Notes: Preventing Common Human - Induced Disasters

(i) Common human induced hazards are, industrial accidents rail, road, air and fire accidents, terrorist attacks, dam failures, leakage of toxic waste, war and civil strife etc.
(ii) Nuclear, chemical and biological accidents also fall in this category.

(i) Nuclear chemical and industrial and biological accidents are popularly known as Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD.
(ii) Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are weapons which bring huge loss to life, property and environment.
(iii) The term covers several weapon types including Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) and increasingly radiological weapons.

(i) A nuclear weapon is a type of explosive weapon that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
(ii) A nuclear weapon with a small amount of yield is significantly more powerful than the largest conventional explosives and a single weapon is capable of destroying an entire city.
(iii) There are two basic types of nuclear weapons. The first are weapons which produce their explosive energy through nuclear fission reactions alone. These are known as atomic bombs; A-bombs or fission bombs.
(iv) A second basic types of nuclear produces a large amount of its energy through nuclear fusion, reactions and can be over a thousand times more powerful than fission bombs, as fusion reactions release much more energy for unit of mass than fission reactions. These are known as hydrogen bombs, H-bombs, thermonuclear bombs, or fusion bombs.

which can be used by anti social elements or terrorist groups.

(i) Do not panic in the event of a nuclear attack or accident.
(ii) Do not look at the fire blast as it can cause instant blindness.
(iii) Close all doors and windows and stay indoors till further communications from the government.
(iv) Radioactivity does not penetrate solid structures through fire may cause damage to buildings.
(v) Cover all food and water do not consume water, milk, food obtained following a nuclear blast.
(vi) Await government instructions/communications if you have to move out of your house.

(i) The usage of chemicals has increased to great extent in human life.
(ii) Chemicals are used for increasing crop production, purifying water, painting our homes etc.
(iii) Chemicals which are helpful to mankind in some way or the other are also hazardous to humans and environment.
(iv) Some of the hazardous chemicals that can be found in every household are hair spray and deodorant, nail polish
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and nail polish remover, toilet bowl cleaners, wall paint and furniture polish.
(v) Manufacturing of chemicals are a source of contamination through hazardous materials.
(vi) Service stations, hospitals and hazardous material, waste sites are other sources of contamination.
(vii) Hazardous material comes in the form of explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons, and radioactive material.
(viii) These substances are most often released as a result of transportation accidents, lack of proper storage, use or disposal or because of chemical accidents in plants.
(ix) Chemical Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMD) are normally easy to manufacture using simple chemical. They are difficult to detect as most of the Chemical WMD are colourless and odourless.
(x) Dispersion is the simplest technique of delivering an agent to its target. It consists of placing the chemical agent upon or adjacent to a target immediately before dissemination so that material is most efficiently used.
(xi) You and your community are at risk if a chemical is used without following safety precautions or released in harmful amounts into the environment where you live, work or play. e.g., 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, where a highly toxic gas was released into the air at a Union Carbide pesticide facility and killed more than 3,000 people.
(x) Warning
(a) The onset of an industrial/chemical accident can be rapid (minutes and hours) and/or sudden with no warning depending on the nature of occurrence.
(b) Release of chemicals may be because of human error, technological failure or natural activities which include geological activity like earthquake, natural fires, floods etc.

(i) Since there is little or no warning in case of an industrial/chemical accident, the loss incurred is very high.
(ii) There is huge loss of life, property and livelihood and environment.
(iii) Hazardous materials in various forms can cause death, serious injury, long-lasting health effects, damage to buildings, homes and other property.
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(iv) The areas close to an industrial set up are under immediate threat.
(v) People working in that industry or people residing in the neighbouring areas are normally affected.
(vi) There has been large number of incidents where the farmers have faced the brunt of crop loss because of the toxic gases released by the industries into the air or polluting the water.

(i) The first symptoms of a possible chemical leakage are irritation, burning and redness in the noistrils and eyes followed by dizziness and disorientation.
(ii) Pungent or bitter sweat smelled indicate the presence of a gas in the air.

(i) Hazard Mapping
(a) Inventories and maps of storage locations of toxins or hazardous substances along with the possible characteristics should be displayed and known to all.
(b) The community staying in the immediate vicinity should be aware of this hazard and its possible effects in case of an accident.
(c) The map should also determine the area that may get affected in case an accident occurs.
(d) A safe evacuation route should marked on the map for use in case of emergency.
(ii) Land Use Planning
(a) Densely populated residential areas should be located at a distance from industrial areas.
(b) A buffer zone (green belt) should separate the industrial and residential zone.
(c) Better planning is required to handle the waste that is generated so that the environment is not affected.
(d) Safe disposal methods should be planned before setting up any industry.
(e) Waste disposal sites should be identified as part of the planning process.
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(iii) Community Preparedness
(a) The community should be aware of the hazardous installations and know how to be combat the situation.
The local community has to be informed about the response steps to be taken in case of an accident.
(b) Community members should monitor the pollution levels of the industry and participate in mock drills for evacuation.
(iv) Other Possible Risk Reduction Measures
(a) Improve fire resistance and warning systems.
(b) Improve fire fighting and pollution dispersion capabilities.
(c) Develop emergency relief and evacuation planning for employees and nearby settlements.
(d) Incident response training should be provided to the employees of the industry.
(e) Maintain a wind flow diagram of the region.
(f) Limit storage capacity of the toxic substances.
(g) Insurance for industries and safety legislation.

(i) Biological weapons are referred to as a ''poor man’s nuclear bomb'' because they are easy to manufacture, can be deployed without sophisticated delivery system, and have the ability to kill or injure hundreds of thousands of people.
(ii) Simple devices such as crop dusting, airplanes or small perfume atomisers are effective delivery systems for biological agents.
(iii) In contrast to chemical, conventional and nuclear weapons that generate immediate effects, biological agents are generally associated with a delay in the onset of illness
(hours to days).
(iv) Illness from biological weapons are not likely to be recognised in their initial stages.
(v) With highly transmissible agents (e.g., plague and smallpox) the time delay in recognition can result in widespread secondary exposure to others, including doctors and health staff.

(i) A biological attack is the release of germs or other biological substances. The germs must be inhaled, or enter
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through a cut in the skin or be eaten to make the victim fall sick.
(ii) Some biological agents cause contagious diseases others do not.
(iii) A biological attack may or may not be immediately obvious.
(iv) You are likely to learn of the danger through an emergency radio or TV broadcast, and through loudspeaker in rural areas.

(i) If you become aware of an unusual or suspicious release of an unknown substance nearby, it does not hurt to protect yourself and others.
(ii) You should get away from the substance as quickly as possible.
(iii) Cover your mouth and nose with layers of fabric that can filter the air but still allow breathing.