Failure of water pumps caused a chain reaction of higher and higher temperatures and some radioactive gas began to escape into the surrounding area. The worst accident in the history of U.S. commercial nuclear power generation occurred at 4:00...
Engineering Archive
Canada Sinking of Oil Platform – February 15, 1982
The Ocean Ranger was stationed at sea 170 miles east of Newfoundland. Because of inadequate preparations for windstorms 84 lives were lost. The Ocean Ranger, an oil-drilling rig stationed in the North Atlantic 170 miles east of Newfoundland, Canada,...
Challenger Fire/Explosion – Florida – January 28, 1986
All seven astronauts were killed and the accident gave rise to new, stringent, regulations about decisions on launching. Shortly before noon on January 28, 1986 the space shuttle Challenger lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral....
Bhopal Gas Poisoning – India – December 3, 1984
Union Carbide’s factory was built to provide insecticide for India’s farmers so they would not lose crops. When demand for insecticide dropped Union Carbide began to cut costs wherever it could and, in the process, created circumstances that led...
Teton Dam Collapse – Idaho – June 5, 1976
Through neglect of the advice of geological experts, this dam was built on unstable ground that failed when the dam was filled with water. Discussions about a dam on the Teton River began in the early years of the...
Vaiont Dam Collapse – Italy – October 9, 1963
A landslide within the Vaiont Dam in northern Italy displaced a massive volume of water from the dam that flooded the valley below. On October 9, 1963, between 10 and 11 P.M., a massive wave of water crashed over...