Footprints of a giant

The chemical accident at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India in 1984 has killed 16,000 people so far and tens of thousands of others are still seriously ill. A physician reviews some of their ailments and comments on the lack of medical services available to them and of knowledge about long-term health effects of the exposures. Documenting observed effects also is underway, aiming to define the symptoms, propose effective management, and help direct research efforts. Information may be provided to relief and rehabilitation efforts and may even be helpful in the ongoing criminal suit against Union Carbide. The Indian government, meanwhile, suspended its research efforts in 1994, even though many health effects may not develop for years.