Unit ED1: Element 1: Principles of environmental risk management Flashcards
What is the definition of the environment
Surroundings in which a organization operates including land, air water, natural resources, fauna and flora, humans and their inter relationships
What is the definition of the ecosystem
Communities of interdependent organisms and the physical environment which they inhabit
What is the definition of biodiversity
The variety of life in a given area typically expressed in relation to an ecosystem
, species and genetic variation with species
What is the definition of environmental aspects
Those elements of an organizations activities, products and services which can interact with the environment
List the different types of environmental aspects
SHARLENE Solid waste Hazardous material usage Air emissions Raw material usage Land usage Energy usage Noise / nuisance Effluent discharge
What is the definition of Environmental Impact
Environmental changes occurring as result of a organizations aspects
List the different types of environmental impacts
Human beings Flora and fauna Soil Water Air and climate Landscape Cultural heritage and material assets
List the 4 steps in the hydrological cycle
- Water is transferred to the atmosphere by evaporation from water bodies, such as lakes, seas, rivers and released from vegetation
- Water vapour gathers, rises and begins to cool to form clouds that eventually release the water in the form of rain, sleet or snow
- On reaching the land surface, the water is absorbed into the ground or is retained in soil and plants.
- It runs off the surface to enter streams or rivers and evaporates or is transpired back to the atmosphere. The cycle can begin again.
List the 5 major main parts in the global water cycle:
- The atmosphere.
- The land surface
- Surface drainage.
- Ground water
- The seas and oceans
List the causes of Disruption to the water cycle
- global climate change
- hydroelectric systems
- water extraction and drainage of wetlands
- accumulation of pollution in water ways
List the steps of the carbon cycle
- Carbon from atmosphere to plants
- Carbon moves from plants to animals
- Carbon moves from plants & animals to soil
- Carbon moves from living things to atmosphere through respiration
- Carbon moves from fossil fuels to atmosphere when fuels are burned
- Carbon moves from atmosphere to oceans
Effects of increased carbon in cycle has led to consequences such as
Ozone depletion
Smog
Acid deposition
What is Eutrophication
Is the enrichment of watercourses by certain plant nutrients which results in the growth of algal blooms in watercourses
List the elements of the Phosphorus cycle
- Begins in sedimentary rock where it is removed via weathering to the soils and underground water
- Plants take up the phosphorus
- Plants eaten by herbivore passed to their system
- Passed to carnivore when herbivore is eaten
- Cycle is then completed when phosphorus is returned back to soil via urine, faeces or carcass of dead animal
There are various factors that will affect the biodiversity across the globe and these include:
- Temperature
- The amount of rainfall.
- Presence of predators and other species.
- Altitude
- Soil conditions/types.
What is the definition of Sustainability
Our Common Future by the WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development:
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
List the Drivers for Sustainability.
- The Precautionary Principle
- The Polluter Pays Principles
What is the precautionary principle
The Precautionary Principle refers to the need to implement changes in the absence of absolute scientific proof
What is the The Polluter Pays Principles
The Polluter Pays Principles identifies the need for the polluter to pay for the damage to the environment of the pollutant that they release
Design and Construction with Sustainability as an Objective includes:
- reduction in raw materials
- improved recycling
- greater service life
- decrease in energy and water usage
- reduction in use of hazardous material
List the 3 reasons for environmental management
- legal
- moral
- financial
How Can You Tell If You Have An Environmental Problem?
- Obvious contaminations such as visible oil spill
- Odours from disturbed ground.
- The absence of vegetation compared with similar areas of ground.
- Damage to vegetation.
- Contaminated water courses.
- People and animals becoming ill.
- Dead animals.
When assessing environmental risk the following need to be undertaken:
- Determine the hazards.
- Determine the likelihood of the hazards.
- Gather data
- Check guidance
- Look for evidence of harm.
- Assess the risk.
What does the term Ecotoxic mean
This term is applied to substances or waste, which if released into the environment, may present immediate or delayed adverse impacts to the environment.
What does the term Ecotoxins mean
These are hazardous by means of bioaccumulation and, or their toxic effects upon biotic systems. They can accumulate in the tissues of animals or plants to a concentration higher than the surrounding environment and have toxic effects when absorbed by a living organism.
What is the definition of a nuisance
Interference with another’s use and enjoyment of the environment (including loss of amenity) through something that annoys, bothers or causes damage to that person or their property.
List examples of nuisance
- smoke
- dust
- insects
- animals
- noise
- smells
- light
- gases
- property
Whatever sources of data are considered it must be ensured that its limitations are understood, in particular data must be:
- relevant
- accurate
- transparent
- complete
- consistent
- faithful
- non biased
Data from environmental monitoring is a key tool to help evaluate environmental risk. In particular it will help an organisation to:
- Understand the environmental impact of an activity.
- Determine the efficiency of a process including any equipment that has been installed to
control pollution. - Generally understand whether risk controls are adequate.
- Evaluate compliance with relevant environmental legislation.
List the two categories of monitoring
- proactive monitoring
- reactive monitoring
What is proactive monitoring
takes place to ensure damage does not occur by keeping a track of company emissions; ensuring that emission guidelines are being met.
What is reactive monitoring
Reactive monitoring occurs after an event to see what level of emissions etc. were released and the impact it has caused.
How do you know if monitoring is required?
- Legal requirements
- Part of license approval
- There may also be signs of environmental damage
What is a A biological indicator
A biological indicator is an organism or species that shows the health of an environment or ecosystem (in relation to the presence of pollutants) via their responses/changes.
What are BI used for
- detect any changes in the environment
- monitor presence of any pollutants and its affects
- monitor progress of clean up activities
- test substances for presence of contaminants
What is a risk assessment
A RA is a systematic process whereby estimates of a combination of the probability of adverse event occurring over a specified time and its likely magnitude
Risks can be classified into at least three broad categories:
- Risks for which statistics of identified casualties are available.
- Risks for which there may be some evidence, but where connection between suspected cause and injury to any one individual cannot be traced.
- Experts’ best estimates of probabilities of events that have not yet happened.
List the methods of control for environmental risks
- elimination and substitution
- reduction in emissions & changes to process
- technical
- administrative
- behavioral
Factors Affecting the Choice of Control Measures.
- useable and practical
- temporarily controls are higher risk than permanent controls
- applicability of controls
- cost
