Geography 2152F/G Lecture 1: L10 - Tech & Disease Review.docx
19 Jan 2015
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They can vary from a single toxic chemical accident to an entire industry (i. e. nuclear energy) Other examples may include exposure to pollutants or hazardous waste. Hybrid disasters fit into this category: ex. an earthquake that causes an oil spill from a pipeline. Technological hazards involving the environment are included in this category as well: ex. sinking of the titanic, explosions of the challenger and columbia space. Typically, the death toll from technological hazards is relatively low. Vulnerability is greatest for those involved in industry or transportation systems. Workers in resource industries in hinterlands are at higher risk (i. e. miners) Extreme hazards: widespread and long term (nuclear accidents, cumulative effects (pesticides) Rare catastrophes: airplane crashes, mine collapses, shipwrecks. Cumulative effects: these are conditions that worsen slowly over time as exposure to a concentration increases, eventually the concentration reaches a threshold critical to human health, situations related to this include exposure to pesticides, acid precipitation,
