...cases concerning environmental pollution cases. Instead, the tort liability system has been addressing the limitations of the administrative compensation system despite its defects.The high profile Minamata Case is a great illustration of this. This paper will In essence, the case showed the perception of judges about the unequal bargaining power between victims and large companies and how the Japanese judiciary has helped create a pro-active approach to environmental pollution cases. Part I – General Rules of Tort Liability The operation of current tort liability system is based on tort provisions under the Civil Code and other special tort provisions. In case law, the loss claimed by a victim can be compensated with primary remedy of monetary damages if it had a relationship of ‘adequate causation’ with the tortfeasor’s act. However, concerning the environmental pollution cases, proving a causal relationship is difficult because the court generally heightens the standard of due care owed to by a defendant company. Part II – The Pollution-Related Health Damage Compensation System Background of Minamata case The manner of the outbreak is a result of environmental pollution caused by methylmercury poisoning which will result in neurological disorder. The victims from Minamata consumed a lot of fish contaminated by the toxic compounds discharged into the sea and rives from Chisso Corporation as waste effluent. The first lawsuit happened in 1969. Later, the court held...
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...The harmful effects of mercury on the human body Mercury is an interesting element; has been used in batteries, filling cavities, and in some cases creating vaccines but whenever a person exposed to mercury there are risks in connection with food consumption and childbearing, with numerous examples of lives drastically affected by this hazardous element. Mercury has long since found its way into the foods we eat like food with high fructuous corn syrup, but is found in nearly 85% of the fish consumed. People that eat a diet high in fish are at risk of taking in hazardous amounts of mercury do to contamination. Since mercury is nearly undetectable by normal means it can’t be removed by simply getting rid of the skin or any other part of the fish. When mercury is ingested it acts as a neurotoxin that infects the brain and nervous system. When Mercury enters fish in the wild it usually involves the mercury cycle process which the OEHHA (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment) describes as “Methyl mercury in fish comes from mercury in the aquatic environment. Mercury, a metal, is widely found in nature in rock and soil, and is washed into surface waters during storms. Mercury evaporates from rock, soil, and water into the air, and then falls back to the earth in rain, often far from where it started. Human activities redistribute mercury and can increase its concentration in the aquatic environment.” Pregnant women and young children are actually in more danger...
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...recorded account of mercury poisoning was in 50 B.C. Today, scientist recognize mercury to be a neurotoxin and that high levels of exposure can lead to serious illness and even death. Since the 1950’s and 60’s, scientific evidence has pointed to mercury or anthropogenic emissions as having widespread impacts on the environment and human health. For instance, in 1956 methylmercury poisoning was officially discovered in a Japanese community near a polyvinyl chloride plastics plant that has been dumping untreated liquid waste containing methyl mercury chloride into Minamata Bay and Shiranui Sea. The mercury got into the bay’s sediment and became absorbed by the marine plants and animals, contaminating the entire ecosystem. The surrounding bay provided fish and seafood as part of the local diet. Thirty-nine years later, over 2200 people had officially been diagnosed with methylmercury poisoning now named Minamata disease and over...
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...Consequences of Mercury Pollution Coming in Contact with Mercury People can come in contact with mercury in a number of ways. There is increased risk of mercury exposure in the dental, health and chemical industries. People are also at risk of consuming an unsafe amount of mercury if they eat certain things in excess amounts, such as more than 6 ounces of albacore tuna per week, or over 12 ounces of fish like shrimp, canned tuna, salmon, pollock or catfish. Exposure to mercury can cause brain damage, kidney damage, lung damage and various digestive system problems (McCoy). Perhaps the person most vulnerable to mercury poisoning is the pregnant woman and her unborn fetus. Trauma caused to infants and children as a result of mercury exposure is exponentially worse than it would be an adult. In most cases, it causes severe nervous system problems. Exposure A EU study found that “between 1.5 and 2 million children in the EU are born each year with MeHg exposures above the safe limit of 0.58µg/g and 200,000 above the WHO recommended maximum of 2.5µg/g” (Sunderland). Exposure to MeHg in these amounts affects brain development. Stunted brain development leads to a lower IQ. A low IQ lessens one’s earning power. When just looking at the European Union, the consequences are of paramount importance. In the study, Prof Philippe Grandjean explained, "If we convert the effects of MeHg on developing brains into IQ points then the benefits of controlling MeHg pollution...
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...Abstract There is a correlation between neurotoxicity’s and overexposure to mercury. The use of EBSCO Host, allowed a search for mercury and neurotoxicity’s in databases: ALT Health Watch, CINAHL PLUS, Health Source: Nursing/Academic edition, and Medline. Several articles were reviewed and chosen for evaluation. These articles discuss recorded evidence of increased mercury exposure and the related effects of neurotoxins. Increasing public knowledge of neurotoxicity risks when exposed to mercury may decrease physiological and psychological defects. Introduction There is a correlation of neurotoxicity’s and increased exposure to mercury. Mercury is found in the earth’s core and is found in the air and water (S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 2008). Mercury has a similar response to the body as lead. It has been proven that lead, another neurotoxic metal found in the earth’s core, can be extremely dangerous with increased exposure (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - National Institute of Health, 2011). As defined by business (Business dictionary, 2012), a neurotoxin is a biological or chemical substance (such as mercury compounds) that primarily affects the central nervous system to produce behavioral, emotional, or body-movement (motor) abnormalities. Thus, being exposed to bioengineered chemicals such as methyl mercury increases the chances of a person exhibiting neurotoxicity’s immediately or over time...
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...Chapter 9 * Distribution and usability of fresh water * 70% of earth is covered in water, but 97% of that is salt * Remaining freshwater (<.5% salt), 22% is underground, and 77% is frozen (<1% fresh water bodies) * 2.78% Freshwater, 97% found in ocean as saltwater * ¼ of all freshwater underground * ¾ aboveground but mostly in ice and glaciers (not very usable) * Very little resides in lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands * Groundwater structure and Use * Groundwater exists in permeable layers of rock called aquifers. These allow us to get usable ground water * Unconfined aquifers are aquifers that water can easily flow in and out of * Easily recharged from above * Confined aquifers are aquifers that are surrounded by an impermeable layer * Under high pressure and can create artesian wells * Water table is the uppermost limit of saturated rock. Separates zone of aeration from zone of saturation * Zone of aeration = pore spaces are partly filled with water * Zone of saturation = spaces are filled with water * Groundwater recharge zone is where water gets added to an aquifer (harder in confined aquifers) * Springs are where ground water reaches the surface. Naturally clean * Wells are holes dug into the groundwater (cone of depression) * Problems with Depleting Groundwater * Saltwater intrusion- when the pumping of fresh water out of a well is faster than the recharge. Near...
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...environment in order to remain the nature beauty of the Earth. He is inspired by the environmental issues happening around Japan or even the globe which reflects the attitude of the people who mistreat the environment. In Nausicaa of the valley of the wind, in 1984, the film stresses the idea of protecting the environment. This film was released by the recommendation of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). He built up a character, Nausicaa, who is a strong woman from the Valley of the Wind who involved in a struggle with Tolmekia, a kingdom that tries to use an ancient weapon to get rid of a jungle of mutant giant insects. Nausicaä must think of some ways to overcome this situation. He gets his idea from the post-World War II pollution of Japan’s Minamata bay. The incident started with the wastes which was accumulated in the bay and soon cause the mercury poisoning of the people who ate the fish ( Griesbauer). After the people realized the truth, they stop consuming this kind of fish. On the other hand, the fish were still be able to survive under this severe condition in the bay. In Nausicaa, he illustrated the fukai (Sea of Decay), fungi, giant insects, and deadly plants which represented the severe condition of the environment. The colour used on the environment was dull to show the consequences of destroying the nature. In his another well-known product, My neighbor Totoro (1988), it again showed the mistreatment towards the environment by the mankind. This film focuses on the implantation...
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...CULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION JAPANJapan officially the State of Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin" which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun". | BANGLADESHBangladesh officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia, located on the fertile Bengal delta. It is bordered by the Republic of India to its north, west and east, by the Union of Myanmar (Burma) to its south-east and by the Bay of Bengal to its south. It is separated from the Democratic Republic of Nepal and the Kingdom of Bhutan by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor. Together with the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language. | * POLITICAL FACTORS JAPAN | FORM OF GOVERNMENT | Japan has a constitutional monarchy as its current form of government. However the Emperor is only a ceremonial figurehead and his powers are very limited. He is defined by the constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". The Prime Minister holds the power with the elected members of the Diet (Japan’s parliament). Akihito is the current Emperor of Japan...
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...SOLOMON SMART KALUBA ID: UB28902SPU37458 PUBLIC HEALTH ASSIGNMENT: DEFINATION OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, ITS USE AND EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS DATE OF SUBMISSION: 5/02/2014. ANTLANTIC INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY HONOLULU, HAWAII Contents Introduction 2 The Historical Context 2 Recent developments in Epidemiology 2 Definition, scope and use of epidemiology 4 Distribution 5 Determinants 5 Health- related states or events 6 Specified populations 6 Application 7 Scope 7 Epidemiology versus Public Health 7 Causation of diseases 8 Achievements in Epidemiology 9 Small pox 9 Methyl Mercury Poisoning 10 Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease 11 Iodine Deficiency Disease 11 Tobacco use, Asbestos and Lung Cancer 12 Hip Fractures 12 HIV/AIDS 13 Global AIDS epidemic 1990–2003 13 SARS 14 Conclusion 15 Bibliography 16 Introduction This essay provides a brief summary of what epidemiology is, what it is used for and discusses the major successes epidemiologist have contributed towards control and eradication of major epidemics. The discussion will also touch on the historical context and development of the emergency of epidemiology as a science and art, and give example of some of the people that greatly contributed to the achievement scored in epidemiology studies and applications. The Historical Context Epidemiology originated from the Hippocrates` observation more than 200 years ago who identified environmental factors to have an influence...
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...Introduction Environmental pollution is a multi-disciplinary science involving chemistry, physics, life science, agriculture, medical science, public health, sanitary engineering etc. In broader sense, it is the study of the sources, reactions, transport, effect and fate of chemical species in the air, water and soil and the effect of human activity upon these. Pollutant: A substance present in nature, in greater than natural abundance due to human activity, which ultimately has a detrimental effect on the environment and therefrom on living organisms and mankind. Examples are- lead, mercury, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc. Contaminant: A material which does not occur in nature, but is introduced by human activity into the environment, affecting its composition. A contaminant is classified as a pollutant when it exerts a detrimental effect. Example- chlorine gas Types of Pollution Air Causes of air pollution: * motor vehicle exhaust * power stations * car manufacturing * fertilizer factories * demolishing buildings * solvent evaporation * volcanic eruption * building roads * forest fires Effect of air pollution: Global warming, acid rain, smog, ozone depletion are some effects of air pollution Water Causes of water pollution: * man-made chemicals used in farming * heavy metals * waste from factories * sediment from the river bed * air pollution * thermal (heat) pollution * soil pollution from rubbish...
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...| Durant cette période, 5 facteurs semblent avoir joué un rôle déterminant: * les effets de la société d'abondance, * les essais nucléaires, * le livre Printemps silencieux, * une série de catastrophes écologiques bien couvertes par les mass-media (en particulier le naufrage du Torrey Canyon en mars 1967, la marée noire de Santa Barbara en Californie en janvier 1969 et la maladie de Minamata due à la pollution mercurielle au Japon), * les progrès de la connaissance scientifique et l'influence d'autres mouvements sociaux. "Depuis la fin de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, une littérature de plus en plus abondante expose les multiples aspects, démographiques, politico-militaires, économiques, technologiques, écologiques... de la crise du développement mondial. Dans les années 60, surtout aux Etats-Unis, le thème de la catastrophe écologique émerge au sein de la contre- culture qui conteste l'euphorie de la croissance économique, de la société de consommation, et préfigure une crise de civilisation sans précédent. (...) Au-delà des désillusions de "l'atome pour la paix" et des déceptions du "développement par la Science", la critique de la science occidentale commence à découvrir la signification thanatocratique du nouvel âge nucléaire." En réfutant d'avance les critiques rassurantes à l'encontre du "catastrophisme" des écologistes, nous reprendrons la définition qu'en donnent Jacques Grinevald et Ivo Rens: "La prise de conscience d'un probable futur dominant négatif...
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...Watershed management is the study of the relevant characteristics of a watershed aimed at the sustainable distribution of its resources and the process of creating and implementing plans, programs, and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal, and human communities within a watershed boundary.[1] Features of a watershed that agencies seek to manage include water supply, water quality, drainage, stormwater runoff, water rights, and the overall planning and utilization of watersheds. Landowners, land use agencies, stormwater management experts, environmental specialists, water use surveyors and communities all play an integral part in the management of a watershed. Contents • 1 Sources of pollution • 2 Controlling pollution • 3 Governance • 4 Environmental law • 5 See also • 6 References • 7 Further reading • 8 External links o 8.1 Coastal Zones Sources of pollution In an agricultural landscape, common contributors to water pollution are nutrients and sediment which typically enter stream systems after rainfall washes them off poorly managed agricultural fields, called surface runoff, or flushes them out of the soil through leaching. These types of pollutants are considered nonpoint source pollution because the exact point where the pollutant originated cannot be identified. Such pollutants remain a major issue for water ways because the difficulty to control their sources hinders...
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...SOLVED PAPER SSC (10+2) LEVEL DATA ENTRY OPERATOR & LDC EXAM First Sitting PART IV GENERAL AWARENESS 151. Cost of production of the producer is given by: (a) sum of wages paid to labourers. (b) sum of wages and interest paid on capital. (c) sum of wages, interest, rent and supernormal profit. (d) sum of wages, interest, rent and normal profit. 152. ‘Kesari’, the Newspaper was started by (a) G.K. Gokhale (b) B. G. Tilak (c) Sardar Patel (d) Raja Ram Mohan Roy 153. When was the Indian Constitution adopted? (a) 15th August, 1947 (b) 26th November, 1949 (c) 26th January, 1950 (d) 2nd October, 1952 154. Which one of the following is the smallest endocrine gland in human body ? (a) Adrenal (b) Thyroid (c) Pituitary (d) Pancreas 155. Double is a_______data type. (a) primitive (b) user defined (c) system defined (d) local 156. Yellow spots on citrus leaves is due to the deficiency of: (a) Zinc (b) Magnesium (c) Boron (d) Iron 157. Rangaswami Cup is associated with (a) Wrestling (b) Football (c) Hockey (d) Golf 158. The working of a rockets based on the principle of: (a) Conservation of momentum (b) Conservation of mass (c) Conservation of energy (d) Conservation of angular momentum www.sscportal.in Held on : 04.12.2011 Downloaded Form : http://sscportal.in Downloaded Form : http://sscportal.in Solved Papers 159. Which one of the following is a Wild Life Sanctuary ? (a) Jaldapara (b) Garumara (c) Corbett (d) Chapramari 160. The river which is used for inland waterways...
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...An adulterant is a substance found within other substances (e.g. food, beverages, fuels), although not allowed for legal or other reasons. The addition of adulterants is called adulteration. An adulterant is distinct from, for example, permitted food additives. There can be a fine line between adulterant and additive; chicory may be added to coffee to reduce the cost—this is adulteration if not declared, but may be stated on the label. The term "contamination" is usually used for the inclusion of unwanted substances due to accident or negligence rather than intent. Adulterants added to reduce the amount of expensive product in illicit drugs are called cutting agents. Deliberate addition of toxic adulterants to food or other products for human consumption is poisoning. In food and beverages[edit] Past and present examples of adulteration, some dangerous, include: Roasted chicory roots used as an adulterant for coffee Diethylene glycol, used dangerously by some winemakers in sweet wines Apple jellies (jams), as substitutes for more expensive fruit jellies, with added colorant and sometimes even specks of wood that simulate raspberry or strawberry seeds Water, for diluting milk and alcoholic beverages Cutting agents used to adulterate (or "cut") illicit drugs—for example, shoe polish in hashish, amphetamines in ecstasy, lactose in cocaine Urea, melamine and other nonprotein nitrogen sources, added to protein products to inflate crude protein content measurements[1] ...
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...PENCEMARAN ALAM SEKITAR KHAMIS, 5 NOVEMBER 2009 Label: ISU -ISU UTK KARANGAN ISU PENCEMARAN ALAM SEKITAR MERUPAKAN SATU ISU GLOBAL YANG MEMERLUKAN PENELITIAN BERSAMA DI PERINGKAT ANTARABANGSA . BINCANGKAN . PENGENALAN Jika kita lihat tajuk perbincangan ini, ianya merupakan satu tajuk yang meluas dan banyak aspek boleh dibincangkan . Tetapi jika kita renung dan teliti dengan sedalam-dalamnya maka kita dapati satu perkara yang perlu diambil kira adalah pada perkataan 'memerlukan penelitian bersama' . Berdasarkan kepada isu yang hendak dibincangkan 'memerlukan penelitian bersama' membawa maksud bahawa , isu pencemaran yang merupakan isu global ini perlu dibincangkan, difikirkan dan ditangani bersama-sama di peringkat antarabangsa . Ini adalah kerana masalah pencemaran yang berlaku di seluruh dunia ini pernah, sedang dan akan dialami oleh semua negara . Jadi langkah-langkah bijak perlu dirancangkan bagi mengatasi masalah ini . Bagaimanakah cara kita hendak menyelesaikan masalah di atas ? Cara kita menjawab atau menyelesaikannya adalah bergantung kepada persepsi kita sendiri terhadap alam sekitar . Ia juga mendedahkan cara hidup kita; adakah cara hidup kita dapat membantu memulihara alam sekitar atau sebaliknya ? Unit Pendidikan Persatuan Pencinta Alam atau Malaysia Nature Society (MNS) sering menerima pertanyaan tentang apakah cara-cara memulihara alam sekitar yang sepatutnya dilakukan oleh semua pihak . Tidak kurang juga yang menanyakan adakah usaha seorang individu dapat...
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