Seveso disaster

Worldwide, the introduction of a wide variety of anthropogenic chemicals into waters and soils has caused a growing concern about the consequences of such practices. Public awareness concerning the vulnerability of the environment to pollution has only been heightened by major incidents such as the Union Carbide (DOW) Bhopal and the Seveso disasters, the Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl accidents, and the Amoco Cadiz and the Exxon Valdez oil spills. 

The Seveso disaster began on July 10, 1976 at the Industrie Chimiche Meda Societa Azionaria (ICMESA) chemical plant in Meda, Italy. This event became internationally known as the Seveso disaster, after the name of the most severely affected community. An increase in pressure due to an exothermic reaction in a 2,4,5-trichlorophenol-production reactor caused the rupture disk of the safety valve to burst. About 3000 kg of chemicals were released into the air. The release included 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, used in the manufacture of herbicides, and possibly up to 30 kg of the dioxin TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin). Dioxin first came to widespread public notice during the Vietnam War, when it was identified as a component of the defoliant Agent Orange. Dioxin has also been considered to be the most toxic human-made substance. 

Two days after the disaster, nearby residents were warned not to eat any vegetables from their gardens. Eour days after the disaster, the Technical Director of Givaudan in Geneva informed the Technical Director of ICMESA that the samples contained traces of TCDD. Authorities were told much later about the TCDD. The Seveso disaster resulted in the highest known TCDD exposure to residential populations, and has possibly been the most systematically studied dioxin contamination incident in history. 

The Seveso disaster areas were divided and subdivided based on soil contamination levels. Zone A, the most contaminated area with more than 50 pg of TCDD per square meter and covering 110 ha, was completely evacuated and fenced-off with entry prohibited. Zone A was later turned into a park, the Seveso Oak Forest. In the next-most contaminated areas, zone B (between 5 and 50pgm ) and zone R (below 5 pgm ), farming as well as consumption of local agricultural goods and meats were strictly prohibited. 

Eurther research on the children of victims of the disaster is being conducted, as is research focusing on dioxin s long-term carcinogenic properties. For example, 25 years after the Seveso disaster, human milk from mothers in Seveso was found to have TCDD concentrations more than twice as high as those in central Milan and elsewhere in the areas near Seveso. This suggests that breastfed infants in Seveso might have appreciable amounts of TCDD in their body fat however, the health consequences remain to be determined. 

After the Seveso disaster, investigation of the potential emission sources in the area and studies of people not exposed to the cloud indicated that combustion of wood residues from furniture factories might be an additional and perhaps substantial local source of dioxins, furans, and PCBs. 

Seveso Disaster, and the Seveso and Seveso II Directives, Pages 1-4, Pertti J. Hakkinen SummaryPlus Full Text + Links PDF (65 K)... 

Dioxin Seveso Disaster Testament to Effects of Dioxin, http //www.getipm.com/articles/seveso-italy.htm... 

The Seveso disaster in Italy in 1976 was mainly as a result of dioxins and affected a number of people in around the town Seveso. 

Major Accidents like Flixborough (UK), 1974 Seveso (IT), 1976 Bhopal (India), 1984 Basel Mexico 1986 made people think of brining the legislature to prevent/ reduce accident in process Industries dealing with hazardous material. TUI now Seveso II Directive 96 2/EC is in effect The directive was named after Seveso disaster -an industrial accident that occurred around on July 10,1976, in a small chemical manufacturing plant near Milan in Italy. 

The Seveso disaster took place on July 10,1976, when a toxic cloud escaped from the ICMESA chemical plant located in the community of Mead in Lombardy (Italy). The accident was caused by reactor overheating which served to produce 2,4,5-trichlorophenol. At the beginning, a certain vagueness was involved about the released product. There was some thought about 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene and of polyethylene, but the development of chloracne allowed identification of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, called the Seveso dioxin. 

The Seveso disaster was of greater importance by reason of being located in Europe. But, in the end, one can say of dioxin (which exists in... 

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