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.
September 26, 2024
Hurricane Helene (Category 4) made landfall near Perry, Fla., with 140 mph winds. The total damage was over $110 billion dollars. When are we all going to get serious about climate change? Wouldn’t it be better to invest $110 billion to actually prevent climate change than to just continue to repair the damages that have recently occurred?
September 26, 2006
Guatemalan security forces took back control over a prison that was taken over by prisoners for 10 years. Prisoners had turned the prison into a luxury compound complete with shops and pubs. They had weapons and ran profitable drug operations from the prison.
September 26, 1991
The Biosphere 2 habitat sustainability experiment scheduled to last two years began in Arizona. A team of eight scientists lived in a sealed glass and space-frame structure. It contained five biomes, including a 900,000-gallon ocean, a rain forest, a desert, agricultural areas and a human habitat. They planned to have no contact with the outside world, to grow their own food and to live peacefully together as future inhabitants of a harsh and alien world. Unfortunately, the outside world had to intervene to get rid of an ant invasion, pump in oxygen, tend to health emergencies and bring in forgotten necessities such as cosmetic makeup.
September 26, 1917
Harrison Scott Brown, American geochemist, known primarily for his role in isolating plutonium for its use in the first atomic bombs, was born. He was one of 67 concerned Manhattan Project scientists at Oak Ridge to sign a petition to the president. It said, in part, “Therefore we recommend that before this weapon be used without restriction in the present conflict, its powers should be adequately described and demonstrated, and the Japanese nation should be given the opportunity to consider the consequences of further refusal to surrender.” His later studies included mass spectroscopy, thermal diffusion, fluorine and plutonium chemistry, geochemistry, and planetary structure.
September 26, 1908
Jersey City, New Jersey became the first public water supply in the U.S. to begin the continuous practice of public water disinfection. This was done with the introduction of sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach. As a result, death and illness from typhoid fever became non-existent. By adding chlorine to water supplies, it launched America’s reliance on chlorine to disinfect drinking water. This life-saving technology was rapidly adopted to virtually eliminate waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Widespread use of drinking water disinfection and filtration is recognized as one of most important public health achievements in modern history.
September 26, 1855
At the vehement urging of the residents nearby, the London England Board of Commissioners voted 10 to 2 to reopen the contaminated Broad Street pump, which had previously caused hundreds of cholera deaths in their neighborhood. This was one year after England’s foremost physician, Dr. John Snow, had arranged for the Broad Street pump handle to be removed. Given a general lack of understanding of public health and epidemiological issues, there was much rejoicing in the street when the Broad Street well was reopened. The polluted well was not permanently closed until the cholera epidemic of 1866.
September 26, 1854
Edward Bausch, American inventor, was born. He is best known for developing compound microscopes and innovative optical instruments.
September 26, 1774
John Chapman (also known as Johnny Appleseed), American pioneer and conservationist, was born. Throughout the Ohio River Valley, he planted orchards, befriended wild animals, and was considered a great medicine man by Native Americans.
September 26, 1580
Francis Drake, English sea captain, finally returned home. He was the first navigator to circumnavigate the earth.
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
