Mbali Yoipa ya Mankhwala a mu Maindastri

PANALI kokha pambuyo pa pakati pa usiku pa madzulo ozizira a December 1984 pamene ngozi yoipitsitsa ya indastri inachitika m’mbiri. Dziko lakutali kuchokera ku Republic ya India, anthu ochepa anali ozoloŵerana ndi dzina lakuti Bhopal, mzinda wa maindastri wokhala ndi chiŵerengero cha anthu choposa pa 800,000, wokhala chifupifupi pakati pa dziko. Nzika zake zomwe zinali gone sizinadziwe ponena za zochitika zodzetsa imfa zomwe zinkachitika za kupha kopanda chifundo.

Pa kampani ya ku U.S. yotchedwa Union Carbide mu Bhopal, tanki yosungiramo mankhwala yokhala ndi matani 45 a methyl isocyanate (MIC), mankhwala akupha ogwiritsiridwa ntchito m’kupanga mankhwala ophera tizirombo, inayamba kukundika mpweya wowopsya wodidikiza. Mwadzidzidzi, kuchokera pa chiwiya chotsegulira mbali zonse, mtambo wa mpweya wa ululu unayamba kuwanditsa imfa ndi kuwawa mu mzinda wa bata. Unapululutsa miyoyo ya anthu oposa pa 2,500 amuna, akazi, ndi ana. Inapundula ena oposa chikwi zana limodzi.

Imfa ya zikwi zingapo za nyama—njati, ng’ombe, ndi agalu—inapangitsa mbali ya dzikolo kuipitsidwa ndi mitembo yomwe inaipitsanso misewu ndi makwalala a mu mzinda. Bhopal inadzakhala ng’anjo yaikulu, yootcheramo mitembo mosalekeza. Mitolo ya nkhuni za pa maliro makumi asanu ndi aŵiri, yokhala ndi mitembo yolongedwa mu utali wa 25, zinapsereza akufawo m’malaŵi a moto. Ena anaikidwa m’manda okumbidwa mwaliŵiro—miyandamiyanda ya mitembo pa nthaŵi imodzi.

Pambuyo pakenso tsoka lina linakantha Europe ndipo linatchedwa “Bhopal on the Rhine.” Kuchucha kwa mankhwala kuchokera ku kampani ya maindastri, pamwamba pa Basel, Switzerland, kunathira zowonongedwa za ululu matani 40 mu mtsinje wa Rhine. Unapha mazana a zikwi za nsomba ndi nkunga pamene “unafalikira kunsi kwa mtsinje kufupi ndi malire a German ndi French, kufika ku mtunda wa Rhine ndipo kenaka kudutsa mu Netherlands kufika ku North Sea.” Nyuzipepala ina inalemba kuti: “Swiss inkalingaliridwa kukhala youdongo, indastri yawo kukhala yochinjirizika, ndipo chimenecho chinaphatikizapo mankhwala a mu maindastri. Izi zonse ndi zakale tsopano.”

Nzika zokhala mu Bhopal ndi midzi yokhala mphepete mwa Mtsinje wa Rhine zinakhalanso mikhole ya mbadwo wa zopangapanga womwe umadzitukumula ndi kuunjika kwa kusakaniza mankhwala koposa 66,000. Ambiri anapangidwa kupangitsa moyo wa munthu kukhala wosavuta, komabe, mchenicheni chiŵerengero chokulira chiri chaululu kwenikweni ndipo chingadzetse imfa ndi zotulukapo zosakaza, ponse paŵiri kwa anthu ndi dongosolo lonse la chilengedwe. Katswiri mmodzi anazindikiritsa mankhwalawa monga “zakupha zaumoyo ndi zomera.”

Ambiri ali mankhwala omwe ali ndi maina atali omwe kokha anthu ochepera angawachule bwino ndipo kaamba ka kuti atchulidweko bwino amangokhala ndi malemba onga ngati PCB, DDT, PCDD, PCDF, TCDD. Kundandalitsidwa kwa mankhwala a ululuku kuli kwa ngozi ya kupha ponse paŵiri kwa anthu ndi ku chuma cha dziko chimene munthu ayenera kudalirapo kuti akhale ndi moyo. “Zikwi pa zikwi za zotulusidwa za mankhwala a ululu m’malo otizinga” zimakhalako chaka chirichonse, anatero wolankhulira wa U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Zotulusidwa zoterezi zimabweretsa chiopsyezo ku mtundu wa mpweya, madzi apamwamba, ndi zopereka madzi akumwa za pansi pa nthaka, ndi kuwononga nthaka kwa zaka makumi angapo zikudzazo.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yayerekeza kuti mu United States mokha, magaloni 1.5 triliyoni a mankhwala oipa owonongeka amapita m’dongosolo la madzi a pansi pa nthaka chaka chirichonse.a Kokha kungodziwa kuti galoni imodzi ingawononge magaloni 20 miliyoni a madzi a pansi pa nthaka kupitilira mlingo wabwino, kumachititsa kakasi kulongosola ngozi yosakaza imene magaloni 1.5 trillion a mankhwala a ululu akuchita.

Chifukwa cha mankhwala oipitsitsa ndi zinthu zopanda ntchito ndi kusasamalira pozitaya izo, nyanja ndi mitsinje zikuipitsidwa. Nsomba zikufa. Pamene mitsinje ndi mifuleni ithirira m’nyanja, mankhwala odzetsa imfa amapitira limodzi ndi iwo, ndipo m’malo ena momwe zamoyo pa nthaŵi ina zinali zambiri, lerolino, molingana ndi katswiri wotchuka wodziwa za m’nyanja Jacques Cousteau, nsomba sizikupezedwanso.

Umoyo wa mbalame ndi zinyama nawonso ukuwopsyezedwa ndi kuipitsidwa. Ngakhale malo opulumukirako zinyama sakukhalanso kopulumukira. “Malo a dziko khumi osungirako nyama akuyipitsidwa ndi ululu wa mankhwala ndipo ena 74 angakhale mu ngozi . . . Zokokoloka za malimidwe zokhala ndi selenium ndi mankhwala ena zapha chiŵerengero chachikulu cha chiswa nkhono mosungiramo zinyama,” inachitira ripoti tero The New York Times ya pa February 4, 1986.

Akatswiri a dziko sakuika chithunzi chodzetsa chiyembekezo kaamba ka mtsogolo. Kuzimiririka kofulumira kwa chuma cha dziko sikumatha ndi kusoweka kwa nthaka ndi kuipitsidwa kwa mpweya ndi madzi. Bwanji ponena za mvula yaikulu ya dziko lapansi mu malo a nkhalango zotentha zomwe kwa zaka zikwi zingapo yatambasulira manja ake mapazi mazana angapo mu mpweya? Kodi izi nazonso ziri mu ngozi ya kupita m’njira ya chuma chomwe chikuzimiririka pamaso pathu? Ngakhale tikuchizindikira kapena ayi, miyoyo yathu ikukhudzidwa ndi ntchito yamanja yosangalatsayi ya Yehova, monga m’mene nkhani yotsatirapo idzasonyezera.

[Mawu a M’munsi]