Which incident is described as a toxic release?

• A. Bhopal
• B. Seveso
• C. Fukushima
• D. Three Mile Island

Answer: (B)

A toxic release means a release of hazardous chemicals into the environment that can poison people or ecosystems. The Seveso incident is the classic example: in 1976, a chemical plant released a cloud containing dioxin, one of the most toxic synthetic chemicals. The exposure and contamination were the primary hazards, causing immediate health effects and long-term concerns, which is why this event is widely cited as a toxic chemical release in process safety. In contrast, the other events involve different types of releases (nuclear/radiological in Fukushima and Three Mile Island) or, in the case of Bhopal, another large toxic chemical release—but Seveso is the example most often used to illustrate a toxic release of a highly toxic chemical.