Discussion Topic 1: Rank top ten severe accidents in energy sector (Aberfan Disaster)
(1) What were the
physical/technical circumstances that led to the accident?
The spoil tips produced by the mining process were placed on top
of a layer of porous sandstone that housed a number of underground springs. On
the lead up to the disaster it had been raining heavily for days which caused approximately
3-6 meters of the spoil tip to subside.
(2) What were the main
underlying causes?