Repercussions of Bhopal disaster found to echo on down through generations

The 1984 Bhopal disaster that exposed thousands in the Indian city to toxic methyl isocyanate has had long term, intergenerational effects on victims, a new study has found.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego note that multiple studies have shown a broad spectrum of serious long-term and chronic health effects for hundreds of thousands of survivors, including respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal and endocrine problems. ‘These impacts may be the tip of the iceberg however, given that [methyl isocyanate] toxins affected groundwater and the reproductive health and other health outcomes of exposed women, factors suggesting that generations not exposed to the toxic gas directly may nevertheless suffer adverse health and social impacts of the [Bhopal disaster] event,’ the authors write.