1. ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS
Industrial Accidents, Nuclear Meltdowns, and Chemical Spills

2. Some Large-Scale Disasters
1952 – London, England
London Smog Disaster
1956 – Minamata, Japan
Mercury Spill in Bay
1969 –Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, OH
River Caught Fire
Love Canal, Niagara, NY
Chemical Waste in Suburbia
1978 – Three Mile Island, Harrisburg, PA
Nuclear Power Meltdown
1978 – Amoco Cadiz
Oil Spill
1984 – Bhopal, India
Cyanide Air Release
1986 – Pripyat, Ukraine
Nuclear Power Plant Explosion
Chernobyl
1989 – Prince William Sound, Alaska
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

3. LONDON SMOG DISASTER 1952

4. London Smog Disaster 1952
From Dec 5 to Dec 9, 1952, a poisonous and cloudy layer of smog descended onto the city of London.
An estimated 4000 people died from it.
Road, rail, and air transport were brought to a halt.
Many others would have suffered long term consequences of respiratory illnesses.
There are stories of people trying to claw their way along buildings to find their way down the street.

5. “The Great Smog”
Examples of daily amounts of pollutants released in the air at the time include:
1000 tonnes of smoke
2000 tonnes of carbon dioxide
140 tonnes of hydrochloric acid
14 tonnes of fluorine compounds
370 tonnes of sulfur dioxide

6. London Smog Disaster

7. Minamata, Japan 1956 - Mercury Spill

8. Minamata – What happened?
A plastic manufacturing company, the Chisso Factory, dumped mercury waste into the bay, and local people ate fish from the water.
900 people died
Approximately 3000 contracted Minamata Disease

9. Minamata– Infected Area

10. Minamata Disease

11. Minamata Disease

12. Cuyahoga River Fire 1969

13. Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, OH
In 1969, the river caught fire due to the large amount of debris and oil that had accumulated on the surface.
United States was forced to take serious action against water pollution.

14. Cuyahoga River Fire 1969

15. “Burn On” by Randy Newman - 1972
There's a red moon rising On the Cuyahoga River Rolling into Cleveland to the lake There's a red moon rising ON the Cuyahoga River Rolling into Cleveland to the lake There's an oil barge winding Down the Cuyahoga River Rolling into Cleveland to the lake There's an oil barge winding Down the Cuyahoga River Rolling into Cleveland to the lake
Cleveland city of light city of magic Cleveland city of light you're calling me Cleveland, even now I can remember 'Cause the Cuyahoga River Goes smokin' through my dreams Burn on, big river, burn on Burn on, big river, burn on Now the Lord can make you tumble And the Lord can make you turn And the Lord can make you overflow But the Lord can't make you burn Burn on, big river, burn on Burn on, big river, burn on

16. Love Canal, Niagara Falls, NY 1978

17. Love Canal 1978 What happened?
A chemical company used the area as a chemical dump until 1952, then covered it with soil, and sold it to the city of Niagara Falls for residential building lots.

18. Love Canal 1978
People complained of strange odors, illnesses and unexplained cancers.
Eventually relocated homes

19. Love Canal 1978

20. Love Canal 1978

21. Three Mile Island, Harrisburg, PA 1978

22. Three Mile Island 1978 A nuclear reactor had a meltdown.
What happened?
A nuclear reactor had a meltdown.
No nuclear material was released into the surrounding area, but a general fear about nuclear power was propelled in the United States.

23. Amoco Cadiz 1978

24. Amoco Cadiz 1978
A super tanker ran aground off the coast of Western Europe and spilled 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.
The 3,730 km2 oil slick covered 320 km of beaches, and destroyed countless fish habitats.
More than dead birds were collected.

25. Amoco Cadiz

26. Amoco Cadiz 1978

27. Amoco Cadiz 1978

28. Bhopal, India 1984

29. Bhopal, India 1984 What happened?
Union Carbide company accidentally released cyanide into the air.
15,000 people died, to people suffered from respiratory problems.

30. Bhopal, India 1984 - Cyanide Poisoning

31. Bhopal, India 1984

33. Bhopal, India 1984

34. Chernobyl, Pripyat, Ukraine, 1986

35. Chernobyl – What Happened?
A nuclear power plant had a reactor meltdown releasing 300x the amount of radioactive material as Hiroshima.
The reactor melted down because several safety measures had been disabled.
56 people died immediately and 336,000 were evacuated and relocated.
There was also a 10 km lethal dose to all trees and small mammals in the area.
There is a 30 km radius no-residence zone to this day.
There were, and still are, thousands of indirect deaths due to radiation-induced cancer.
Also, there have been numerous genetic effects, including birth defects.

36. Chernobyl

37. Chernobyl

38. Chernobyl

39. Chernobyl

40. Chernobyl

41. Chernobyl

42. Exxon Valdez – Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989

43. Exxon Valdez 1989

44. Exxon Valdez 1989
A tanker struck a reef and spilled 3.5 million barrels of oil.
It was very difficult to clean up and costly, 1.25 billion dollars.
There was an immediate death toll of 250,000 seabirds and the damage can still be seen today.

45. Exxon Valdez 1989