Disasters

"Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials announced Monday that they have cited E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. for 11 alleged violations and proposed $120,300 in fines related to problems found after toxic chemicals leaked from a tanker truck in May and exposed workers to health risks at a Deepwater, N.J., plant that is one of DuPont's largest facilities in the United States."

"30 Years Later, Survivors of Lethal Gas Leak Still Fight for Justice."

"On Jan. 9, a freak storm dumped a record rainfall on central Florida's Treasure Coast, inundating the St. Lucie nuclear power plant facing the Atlantic Ocean. Storm drains failed, and 50,000 gallons of water flooded the plant's Unit 1 reactor auxiliary building through improperly sealed electrical passages, disabling core cooling pumps."

"A rain-triggered mudslide that shut down nine miles of Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday could be a preview of what’s potentially to come the rest of the week."

"A ProPublica analysis of federal government data adds new details to what’s known about the routes taken by trains carrying crude oil. Local governments are often unaware of the potential dangers they face."

"DuPont Co. ’s chemical plant in La Porte, Texas, for many years has gained a strong reputation among industrial-safety experts for migrating to safer chemicals. ... So when a gas leak at the plant earlier this month caused four employees—two of them brothers—to be fatally overcome by an industrial chemical called methyl mercaptan, some in the chemical safety world were taken aback."

"BUFFALO -- The area around Buffalo, New York braced on Sunday for potential flooding as warming temperatures began to melt up to seven feet (2 meters) of snow that fell in a record snow storm last week in which 13 people died."

"Western New York state braced for a fresh wave of heavy snow on Wednesday after a freakish storm swept off the Great Lakes and deposited 5 feet (1.5 meters) of powder in parts of the region, killing at least six people and stranding motorists overnight."