'Dow bought Bhopal's toxic legacy'
LONDON: Meredith Alexander, who first announced her resignation as ethics commissioner of the London authority to TOI, on Friday said Dow Chemicals, by buying Union Carbide,
had also bought the toxic legacy of Bhopal, and it was Dow's liability
to clean up the site of the world's worst industrial disaster.
Alexander also disputed Olympic organizing committee chief Paul Deighton's claim that she had previously signed for the process that selected Dow Chemicals as a sponsor. Deighton has told the media, "She (Meredith Alexander) is one of the 12 members of the sustainability commission who signed off on the way we approached awarding the Olympic wrap to Dow."
Speaking to TOI, Alexander said, "I did not sign off on that process. I was involved in discussions and I presented evidence about what's happened and continues to happen in Bhopal. But the final commentary, the sign off happened without my involvement. When I saw the public statement signing off the process and the decision, I challenged it. When I was unable to get that statement revised or retracted, I resigned."
Asked why she believes Dow is liable despite not having been owner of Union Carbide's plant at the time of the calamity, Alexander replied, "Everyone agrees that Dow didn't buy the plant until well after the gas leak. But what Dow is failing to recognise is that when it bought the plant and the company, it bought all the assets of the company and its liabilities. By buying Union Carbide, Dow Chemicals bought that toxic legacy in Bhopal."
Vehement objections have been raised in India and Britain about selecting Dow as a sponsor because Union Carbide, which it now owns, was responsible for a deadly gas leak at its chemical plant in Bhopal in 1984, which killed at least 15,000 people. Dow will provide 900 metres of decorative plastic wraps around the main stadium of the Olympiad in lieu of a £7 million sponsorship fee.
Alexander blamed London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and Britain's sports minister, Jeremy Hunt, for the impasse. "The fact that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have failed to engage with the victims' side of the story, that's the real problem here," she said and added, "People in power must address the whole toxic legacy and answer to the people of London why the toxic legacy is going to be allowed to overshadow the Games."
Is the removal of Dow as sponsors of wraps feasible? Said Alexander, "It's absolutely possible to get that decision reversed." Will it happen? "No, I wouldn't say that."
Deighton said, "We are moving on." In effect, the organizing committee does not appear to have any plans of scrapping Dow's sponsorship.
Alexander also disputed Olympic organizing committee chief Paul Deighton's claim that she had previously signed for the process that selected Dow Chemicals as a sponsor. Deighton has told the media, "She (Meredith Alexander) is one of the 12 members of the sustainability commission who signed off on the way we approached awarding the Olympic wrap to Dow."
Speaking to TOI, Alexander said, "I did not sign off on that process. I was involved in discussions and I presented evidence about what's happened and continues to happen in Bhopal. But the final commentary, the sign off happened without my involvement. When I saw the public statement signing off the process and the decision, I challenged it. When I was unable to get that statement revised or retracted, I resigned."
Asked why she believes Dow is liable despite not having been owner of Union Carbide's plant at the time of the calamity, Alexander replied, "Everyone agrees that Dow didn't buy the plant until well after the gas leak. But what Dow is failing to recognise is that when it bought the plant and the company, it bought all the assets of the company and its liabilities. By buying Union Carbide, Dow Chemicals bought that toxic legacy in Bhopal."
Vehement objections have been raised in India and Britain about selecting Dow as a sponsor because Union Carbide, which it now owns, was responsible for a deadly gas leak at its chemical plant in Bhopal in 1984, which killed at least 15,000 people. Dow will provide 900 metres of decorative plastic wraps around the main stadium of the Olympiad in lieu of a £7 million sponsorship fee.
Alexander blamed London's mayor, Boris Johnson, and Britain's sports minister, Jeremy Hunt, for the impasse. "The fact that Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have failed to engage with the victims' side of the story, that's the real problem here," she said and added, "People in power must address the whole toxic legacy and answer to the people of London why the toxic legacy is going to be allowed to overshadow the Games."
Is the removal of Dow as sponsors of wraps feasible? Said Alexander, "It's absolutely possible to get that decision reversed." Will it happen? "No, I wouldn't say that."
Deighton said, "We are moving on." In effect, the organizing committee does not appear to have any plans of scrapping Dow's sponsorship.
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