Warren Anderson
Warren Anderson (born November 29, 1921 in Brooklyn , New York , † September 29, 2014 in Vero Beach , Florida ) was an American manager . Anderson was the chairman of the chemical company Union Carbide during the disaster in the Indian city of Bhopal that killed thousands of people from methyl isocyanate poisoning in 1984 .
Life
Anderson grew up as a child of Swedish immigrants in Brooklyn. With the help of scholarships, he was able to study at Colgate University with a major in chemistry. After graduating in 1942, he joined the US Navy and was trained as a fighter pilot. But he did not fly combat missions. He played football for the Navy team.
Upon his discharge from the Navy, Anderson accepted a position at Union Carbide. He started out as a sales representative, worked in various divisions of the company and managed businesses in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In addition to his work, he earned a law degree from Western Reserve University in 1956 . By 1979 he had risen to the post of President and CEO at Union Carbide .
Bhopal disaster
On December 3, 1984, a reaction occurred at the Bhopal plant in which 40 tons of methyl isocyanate were released, killing several thousand people and causing at least tens of thousands more serious health problems as a result of poisoning.
Anderson was known that a security clearance in 1982 discovered 30 serious security flaws. He did nothing to eliminate the sources of danger in the plant in Bhopal, which was not under his direct control, but initiated measures in an identical plant in the USA .
When Anderson traveled to Bhopal on December 7, 1984, he was arrested by the Indian police along with the President of Union Carbide India Ltd., Keshub Mahindra, and the General Manager Gokhale. After three hours in detention, he was released on bail of 25,000 rupees (approx. 1,500 euros / 2,000 dollars) and flew back to the USA in a private plane.
Since his retirement in 1986, Anderson first lived in Vero Beach , Florida , before moving to Bridgehampton , Long Island , New York .
The USA did not comply with several extradition requests from the Indian government. Anderson was wanted by the Indian government on an international arrest warrant . In September 2014, Anderson died in a retirement home in Vero Beach, Florida.
Web links
- Mareike Spiess-Hohnholz: We are all waiting for our grave . In: Der Spiegel . No. 17 , 1985 ( online ).
- Marcel Keiffenheim: In the death zone, greenpeace magazine
- Democracy Now : Activists protest former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson at His Home in Long Iceland (English)
- Greenpeace feels Anderson (English)
- Obituary article by Douglas Martin , New York Times online, Oct. 30, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b And justice will be done? ( Memento of March 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), Greenpeace , August 1, 2003
- ↑ Michael Brandhoff: Dying in Bhopal continues . In: Spiegel Online , December 3, 2004
- ↑ mindfully.org ( Memento from November 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ 90-year-old is said to be liable for the greatest chemical disaster of all time. Tages-Anzeiger , March 22, 2011, accessed March 23, 2011 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Anderson, Warren |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Manager; Chairman of Union Carbide |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | new York |
| DATE OF DEATH | 29th September 2014 |
| Place of death | Vero Beach , Florida |