, chloroform, lead and mercury in the breast milk of nursing women living near the factory. Many of the people who drank contaminated water have become too sick to work, but they have received no help. Meanwhile, the contaminated land has never been cleaned up, and families too poor to move live on top of the contaminated soil. Hazardous design of the factory, unsafe location, reckless operation and maintenance procedures, reduction in personnel and deliberate cutting down of vital safety systems were found to be the immediate causes of the disaster in Bhopal. There is ample evidence of “double standards” of safety being followed by the American multinational, Bhopal’s sister plant in West Virginia being far superior in storage, production and safety systems. Two years before the disaster, the corporation’s safety experts warned of a “potential for the release of toxic materials” in a confidential business memo. Warren Anderson, the company’s chairman and other senior executives ignored the warning and went ahead with reducing plant personnel, shutting down vital safety systems, and keeping people in the neighborhood in the dark about the deadly chemicals stored, used and produced in the factory. Less than three months prior to the disaster, an internal Union Carbide memo warned of a “runaway reaction that could cause a catastrophic failure of the storage tanks holding the poisonous [methyl isocyanate] gas” at Union Carbide’s Institute, West Virginia plant. This warning was not shared with the management in Bhopal let alone operators of the Bhopal factory. One of the main reasons we are opposed to the India-Japan nuclear agreement is that in our country the implementation of environment and labour laws are pathetic. It is because of such a state of affairs that a disaster like Bhopal occurred here, , We also realise that this nuclear agreement has nothing to do with the energy situation in this country, rather your sole aim is to restore some confidence in the global nuclear lobby which is facing its terminal crisis after Fukushima. We are also apprehensive that your push for this deal is primarily because Japanese companies enjoy a monopoly over certain key components including “reactor vessels” required for nuclear reactors. India has signed agreements with General Electric, Areva SA and Westinghouse to set up nuclear power plants. Japanese companies have major stakes in these companies. If Japan does not sign an agreement with India, these companies cannot proceed with their installation plans. Therefore Mr. Prime Minister your nuclear deal with our country will bring windfall gains to these huge corporations at the cost of the environment, labour and human rights of our people. And similar to what happened in Bhopal, there will be 1000s of Bhopal happening elsewhere in the country with much more horrendous consequences. We urge you to desist from this impending agreement during your visit to India. We want strong relationship between India and Japan. We want both countries to come closer and work on technologies that make human lives better – renewable energy sources, effective decontamination and more accessible medicines. For a better future for India and Japan, and for safety, security and prosperity of our people, let us shun the nuclear path and opt for a peaceful future. Thanking you. Rashida Bi, Nawab Khan, Balkrishna Namdeo, Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra, Safreen Khan, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogi Sangharsh Morcha Bhopal Group for Information and Action Children Against Dow Carbide 98261673 II. http://www.catchnews.com/india-news/india-unprepared-what-happens-in-case-of-a-nuclear-bhopal-1449243696.html India unprepared: what happens in case of a nuclear Bhopal? KUMAR SUNDARAM @pksundaram |4 December 2015 The inaction Among the first things the Modi govt did was to disband the National Disaster Management Authority It is yet to set up a replacement body to respond to calamities Disaster awaits India is unprepared to cope if there's a nuclear accident at one of its power plants Five years after Fukushima and 30 years after Chernobyl, there doesn't seem to be much thought about it either More in the story How does one check if a country is prepared for a nuclear disaster? How badly does India fare on these criteria? It has been 31 years since the horrendous man-made tragedy in Bhopal. The victims/survivors continue to struggle for justice and reparation, for basic decontamination and cleaning, and expanding medical care beyond the arbitrarily-identified 'victims'. The genetic impact of the Union Carbide gas leak has been revealed in many scientific studies, but these haven't led to any serious efforts by the Central or state governments. It has also been five years since the nuclear accident in Japan's Fukushima and 30 since the Chernobyl disaster in the erstwhile USSR. It's high time India stopped and thought - are we ready to deal with a serious nuclear accident? Also read: 2 years on, Kudankulam isn't working. Where are its cheerleaders now? Among the first things the Narendra Modi government did after coming to power was to scrap the National Disaster Management Authority. However, it is yet to come up with a better way to respond to calamities and their human consequences. Preventing and responding to a nuclear accident goes far beyond setting up a new bureaucratic behemoth. Contrary to reassurances given by nuclear engineers and industry insiders, nuclear safety is about much more than just design safety. Irreversible and wide-ranging consequences Also read Rijiju says no connection between rationalists' murders. Kin appalled #DadriLynching was not communal: Rajnath & Akhilesh's doublespeak. And the case so far 4 trends that tell the real story of the Gujarat civic polls Ugly India: Rajasthan gives away road for mining, woman kills son for Rs 100 #ChennaiFloods: unlearnt lessons & a disaster told in numbers When planning for the consequences of a nuclear accident, it must be remembered that the fallout is long-term, irreversible, genetic, and essentially, unrestrained in time and space. Nuclear enthusiasts like to compare accident scenarios to car accidents or industrial accidents. But they forget that even though the immediate physical damage and number of casualties might be greater, reconstruction and relief can start immediately. Also read: Nuclear power: can India keep its tall promises But that's not true of a nuclear accident scenario. Even after three decades, the 30-kilometre zone around Chernobyl hosts ghost cities like Pripyat, which would remain uninhabitable for the coming centuries. Similarly, in the Fukushima zone, once-bustling cities like Namie and Futaba are now frozen in time. Radiation levels remain dangerously hight. Even in a technologically-advanced country like Japan, the accident has remained insurmountable. The corporation operating the reactor - the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) - has been found making every effort to underplay the accident, minimising responsibility by under-counting the victims, and virtually blackmailing the authorities to let it off the hook by threatening to disrupt electricity in Tokyo. TEPCo is too big to fail, and the political system in Japan has rushed to save it at the tax-payers' expense. More than 200,000 people continue to be displaced in Japan, leading to societal and psychological break-downs. Safety checklist So just what all does a country need to ensure nuclear safety? Here's a checklist: Design safety of the power plant Credible safety culture Independent regulator Responsive and reliable civic administration People-centric liability mechanism to provide an adequate response India is found wanting on all these counts, making a potential nuclear accident a clear and present nightmare. Regulatory nightmare The Indian nuclear industry is completely non-transparent and unaccountable. Operating directly under the Prime Minister's Office, it enjoys complete insulation from public and democratic scrutiny. Serious RTI queries are routinely rejected by deploying the vintage 1962 Atomic Energy Act, evoking a 'national security' clause. This is despite the fact that the civilian sector was separated after the watershed moment, the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. Also read: Indian history needs rewriting. But not how the RSS/BJP want: Suvrat Raju In the course of the movement against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) refused to part with basic documents like the Site Selection Report and the Safety Assessment Report, which are put in public domain all over the world. The Chief Information Commissioner wrote a letter to the PM but even that didn't work. Nuclear safety regulation is another Achilles heel. The nuclear regulator, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, is supposed to monitor and supervise the Atomic Energy Commission. But it depends on the Commission for funds and human resources. Imagine how toothless and dependent that makes the regulator. The last time the AERB chairman, Dr AK Gopalakrishnan, ordered a thorough safety audit of the entire sector, the report was shelved, with the Central government putting a 'top secret' stamp on it. Gopalakrishan has been a vocal advocate of a strong and independent regulator since then, and has proposed a moratorium on imported nuclear power plants till then. Consider this: the government chose to set aside the post-Fukushima recommendtions of even this weak regulator in trying to get a green signal for Kudankulam in the Supreme Court. The AERB was forced to file an affidavit and call its own stipulations 'advisory' and not 'mandatory'. Design and evacuation Still not convinced that we're sitting on an apocalypse? Here's another tidbit for your consideration: India is setting up six European Pressurised Reactors at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, with the help of the French. But the French regulator itself has raised serious objections on the design. The government's reassurances of adequate evacuation and post-accident plans ring hollow because all Indian nuclear facilities are surrounded by dense populations, that have only grown and will continue to grow in time. Also read: Modi's nuclear deal with Britain is hollow, but quite toxic In most cases, the Department of Atomic Energy doesn't even reveal the emergency preparation arrangement. And when it does, it comes up with ridiculous plans like relocating 50,000 people to a school premises. The mandatory emergency drills before commissioning reactors have turned out to be cruel jokes, with absurd instances like local officials 'evacuating' a few hundred people in buses by taking them to nearby villages. Liability and compensation On the issue of liability and compensation, the government has shown scant regard to potential victims. Safeguarding the foreign suppliers from any liability has been a paramount concern. Nothing could be more absurd and ironic than the fact that since the inception of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010, the government has been busy finding a way to address the concerns of the foreign suppliers, who want complete indemnification. The clause 17(b), holding suppliers liable, albeit with severe limitations, was introduced under parliamentary and civil society pressure by a reluctant Manmohan Singh. But the Modi governmentt has dumped the earlier BJP position on nuclear liability, and tried to create an insurance pool to channel the liability back to the exchequer, thus undermining the law. In the light of India's vulnerability on the above three counts, the 31st anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy should be a moment to recognise that, in general, our administrative and political system can only be relied on to be totally inefficient and unaccountable. As with Bhopal, in the case of a nuclear accident, the government would be unable to provide any relief for victims, especially as the main victims would be adivasis and villagers far away from the public gaze. Also read: Who will be liable for an Indian Fukushima. 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