Social Technological Hazards/Migration and War Flashcards
What is Chernobyl, 1986?
- The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant was located ~100km from Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, and ~20 km from the border with Belarus.
- A flawed reactor design was operated with inadequately trained personnel.
- The resulting steam explosion and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere and downwind.
- Two workers died the night of the accident, and a further 28 people died within a few weeks due to radiation poisoning.
- UNSCEAR said there’s no evidence of major public health impact 20 years later.
What are socio-technological disasters?
- Disasters that are a result of human activity.
- Two types: 1) accidental, 2) result of decision-making
- Can vary from a single toxic chemical accident to an entire industry, like a plant
- Human involvement varies
What are hybrid disasters?
Occur when natural disasters, such as earthquakes or floods, release spills of oil/chemicals/radiological materials.
Ex: Fukishima Tsunami/Nuclear Disaster
What was the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster?
East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Caused a large tsunami, with significant damage
The nuclear site was flooded by the 15 meter tsunami
What are the types of socio-technological disasters?
1) Routine or Common: controlled by industrial and transportation technologies, like car crashes; or consumer and waste products, such as drugs.
2) Global or Multiple Extreme Hazards: widespread and long term, like a nuclear war; or cumulative effects, like pesticides.
3) ‘Titanic’ or Rare Catastrophes: singular loss (plane crash, coal mine collapse); dramatic and traumatic; viewed by millions
Discuss Routine Risks
Difficult to monitor. Integrally linked to mass advertising and consumer values.
In USA, ~100 people/day killed in car crash
In Canada, ~5 people/day killed in car crash
- Males 2x likely to die in car crash than demales
- No seatbelt = 1 in 6 deaths
Government can help; quality control, safety checks, safety equipment (car seats), making smoking and drugs illegal
Discuss Global and Cumulative Risks
Cumulative effects are conditions that worsen slowly over time as the concentrations of chemicals and poisons increase until they reach a threshold critical to human health.
Ex: acid rain, groundwater contamination, arctic contaminants, ozone depletion/global warming
Ex: The Canadian North
- Pollution has been deposited in the north from local pollution and from long-distance dispersal of chemicals from the south. Grasshopper effect, biomagnification, DDT
Discuss Titanic and Catastrophic Hazards
Catastrophic events are an involuntary threat, usually the result of an accident or human error. These can be considered rapid onset.
What are the 3 areas of human activity where the titanic/catastrophic events stem from?
- Large-scale structures: public buildings, bridges and dams. The RISK is the probability of failure during the lifetime of the structure.
- Transport: road, air, sea, and rail. The RISK is the probability of death or injury per km travelled.
- Industry: manufacturing, power production, storage and hazardous materials.
Provide examples of structural failure.
1) Buildings: Johnstown Flood, 1889: tons of precipitation, dam failure. A rolling hill of debris, ~40 ft high, 1/2 mile wide, killed 2000+ people
2) Bridges: Tay Bridge Disaster, 1879: rail bridge failure. Engineering failure, new structural requirements needed. 46 deaths, no survivors.
3) Listowel Arena - 1959, large snowfall event led to roof failure, 8 killed, more injured
Provide examples of transportation hazards.
1) Space Shuttle Challenger, 1986: 7 lives lost
2) Titanic, 1912: captain’s fault? 1500+ dead, major insurance payouts, led to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
Provide examples of industry hazards/disasters.
1) Bhopal Gas Disaster, 1984: toxic cloud from the Union Carbide plant in India. 500,000+ people exposed to methyl isocyanate gas, 16,000+ deaths, large settlements, WORST INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT IN HISTORY!
2) Exxon Valdex, 1989: worst environmental disaster. The Exxon Valdez tanker (human error) crashed, released its oil cargo into the waters in Alaska.
What was the worst industrial accident in history?
Bhopal Gas Disaster
How is a radiation hazard identified?
a) Type of radioactivity released
b) Pathway of human exposure, direct or indirect (includes inhalation, ingestion, and contact with food, water, air).
c) Length of time to decay (half-life)
What are some radiation hazards?
- Mining of uranium; tailings can be considered a radioactive hazard
- Fabrication of weapons and fuel; processing plants transform the raw material into usable products
- Nuclear Power; production of electricity from nuclear power; can be a hazard is there is an accident or deliberate attack on the station
- Transport of Material; can be a hazard is there is an accident or deliberate attack on the source
- Waste Disposal
