Catastrophic Incidents

Book excerpt: This interesting book offers an analysis of man-made catastrophes and asks why they continue to occur. 87 catastrophes or near-catastrophes, including high profile cases such as the Bhopal gas disaster, Grenfell Tower, Shoreham Air Show crash, Brumadinho dam collapse and Fukushima Daiichi, are described together with the reasons why they occurred and why over 50 different safety management approaches and techniques failed to prevent them. Featuring 63 eye opening stories from the author’s own personal experience and over 200 pitfalls in safety management approaches, this title is illustrated by 24 hypothetical cases in which the reader is asked to consider the approach they would take. Safety management techniques discussed include operating practices, personnel selection and emergency response. Safety management approaches including safety governance in organisations, along with the role of government and local authorities using the instruments of the law are extensively discussed. The work concludes with imaginative and creative ways forward with the aim to make considerable progress and to potentially eliminate man-made catastrophes for good. This title will be an ideal read for safety managers and engineers, community leaders in civic duties or labour union roles and professionals tasked with stopping and mitigating the impacts of man-made catastrophes, along with non-technical readers who are curious and concerned.