Environmental Disasters + Laws

Gulf War oil spill (1991)

disaster: Massive offshore oil spill and wells burned in Kuwait during the Gulf War
results: environmental damage to water, air, and marine life
clean-up: remediation included soil cleanup and extinguishing wells.

Baia Mare cyanide spill (2000)

disaster: Cyanide used in gold purification overflowed into major rivers

results: killed aquatic life and caused drinking water shortages

clean-up: no remediation implemented; company denied fish kill claims.

Seveso Dioxin Crisis (1976)

disaster: Dioxin released after an explosion in Seveso, Italy

results: affected 11 communities; soil excavated and treated

clean-up: victims compensated; led to stricter industrial safety regulations.

Bhopal disaster (1984)

disaster: Methyl isocyanate gas released from a pesticide factory

results: caused highly toxic soil, water and air

clean-up: factory closed; cleanup not completed.

Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989)

disaster: Oil tanker spilled oil off Alaska

results: killed marine life

clean-up: pressure washing beaches.

Three Mile Island (1979)

disaster: Partial nuclear meltdown at the Three Mile Island plan
results: release of radioactive wastewater into the Susquehanna River

clean-up: cleanup of the reactor and site.

James Bay mercury contamination (1970s–1980s)

disaster: Hydroelectric dam construction flooded land

results: causing mercury contamination in water and soil

clean-up: James Bay Mercury Agreement (1986) to restore and strengthen fisheries.

Deepwater Horizon spill (2010)

Disaster: Explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico

results: extensive damage to marine habitats; 11 killed

clean-up: response included well capping, skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns, and use of dispersants.

Love Canal disaster (1976)

disasters: Neighborhood built over a toxic waste dump

results: dioxin contamination in soil and water

clean-up: houses demolished; area reburied with plastic liner and fenced.

Chernobyl disaster (1986)

disasters: Nuclear power plant explosion

results: soil, air, and water radioactivity

clean-up: containment shelter built over the reactor.

London Smog (1952)

disasters: Severe coal-smoke pollution lasting months

results: caused deaths and respiratory/cardiac diseases

clean-up: led to the Clean Air Act of 1956.

Clean Air Act (1956)

UK legislation enacted to reduce air pollution from coal burning after the London Smog of 1952.

Clean Water Act (1972)

makes it unlawful for anyone to discharge any point source pollution without permits.

• funds construction of several important facilities (sewage treatment plants + provisions for protecting wetlands.)

• The main goal of this act is to get to the point where all water is “fishable and swimmable.”

Convention On International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

an international agreement - regulates the international trade of wild plants and animals to ensure that such trade does not threaten the survival of endangered species

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

addresses abandoned hazardous waste sites by providing authority to clean them up, imposing liability on responsible parties, and establishing a trust fund for cleanup when no responsible party can be identified

• Love Canal

Montreal Protocol

phased out ozone-depleting substances (ODS)

• protecting the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer + preventing millions of cancer cases and significant climate change impacts

Kyoto Protocol

made industrialized countries to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a set amount, primarily focusing on the first-round targets of 5% below 1990 levels between 2008-2012

Endangered Species Act

provides a legal framework to conserve threatened and endangered plants and animals, as well as their necessary habitats, by preventing their destruction and promoting their recovery

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

to protect public health by authorizing national enforceable standards for drinking water quality

Delaney Clause Of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

a provision of a larger amendment to the Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act of 1938.

• It states that chemical additives “found to induce cancer in man” or in animals could NOT be approved for use in foods by the FDA.

  • Any carcinogens causing “reasonable harm” could not be added to food or drugs.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

• also called the “cradle to grave” It requires shippers, generators, and disposers to keep detailed accounts of the type and amount of hazardous waste that is handled from the time of generation to final disposal.