Man-made catastrophes and risk information concealment: case studies of major disasters and human fallibility

Abstract

This book explores the prevalence and causes of risk information concealment in organizations and societies. The authors present detailed case studies of 45 major disasters across different sectors, such as the Vajont Dam disaster, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Bhopal pesticide plant gas leak, the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the Ufa Train disaster, the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower station disaster, the Raspadskaya coal mine burnout, the Barings bank collapse, the Enron bankruptcy, the subprime mortgage crisis, the Minamata mercury poisoning, the asbestos crisis, the Savar building collapse, the worldwide Spanish Flu pandemic, the SARS outbreak, and the Great Wildfires in the European part of Russia. The authors conclude that risk information concealment stems from a combination of factors, including short-term financial and managerial objectives, “success at any price” and “no bad news” culture, political instability, national arrogance, the problem of “looking good in the eyes of superiors” and reluctance to admit personal mistakes, and a general lack of awareness of past accidents. To prevent such tragedies from happening in the future, the authors recommend that organizations adopt a culture of transparency, establish comprehensive risk assessment and knowledge management systems, and cultivate a more open and honest approach to internal and external communication. – AI-generated abstract.