The Bhopal disaster was one of the world 's worst industrial catastrophes . In 1984 a gas leak killed over 2,000 people at a plant in Bhopal , India , and poisoned thousands more . The plant was jointly owned by Union Carbide Corporation , now Dow Chemicals , and the Indian government , and run by local Indian management . company consultants were brought in by Union Carbide to organize communications following the leak and provide advice to Union Carbide executives . Specifically , the company set up an information center to provide information to the media and help to transmit news from the remote location to newspaper , TV and radio outlets , and facilitate daily press conferences that reported on steps taken following the accident . Under advice from the consultants and corporate lawyers , Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson traveled to Bhopal where he was placed in custody by the Indian government . Anderson posted bail , returned to the United States , and refused to return to India . He was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on 1 February 1992 , for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case in which he was named the chief defendant . While his visit to India several days after the leak was viewed positively by the media and other corporations and brought attention to Union Carbide 's actions in showing its concern for what had happened in Bhopal it did n't deflect criticism of Union Carbide for cutting costs on safety measures . While Burson Cohn & Wolfe has been criticized for its involvement with Union Carbide , Harold Burson has stated that he is proud of the company 's work in helping the media cover the story
Bhopal disaster
Bhopal disaster
Burson Cohn & Wolfe