GEOG 1350 Lecture 9: Geog1350 - Week 9, Environmental Hazards
8 Feb 2017
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They can vary from a single toxic chemical accident to an entire industry. Ex - earthquake that causes oil or chemical spill from a pipeline. Sinking of titanic, explosion of challenger & columbia space shuttles. Typically, the death tolls from environmental hazards are relatively low. Vulnerability is greatest for those involved in industry or transportation systems. Workers in resource industries at hinterlands (sparsely populated, rich in resources) are at higher risk: eg - miners. Cumulative effects (pesticides: conditions that worsen slowly over time as exposure increases, reaches critical threshold, includes: exposure to toxic chemicals, acid precip, groundwater contamination, ozone depletion. Risk is defined as the probability of failure during the lifetime of the structure. Probability of death or injury per km travelled. Probability of death or injury per person per number of hours exposed. The primary source of radon gas is from the natural decay of uranium in rock & soil.
