By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow.
Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
January 23, 1991
The world’s largest oil spill was created by departing Iraqi soldiers, who opened pipeline valves at multiple oil terminals in Kuwait. An estimated 11 million barrels of oil covered an area reaching as far as 101 miles by 42 miles. The oil spill was 5 inches thick in some areas. The Iraq soldiers also set about 600 wells ablaze. It took seven months to put out the fires.
January 23, 1978
Sweden banned CFC aerosol sprays because of the damage to the earth’s ozone layer. It was the first country to proactively ban CFC aerosol sprays.
January 23, 1922
The first person received an insulin injection as treatment for diabetes in Toronto, Canada. A 14-year-old boy was successfully brought out of a diabetic coma. Diabetes had been recognized as a distinct medical condition for more than 3,000 years, but its exact cause was a mystery until the 20th century. Researchers had suspected that diabetes was caused by a malfunction in the digestive system related to the pancreas gland, a small organ that sits on top of the liver. At that time, the only way to treat this fatal disease was through a diet low in carbohydrates and sugar and high in fat and protein. Instead of dying shortly after diagnosis, this diet allowed diabetics to live for about a year.
January 23, 1911
French Nobel Prize winning physicist Marie Curie’s nomination to the French Academy of Sciences was voted down by the Academy’s all-male membership. She later went on to win a second Nobel Prize.
January 23, 1896
Wilhelm Roentgen made his first public lecture and demonstration of his brand-new X-ray device, in Würzburg, Germany.
January 23, 1876
Otto Paul Hermann Diels, German organic chemist, was born. With Kurt Alder, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their joint work in developing methods of preparing cyclic organic compounds. His most important work was “diene” synthesis, in which organic compounds with two carbon-to-carbon double bonds were used to effect syntheses of many cyclic organic substances. This method is known as the Diels-Alder reaction. Their work proved especially important in the production of synthetic rubber and plastics.
January 23, 1556
The deadliest earthquake in recorded history (8.0 to 8.3 magnitudes) struck China, where 830,000 people died. In some places, 60-foot-deep crevices opened within the earth. Massive landslides contributed to the deadliest earthquake of all time. Note: The Earthquake and tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004 was the second deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
