They're 'Killing us Softly'.

As our children ingest oily exhaust particles into their noses in order not to breathe properly, or as we expel them into handkerchiefs as we drive to the gym to fight the fight against self-inflicted obesity, please spare a thought for other victims of our advanced industrial society.

In a heavily populated area of the Netherlands, a company that sterilizes medical equipment recently had its production license revoked. Their plant was found to be emitting high concentrations of cancer-causing ethylene oxide. An official investigation revealed that the company should not have been given a license to operate.

My local media source never did publish any more information, perhaps because the Dutch are phlegmatic about industrial accidents involving chemicals. There are more chemical plants to shake a stick at in Holland, plants that, because of emissions, give credence to the slogan, 'Jobs for a short life'.

My environmentally friendly friend, Reno, reckons the closure means that when we who live in the Netherlands get cancer from everyday chemical emissions, we can can no longer be certain that it will be cut out of us with a clean scalpel. He added, 'Ain't that a bummer?'

Remember Bophal, India? In 1984, through criminal neglect, about 40 tons of toxic gas (methyl isocyanate) was released into the air above the town. Its instant effect killed 4000 people. To-date, about 15,000 have died. Countless others contracted a variety of serious diseases.

Through manipulation of Indian law, western directors of the company were never brought to justice. Local directors, some now in the 70’s, have just been tried and found guilty. They can expect to be jailed for two years. If tried in the west they could have been expected to do their time in a prison with facilities similar to a 5 star hotel. As for the victims, some think it’s their bad luck for living in India.

And yet, remember Buncefield, England 2005? "Grave safety failures” (from the official report) caused a spectacular explosion at an oil depot. 250,000 litres of petrol leaked from one of its tanks. Following a bang that was heard 200 kilometres away, 43 people were injured and dozens of homes and business premises destroyed. The bang even frightened animals and a Staffordshire terrior pee'd on his owners legs.

Big Oil owns the Buncefield site. A British court ruled that “good practice guidance” was not being followed; “insufficient awareness” was at the heart of the safety culture at the plant. They were fined a few million pounds and no one is going to jail. Reno was scathing. 'Oops! There goes the small change and the tip for the waiter.' With that I found myself yawning. You too? Sorry about that.

In the meantime, even as we nod off, Big Oil is polluting Alaska, Nigeria, China, Indonesia and God knows where else. Mighty BP, bless 'em for their British heritage, has been trying to unsystematically wreck the eco system of the entire Gulf of Mexico single-handedly. Boom! Eleven dead and 50,000 barrels of oil spewing into the sea every day for almost three months. Tcha. Such a waste!

BP are awash with first-class minds from top universities, yet seemed not to have a plan to counter the effect of, arguably, the greatest spill in history. Reno said, 'I don't know about you but in the event of disaster, such as walking through town on a busy Saturday afternoon in winter and my pants fall down, I have a back-up plan called 'Long-Johns'.

Speaking of first-class minds: in 2007, soon after he became CEO of BP and during a lecture to business students at Stanford University, a certain Mr Tony Hayward said, “There are too many people trying to save the world.” With a First Class degree in Geology and a PhD from Edinburgh University, business students with Republican tendencies lapped up Mr Hayward's pearls of wisdom. "Way to go, Tony!"

Big Oil, lest we forget, suck out oil on our behalf and as cheaply as they can. It is unprofitable to follow “good practice guidance” because we, end-users of their dead-end product, demand cheap fuel to get us to and from the gym. Oh. Did you know that there are thousands of abandoned oil wells on the seabed of the Mexican Gulf? Experts - the silly people who are trying to save the world - say that Big Oil is creating an environmental minefield. Boom! Chain reaction comes to mind. What happens then? Goodbye Gulf Stream? That'll cool our ardor.

This latest spill may cost BP anything upwards of $30 billion. But they say they’ll survive and come out of it smarter and stronger. Reno said, ‘I'm no mathematician, but speaking of profits, if they can afford such a huge amount of money without a sidewards glance, should their end products be as expensive as they are?' I told him, 'Market forces, shareholders and pension plans, dopey,' and he apologized.

Remember when chemicals released in Switzerland killed all the fish in the German section of the Rhine? (Don’t laugh!) And what about the plastic vortex in the Pacific that's twice the size of Texas…Damn it, I’ve got tears in my eyes and I’ve lost the thread. Oh yes. How about Trafigura, those caring, sharing people who paid criminals to dump their toxic waste in Ivory Coast? 30,000 Africans became ill...Africa! I know what you’re saying. Stuff happens in Africa! Indeed: thanks to us and our advanced industrial society.

Actually, I really wanted to talk about drug companies profiting from overpricing…No. Make that the giant agricultural corporations who drench crops in pesticides. Or food producers such as Nestlé. We used to call them Nestle and I loved their products. They brought us the Milky Bar Kid, remember? They also convinced African women that their powder (formula) was much more beneficial than breast milk. Of course they were only thinking of the children…Sorry, I’m dropping off. Will someone nudge me when something important happens?

In fact don't bother. I need a rest from all this negative stuff. You too? Let's doze peacefully, safe in the knowledge that whatever disaster befalls someone, somewhere, it will be papered over before we are fully awake, or dead. Tomorrow we can watch TV and applaud creative corporate adverts featuring frolicking dolphin pods, rainbows, organic butterflies and wholesome eco-goodness.

So I said to Reno, 'We are so lucky to be living in an advanced industrial society, a society where Tony Hayward and other captains of industry work hard to enrich our lives, rather than themselves.' I can't tell you what Reno said in reply. It might keep you awake. Sweet dreams, my dears.