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Earth-Altering Accidents
Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature
or cause a large number of people to suffer, they become disasters. Here
are some of the largest disasters that have been caused by human
activity.
1953, New York, U.S.
Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was
destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical
companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. In the
1950s, families began to settle in the area without being told about the
waste and the health problems it might cause. The area developed a foul
smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. In the
1970s, scientists found that the drinking water contained excessive levels
of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The
people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth
defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. By the 1990s,
the town had been cleaned up enough for families to begin moving back to
the area.
1979, Pennsylvania, U.S.
On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear-reactor history
occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was
released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool)
escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure
and human error.
Bhopal chemical leak
December 1984, Bhopal, India
An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India,
released a deadly gas called methyl isocyanate, which is used to make
pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2,500 people; another
50,000-100,000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became
yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that
was not noticed in time to stop it.
April 1986, Ukraine, former Soviet Union
At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at the
nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof
off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive
material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and nearly 300
people were treated for radiation poisoning. Glaring violations of safety
rules were at the bottom of this tragic event.
Exxon Valdez oil spill
March 1989, Alaska, U.S.
On March 24, 1989, 11.2 million gallons of crude oil spilled into
Prince William Sound from
the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The
spill, which cost billions of dollars to clean up and killed millions of
birds, fish, and other wildlife, was caused by human error and could have
been avoided.
Jilin Chemical Plant Explosion
November 2005, Jilin City, China
On November 13, 2005, a series of explosions in a petrochemical plant
killed six people, injured at least 70, and forced over 10,000 residents
to evacuate. The explosions reached at least 200 meters in diameter and
caused 80 kilometers of severe pollution in the Songhua River. The major
pollutants, benzene and nitrobenzene, which are linked to leukemia, were
recorded at levels over 100 times national safety standards. Water
supplies were shut off in affected areas making it necessary to bring
water from other nearby sources.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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