The 1980s in crisis history

Incidents

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 1989
Tanker grounding in Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing major ecological disaster.
Hurricane Hugo 1989 24 deaths
Category 5 hurricane causing major damage in the Caribbean, South Carolina, and the southeastern U.
Loma Prieta CA Earthquake 1989 63 deaths
Magnitude 6.
Chernobyl USSR Radiation Release 1986 31 deaths
Catastrophic nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSR — worst nuclear disaster in history.
Mexico City Earthquake 1985 5,000 deaths
Magnitude 8.
Bhopal India Chemical Release 1984 2,500 deaths
Methyl isocyanate release at Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India — worst industrial chemical disaster in history.
Mexico City Propane Incident 1984 574 deaths
San Juanico LPG depot explosion near Mexico City; major industrial disaster.
Times Beach MO Dioxin Incident 1982
Dioxin contamination of Times Beach, Missouri, resulting in evacuation and federal buyout of the town.
Mount St. Helens Volcano Eruption 1980 57 deaths
Catastrophic volcanic eruption in Washington state.

Executive Order 12657 — Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance in Emergency Preparedness Planning at Commercial Nuclear Power Plants 1988
Reagan executive order on FEMA support for nuclear power plant emergency planning.
NSDD-47 — Emergency Mobilization Preparedness 1982
National Security Decision Directive 47 establishing the Emergency Mobilization Preparedness Board.
Executive Order 12241 — National Contingency Plan / Radiological Preparedness 1980
Carter executive order on radiological emergency preparedness following Three Mile Island.

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 1988
Primary federal statute governing presidential disaster declarations and federal disaster assistance.
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA, SARA Title III) 1986
Statute requiring emergency planning and reporting of toxic chemicals; passed after Bhopal as Title III of SARA.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA / Superfund) 1980
Statute creating the Superfund program for cleanup of contaminated sites; response to Love Canal and similar incidents.

EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office 1985
EPA office for chemical emergency preparedness, established after Bhopal.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 1980
Federal public health agency established under CERCLA to address health effects from hazardous substance exposures.
Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee 1980
Interagency committee coordinating federal radiological emergency preparedness.

Bhopal Litigation (Union of India v. Union Carbide; $470M Settlement) 1989
Cross-border mass-tort litigation arising from the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
USA v. Burford Gorsuch (Superfund Contempt) 1983
First U.

Federal Response Plan for a Catastrophic Earthquake 1988
Federal response plan signed for response to a catastrophic earthquake.
Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan 1985
Federal plan for coordinated response to peacetime radiological emergencies.

Assessment of the Consequences of a Catastrophic Earthquake 1981
Federal assessment study of consequences from a catastrophic earthquake, informing later NEHRP and earthquake preparedness policy.
After-Action Analyses and Reports 1980
Series of after-action analyses produced following the major incidents of 1978-1979.