List of industrial disasters

This article lists notable industrial disasters, which are disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence. They are a form of industrial accident where great damage, injury or loss of life are caused.

Other disasters can also be considered industrial disasters, if their causes are rooted in the products or processes of industry. For example, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was made more severe due to the heavy concentration of lumber industry, wood houses, fuel and other chemicals in a small area.

The greatest industrial disaster to date is the Bhopal Disaster.

Chemical industry

• September 21, 1921: Oppau explosion in Germany. Occurred when a tower silo storing 4500 tonnes of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau, now part of Ludwigshafen, Germany, killing 500–600 people and injuring about 2000 more.
• 1932-1968: The Minamata disaster was caused by the dumping of mercury compounds in Minamata Bay, Japan. The Chisso Corporation, a fertilizer and later petrochemical company, was found responsible for polluting the bay for 37 years. It is estimated that over 3,000 people suffered various deformities, severe mercury poisoning symptoms or death from what became known as Minamata disease.
• April 16, 1947: Texas City Disaster, Texas. At 9:15 AM an explosion occurred aboard a docked ship named the Grandcamp. The explosion, and subsequent fires and explosions, is referred to as the worst industrial disaster in America. A minimum of 578 people lost their lives and another 3,500 were injured as the blast shattered windows from as far away as 25 mi (40 km). Huge boulders of steel flew into the sky to rain down more than a mile from ground zero. The origin of the explosion was fire in the cargo on board the ship. Detonation of 3,200 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer aboard the Grandcamp led to further explosions and fires. The fertilizer shipment was to aid the struggling farmers of Europe recovering from World War II. The fire was thought to have been ignited by a discarded cigarette. Although this industrial disaster was one of the largest involving ammonium nitrate many others have been reported, including a recent one in North Korea.
• 1948: The explosion of a tank wagon within a BASF site loaded with chemicals, in Ludwigshafen, Germany, causes 207 fatalities.
• June 1, 1974: Flixborough disaster, England. An explosion at a chemical plant near the village of Flixborough kills 28 people and seriously injures another 36.
• July 10, 1976: Seveso disaster, in Seveso, Italy, in a small chemical manufacturing plant of ICMESA. Due to the release of dioxins into the atmosphere and throughout a large section of the Lombard Plain, 3,000 pets and farm animals died and, later, 70,000 animals were slaughtered to prevent dioxins from entering the food chain. In addition, 193 people in the affected areas suffered from chloracne and other symptoms. The disaster lead to the Seveso Directive, which was issued by the European Community and imposed much harsher industrial regulations.
• December 3, 1984: The Bhopal disaster in India is the largest industrial disaster on record. A faulty tank containing poisonous methyl isocyanate leaked at a Union Carbide plant and left nearly 4,000 people dead on the first night of the gas leak and at least 15,000 later from related illnesses. The disaster caused the region's human and animal populations severe health problems to the present.
• June 28, 1988: Auburn, Indiana, improper mixing of chemicals kills four workers at a local metal-plating plant in the worst confined-space industrial accident in U.S. history; a fifth victim died two days later.
• October 23, 1989: Phillips Disaster. Explosion and fire killed 23 and injured 314 in Pasadena, Texas. Registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.

Construction industry

• January 20, 1909: Chicago Crib Disaster. During the construction of a water intake tunnel for the city of Chicago, a fire broke out on a temporary water crib used to access an intermediate point along the tunnel. The fire began in the dynamite magazine and burned the wooden dormitory that housed the tunnel workers. 46 workers survived the fire by jumping into the lake and climbing onto ice flowes. Around 70 died. 47 were burned to death and their bodies were discovered. Most of the remainder drowned or froze to death in the lake and were not recovered.
• April 27, 1978: Willow Island disaster. A cooling tower for a power plant under construction in Willow Island, West Virginia collapsed, killing 51 construction workers. The cause was attributed to placing loads on recently poured concrete before it had cured sufficiently to withstand the loads. It is thought to be the largest construction accident in United States history.

Defense industry

• July 17, 1944: Port Chicago Disaster. A munitions explosion that killed 320 people occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California.
• August 9, 1965: Little Rock AFB in Searcy,Arkansas. 53 contract workers were killed during a fire at a Titan missile silo. The cause of the fire was determined to be a welding rod damaging a hydraulic hose allowing hydraulic vapors to leak and spread throughout silo, which were then ignited by an open flame source.

Energy industry

• July 23, 1984: Romeoville, Illinois, Union Oil refinery explosion kills 19 people.
• April 26, 1986: At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine (see Chernobyl disaster) 31 people died and hundreds more injured from the nuclear fallout after a test on reactor number four went horribly wrong and it exploded. Fallout could be detected as far away as Canada.
• May 5, 1988: Norco, Louisiana, Shell Oil refinery explosion after hydrocarbon gas escaped from a corroded pipe in a catalytic cracker and was ignited. Louisiana state police evacuated 2,800 residents from nearby neighborhoods. Seven workers were killed and 42 injured. The total cost arising from the Norco blast is estimated at US$ 706 million.
• July 6, 1988: Piper Alpha disaster. An explosion and resulting fire on a North Sea oil production platform kills 167 men. Total insured loss is about US$ 3.4 billion. To date it is rated as the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms both of lives lost and impact to industry.
• March 23, 2005: Texas City Refinery explosion. An explosion occurred at a British Petroleum refinery in Texas City, Texas. It is the third largest refinery in the United States and one of the largest in the world, processing 433,000 barrels of crude oil per day and accounting for 3% of that nation's gasoline supply. Over 100 were injured, and 15 were confirmed dead, including employees of the Fluor Corporation as well as BP. BP has since accepted that its employees contributed to the accident. Several level indicators failed, leading to overfilling of a knock out drum, and light hydrocarbons concentrated at ground level throughout the area. A nearby running diesel truck set off the explosion.
• December 11, 2005: Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire. A series of explosions at the Buncefield oil storage depot, described as the largest peacetime explosion in Europe, devastated the terminal and many surrounding properties. There were no fatalities. Total damages have been forecast as £750 million.

Food industry

• May 2, 1878: The Washburn "A" Mill in Minneapolis was destroyed by a flour dust explosion, killing 18. The mill was rebuilt with updated technology. The explosion led to new safety standards in the milling industry.
• January 15, 1919: The Boston Molasses Disaster. A large molasses tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The event has entered local folklore, and residents claim that on hot summer days the area still smells of molasses.
• September 3, 1991: 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire, where locked doors trapped workers in a burning processing plant, causing 25 deaths.
• February 7, 2008: The 2008 Georgia sugar refinery explosion in Port Wentworth, Georgia, United States. Thirteen people were killed and 42 injured when a dust explosion occurred at a sugar refinery owned by Imperial Sugar.

Manufacturing industry

• January 10, 1860: Pemberton Mill was a large factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts that collapsed without warning. An estimated 145 workers were killed and 166 injured.
• March 20, 1905: Grover Shoe Factory disaster was a boiler explosion, building collapse and fire that killed 58 people and injured 150 in Brockton, Massachusetts.
• March 25, 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. This was a major industrial disaster in the U.S., causing the death of more than one hundred garment workers who either died in the fire or jumped to their deaths. The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.
• May 10, 1993: Kader Toy Factory fire. A fire started in a poorly built factory in Thailand. Exit doors were locked and the stairwell collapsed. 188 workers were killed, mostly young women.
• May 13, 2000: Enschede fireworks disaster. A fire and explosion at a fireworks depot in Enschede, Netherlands leaves 22 people dead and 947 injured. About 1,500 homes are damaged or destroyed. The damage is estimated to be over US$ 300 million in insured losses.

Mining industry

• March 10, 1906: Courrières mine disaster in Courrières, France. 1,099 workers died, including children, in the worst mine accident ever in Europe.
• May 28, 1965: 1965 Dhanbad coal mine disaster took place in Jharkhand, India, killing over 300 miners.

Steel industry

• April 18, 2007: Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster. A ladle holding molten steel separated from the overhead iron rail, fell, tipped, and killed 32 workers, injuring another 6.

See also

• List of civilian nuclear accidents
• Abnormal Situation Management