Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
modern legislation: the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The risks to public
health directly and indirectly resulting from industrial production began to
be actually perceived by the collective consciousness as a social problem, and
gradually involved the public authorities in assuring public and health security. This
was a relevant turning point that had important consequences after the Second
World War.
During this time, the technological development and the coming of mass society
determined the emergence of new hazards and technological disasters. Particularly
important were the new threats related to transports. The large diffusion of cars and
other private motor vehicles caused, especially in the United States a dramatic
increase of accidents. Moreover, the rail disasters began to be characterized not
only, as in the past, by the clash between trains but also by explosions caused by
derailments of freight
trains used to transport
ammable or highly hazardous
chemicals.
The beginning of the civil aviation had also as a negative consequence some
incidents. The most serious disaster that deeply impressed public opinion between
the two world wars was certainly the explosion of the German airship Hindenburg,
burned during the docking maneuver at Lakehurst (New Jersey) on May, 6th 1937
(36 victims).
Regarding to naval disasters, the sinking of the Titanic led to the adoption of
more stringent safety standards, internationally recognized, on passenger ships: so
even though the naval disasters still occurred the number of victims was reduced
signi
cantly. The Port of Halifax tragedy produces the same consequences for
merchant ship carrying hazardous materials. This improvement in safety levels,
however, did not prevent the recurrence of severe accidents.
8.4 The Second Post-war Years
In August 1945, the bombing of Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki dra-
matically showed to the world the terrible, impressive and destructive power of the
energy released by the process of atomic
ssion. For over a decade, from the
program for the building of the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project, launched
secretly in 1942) until the early 1950s, the nuclear technology was exclusively a
prerogative of military authorities of the United States and then, after 1949, of the
Soviet Union and few other countries. During these years nuclear powers tended to
discourage any potential application for civilian purposes of the atomic energy,
fearing that this might lead to proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The
rst experiments to create electricity through nuclear reactors were held in
1951. In 1953, the President of the United States, Eisenhower, announced the
intention of the USA government to promote international collaboration to exploit
atomic energy for civilian purposes. A similar statement was made the following
year by Lewis Strauss, that was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.
These declarations of
cially inaugurated the programs for the realization of the
rst
