The worst man-made disasters in history

Earthquakes, tornadoes, typhoons, and other natural disasters are bad enough, but things get worse when human
actions lead to additional environmental problems. The past century is wrought with countless man-made disasters,
three of which occurred in the last decade!

1) Bhopal Gas Tragedy, India:

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night in agonizing pain with your eyes and lungs
burning. You wonder if you're going to make it. Many don't. That was the experience
countless residents of Bhopal, India had on December 2, 1984 when the Union Carbide
India Limited pesticide plant sprang a gas leak. Over 500,000 people were exposed to
methyl isocyanine gas and other chemicals. Thousands of people died within the first
hours of the leak, but estimates between 5,000 to upwards of 16,000 deaths resulted
from the leak overall. This doesn't include other injuries survivors would endure such as
blindness and organ failure. Without question, Bhopal is one of the world's worst
industrial disasters.

2) Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico:

It's hard to forget the worst and largest oil spill in human history. It started on April 20, 2010 when an explosion on BP's
Deepwater Horizon oilrig killed 11 workers, injured 17 others, and left the well gushing oil. Originally, BP claimed the
leak was just 1,000 barrels per day, concealing the reality that the well was leaking anywhere from 40,000 to 162,000
barrels a day. It took 47,829 people and 89 days to finally cap the well, and the cleanup is - to this day - far from over.
The Gulf fishing industry has yet to rebound, oil still washes ashore beaches along the coast, and the surrounding coral
and wetlands are a long way from recovery. Meanwhile, 3,500 of workers and volunteers on the clean-up site are
suffering liver and kidney damage from their exposure to the 1.8 million gallons of toxic oil dispersant!

3) Chernobyl Meltdown, Ukraine:

On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Fallout from the radiation was
estimated to be higher than the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Over 350,000 people were
evacuated and resettled from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Meanwhile, it took 500,000 workers to end the meltdown,
31 whom died. This doesn't include the long-term health effects people suffered from their exposure to the radiation.
Nearly 4,000 deaths so far are thought to be attributed to the radiation poisoning people living near Chernobyl. To this
day, no one is sure what the final death toll from the meltdown is, but Chernobyl became the first poster-child on the
risks of nuclear power.

4) Fukushima Meltdown, Japan:

A 9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011 created a tsunami that resulted in the damage of three nuclear reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This led to the only other Level 7 nuclear meltdown besides Chernobyl. Over
100,000 were evacuated and displaced from the surrounding areas with 600 people dying during the evacuation. This
only exacerbated the problems caused by the earthquake and the tsunami. Three hundred cleanup workers received
excessive exposure to radioactive waste including six workers who exceeded the lifetime radiation dose limits in the first
few months after the cleanup began. It will be at least another decade before we can truly assess the long term public
health impact of the Fukushima meltdown.

5) Global Warming, Third Planet from the Sun:

Global warming is one of the most overlooked and ongoing man-made disasters — one that will have the greatest long-
term impact on humanity. Excessive amounts of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, introduced into the atmosphere
have increased average global temperatures forecasting a number of dire consequences. Impacts from rising sea levels,
desertification, and damage from intense super storms like Hurricane Katrina have already created some of the first
groups of climate-change refugees and some estimate that number to rise to 150 million by 2050. The excessive amount
of carbon released into the atmosphere has also caused ocean acidification. As the oceans absorb more carbon, it's
turning into carbonic acid and decreasing dissolved oxygen concentration making some oceanic environments
uninhabitable! With our own reliance on seafood, this in turn threatens our health and is one of the biggest challenges
humanity faces today!
Exercise 1: Complete the text with the missing headlines:
- Chernobyl Meltdown, Ukraine
- Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico
- Fukushima Meltdown, Japan
- Global Warming, Third Planet from the Sun
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy, India

Exercise 2: Mark the following statements as True or False according to the text: True False

1. The past century is wrought with countless man-made disasters.

2. Countless residents of Bhopal, India woke up suffocating on December 2.

3. During the Bhopal incident, over 1,500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanine gas.

4. The Deepwater Horizon caused the largest oil spill in human history.

5. Fortunately, there were no casualties after the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion.

6. It took 47,829 people and 89 days to finally cap the Deepwater Horizon well.

7. 3,500 workers and volunteers for the Horizon clean-up are suffering liver and kidney damage.

8. Today, Mexico’s Gulf fishing industry has recovered from the Horizon incident.

9. On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded.

10. Chernobyl’s nuclear fallout was equal to that of Hiroshima.

11. Over 350,000 people were evacuated after the Chernobyl meltdown.

12. To this day, no one is sure what the final death toll from the Chernobyl meltdown is.

13. An earthquake and a tsunami resulted in the damage of three reactors in Fukushima.

14. 6000 people died during the Fukushima evacuations.

15. Global warming is one of the most overlooked and ongoing man-made disasters.

16. Global warming can cause ocean acidification and land desertification.

Exercise 3: Read the text again and answer the questions below:
1. What happened in Bhopal, India on December 2, 1984?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many deaths did the gas leak in Bhopal cause?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which was the largest oil spill in human history?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How many barrels a day was the Deepwater Horizon well gushing out after the explosion?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Why are Horizon clean-up workers and volunteers suffering from kidney and liver damage?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What happened on April 26, 1986?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
7. How many people did it take to contain the Chernobyl meltdown?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What caused the Fukushima meltdown on March 11, 2011?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
9. What is the biggest and most overlooked ongoing man-made disaster?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
10. What kind of adverse global warming phenomena have created the first climate-change refugees?
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Complete the crossword using words from the text:

The worst man-made disasters in history

3 4

5 6

9 10

11

12 13

14

15 16 17

18 19

20

21

22

Down Across
1. Chernobyl became the first poster-child on the risks of 6. Excessive amounts of greenhouse gases have increased
nuclear______. average global ___________.
2. Over 500,000 people were exposed to _____ isocyanine gas 8. Global warming is one of the most _____ and ongoing man-
and other chemicals during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. made disasters.
3. On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake created a 9. The excessive amount of carbon released into the atmosphere
_________that hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. has caused ocean___________.
4. Global warming can cause rising sea levels, _____________ , 12. The Gulf of Mexico ________ industry has yet to rebound
and damage from intense super storms. from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
5. On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 in the Chernobyl _______ 13. Survivors of the Bhopal Gas leak suffered from blindness and
power plant exploded. ________ failure.
7. Countless residents of Bhopal, India suffocated to death after 15. 3,500 of workers and volunteers on the clean-up site of the
a gas leak at a local ____________ plant. BP oil spill are suffering liver and _______ damage!
10. Originally, BP claimed the leak was just 1,000 __________ 17. Over 350,000 people were ________and resettled from
per day! Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine after the Chernobyl Meltdown.
11. Thousands of people died within the first hours of the Bhopal 18. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, in the Gulf of Mexico was
Gas________. the worst and largest oil ______ in human history.
14. During the Fukushima Meltdown, 300 cleanup workers 19. Nearly 4,000 deaths so far are thought to be attributed to the
received excessive _________ to radioactive waste radiation ________ people living near Chernobyl.
16. We need at least a decade before we can assess the long 21. The past century is wrought with ___________ man-made
term public health ______ of the Fukushima meltdown. disasters
20. On April 20, 2010 an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon 22. It took 500,000 workers to put an end to the
oilrig killed 11 workers and left the ____ gushing oil. Chernobyl__________ , 31 whom died.

ANSWER KEY: