Geography 2152F/G Lecture 9: Technological Hazards / Pandemics
5 Sep 2021
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
They can vary from a single toxic chemical accident to an entire industry (nuclear energy) Other examples may include exposure to pollutants, hazardous waste and hybrid disasters. Technological disasters involving the environment are included in this category as well. Ex; an earthquake that causes an oil or chemical spill from a pipeline. Ex; sinking of the titanic, explosions of the challenger and columbia space. Typically, the death tolls from technological hazards are relatively low. Vulnerability is great for these involved in industry or transportation systems. Workers in resource industries in hinterlands are at higher risk (miners) 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 toxic chemicals, acid precipitation, groundwater contamination and ozone depletion. Risk is de ned as the probability of failure during the lifetime of the structure.
