2. OUTLINE
• WHAT ARE DISASTERS?
• TYPES OF DISASTERS
• WHAT ARE INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS?
• TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS
• A TIMELINE OF INDUSTRIAL
DISASTERS IN THE PAST
• NUCLEAR DISASTERS
• CHEMICAL/FIRE EXPLOSIONS
• TOXIC CHEMICAL/GAS LEAK
• CHEMICAL POLLUTION
3. WHAT ARE DISASTERS?
A disaster is a
natural or man-
made event that
causes damage to
life, property,
livelihood or
industry often
resulting in
permanent
changes to human
7. EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
• Deaths
• Disability
• Increase in communicable disease
• Psychological problems
• Food shortage
• Socioeconomic losses
• Shortage of drugs and medical
supplies.
• Environmental disruption
8. “It is reported that in
every twenty seconds of
every working minute of
every hour throughout
the world, someone dies
as a result of an
industrial accident.”
9. WHAT ARE INDUSTRIAL
DISASTERS?
• Disasters caused
by industrial
companies,
either by
accident,
negligence or
incompetence,
where great
damage, injury
or loss of life are
10. TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL
DISASTERS
• NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
CHERNOBYL, FUKUSHIMA-DAIICHI
• CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS
OPPAU EXPLOSIONS
• FIRE EXPLOSIONS
TEXAS EXPLOSIONS
• TOXIC CHEMICAL/GAS LEAKAGE
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
• CHEMICAL POLLUTION
MINAMATA DISEASE
11. TIMELINE OF SOME MAJOR
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL
DISASTERS IN THE PAST
OPPAU , GERMANY-
SEPTEMBER 21,1921.
TEXAS CITY, TEXAS, US- APRIL 16, 1947
FLIXBOROUGH,UK-JUNE 1, 1974
SEVESO, ITALY-JUNE 10, 1976
BHOPAL, INDIA-DECEMBER 3, 1984
SCHWEIZARHALLE, SWITZERLAND-NOVEMB
TOLOUSE, FRANCE-SEPTEMBER 21,
JILIN CITY, CHINA-NOVEMBER 13
CHERNOBYL,UKRAINE-ARIL, 1986
FUKUSHIMA-DAIICHI-MARCH
13. • The Chernobyl disaster occurred on
April 1986 at V.I.Lenin nuclear power
plant with four RBMK 1000 reactors
constructed to a flawed design that
was operated by poorly trained
personnel.
• 31 workers died due to radiation
poisoning and 30 km evacuation zone
created. People were exposed to 1000
times more than the normal radiation.
The long term affects resulted in fatal
14. • RBMK 1000 reactors with graphite
moderated, water cooled, fuelled with
UO2 enriched with 2% U-235 and
boron control rods.
• 3200MW energy can be converted into
1000MW electrical energy by turbo
generator's.
• 4 such reactors at Chernobyl.
15. • Fission reactions generate large
amounts of heat, which are to be
removed by coolant to prevent reactor
meltdown.
• Water circulated through coolant
pipes.
• Steam generated is about 15%
• Flawed design in the reactor: positive
void coefficient.
• This flaw is based on the fact that
water is not only an excellent coolant
but also a reasonably good absorber
16. • The major units of the RBMK 1000's
control and cooling system are
the Control and Protection System
(CPS),
the Emergency Core Cooling System
(ECCS),
the Multiple Forced Circulation
Circuit (MFCC)
• These three systems have been
implicated as a part of the root cause of
the Chernobyl accident. primarily they
have been characterized as being slow,
17. • While all three of these systems are
generally computer controlled, there is
also a provision of manual operation
of the three systems in the event of
computer or mechanical failure that
would necessitate operator
intervention.
• No containment vessel as in the
commercial American nuclear
reactors.
18.
19. • The reactor was not shut down and
a number of built-in safety devices
were deliberately overridden.
• vast quantities of steam and
chemical reactions built up
sufficient pressure to create an
explosion which blew the protective
slab of the top of the reactor vessel.
• The resulting steam explosions and
fires ejected at least 5 percent of the
radioactive reactor core into the
atmosphere, rich in fission products
20. • RBMK 1000 power plants do not
incorporate a containment vessel in
their design. They have a confinement
system. The roof the reactor building
is basically similar to those found in a
typical industrial factory.
• Immediate efforts were made, but the
limitation was that water cannot be
used as it would have created
radioactive steam.
• The fire was deprived of oxygen by
dumping many tonnes of material
21.
22. AFTER EFFECTS
• 31 workers died due to radiation
poisoning and 30 km evacuation zone
created.
• People were exposed to 1000 times
more than the normal radiation.
• The long term affects resulted in fatal
cancers.
• It included the people who were
evacuated along with the 50,000
soldiers who fought to control the fire
23. • A make-shift cover -- the 'Sarcophagus' --
was built in six months after the explosion.
It covers the stricken reactor to protect the
environment from radiation for at least 30
years. This has now developed cracks,
triggering an international effort to fund a
new encasement.
• A new safe confinement is being built to aid
the ageing Sacrophagus and protect the
threat of radiation leakage.
25. OPPAU DISASTER
Description
• On September 21, 1921, a massive ammonium
nitrate explosion occurred at a chemical plant
in Oppau Germany.
• A tower storing 4500 tonnes of a mixture of
ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded.
• The factory produces agriculture fertilizers and
other chemical products.
• But during World War I when Germany was
unable to obtain the necessary sulfur, it began
26. • The 50/50 mixture of ammonium nitrate and
ammonium sulphate was handled by the plant,
was considered stable.
• Sixty-foot silos were used to store mixture.
• Ammonium nitrate is strongly hygroscopic.
• With the time it was compressed into a solid mass
like concrete.
• After many failed attempts low grade dynamite
was used to loosen it, that led to a massive
explosion.
27. CAUSES
• As all involved died in the explosion, the causes
are not clear.
• Ignorance about the explosive nature of
ammonium nitrate.
• According to 1919 tests "less than 60% nitrate =
safe" criterion is inaccurate.
• Any explosion of the 50% nitrate mixture is
confined to a small volume.
• Increase in concentration of ammonium nitrate
to 50-55% and especially 55-60% significantly
28. • Changes in humidity and density also
significantly affect the explosive properties.
• After several test it was believed that
composition of the mixture in silo was not
uniform, some samples mixture were enriched
in ammonium nitrate
• The explanation is therefore proposed that one
of the charges was by chance placed in such a
pocket, which exploded with sufficient violence
to set off some of the surrounding lower-nitrate
mixture.
29. LESSON LEARNT
• Parameters such as composition of mixture,
density, humidity, etc. may increase the capacity
of the ammonium nitrate mixture to explode.
• When process was modified in 1921, similar tests
ought to have been conducted for new mixture.
• Industrial buildings must never be built close to
factories.
• Poor feedback like two months before disaster, at
Kriewald, then part of Germany, 19 people had
died when 30 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were
detonated by people doing the same thing.
30. SCALE OF EXPLOSION
• The explosion was estimated to be about 1–
2 kilotonnes TNT equivalent, and was heard as a
loud bang in Munich, more than 300 km away
• The pressure wave ripped roofs off up to 25 km
away and destroyed windows even farther away.
• In Heidelberg (30 km from Oppau), traffic was
stopped by the mass of broken glass on the streets.
• About 80 percent of all buildings in Oppau were
destroyed, leaving 6,500 homeless.
31. SCALE OF EXPLOSION
• According to some descriptions, only 450
tonnes exploded, out of 4,500 tonnes of
fertilizer stored in the warehouse
• At ground a 90 m by 125 m crater,19 m deep,
was created.
33. What happened?
• One of the worst industrial catastrophes,
it occurred on the night of December 2-
3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India
Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India.
• During that night, water entered the
tank containing 42 tons of MIC (Methyl
Iso Cyanate). The resulting exothermic
reaction increased the temperature
inside the tank to over 200O C and
raised pressure. The tank vented
releasing toxic gases into the
34. Factors leading to the
magnitude of Gas leak
• Storing of MIC in large tanks and
filling beyond recommended levels.
• Poor maintenance after the plant
ceased production at the end of 1984.
• Failure of several safety systems.
• Safety systems being switched off to
save money including MIC tank
refrigeration system which could have
mitigated the disaster severity.
35.
36. Why the impact was more
devastating?
• The problem got worsened by
mushrooming slums in the vicinity,
non-existent catastrophe plans and
shortcomings in health care and
socioeconomic rehabilitation.
• It also included use of a more
dangerous manufacturing method,
manual operations, and lack of skilled
operators.
• No information to local authorities of
37. Chemical reaction employed in
the plant
• The chemical process
used was methylamine
was reacted with
phosgene to form MIC
which reacted with 1-
naphtol to form the
final product.
38. • A number of safety installations were not in
proper working conditions at that time.
• MIC tank alarms not working for four years.
• One manual backup system whereas four
stage systems used in US.
• The flare tower and vent gas scrubbers had
been out of service. Even if the flare tower
had been working, it could have handled
only a quarter of the gas that leaked.
39. • Refrigeration was cut
down to save costs. MIC
was stored at 20oC
instead of 4.5 o C.
• Steam boiler was out of
action, no ship blind
plates used while pipes
were being cleaned to
prevent its contact with
MIC.
• Carbon steel valves
which corrode easily
were used in the
industry.
• There were a lot of
40. After-effects
• The gases comprising of
materials heavier than air,
stayed close to the ground
and spread outwards
through the surrounding
community.
• A total of 520,000 people
were affected by the gas
leak.
• In 1991, 3,298 deaths
were certified.
42. MINAMATA DISEASE
Description
• It is a neurological syndrome caused by
severe mercury poisoning.
• First discovered in Minamata city, Japan, in
1956.
• Effects were severe in cats that they came to
be called “dancing cat fever”.
• While cat, dog, pig, and human deaths
continued for years the government did little
43. • 12,617 people have been officially recognized
as patients affected by mercury.
• However, in addition to these, some people died
before the official discovery of Minamata
disease.
• They got compensation after almost 30 years.
44. SYMPTOMES OF MINAMATA
DISEASE
• Not until the mid-1950's did people begin
to notice “strange disease”.
• Victims were diagnosed as having a
degeneration of their nervous systems.
• Numbness occurred in their limbs and
lips. Their speech became slurred, and
their vision constricted.
45. • Some people had serious brain
damage, while others lapsed into
unconsciousness or suffered from
involuntary movements.
• People thought the cats were going
insane when they witnessed “suicides”
by the cats.
• Birds were strangely dropping from
46. CAUSES
• It was caused by the release of methylmercury in
the industrial wastewater from the Chisso
Corporation's chemical factory.
• Highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish
and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea,
which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted
in mercury poisoning.
47. TIMELINE
• 1908: Chisso Corporation first opened a chemical
factory in Minamata.
• 1932: started producing acetaldehyde using mercury
catalyst.
• 1951: co-catalyst was changed from manganese dioxide
to ferric sulfide, resulting in side production of methyl-
mercury.
• 1956: A disease of unknown cause (Minamata disease)
was discovered.(patients were isolated)
48. TIMELINE
• 1957: Kumamoto University research group reported
heavy metal poisoning as the cause of disease.
• 1959: Purification system was installed. But had no
effect.
• 1968: Twelve years after the discovery of the disease
Chisso had stopped production of acetaldehyde using its
mercury catalyst.
49.
50. Sources
• Smith, K. (2013). Environmental hazards: Assessing risk and
reducing disaster (6.th ed., pp. 389-390). Abingdon, Oxon:
Routledge.
• Atwood, C. (1998). Chernobyl-what happened? Journal of Chemical
Education, 65(12), 1037-1037.
• Gunn, A. (2008). Encyclopedia of disasters environmental
catastrophes and human tragedies. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood
Press.
• Yadav, R., & Singh, R. (2013). Recent approaches in disaster
management (pp. 6-23,100-119). Jaipur: Oxford Book.
• International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,
Volume 2, Issue 5, May 2012 1 ISSN 2250-3153
• www.mapguy.net
