Energy-related Environmental Disasters

Three-mile Island March 28, 1979 Middletown, PA The most serious accident in U.S. commercial

nuclear power plant operating history (but no deaths or injuries)

Three-mile Island: 1/2 meltdown

Three-mile Island Led to changes in emergency response planning,

reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and other areas of nuclear power plant operations

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had to tighten and heighten its regulatory oversight

Chornobyl April 26, 1986 During a test of the

system, safety mechanisms were turned off

The cooling system was mistakenly turned off as well

This led to a complete meltdown and explosion

Oil spills

Exxon Valdez March 24, 1989

tanker ran aground 11 million gallons

spilled in Prince William Sound

1,990 miles of coastline affected

Exxon Valdez Some numbers: 2800

otters, 300+ harbor seals, 250,000 seabirds, 250 bald eagles killed

Mass mortalities of macroalgae and invertebrates

Long-term effects on fish populations…Why?

Deep Water Horizon spill

Remember the cause(s)? 4.9 million barrels (2.1 x

109 gallons) Leaked for 12 weeks BP recovered ¼

Buzzards Bay 1969 Oil barge Florida

ran aground 200,000 gallons of fuel

spilled MANY fishes and

invertebrates were killed

Still found in marsh sediments today, still affecting wildlife

Kuwait War Deliberate dumping

of oil by the Iraqi army into the Persian Gulf during the Kuwait war (1991)

6 million barrels (2.52 x 108 gallons)

101 sq. mile oil slick

Oil Pollution Act 1990 Requires strict safety measures for

tankers and storage facilities Requires contingency plans in the event

of a spill Requires contributions to a trust fund to

cover oil spill costs