Gulf of Mexico oil spill, 2010
- It started following an explosion at the British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon rigging well.
- Although it claimed only 11 lives, its damage to the environment has been described as “catastrophic” as it has been spewing over 5,000 barrels a day from the seafloor.
- Experts say the spill is now posing a serious threat to a range of marine animals from floating plankton to marine plants and animals living at the bottom of the sea.
1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant mishap
- It took place during a safety test in the plant in Ukraine (then in the Soviet Union).
- An explosion at the core of a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power station at Prypriat on April 26, 1986 released more than 50 tonnes of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
- About 59 people died at the accident site while more than 4,000 people died of cancer and thousands rendered disabled over the years due to of radiation exposure.
- Following the blast, about 350,000 people were evacuated from the area
1921, Oppau Explosion
- It was an explosion at a fertiliser plant in Oppau, Germany
- The incident occurred when a tower silo storing 4,500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertiliser exploded.
Minamata Disaster, 1950s
- In mid-1950s, the world came to know about an industrial pollution known as ‘the Minamata disaster’, effects of which came to light more than three decades after the incident.
- The disturbing story began in the 1930s when a Japanese company started dumping of mercury compounds in the bay off Minamata, a western Japan town.
- But only after three decades, locals began to notice something wrong. They found themselves being affected by a strange illness which came to be known as Minamata disease.
- It is estimated that over 3,000 people suffered various deformities, showed severe mercury poisoning symptoms or died from the mysterious disease.
