Environmental Risk Assessment - Assignment Example

Title: Environmental Risk Assessment Name: Registration No: Institution name: Tutor’s name: Due date: Workshop 1 Question 1 a. The risks include the following: Earthquake that is likely to cause instability of buildings and structures at the mining site of Bougainville Earthquake can cause flow of waste materials from the mining site to an inhabited area which can cause deaths of people and animals Mining Activity which will cause destruction of natural beauty of the land and extraction of topsoil suitable for agriculture Earthquake can cause the flow of waste materials from mining areas to flow downwards to cause destruction of residential areas, vegetation and property Clearing of rainforest to allow mining activities to take place Discharge of tailing into Kawerong mountain River which causes siltation of the waters and inability of aquatic animals to live in the water Wastes from the mine discharged into the sea causing deposition of materials on the shoreline and affecting the coastline through rest settling of sediments on the shore and on the way. b. The possible endpoints include the following Residential areas Forests and vegetation cover Kawerong River River water Aquatic Animals Property and buildings in the residential areas The Agricultural Soil c. The following risk matrix will be significant I evaluating the risks with respect to human health and the environment. Consequences Likelihood 1 2 3 4 5 1 Earthquake can cause flow of waste materials from the mining site to an inhabited area which can cause deaths of people and animals Earthquake that is likely to cause instability of buildings and structures at the mining site of Bougainville 2 Clearing of rainforest to allow mining activities to take place 3 Discharge of tailing into Kawerong mountain River which causes siltation of the waters and inability of aquatic animals to live in the water Earthquake can cause the flow of waste materials from mining areas to flow downwards to cause destruction of residential areas, vegetation and property 4 Wastes from the mine discharged into the sea causing deposition of materials on the shoreline and affecting the coastline through rest settling of sediments on the shore and on the way. 5 Mining Activity which will cause destruction of natural beauty of the land and extraction of topsoil suitable for agriculture In the above risk matrix, the risks colored Yellow are low risks. This implies that only ‘Clearing of rainforest to allow mining activities to take place’ is a low risk in this case while medium risks have been colored green. The only high risk according to the risk matrix above is ‘Mining Activity which will cause destruction of natural beauty of the land and extraction of topsoil suitable for agriculture’. This implies that in order to ensure the above risks are controlled and safety is achieved in the island, it is required that safety measures should involve first controlling mining activities which are likely to cause the loss of natural beauty of land and extraction of topsoil that serves the function of achieving agricultural objectives. This should be followed by controlling risks that have medium consequences which are colored green and finally providing s guide on how to control the low risk of ‘Clearing of rainforest to allow mining activities to take place’. d. The main information that will be needed if likelihood estimates are to be converted to probability estimates for ease of assessment will include: The information that will enable conversion of the likelihood estimates into probability estimates include the amount of tailings produced per day in tones, the area of the island occupied by waste materials from mining activities, the amount of debris discharged into Kawerong River in tones and the number of vegetations cleared as a result of mining activities in the island. Another information that will be of great in obtaining probabilistic estimates is the number of people whose property have been destroyed as a result of earthquakes and debris from the mining area and the number of times that earthquakes have been experienced in the island within a period of six months. Question 2 The final outcome of the project will be of great importance in communicating the risks to stakeholders in the overall risk assessment process for attainment of a successful environmental plan in a number of ways. For example, the risk assessment will provide the people involved in mining activities with the potential risks that are likely to be encountered on various end points so that measures are taken to protect the end points. It will also provide a guide on the specific risks which are likely to be experienced by the miners and residents of the island so that precautions are taken during the mining activities to control these risks. Another function of this report is that it will contribute significantly towards understanding the financial loss that will be incurred as a result of ignoring certain types of risks such as property loss when debris from the mining area are not controlled. Consequently, this risk assessment will provide the people involved in the mining processes about these losses so that they can take measures to ensure they are controlled. It also provides a guide in terms of likelihood of risks so that measures and used to control risks on regular basis based on their likelihood of occurring. For instance, the management of the mining activity in the island can be informed of the most likely risks so that they can come up with measures of controlling them such as through the use of safe methods of mining or transportation of tailings to other designated areas where they do not cause damage to vegetation or property and also do not cause high debris to be deposited into Kawerong River. When these recommendations are implemented, it will be possible to control the risks to manageable levels and mining activities will continue in the island with little possibility of destruction of property or loss of vegetation as a result of deposition of loads from mining site into the areas covered with forests. Workshop 2 Question 1 a. The following are the risks in this case: Sulphur emissions from the facility may settle on the water in the springs and ground water wells which can cause infections to the residents when residents use the water The chemical dust from the facility may settle in the ponds where they can be ingested by fish which is eaten by people thus resulting into infections of the villagers These dust may also settle on grass eaten by sheep and reindeer in the nearby farms which may cause infections The birds in near the plant may be inhale dust from the company thus making them infected with the chemicals which may affect people when they are hunted The tidal exchange between the open water and the Northern Atlantic Ocean will cause collection of dust materials from the facility, thus contaminating the water and resulting into infection of aquatic organisms. b. Some of the endpoints include the following: People in the adjacent villages Birds living near the plant Sheep and geese in the farms Aquatic animals in the sea Fish in the ponds c. The following risk matrix will be significant I evaluating the risks with respect to human health and the environment. Consequences Likelihood 1 2 3 4 5 1 The tidal exchange will cause collection of dust materials from the facility, thus contaminating the water 2 The birds in near the plant may be inhale dust from the company thus making them infected 3 4 These dust may also settle on grass eaten by sheep and reindeer in the nearby farms which may cause infections Sulphur emissions from the facility may settle on the water in the springs and result in infections to the residents The chemical dust from the facility may settle in the ponds where they can be ingested by fish which is eaten by people 5 According to the risk matrix above, it is possible to understand the level of risk of a particular kind by looking at its likelihood and potential consequences. When these characteristics of the risk matrix are used, it is found that there is no low risk because there is no risk that has a consequence of a value less than 3 or a likelihood that is less than 2. However, there are medium risks which are highlighted with a Turquoise color in the risk matrix. This is because; they have either the consequence or likelihood equal to or greater then 3. In terms of high risk, it is found that this project has two activities that are high risk. This is based on the argument that either the likelihoods of these events are equal to or greater than 4 or their consequences are equal to or greater than 4. This is represented by the risks highlighted with a Pink color. d. There are various forms of information that will be needed if the estimates are to be used to compute probabilistic estimates: An example of information that will be important in providing probabilistic estimates of the risks above is the number of times that tidal waves take place so that the number of times it is contaminated with dust from the facility can be known. In addition, it will be necessary to get an estimate of the amount of dust eliminated from the facility so that the possibility of infection can be estimated. Another estimate that will be important is the number of deaths of animals, humans or birds that have been reported in a particular period as a result of exposure to the dust from the facility. This will enable making a projection of the people deaths as s result of exposure to the chemicals in the future. In addition, it will be important to determine the amount of suplhur, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and perflourinated compounds in the dust eliminated by the facility. This will enable establishment of the level of toxicity of the emission from the plant and the possibility of causing contamination of humans, animals and vegetation. In addition, the chemical compositions of vegetations in the areas should be determined so that it is established whether there is a high concentration of the chemicals emitted by the company or not. Question 2 This project will be significant in achieving the success of the aluminum plant and reduce the possibility of neglecting the project if the stakeholders implement the recommendations made as a result of risk assessment of the facility. This is because this project provides a concise evaluation of the risks and communicates the possible risks as a result of the operation of the plant in proximity to an area where people live and there are a number of other activities that can be affected by the activities of the company. For instance, this report provides an evaluation of the level of risk associated with various activities so that the management of the facility can take precautionary measures to control these activities such as through reduction of the pollutant chemical dusts and also ensuring people and animals in the surrounding are protected from the chemical dust. In addition, this report provides the likelihood of occurrence of certain types of risks during the construction of the aluminum plant. This will ensure the management of the facility determines control measures for particular types of risks to prevent their recurrence. Consequently, people, animals and vegetation will be protected from harm resulting from exposure to the dust chemicals from the facility. Generally, by implementing the recommendations of this report, the people involved in the construction and operation of the facility will be in a position to operate the facility with little impact on the residents of the villages while they will avoid the possibility of being closed as a result of being harmful to human health and environ. References Kapustka, L., Landis, W. G., & Wiley InterScience (Online service). 2010.Environmental risk assessment and management from a landscape perspective. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Labatt, S., & White, R. R. 2002. Environmental finance: A guide to environmental risk assessment and financial products. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley. Robson, M., & Toscano, W. 2007. Risk assessment for environmental health. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More