The volume of this oil spill was more than six times greater than the Exxon Valdez spill. Lack of clear authority regarding corrective action resulted in almost all of its sixty-nine million gallons of oil being spilled. On March 17, 1978, a supertanker, the Amoco Cadiz, was stranded off the northwest coast of France when …
Major health problems arose from a new subdivision on an old industrial site No adequate examination of an old waste dump adjoining Niagara Falls, before a new subdivision was developed, led to a large number of homes being declared uninhabitable. In the late 1950s, a former industrial site in New York State near Niagara Falls …
Love Canal Contamination – New York – August 2, 1978 Read More »
From the moment an oil tanker arrived at the port of Valdez to load oil, every aspect of the operation had to be carefully watched to ensure a safe exit for the fully loaded ship. In this case several necessary procedures were ignored. On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a …
Due to faulty understanding of the chemical processes involved, workers allowed substantial quantities of dioxin to escape into the community of Seveso. This accidental release of dioxin had a revolutionary and costly series of consequences for the people of Seveso. One of the most serious problems facing chemical factories is change from an original design. …
London’s nine million residents were almost totally immobilized for four days as a thick smog smothered the city and killed 4,000 people. From the fifth to the ninth of December 1952, a mass of dry, cold air settled over London, strong enough to prevent any upward movement of the air on the ground. Above this …
London Suffocating Smog – England – December 5, 1952 Read More »
Shortly after the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy decided to carry out a series of atomic bomb tests on different kinds of ships. Bikini Atoll in the Central Pacific was chosen for these tests and the islanders were persuaded to move temporarily to another island group. They were assured of a safe …
Bikini Atoll Nuclear Tests – Marshall Islands – February 1, 1946 Read More »