Disasters
It's natural to care more about things that happen closer to you; a robbery at a bank down the street from you is more interesting than a bank robbery in Tulsa. But it made me a bit sad to learn that today is 20th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster. Up to 15,000 people died and maybe another 500,000 were injured. Those are just crazy numbers. And I don't think I'd heard about it until today. Had you?
Of course, I knew about Three Mile Island. That also took place in my lifetime. And it didn't kill anyone.
Side note: As I was writing this post, the text of the Wikipedia article changed from:
The MIC leak began shortly after midnight on December 3, 1984. The vapors killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries.
to:
The MIC leak, which began shortly after midnight on December 3, 1984 killed more than 3,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, at least 15,000 of whom died later from their injuries. Some sources give much higher fatality figures.
That's the good and the bad of a public encyclopedia, I guess.
Of course, I knew about Three Mile Island. That also took place in my lifetime. And it didn't kill anyone.
Side note: As I was writing this post, the text of the Wikipedia article changed from:
The MIC leak began shortly after midnight on December 3, 1984. The vapors killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries.
to:
The MIC leak, which began shortly after midnight on December 3, 1984 killed more than 3,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, at least 15,000 of whom died later from their injuries. Some sources give much higher fatality figures.
That's the good and the bad of a public encyclopedia, I guess.
posted by Eric at 11:47 AM
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