What happened in the Seveso disaster?
What happened in the Seveso disaster?
The Seveso disaster was a chemical accident on 10 July 1976, at the small Italian town of Meda, 20 km from Milan in Lombardy. There was an leak at a chemical factory which released a lot of the toxic poison dioxin, TCDD, into the air. The cloud of poison gas covered an area 6 km long and 1 km wide.
How did the Seveso disaster affect people?
Three decades after an accident at a chemical factory in Seveso, Italy in 1976, which resulted in exposure of a residential population to the most dangerous type of dioxin, newborn babies born to mothers living in the contaminated area at the time of the accident are over six times more likely to have altered thyroid …
What caused the explosion in Seveso?
According to Doctor Uehara’s “the cause of the Seveso accident”, 190 °C overheated steam was used as a heat medium for distillation to prevent the process temperature rising above 180 °C. According to “Loss Prevention”, 300 °C steam was supplied during the accident due to a low load of the steam turbine.
How did the Seveso disaster affect the environment?
An unforeseeable accident on July 10, 1976, in Seveso, Italy, led to an environmental contamination with caustic reaction products and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). By the end of 1976, the contamination had been transferred to the soil, where TCDD was strongly adsorbed, which reduced bioavailability.
What is Seveso?
A Seveso establishment is an establishment which has an activity linked to handling, manufacturing, using or storing dangerous substances (i.e. refineries, petrochemical sites, oil depots or explosives depots).
How was the Seveso disaster fixed?
Borrowing techniques from the nuclear industry, the plant was sealed, dismantled and the most heavily contaminated waste packed into 41 lead-lined barrels and removed from the site in September 1982 by contractors Mannesmann Italiana.
How long did the Seveso disaster last?
Accident summary A dense white cloud, of considerable altitude drifted offsite. Among the substances in the white cloud was a small deposit of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (‘TCDD’ or ‘dioxin’), a highly toxic material. The release lasted for some twenty minutes.
In what city in Italy did the Seveso disaster occur?
On Saturday, 10 July 1976 at 12:37 PM, a chemical reactor exploded at the ICMESA plant located in Meda near Seveso, Italy (25 km north of Milan) (see previous detailed descriptions (Mocarelli 2001; Pocchiariet al. 1979)).
What are Seveso sites?
Seveso Sites are defined as Industrial sites that, because of the presence of dangerous substances in sufficient quantities, are regulated under Council Directives 96/82/ECand 2003/105/EC , commonly referred to as the Seveso II Directive.
Who cleaned up the Seveso disaster?
Mannesmann Italiana
Borrowing techniques from the nuclear industry, the plant was sealed, dismantled and the most heavily contaminated waste packed into 41 lead-lined barrels and removed from the site in September 1982 by contractors Mannesmann Italiana.
What is Seveso classification?
The Seveso Directives are the main EU legislation dealing specifically with the control of on-shore major accident hazards involving dangerous substances. The Seveso III Directive came into force on 1 June 2015, replacing the Seveso II Directive.
How did they cleaned up the Seveso disaster?
The local government, in coordinated efforts with ICMESA, embarked on cleaning up the contaminated area. Some evacuees were able to return to their homes, and the local government turned the rest of the zone into a public park known as the Seveso Oak Forest Park.
What was the date of the Seveso accident?
The history of the Seveso accident in 1976 On Saturday, 10 July 1976 at 12:37 PM, a chemical reactor exploded at the ICMESA plant located in Meda near Seveso, Italy (25 km north of Milan) (see previous detailed descriptions (Mocarelli, 2001; Pocchiari et al., 1979)).
What was the chemical explosion in Seveso Italy?
Increased risk for cancers and cardiometabolic outcomes has been noted. A 1976 chemical factory explosion near Seveso, Italy exposed residents to high levels of 2,3,7,8-tetracholorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin). Dioxin is a known human carcinogen and potent endocrine disruptor. It is highly lipophilic and has a long half-life in humans.
Who are the people involved in the Seveso disaster?
The event became known as the Seveso Disaster after the town that suffered most. Two senior executives of ICMESA – technical director Herwig von Zwehl and production director Paolo Paoletti – were arrested and the Italian government mounted a massive long-term clean-up operation.
Who was the owner of the Seveso chemical plant?
The industrial plant, located in Meda, was owned by the company Industrie Chimiche Meda Società Azionaria (Meda Chemical Industries S.A.; ICMESA), a subsidiary of Givaudan, which in turn was a subsidiary of Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche Group).