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List of industrial disasters
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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.
Contents
[hide]
1 Defense industry
2 Energy industry
3 Food industry
4 Manufacturing industry
5 Mining industry
6 Other industrial disasters
7 See also
8 References
[edit] Defense industry

2. December 6, 1917: Halifax explosion. A ship loaded with about 9000 tons of high explosives destined for
France caught fire as a result of a collision in Halifax harbour, and exploded. The most powerful
explosion in world history before the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico. Killed about 2000, injured
about 9000.
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
Titanmissile 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 the silo, which were then ignited by an open
flame source.
11 July 2011 Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion Cyprus. A munitions dump explosion.
[edit] Energy industry
May 1962: The Centralia, Pennsylvania coal mine fire began, forcing the gradual evacuation of the
Centralia borough. The fire continues to burn in the abandoned borough in 2012, 50 years later.
March 1967: The Torrey Canyon oil supertanker was shipwrecked off the western coast of Cornwall,
England, causing an environmental disaster. This was the first major oil spill at sea.
August, 1975: The Banqiao Dam flooded in the Henan Province of China due to extraordinarily heavy
rains and poor construction quality of the dam, which was built during Great Leap Forward. The flood
immediately killed over 100,000 people, and another 150,000 died of subsequent epidemic diseases and
famine, bringing the total death toll to around 250,000--making it the worst technical disaster ever.
March 16, 1978: The Amoco Cadiz, an oil tanker owned by the company Amoco (now merged with BP)
sank near the Northwest coasts of France, resulting in the spilling of 68,684,000 US Gallons of crude oil
(1,635,000 barrels). This is the largest oil spill of its kind (spill from an oil tanker) in history.
March 28, 1979: Three Mile Island accident. Partial nuclear meltdown. Mechanical failures in the non-
nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve (PORV) in the primary
system, allowed large amounts of reactor coolant to escape. Plant operators initially failed to recognize
the loss of coolant, resulting in a partial meltdown. The reactor was brought under control but not
before up to 481 PBq (13 million curies) of radioactive gases were released into the atmosphere.[1]
June 3, 1979: Ixtoc I oil spill. The Ixtoc I exploratory oil well suffered a blowout resulting in the third
largest oil spill and the second largest accidental spill in history.
November 20, 1980: A Texaco oil rig drilled into a salt mine transforming the Lake Peigneur, a
freshwater lake before the accident, into a salt water lake.
February 15, 1982: The mobile offshore oil rig Ocean Ranger is struck by a rogue wave off the coast of
Newfoundland, Canada and sinks with the loss of all 84 crew.

3. July 23, 1984: Romeoville, Illinois, Union Oil refinery explosion killed 19 people.
November 19, 1984: San Juanico Disaster, an explosion at a liquid petroleum gas tank farm killed
hundreds and injured thousands in San Juanico, Mexico.
April 26, 1986: Chernobyl disaster. At the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Prypiat, Ukraine a test on
reactor number four goes out of control, resulting in a nuclear meltdown. The ensuing steam explosion
and fire killed up to 50 people with estimates that there may be between 4,000 and several hundred
thousand additional cancer deaths over time. Fallout could be detected as far away as Canada. The
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, covering portions of Belarus and Ukraine surrounding Prypiat, remains
poisoned and mostly uninhabited. Prypiat itself was totally evacuated and remains as a ghost town.
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 24, 1989: Exxon Valdez oil spill. The Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California,
hits Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef dumping an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons
(40.9 million litres, or 250,000 barrels) of crude oil into the sea. It is considered to be one of the most
devastating human-caused environmental disasters ever to occur in history.[2] 100,000 to as many as
250,000 seabirds died as well as at least 2,800 sea otters, approximately 12 river otters, 300 harbor
seals, 247 bald eagles, and 22 orcas, and billions of salmon and herring eggs were destroyed.[3] Overall
reductions in population have been seen in various ocean animals, including stunted growth in pink
salmon populations.[4] Sea otters and ducks also showed higher death rates in following years, partially
because they ingested prey from contaminated soil and from ingestion of oil residues on hair due to
grooming.[5] The effects of the spill continue to be felt 20 years later.
March 23, 2005: Texas City Refinery explosion. An explosion occurred at a BP 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.

4. February 7, 2010: 2010 Connecticut power plant explosion. A large explosion occurred at a Kleen Energy
Systems 620-megawatt, Siemenscombined cycle gas- and oil- fired power plant in Middletown,
Connecticut, United States. Preliminary reports attributed the cause of the explosion to a test of the
plant's energy systems.[6] The plant was still under construction and scheduled to start supplying energy
in June 2010.[7] The number of injuries was eventually established to be 27.[8] Five people died in the
explosion.[9]
April 20, 2010: Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 11 oil platform workers died in an
explosion and fire that resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest
offshore spill in U.S. history.[10]
March 2011: Fukushima I nuclear accidents in Japan. Regarded as the largest nuclear disaster since the
Chernobyl disaster, there were no direct deaths but a few of the plant's workers were severely injured
or killed by the disaster conditions resulting from the earthquake.
[edit] 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.[11]
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 a hot summer day, the area still smells of molasses.
February 6, 1979: The Rolandmühle (Roland Mill), located in Bremen, Germany, was destroyed by a flour
dust explosion, killing 14 and injuring 17.
September 3, 1991: 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire in Hamlet, North Carolina, 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.
June, 2009: "Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises, the bottling arm which distributes Coke in the UK,
France and Belgium, said that 17m cases of Coke had been recalled after June's contamination scare
which spread from Belgium across Europe, but said this was less than 1% of its total annual volume. The
$103m was almost double its initial estimate", said The Guardian [12]
[edit] 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.

5. 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 100 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.
November 23, 1984 MESIT factory collapse. A part of a factory in Uherské Hradiště, Czechoslovakia
collapsed, killing 18 workers and injuring 43. The accident was kept secret by the communist regime,
however, the news broke the iron curtain and made it to the western media.[13]
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 resulted in 22 deaths and another 947 were injured. About 1,500 homes are damaged or
destroyed. The damage is estimated to be over US$ 300 million in insured losses.
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.
February 1 2008: Istanbul fireworks explosion. An unlicensed fireworks factory exploded accidentally,
leaving by some reports at least 22 people dead and at least 100 injured.
[edit] Mining industry
See mining accident for more.
March 10, 1906: Courrières mine disaster in Courrières, France. 1,099 workers died, including children,
in the worst mine accident ever in Europe.
October 14, 1913: Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, the worst Mining accident in the United Kingdom, 439
workers died.
April 26, 1942: Benxihu Colliery disaster in Benxi, Liaoning, China. 1,549 workers died, in the worst coal
mine accident ever in the world.
May 28, 1965: 1965 Dhanbad coal mine disaster took place in Jharkhand, India, killing over 300 miners.
October 21, 1966: Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil-tip that occurred in the
Welsh village of Aberfan, killing 116 children and 28 adults.
January 30, 2000: Baia Mare cyanide spill took place in Baia Mare, Romania. The accident, called the
worst environmental disaster in Europe since Chernobyl, was a release of 100,000 tons of cyanide
contaminated water by an Aurul mining company due to reservoir broke into the rivers Someş, Tisza and

6. Danube. Although no human fatalities were reported, the leak killed up to 80% of aquatic life of some of
the affected rivers.
[edit] Other industrial disasters
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 floes or the
spoil heap near the crib. 29 men were burned beyond recognition, and approximately 60 men died.
Most of the remainder drowned or froze to death in the lake and were not recovered.[14][15][16]
September 21, 1921: Oppau explosion in Germany. Occurred when a tower silo storing 4,500 tonnes of a
mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitratefertilizer exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau, now
part of Ludwigshafen, Germany, killing 500–600 people and injuring about 2,000 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). Large steel pieces were thrown more
than a mile from the dock. 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.
1948: A chemical tank wagon explosion within the BASF's Ludwigshafen, Germany site caused 207
fatalities.
February 3, 1971: The Thiokol-Woodbine Explosion at a Thiokol chemical plant in Georgia killed 29
people and seriously injured 50.
June 1, 1974: Flixborough disaster, England. An explosion at a chemical plant near the village of
Flixborough killed 28 people and seriously injured 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.

7. 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.[17]
September and October, 1982: The so called Chicago Tylenol murders occurred when seven people died
after taking pain-relief medicine medicine capsules that had been poisoned. The poisonings took place
in late 1982 in the Chicago area of the United States and involved Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules,
manufactured by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, which had been laced with potassium cyanide.[18] The
incidents led to reforms in the packaging of over-the-counter substances and to federal anti-tampering
laws. The case remains unsolved and no suspects have been charged. A $100,000 reward, offered by
Johnson & Johnson, McNeil's parent company, for the capture and conviction of the "Tylenol Killer", has
never been claimed.
December 3, 1984: The Bhopal disaster in India is one of the largest industrial disasters on record. A
runaway reaction in a tank containing poisonous methyl isocyanate caused the pressure relief system to
vent large amounts to the atmosphere at a Union Carbide plant. Estimates of its death toll range from
4,000 to 20,000. The disaster caused the region's human and animal populations severe health problems
to the present.
November 1, 1986: The Sandoz disaster in Schweizerhalle, Switzerland, releasing tons of toxic
agrochemicals into the Rhine.
May 4, 1988: PEPCON disaster in Henderson, Nevada. Massive explosion at a chemical plant killed 2
people.
June 28, 1988: Auburn, Indiana, improper mixing of chemicals killed 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.[19]
October 23, 1989: Phillips Disaster. Explosion and fire killed 23 and injured 314 in Pasadena, Texas.
Registered 3.5 on the Richter scale.
May 1, 1991: Sterlington, Louisiana. An explosion at the IMC operated Angus Chemical Nitro-paraffin
Plant Sterlington, Louisiana killed 8 workers and injured 120 other people. There was severe damage to
the surrounding community. The blasts were heard more than 8 miles away.
September 21, 2001: Toulouse, France. An explosion at the AZF fertilizer factory killed 29 and injured
2,500. Extensive structural damage to nearby neighbourhoods.
October 4, 2010: Alumina plant accident. Ajka, Kolontár, Devecser and several other settlements,
Hungary. The dam of Magyar Aluminium Zrt.'sred mud reservoir broke and the escaping highly toxic and
alkaline (~pH 13) sludge flooded several settlements. There were nine victims including a young girl and
hundreds of injuries (mostly chemical burns).

8. September 11, 2012: Karachi, Pakistan After 289 people died in country’s worst industrial disaster, only
140 of the dead had been identified by Thursday morning, while 115 bodies were handed back to
families for burial. Workers were suffocated or burnt alive at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in
Karachi, which made ready-to-wear clothing for Western export, when a massive fire tore through the
building during the evening shift on September 11. Up to 600 people were working inside at the time, in
a building that officials said was in poor condition without emergency exits, forcing dozens to jump from
upper storeys to escape the flames, but trapping dozens in the basement where they perished.
[edit] See also
List of civilian nuclear accidents
List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland
[edit] References
^ Walker, J. Samuel (2004). Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective. Berkeley:
University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23940-7.
^"Frequently Asked Questions About the Spill". Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.
http://www.evostc.state.ak.us/history/faq.cfm. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
^"Exxon Valdez: Ten years on". BBC News. 1999-03-18.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/298608.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
^ Williamson, David (December 18, 2003). "Exxon Valdez oil spill effects lasting far longer than expected,
scientists say". UNC/News (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec03/peters121803.html. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
^"Exxon Valdez oil spill still a threat: study". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. May 17, 2006.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/05/17/1640469.htm. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
^"Witness To Middletown Explosion: 'There Are Bodies Everywhere'". The Hartford Courant. 7 February
2010. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/hc-middletown-explosion-
0207,0,4493539.story. Retrieved 2010-02-07. [dead link]
^ Allen, Nick (7 February 2010). "Connecticut gas explosion at power plant 'leaves up to 50 dead'".
London: Telegraph Media Group Limited.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7183316/Connecticut-gas-explosion-
at-power-plant-leaves-up-to-50-dead.html. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
^"Mourners Grieve At Funerals For Connecticut Workers Who Died In Power Plant Explosion". Hartford
Courant. 13 February 2010. http://www.courant.com/community/middletown/power-plant-
explosion/hc-middletown-explosion-worker-funerals-0213,0,6708924.story. Retrieved 13 February
2010.

9. ^"Gas blast at Conn. power plant kills at least 5". Associated Press. 7 February 2010. Archived from the
original on 2010-02-10.
http://web.archive.org/web/20100210210503/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/68563
71.html. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
^"Gulf oil spill now largest offshore spill in U.S. history as BP continues plug effort". USA Today. 2010-05-
27. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-27-oil-spill-news_N.htm?csp=34news. Retrieved
2010-05-27.
^"Washburn 'A' Mill Explosion". Library: History Topics. Minnesota Historical Society.
http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/73washburn.html. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
^ Treanor, Jill (13 July 1999). "Coca-Cola loses some of its fizz". The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/1999/jul/14/food.foodanddrink. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
^ News in Brief: Factory Deaths In The Times of London, 27 November 1984
^ Chicago's Horrible Crib Disaster, Popular Mechanics, Vol. XI, No. 3 (March 1909); page 193.
^ Peter M. Hoffman, Safety First, The Chicago Medical Recorder, Vol. 35, No. 12 (Dec 1913); the
corroner's first-person account.
^ George F. Samuel, Southwest Land and Lake Tunnel, Annual Report, Thirty-Fourth Annual Report of
the Department of Public Works to the City Council of the City of Chicago for the Year Ending December
31, 1909, Amberg, 1910.
^"Willow Island Cooling Tower". Matdl.org.
http://matdl.org/failurecases/Other%20failures/Willow.htm. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
^Douglas, John E.; Olshaker, Mark (1999). The Anatomy of Motive – he FBI's Legendary Mindhunter
Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals. New York City: Scribner. pp. 103–104.
ISBN 0-684-84598-9.
^Joseph A. Kinney and William G. Mosley, "Death on the Job," The Multinational Monitor, April 1990, v.
11, no. 4, citing a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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