Lecture # 9 -Technological Hazards Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Lecture # 9 -Technological Hazards Deck (43)
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1
Q

What are some extreme tech hazards?

A

Nuclear

cumulative effects

2
Q

What are some rare tech hazards?

A

Airplane crashes
Mine collapses
Shipwreck

3
Q

What are some more common tech hazards?

A

Car crashes

Poisons

4
Q

What are cumulative effects?

A

These are conditions that worsen slowly overtime as exposure to a concentration increases
-eventually a threshold will be reached

5
Q

What is the risk for large-scale structures (buildings bridges dams)

A

Risk is defined as the probability of failure during the lifetime of the structure

6
Q

What is the risk associated with transportation vehicles?

A

Risk is the probability of death or injury per km travelled

7
Q

What is the risk associated with industries?

A

Risk is the probability of death or injury per person per number of hours exposed

8
Q

Characteristics of Radon

A
  • Froms from the decay of uranium in rock and soil
  • Damages lungs
  • it is odourless, colourless and tasteless, making it hard to detect
  • Can travel easily through non-saturated soils and can seep through buildings and homes
9
Q

What are the most common GMO food crops

A

Corn
Sybean
Canola
-modified to increase yeilds, drought resistant and incorporate pesticides into them

10
Q

What do scientists currently believe now?

A

Benefits outweigh the risks

-can help a lot in developing countries

11
Q

In what way can you be exposed to radiation?

A

Inhaling and ingestion

-impact can be direct or indirect

12
Q

Where do you fin =d most nuclear reactors?

A

In the eastern half of the continent and located near water sources

13
Q

Why is nuclear considered a clean source of energy?

A

It doesn’t emit GHG and can cause climate change

14
Q

What is a nuclear meltdown?

A

Informal term for an accident that results in damage from overheating

15
Q

how does nuclear meltdown occur?

A

When the heat generated by a nuclear reactor exceeds heat removed by the cooling systems
-fuel rods (made from uranium) turn to liquid and the walls of the reactor core could melt from extreme heat

16
Q

Characteristics of the 3 Mile Ireland Nuclear accident

A

March 28th, 1979

  • partial meltdown caused by a failure of a valve that controlled cool water entering the reactor core
  • worst accident in US history
17
Q

Characteristics of the Chernobyl nuclear accident

A

April 26th 1986

  • Caused from a flawed design, operator error and disregard of safety regulations
  • Caused immediate deaths and longterm health problems
  • Their building codes weren’t up to the North American Standard
18
Q

Why did nuclear energy development stop?

A

Combined results of the accidents caused a halt. but now because of the GHG’s we are looking into it more as a cleaner alternative

19
Q

Titanic Characteristics?

A
  • Hit and iceberg and sank on April 15th 1912
  • thought to be unsinkable, and built with the best technology at the time
  • 1517 people died because of the lack of safety boats
  • Sank 37 seconds after it hit
  • instead of turning to avoid the ice burg, it would have been better to hit it straight on
20
Q

Where do most oil spill occur?

A

In marine environments but can also occur on land with pipeline breaks
-cleanups can take months to complete

21
Q

Why are oil spills bad for animals?

A

oil penetrates feathers and fur, which reduces their ability to insulate themselves, leaving them more vulnerable to the elements and environment

22
Q

Characteristics of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

A

caused by an oil striking a rocky reef
March 24th 1989
75 million litres or oil spilled
-remoteness of the spill made it hard to clean up

23
Q

Characteristics of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

A

Caused by an oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico
April 20th 2010
The explosion was caused by methane gas that was release and rose up the pipe and killed 11 people
Released 11 million litres of oil everyday for 5 months
BP was to blame because they made lots of cost cutting measures on safety regulations.

24
Q

What can contaminate ground water?

A

through bacteria, fertilizer, manure, toxic heavy metals, mining operation, tailing ponds

25
Q

What are some infrastructure failures?

A

Highway bridges in Mississippi collapsed
Minneapolis bridge collapsed (too much weight)
Tacoma Bridge Collapsed ( Suspension bridge that didnt account for hole to allow wind to go through)
-issue in north America because off the structures are getting older

26
Q

What are the 2 space related accidents?

A
  1. The Challenger

2. The Columbia

27
Q

Characteristics of the Challenger space mission

A

Exploded 73 seconds after lift off
Jan 28th 1986
7 people died
Faulty O ring was the cause and failed to seal a joint leading to the release of a hot gas that led to the failure of the rocket booster

28
Q

Characteristics of the Columbia space mission

A

Exploded 16 days into space
Feb 1st 2003
Piece of insulation broke off form the external tank which struck the wing and damaged the system that protects the wind from intense heat produced by atmospheric gases

29
Q

What is social unrest?

A

harm that one society of part of a society may to too another through violence
-aka war

30
Q

How people have died form war?

A

150 million in the last 100 years

-mostly civilians

31
Q

What are dubious weapons?

A

Weapons that cause indiscriminate destruction and harm to civilians and the environment

  • pesticides
  • vehicles
  • destruction of dams
  • Fire
32
Q

What dubious weapon was used in a major attack int he US

A

Fire was used in the 9/11 incident

33
Q

What is Napalm

A

thickening agent mixed with gasoline for the use of bombs

  • killed over 1 million people in Nam
  • causes burns and asphyxiation
34
Q

What is agent orange?

A

herbicide

  • used to clear jungles and deprive people of their livelihoods
  • forests were targeted but it affected people too
  • banned in the 70’s
35
Q

What are some post-war hazards?

A

Homelessness
Unexploded bombs and mines
food shortages
International trade disrupted

36
Q

What is geographic violence?

A

Violence during warfare can also target places and living spaces
-manifested in the elimination habitats, landscapes and settlements

37
Q

Place annihilation

A

Use of weapons on human settlements

38
Q

What is ecocide?

A

destruction of a local environment or local ecosystem,

39
Q

What is War on Culture?

A

describes the violence directed at specific buildings and institutions due to their historic and symbolic significance

  • part of eradicating peoples heritage
  • outlawing language, religion and customs through snored assimilation
40
Q

What is demographic violence?

A

group of people may be targeted for violence based on racial, religious, political or ethnic groups
Ex: naziz and jews, Tutsis and Hutus

41
Q

Coventry england air raid

A

November 1940
overwhelmed cvivl defences and but a strain on local health services
568 people killed and destroyed the city core

42
Q

Tokyo Japan air raid

A

March 1945
fire destroyed a lot of tokyo
130 000 people and 1 million people homeless

43
Q

Hiroshima Japan air raid

A

Atomic bomb used
August 1945
80 000 people killed in each city