Industrial and Chemical Accidents

Industrial and Chemical accidents can be due to explosion, fire and leakage of toxic or hazardous chemicals and lead to heavy loss of life and material. It could be a human error,

a technological failure, or a geological hazard like an earthquake, flood, etc., that leads to

the leak or explosion of chemicals. There are several reasons why the industry can catch

fire, including human error and electrical faults (short circuits).

Effects: 

• The industrial premises and immediate surroundings are at high risk in the event of an industrial accident.
• Those in localities around the flood stricken areas are severely impacted, as are nearby livestock and crops. The environment over a huge area gets polluted.
• A hazardous chemical may travel long distances and may even damage an entire ecosystem in the area when it is released into the atmosphere or into a water body. More than 2500 people lost their lives as a result of a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas in Bhopal in the year 1984.
• Fires and explosions, as well as the release of corrosive chemicals, cause grave damage to structures. Chemicals in gaseous form can quickly and continuously spread across the globe.
• Many people may succumb to either mechanical damage from an explosion or fire or due to the toxicity of the poisonous chemicals.
• Chemo-toxins can be exposed through inhalation, eye contact, skin contact, and ingestion. In some cases, the effects of pollution may be immediate or long-lasting, such as:

• • There can be death or other symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, irritation, etc., that occur immediately.
  • Cancer, heart failure, brain damage, failure of the immune system, deformity, genetic disorders, or congenital (by birth) problems may be long-term consequences of exposure to chemicals.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the deadliest chemical (industrial) disaster in history, occurred in India in 1984, thousands of people perished as a result of the unintentional release of the deadly gas methyl iso cyanate, was the worst chemical accident in history (MIC). For industrial disaster there are around 1861 Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units, distributed across 301 districts, 25 states, and 3 Union Territories. In addition, there are countless unorganised sectors working with a wide range of hazardous materials that pose substantial and complicated degrees of disaster risks, as well as thousands of registered and hazardous industries.