Top Man Made Environmental Disasters

By Gurgu Ciprian

During its history, mankind has been a creator and a force for destruction. And nothing can prove the human race capability of destroying things than the last 100 years. During this time, Earth has witnessed horrendous environmental disasters. Many of these have been caused by improper quality control management and proper safety measures. When there are no measures to insure that the machines and workers respect safety guidelines, the disaster is imminent. Find out the top biggest man made environmental disasters.

• The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. On March 24, 1989, 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled in Prince William Sounds, Alaska by the oil tanker Exxon Valdez after colliding with Bligh Reef. It is one of the most devastating human caused environmental disasters. The long-term and short-term effects of the oil spill having been studied. The oil spill resulted with the deaths of 100,000 to as many as 250,000 seabirds, at least 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 247 Bald Eagles, and 22 Orcas, and a high number of salmon and herring.

• Great Pacific Garbage Patch. An ongoing disaster. Earth's biggest cluster of ocean trash, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is now 3 times the size of France. A massive collection of plastic and floating trash continues to expand in a region halfway between Hawaii and California. A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports on Thursday, found that the GPGP has grown to more than 600,000 square miles, which is twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France.

• Castle Bravo nuclear test. This is the code name given to the first United States test of a dry fuel thermonuclear hydrogen bomb. The bomb was detonated on Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954, as the first test of Operation Castle and was the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the United States at that time. This test led to the most significant accidental radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.

• Chernobyl. The worst nuclear-power-plant disaster in history. On April 26, 1986, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine exploded, resulting in a nuclear meltdown that sent massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.

• The Love Canal. In the 1940′s 21,000 tons of toxic industrial waste, containing highly toxic dioxin, was buried by Hooker Chemical (now Occidental Petroleum Corporation) which led to an adverse effect on nearby residents of Love Canal. Over the years, the waste began to bubble up into backyards and cellars. The health impact of such pollution became evident with miscarriages, cancers, and birth defects

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