Chemical Disasters - Top 5
Chemical and oil industries have been responsible for some of the worst accidents in the history of modern industry, with major effects in terms of human deaths, ecological consequences and destruction of goods. This happens in spite of legislative efforts on the part of governments to closely regulate the handling of dangerous materials and the efforts of the industry to share best practices and update technology.
The impact of such accidents can be deadly and the toll paid in human deaths and ecological consequences hard to quantify. The reasons behind such accidents may be found in human errors, in the use of outdated technology or in the mishandling of potentially dangerous substances.
Another such accident happened in the Indian state of Medhya Pradesh in 1984 and raised unprecedented levels of awareness because of the large number of victims involved. Leaks of toxic gas from a pesticide plant operating in the area exposed over 500,000 people to dangerous substances. Official figures showed that nearly 3,800 people died because of the exposure. Among the causes of the accident were the use of outdated equipment and the ignoring of regulations for the handling of potentially harmful chemical substances.
2005 was a black year for US from the chemical disasters perspective, as United States witnessed what the authorities and media dubbed as “the worst industrial disaster in the last 15 years.” It happened at one major petroleum refineries in Texas, where the restarting of a hydrocarbon isomerization unit and the flooding of a distillation tower resulted in 15 people dead and 180 injured.
UK was not spared either. In June 1974 happened the accident which would lead to a drastic review of all legislation regarding all local hazardous industrial processes. The small village of Flixborough witnessed as a vapor cloud resulted from a leakage of 40 tones of cyclohexane at a nearby chemical plant exploded and obliterated the facility. Over 1,800 building on a 1.5 km radius were also heavily damaged in the event.
Central and Eastern Europe was one step from an ecological and human calamity back in 2000, because the uncontrolled spilling of 100,000 cubic meters of cyanide into the hydrological basin of the Danube. It happened at a gold exploitation in the Romanian city of Baia Mare, where the wall of a containment lake collapsed and cyanide infested water spilled into the Somes River, a Danube’s indirect tributary. The accident severely affected wildlife, decimated fish stocks and endangered the water supply of over 2.5 million people.
The history of modern industry shows that organizations in the chemical business can never be too careful while operating with such substances, nor too quick or well equipped when trying to contain the effects.