Lawsuits: A Small Whiff of Sabotage

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On Dec. 3, 1984, a cloud of deadly methyl isocyanate gas poured out of the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, killing more than 2,000 people. Since then, Carbide officials have offered allegations that the world's worst industrial accident may have been the result of a deliberate act. Last week the company went further, declaring that their pretrial investigation was focused on a disgruntled employee. According to an earlier report in the London Times, the employee, an Indian citizen, might have been trying to spoil a batch of the chemical after a row with his supervisor.

The charges were greeted with skepticism by attorneys representing the Bhopal victims, whose claims of more than $350 million for damages are to be filed in an Indian court later this month. Said Stanley Chesley, one of three court-appointed lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the U.S.: "The company is trying to soften hostility in India by pointing the finger at someone else."