...These values have been embodied for more than 25 years in our Business Principles, which since 1997 have included a commitment to support human rights and to contribute to sustainable development.”[3] The case in Vila Carioca (São Paulo City) below illustrates a tough decision the company must make in order to keep its commitments, especially when the company’s past actions occurred in a different institutional and regulatory environment. Vila Carioca is a neighborhood in the southern part of São Paulo, the largest city in South America.[4] Greenpeace and the Union of Workers in the Mining and Petroleum Sector (Sinpetrol) alleged in the 1990s that the region had its soil, air and water contaminated by several pollutants from industrial activities that took place in the area. The pollution may have contaminated approximately 30,000 people residing in the area.[5] Shell is accused of being one of the main sources responsible for the pollution among companies operating in the region. One national newspaper (Folha de São Paulo) considers that Vila Carioca may...
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... Effects of Water Pollution Alexandra Garcia Miami Dade College Kendall Campus 1 EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION 2 Effects of Water Pollution Industrial development and production in western first-world countries has long ago reached the level when it is able to dramatically affect the environment. Among such industryrelated problems as air pollution, soil contamination, radioactive waste, and so on, the problem of low-quality water stands as one of the first places in terms of its importance for the survival of humankind. Therefore, information about the negative effects of water pollution should be not only studied, but spread among the general populous, taken into consideration, and prevented. One of the biggest problems connected to poor water quality is that entire food chains are drastically affected or even become extinct because of increased toxicity. Such pollutants as lead or cadmium get into water, and contaminate microorganisms living in it. These microorganisms are consumed by bigger species – such as plankton – which, in its turn, is eaten by even larger animals, and so on. Eventually, this chain leads to human beings, because people all over the world consume fish and seafood. Thus, by polluting oceans people worsen their overall wellbeing. Another problem connected to the contamination of water is the disruption of entire ecosystems. An ecosystem is the way of interaction between creatures that inhabit a certain area, and depends on each...
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...use of the soil or endangering public health and the living environment. Soil contaminants are spilled onto the surface through many different activities. Most of these are the result of accidents involving the vehicles that are transporting waste material from site of origin to a disposal site. Soil pollution is particularly dangerous for the environment and our health because soil, either in the mountains or in the plains, contains the largest part of the water we drink and produces all the food we need. There are many types of soil pollution, each one with its own features and preventive measures to avoid disasters. What is soil pollution anyways? Soil pollution is defined or can be described as the contamination of soil of a particular region. Soil pollution mainly is a result of penetration of harmful pesticides and insecticides, which on one hand serve whatever their main purpose is, but on the other hand, bring about...
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...accommodate them. Causes The factors which contribute to environmental pollution exist in plenty. While air pollution is attributed to burning of fossil fuels, water pollution is associated with drainage of waste. Similarly, noise pollution is caused when the level of noise crosses certain decibels, and soil pollution or land pollution is caused as a result of contamination of soil due to the introduction of chemicals in the same. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on agricultural land results in contamination of soil. These chemicals stay in the soil for a long time and eventually come in contact with our body through the food that we consume, which is grown in the polluted soil. While thermal pollution is attributed to its use as coolant by power plants and industries, radiation pollution is attributed to accidents involving radioactive substances as a result of human error. That, however, is just a brief explanation, and each of these causes of pollution are attributed to numerous human activities. For instance, air pollution is caused when various harmful gases are released in the atmosphere from industrial plants and automobiles. The concept of water pollution includes the...
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...Lecture 8 Theme: Technogenic hazards. Outline: 1 Technogenic emergencies and accidents 2 Transport accidents 3 Accidents on chemically hazardous objects (HHO) 4 Accidents at radiation hazardous objects (RHO) 5 Accidents on fire, explosion hazardous objects (FEHO) 6 Accidents on hydro-technical construction (HTC) 7 Electric shock TECHNOGENIC EMERGENCIES AND ACCIDENTS Technogenic (Anthropogenic) tmergensies - the situation in a certain area, established as a result of the accident, a major accident (crash) that resulted in the loss of life, damage to human health or the environment, considerable material losses and disruption of human living conditions. Anthropogenic catastrophe - an event with tragic consequences, a major accident with human death. Classification of accidents by severity and scale: Accident - minor accident with minor damage. Accident to the great detriment called - major accidents. Catastrophe - a large-scale accident that led to numerous casualties, significant property damage and other severe consequences. Accidents include the damages of: - Machines - Equipment - Vehicles - Power systems, buildings. They may be accompanied by explosions, fires, release of chemical, radioactive substances, without considerable material damage and serious human casualties (explosions can be caused by improper use of household and gas stoves or gas cylinders). In most cases, these accidents are evoked by violation of the production technology...
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...Marco Crespo Professor Joyce Martin En12 07 February, 2014 Phytoremediation: Seeing Through a Beneficial Solution An accident happened on April 26, 1986, when a unexpected surge of power during a system test destroyed unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl in Ukraine, former Soviet Union. A devastating amount of radioactive material was released into the environment. 30 kilometres around the plant around the plant was closed after the accident. About one hundred fifteen thousand people were evacuated around 1986 and in the following years, about two hundred thousand more were also forced to vacate. Sadly, the problem did not end there. Three years after the incident, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessed the situation around the Chernobyl. Toxic metals and radioactive emission like iodine, cesium-137, plutonium and strontium were found in the plants, soil and even animals. Ever since 1991, the Canadian Nuclear Association also noted that there is a sudden increase in the rate of thyroid cancer. This is happened because cesium-137 or radioactive cesium, with a mass number of 137, has the capability to enter the food chain and can be delivered around an internal dosage of radiation before it can be metabolically eliminated. To prevent this from spreading, livestock were only fed plants that are uncontaminated or plants that cannot accumulate heavy metals. After that, a method was introduced to clean the soil from the toxins. This is called...
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...The level for PCE was above 5 ppb (parts per billion) - Recently, EPA added hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), 1,4- dioxane, 1,2,3 Trichloropropane (TCP) a) Chromium- 6 could cause allergic dermatitis and be carcinogenic to humans. Chromium-6 is usually discharged from steel and pulp mills. i. The highest value detected in drinking water wells has been 15 parts per billion grams per liter b) 1, 4 dioxane is mainly used as a solvent for resins, oils, and waxes. Short term inhalation can result in drowsiness, headache, anorexia, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. c) Trichloropropane, characterized with colorless to straw-colored liquid, is a chlorinated hydrocarbon with high chemical stability. TCP is usually used as an industrial solvent and as a cleaning and degreasing...
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...To whom it may concern, I have after extensive research found that there is a problem in our little community that poses a serious problem for the health and safety of everybody living here. All around me, people ranging from children up to the elderly have been getting sick and everyone has been displaying the same symptoms. Therefore, I started to find out what might be causing this issue. The first thing I did was a survey in the neighborhood of who had symptoms and what the symptoms were. Additionally, I asked them when their symptoms started and what they were doing before the symptoms started. The survey allowed me to see how everyone’s illness connected as everyone displayed the same symptoms and it allowed me to narrow down the possible causes for the illnesses based on what people were doing before getting sick. The next thing I did was take my findings to an expert to see what could cause these symptoms. The expert was able to rule out infection, bacteria, viruses, and point to pollution as the cause for the illnesses. The next thing I did was get a research expert to test many variables of what might have been polluted such as the water, soil, or the plant life. The expert was able to determine that the soil, water, and plant life had all been polluted by gas. I did additional research to find out where the gas was coming from in order to pollute our community. By researching community blue prints and development plans I found out that there are gas lines running...
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...based factories. PC company policy allows contamination cleanup when required by environmental legislation. The company also needs to install smoke filtering systems before the law is instituted early next year. PC is concerned with the financial accounting treatment for two environmental issues: (a) environmental cleanup, and (b) smoke filter installation for year 20x2. Both issues, if not resolved, could lead to legal action against PC if not followed by a prescribed date. The Company needs to determine if the contaminated soil and smoke filter requirement should be disclosed on the financial statements as an asset retirement obligation, loss contingency, or an environmental obligation. APPLICABLE AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 410 Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 450 Contingencies DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVES The following section will address the alternative treatments accounting for both the remedial action and smoke filtration system under US GAAP. Recording both issues as a loss contingency will be discussed first, followed by soil contamination as environmental remediation, then applying the asset retirement obligation treatment for pollution from normal operations. Alternative 1: Contaminated Soil and Smoke Filter Disclose both environmental issues as a loss contingency using a footnote. Soil contamination and smoke filters both meet the definition...
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...outside sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format. for Reference: Map of Chernobyl retrived from http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/figtableboxes/map-chernobyl.htm The novel emphasizes that the "dead zone" around Chernobyl is actually rich in plant- and wildlife (which have tolerance levels for radiation different than humans). In this area, wild animals such as wolves have not only flourished in the absence of human activity, but have no fear of the humans they do encounter. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html Flora and fauna There has been an ongoing scientific debate about the extent to which flora and fauna of the zone were affected by the radioactive contamination that followed the accident. Cases of mutant deformity in animals of the zone include partial albinism and other external malformations in swallows[2][3][4] and insect mutations.[5] A study of...
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...Environmental Affects on Human Health Principles of Health and Wellness/SCI 162 October 25, 2012 Yolonda Agnew While there are many things we do daily to keep ourselves healthy, many environmental factors can adversely affect our health: the air we breathe, the land we live on, and the water we drink. Bad air quality can irritate our eyes, throat, and nose, cause breathing problems, aggravating asthma and other respiratory problems. In addition, breathing bad air for extended periods can cause more severe health problems, such as heart disease, and can increase the chance of developing cancer. The elderly and young children and people with health problems are affected more often from bad air quality than healthy adults. While the United States is among the safest water in the world, we are still at risk. Any substance that leaks into the soil can enter the water supply; polluting the water, causing us to become ill. Drinking polluted water can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. There are times when communities in the United Sates will issue boil-water alerts, asking residence to boil their water before using it to cook or drink, showing that our drinking water is at risk and can become infected. A large amount of the pollution that ultimately infects our water starts out polluting the land we live on. Soil pollution can be the cause of many illnesses, starting with headaches, fatigue...
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...resident microbe population's ability to break down contaminants. Microorganisms used to perform the function of bioremediation are known as bioremediators.[1] Not all contaminants, however, are easily treated by bioremediation using microorganisms. For example, heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are not readily absorbed or captured by organisms. The assimilation of metals such as mercury into the food chain may worsen matters. Phytoremediation is useful in these circumstances because natural plants or transgenic plants are able to bioaccumulate these toxins in their above-ground parts, which are then harvested for removal.[2] The heavy metals in the harvested biomass may be further concentrated by incineration or even recycled for industrial use. The elimination of a wide range of pollutants and wastes from the environment requires increasing our understanding of the relative importance of different pathways and regulatory networks to carbon flux in particular environments and for particular compounds, and they will certainly accelerate the development of...
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...material releases. The disaster was caused by a tsunami ranging to 15 meters The tsunami had been caused by strong earthquake- the strongest earthquake to ever hit Japan. It affected the cooling systems of three Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors by stopping the cooling as a result of interruption in the power supply. With no cooling in the reactors, the energy released from radioactive decay rose threatening not to be handled by the containment structures at the plant (Eisler 17). Water exposed to high levels of radiation threatened to damage the containment structure due to hydrogen build up. With damage to the containment structure, the environment was at high risk of full blown radiation contamination. The danger posed by the accident was the accident was the spread of radioactive contamination to water or the environment that the nearby residents came into contact with. This is why the Japanese government budgeted close to $14 billion for the radiation clean up and immediate relocation of residents (Eisler 29). One of the isotopes still found in the accident site is Cesium-137 that decays according to the following equation 55Cs^137 --> 56Ba^137 + -1e^0. The isotope could lead to development of acute radiation syndrome in humans that affects the skin, digestive system and hair (Loveland et.all 45). Cancer can develop as a result of not receiving appropriate radiation treatment. Nuclear energy is a safe way of producing energy if the right protective measures are taken. In...
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...Energy Inc. Date: October 19, 2013 Prepared by: Yuehan Zhang (Stefanie) Reviewed by: Professor Robert Elya ISSUE: Accounting for Energy Inc.’s environmental obligations, income tax and install smoke filters. BRIEF BACKGROUND OF COMPANY Energy Inc. (Energy) is a public company that operates in the oil industry. As of December 31, 2011, Energy recognized $ billion in revenue for the sale. Sometimes, Energy’s operations result in soil contamination and Energy should clean up this contamination when legislation requiring under the laws of the particular country. In addition, Energy has a widely published environmental policy in which it undertakes clean up all contamination that it causes. Energy is currently involved in environmental obligations, such as clean up the lands. ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS 1. Does Energy recognizes and accrues the liability of clean up costs in this year? What is the accounting treatment? 2. Is Energy has the obligations to undertake soil remediation in Dirty country? What is the accounting treatment for this operation in Dirty country? 3. What is the accounting treatment for new income tax? What is the accounting treatment for training employees? 4. Does Energy have obligations to install smoke filters this year? What is the accounting treatment for installing smoke filters in Energy’s factories next year? SUMMARY CONCLUSION ON ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS 1. Energy should recognize and accrue the liability of clean up...
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...Radioactive contamination With the development of the science and technology, nuclear energy is replacing conventional energy rapidly. It produces enormous energy by few resources. However, nuclear leak caused by an earthquake in Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant last year lead to a severe radioactive contamination. This raises great attention to nuclear safety. Radioactive contamination is the harm to individuals or equipment by the unregulated radioactive materials, such as radioactive gases, liquids, or particles. Almost everything can become contaminated by radioactive materials in environment. Anyone can intake of radioactive materials in the case of unconscious, even taking a walk or eat. A number of events can cause radioactive contamination. A well-known example is the explosion of the nuclear weapons. Previously, it was used as a mass destruction especially used in Second World War. Radioactive contamination also occurs when radioactive materials are not properly sealed. Laboratory mistakes and natural disasters are the most important reason. The effects of radioactive contamination vary. It depends on the degree of radioactive substances leaked. A low degree of contamination is more likely to be diluted by environment. It may not cause obvious harm. On the other hand, high levels of contamination can significantly threaten both people and the environment. If individuals live in a radioactive contamination, his body will suffer Serious destruction, especially...
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