Ecological Disasters Through 1912–2020
In this post, we look at numerous ecological disasters from 1912–2020. Industrial disasters around the world, many involving multinational corporations, have caused significant health, environmental, and economic damages. Such tragedies have also led to lengthy legal challenges and prompted new global regulations. And for a more detailed history of disasters relating to petroleum and other fossil fuels, read our post on the 9 of the Worst Oil Spills in History.
1912–1965
Japan’s “Four Big Pollution Diseases”
Decades of mishandling industrial waste in Japan lead to repeated outbreaks of serious diseases, beginning in 1912 with reports of Itai–itai disease, a painful skin and bone condition. Mitsui Mining & Smelting Company was blamed for dumping cadmium in the Jinzu River.
Two separate outbreaks of Minamata disease in 1956 and 1965, which can lead to paralysis and death, occurred after the Chisso Corporation and Showa Denko K.K. dump methylmercury into local water supplies.
Yokkaichi asthma emerges in 1956, believed to be caused by Yokkaichi Kombinato’s petrochemical processing facilities and refineries.
In 1971 and 1973, district courts find Chisso and Showa Denko fully responsible [PDF] for Minamata disease, awarding victims millions of dollars in damages. Similar rulings would follow for Itai–itai disease and Yokkaichi asthma, although health issues and their related legal battles continue to date.
Japan’s experience influenced many nations to set new limits on industrial pollutants, including an international treaty, the Minamata Convention on Mercury that would eventually gain 128 signatories.
1958
Niger Delta Oil Pollution
An estimated 9–13 million barrels of oil [PDF] are spilled in the Niger Delta over the course of the 50 years since commercial oil production began there in 1958. These spills mainly come from oil operations owned jointly by Shell plc and the Nigerian government, making the delta one of the most polluted areas in the world.
Civil unrest flares over how the government distributes oil wealth; and there are incidents of militants kidnapping and killing oil workers, blowing up pipelines, and stealing oil. Nigeria also faces unrest over extensive damage to fisheries as well as water and soil quality.
In 2008, four Nigerian farmers file a lawsuit in a Dutch court against Shell, but the court ends up dismissing most of the claims. Shell says only a small percentage of the spills are from operations failures. Shell further claims that most of the spills are caused by sabotage and theft stemming from the country’s internal social, economic and political conflicts.
In 2009, Shell settles a lawsuit accusing it of colluding with the government in the 1995 executions of six activists but still admits no wrongdoing.
1964–1990
Ecuador’s Amazon Degradation
More than 400 million barrels of toxic oil waste are released into watersheds in the Amazon Rainforest over the course of 30 years from oil operations. The indigenous community contends this oil waste causes widespread health problems.
Indigenous communities sue for cleanup damages in U.S. courts, but the case is later moved to courts in Ecuador at the Chevron Corporation’s request. Chevron argues that Petroecuador, the state–owned oil firm it partnered with during that time period, is responsible for the environmental damage. Chevron then files an international arbitration suit at The Hague against the Ecuadorian government for trying to avoid contractual responsibilities.
In February 2011, Ecuador’s Supreme Court orders Chevron to pay $8.6 billion in damages, plus another $9 billion if the company does not apologize. Chevron challenges this ruling. In 2018, a tribunal administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rules in favor of Chevron, stating that the 2011 Supreme Court ruling was the result of fraud, bribery, and corruption. The court is still determining damages suffered by Chevron.
1971–1996
Peru’s Amazon Degradation
An estimated 9 billion barrels of oil wastewater is released into Amazonian watersheds. Members of Peru’s indigenous Achuar community say it has caused unexplained diseases, tumors, skin ailments, and miscarriages from oil exposure.
In 2007, the Achuar community sues American company Occidental Petroleum in U.S. courts for environmental and health damages caused by the pollution. Plaintiffs allege that the company ignored industry standards and violated U.S., Peruvian, and international laws.
Occidental refutes this claim, saying that there is no evidence of detrimental health effects. In 2015, the two sides reach a settlement outside of court, the size of which has not been made public.
1972–1989
Papua New Guinea’s Panguna Mine War
The residents in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Island allege large–scale environmental destruction from global mining conglomerate Rio Tinto’s Panguna copper mine, one of the world’s largest open–pit mines.
After the mine is opened in 1972, about one billion tons of mining waste containing sulfur, arsenic, copper, zinc, cadmium, and mercury is dumped into the local river system, which according to environmental activists, renders a 40 mile portion of the ecosystem biologically dead. In 1989 this situation gives rise to a decade–long revolt by residents of Bougainville against the government over unanswered grievances.
In 2000, island residents sue Rio Tinto in U.S. federal court under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows claims against companies that violate international law. Rio Tinto calls the suit’s allegations false and defamatory. The mine remains closed, but Bougainville Island’s government has signaled that it could be revived.
1976
Italy’s Seveso Dioxin Cloud
A dioxin cloud from an accident at a chemical plant near Seveso, Italy, sickens at least 2,000 people and causes 80,000 animals to be slaughtered to keep the poison from entering the food chain.
Five employees of the plant, a local subsidiary of Swiss cosmetics manufacturer Givaudan, are criminally prosecuted and convicted, and the company is required to pay ₤20 billion (roughly $13 million) in compensation following a settlement in 1980. The accident also prompted Europe to adopt the Seveso Directive in 1982, which regulates the manufacture and storage of hazardous materials.
1978
France’s Amoco Cadiz Tanker Spill
The Amoco Cadiz VLCC (very large crude carrier) owned by Amoco Transport Corporation, a subsidiary of British Petroleum (BP) ran aground on shallow rocks its rudder and hydraulic system were damaged on March 16, 1978 and spilled an estimated two million barrels of oil off the coast of Brittany, France.
About 200 miles (321 km) of French coast was polluted by the oil slick, which killed millions of invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans, and an estimated 20,000 birds, and contaminated oyster beds in the region
The disaster occurs just one month after a meeting of the signatories of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) that aimed at expanding safety requirements for tankers to reduce the likelihood of spills and pollution.
In 1990 in response to a suit brought by the French government, businesses, and private citizens, a U.S. district court orders Amoco to pay $120 million in cleanup costs and damages to the French government and Brittany nearby towns. And an additional $35 million to Royal Dutch Shell plc (now Shell plc) for the lost oil.
In 1982 enough countries ratify the MARPOL convention and the new international rules for tankers go into force a year later, though it is unclear what effect the incident has on ratification.
1984
India’s Bhopal Cyanide Gas Leak
The leak of at least five tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) seeped out of a chemical plant operated by American company Union Carbide (UCC) in Bhopal, India in just 30 minutes one day in December 1984.
The accident killed over 2,300 people and permanently injured another 10,000, and sickens an estimated half million people leaving survivors with numerous health ailments. These include blindness, chronic respiratory trouble, and birth defects.
The Indian government accepts a settlement of about $470 million from Union Carbide in 1989, which victims say is inadequate. New Delhi seeks the extradition of Warren Anderson, chairman of Union Carbide’s board from the U.S. for criminal prosecution. A request that is denied by the Federal government, he never returns and dies in 2014.
Victims continue to fight for compensation. Following the incident, the Indian government passes laws to address industrial accidents, including the 1986 Environment Protection Act and the 1991 Public Liability Insurance Act.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
A reactor explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine in 1986—which came seven years after a partial meltdown at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear facility—questioned the use of nuclear power around the world.
Chernobyl’s disaster kills 31 people directly. Estimates of its long–term death toll vary widely, from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) estimate of 5,000 deaths to Greenpeace’s 90,000. In response, more than 110 countries sign the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, a treaty requiring notification of any potential cross–border nuclear accidents.
Nuclear development slows throughout the world, the U.S. denies licenses for new nuclear power plants until 2012. Some European countries—notably Denmark, Italy, Sweden, and Germany—implement nuclear bans or otherwise plan to phase out nuclear power.
1989
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
The Exxon Valdez oil tanker owned by the Exxon Shipping Company (XOM) spills 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, off the coast of Alaska, after marooning into a reef. The spill pollutes 1,300 miles of coastline, killing 250,000 seabirds, 3,000 sea otters, and 250 bald eagles. It destroys billions of salmon eggs striking a major blow to Alaska’s fishing industry.
In response to global concern, U.S. Congress passes new legislation to regulate the shipping industry, including the 1990 Oil Pollution Act (OPA), which increases penalties for oil spills, sets requirements for vessel construction, and mandates that all tankers operating in U.S. waters be double–hulled.
In addition, a 1992 amendment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL), which has over 155 signatories in 2021, requires that all newly built tankers be double–hulled.
2000
Romania’s Cyanide Spill
The Baia Mare gold mine in Romania spills more than thirty–four million gallons of cyanide into the Lupes, Somes, Tisza, and Danube Rivers. The spill decimates aquatic and plant life for dozens of miles, affecting local fishing industries. And impeding access to clean drinking water for residents of Serbia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria for several months.
In 2001, Hungary sues the mining company named Aurul S.A., jointly owned by Esmeralda Exploration Limited, in Australia, and Romanian National Company Compania Nationala a Metalelor Pretiosasi si Neferoase (REMIN), for roughly $200 million in damages to fisheries.
Just a few months after the incident, mining resumes, but in 2005 a European Union (EU) judge bans mining on 85% of the site pending further investigation. Efforts to ban the use of cyanide in mining in Romania are repeatedly blocked.
In 2010, the European Parliament proposes banning cyanide use in mining across the EU, but the ban is never implemented [PDF] by the European Commission.
2006
Ivory Coast’s Toxic Waste Dumping
Dutch–owned Trafigura Beheer B.V. (TBBV) oil trader transports 400 tons of toxic waste consisting of caustic soda and petroleum residue from Amsterdam to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, illegally dumping it into the city’s waste system.
The deaths of seventeen people and illnesses of as many as 100,000 people are linked to the waste dumping (PDF). Trafigura admits no wrongdoing and blames a subcontractor, local company Compagnie Tommy for the incident.
In 2007, the company agrees to pay about $195 million to the Côte d’Ivoire government for cleanup and compensation for victims. In 2009, it pays another $45 million to 30,000 victims who sued the company in a Dutch court, yet it continues to deny any wrongdoing.
2010
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The explosion on British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, which was drilling in underwater depths of more than one mile, kills eleven workers, injures another seventeen, and causes the largest oil spill in U.S. history.
Estimated at nearly five million barrels, about 2,100 km (1,300 miles) of American coastline from Texas to Florida were coated with oil. U.S. officials struggle to contain the spill, which lasts nearly three months, and causes an estimated $17.2 billion in damage to beaches, wildlife, fisheries, and tourism.
The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama pressures BP into establishing a $20 billion fund to pay for damages and cleanup. In lawsuits that followed, BP ultimately paid $65 billion in compensation to people who relied on the gulf for their livelihoods.
It also places a six–month ban on deep water oil drilling and creates the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to study the spill. Following the commission’s recommendations, the administration imposes new regulations on drilling, though many of these are later revoked under U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration.
2019–2020
Amazon Wildfires
Record wildfires in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest highlight growing concerns over deforestation and development in the Amazon. Fires there are often intentionally set for agricultural purposes, which oftentimes spread beyond their intended boundaries and rage through the rainforest.
The wildfires in 2019 and 2020 were particularly intense, with over 80,000 fires reported and more than three million hectares burned, an area larger than the state of Massachusetts. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been criticized for allowing increased deforestation, initially refuses global aid but later accepts $12 million from the United Kingdom.
Many experts blame the beef and soy industries for the deforestation; some estimates show cattle ranching is responsible for up to 80% of rainforest loss. Brazilian conglomerate JBS S.A., the largest meat processor in the world, pledges to improve its cattle–purchasing practices after investigations link some of its suppliers to illegal deforestation.
March 2023
The Willow Project in Alaska
U.S. President Joe Biden (@joebiden, Instagram) and (@JoeBiden, Twitter) approves the Willow Project on Alaska’s petroleum–rich North Slope, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana. Supporters claim it is an economic lifeline for Indigenous communities in the region.
But environmental activists claim it is an ecological disaster waiting to happen. Environmental groups say it is counter to the Biden Administration’s climate goals. The announcement came the day after the administration said it would bar or limit drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
The project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, about 1.5% of total U.S. oil production. The project is the largest proposed oil drilling on U.S. public land and the biggest oil field in Alaska in decades. On average, about 499,700 barrels of oil a day flow through the trans–Alaska pipeline, which is below the late–1980s peak of 2.1 million barrels.
Take Away
This last oil drilling project has actually not created any ecological disasters…yet. The world (and the U.S.) have known for quite some time (100+ years) that the drilling for, processing of, and burning of fossil fuels is toxifying all the air and water on the planet. As well as destroying entire ecosystems, harming every living organism on the planet, including humans.
We know what the issues over energy are. We also know what the solutions for cleaner, more sustainable energy sources are. COP27 took place only a few months ago, and the U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement with the start of the Biden Administration.
So, all things considered, is it prudent to approve this most recent oil drilling project, which is problematic at best, and fraught with possible disasters at worst? There are no easy answers, of course, but there must at least be a discussion of pros and cons before (as a nation) we embark on another long–term petroleum investment. What do you think? We’d love to hear your opinion. Please feel free to comment below.
Sources:
Ecological Disasters
https://www.cfr.org/timeline/ecological-disasters
Council on Foreign Relations
What is the Willow project in Alaska? Controversial oil drilling plan explained
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/willow-project-alaska-oil-drilling-plan-biden-approved-explained/
MARCH 13, 2023 / 3:50 PM / CBS/AP