Seveso, Italy incident

Lodi, New Jersey incident, 8, 159-160 management practices, 67-68 Paterson, New Jersey incident, 160-161 Seveso, Italy incident, 4 Springfield, Massachusetts incident, 7 Toulouse, France incident, 4,5 Castleford, UK incident, 11,156-158 Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), 183... 

Self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT), screening methods, 56 Self-reactive materials chemical reactivity hazard, 1,2 screening methods, 54-58 Seveso, Italy incident, 4 Seveso II Directive, 5-6,27 Shelf life... 

There have been occasions in which relatively large quantities of dioxins were released as the result of chemical or industrial accidents. Explosions at chemical plants in Seveso, Italy, in 1976 and at Bhopal, India, in 1984 are examples of such incidents. High levels of dioxin have also been found in animal feed on a few occasions the source and mechanism of this contamination have not always been clear. 

Residential/Environmental Exposures. Several incidents in which populations were exposed to potentially high levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD include an industrial accident that occurred during the production of 2,4,5-TCP at the ICMESA plant in Seveso, Italy and the spraying of roads and other places... 

In residents of Seveso, Italy, a significant rise in the incidence of birth defects, as compared to pre-accident levels, was observed the year after the accident (Bisanti et al. 1980). A variety of birth defects were observed, but the incidence for any particular defect was not elevated. The authors suggest that the rise in birth defects may not be related to 2,3,7,8-TCDD exposure. Prior to 1976, birth defects in Italy were usually under reported the authors note that the reported incidences of birth defects after the accident (23 per 1,000 births) were similar to incidences reported in other western countries. Thus, the increased incidence may be reflective of the increased reporting rather than an increased number of birth defects. In a study which assessed the risk of birth defects for the 6-year period after the Seveso accident, no increases were observed for the risk of total defects (RR of 1.2, 90% Cl of 0.88-1.64 for zones A and B and RR of 0.97, 90% 0=0.83-1.13 for zones A, B, and R), major defects RR of 1.02, 90% 0=0.64-1.61 for zones A and B and RR of 0.83, 90% 0=0.67-1.04 for zones A, B and R), and minor defects RR of 1.44 90% 0=0.92-2.24 for zones A and B and RR of 1.14, 90% 0=0.92-1.42 for zones A, B and R) (Mastroiacovo et al. 1988). The small number of observed birth defects limits the statistical power of this study to detect significant increases in a specific defect. 

An industrial accident in a chemical plant resulted in the release of TCDD and exposure of the population in Seveso, Italy.26,44 The cancer incidence of individuals living in zones A, B and R (in order of decreasing levels of contamination) have been examined. The SMRs for all malignancies were 100,80 and 90 for females and 70,100 and 90 for males in zones A, B and R, respectively. Interpretation of the results of this study is difficult because the number of exposed individuals in zone A < zone B < zone R, and there was not a consistent exposure-dependent increase in any tumour. In zone R, the incidence of non-Hodgkin s lymphoma and soft tissue sarcoma was increased in zone B, hepatobiliary cancer was elevated. Breast and endometrial cancer were decreased in most areas, and this is consistent with the antiestrogenic activity of TCDD and related compounds.31... 

Seveso, Italy chemical plant incident 1984 Responsible Care Initiative launched in Canada... 

Incidents such as Seveso, Italy, 1976 (24,25) and Bhopal illustrate the potential for catastrophic events from aberrant chemical processing and design, sloppy operating practices and incomplete knowledge about probable unintended events and consequences. 

Other disasters at chemical plants followed in 1976 at Seveso (Italy) there was a dioxin escape which polluted over 4000 acres of farmland, killed 100 000 grazing animals and led to the evacuation of 1000 people. Later (1984) in India a release of 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate from a batch operation at Bhopal resulted in 40 000 deaths and 100 000 injuries. Incidents such as these would have either been avoided or extensively mitigated had the processes been intensified. In the Flixborough case, a very much smaller vapour cloud would probably have been incapable of developing the shock wave which proved to be so damaging. A continuous intensified version of the Bhopal reactor may still have caused fatalities, had the contents been released, but there would have been very many less than actually CKCurred. 

On July 9, 1976, in Meda, Italy, near Seveso, a chemical reactor incident caused a release of dioxin (TCDD), which is a highly toxic chemical. The regulatory requirements developed as a result of this incident are referred to as the Seveso Directive. 

The Seveso Directive is administered by the European Union through the Major Accident Hazards Bureau services (MAHB) located within the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy. The Bureau also oversees the European Community s Documentation Centre Industrial Risk (CDCIR) and manages the Major Accident Reporting System (MARS) with the aim to create a repository of information and facilitate the exchange between the members of the European Community. MARS follows the requirements of the Seveso II directive and collects information about major chemical incidents as well as the response and results. Member States are required to report the events by using standardized forms. 

The first safety cases prepared for the process industries were those developed for North Sea offshore oil and gas operations following the Piper Alpha disaster that occurred in the year 1988. The Cullen report (Cullen, 1990) that was written following that accident was highly critical of offshore operating practices and recommended that a safety case approach be implemented. The Seveso incident that occurred in Italy further prompted the increased use of safety cases. Since that time the use of safety cases has spread to other industries (such as mining and railway operations) and to other nations, primarily in Europe and Australasia. (It is notable that the safety case regime approach has not been taken up for offshore oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico—instead a more prescriptive approach based on industry consensus standards is used.)... 

The Flixborough nylon plant accident in the UK (1974) was caused by an open-air explosion of a flammable gas released into the air. It killed the 28 plant employees present and caused extensive property damage in the surrounding area. The failure to perform a full technical assessment of a modification was given as the main cause of the event. The Seveso pesticide plant accident in Italy (1976) is well known for the dangerous release of dioxin due to poor plant safety features and to the underestimation of the possibility of a runaway reaction. The Bhopal incident in India (1984), at another pesticide plant, killed an estimated 4000 (although the total number is still unknown). This disaster was attributed to too large an inventory of toxic substances and to very poor staff attention to the operability of safety features. 

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