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Ann Arbor, Saginaw Environmentalists Join International Delegation to India to Discuss Dow Chemical Company, Meet Survivors of Bhopal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 12, 2004

Two Michigan environmentalists - Tracey Easthope, Environmental Health Director of the Ecology Center and Michelle Hurd Riddick, a volunteer activist with the Lone Tree Council - traveled to India to meet with an international delegation of Dow Chemical watchdogs between January 12 and 19.

The activists will be addressing delegates at the World Social Forum (WSF), and meeting with survivors and supporters of the Bhopal chemical disaster. The World Social Forum is a gathering of more than 80,000 people from around the world concerned about providing for the basic needs of all people, including clean air and water, basic rights and economic security. About 4000 international journalists are expected to attend.

Ms. Easthope and Ms. Riddick will visit Bhopal, site of the world's worst industrial disaster. A pesticide factory released a toxic gas cloud into the community 19 years ago, killing thousands, and injuring more than a hundred thousand persons. Union Carbide owned the facility at the time of the disaster, and has since been acquired by the Dow Chemical Company. Ms. Riddick and Ms. Easthope will be part of a delegation to tour the facility, meet with residents, and visit the clinic set up by the community to help survivors.

"This is the first time that Dow-impacted communities from around the world are joining hands. That's good news for public health and the environment and bad news for Dow, given the worldwide scope of Dow's legacies, " said Tracey Easthope of the Ecology Center. Those addressing the World Social Forum include representatives from the impacted communities in Michigan, Agent Orange victims from Vietnam, Bhopal survivors and those affected by Dow's factory in South Africa.

Based in Ann Arbor, the Ecology Center is a 34-year-old environmental organization that works for clean air, safe water, and healthy communities in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes. The Lone Tree Council is mid-Michigan's most prominent local environmental organization. For 15 years, the organizations have been two of the leading watchdogs of Dow's Michigan operations. In 2002, their legal challenge blocked a sweetheart deal between the company and the outgoing Engler Administration which would have relieved Dow of liability for cleaning up dioxin contamination in the Saginaw Bay watershed.

At the World Social Forum, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and the Dow Accountability Campaign will organize a series of events to discuss Dow's corporate irresponsibility. A January 18 keynote speech will highlight the company's attempts to evade criminal and civil liabilities in Bhopal. A testimony session for an audience of 1000 people will highlight the global nature of Dow's toxic legacies with presentations from Vietnam, Bhopal and Michigan.

Separately, activists working to hold Dow accountable will be mobilizing support at the WSF and the Youth Forum. Leading that will be activist Ryan Bodanyi, a former University of Michigan student, who organized a major student action on December 3, the anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. The action had students across the country send Bhopal contaminated water to members of Dow's Board of Directors. "In the lead-up to the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, we plan to mobilize youth internationally to demand justice for Bhopal," said Mr. Bodanyi, US-based campus coordinator for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mike Garfield, Ecology Center, (734) 761-3186