Twenty-five years after the Bhopal gas tragedy...the country’s pollution watchdog has found huge quantities of chemicals in underground water and soil in a 2.4-km radius of the Union Carbide factory...the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) discovered high levels of chloroform and benzene in underground water, mostly near residential colonies. It is the first time a government body has confirmed allegations of contamination around the site...Prolonged exposure can lead to respiratory distress and even coma. “In some cases, the toxins were found to be several hundred times more than the permissible limits in drinking water,” said the report.