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Jilin Chemical Plant Explosions
Blast created an 80 km long toxic slick in Songhua River.
Killed six people. -
The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is a 77.1-kilometre (48 mi) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. -
Libby Montana Asbestos Contamination
Story of a town being discovered and then coping with toxic asbestos dust from vermiculite mines.
Libby residents have suffered from diseases such as mesothelioma. -
27. The Great Smog of 52
In the weeks that ensued, however, statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people. In the weeks that ensued statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people -
The Love Canal
Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, located in the LaSalle section of the city. It officially covers 36 square blocks in the far southeastern corner of the city, along 99th Street and Read Avenue. Two bodies of water define the northern and southern boundaries of the neighborhood. -
Catle Bravo
Castle Bravo was code name given to the first US test of a dry fuel thermonuclear hydrogen bomb.
Islanders weren't evacuated until three days later and suffered from radiation sickness. -
Minamata Disease
A neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. -
The Shrinking of the Aral Sea
Formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world with an area of 68,000 square kilometres (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. The region's once prosperous fishing industry has been essentially destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. -
Silent Spring
Book written by Rachel Carson. Responsible for launching the American environmental movement. -
The Palmares Incident
B-526 bomber of the USAF Strategic Air command collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refilling over the Meditt. Sea.
Killed seven people total. -
1st Earth Day
An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended festivities that day. The first Earth Day family had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities -
Door to Hell
Natural gas field in Turkmenistan.
Noted for natural gas fire which has been burning continuously since it was lit by soviet petrochemical scientists. -
The Seveso Disaster
The Seveso disaster was so named because Seveso, with a population of 17,000 in 1976, was the community most affected.
The local population was advised not to touch or eat locally grown fruits or vegetables. -
Amoco Cadiz
Amoco Cadiz was a very large crude carrier (VLCC) under the Liberian flag of convenience owned by Amoco, that ran aground on Portsall Rocks, 5 km (3 mi) from the coast of Brittany, France, on 16 March 1978, and ultimately split in three and sank, all together resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date. -
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Explosion
Meltdown resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive gases and iodine into the environment.
Worst accident in US commercial nuclear power plant history. -
The Bhopal Disaster
The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered the world's worst industrial disaster. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. -
The Chernobyl Nuclear Explosion
The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The official Soviet casualty count of 31 deaths has been disputed, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for. -
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Occured in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Considered to be one of the most devastating human caused environmental disasters. 11 million gallons of oil was released into the water. -
Kuwait Oil Fires
Caused by Iraqi military forces setting fire to more than 600 oil wells.
Immediate consequence was a drastic decrease in air quality. -
Pacific Gyre Garbage Patch
Also described as Pacific Trash Vortex.
Characterized by high levels of pelagic plastics and chemical sludge. -
Baia Mare Cyanide Spill
The 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill was a leak of cyanide near Baia Mare, Romania, into the Someş River by the gold mining company Aurul, a joint-venture of the Australian company Esmeralda Exploration and the Romanian government. The spill has been called the worst environmental disaster in Europe since the Chernobyl disaster -
The Al-mishraq Fire
Al-Mishraq is a state run sulfur plant near Mosul, Iraq.
it was the site of the largest human-made release of sulfur dioxide ever recorded. -
E-waste in Guiyu, China
Guiyu, in Guangdong Province, China, is made up of four small villages. It is the location of what may be the largest electronic waste (e-waste) site on earth. In the interest of business, e-waste follows the path of lowest costs and lowest standards. -
Sidoarjo Mud Flow
Erupting Mud Volcano.
Expected to keep flowing for the next 25 years. -
TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill
1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry was released. The spill covered surrounding land with up to six feet of sludge. -
Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear disaster that occured at the Fukushima Power Plant.
Caused by a series of eqiupment faliures and nuclear meltdowns that released radioactive materials into the environment. -
The Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. As well as producing electricity, the dam is intended to increase the Yangtze River's shipping capacity and reduce the potential for floods downstream by providing flood storage space. -
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
The size of Connecticut. Dead zones are the indirect result of nutrients, largely from fertilizer use, running off into rivers and then into bodies of water such as the gulf.