The Legacy of the Bhopal Chemical Leak

The Plant
In 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million to settle its liability in the accident. Five years later, the company sold its controlling interest in the site to its Indian partners. In 2001 Union Carbide itself was acquired by Dow Chemical. Today, the site, including its control room, above, are under the stewardship of the Madhya Pradesh government.

• TIME's Bhopal cover story from December 1984