Episodes

  • 63: Wittenoom

    63: Wittenoom
    Mar 7 2026
    With demand for Asbestos in building products in the 1940s, a discovery in Western Australia's remote Pilbara region of Blue Asbestos led to the creation of a mining town called Wittenoom. Despite the growing list of illnesses and deaths of workers from the mine and milling operation, the company pressed on until it closed for 'financial' reasons. We look at the dangers of dust inhalation and try to determine if we have collectively learned anything from the disaster at Wittenoom.
    With John Chidgey.

    News Articles:

    • Memories of Wittenoom
    • Exposure to Asbestos Takes Its Toll
    • CSR Still Fighting
    • Closure of Wittenoom
    • Wittenoom Riddled with Asbestos

    About Asbestos:

    • Asbestos
    • The Colours of Asbestos
    • What Is Asbestos and Where Does it Come From?

    About Engineered Stone:

    • Engineered Stone Fact Sheet
    • Engineered Stone Ban

    General Information:

    • Closure of Wittenoom
    • Asbestos fiber length as related to potential pathogenicity
    • Consequences of Wittenoom
    • Silicosis and Black Lung Cases Rising
    • Wittenoom
    • Australian Blue Asbestos
    • Selling the Wittenoom Dream
    • Wittenoom Health Disaster
    • Lang Hancock

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.

    With thanks to Christian French for the topic suggestion.
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    31 mins
  • 62: OceanGate Titan

    62: OceanGate Titan
    Feb 2 2026
    A young company pushing to re-invent deep sea exploration with an initial focus on opening up tourism to the wreck of the Titanic, OceanGate garnered the fascination of many around the world. With a different approach to their hull design they forged ahead despite many warnings from experts in the field, concerned about their design decisions and materials choices. When the submersible imploded killing all five aboard including the company CEO, the experts were only surprised about how OceanGate had got as far as they had...before it all went horribly wrong.
    With John Chidgey.

    Formal Reports:

    • NTSB Final Report (PDF)
    • US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation Final Report (PDF)

    General Information:

    • OceanGate
    • Titan Submersible Implosion
    • Antipodes
    • Oceangate Cyclops 1 (PDF)
    • OceanGate founder looks beyond Titanic to new deep-sea frontiers
    • The Titan Tragedy: A Deep Dive Into Carbon Fiber

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.
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    39 mins
  • 61: West Gate Bridge

    61: West Gate Bridge
    Nov 29 2025
    Planned for nearly a century, when the time came to build a permanent link across the Lower Yarra River, a relatively new style of bridge, the box-girder, was chosen. Using new computer technology assisting the engineers to design a bridge that was too complex to calculate by hand, and using a unique lifting strategy promised time and cost savings. Ultimately though when the pieces didn't fit together in the air, their attempts to make them fit, didn't work. We dive into what went wrong on Australia's largest ever industrial disaster.
    With John Chidgey.

    Formal Report:

    • Victorian Royal Commission Report (PDF)

    Milford Haven Incident:

    • Cleddau Bridge disaster

    General Information:

    • Kentledge
    • West Gate Tunnel
    • Slide rule
    • Box girder bridge
    • Cleddau Bridge
    • Widening the West Gate Freeway
    • Melbourne October 15 Weather
    • The West Gate Bridge Memorial
    • Robbo Bennett’s Tribute
    • How the West Gate Bridge collapse changed Melbourne
    • 1970 West Gate Bridge Disaster
    • West Gate Bridge Image Gallery
    • The West Gate Bridge Collapse
    • West Gate Bridge Under Construction, 1969

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.
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    39 mins
  • 60: Carnival Triumph

    60: Carnival Triumph
    Aug 26 2025
    A leaking flexible pipe started a fire in the Engine Room aboard the Carnival Triumph during its return journey from Mexico in early 2013. The fire caused minor damage in one, very important section of the Engine Room leading to a total loss of Mains Power. With only intermittent Emergency Power and over 4,000 people on board the ship drifted with the currents before it was tugged finally to safety. The Netflix Documentary 'Poop Cruise' looked at the human consequences...we dive into the engineering design that was inherently flawed from Day One.
    With John Chidgey.

    Formal Report:

    • BMA Investigation Report (PDF)

    News Releases and Articles:

    • Carnival Cruises issues statement
    • Carnival Triumph set sail with problems
    • Stricken cruise ship docks
    • How Poop Cruise Crisis Reshaped Cruising

    General Information:

    • Trainwreck Poop Cruise (Netflix)
    • Failure Domain
    • Cruise Lines International Association
    • Understanding Cruise Passenger Rights

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.
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    25 mins
  • 59: Bayer CropScience

    59: Bayer CropScience
    Apr 30 2025
    After an extended outage of the Methomyl Unit at the Bayer facility in Institute, West Virginia, the decision was made to commence a restart of the Unit even though the DCS upgrade was still incomplete and the newly replaced Residue Treater hadn't been fully recommissioned. An incident whose root cause was years in the making would ultimately cost two people their lives.
    With John Chidgey.

    Related Episodes:

    • Causality Episode 26: Bhopal

    Formal Reports:

    • Bayer CropScience Pesticide Waste Tank Explosion
    • CSB Final Report (PDF)
    • CSB Final Report News Release
    • CSB Hearing Testimony (PDF)
    • Public Meeting Transcript

    News Releases and Articles:

    • Lawsuit links student’s death to ‘08 Bayer explosion
    • Bayer Settles 2008 Fatal Plant Explosion Lawsuit
    • Bayer cited, fined in fatal explosion at plant in August

    General Information:

    • Bayer
    • Insecticide
    • Ovicide
    • Organising for Safety: How Structure Creates Culture

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.
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    50 mins
  • 58: West Fertilizer Company

    58: West Fertilizer Company
    Mar 31 2025
    In the early hours of the evening on the 17th of April, 2013 in the small city of West, Texas...smoke was seen emanating from the West Fertilizer Company building. In 20 minutes there was a massive explosion that levelled the facility and its surroundings, killing 15 people and injuring hundreds more. How this came to be, represented a failure of regulations, planning and grandfathering on every level.
    With John Chidgey.

    Related Episodes:

    • Causality Episode 44: Warehouse 12

    Formal Reports:

    • Preliminary Findings Chemical Safety Board (PDF)
    • Final Chemical Safety Board Report (PDF)
    • West Fertilizer Explosion and Fire
    • CSB releases final report on West, TX blast

    News Releases and Articles:

    • Fire that led to Texas fertilizer-plant explosion was deliberately set
    • West Texas Plant Explosion

    Regulations:

    • Code of Practice: Safe storage of Solid Ammonium Nitrate (PDF)

    General Information:

    • West Fertilizer Company Explosion
    • West, Texas
    • Polyolefin
    • Asphalt Shingle
    • Ammonium nitrate | H3N.HNO3 | CID 22985 - PubChem
    • This Month in Fire History: April 2024
    • City of West to Receive $10.4 Million in Lawsuit Settlement

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.
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    31 mins
  • 57: Stardust Nightclub

    57: Stardust Nightclub
    Jan 7 2025
    On Valentines Day in 1981 in the North of Dublin, Ireland a fire broke out in a nightclub just following a Disco Dancing competition. We look at how measures taken to prevent illegal entry and poor building material choices cost 48 young people their lives.
    With John Chidgey.

    Related Episodes:

    • Causality Episode 43: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory

    Formal Reports:

    • Report of the Stardust Victims’ Compensation Tribunal (PDF)
    • Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry on the fire at the Stardust

    News Releases and Articles:

    • Stardust: A timeline of the Tribunals, reports and inquests that led to this week’s verdict
    • Stardust: Apology call after nightclub fire deaths verdict
    • Stardust fire inquest of ‘paramount importance’
    • A grim uncertainty that haunts Stardust families
    • Stardust: Apology call after nightclub fire deaths verdict
    • How Did The Stardust Fire Start?
    • Stardust 30 Years On
    • Stardust Verdict
    • How tragedy unfolded at a Valentine’s disco
    • Irish government makes official apology
    • The night that started like any other
    • Law Society of Ireland Gazette
    • Stardust nightclub was pretty horrendous fire risk

    Regulations:

    • Fire Services Act, 1981, Section 37
    • The Public Dance Halls Act, 1935 on JSTOR

    General Information:

    • Dublin Corporation
    • Stardust Fire
    • A History of the Fire Service in Ireland

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher.

    With thanks to Aileen Brennan for the topic suggestion.
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    28 mins
  • 56: BP Husky Toledo

    56: BP Husky Toledo
    Dec 17 2024
    On the 20th of September, 2022 at the BP Husky Toledo refinery in Ohio, a level transmitter change out from a month prior triggered a chain of events that would cost two operators their lives. We look at how poor Management of Change, high alarm rates and a resistance to stopping the job, let a plant upset turn into a disaster.
    With John Chidgey.

    Formal Report:

    • U.S. Chemical Safety Board Issues Final Report into Fatal 2022 Fire at BP-Husky Refinery
    • Fatal Naphtha Release and Fire at BP-Husky Toledo Refinery (PDF)
    • CSB June 2023 Investigation Update (PDF)
    • CSB Comments on the OSHA September 20, 2022, Federal Register Notice (PDF)

    News Releases and Articles:

    • BP Faces $156K OSHA Fine in Refinery Explosion
    • BP accused of serious violations after fatal blast at US refinery

    General Information:

    • Naphtha
    • What You Need to Know About California’s PSM Regulation for Refinery Safety
    • OSHA Penalties

    Support Causality on Patreon

    Episode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle and Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto.
    Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring and Ian Gallagher.
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    40 mins