December 2, 1984: A pesticide plant owned Union Carbide leaks highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas in Bhopal, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Over 500,000 people are exposed to the gas, and estimates suggested that over 16,000 of them died, half of them in the 1st 2 weeks, with another 4,000 suffering disabling injuries. It is believed to be the worst industrial disaster in world history.
Sued by so many, Union Carbide knew it couldn't win the cases, so they settled, paying $470 million. They sold the complex to an India-based company, which took over the cleanup. It took until 1998 before the Indian federal government was satisfied that the site was once again safe for human occupancy. Dow Chemical bought the site in 2001, and operates it now.
It took until 2010 for prosecutions to be completed, with 7 Indian executives, including the chairman of UC's India division, convicted of death by negligence, and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. An 8th was convicted but died before sentencing.
1984 was a horrible year for India. The country was already in the middle of a big period of emigration that saw large numbers of Indian citizens leaving for Britain and America, changing the character of all three countries. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi went overboard in suppressing Sikh separatists at the Golden Temple in Amristar. Later in the year, she was assassinated for this. And the year closed with the Bhopal Disaster.
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December 2, 1984 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that day:
* The New York Giants beat the New York Jets, 20-10 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands. This was the Jets' 1st season at the Meadowlands, after 20 seasons at Shea Stadium. But the way the schedule worked out, this was officially a home game for the Jets, with their season-ticket holders rooting against the Giants.
* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New England Patriots, 33-10 at Sullivan Stadium (formerly Schafer Stadium, later Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-10 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 35-17 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Los Angeles Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins, 45-34 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
* The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts, 21-15 at Rich Stadium (formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 20-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jim Breech won it with a 35-yard field goal in overtime.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-14 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 16-13 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Nick Lowery kicked 3 field goals, all in the 4th quarter, including a 42-yarder as time ran out in regulation.
* The Houston Oilers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-20 at the Astrodome in Houston. Joe Cooper won the game with a 30-yard field goal in overtime.
* The Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints, 34-21 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions, 38-17 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
* Three days earlier, the Washington Redskins beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-17 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the San Diego Chargers beat the Chicago Bears, 20-7 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
Baseball was out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA:
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 114-112 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Moses Malone led all scorers on the day with 34 points.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 122-99 at the Boston Garden.
* And the Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-112 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Quintin Dailey had 28 points for the Bulls despite coming off the bench, Orlando Woolridge had 23, and a rookie named Michael Jordan had 20. For the Lakers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 32, while Magic Johnson was limited to 12.
Two games were played in the NHL. The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 9-1 at the Capital Center in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. Bobby Carpenter and Larry Murphy each had 2 goals. And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Calgary Flames, 8-6 at the Winnipeg Arena. Paul MacLean and Doug Smail scored 2 goals for the Jets, while Eddy Beers scored 2 for the Flames.
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