Great Smog of London

The Great Smog of London, or Great Smog of 1952, was a severe air-pollution event that
affected the British capital of London in early December 1952. A period of cold weather,
combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants—mostly
arising from the use of coal—to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5
December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly when the weather
changed.
It caused major disruption by reducing visibility and even penetrating indoor areas, far more
severe than previous smog events experienced in the past, called "pea-soupers". Government
medical reports in the following weeks, however, estimated that up until 8 December, 4,000
people had died as a direct result of the smog and 100,000 more were made ill by the smog's
effects on the human respiratory tract.[citation needed] More recent research suggests that the total
number of fatalities may have been considerably greater, one paper suggested about 6,000 more
died in the following months as a result of the event.[3]
London had suffered since the 13th century from poor air quality,[4] which worsened in the
1600s,[5][6] but the Great Smog is known to be the worst air-pollution event in the history of the
United Kingdom,[7] and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research,
government regulation, and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and
health.[3][5] It led to several changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956.
Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York. The neighborhood is known
infamously as the location of a 70-acre (28 ha; 0.11 sq mi; 0.28 km2) landfill which became the
cause of a massive environmental pollution disaster harming the health of hundreds of
residents,[1] culminating in an extensive Superfund cleanup operation.
In 1890, Love Canal was envisioned to be a model planned community. After the partial
development and subsequent demise of the project, the canal became a dump site during the
1920s for municipal refuse for the City of Niagara Falls. During the 1940s, the canal was
purchased by Hooker Chemical Company, now Occidental Chemical Corporation, which used
the site to dump 21,800 short tons of chemical byproducts from the manufacturing of dyes,
perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins.
After its sale to the local school district in 1953, which occurred using the threat of eminent
domain, Love Canal attracted national attention for the public health problem originated from the
former massive dumping of toxic waste on the grounds. This event displaced numerous families,
leaving them with long-standing health issues and symptoms of high white blood cell counts
and leukemia. Subsequently, the federal government passed the Superfund law. The resulting
Superfund cleanup operation demolished the neighborhood, ending during 2004.
The New York State Department of Health Commissioner at the time, David Axelrod, termed the
Love Canal incident a "national symbol of a failure to exercise a sense of concern for future
generations".[2] The Love Canal incident was especially significant as a situation where the
inhabitants "overflowed into the wastes instead of the other way around".[3] The University at
Buffalo University Archives houses a number of primary documents, photographs, and news
clippings pertaining to the Love Canal environmental disaster; many items have been digitized
and are viewable online.[4]

he Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the
night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered to be the world's worst industrial disaster.[1][2] Over
500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. The highly toxic substance made
its way into and around the small towns located near the plant.[3]
Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of
Madhya Pradeshconfirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[4] A government
affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial
injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.[5] Others estimate
that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related
diseases.[6] The cause of the disaster remains under debate. The Indian government and local
activists argue that slack management and deferred maintenance created a situation where
routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of water into a MIC tank, triggering the
disaster. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) argues water entered the tank through an act of
sabotage.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, March 24, 1989,
when Exxon Valdez, an oil tankerowned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Beach,
California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, 1.5 mi (2.4 km) west of Tatitlek, Alaska, at
12:04 a.m.[1][2] local time and spilled 10.8 million US gallons (260,000 bbl) (or 37,000 metric
tonnes)[3] of crude oil over the next few days.[4] It is considered to be one of the worst human-
caused environmental disasters.[5] The Valdez spill is the second largest in US waters, after the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.[6] Prince William Sound's remote
location, accessible only by helicopter, plane, or boat, made government and industry response
efforts difficult and severely taxed existing response plans. The region is
a habitat for salmon, sea otters, seals and seabirds. The oil, originally extracted at the Prudhoe
Bay Oil Field, eventually affected 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of coastline, of which 200 miles
(320 km) were heavily or moderately oiled.[4][7][8]
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill/leak, the BP oil disaster,
the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout) is an industrial disaster that began on
April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect,[6][7][8][9] considered to
be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8% to
31% larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. Federal Government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million barrels (210 million
US gal; 780,000 m3).[3][10]After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared
sealed on September 19, 2010.[11] Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still
leaking.[12][13]. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental
disasters in American history.
A massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands and estuaries from the spreading oil
utilizing skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns and 1.84 million US gallons (7,000 m3)
of oil dispersant.[14] Due to the months-long spill, along with adverse effects from the response
and cleanup activities, extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats and fishing and tourism
industries was reported.[15][16] In Louisiana, 4,900,000 pounds (2,200 t) of oily material was
removed from the beaches in 2013, over double the amount collected in 2012. Oil cleanup crews
worked four days a week on 55 miles (89 km) of Louisiana shoreline throughout 2013.[17] Oil
continued to be found as far from the Macondo site as the waters off the Florida Panhandle and
Tampa Bay, where scientists said the oil and dispersant mixture is embedded in the sand.[18] In
April 2013, it was reported that dolphins and other marine life continued to die in record numbers
with infant dolphins dying at six times the normal rate.[19] One study released in 2014 reported
that tuna and amberjack that were exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart
and other organs that would be expected to be fatal or at least life-shortening and another study
found that cardiotoxicity might have been widespread in animal life exposed to the spill.[20][21]
Numerous investigations explored the causes of the explosion and record-setting spill. The U.S.
Government report, published in September 2011, pointed to defective cement on the well,
faulting mostly BP, but also rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton.[22][23] Earlier in
2011, a White House commission likewise blamed BP and its partners for a series of cost
cutting decisions and an inadequate safety system, but also concluded that the spill resulted from
"systemic" root causes and "absent significant reform in both industry practices and government
policies, might well recur".[24]
In November 2012, BP and the United States Department of Justice settled federal criminal
charges, with BP pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony
count of lying to Congress. BP also agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety
practices and ethics, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that BP would be
temporarily banned from new contracts with the US government. BP and the Department of
Justice agreed to a record-setting $4.525 billion in fines and other payments.[25][26][27] As of
February 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company
$42.2 billion.[28]
In September 2014, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that BP was primarily responsible for the oil
spill because of its gross negligence and reckless conduct.[29] In July 2015, BP agreed to pay
$18.7 billion in fines, the largest corporate settlement in United States history.[30]