What happened at the Seveso disaster?
What happened at the Seveso disaster?
On July 10, 1976, a valve broke at the Industrie Chimiche Meda Società Azionaria (ICMESA) chemical plant in Meda, just north of Milan, Italy. This accident resulted in the release of a chemical cloud containing the highly toxic dioxin TCDD.
What caused the Seveso disaster?
Abstract—The accident which occurred during the production of TCP at Seveso. Italy, was possibly caused by an unforeseeable exothermic reaction with increase of temperature, slow decomposition of the reaction mass, formation of gas and rise in pressure.
How many died in the Seveso disaster?
None of the 20,000 people who lived in Seveso died, but the poison killed 3,000 farm animals and pets. Another 70,000 animals had to be killed to stop the dioxin from getting into the food chain.
Who was responsible for the Seveso disaster?
The company responsible for the Seveso disaster – ICMESA – did not admit to the leak of dioxin for a week following the incident. It also took another week before evacuation to begin. Former employees of ICMESA were sentenced to prison for periods ranging from 2.5 to 5 years in 1983.
How was Seveso cleaned?
Most of the evacuees were eventually able to return to their homes. About 80% of the TCDD settled on the local foliage until it rained after a few weeks whereby it was then washed into the soil.
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 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 …
How is Seveso now?
Treatment of the soil in the affected areas is now considered complete, since the dioxin levels are now below background. The entire site has been turned into a public park known as Seveso Oak Forest Park. This area is permanently off-limits to development.
What chemicals were involved in the Seveso disaster?
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.