An Airbus A320 of the German company Germanwings fell on Tuesday morning in southern France, killing 150 people (144 passengers and 6 crew members.
The plane was going from Barcelona (Spain) to Dusseldorf (Germany) and fell by steep so 8min
Were aboard 67 German, 45 Spanish and Turkish
The wreck is at 2,000 meters altitude in the Alps.
A black box was found. Accident causes are still unknown.
Source: G1
An Airbus A320 of the German company Germanwings fell on Tuesday morning in southern France, killing 150 people (144 passengers and 6 crew members.
The plane was going from Barcelona (Spain) to Dusseldorf (Germany) and fell by steep so 8min
Were aboard 67 German, 45 Spanish and Turkish
The wreck is at 2,000 meters altitude in the Alps.
A black box was found. Accident causes are still unknown.
Source: G1
Very interesting matter of excellent site Megacurioso. As this blog is about Health and safety at work, I decided to post here:
The term “industrial accident” means any accident that may have been caused by industrial companies, regardless of the cause of the tragedy or the business of the company. Explosions, fires, toxic waste spills and related industrial disasters are occurring that unfortunately have become increasingly common – while some of them cannot be considered severe, others have marked history by the high number of people killed, injured or affected indirectly. Meet below the seven famous incidents by its characteristics and/or short-and long-term damage.
1) Bhopal disaster
Considered by many as the worst industrial accident of all time, the Bhopal disaster wins this name because it happened in the city of Bhopal in India.
In the early hours of the day December 3, 1984, about 40 tonnes of toxic gas leaked from a pesticide plant of American origin known as Union Carbide; It is estimated that more than 500 thousand people were exposed to methyl isocyanate, a compound highly harmful to the human body. The effects were immediate: many residents of the neighborhood have left their homes already feeling nausea, vomiting blood and having serious vision problems. At least 3 thousand people died.
You know the worst part? Still exists in large amount of toxic waste in the vicinity of the abandoned factory, and the population of Bhopal still struggle to try to get some compensation from the u.s. Government.
A child victim of the disaster of Bophal image source: reproduction/Lalit Kumar
2) Explosion of the platform P-36
Considers the largest oil platform in the world, the P-36 was operated by Petrobras in the Campos Basin, the 130 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. On March 15, 2001, two explosions in the supporting columns have killed 11 members of the emergency team was on board, in addition to making the structure tipping over 16 degree. In a few hours, the platform was already fully submerged. Fortunately, the rest of the crew was able to be saved – a total of 164 workers.
According to the national petroleum Agency (ANP), the cause of the incident was a “non-compliance with operational procedures, maintenance and project”. Boat tries to make maintenance on the platform image source: reproduction/Blue Star Line
Boat tries to make maintenance on the platform image source: reproduction/Blue Star Line
3) Seveso accident
In July 10, 1976, the inhabitants of the peaceful town of Seveso (Italy) have faced a tragedy really hard to overcome. One of the factories of the company ICMESA – which at the time was famous for its production of pesticides and fungicides – had two of its tanks affected by unexplained disruptions. This caused the release of several kilograms of a compound known as dioxin TCDD, which spread to a vast plain between Milan and Lake Como.
Although the number of human victims have been relatively low compared to other similar incidents (about 193 people were with sequelae of low gravity), the Seveso accident caused the deaths of 3 thousand animals and demanded the sacrifice of over 7 thousand, to prevent the toxic compound got into the food chain of the Italian population.
Scientists investigate sites affected image source: reproduction/CERCH
4) Minamata disaster
Although it is commonly used in thermometers and other products that we use in everyday life, mercury is a very dangerous substance – and the Minamata disaster is good example to prove it.
It all began in 1965, when several inhabitants of the small town of Minamata, in Japan, checked into hospitals with exactly the same symptoms: convulsions, serious bouts of psychosis, loss of consciousness and high fever. They all died. Investigations showed that the victims had a picturesque feature in common: they all consume a plausible amount of fish caught in the Bay of Minamata.
After further investigation, it was found that a local factory mercury compounds used in the production of PVC and played its tributaries in the Bay of the city affected, contaminating fish, mollusks and birds around. Today, it is estimated that the amount of fatalities from the incident reaches 900; If we count the residents who stayed with severe sequelae, this number is certainly much higher.
Iconic photograph of a mother with her young son affected by disaster image source: reproduction/The Conservative America
5) Boston Molasses Flood
Ah, the molasses. Sweet, tasty, employed in mouth-watering recipes and totally harmless, right? Wrong!
The inhabitants of Boston, in the United States, have a very convincing reason to fear this compound. On January 15, 1919, storage tanks at the plant Purity Distilling Company if ruptured and spread an incalculable amount of molasses in the streets of the city at a speed of approximately 56 km/h, at least 21 people died and 150 were injured; beams of railways were completely destroyed and buildings were simply demolished by the force of the wave.
Several points of Boston stayed with layers of molasses who drove up to 90 cm tall; the disaster was so great that entered local folklore and even today many claims to be able to smell sweet during warmer weather.
The area destroyed by the molasses image source: reproduction/Grace Vincent
6) Chernobyl nuclear Accident
You probably know him, but it’s hard not to quote him on this issue. The Chernobyl accident is considered to be the greatest tragedy of nuclear history, being impossible to calculate the total number of victims (between fatal and indirectly affected, who suffered deformities and sequelae developed later).
In April 26, 1986, workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant in Ukraine (which was part of the Soviet Union), surprised with system crashes while performing periodic maintenance and customary. A catastrophic explosion in the fourth reactor at the plant resulted in fires, explosions and a nuclear meltdown, producing a cloud of radioactivity that hit part of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.
The most affected area was the town of Pripyat, which thousands of inhabitants had to be evacuated in haste.
Pripyat, a ghost city image source: reproduction/Photobucket Marcelo Victor Today, it is believed that the tragedy was caused by a series of human and technical failures-the PowerStation some malfunctioning safety equipment and it has been found that the workers were not the procedures properly.
A huge concrete coverage known as Chernobyl Sarcophagus was erected around the fourth reactor of the plant to stop the release of more radioactive content.
In turn, Pripyat remains a ghost town, although it is possible to schedule a guided tour with the proper authorization of the Ukrainian Government.
7) Explosion of the Deepwater Horizon
Being the most recent event on our list, the Deepwater Horizon incident draws attention for the consequences to the environment.
The event occurred in April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico, United States. The oil rig Deepwater Horizon suffered a massive explosion in one of its support towers, killing 11 people and wounding 17. The structure sank completely two days later, spilling at least 5 million barrels of oil into the sea.
Attempt to control the fire image source: reproduction/Prose Before Hos British Petrolium – responsible for the operation of the platform — only managed to contain the leak three months later.
The damage to the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico – where they live dolphins, turtles, whales, pelicans and a multitude of other marine species – are still untold.
Author: Ramon de Souza On the site Megacurioso link: http://www.megacurioso.com.br/acontecimentos-historicos/36612-7-desastres-industriais-mais-terriveis-de-todos-os-tempos.htm
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