Chemical accidents are unanticipated releases, explosions, fires and other harmful incidents involving toxic and hazardous materials. While chemical accidents may occur whenever toxic materials are stored, transported or used, the most severe accidents tend to involve major chemical manufacturing and storage facilities. Significant events include the Bhopal industrial disaster of 1984, which released a highly toxic gas at a Union Carbide pesticides facility and killed more than 2,000 people. It has been suggested that flame be merged into this article or section. ... For a list of biologically injurious substances, including toxins and other materials, as well as their effects, see poison. ... Bhopal is a city in central India, which is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. ... Industrial disasters are mass disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence. ... Union Carbide of South Charleston, West Virginia is a chemical manufacturer, now a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. ...

Efforts to prevent accidents range from improved safety systems to fundamental changes in chemical use and manufacture, referred to as primary prevention or inherent safety.

In the U.S., concern about chemical accidents after the Bhopal disaster led to the passage of the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. The EPCRA requires local emergency planning efforts throughout the country, including emergency notifications. The law also requires companies to make publicly available information about their storage of toxic chemicals. Based on such information, citizens can identify the vulnerable zones in which severe toxic releases could cause harm or death. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law concerned with emergency response preparedness. ... The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 is a United States federal law concerned with emergency response preparedness. ... A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ...

In 1990, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board was established by Congress, though the CSB did not become operational until 1998. The Board's mission is to determine the root causes of chemical accidents and issue safety recommendations to prevent future accidents.

External links

• U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board [1]
• U.S. EPA, Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office [2]
• Chemical and Other Safety Information - Oxford University
• Safety in the use of Chemicals at work - International Labour Organization (ILO) - (PDF-file)