Clyde
H.M.F.I.C.
2004
China
coal
Gas explosion in Daping coal mine in Henan province killed 56 people and left dozens more missing and 148 were trapped (AP/USAToday.com, Oct 20, 2004).
In 2004, 6,027 Chinese mine workers were killed--an average of about 16 deaths a day.
2004
Scotland
plastic factory
ICL Plastics plc's Stockline Plastics plant in Glasgow explodes, killing 9 and injuring more than 40.
2001
France
fertilizer factory
September 21 explosion at Azote de France (AZF) agricultural chemicals factory near Toulouse. 31 people dead, at least 650 people hospitalized.
1998
France
fertilizer factory
Explosion at Azote de France (AZF) fertilizer factory near Toulouse.
1998
Nigeria
oil pipeline
Pipeline at Jesse Nigeria exploded, instantly killing more than 500 people and severely burning hundreds more. Up to 2000 people had been lining up with buckets and bottles to scoop up oil. The fire spread and engulfed the nearby villages of Moosqar and Oghara, killing farmers and villagers sleeping in their homes. Shell, AGIP, Elf-Aquitaine, Chevron and Mobil split their oil revenues with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
1993
Thailand
toy factory
Killed 188 women and injured over 400. Peter Symonds, Industrial Inferno : The Story of the Thai Toy Factory Fire (Mehring Books, 1997).
1989
USA Alaska
oil tanker
Exxon Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of crude oil into Price William Sound.
1986
Ukraine
nuclear
Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic chemical explosion at the station's fourth reactor and an uncontrolled graphite fire that followed led to the release of more than 450 radionuclides, comprising about 3.5 per cent of the fuel stored in the reactor core. Official reports put the immediate death toll at 31, but it is widely believed that many more died in the first hours and weeks after the explosion. The Ukrainian government has estimated the number of deaths among clean-up workers alone as 7,000-8,000. (David R. Marples, in The Long Road to Recovery: Community Responses to Industrial Disaster, edited by James K. Mitchell (United Nations University Press, 1996).
1984
India Bhopal
toxics
Explosion at Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal India released cloud of methyl isocyanate, killing at least 2,000 and injured 50,000.
1982
USA Missouri
chemical waste
In 1996-97, 265,354 tons of soil and other dioxin-contaminated material from Times Beach and 26 other sites in eastern Missouri had been incinerated. In 1982, Times Beach's 2,242 residents
were evacuated after dioxin found in soil.
1979
USA Pennsylvania
nuclear
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Over 140,000 people evacuated within a 15 mile area.
1978
France
oil tanker
Amoco Cadiz tanker runs aground off the coast of France, spilling 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.
1977
USA New York
chemical waste
Hooker Chemical Company used uncompleted canal for dumping by-products. Once the canal was filled with waste, the land was covered over and sold to the Niagara Falls city school board for $1.00 and a school and subdivision of homes was on top. The chemicals were detected leaking out of the site in 1977 and residents were eventually evacuated.
1976
USA Massachusetts
oil spill
Argo Merchant runs aground on the Nantucket Shoals off Cape Cod (Massachusetts USA), spilling 7.6 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil.
1976
Italy
chemical factory
"Seveso" disaster. Explosion at ICMESA chemical plant on the outskirts of Meda, a small town about 20 kilometres north of Milan, Italy, releasing a toxic cloud containing TCDD dioxin; especially affected were Seveso, Meda, Desio, and Cesano Maderno.
1972
USA Idaho
coal mine
1972 Sunshine mine at Kellogg.
1972
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Dam failure at Buffalo mine in Saunders kills 125.
1968
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion and fire killed 78 men at the Consol No 9 mines at Farmington, West Virginia.
1967
Russia
toxics
Accident at Chelyabinsk (Mayak) nuclear complex near Kyshtym (series of accidents since it was built in the 1940s)
1957
England
nuclear
Fire at Windscale (Sellafield) plant where plutonium for bombs was processed.
1957
Russia
toxics
Accident at Chelyabinsk (Mayak) nuclear complex near Kyshtym (series of accidents since it was built in the 1940s)
1956
Japan Minamata
chemical waste
Minamata disease officially recognized. Mercury poisoning that developed in people who ate contaminated seafood taken from Minamata Bay and adjacent coastal waters in the period after World War II when methyl mercury was dumped into the sea as an unwanted by-product of acetaldehyde processing at the Chisso industrial plant in Minamata, Japan.
1951
USA Illinois
coal mine
Explosion at Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort kills 119.
1947
USA Texas
fertilizer ships
On April 16, the SS Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, exploded in the Texas City harbor, followed the next morning by the explosion of the SS High Flyer. The disaster kills almost 576 and injuring several thousand. The explosion was felt 75 miles away in Port Arthur, and created a 15-foot tidal wave.
1947
USA Illinois
coal mine
Explosion at No. 5 mine in Centralia kills 111.
1928
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Mather No. 1 mine kills 195.
1924
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Benwood mine kills 119.
1924
USA Utah
coal mine
Explosion at No. 2 mine in Castle Gate kills 172.
1923
USA New Mexico
coal mine
Explosion at Stag Canon No. 1 mine in Dawson kills 120.
1917
USA Montana
coal mine
Butte coal mine fire mine killed 63.
1917
USA Colorado
coal mine
Explosion at Hastings mine kills 121.
1917
USA Montana
coal mine
Fire at Granite Mountain mine in Butte kills 163.
1915
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Layland No. 3 mine kills 115.
1914
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Eccles No. 5 & No. 6 mine kills 181.
1913
USA New Mexico
coal mine
Explosion at Stag Canon No. 2 mine in Dawson kills 263.
1911
USA New York
sweatshop
Fire in the Asch Building in lower Manhattan, New York, killed 146 of the 500 employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, mostly young female immigrants from Europe who were trapped in the building.
1911
USA Alabama
coal mine
Explosion at Banner mine in Littleton kills 128.
1909
USA Illinois
coal mine
Fire at Cherry mine kills 259.
1908
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Rachel and Agnes mine in Marianna kills 154.
1907
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Fairmont Coal mine at Monongah exploded killing 362 men and boys. (US coal mine fatalities in this decade exceeded 2,000 annually).
1907
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosions at Monongah No. 6 and 8 mines kill 362.
1907
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Darr mine in Jacobs Creek kills 239.
1905
USA Alabama
coal mine
Explosion at Virginia City mine kills 112.
1904
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Harwick mine in Cheswick kills179.
1903
USA Wyoming
coal mine
Explosion at Hanna No. 1 mine kills 169.
1902
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Rolling Mill mine at Johnstown kils112.
1902
USA Tennessee
coal mine
Explosion at Fraterville mine at Coal Creek kills184.
1900
USA Utah
coal mine
200 killed at Winter Quarters No. 4 Mine near Scofield, Utah.
1892
USA Oklahoma
coal mine
Explosion at No. 11 mine in Krebs kills 100.
1891
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
109 killed at explosion at Mammouth coal mine in Mount Pleasant.
1884
USA Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Laurel mine in Pocahontas kills 112.
1869
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
110 killed in fire at Avondale coal mine in Plymouth.
1867
USA Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Bright Hope mine at Winterpock kills 69.
1830 to 2000
USA
mining accidents
Between 1830 and 2000, 716 mining accidents in the United States killed 15,183 people. Only mine disasters killing more than 100 people are listed here; a comprehensive list of mining disasters is at
China
coal
Gas explosion in Daping coal mine in Henan province killed 56 people and left dozens more missing and 148 were trapped (AP/USAToday.com, Oct 20, 2004).
In 2004, 6,027 Chinese mine workers were killed--an average of about 16 deaths a day.
2004
Scotland
plastic factory
ICL Plastics plc's Stockline Plastics plant in Glasgow explodes, killing 9 and injuring more than 40.
2001
France
fertilizer factory
September 21 explosion at Azote de France (AZF) agricultural chemicals factory near Toulouse. 31 people dead, at least 650 people hospitalized.
1998
France
fertilizer factory
Explosion at Azote de France (AZF) fertilizer factory near Toulouse.
1998
Nigeria
oil pipeline
Pipeline at Jesse Nigeria exploded, instantly killing more than 500 people and severely burning hundreds more. Up to 2000 people had been lining up with buckets and bottles to scoop up oil. The fire spread and engulfed the nearby villages of Moosqar and Oghara, killing farmers and villagers sleeping in their homes. Shell, AGIP, Elf-Aquitaine, Chevron and Mobil split their oil revenues with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company.
1993
Thailand
toy factory
Killed 188 women and injured over 400. Peter Symonds, Industrial Inferno : The Story of the Thai Toy Factory Fire (Mehring Books, 1997).
1989
USA Alaska
oil tanker
Exxon Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of crude oil into Price William Sound.
1986
Ukraine
nuclear
Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic chemical explosion at the station's fourth reactor and an uncontrolled graphite fire that followed led to the release of more than 450 radionuclides, comprising about 3.5 per cent of the fuel stored in the reactor core. Official reports put the immediate death toll at 31, but it is widely believed that many more died in the first hours and weeks after the explosion. The Ukrainian government has estimated the number of deaths among clean-up workers alone as 7,000-8,000. (David R. Marples, in The Long Road to Recovery: Community Responses to Industrial Disaster, edited by James K. Mitchell (United Nations University Press, 1996).
1984
India Bhopal
toxics
Explosion at Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal India released cloud of methyl isocyanate, killing at least 2,000 and injured 50,000.
1982
USA Missouri
chemical waste
In 1996-97, 265,354 tons of soil and other dioxin-contaminated material from Times Beach and 26 other sites in eastern Missouri had been incinerated. In 1982, Times Beach's 2,242 residents
were evacuated after dioxin found in soil.
1979
USA Pennsylvania
nuclear
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Over 140,000 people evacuated within a 15 mile area.
1978
France
oil tanker
Amoco Cadiz tanker runs aground off the coast of France, spilling 1.6 million barrels of crude oil.
1977
USA New York
chemical waste
Hooker Chemical Company used uncompleted canal for dumping by-products. Once the canal was filled with waste, the land was covered over and sold to the Niagara Falls city school board for $1.00 and a school and subdivision of homes was on top. The chemicals were detected leaking out of the site in 1977 and residents were eventually evacuated.
1976
USA Massachusetts
oil spill
Argo Merchant runs aground on the Nantucket Shoals off Cape Cod (Massachusetts USA), spilling 7.6 million gallons of No. 6 fuel oil.
1976
Italy
chemical factory
"Seveso" disaster. Explosion at ICMESA chemical plant on the outskirts of Meda, a small town about 20 kilometres north of Milan, Italy, releasing a toxic cloud containing TCDD dioxin; especially affected were Seveso, Meda, Desio, and Cesano Maderno.
1972
USA Idaho
coal mine
1972 Sunshine mine at Kellogg.
1972
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Dam failure at Buffalo mine in Saunders kills 125.
1968
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion and fire killed 78 men at the Consol No 9 mines at Farmington, West Virginia.
1967
Russia
toxics
Accident at Chelyabinsk (Mayak) nuclear complex near Kyshtym (series of accidents since it was built in the 1940s)
1957
England
nuclear
Fire at Windscale (Sellafield) plant where plutonium for bombs was processed.
1957
Russia
toxics
Accident at Chelyabinsk (Mayak) nuclear complex near Kyshtym (series of accidents since it was built in the 1940s)
1956
Japan Minamata
chemical waste
Minamata disease officially recognized. Mercury poisoning that developed in people who ate contaminated seafood taken from Minamata Bay and adjacent coastal waters in the period after World War II when methyl mercury was dumped into the sea as an unwanted by-product of acetaldehyde processing at the Chisso industrial plant in Minamata, Japan.
1951
USA Illinois
coal mine
Explosion at Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort kills 119.
1947
USA Texas
fertilizer ships
On April 16, the SS Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, exploded in the Texas City harbor, followed the next morning by the explosion of the SS High Flyer. The disaster kills almost 576 and injuring several thousand. The explosion was felt 75 miles away in Port Arthur, and created a 15-foot tidal wave.
1947
USA Illinois
coal mine
Explosion at No. 5 mine in Centralia kills 111.
1928
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Mather No. 1 mine kills 195.
1924
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Benwood mine kills 119.
1924
USA Utah
coal mine
Explosion at No. 2 mine in Castle Gate kills 172.
1923
USA New Mexico
coal mine
Explosion at Stag Canon No. 1 mine in Dawson kills 120.
1917
USA Montana
coal mine
Butte coal mine fire mine killed 63.
1917
USA Colorado
coal mine
Explosion at Hastings mine kills 121.
1917
USA Montana
coal mine
Fire at Granite Mountain mine in Butte kills 163.
1915
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Layland No. 3 mine kills 115.
1914
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Eccles No. 5 & No. 6 mine kills 181.
1913
USA New Mexico
coal mine
Explosion at Stag Canon No. 2 mine in Dawson kills 263.
1911
USA New York
sweatshop
Fire in the Asch Building in lower Manhattan, New York, killed 146 of the 500 employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, mostly young female immigrants from Europe who were trapped in the building.
1911
USA Alabama
coal mine
Explosion at Banner mine in Littleton kills 128.
1909
USA Illinois
coal mine
Fire at Cherry mine kills 259.
1908
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Rachel and Agnes mine in Marianna kills 154.
1907
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Fairmont Coal mine at Monongah exploded killing 362 men and boys. (US coal mine fatalities in this decade exceeded 2,000 annually).
1907
USA West Virginia
coal mine
Explosions at Monongah No. 6 and 8 mines kill 362.
1907
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Darr mine in Jacobs Creek kills 239.
1905
USA Alabama
coal mine
Explosion at Virginia City mine kills 112.
1904
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Harwick mine in Cheswick kills179.
1903
USA Wyoming
coal mine
Explosion at Hanna No. 1 mine kills 169.
1902
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
Explosion at Rolling Mill mine at Johnstown kils112.
1902
USA Tennessee
coal mine
Explosion at Fraterville mine at Coal Creek kills184.
1900
USA Utah
coal mine
200 killed at Winter Quarters No. 4 Mine near Scofield, Utah.
1892
USA Oklahoma
coal mine
Explosion at No. 11 mine in Krebs kills 100.
1891
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
109 killed at explosion at Mammouth coal mine in Mount Pleasant.
1884
USA Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Laurel mine in Pocahontas kills 112.
1869
USA Pennsylvania
coal mine
110 killed in fire at Avondale coal mine in Plymouth.
1867
USA Virginia
coal mine
Explosion at Bright Hope mine at Winterpock kills 69.
1830 to 2000
USA
mining accidents
Between 1830 and 2000, 716 mining accidents in the United States killed 15,183 people. Only mine disasters killing more than 100 people are listed here; a comprehensive list of mining disasters is at