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.
November 7, 1980
Steve McQueen, famous Hollywood actor, died at 50 in Mexico, where he was undergoing experimental treatment for cancer. McQueen was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a type of cancer related to asbestos exposure. He might have been exposed to asbestos during construction and demolition activities in his youth.
November 7, 1957
President Eisenhower received a committee report, which indicated that the United States was falling far behind the Soviets in missile capabilities and urged a vigorous campaign to build fallout shelters to protect Americans. The committee had been called together shortly after stunning news of the success of Soviet Sputnik I in October 1957. The committee concluded that the United States was in danger of losing a war against the Soviets. Only massive increases in military budget, particularly an accelerated program of missile construction, could hope to deter Soviet aggression. The report suggested that Americans were completely unprotected from nuclear attack and proposed a $30 billion program to construct nationwide fallout shelters.
November 7, 1940
Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed due to high winds. When it was built, it was the world’s third longest suspension bridge. It was designed to be the most flexible bridge ever constructed, which soon became a popular tourist attraction for people who paid bridge tolls to ride the “roller-coaster” nicknamed Galloping Gertie. Engineers believed that its design, even though it exceeded standard ratios of length, depth and width, was completely safe. After the bridge collapsed, it was revealed that engineers had not properly considered aerodynamic forces. At the time of construction, the hazard of strong winds had not been taken into consideration by engineers and designers.
November 7, 1918
Robert Goddard, American physicist, demonstrated a tube-launched solid propellant rocket. He used a music stand as his launching platform. During WW I, he designed a rocket that could be fired from trenches. At Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Goddard demonstrated solid-fueled 5-, 7.5- and 50-pound rockets capable of being launched from a 5.5-foot-long by 2-inch- or 3-inch-wide tube. Further development led to the World War II bazooka, a small, hand-held rocket launcher. Also, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland is named after him.
November 7, 1867
Marie Sklodowska Curie, French chemist and physicist, was born in Poland. Her experiments on uranium minerals led to the discovery of two new radioactive elements, polonium and radium. With Henri Becquerel and her husband, Pierre Curie, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. She was later the sole winner of a second Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Her family won five Nobel awards in two generations. She probably died of radiation poisoning due to prolonged hazardous material exposure before the need for occupational protection was known.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
