environmental hazards

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DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY LUCKNOW(U.P.) 2014-15

ENGLISH

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

Submitted to:-

Submitted by:-

Dr.(Mrs.)Alka Singh

Shubham Nider

Assistant Professor(Law)

R.no.=135 Sec-B

Faculty Member

B.A.LL.B(Hons.) st

1  Semester

Teacher’s sign:-

Student’s sign:-

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:Firstly, I would like to thank respected Assistant Professor Dr.(Mrs.)Alka Singh, for giving me such a golden opportunity to

show my skills and capability through this project. This project is the result of the extensive ultrapure study, hard work and labour, put into to make it directly or indirectly contributed in the development of this work and who influenced my thinking, behaviour, and acts during the course of study. Lastly, I would like to thank the almighty and my  parents for their moral support and my shared

my

day-to-day experience

and

friends with whom received

lots

I of

suggestions that improved my quality of work. By:Shubham Nider

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CONTENT:1.Introduction……………………………………………4 2.Types Of Environmental Hazards……………………5 

Physical hazards………………………………………5

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Chemical hazards…………………………………… 5

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Biologicalhazards……………………………………..5

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Cultural hazards………………………………………6

3.Indoor Environmental Hazards………………………6 4.Physical Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects………………………………….6 5.Chemical Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects………………………………….8 6.Biological Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects…………………………...……11 7.Hierarchy Of Hazards Control………………………12 

Elimination……………………………………………12

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Substitution…………………………………………...12

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Engineered controls………………………………….12

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Administrative controls……………………………...13

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Personal protective equipment………………………13

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INTRODUCTION:As we enter the twenty-first century, the earth supports a human population which, in general, is more numerous, healthier and wealthier than ever before. At the same time, there is an unprecedented awareness of risk in the environment together with a growing concern for the continuing death and destruction caused by 'natural' hazards. This paradox exists because natural hazards and human progress are rooted in the s ame ongoing processes of global change. As the world population grows and owns more material possessions, and as the built environment expands to accommodate such changes, greater numbers of people and property are put at risk from the forces of nature. These demographic and social trends also impose heavy burdens on precious natural assets, such as l and and water. Many people in the poorest countries now have a fragile dependence on a degraded resource base which becomes  progressively less able to withstand pressures from environmental forces. Human progress has also led to the emergence of 'man-made' threats. Environmental hazards are no longer limited to major geophysical events, such as earthquakes and floods, but include industrial explosions, major transport accidents and other technological threats. A growing recognition of hazard is encouraged because disasters make news.With the continuing improvement in global communications and widespread media reporting, the graphic results of hazards, both natural and man-made, feature repeatedly in newspapers and on television screens throughout the world.

What, then, is the reality? Is the worId becoming a more dangerous place? Are natural hazards increasing? Why does human society appear more vulnerable to certain environmental processes? What is the added risk from the newer technological hazards? Is it  possible to eliminate environmental hazards? If not, how can we define an acceptable level of risk? What is a disaster? What are the best means of mitigating disaster? Why, despite the investment in disaster reduction measures, do losses continue to rise?

Clear answers to all these questions remain elusive. Although a concern for risk can be traced  back to the earliest recorded times (Cove110 and Mumpower, 1985), broad-based research

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into natural hazards did not begin until almost the middle of the twentie th century. Until then, hazards had been viewed as isolated geophysical events, somehow divorced from society, which were to be tamed by engineering works, such as dams and levees. Gilbert White (1936, 1945) was the first person to question these att itudes by asserting that river control schemes were not necessarily the best  –  or the only - way to tackle flood problems in the USA. As a geographer, White's contribution was to introduce a social perspective. He cast natural hazards into a human ecological framework, operating at the interface of both natural and human systems, which allowed for other solutions than the 'structural' schemes as then implemented by civil engineers. Over the next 20-30 years, this pioneering work was extended by geographers associated with the 'Chicago School', whilst social s cientists, such as sociologists, began their own interpretation of the role played by people in 'natural' hazards.

Types Of Environmental Hazards:We face countless environmental hazards ever y day. To better understand them, we can think of them as falling into four categories: physical, chemical, biological and cultural.

Physical hazards are physical processes that occur naturally in the environment. These include natural disaster events such as earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, blizzards, landslides and droughts. Not all physical hazards are discrete events - some are ongoing, like ultraviolet radiation. UV radiation is considered a hazar d because it damages DNA and can cause human health issues like skin cancer and cataracts.

Chemical hazards can be both natural and human-made chemicals in the environment. Human-made chemical hazards include many of the synthetic chemicals we  produce, like disinfectants, pesticides and plastics. Some chemical hazards occur naturally in the environment, like the heavy metals lead and mercury. Some organisms even produce natural chemicals that are an environmental hazard, such as the compounds in peanuts and dairy that cause allergic reactions in humans.

Biological hazards come from ecological interactions between organisms. Viruses,  bacterial infections, malaria and tuberculosis are all examples of biological hazards. When these pathogens and diseases are transferred between organisms, it's called an infectious

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disease. We suffer from these diseases and pathogens because we're being parasitized by

another organism, which, while hazardous, is also a natural process.

Cultural hazards, also known as social hazards, result from your location, socioeconomic status, occupation and behavioral choices. For example, smoking cigarettes is hazardous to your health, and this is a behavioral choice. If you live in a neighborhood with lots of crime, this is a hazard based on your location. Similarly, your diet, exercise habits and primary mode of transportation all influence your health and the health of the environment around you.

Indoor Environmental Hazards:As you can see, environmental hazards can come from a vari ety of sources. While many hazards come from outdoor sources, indoor sources are especially important to understand  because we spend so much of our time inside. Your home, office and car are all part of your environment and can all be sources of environmental hazards. For example, radon gas is a very toxic indoor hazard. Radon is a colorl ess and odorless radioactive gas that seeps into homes from rocks, soil and water underneath. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., coming in just behind tobacco smoke. Lead is another indoor environmental hazard. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that can cause damage to major organs like your brain, liver, kidneys and stomach. Lead also causes mental retardation, anemia and hearing loss. Lead is found in homes in old pipes and paint. When water passes through lead pipes, it contaminates the water and causes lead poising. Lead in paint is especially dangerous to children because babies and young children like to  peel paint from walls and then eat or inhale the lead from the paint. Asbestos is yet another indoor hazard. Asbestos has long been used for insulation in  buildings, but its good insulating properties also make it dangerous. When asbestos is inhaled, the fibrous structure of this mineral makes it stick in your lung tissue, and the rest of the body then produces an acid to fight it. The acid scars the lung tissue but doesn't really do much to get rid of the asbestos, and the result is lung cancer or non-functioning lungs.

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Physical Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects:Although you will have heard or read a great deal about the environmental consequences of global warming, man will probably be affected through famine, or war long before the health of the population as a whole is harmed to a serious degree by the temperature change. However increasing extremes of temperature, as a result of climatic change, could result in increased mortality even in temperate climates. Important issues concerning physical hazards include those relating to health effects of electromagnetic radiation and ionising radiation. If one excludes the occupational environment, then noise and other physical hazards may present a nuisance to many inhabitants, and impair general well being. Environmental noise does not usually contribute but notable exceptions may include noisy discotheques and "personal stereos". Electromagnetic radiation ranges from low frequency,relatively low energy, radiation such as radio and microwaves through to infra red, visible light, ultraviolet, X-ra ys and gamma rays. These last as well as other forms of radioactivity such as high energy subatomic particles (e.g. electrons - Beta rays) can cause intracellular ionisation and are therefore called ionising radiation. Exposure (UV) radiation carries a increased risk of skin cancer such as melanoma, and of cataracts which are to an extent exposure related. Some pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants or in aerosol propellants or in the manufacture of certain plastics can damage the "ozone layer" in the higher atmosphere (stratosphere) and thus allow more UV light to reach us, and harm us directly.. Radioactivity is associated with an exposure dependent risk of some cancers notably leukaemia. Contrary to popular belief however, most radiation to which the average person is exposed is natural in origin, and, of the man made sources, medical dia gnosis and treatment is on average the largest source to the individual. A very important issue is the extent to gas arising from certain rock types beneath dwellings can contribute to cancer risk. According to some estimates it could result in a few thousand cancer deaths per year in the U.K. (but still  probably less than one twentieth of the cancer deaths alone caused by tobacco smoking).

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Ionising radiation from the nuclear industry and from fallout from detonations contributes less than 1% of the annual average dose to inhabitants of the U.K. The explanation for leukaemia clusters around nuclear power plants is not yet resolved. Similar clustering can occur in other parts of the country. The effect of viral infections associated with population shifts may be important but requires further study.  Non ionising electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic fields are an increasing focus of attention. The scientific evidence of adverse health effects from general environmental exposure to these fields is "not proven". If there ar e adverse effects yet to be proven, the risk is probably likely to be very small.

Chemical Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects:If one includes tobacco smoke as an environmental hazard then it probably represents the single biggest known airborne chemical risk to health, whether measured in terms of death rates or ill-health (from lung cancer, other lung disease such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and disease of the heart, especially, and of blood vessels and other parts of the  body). To a much lesser degree of risk, these adverse effects apply to non-smokers exposed  passively to sidestream tobacco smoke. General airborne pollution arises from a variet y of causes but can usefully be subdivided into  pollution from combustion or from other sources. The image shows the silhouette of a power station - an important source of airborne products of combustion. Combustion of coal and other solid fuels can produce smoke (containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - PAH) and sulphur dioxide besides other agents such as those also produced  by: Combustion of liquid petroleum products which can generate carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and other agents. Industry and incineration can generate a wide range of products of combustion such as oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,

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dioxins etc. Combustion of any fossil fuel generates varying amounts of particulate matter. It also adds to the environmental burden of carbon dioxide - an important "green house" gas  but in these low concentrations it does not affect human health directly. Combustion of fuel can also generate hazardous substances in other wa ys, besides by chemical oxidation, such as  by liberating benzene (from the "cracking" of petrol) or lead (from leaded petrol). Some of the primary pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide can, under the influence of UV light generate secondary pollutants notably ozone (an allotrope of oxygen).Find out more about in relation to these substances. Undoubtedly tens of thousands of deaths have resulted from acute pollution episodes (e.g. the smogs in large cities in the early 1950s). Nowadays some people e.g. asthmatics can be adversely affected by excursions in levels of urban air pollution (notably ozone) in some major cities. What is still unclear is the extent to which urban airborne pollution in the majority of cities complying with current air quality guidelines, contributes to ill health, i.e. whether the air quality guidelines are stringent enough, to protect all the population. Health effects of concern are , bronchitis and similar lung diseases, and there is good evidence relating an increased risk of symptoms of these diseases with increasing concentration of sulphur dioxide, ozone and other pollutants. Moreover, there is increasing evidence to suggest that pollution from particulate matter at levels hitherto considered "safe" is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiopulmonary disease especially in people with other risk factors (such as old age, or heart and lung disease). These concerns are the subject of a great deal of research throughout the world. Although high occupational exposures to exhaust especially from diesel, and to benzene does increase the risk of some , reliable direct evidence of an increased to cancer risk to the population at large from the lower levels to which they are exposed is lacking. Incineration can also generate hazardous substances if substances not best suited for disposal  by incineration are "disposed" of in this way or if incineration is carried out at too low a temperature (for example this may generate dioxins). Products of combustion and other harmful airborne pollutants can also arise within the home. Thus nitrogen dioxide generated by gas fires or gas cookers can contribute to an increased respiratory morbidity of those living in the houses. Certain modern building materials may

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liberate gases or vapours such as formaldehyde at low concentration but which might  provoke mild respiratory and other symptoms in some occupants. Modern building standards for asbestos in buildings are such that the resulting airborne fibre concentrations are so small as not to present any risk at all of asbestosis. However some estimates suggest that perhaps one extra death per year might result in the UK from asbestos related cancer as a result of non-occupational exposure in buildings. The image shows an asbestos body i.e. an asbestos fibre which has been coated by ferruginous protein during its residence with in the human lung. Large scale industrial releases with serious acute effects are fortunately rare but you might recollect some events such as in Bhopal (India). Various smaller scale events occur s uch as leaks from road tankers, or fires in warehouses and factories.Special local environmental exposures can arise for example in communities exposed to drifting pesticide sprays containing say, organophosphates. Some natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions can  present serious risks to health. Fortunately they are rare but can be catastrophic. There is good epidemiological evidence that this can have a r elatively small but measurable harmful effect especially on neurological function even at levels hitherto considered "acceptable". Other adverse effects can arise from chemicals added to the water. Chlorination of water has probably saved millions of Some concern has been raised about  possible increased cancer risks in association with chlorinated water but there is as yet no  proof that a causal association between the two exists. Fluoride added to water reduces the risks of caries but can also have unwanted effects such as mottling of the te eth.  Nitrate in water usually arising from fertiliser leaching (natural or artificial) can increase the risk of methaemoglobinaemia ('blue babies') in bottle fed infants but this is extremely rare. Although pesticides can and do leach into water, there is no evidence that the current standards for water quality are inadequate in this respect, but most standards are based on evidence other than human epidemiology which in this context is extremely difficult to conduct. Beyond the point of supply further problems in drinking water quality may result. Thus for example water tanks containing lead may increase the burden of this metal in the water, while water softeners may increase its sodium content (can be harmful for bottle fed

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infants). Deposition of solid hazardous waste can result in harmful substances leaching into water supplies, becoming airborne or being swallowed or otherwise absorbed directly (for example  because of children playing on the sites). If the sites are well contained to prevent leaching into water supplies and segregated from human activit y then the risk to human health is usually immeasurably small. However where the position of disposal sites and their contents are unknown and houses are proposed to be built on them or they are to be developed in other ways, extensive prior investigation may be needed in an attempt to estimate health risks.

Biological Hazards, and their Adverse Health Effects:These generally fall into two broad categories: those which produce adverse health effects through infection and those which produce adverse effects in non-infective (all ergic) ways. As regards microbiological hazards substantial improvements in the health of the population have resulted historically from the supply of drinking water free from disease causing organisms such as cholera. Similar improvements can be expected in the health of the inhabitants of developing countries if microbiologically safe water is provided by avoidance of contamination, and appropriate purification inc luding disinfection (usually by chlorination). Occasional outbreaks of waterborne infection still a rise from contamination of drinking water by soiled water (usually coliforms). There can be other opportunities for further bacteriological contamination. Thus Legionella can grow in sumps or dead legs in the plumbing system and may then be dispersed as aerosols from showers. Recreational water which is heavily contaminated with pathogens, notably coliform bacteria has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal and other infectious illness, usually self-limiting.

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So-called "clinical" waste is not merely an occupational hazard of health care workers but is  becoming an increasingly more important risk, for example for children finding blood stained needles. Many allergens such as grass pollen grains, or fae cal material from house dust mites may cause attacks of asthma or "hay fever" (allergic rhinitis). There is evidence that high exposure to these allergens early in life, increases the risk of suffering from asthma later on. An increasing number of studies suggest that airborne chemical pollution can act synergistically with naturally occurring allergens a nd result in effects on lung function at concentrations lower than those at which either the allergen or the chemical irritant on its own would have produced an adverse effect.

HIERARCHY OF HAZARDS CONTROL:Elimination:Eliminating the hazard —  physically removing it — is the most effective hazard control. For example, if employees must work high above the ground, the hazard can be eliminated by moving the piece they are working on to ground level to eliminate the need to work at heights.

Substitution:Substitution, the second most effective hazard control, involves replacing something that  produces a hazard (similar to elimination) with something that does not produce a hazard —  for example,replacing lead based paint with acrylic paints,. To be an effective control, the new product must not produce another hazards. Because airborne dust can be hazardous, if a  product can be purchased with a larger particle size, the smaller product may effectively be substituted with the larger product.

Engineered controls:The third most effective means of controlling hazards is engineered controls. These do not

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eliminate hazards, but rather isolate people from hazards. Capital costs of engineered controls tend to be higher than less effective controls in the hierarchy, however they may reduce future costs For example, a crew might build a work platform rather than purchase, replace, and maintain full arrest equipment. "Enclosure and isolati on" creates a physical  barrier between personnel and hazards, such as using remotely controlled equipment. Fume hoods can remove airborne contaminants as a means of engineered control.

Administrative controls:Administrative controls are changes to the way people work. Examples of administrative controls include procedure changes, employee training, and installation of signs and warning labels (such as those workplace hazardous materia ls information system). Administrative controls do not remove hazards, but limit or prevent people's exposure to the hazards, such as completing road construction at night when fewer people are driving.

Personal protective equipment:(PPE) includes gloves,respirators,hard hats,safety glasses,high visibility clothes and safety footwear. PPE is the least effective means of controlling hazards because of the high  potential for damage to render PPE ineffective Additionally, some PPE, such as respirators, increase physiological effort to complete a task and, therefore, may require medical examinations to ensure workers can use the PPE without risking their health.

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BIBLEOGRAPHY:www.wikipedia.org/wiki/ http://envfor.nic.in/ 

Newspapers, magzines Referred. BOOKS REFERRED:-

1. Environmental Pollution and Hazards Patro

L. R.

Discovery Publishing House

2. Global Environmental Crises : Hazards and Risk Management

S. Gaur Aadi

Publications/book Enclave