Human-induced
hazards are in essence, risks brought upon by human creations. These hazards
can result in disasters when there are failures in the man-made system.
Human-induced disasters often result in mass death, harm to the environment, as
well as extreme damages to infrastructure, overall affecting the wellbeing of a
population. Two examples of human-induced hazards that resulted into infamous
disasters are the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and the Cherynobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Disaster.
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill took place on March
24, 1989 on the tanker Exxon Valdez making its way from Valdez, Alaska to Los
Angeles, California spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of Prudhoe Bay
crude oil into Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, Alaska. The oil dispersed
after a storm a few days after the spill, overall spreading out to over 9,000
miles of shoreline. Shoreline clean up carried out for around a year and half
and the area is still being monitored for long term effects of such a large oil
spill. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989 is considered an example of a
human-induced hazard that triggered a human-induced disaster because the spill
occurred as a result of human error. The Exxon Mobile company is one of the top
5 public companies in the world and the richest company for oil, the Exxon
Valdez being one of their tankers. Prior to the oil spill, the Exxon Valdez ran
into icebergs along the shipping lanes and as a result navigated away from the
lanes. Despite instructions to move back into the shipping lanes after a
certain point, the pilots on the Exxon Valdez did not and as a result ran the
ship aground on Bligh Reef. Although there is no definite explanation as to why
instructions were not met, there have been speculations as to whether Exxon
Mobile provided adequate, well-rested crew aboard the Exxon Valdez or whether
it was a flaw in the traffic system. As a result of this oil spill, there were
economic, social, as well as environmental impacts. Some economic impacts
include loss of recreational sport fishing, loss of tourism, as well as an
overall loss in value of the Prince William Sound region to the public. Costs
to relocate the birds and other marine and wild life after the spill also
negatively impacted the economy. The herring population significantly decreased
and as a result forced many companies who were reliant on herring out of
business. Social impacts include the
loss of business and homes and the overall stress of the situation resulted in
higher alcoholism and violence incidents. Finally, environmental impacts
include loss of biodiversity as well as loss of habitat of the many shore/sea
birds and marine/terrestrial mammals.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Disaster took
place on April 26th 1986 and is another example of a human-induced
disaster. The disaster took place in Chernobyl Ukraine after there were a
series of explosions during an emergency power failure drill. This occurred
when nuclear reactors overheated as the emergency generators powered up. The
explosions released radioactive fuel and material into the atmosphere and
surrounding areas making Chernobyl highly radioactive and un-useable for the
next 200 years. As a result, approximately 237 people suffered acute radiation
sickness, 52 died in the months following the accident, and in total 135,000
people were evacuated from the area and forced to relocate. Some economic
impacts include the loss in profits from agriculture as a result of
contaminated farm land. This subsequently affected not only Ukraine but also
countries such as Russia and Belarus.
There are some
similarities that can be seen in the two examples. Both the Exxon Oil Spill and
the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster had drastic negative impacts on the surrounding
areas economically, socially, as well as environmentally and in general
affected the wellbeing of the population (Human and other organisms). As well,
both disasters originated as a result of pre-existing hazards; the Exxon
Valdez navigating through obstructed
shipping lanes with over 53 million gallons cargo of crude oil and the
Chernobyl Nuclear engineers dealing with large amounts of radiation.
Furthermore, both disasters resulted out of human error and flaws in man-made
systems. The differences that can be seen include the magnitude of the disaster
as well as the amount of full restoration time. Overall however, the two examples
are relatively the same in that they are both human-induced and have serious
ramifications for all those affected. Some potential precautions that can be
taken in the future for the Exxon Oil Spill include:
1. Add
more staff on board the ships for futher assistance in hazardous situations
2.
Decrease work time so staff can get more sleep and less fatigue
3.Provide alcohol and drug test when going on
board the ship
4. Provide
alternative routes for the ship in case of climate causes IE iceberg
5. Provide a better quality of training for the staff
in order to deal with uncommon situations.
Some potential precautions that can be
taken in the future for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Incident include:
1.
Place nuclear power plants away from cluster of towns/cities to avoid
mass exodus of people when an accident occurs.
2.
Provide better quality of training for the personnel so that they become
highly skilled and knowledgeable in the field of nuclear engineering.
3. Place strict, adequate chief engineers
within the power plant as the engineers tested an unauthorized test.
4.
Design better nuclear reactors that are more resistant to overheating.
5. Have firefighters, and a crew nearby to
slow down the leakage of radiation in an event of emergency.
