Congressman Frank Pallone and 17 other American lawmakers have asked the Dow Chemical company to address the environmental and health problems created almost 20 years ago in the gas tragedy in Bhopal.

The Dow Chemical had in February 2001 acquired the Union Carbide Corporation, which owned the plant in Bhopal from where 40 tons of lethal gas leaked out on December 2, 1984, killing nearly 4,000 immediately and poisoning more than 20,000.

In a letter, Pallone - New Jersey Democrat and founder and former co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans - and colleagues pointed out the company has not addressed the liabilities it inherited from the UCC, and asked chairman and CEO William Stavropoulous to immediately do so.

Since the tragedy, the death count has risen to well over 14,000, Pallone said in a speech in the Congress.

According to victims rights groups, over 150,000 are suffering from after-effects such as reproductive complications, loss of ability to perform physical labour, rare cancers and severe respiratory problems.

In the last 19 years, several lawsuits have been filed against the UCC to get it to address the health and environmental concerns the leakage created, which include polluted ground water, toxic waste and contaminated soil, Pallone said.

All the lawmakers who signed the letter, including current India Caucus co-chair Congressman Joe Crowley of New York, were Democrat. Not a single Republican co-signed the letter, not even the GOP co-chair of India Caucus, Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

In a speech on the House floor to convince more Congressmen to sign on, Pallone said, "In an effort to restore basic human rights to the people of Bhopal, my colleague Dennis Kucinich [Ohio Democrat] and I are circulating a letter to the CEO of Dow Chemical asking that Dow take responsibility for the disaster it inherited in 1984 and that it cooperate in meeting the demands of its victims.

"In addition, I plan on circulating an amicus brief on behalf of Bhopal victims who have year after year tried their cases in the US court system and who have been subject to unfair treatment, due to corporate favoritism.

"At that time, I will also ask my colleagues to join me in sending a message that the injustice cannot continue and that there is support in Congress for holding accountable those that are liable for this horrific tragedy."

The letter to Stavropoulous demanded the following actions: ensure the appearance of a UC representative at the ongoing criminal case in Bhopal; meet the demands of survivors for medical and economic rehabilitation; clean up the contamination in and around the factory site and the poisoned ground water, and provide in the interim alternative supplies of freshwater.

The lawmakers said in their letter, `The disaster in Bhopal continues, and is likely to worsen if Dow Chemical does not step forward to fulfill its responsibilities. It is disheartening to note that a company such as Dow, who profess to lead the chemical industry toward "responsible care" shies away from its obligations when truly responsible care can be demonstrated.'

'More disturbing,' the missive said, 'is the manner in which Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have ignored summons of the Bhopal court. This exposes a blatant disregard for the law.'

The letter termed UC `an absconder from justice' after it failed to appear in a chief judicial magistrate's court, where charges of manslaughter and more were brought against its officials.

More reports from Madhya Pradesh