With the advancement of technology and so-called growth, we have moved a long way in damaging our natural habitat. We have almost destructed the charm of nature. There are various attacks through which mother earth has suffered a lot in last few decades. Say it a natural hazard like earthquake, Tsunami, landslides, hurricanes, cyclones or man-made disasters like war, chemical spills, acid rains, explosions, the only sufferer is mother earth.
Out of many man-made disasters, let us discuss few, which have affected the nature and the mankind hugely.
Chernobyl
The reactor 4 at Chernobyl was decided to be shut down on April 26, 1986. However, a further decision was made to carry on a test for a specific theory using the shut down as a golden opportunity to save money required for the testing. The test was poorly executed and it resulted in a nuclear reaction that was 400-fold the amount of radiation from the Hiroshima bomb. It affected Belarus the most and even it did spread to some parts of Ireland. The terrifying consequences of this accident read the list as a total of 56 deaths and over 4,000 cancer cases registered.
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
The worst ever chemical disaster in world history is credited to Bhopal gas tragedy, which occurred on December 3, 1984. It claimed around 3000 to 4000 lives after a deadly fog captured the sky of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, India. The leakage from the Union Carbide pesticide factory also resulted in making around 50,000 people sick. It also made many people suffer from blindness, liver and kidney failure. Sources suggest that inefficiency during installation, ignorance of safety measures, and lack of safety valves to prevent the mixing of water into the Methyl isocyanate tanks helps this accident occur.
Seveso, Italy
Seveso has witnessed the horrible accident of the release of a plume of tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin (TCDD) contaminated vapors from a pesticide plant. Around 37,000 people were believed to be affected from dioxin due to this accident. Dioxin is poisonous and carcinogenic even in micro-doses. To prevent the toxins entering the food chain, over 80,000 animals were killed.
Exxon Valdez
Exxon Valdez is an oil tanker that wrecked to Prince William Sound and resulted in the spilling 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million liters) of crude oil into the sensitive natural coastline Alaska on March 24, 1989. It has been studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that still 26,000 gallons of Valdez oil remains adhered to the rocks and soils of the spill site.
Love Canal
Love canal was located near the Niagara Falls, New York. The place became unfit for human population gradually as 21,800 tons of chemical wastes are disposed beneath the neighborhood by Hooker Chemical. These chemical wastes also comprised of a combination of 80 toxins.
