IChemE Safety and Loss Prevention Subject Group Links Page

  • These links include pages on commercial sites which contain information, and which do not require payment or registration.  They also include pages from campaigning websites, but which include information as well as a viewpoint.  They do not imply any opinion about the organization concerned.
  • I would be pleased to be advised of any new sites which should be included, and any links which need updating.  They mainly describe incidents of interest to chemical or process engineers, but including important historical ones from outside the process industries.

Major Incident Reports

Collections of Major Incident Reports
Bhopal 1984
Flixborough 1974
Seveso1976
Toulouse, 2001
Other Incidents, Chronologically
 

Collections of major incident reports

A Review of High-Cost Chemical/Petrochemical Accidents Since Flixborough 1974 article from the Loss Prevention Bulletin 1998
Accidents - Utilities mainly gas and electric power station incidents
Air Accidents Investigation Branch UK reports
Air Disasters an extensive database (but lots of popup adverts)
Amusement Ride Accident Reports and News play can be fatal
Case Studies by the HSE
Case Studies of famous incidents by Savive, a consultancy
Chemical Accident Histories and Investigations  by the US EPA

Chronology of Rail Crashes in the UK by the BBC 2002
Coal Dust Explosions in the Cement Industry US 1977-1985 book chapter (pdf )1987

Completed Safety Investigations by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Corporate Crimes by Greenpeace (pdf) 2002
Cindyniques Student project reports on many incidents (in French) with pictures
Ethylene Oxide Users' Guide 2nd edition 1999 good advice and illustrations of what can go wrong
EMA Disasters Database Australian incidents, natural and manmade
Explosives Accidents by the BBC, 2001
Failure Cases as a learning aid for engineers - good analysis
Football  (Soccer) Stadium Disasters by CNN

Great American Disasters by a volunteer fireman and arson investigator 1865-2000

Haz-Mat Operations Archive mainly north america, includes hoaxes and bio-terrorism

Incidents a growing list by the UK Chemical Reaction Hazards Forum
Inventory of Technological and Industrial Accidents French Government (in French)
Learning from Failure - Engineering Disasters
List of Accidents involving hazardous substances 1970-1998 by UN
Major Accident Reporting System the European MARS database
Mass Casualty Chemical Incidents including Flixborough, Bhopal and Toulouse (pdf file) 2001
National Transportation Safety Board US accident and study reports

including Hazardous Materials incident reports

 

Petroleum Oil Fire Disasters in Nigeria's Niger Delta 1998-2000 large loss of life from pipeline fires
Shipping Disasters 1904-1996 by Channel 4
Swishweb various lists of disasters including fires, explosions, nuclear

Tank and Petroleum Use Mishaps an extensive series on incidents with flammable materials
Technological Catastrophes study guide from North Carolina University
Timeline: Deadly Explosives Accidents 1998-2001 reports by the BBC
Trade and Environment Database extensive, mainly environmental
 

Bhopal 1984 Methyl Isocyanate Release killed 3800

Flixborough, UK 1974 vapour cloud explosion killed 28

Flixborough case study by the HSE 2001

Seveso 1976 dioxin (?) release, nobody killed but caused The Seveso II Directive

Dioxin: Seveso disaster testament to effects of dioxin
Seveso disaster Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seveso disaster Answers.com

Toulouse 2001 fertilizer plant explosion killed 29, injured 700

The main product was ammonium nitrate called AZF.  The company is Grande Paroisse, which is 80% owned by Atofina, the chemicals arm of TotalFinaElf

Here are the company's Press Releases and Dossiers, notably a company statement 29 January 2002.

Here is an official report (in French as pdf) 24 October 2001 as of December 2003 no further report is available

 

BBC Reports

Planetark pictures and captions

Other Reports

French sources (in French!)

 Other Incidents, chronologically

Sinking of the Sultana 1865 killed more people than the Titanic

Titanic 1912 the most famous ship disaster

Halifax, Nova Scotia 1917 another report

Oppau, Germany, 1921 ammonium nitrate killed 561

Hindeburg Disaster radio report and photo
Hindenburg was meant to be filled with helium
New London School Disaster 1937  another report

Port Chicago 1944 was this the world's first nuclear accident?
The Texas City Disaster

 

Refinery fire at Feyzin. 4th January 1966

 

Apollo 13 1970 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apollo 13 Accident NASA Apollo 13 mission

Three Mile Island U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Brown's Ferry Nuclear Reactor Incident 1976 started by a candle - could have been worse
Chernobyl - A Nuclear Disaster extensive award winning student site


Challenger Roger Boisjoly and the Challenger Disaster

Hillsborough football disaster

Cedar City Utah 1997 Ammonium perchlorate explosion, news and pictures

Tosco Refinery (US) 1997 fire and explosion in hydrocracker EPA official report pdf see also 1999 same site

Visakhapatnam Refinery  (India) 1997 LPG fire and explosion killed 60, like Feyzin

Seismic analysis of the above with pictures

Esso Longford Gas Plant Explosion 1998  explosion which cut gas suppies to 3 million

Esso Blast BBC News
Longford, Vic., Gas Explosion and Supply Crisis Australian Government Site
The Longford Catastrophe Guardian article on official report

Tokaimura 1999 Japan's worst Nuclear Accident


World Trade Center 2001 Terrorist Attack

Potters Bar rail crash 10 May 2002 UK railway accident killed 7 injured 70
BBC In Depth  and collected reports

Columbia Space Shuttle 1 Feb 2003

 

This page maintained by Martin Pitt, e-mail: M.J.Pitt@sheffield.ac.uk   Last updated 03 October 2006

 

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