Manmade Environmental Disasters

by Staff Reporter | 5:21 am 23/08/2010

Chernobyl:

   In April 1986, a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine exploded, sending massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. The radiation drifted west across Russia, and since then thousands of children have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and an area of over 30km around the plant has been off limits. Apparently the cause of the meltdown was a drinking bird that broke, and as a result could no longer hit the Y key.

   Bhopal:

   Thousands of tonnes of poisonous methyl isocyanate escaped a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, during December 1984. Thousands of people were killed within hours, and over the following years it is estimated that about half a million people were affected in some way. In 1989, Union Carbide, the company responsible, paid out around half a billion dollars to victims, an amount reportedly nowhere near enough to pay for the consequences, which for many survivors included blindness and various organ failures. On the plus side, the guide-dog market in India experienced a boom.

   Love Canal:

   The village of Love Canal in upstate New York became the subject of international news in 1978. This was because the collection of houses and a school were sitting atop 21 000 tons of toxic waste. The villainous company Hooker Chemical had buried the waste there during the forties and fifties, and by the late seventies the effects were becoming noticeable. These included birth defects, dying vegetation, and one girl born with an extra row of front teeth. Despite the benefits of a shark-like set of chompers, this incidence of evolution was somewhat frowned upon.

   The Exxon Valdez:

   Oil spills, 2010’s hot topic, have been a recurring theme in any talk of environmental disasters. In the interest of not sounding like a broken record, we’re talking about the Exxon Valdez oil tanker running aground in Alaska in 1989. Over 40 million litres of oil leaked into Prince William Sound, soiling thousands of kilometres of coastline. With over 11 000 people involved in the cleanup it would seem every sop and their dog got on that bandwagon. Which they did. Garys. 

   Tokaimura Nuclear Plant:

   The apparent root of all evil, nuclear power, again features on our list of disasters. Hark back eleven years to Tokaimura Nuclear Plant, Japan. Three workers who, it turns out, skipped class in fifth-form science, improperly mixed a uranium solution, killing two of them and exposing hundreds of others to radiation. Critic’s resident scientist has since informed us that although radiation is an excellent aid for growing tomacco, it is highly dangerous.

   The Aral Sea:

   The Aral Sea, situated between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, was once one of the fourth largest lakes in the world. Nowadays, at ten percent of its original size, it is a mere graveyard of ships, and not only has this destroyed the once-blooming fishing industry, but also caused serious health problems as a result of heavy pollution. The cause of the shrinkage, which began in the 1960s, is Soviet Union irrigation projects that diverted rivers that fed the lake. Reportedly locals are tense. Dirty russkies. 

   Seveso Dioxin Cloud:

   In Seveso, north of Milan in Italy, an explosion at a chemical plant in 1976 resulted in a thick cloud of dioxin over the town of about 20 000 people. Initially animals began dying, and not long afterwards locals began experiencing nausea and a sexual-sounding skin condition known as chloracne – basically an eruption of blackheads and pustules. Seveso was temporarily evacuated in order to ensure the town was safe enough for human habitation. 

   Minamata Disease:

   In the town of Minamata, on the island of Kyushu, Japan, residents had for years observed peculiar behaviour in household cats. The behaviour in question involved the felines occasionally convulsing, leaping into the sea to their deaths. Locally the phenomenon became known as ‘cat dancing disease’. By 1956 the behaviour was witnessed in a human, and Minamata disease was recognised. Poor motor functions, convulsions, and slurring were identified as symptoms of the disease, which was linked to the industrial poisoning of Minamata Bay by the Chisso Corporation. The poisoning entailed high amounts of mercury and other metals making their way into the local fish, and in turn into the meals of residents. 

   London Smog Disaster:

   For about four months at the end of 1952, London was engulfed in heavy winter smog. Sulphur dioxide reached around seven times its peak level, which reacted with the fog, forming severe acid rain. The fog got so tense that stores had to close and transport was practically impossible. The seriousness of air pollution was brought to the fore during this debacle, which killed an estimated 12 000 people, mainly children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions. Smokers reportedly coped the best, due to the level of immunity they’d built up. 

   Sugar Spill of ‘94:

   In the summer of 1994 an overturned sugar tanker caused major dramas on an L.A. freeway, with cars piling up and traffic being diverted for hours. Eyewitness, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, noted one wannabe sugar baron stuffing the sugar in the boot of his car with plans to sell it on later. Critic’s reporter at the time, Arnie Pye, followed up on the story, and found the sugar piled safely in sugar baron’s backyard.

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