Energy accidents and disasters
Modern energy systems process materials that are combustible (gasoline), explosive (LNG), toxic (mine tailings), radioactive (enriched uranium fuel), under great stress (hydroelectric dams), and found in hostile environments (offshore oil, coal mines). Energy systems are subject to explosions, fires, structural collapses, meltdowns, cave-ins, floods, contaminations, and other tragic events. These events take lives, shatter families and communities, and cause immense property damage.
Energy accidents and disasters:
The total loss of electrical power over a widespread area, a blackout is the most severe form of a power failure. The loss of power is...
Chemical accidents occur when hazardous or toxic substances are released to the environment, often from chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. The release is typically the result...
Coal mining poses grave risks to miners and the environment. Modern coal mining is far safer than in earlier times, but miners still work in dangerous...
Earthquakes are natural hazards, but human activity increasingly alters the stresses in the Earth's crusts, sometimes inducing seismicity. Reservoirs that hold huge masses of water increase...
Gas processing plants purify the raw natural gas extracted from underground fields into usable fuels for consumers. Natural gas is subjected to high pressure and temperature...
Hydroelectric dams can supply relatively clean electricty as well as flood control and recreation benefits. While very rare, dam failures release massive amounts of water that...
Natural gas is highly flammable and is trasnsported under pressure. These conditions mean that pipelines carrying the gas pose significant saftey hazards. Corrosion of the pipeline...
Severe nuclear accidents are very rare, but they highlight the diligent attention to safety that this technology requires. In the public's mind, Chernobyl and Three Mile...
Offshore oil platforms face risks due the very nature of their function and location. Not only is crude highly volatile, but the open ocean where these...
Pipelines can be an economical way to transport large quantities of crude oil over land, but inherent risks are involved in moving this combustible fluid under...
Accidental oil releases oil to aquatic environments can cause signicant environmental harm. Not only is oil combustible, but it also hazardous to wildlife, especially birds and...
Urban and industrial areas are especially vulnerable to servere pollution or smog incidents. Smog, which results from the mixture of various emissions from automobiles and industries...
Many power plants generate electricity from the combustion of fuels (coal, natural gas, etc.). The combination of heavy machinery, large quantities of combustible substances, and high...
Oil refineries process large volumes of crude oil into a vast array of fuels and materials on an nearly 24/7 basis. Nearly all of these are...
The Superfund program, the common name for the United States environmental policy officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), was created...
Tailings are materials left after the valuable fraction of an ore is seperated from the worthless fraction. Tailings can contain toxic and harzardous materials, and often...
Specially built ports often are used to produce, store and prepare liquified natural gas (LNG), liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and other fuels for import and export....
Fuels and electricity must be moved from their sources to processing facilities and ultimately to consumers. This is accomplished by tanker, rail highway, pipeline, ships, barges...
Articles: Energy accidents and disasters
Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE)
BLEVE, pronounced "blevvy", is an acronym for "boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion". This is a type of explosion that can occur when a vessel containing...