ECONOMICS PROJECT

HUMAN INDUCED DISASTERS

CHEMICAL DISASTER/ACCIDENT
 INTRODUCTION

A chemical accident is the unintentional refuse of

one or more hazardous substances which could
harm human health or
the ENVIRONMENT. Chemical hazards are
systems where chemical accidents could occur
under certain circumstances. Such events include
fires, explosions, leakages or releases
of toxic or hazardous materials that can cause
people illness, injury, disability or death.
While chemical accidents may occur whenever toxic
materials are stored, transported or used, the most
severe accidents are industrial accidents, involving
major chemical manufacturing and storage
facilities. The most significant chemical accident in
recorded history was the 1984 Bhopal
disaster in India, in which more than 3,000 people
were killed after a highly toxic vapour, (methyl
isocyanate), was released at a Union
Carbide pesticides factory.
 DEFINITION

An accident that is severe and

involves a chemical substance.
Large-scale damage usually results,
causing injuries and loss of many
animals, plants, or humans, as well
as the destruction of
an environment.
 PRECAUTIONS-BEFORE THE
DISASTER

Do not smoke, lit fire or spark in the identified hazardous area

Sensitize the community living near the industrial units and they should
be more vigilant about the nature of industrial units and associated
risks.
Keep the contact numbers of nearest hazardous industry, fire station,
police station, control room, health services and district control room,
for emergency use.
Avoid housing near the industries producing or processing the
hazardous chemicals, if possible.
Participate in all the capacity building programmes organized by the
government/ voluntary organizations / industrial units.
Take part in preparing disaster management plan for the community
and identify safe shelter along with safe and easy access routes.
Prepare a family disaster management plan and explain it to
all the family members.
Make the family/ neighbours aware of the basic
characteristics of various poisonous/ hazardous chemicals
and the first aid required to treat them.
Adequate number of personal protective equipments needs
to be made available, to deal with emergency situation.
Prepare an emergency kit of items and essentials in the
house, including medicines, documents and valuables .
 PRECAUTIONS-DURING THE DISASTER

- Keep calm and do not panic.

- Listen to the radio and follow official instructions. Inform
your neighbours, especially the elderly and handicapped and
assist them.
- Stay inside, if at home, or shelter in a building and close
all doors and windows. Seal all exterior openings and tum
off the ventilation, air conditioning and heating.
- Protect your mouth and nose, if in the open, with a wet
cloth or a protective mask, shelter in the nearest building
and remain inside until otherwise instructed by the
authorities.
- Do not telephone as this overloads the system.
 - Follow the orders of the civil protection, fire
service, police or other intervening services.
- Eat only food stored inside a building, such as
tinned food and preserves. Drink only from bottles
or cartons.
- Follow the instructions on the use of tap water.
- If you are in a car, tum off the ventilation and
close the windows. Listen to the radio and shelter in
the nearest building. Follow the instructions of the
authorities. If in public transport follow the crew's
instructions
.
 PRECAUTIONS-AFTER THE DISASTER

- Follow the orders of the civil protection, fire

service, police or other intervening services.
- The evacuation of members of the public is
unlikely in areas with buildings and homes that can
be hermetically sealed. The decision to evacuate or
stay will be taken by the relevant political authority
(national or provincial government) who will
organise the evacuation using all the civilian and
military means at their disposal and in collaboration
with the services responsible for the reception area.
Follow the authorities' orders and instructions.
 - Taking all necessary precautions, assist neighbours and
persons in need such as the wounded, children,
handicapped and the elderly, in collaboration with the
intervention and rescue teams.
- The above OBJECTIVES should be included in the
necessary legislation on the protection of the public and the
environment which lays down the obligations concerning
the production, use, handling, transport and storage of
dangerous substances. Protection of ground water and the
air is also of primary importance.
 - In view of the potential dangers, it is most important
that MANAGERS of firms and installations working with
dangerous chemical products be fully aware of their responsibility
and make constant efforts to ensure optimal security in this matter.
This calls for close collaboration with official watchdogs and safety
bodies and with the local and regional political authorities and their
intervention services, especially the fire service and police as well as
with the information and alarm centres of civil protection services.
- Experience with toxic leaks, among others, has shown that the
following specific preventive and protective measures should be
taken:
- Knowing the chemicals which are potentially dangerous, their
production, use, storage, transport, handling and the threat they
pose: fire, explosion, leak, uncontrolled reaction.
 CASE-STUDY
2005 JILIN CHEMICAL
EXPLOSIONS
 WHAT HAPPPENED

The Jilin chemical plant explosions were a series

of explosions which occurred on November 13, 2005, in the
No.101 Petrochemical Plant in Jilin
City, Jilin Province, China, over the period of an hour. The
explosions killed six, injured dozens, and caused
the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
The blasts created an 80 km long toxic slick in the Songhua
River, a tributary of the Amur. The slick, predominantly
made up of benzeneand nitrobenzene, passed through
the Amur River over subsequent weeks.
 Explosions
The cause of the blasts was initially determined two days after the blast:
the accident site is a nitration unit for aniline equipment. T-102 tower
jammed up and was not handled properly, hence the blasts. The blasts
were so powerful that they shattered windows at least 100 to 200 meters
away; at least 70 people were injured and six were killed. Thefires were
finally put out early in the morning of November 14. Over 10,000 people
were evacuated from the area, including local residents and students at
the north campus ofBeihua University and Jilin Institute of Chemical
Technology,[3] for fear of further explosions and contamination with
harmful chemicals. to investigate the cause of the incidents.
 The CNPC, which owns the COMPANYin charge of the
factory, Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, has asked senior
officials to investigate the cause of the incidents. [4]
The explosions are not thought to be related to terrorism,
and the COMPANY told a press conference that they had
occurred as a result of a chemical blockage that had gone
unfixed.[5]
The municipal government asked HOTELS
AND restaurants in the city to provide rooms for the
evacuated people. Taxi COMPANIES also aided in the
evacuation.
 WATER POLLUTION
The explosion severely polluted the Songhua River, with an
estimated 100 tons of pollutants
containing benzene and nitrobenzeneentering into the
river.[6] Exposure to benzene reduces white blood cell count
and is linked to leukemia.
An 80 km long toxic slick drifted down the Amur River, and
the benzene level recorded was at one point 108 times above
national safety levels. The slick passed first on the Songhua
River through several counties and cities of Jilin province,
including Songyuan; it then entered the province
of Heilongjiang,
with Harbin, CAPITAL of Heilongjiang province and one
of China's largest cities, being one of the first places to be
affected.
After traversing the eastern half of Heilongjiang
including the city of Jiamusi, the slick converged
into the Amur River at the mouth of
the Songhua on the border between China
and Russia. It passed by the Jewish Autonomous
Oblast in Russia, then entered the Russian region
of Khabarovsk Krai in the Russian Far East,
passing through the cities
of Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur before
exiting into the Strait of Tartary, itself a bridge
between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of
Japan portions of the Pacific Ocean.
 Heilongjiang Province
Harbin, the CAPITAL of Heilongjiang, is one of
China's biggest cities with nearly ten million urban
residents. It is also dependent on the Songhua River
for its water supply.
On November 21, the city government of Harbin
announced that water supplies would be shut off at
noon November 22 for four days for maintenance.
Some residents of Harbin have complained that
water in some parts of the city had been shut off
much earlier than announced. The city also ordered
all bathhouses and carwashes to close.
At the same time as the enigmatic announcement,
rumours ran wild about the possible cause of the
shutoff, with some suggesting that an earthquake
was imminent (causing some people to camp
outdoors) and others claiming that terrorists had
poisoned the city's water supply. The news of the
shutoff caused panic buying of water, beverages,
and foodstuffs in the city's supermarkets, while
train tickets and flights out of the area were soon
sold out. Meanwhile, dead fish were appearing
along the BANKS of the Songhua upstream from
Harbin, further compounding the fears of Harbin
residents.
Later on the same day, the city government issued another
announcement, this time explicitly mentioning the Jilin
explosions as the reason for the shutoff. The four-day
shutoff was postponed to midnight on November 24.
From 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on November 23, the city
temporarily restored the water supply to allow residents
to STOCK up on water, since the slick had not yet reached
the city. In the afternoon of the same day, schools in
Harbin were closed for one week. Also on November 23,
Harbin residents began to receive water from fire trucks,
and began voluntary evacuation .
 The slick itself reached Harbin before dawn on
November 24. On that day, the nitrobenzene level at
Harbin was recorded at 16.87 times above the
national safety level, while the benzene level was
increasing, but had not yet exceeded national safety
level. The nitrobenzene level doubled on November
25 (0.5805 mg/L), 33.15 times the national safety
level, and began to decrease. The benzene level
stayed under national safety level. At the same time,
the tail of the slick
left Zhaoyuan, Daqing, Heilongjiang. Premier Wen
Jiabao of the State Council visited Harbin on
November 26 to inspect the current situation,
including the status of water pollution and water
supply.
In response to the crisis, trucks transported tens of
thousands of metric tons of water from
surrounding cities, and thousands of tons
of activated carbon from all over the country to
Harbin. The government of Harbin also ordered
the price of drinking water to be frozen at the level
of November 20, in order to combat overpricing. In
addition, Harbin is boring ninety-five more deep-
water wells, to complement the existing 918 deep-
water wells in the city. Fifteen hospitals were on
stand-by for possible poisoning victims.
 Harbin was not the only city to be affected. The slick
passed through the city of Jiamusi, which, however, relies
more heavily on underground water supply, and thus did
not cut off water supplies. Nevertheless, on December 2,
Jiamusi shut down its No. 7 Water Plant, which supplies
around 70% of the city's water supply, and evacuated half
of the population on its Liushu island.
It is reported that the entry of several tributaries into the
Songhua, such as the Hulan River and the Mudan River,
diluted the slick.
Water supply in Harbin was resumed in the evening of
November 27.
 HERE IS A GLANCE OF WHAT
HAPPENED IN THE EXPLOSIONS
Thank You this was presented to you by
Nishanthini N.K.