Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

What Harmful Chemicals Are in Your Home?Figure 24-16 Harmful chemicalsfound in many homes. Congress hasexempted disposal of these householdmaterials from government regulation.Make a survey to see which of thesechemicals are in your home.Cleaning• Disinfectants• Drain, toilet, andwindow cleaners• Spot removers• Septic tank cleanersPaint• Latex and oil-based paints• Paint thinners, solvents,and strippers• Stains, varnishes,and lacquers• Wood preservatives• Artist paints and inksGeneral• Dry-cell batteries(mercury and cadmium)• Glues and cementsproduction (including many of hazardous and toxicchemicals) between 1995 and 2020.How Safe Are U.S. Chemical Plants fromTerrorist Attacks? Toxic TerrorismLarge amounts of hazardous wastes could bereleased into the environment by terroristattacks on major chemical plants in the UnitedStates.Managers of industrial plants that manufacture anduse chemicals work hard to prevent accidental releaseof chemicals that can harm workers or nearby residents.But accidents can happen, as thousands of peopleliving near a pesticide manufacturing plant inBhopal, India, learned in 1984 (Case Study, right).The 2001 act of terrorism on New York City’sWorld Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon hasheightened concerns about terrorist acts against suchplants. Roughly 20,000 industrial plants in the UnitedStates contain large quantities of hazardous chemicals.Analysts view such plants as easy targets for acts ofsabotage by terrorists.A 1999 government study found that chemicalplant security ranged from “fair to very poor.” In 2000,Gardening• Pesticides• Weed killers• Ant and rodent killers• Flea powdersAutomotive• Gasoline• Used motor oil• Antifreeze• Battery acid• Solvents• Brake and transmissionfluid• Rust inhibitor andrust removerthe EPA estimated that in a worstcasesituation more than 1 millionpeople could be killed or injuredby a terrorist attack on any one of123 major U.S. chemical plants.Case Study: A Black Day inBhopal, IndiaThe world’s worst industrialaccident occurred in 1984 at apesticide plant in Bhopal, India.December 2, 1984, will long be ablack day for India. On that datethe world’s worst industrial accidentoccurred at a Union Carbidepesticide plant in Bhopal, India.An explosion in an undergroundstorage tank released alarge quantity of highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC)gas, used to produce carbamate pesticides. Investigationfound that water leaking into the tank throughfaulty valves and corroded pipes caused an explosivechemical reaction.Once in the atmosphere, some of the toxic MICwas converted to more deadly hydrogen cyanide gas.The toxic cloud of gas settled over about 78 squarekilometers (30 square miles), exposing up to 600,000people. Many were illegal squatters living near theplant because they had no other place to go. Thedeadly cloud spread through Bhopal without warningbecause the plant’s warning sirens had been turned offto save money.According to Indian officials, at least 8,000 peopledied within a few days after the accident. The InternationalCampaign for Justice in Bhopal estimates thatby 2003 the accident had killed 23,000 and climbing. Italso puts the number of people suffering from chronicillnesses from the accident at 120,000–150,000. An internationalteam of medical specialists estimated in1996 that 50,000–60,000 people sustained permanentinjuries such as blindness, lung damage, and neurologicalproblems. With any of these estimates, this wasthe world’s largest industrial tragedy.http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14549