are countless types of man-made disasters happening daily, including
industrial accidents, chemical leaks, oil spills and accidental and
deliberately set fires. All of these disasters affect the health and
safety of workers, health care and safety personnel, and the general
public and can cost millions of dollars. Our hearts and minds remember
the most terrible yet the least frequent disasters such as Chernobyl,
Oklahoma City, and 9-11. Here are a few of the facts and figures of
only a handful of man-made disasters that remind us that disasters can
take all types of forms. Refer to Disaster
Facts I for information on natural disaster types.
Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Disaster
April 26, 1986, at 1:23 a.m. a melt down of the nuclear reactor
core occurred at the Chernobyl plant in Russia, releasing 5% of
the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere. High levels of
radioactivity spread throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, which
contaminated the land and caused illness and disease.
event killed 31 people within the first week from radiation poisoning.
Radiation poisoning resulted in at least 2,800 deaths, according
to the head of the Ukrainian Radiological Studies Centre.
people within 20-mile radius were evacuated, and another 210,000
people were resettled. A new town for the personnel of the power
plant was created.
cost the Soviet Economy $12.8 billion and the economics of the area
has never recovered fully as much of the land continues to be contaminated.
World Health Organization linked nearly 700 cases of later thyroid
cancer in children and adolescents to the accident (The average
thyroid cancer rate was 4-6 incidents per million for children (birth
to 15 years) prior to the accident and five years later it had risen
to 45 incidents per million.
Russian National Report, (2003) “Chernobyl Accident Results and Problems
in Eliminating Its Consequences in Russia 186-2001.” Nuclear Energy
Agency, “Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impact 2003
Update of Chernobyl: 10 Years On”, “Chernobyl Ten Years Later,” Greenpeace.
April 19, 1995, at 9:03 a.m., a terrorist with a grudge against
the United States Government detonated a truck filled with 4,800
pounds of explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building,
in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
attack killed 168 adults and children, injured thousands, and cost
tens of millions of dollars.
building was reduced to rubble and hauled away. Now, The Oklahoma
City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
stands in its place.
Source: Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention
of Terrorism. (2002). "Oklahoma City 7 Years later lessons for
other communities." http://www.mipt.org
On September 11, 2001, passenger planes were flown and exploded
into the Twin Towers Buildings in New York City, and the Pentagon
Building in Washington D.C., as a act of terrorism to the United
The nation mourned the deaths of more than 3,000 people.
As of 1-31-03, the Red Cross had used $741 million, from the Liberty
Fund, to help more than 55,000 families cope. Of that, $596 million
has been in the form of direct financial assistance to families
of those killed or seriously injured, displaced workers, residents,
and the emergency personnel.
Additionally, 99 million has been spent on immediate disaster relief
including 14 million meals to families and emergency workers. There
were 238,000 individuals given counseling and 36 delivery sites.
The rubble of the twin towers building is still being hauled away
and there are new health concerns for rescue and post-cleanup workers
and residents due to the debris in the air.
emotional and financial costs to United States citizens, the United
States and world economies are ongoing.
Our randomly selected survey sample includes the terrorist attacks
of 9-11, as pertaining to Tompkins County, and the
Borough of Brooklyn.
there is a home fire death every 170 minutes.”
“Fires kill more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
Eighty-five percent of all fire deaths occurred in residences.”
2002, there were 389,000 reported home fires in the United States,
resulting in 2,670 deaths, 13,650 injuries and $5.9 billion in direct
property damages. Here are some more facts on fires:
o Most fires happen at night when people have gone to bed. Smoking
in bed, faulty heater equipment and cooking are the number one causes
of fire deaths.
o In 1998, an estimated 1,380 structure fires in school, college
and university dormitories, fraternity/sorority housing occurred.
These fires resulted in 87 injuries and $5.9 million in direct property
damage. The leading causes were incendiary or suspicious. The second
and third leading causes were due to cooking and smoking, respectively.
o In 1999, there were an estimated 418,000 intentionally set fires
that resulted in 622 deaths and with a cost of $2.7 billion in property
damage. Juvenile fire-setters accounted for at least 50% of those
arrested for arson in 2001.
can strike anywhere and our news medias are frequently reporting
fires in public places, such as theaters, nightclubs, and apartment
buildings that can result in injuries and death.
(Source of fire information: The National Fire Prevention Association,
NFPA Online Research and Reports. http://www.nfpa.org/Research/index.asp
Accidents Impacting Public Settings
Here are a few of the newspaper headings across the nation of man-made
Cinema gas leak leaves 18 in hospital.
o The General Hospital in Cambridge shut down briefly following
a gas leak and carbon monoxide exposure into the hospital from a
truck loading supplies to the hospital.
o Casino evacuated after chlorine leak and several persons taken
to the hospital.
o Train carrying acid derails in Delaware causing acid spill and
200 residents evacuated.
o An elementary school was evacuated after one of the cars from
a train that had derailed nearby released a vapor cloud into the
o A shopping center was evacuated because of gas leak caused by
a snow removal accident.
o Over 150 people from a facility for persons with mental disabilities
were evacuated and several taken to the hospital for observation
due to an odor that was later discovered to be a forklift that had
been left running without proper ventilation.
o An 18-wheeler dumped its load of chlorine on the road-causing
Jackson County Road to be closed and nearby residents evacuated.
Chemical Accidents, page 2, updated on 03/13/03
Accidents with Hazardous Substances
deadliest industrial accident happened on December 4, 1984, in Bhopal
India, when 44 tons of Methyl isocyanate, a poisonous gas, was released
in the air. This accident killed 2,800 people and injured 50,000
people. In response the United States enacted legislation called
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. The purpose
of the act was to improve local emergency response to accidental
and unplanned releases of hazardous substances, and provide citizens
and local governments access to information about hazardous substances
located in the community.
below are just a few examples of accidents involving hazardous substance
in the United States:o An explosion releasing Methyl parathion injuries
150 at a plant in Memphis, while an explosion releasing ethylene
kills 23 and injuries 125 in Pasadena California.
o Two hundred thirty-six people were injured due to a fire involving
pesticides in Coachella.
o A fire and explosion injures 350 and kills 2 employees.
o In Richmond, a release of Sulphuric acid injuries 6,250 persons
and an emission of dust and soot sent 300 people to the hospital.
o An explosion involving Magnesium kills 25 and injuries 61 in Woodbine.
Source: OECD, 199 Publications “The State of the Environment” and UNEP-APELL
Disasters Database http://www.uneptie.org/pc/apell/diastercat/html