Winner Book Award 2012
Alex Masi
ITALY

Bhopal Second Disaster

Madhya Pradesh, INDIA

 

Almost three decades have passed since the infamous 1984 gas disaster caused by Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) in Bhopal, but many local families are still living the nightmare that began on December 3, 1984.Half a million people were exposed to the toxic cloud released from the plant and thousands died within a few weeks from exposure, while all of the safety mechanisms in place failed to work.

Dark clouds are rising over the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Dark clouds are rising over the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
A Poonam, 8, is refreshing under the late monsoon rain in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. When the heavy monsoon rain falls every year, it seeps through the buried waste of UC, before proceeding to fill up and pollute the area's underground reservoirs. Photo: Alex Masi
A Poonam, 8, is refreshing under the late monsoon rain in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. When the heavy monsoon rain falls every year, it seeps through the buried waste of UC, before proceeding to fill up and pollute the area's underground reservoirs. Photo: Alex Masi
A young boy is crying for attention inside a makeshift house in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. Photo: Alex Masi
A young boy is crying for attention inside a makeshift house in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. Photo: Alex Masi
Mohammed Mohsin, 14, a boy presenting a severe case of cerebral palsy is being fed water by his mother inside a government hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The boy was recovered for a critical case of mouth infection and teeth decay. Photo: Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
Mohammed Mohsin, 14, a boy presenting a severe case of cerebral palsy is being fed water by his mother inside a government hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The boy was recovered for a critical case of mouth infection and teeth decay. Photo: Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
Rohit, 12, a young boy presenting a severe neurological disorder is washing himself in his home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Rohit, 12, a young boy presenting a severe neurological disorder is washing himself in his home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Meenakshi, 7, a young girl born suffering from a severe neurological disorder, is being washed by her brother in their home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Meenakshi, 7, a young girl born suffering from a severe neurological disorder, is being washed by her brother in their home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
A pregnant woman is moving around her flooded home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
A pregnant woman is moving around her flooded home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Salman, 13, a child presenting a severe neurological disorder and blindness, is portrayed in his home in the impoverished Arif Nagar colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex.
Salman, 13, a child presenting a severe neurological disorder and blindness, is portrayed in his home in the impoverished Arif Nagar colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex.
The left-over of Union Carbide's control room (now DOW Chemical) is laying in full disrepair in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
The left-over of Union Carbide's control room (now DOW Chemical) is laying in full disrepair in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.
A young girl is carrying a child across a muddy path in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
A young girl is carrying a child across a muddy path in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Raj, 7, a child presenting a severe neurological disorder is being held by his mother, Poona Bai, 40, in front of their home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
Raj, 7, a child presenting a severe neurological disorder is being held by his mother, Poona Bai, 40, in front of their home in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemicals) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
A woman is lifting her child on the streets in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
A woman is lifting her child on the streets in the impoverished Oriya Basti colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi / Getty Grant for Good
A mother is drying her sweat while sitting with her child on the floor of Chingari Trust, a local NGO caring for disabled children in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
A mother is drying her sweat while sitting with her child on the floor of Chingari Trust, a local NGO caring for disabled children in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Sachin, 14, a child with a severe physical disorder affecting his bone structure and legs, is entering his home in the impoverished Oriya Basti Colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi Rachna, 10, (right) a child affected by a severe neurological disorder, is riding the Chingari Trust's bus with her sister, Reena, 10, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Sachin, 14, a child with a severe physical disorder affecting his bone structure and legs, is entering his home in the impoverished Oriya Basti Colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, near the abandoned Union Carbide (now DOW Chemical) industrial complex. Photo:Alex Masi Rachna, 10, (right) a child affected by a severe neurological disorder, is riding the Chingari Trust's bus with her sister, Reena, 10, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Rachna, 10, (right) a child affected by a severe neurological disorder, is riding the Chingari Trust's bus with her sister, Reena, 10, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity
Rachna, 10, (right) a child affected by a severe neurological disorder, is riding the Chingari Trust's bus with her sister, Reena, 10, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, site of the infamous 1984 gas disaster.Photo:Alex Masi / Focus for Humanity