Indians living with the consequences of water pollution at the site of the 1984 Bhopal poison gas disaster sought to keep alive their U.S. lawsuit against Union Carbide Company (UCC) when they filed, this week, arguments with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that the company behind the deadly leak of methyl isocyanate gas was continuing to foul local wells from its plant located in the area. The arguments by 17 identified Indian nationals against the UCC, the state of Madhya Pradesh and former UCC head Warren Andersen come a month after the latest ruling by the New York federal district court that the UCC could not be sued in the Sahu II case, despite “compelling evidence that the UCC caused the harm,” including arguments presented by the plaintiffs that a UCC employee, Lucas John Couvaras, managed the construction of the plant and was able to provide substantial new evidence that demonstrated the UCC’s involvement. Toxic leachate On December 2, 1984, poisonous gas from the Bhopal chemical plant enveloped nearby communities, killing thousands. While the water pollution there is unrelated to the gas disaster, it reflects leaching of toxic material from the same plant ever since it was shut down. In this week’s developments the residents of Bhopal represented by Earth Rights International (ERI) petitioned the federal appeals court to reconsider dismissal of their lawsuit against the UCC for polluting their drinking water, an ERI representative said to The Hindu .