Description: Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there have been many, some of them major, industrial disasters in various parts of the world. Many were associated with mining activities that are inherently dangerous. Some were associated with the growing chemical industry. Some were linked with the transportation or storage of dangerous products. Some resulted from the interaction of industrial activity with natural phenomena. <break>Regulations have tried to reduce the number of accidents. But regulations create some costs and have always been resisted by the regulated, and by more libertarian governments that give more importance to economic and employment growth than to safety. The chapter describes some of these accidents, which resulted in significant deaths or property destruction.