By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow
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.
March 28, 2010
The Wangjialing coal mine in north China’s Shanxi province flooded when miners digging a new mine accidentally broke into a network of old, abandoned water-filled mine shafts (153 miners were trapped). Of the 20 deadliest coal mining disasters ever recorded, eight have been in China. Some think that as many as 20,000 miners die worldwide every year in mine accidents.
March 28, 1979
A Three Mile Island nuclear reactor pressure valve failed to close, releasing a small amount of radiation into the atmosphere near Harrisburg, Pa. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from an open valve into adjoining buildings and the core began to dangerously overheat. After the cooling water began to drain out of the broken pressure valve, emergency cooling pumps automatically went into operation. Left alone, these safety devices would have prevented a larger crisis. However, human operators in the control room misread confusing and contradictory readings and shut off the emergency water system. The reactor was also shut down, but residual heat from the fission process was still being released. The core had heated to over 4,000 degrees, just 1,000 degrees short of a meltdown. The plant operators realized they needed to get water moving through the core again and restarted the pumps. The temperature began to drop, and the pressure in the reactor was reduced. The reactor had come within less than an hour of a complete meltdown. More than half the core was destroyed or molten, but it had not broken its protective shell and no radiation was escaping. Two days later, a bubble of highly flammable hydrogen gas was discovered within the reactor building. The bubble of gas was created when the exposed core materials reacted with superheated steam. At the height of the crisis, plant workers were exposed to unhealthy levels of radiation. No one outside Three Mile Island had their health adversely affected by the accident.
March 28, 1968
Glomar Challenger, a geological research ship chartered by the National Science Foundation and the University of California Scripps Institute of Oceanography was launched. During the 15-year deep sea drilling program, it explored the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans. Core samples brought up from the ocean bed, provided data on seafloor spreading and expanded knowledge of plate tectonics.
March 28, 1935
Robert Goddard, American scientist, first used gyroscopes to successfully control rocket trajectory.
March 28, 1897
Victor Mills, American chemical engineer, was born. Working for Proctor and Gamble, he developed the continuous process to superheat liquid soap and spray it in concentrated form through an extruder to produce bars of Ivory soap. Mills improved Duncan Hines cake mixes by passing ingredients through large milling drums to make the finished cake less lumpy. He developed a process to prevent oil from separating in Jif peanut butter. His invention of Pampers disposable diapers was designed to use clean, absorbent paper available from a pulp mill acquired by P&G.
March 28, 1819
Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer, was born. As chief engineer of London’s Metropolitan Board of Works, he led the response to the “Great Stink of 1858” by building a sewer network for central London. At that time, the Thames River was little more than an open sewer, devoid of any fish or other wildlife. Decades later, an extensive network of sewage treatment facilities was built.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
