2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

337753
Assist Bhopal


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 12:07 p.m. - 12:14 p.m.

Megan Dogra, High school student, Global Scholars Department, University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
  
This is a story of the unabating effects of the worst industrial disaster the world has known- gas leak at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India.  On the morning of December 3, 1984 more than 40 tons of methyl isocyante (MIC) gas leaked from the India Union Carbide Limited plant, creating a dense cloud over a resident population of about 500,000. That night 8000 people died due to inhalation of this lethal gas, and over time another 20,000 fatalities have been directly attributable to the accident. Today, an estimated 200,000 people suffer from chronic illnesses resulting from this accident. 

Inspired by Professor Lalita du Perron, Associate Director, Center for South Asia, UW-Madison, who addressed an assembly at my school regarding modern day issues in India, I visited Bhopal and produced this documentary, which highlights the unfortunate situation of the children who continue to be afflicted with the inherited sequelae of the original catastrophe.

Learning Areas:

Basic medical science applied in public health
Chronic disease management and prevention
Environmental health sciences
Occupational health and safety
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Explain why the disaster in Bhopal is ongoing three decades later. Identify the reason for congenital birth defects happening as speak. Name the chronic health issues amongst the survivors of the world's worst industrial disaster, the Bhopal gas leak.

Keyword(s): Epidemiology, Environmental health sciences

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a 16-year-old 10th grade high school student, a global scholar. I founded Assist Bhopal, a charity organization to help raise funds and awareness of the issues in Bhopal. I recruited a committee of like-minded high school students from all over United States who are determined and compassionate and want to Assist Bhopal. I have given several talks to mentor my peers and educate organizations in Wisconsin and other states.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3190.1: APHA GPH Film Festival – Toxic Exposures