Smoke in the Water (6 photos)
All photos © Alex Masi
Salman, 13, a child with a serious psychological disorder and blindness, in his home in the impoverished Arif Nagar Colony in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, near the former Union Carbide industrial complex. Twenty-five years after the Union Carbide industrial disaster—in which half a million people were exposed to toxic gas—many families in Bhopal are still suffering. Industrial waste buried throughout the city penetrates the underground water reservoirs.
On Monday eight former Union Carbide executives were convicted of negligence. Each was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 100,000 rupees ($2,100).
Alex Masi’s series is included in the PDN Photo Annual 2010 online gallery.
A lone girl is refreshing under the late monsoon rain in the impoverished Oriya Basti Colony in Bhopal. The rain will reach the chemical waste buried under the ground and then poison the drinking water for the over 30.000 urban slum dwellers living nearby.
A young child is crying for attention inside a makeshift house in Oriya Basti Colony.
Zubin, 3, was born healthy but developed serious physical and neurological deficiencies in her early childhood, a symptom connected to the long-term consumption of contaminated water.
The Union Carbide Control Room in Bhopal.
Children sitting around a Ganesha shrine during the Gampati Festival near the former Union Carbide industrial complex.
Tags: Bhopal, PDN Contest, PDN Photo Annual, Union Carbide Disaster
June 8th, 2010 at 1:27 pm EEDT
Thank you very much for choosing to highlight this issue! Alex
June 8th, 2010 at 1:31 pm EEDT
Incredibly powerful and tragic. A crime against humanity by Union Carbide (now Dow).
June 8th, 2010 at 4:15 pm EEDT
WOW!!!! What great pictures!! Im stunned!
June 8th, 2010 at 4:17 pm EEDT
Pictures speak more than a thousand words. Once again, that is true
June 8th, 2010 at 4:18 pm EEDT
Im moved by the emotion
June 8th, 2010 at 11:21 pm EEDT
the picture was so vivid that touches my heart
June 9th, 2010 at 2:07 am EEDT
The history of this disaster is truly incredible. For a fictional retelling of it, read the excellent novel Animal’s People by Indra Sinha. Thanks for posting this powerful work.
June 12th, 2010 at 12:28 am EEDT
oh my!! amazing!
May 22nd, 2011 at 6:28 pm EEDT
You actually make it seem so quick with your presentation but I understand that topic to be really an issue that I believe I would never ever understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your following post, I can try to get the hang of it!
December 11th, 2011 at 2:21 pm EEST
Great pictures – you really managed to capture the essense.