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It was the night of December 2nd, 1984. Bhopal had been plagued with incessant rain for two weeks. The rain was so heavy that people were stuck in their homes for days on end. About 2,000 pounds of pesticides leaked out of the Union Carbide chemical plant and mixed with the rainwater contaminating an already polluted river running by Bhopal, which is situated about 400 miles southwest of New Delhi in eastern India. With the Union Carbide factory situated on the outskirts of town, it took the rain all of two hours to reach the city. The rainwater mixed with toxins flowed through storm drains into the river that ran through Bhopal. Within hours, hundreds of thousands of people began to fall ill due to poisoning from drinking contaminated water. As more poison was pumped into the water supply, downpours caused even more death and illness. It was not until news spread about thousands dying in this disaster that anyone tried to stop the flow of toxic water. They knew there were chemicals seeping out of Union Carbide's plant but they did not know what exactly was flowing into their town's water supply. The doctors and nurses were overwhelmed with tons of people that were dying within hours of drinking contaminated water. They were not sure what to do for these victims, but they did know they had to treat their symptoms. It was not until the next morning that the true horror was revealed to them. Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million in fines, but this money went straight into the Indian government's hands. All families of those who died received $500 each; however, it is still unclear whether or not this money came from Union Carbide's donation or if it is just a part of Indian law. After two decades, President Bill Clinton presents the only apology that has ever been made by any U.S. government official. The apology comes after Union Carbide is bought out by Dow Chemical in 2001. Former US President George H W Bush is a member of the Honorary Board of Directors at the International Chamber of Commerce in India whose chairman, V. K. Dhingra, wrote to him asking for his intervention in securing justice for the victims. Union Carbide was present in India merely because it provided support to Indian intelligence agencies during the cold war with Russia. In May 2018, an Indian court ruled that eight former employees of Union Carbide should face charges over their role in the Bhopal disaster - more than 25 years after they left India and settled in the US and other countries. The court in Bhopal had issued summons to the former employees seeking their presence in India for trial. The case has been moved to the Synder's Court in New Delhi, where witnesses are being called by the prosecution. The workers, who were all American citizens, were never tried for causing the disaster. They are appealing against the summons to appear at Bhopal's Synder's Court with an attorney present via video conferencing. They have asked that they be given a "free and fair trial." This film attempts to bring light to India’s mounting environmental problems and their disastrous effects on its most vulnerable citizens. cfa1e77820
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