Environmental Disasters of the 20th Century

By Alex Bennett

Burning of the

Cuyahoga River

Cleveland, Ohio USA June 23, 1969

Where and When

Cleveland's oily, contaminated Cuyahoga River caught fire

Lasted 30 minutes and caused fifty thousand dollars in damages

Flames climbed as high as five stories until fireboats brought it under control

Burning rivers in industrialized areas were common through the late 19th and early 20th century

There have reportedly been at least 13 fires on the Cuyahoga River, the first occurring in 1868

Nature of the Disaster

The fire was attributed to wastes dumped into the river by the waterfront industries

The true cause is unclear, but people believe sparks from a passing train ignited the oil in the river

Oil and debris on the river caught fire at least a 6 times before 1950, causing substantial damage to industrial properties along the river's banks

Ohio authorities insist it was not a case of spontaneous combustion

Cause of the Disaster

Sludge in the river

Cleveland, at the time, was not particularly impressed by the fire

The Chief of Police was not called The regular crew had it under control in

under half an hour

Attempt to Negate the Disaster

Devoid of fish– they only found 10 sick gizzard shad

There were no visible signs of life in the river at all (not even leeches and worms)

No humans were harmed during the fire, but the pollution of the river caused health hazards on its own

Losses

It was an important event in the raising of awareness of environmental issues in America and became a rallying point for passage of the Clean Water Act

The boundaries of the Area of Concern (AOC) were set by the Cuyahoga Remedial Action Plan Coordinating Committee in 1988

Large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the OEPA in recent decades

Effects of the Disaster

When the EPA crews went back last summer they found 40 different fish species in the river

The once dead Lake Erie into which the Cuyahoga drains now has a $600 million fishing industry. The Ohio EPA considers the final forty miles of the Cuyahoga a "recovering system" and cleanup is continuing.

Ultimate Outcome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKMtRSKX-Pk

Some river! Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows. "Anyone

who falls into the Cuyahoga does not drown," Cleveland's citizens joke grimly. "He decays.”

Time Magazine, August 1969

Burn On, Big River by Randy Newman

There's a red moon risingOn the Cuyahoga RiverRolling into Cleveland to the lakeThere's a red moon risingOn the Cuyahoga RiverRolling into Cleveland to the lakeThere's an oil barge windingDown the Cuyahoga RiverRolling into Cleveland to the lakeThere's an oil barge windingDown the Cuyahoga RiverRolling into Cleveland to the lakeCleveland city of light city of magicCleveland city of light you're calling

meCleveland, even now I can

remember’Cause the Cuyahoga RiverGoes smokin' through my dreamsBurn on, big river, burn onBurn on, big river, burn onNow the Lord can make you tumbleAnd the Lord can make you turnAnd the Lord can make you

overflowBut the Lord can't make you burnBurn on, big river, burn onBurn on, big river, burn on

Bhopal Disaste

r

AKA Bhopal Gas Tragedy Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide

plant Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India December 2–3, 1984

Where and When

The UCIL factory was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin

40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the plant

The worst industrial accident in history The disaster indicated a need for

enforceable international standards for environmental safety, preventative strategies to avoid similar accidents, and industrial disaster preparedness

Nature of the Disaster

A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people

Water entered a tank containing 42 tons of MIC

This increased the temperature and pressure The tank vented and released toxic gases into

the atmosphere The gases were blown by winds over Bhopal

Cause of the Disaster

Factors leading to the magnitude of the gas leak include:

Storing MIC in large tanks and filling beyond recommended levels

Poor maintenance Failure of several safety systems Safety systems being switched

off to save money—including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have decreased the disaster severity

Magnitude of the Disaster

"Operation Faith": On December 16, the remaining MIC tanks were emptied and this led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal

UCIL was only able to undertake additional cleanup work in the years just prior to its sale in 1994 and spent about $2 million

The “Responsible Care” program was globally implemented, designed to prevent any future events through improving community awareness, emergency preparedness, and process safety standards

Attempt to Negate the Disaster

The official immediate death toll was 2,259

The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release

An estimated 3,000 died within weeks and another 8,000 have since died from gas related diseases

Losses 2,000 cows, goats,

and other animals died

Vegetation all died within days

The initial physical effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation

The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the government rights to represent all victims

In December 2008, the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that toxic waste should be incinerated

As of 2008, UCC had not released information about the possible composition of the gas– complaints of a lack of information are widespread

Effects of the Disaster

Civil and criminal cases are pending in the United States District Court, Manhattan, and the District Court of Bhopal involving UCIL employees and Warren Anderson, CEO at the time of the disaster

In June 2010, seven ex-employees were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment

The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there

Ultimate Outcome

http://pratie.blogspot.com/2005/03/cuyahoga-river-fire-of-1969.html

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/cuyahoga-catches-fire.php

http://www.cleveland.com/science/index.ssf/2009/06/cuyahoga_river_fire_40_years_a.html

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/4/1/6 http://www.bhopal.com/faq www.responsiblecare.com

Bibliography