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From exploding fireworks to massive oil spills
we count down 10 Devastating Industrial Disasters.
10. Enschede Fireworks Disaster – A small
town in Netherlands experienced a massive
firework explosion that certainly wasn’t
planned in May of 2000. A fireworks warehouse
caught
fire and set off hundreds of explosions, like
a giant bomb going off. The blast was heard
and
seen throughout the town, while other parts
of the town caught fire. 177 tons of
Fireworks going off caused over 20 people
to be killed in the incident, and nearly 1000
injured.
1500 buildings were damaged in the disaster,
and it was a day the city of Enschede, will
never
forget.
9. Fukushima Explosion – Fukushima was not
only the victim of a destructive tsunami in
2011,
but also a nuclear explosion. Originally initiated
by an earthquake, which then led to the
tsunami, the nuclear reactors emergency systems
all failed to keep the reactor cool during
the
natural disaster. This led to overheating
and then the massive explosion – the one
thing
everyone fears about nuclear power plants.
The explosion ended up costing Japan $105
billion,
which was twice as much as they thought from
the start.
8. Halifax Explosion – Back in 1917, when
a French cargo ship intercepted a Norwegian
vessel in the Halifax Harbor, a massive explosion
occurred, killing thousands of people. The
French cargo ship wasn’t just carrying normal
freight. It was loaded with highly explosive
wartime weapons. A fire sparked which then
set off the explosives and ended up killing
2,000
people.
7. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill – This oil spill
was one of the worst oil spills in history,
causing
chaos around the whole nation. When the Exxon
Valdez struck a reef off the coast of
Alaska, 38 million gallons of crude oil spilled
into the waters. The spill lacked response
teams,
and proper immediate clean up. But even after
the response time was criticized, it was found
that the captain was mainly to blame due to
his drinking problems. He was later fired,
however,
that decision still didn’t help the hundreds
of miles along the coast that were covered
in oil. The
disaster marks a turning point in history
as to how to respond to disasters, due to
their effects on
the environment.
#6 Texas City Disaster - The SS Grandcamp,
which was carrying 2,300 tons of ammonium
nitrate back in 1947 was involved in the deadliest
industrial accident in US history. The ammonium
nitrate was detonated early in the morning
and activated a chain reaction along the ship.
Debris was sent thousands of feet into the
air and across the town, destroying over 500
homes. The explosion took 581 lives that day,
and all but one firefighter from the Texas
City Fire Department was killed. The event
then went down in the record books as one
of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever.
Over 5,000 people were injured in some way
during the disaster and 21 surrounding hospitals
took in victims from the fires. From this
disaster came hundreds of lawsuits attacking
the poor packaging and transportation of ammonium
nitrate. It was truly an industrial nightmare
for the Port of Texas City back in 1947.
5. Rana Plaza Collapse – Just three years
ago in 2013, the Rana Plaza underwent structural
failure and collapsed on everyone below. Like
a popular mall, the building was home to clothing
factories, banks, apartments and other shops.
Even though cracks were seen the day before,
proper maintenance was not taken, and the
eight-story building then collapsed. Over
1,000
died in the destruction and roughly 2,500
were injured. Regarded as the deadliest accidental
structural failure, the disaster made all
surrounding areas weary of their own buildings.
Signs
were posted above the entrances stating that
everyone should evacuate the building. However,
the business owners inside the buildings still
tell their workers to ignore the warnings
because
they say that “everyone has been too scared
since Rana Plaza’s collapse”
4. Piper Alpha Oil Rig Explosion – Oil riggers
know what is at risk when the go to work.
It’s
the reason why many don’t pursue the career,
and why it pays so well. Piper Alpha, an oil
rig in
the North Sea showed just why working on these
platforms is such a dangerous job. In 1988,
an explosion, due to improper valve checks,
fractured the main oil line. A thick black
fog
plagued the plant and turned the sky to night.
167 workers were killed that day, and the
event is
seen as the worst offshore oil disaster in
history.
3. Minamata Disease – Along the Shirauni
bay in South Japan, the Chisso Corporation
industrial factory manufactured fertilizers
and other chemicals. Its poor care for the
environment
led them to depositing endless amounts of
waste into the Minamata Bay alongside the
factory.
This waste contained methylmercury, which
polluted the waters and shattered the fishing
and
farming industry. The biogeochemical cycle
then spread the mercury throughout the villages
and towns in the area. Reports showed that
people with an “unknown disease” had “loss
of
motor control, paralysis, numbness, speech
impairment, and ataxia.” The lack of cooperation
from the Chisso Corporation led to over 1,700
deaths, being the second most deadly industrial
disaster.
2. Chernobyl – This nuclear power plant
in Ukraine is home of the most famous industrial
accident to date. While performing a safety
test, a reactor ruptured, causing others to
explode
with it. This ended up releasing radioactive
particles into the air, which not only affected
the
plant itself, but much of the western USSR
at the time. It is estimated that Chernobyl
released
400x more radioactive material than the atomic
bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. Many
times since the incident, the Soviet government
has been accused of covering up radioactive
poisoning caused by the plant. They lowered
radiation exposure limit, denied side effects
from
the disaster, and lacked proper care for the
people that were affected. Still today, 18
miles of the
area is a part of the exclusion zone. Nevertheless,
people still illegally reside in the area
and
refuse to leave.
1. Bhopal Gas Tragedy – During the winter
of 1984, thousands of lives were lost in Bhopal,
India. Without any warning at all, 40 tons
of lethal gas swept through Bhopal during
the night.
Over the next few days, 3,700 people had died
due to the release of gas. It was the million
dollar Union Carbide pesticide plant that
had accidentally released methyl isocyanate
gas into the nearby towns. Multiple small
leaks, and mishaps months before the incident
foreshadowed the disaster that took thousands
of lives. The minor impediments weren’t
any harm to the area, but when a routine water
washing procedure took place, it all changed.
Even though the plant wasn’t
actively producing pesticide at the time,
it was the cleaning procedures that caused
the
epidemic. It all went haywire when the Methyl
isocyanate reacted with the water, and 40
tons of lethal chemicals were released into
the air. 550,000 were injured and over 16,000
fatalities occurred in the proceeding months.
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