Industrial disasters

Industrial disasters are mass disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence.
*Pemberton Mill was a large factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which collapsed without warning on January 10, 1860. An estimated 145 workers were killed and 166 injured.
*Courrières mine disaster in Courrières, France, on March 10, 1906. 1,099 workers died, including children, in the worst mine accident ever in Europe.
*Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911. This was a major industrial disaster in the U.S., causing the death of more than one hundred garment workers who either died in the fire or jumped to their deaths. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.
* The Boston Molasses Disaster occurred on January 15 1919. A large molasses tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The event has entered local folklore, and residents claim that on hot summer days the area still smells of molasses.
* Oppau explosion in Germany occurred on September 21 1921 when a tower silo storing 4500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau, now part of Ludwigshafen, Germany, killing 500–600 people and injuring about 2000 more.
*Minamata disaster. This was caused by the dumping of mercury compounds in Minamata Bay, Japan. The Chisso Corporation, a fertilizer and later petrochemical company, was found responsible for polluting the bay during the years 1932-1968. It is estimated that over 3,000 people suffered various deformities, severe mercury poisoning symptoms or death from what became known as Minamata disease.
* Port Chicago Disaster. On 17 July 1944, an explosion that killed 320 people occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California.
*Texas City Disaster, Texas 1947. On April 16, 1947 at 9:15 AM an explosion aboard a docked ship named the Grandcamp, and subsequent fires and explosions, is referred to as the worst industrial disaster in America. A minimum of 578 people lost their lives and another 3,500 were injured as the blast shattered windows from as far away as 25 miles (40 km). Huge boulders of steel flew into the sky to rain down more than a mile from ground zero. The origin of the explosion was fire in the cargo on board the ship. Detonation of 3,200 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer aboard the Grandcamp led to further explosions and fires. The fertilizer shipment was to aid the struggling farmers of Europe recovering from World War II. The fire was thought to have been ignited by a discarded cigarette. Although this industrial disaster was one of the largest involving ammonium nitrate many others have been reported, including a recent one in North Korea.
* Little Rock AFB: Searcy,Arkansas. Augst 9, 1965 53 contract workers were killed during a fire at a Titan missile silo.The cause of the fire was determined to be a welding rod damaging a hydraulic hose allowing hydraulic vapors to leak and spread throughout silo, which were then ignited by an open flame source.
*Flixborough disaster on June 1, 1974. An explosion at a chemical plant near the village of Flixborough, England, kills 28 people and seriously injures another 36.
*Seveso disaster. This was an industrial accident that occurred in Seveso, Italy, on July 10, 1976, in a small chemical manufacturing plant of ICMESA. Due to the release of dioxins into the atmosphere and throughout a large section of the Lombard Plain, 3,000 pets and farm animals died and, later, 70,000 animals were slaughtered to prevent dioxins from entering the food chain. In addition, 193 people in the affected areas suffered from chloracne and other symptoms. The disaster lead to the Seveso Directive, which was issued by the European Community and imposed much harsher industrial regulations.
*Bhopal disaster in India (1984). This was one of the worst industrial disasters on record. A faulty tank containing poisonous methyl isocyanate leaked at a Union Carbide plant and left nearly 3,000 people dead initially, and at least 15,000 from related illnesses. [BBC—On This Day.3rd December,1984. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/3/newsid_2698000/2698709.stm In Context, Bhopal Disaster.] ] The disaster caused the region's human and animal populations severe health problems to the present.
*Romeoville, Illinois, Union Oil Refinery Explosion on July 23, 1984 kills 19 people.
*Auburn, Indiana, improper mixing of chemicals kills four workers at a local metal-plating plant on June 28, 1988, in the worst confined-space industrial accident in U.S. history; a fifth victim died two days later. [ [http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1990/04/kinney.html Joseph A. Kinney and William G. Mosley, "Death on the Job," "The Multinational Monitor", April 1990, v. 11, no. 4] , citing a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.]
*Piper Alpha disaster on July 6, 1988. An explosion and resulting fire on a North Sea oil production platform kill 167 men. Total insured loss is about US$ 3.4 billion. To date it is rated as the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms both of lives lost and impact to industry.
*Phillips Disaster on October 23, 1989. Explosion and fire killed 23 and injured 314 in Pasadena, Texas. Registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.
* 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire, where locked doors trapped workers in a burning processing plant, causing 25 deaths.
*Kader Toy Factory fire. On May 10, 1993, a fire started in a poorly built factory in Thailand. Exit doors were locked and the stairwell soon collapsed. 188 workers were killed, mostly young women.
*Enschede fireworks disaster on May 13, 2000. A fire and explosion at a fireworks depot in Enschede, Netherlands leaves 22 people dead and 947 injured. About 1,500 homes are damaged or destroyed. The damage is estimated to be over US$ 300 million in insured losses.
*Texas City Refinery explosion. On March 23, 2005, an explosion occurred at a petroleum refinery in Texas City, Texas, that belonged to BP. It is the third largest refinery in the United States and one of the largest in the world, processing 433,000 barrels of crude oil per day and accounting for 3% of that nation's gasoline supply. Over 100 were injured, and 15 were confirmed dead, including employees of the Fluor Corporation as well as BP. BP has since accepted that its employees contributed to the accident. Several level indicators failed, leading to overfilling of a knock out drum, and light hydrocarbons concentrated at ground level throughout the area. A nearby running diesel truck set off the explosion.
*Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster, on April 18, 2007, a ladle holding molten steel separated from the overhead iron rail, fell, tipped, and killed 32 workers, injuring another 6.
*The 2008 Georgia sugar refinery explosion occurred on February 7, 2008 in Port Wentworth, Georgia, United States. Thirteen people were killed and 42 injured when a dust explosion occurred at a sugar refinery owned by Imperial Sugar.

Other disasters can be considered industrial disasters, because their causes are rooted in the products or processes of industry. For example, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was severe due to the heavy concentration of lumber industry, wood houses, fuel and other chemicals in a small area.

ee also

List of civilian nuclear accidents

References