Helinski+Chemical+Valley

Mimi Pickering, Anne Lewis 1991
 * Chemical Valley**

Being set in West Virginia, this film portrays the story of a town that was subjected to a gas leak from a Union Carbide production plant after the world had been shocked by the Bhopal Disaster in the mid 1980’s. It unfolds the communities’ response to this horrific accident to what actions are taken by the company in the aftermath of the accident. It is clear through this film that like in many situations, the company did not hold as nearly as much responsibility for the spill as they should have.

Telling the tale of this accident in the West Virginia country side, it is highly revolved around the community which is affected by the tragic event. These people are living within close proximity to production and storage plants and have had to adapt to working alongside with such toxic chemicals in order to carry out their daily lives. On the defensive side of this film, the company responsible for the gas production is viewed as a stakeholder in this situation as the ones who have endangered those within a close proximity to the plant. It shows the companies struggle to be a profitable corporation yet have the public view their operation in positive light, which is interesting to watch the public relations management unfold as this production facility is clearly in the wrongdoing.

Not be focused on oil itself, this film does a fantastic job of informing the viewers that it is our dependency on products and resources that are unnatural or harmful has reached levels of great demand and profitability that they are no longer being maintained under the regulation that they should be. Such examples as this toxic gas accident, it could have been avoided if certain procedures were taken to ensure the correct functionality of the plant itself, yet at the end of the day it is a battle for profits which sometimes requires to overviewing or ignorance of potential dangers that may lie within the operating procedures. This ignorance has become something that is somehow tolerated because the companies are never held accountable to the extent which they should be for going as far as harming human lives in order to make a profit. Unfortunately it is our dependency on such products that are made by these dangerous facilities that allows them to continue to be run in the order in which they are.

It is this dependency that almost blinds the public of the potential risks that are involved with such operations. Living in these “fence communities”, people are literally living within eye site of the production plant and rely on the word of the corporations that everything at the plant is safe and worry is not needed. Countless times in the past have situations unfolded where fence communities have been put at danger, yet it is the corporations who prevent these stories from getting out, not informing those who are in the same position as previous accidents. The need for employment in lower income areas such as the one portrayed in this film are also at blame for the tragedy that occurred within this film. The corporations are aware of these areas which are why most of the time production or storage plants are constructed and local citizens are hired. It is these jobs that also provide a false sense of security amongst the community that is at blame along with the dependency on these products for the matrix of problems that unfold.

Discussion a plan of action to move away from such dependencies is not specifically addressed, but the film does a good job with showing what kind of actions need to be taken by those who are in the direct line of danger. The town meetings that were held in order for citizens to voice their opinions was an effective means of getting some answers, but the people cannot stop at the. The unifying of the community needs to continue in order for necessary changes to be made by the companies at fault. As it was seen in this film, the “test leak” was an idea that seemed great when first introduced by the company, yet proved to be a complete joke and more of a PR ploy by the company to seem responsible. The communities as a whole needs to continue to come together in order to demand for changes to be made.

Once again it was very informative about the corporation side of accidents likes these. It is amazing to see how loose many production plant’s safety procedures are and how unprepared many of them are in the situation of a spill or leak. As mentioned previously, there have been enough accidents in the past that many corporations should have learned form, yet not much has changed from accident to accident. Something needs to be in order for the companies to be held accountable for their actions and ensure that there is an emergency situation procedure that they will not only put into place, but ensure and guarantee will be completely functional. It was amazing to see the poor attempt of a mock leak that was performed in the town in order for the company to make it seem as though they were changing their ways. The single bus driving around town to pick up citizens is a far stretch from what would really be needed in the time of an accident. It was just amazing to see the poor planning on Union Carbide’s side when dealing with such dangerous chemicals. The speeches form the Union Carbide representatives were the least compelling portion of the film. Although it went along with the narrative that we being told, there was not a single instant in the film that I felt that Union Carbide as a whole was a responsible and safe company. Although they are heavily involved with community organizations and activities, it is these activities that build false hope and lead to a false sense of security and loyalty to the community. For instance the open houses which are held for the communities are just stories and words that are presented to the communities in order to seem responsible. Money is power and it is clearly obvious in this film as Union Carbide uses it to blind their neighbors into supporting and living on the boarders of such a dangerous facility.

If one thing could be taken from this film as a lesson, it is that the corporations such as Union Carbide have a serious issue within their communication policy with the communities which they are operating. In no situation should it take 20 minutes for a company to inform the residents around it that there has been a leak of toxic fumes and that they are in danger. A demand for a concrete plan in the situation of a leak is something that should be required by all production and storage facilities that are within a close proximity of a residential area. Not only should this action be carried out by the citizens of these close proximity communities, but sticker action for the local or nation government should be put into place forcing these companies to comply. If the corporations want to operate in populated areas, they should only be doing so in a safe and controlled manner which is not the case shown by this film.

Having many issues with the way that Union Carbide operated is this situation; the film has interested me into looking into other situations that have similarities with this accident. Especially with those that have occurred in such populated areas as this town in West Virginia, to see what actions were taken by those responsible. I feel as though so many of the causes of accidents are almost “text book like”, I am curious to see if the aftermath has followed similar paths as the attempted quick fix that Union Carbide tried to pull.