...Executive Summary Fukushima crisis management showed system failures from the public and private actors that led to overall human error and opened a continuous debate within international community about holding nuclear plants under public hands rather than private ones whose incentives clearly differ from the public interest: * The Government and regulatory agencies failed to push Tepco to heed several anomalies and warnings causing the operator to be unprepared at an operational risk level evidencing an embarrassing incompetency to make decisions. * Tepco, as this report will prove below, lacked a culture of safety failing to respond effectively to subsequent events after the accident. For all these, the need to build an adequate resilience framework within the nuclear industry covering the main pillars: Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity and Emergency Management, are paramount within risk management. Case’s Background On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 with an epicenter near the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan. Consequently, a massive tsunami hit the eastern coast of Japan reaching Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant causing the biggest nuclear accident in the history. Russian experts have declared that could be considered even worse than Chernobyl’s disaster 20 year ago (New Zealand Herald Online, 2 April 2011). The...
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...RUNNING HEADER: Individual Assignment Experiential Exercise Kristina Pelly Indiana Wesleyan University The two companies I chose to evaluate are China International Water and Electric Corporation and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). China International Water and Electric Corporation are located in China, whereas Tokyo Electric Power Company is located in Japan. TEPCO serves Tokyo. As of January 15, 2012 the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has shut down. This is an environmental risk of TEPCO in Japan. They utilize nuclear energy, which is not safe when a plant fails. Currently, TEPCO is offering compensation to those whom were affected by the plant shutting down. Most of Tokyo is currently without power. Tokyo is also affected by drastic and random blackouts that cause a lot of problem for their residents (TEPCO 2011). According to the China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) website, they are an exclusively invested subsidiary of the China Three Gorges Corporation. They invest in both electric and water and have been practicing hydropower energy for nearly fifty-four years. They are a state-owned corporation and have been contracting projects on an international basis since the 1980s. Not to mention, the China International Water and Electric Corporation are one of the top 225 International Contractors for the past twenty years (CWE 2011). CWE has accumulated abundant experience in international contracting and engineering, bring...
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...Chapter 4 Concentrating Solar Power Clean energy for the electric Grid Gary Gereffi and Kristen Dubay Jess Robinson and Yuber Romero Contributing CGGC researchers: by Summary Concentrating solar power (CSP), also referred to as concentrating solar thermal power, represents a powerful, clean, endless, and reliable source of energy with the capacity to entirely satisfy the present and future electricity needs of the United States. Concentrating solar power plants produce no carbon dioxide (CO2), thus reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation by approximately 600 pounds per megawatt-hour (BrightSource Energy, 2008).4 The evolution of CO2 emissions regulations, the pressure of international fossil fuel prices, and the experience, knowledge, and technological readiness amassed during several decades of CSP research have launched the technology into a new era of commercial reality. The United States and Spain have integrated CSP into their national electricity supply grids through large-scale commercial plants. Eight of the 13 biggest planned CSP projects in the world will be located in California and Arizona. The Sun Belt region of the United States, particularly the Southwest, is one of the largest areas in the world for CSP exploitation because of its abundant sunshine. In addition to generating a new clean source of energy, expansion of the industry promises to create economic opportunity for many different businesses along multiple stages of the value...
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...charge our cell phones, and turn on our TVs with no thought as to how we our able to enjoy this so called luxury of power. As with most luxuries in life, electricity bears a cost. Yes, monthly we are billed for our household usage by the kilowatt, but there are other costs we’ve neglected to consider. Duke Energy, the largest electrical power holding company in the United States, plead guilty to nine violations of the Federal Clean Water Act in a hearing held this past May, which culminated in a fine of $102 million. The violations resulted from a spill of about 39,000 tons of coal ash due to a collapsed pipe under a coal ash dump that coated 70 miles of the Dan River near Eden, North Carolina with sludge. Coal ash is the inorganic residue left behind when pulverized coal is burned to produce electricity. Coal ash is one of the largest types of industrial waste generated in the United States and in 2012 the nation’s coal plants generated nearly 10 1milloin tons of it. A little less than half of coal ash produced in the United States is recycled into products like concrete, pavement or wallboard. However, the rest is stored, in over 2,000 storage sites across the country, in landfills, quarries or ponds that, over time, accumulates to potentially millions of tons of coal ash that contains some of the world’s deadliest toxic metals: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and selenium. These contaminants can pollute, groundwater, drinking water and the air. All of these contaminants...
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...has enough Mercury in her bloodstream to put her child at health effects should she become pregnant(Learn, 2011). That puts 689,000 out of the 4.1 million babies born every year being exposed to dangerous levels of mercury ("Toxic Chemicals Threaten Our Health", n.d.). Children exposed to even low-dosage levels of mercury in the womb can have impaired brain functions, including verbal, attention, motor-control and language deficits as well as lower IQs. Coal-fired power plants spew hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic mercury into the air every year, which falls to earth in the form of rain and contaminates rivers, lakes, and streams ("Toxic Chemicals Threaten Our Health", n.d.). The clean air act will help prevent deaths and help save money. There have been no standards on power plants until the Clean Air Act ("Mercury And Air Toxics Standards In Oregon", n,d.). The coal-fired power plants spewed hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic mercury into the air every year. The mercury contaminates rivers, lakes, and streams. Wildlife that’s exposed to mercury may develop slowly, have reduced fertility or even die. Scientists found that a gram of mercury – about a drop – deposited in a mid-sized lake in Wisconsin over the course of a year was enough to account for the mercury subsequently found in that lake’s fish population. Children monitored at ages seven and 14, these impairments still exist – suggesting that the damage cause by mercury may be irreversible...
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...A discussion of the positive and negative effects on the lignite power plant Hongsa distinct, Sayaboury province, Lao PDR. By: Tossapon Booranapornchai (Jai) Registration Number: 13038682 Class: IPE 2 Tutor’s Name: Mr. Hugh Whitby Submitted on: ‘A discussion of the positive and negative effects on the lignite power plant (Hongsa, Sayaboury Province, Lao PDR) Over the last decade, Thailand has been a continual increasing, about four percent per year, of electricity usage (Oxford Business Group, 2014). In contrast, the country’s supply would not meet with consumer’s demand purely due to lack of internal sources and therefore has had to seek other supplies from neighboring country such as Laos. The Hongsa district, Laos, has sufficient reserves of lignite to generate enough electricity for both countries and thus, since 2010, has attracted investor from both Thai private sector and the Laotian government. Hence, this is the beginning of Hongsa power plant project. Although the plant would generate many economic advantages to the people of Laos, this does not occur without criticism. Some pointed out that the large amount of coal’s burning will cause a serious detrimental effect on the local and global environment as well as creating long-term health problems for local. Therefore, there have been some suggestions, from environmental groups who concerned with the launch of this project in 2015 that should consider consequences of the action...
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...• Mercury is a neurotoxin that can harm the developing brains of children and infants; in adults, exposure can lead to memory loss and affect fertility and blood pressure. • Biggest emitters- o Coal fired power plants- Coal accounts for nearly 50 percent of the electricity generated in this country—and almost 50 tons of mercury emissions annually. o Cement kilns- all the cement kilns in the U.S. combined pump out roughly 23,000 pounds of mercury every year. The group released a report last July finding that, individually, some cement kilns emit nearly one and a half times more mercury than the most polluting coal-fired power plants. o Trash incinerators. Hazardous waste, medical waste, and regular garbage incinerators release 13.1 tons (or about 26,000 pounds) of mercury every year, according to statistics from the EPA. The mercury comes from common household items, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and thermostats, and from automobile scrap. • Studies tend to find that environmental degradation and income have an inverted U- shaped relationship, with pollution increasing with income at low levels of income and decreasing with income at high levels of income. • Use the GEMS- global environmental monitoring system • Past income has been a major determinant of current pollution standards. • The metals and toxics prove difficult to remove from drinking water by standard purification procedures and also bioaccumulate in fish that are later ingested by humans. Many...
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...through inhalation, consumption of contaminated food and/or water, or even absorption through the skin. Some of the toxins that persist in the human body include lead, mercury, dioxin, and furans, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The lead toxin is contained in both the indoor and outdoor air. Industries, waste incinerators, and plants manufacturing lead-acid battery usually emit that from the outdoor air. Lead-based paint is also a source of both lead contained in indoor and outdoor air. The lead present in drinking water normally comes from the corrosion of lead-containing materials found in the water supply systems. The coal-fired power plants are the leading emitters of mercury in the environment because mercury occurs naturally in coal. Gold mining is another source of mercury as it is largely used in the separation of gold from the mined ore. Waste incinerators produce mercury through the burning of disposed items containing mercury, for instance, thermometers and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Cement kilns also release mercury contained in the coal used as fuel in cement-manufacturing plants. Fish is another major source of mercury as it contains higher concentrations of mercury, which the fish takes up after consuming seafood that gets contaminated by mercury pollution that enters oceans and other water bodies. Its natural sources include volcanic eruptions and forest fires. Pesticide sprays are the major sources of DDT....
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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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...Environmental Pollution at Hindustan Lever’s Kodaikanal Plant In mid-2004, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) executives looked back at the events of the past three years at their mercury thermometer factory in Kodaikanal in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. After mercury leakage from the plant had been reported in March 2001, heavy expenditure had been incurred in environmental risk assessment, waste disposal and health monitoring. The expenditure had exceeded the total profits generated by the plant since its inception. But the pressure from NGOs, led by Greenpeace[1], who had been protesting since March 2001 had not subsided. The NGOs had indulged in novel ways of keeping the issue alive. These included chaining themselves to the HLL branch office in Chennai on 15th November 2002, disrupting the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of HLL held on 13th June 2003 and 29th June 2004, shouting slogans and brandishing placards and enlisting sympathy from ex-workers and the general public. Greenspace also maintained the pressure on HLL through its website, photoalbums, posters, persistent media briefing and seminars. The NGOs had most recently attacked HLL in April 2004 in a seminar in Chennai. Even as they waited anxiously for the regulator, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) nod to start decontamination of equipment and remediation of soil, HLL’s senior managers believed they had discharged their duties conscientiously. They wondered what more was needed to be done to...
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...To create Plutonium (which is also used for nuclear bombs and power plants) D. 5 facts about the element: 1) 1 kilogram of Uranium 235 (U235) can produce 80 TERAJOULES of electricity (to know how much that is, if you had an electric car powered by 1 kg of U235, it would let you drive at an average speed on an average day for 1000 YEARS!!!)! 2) A typical nuclear power plant has only 1 kg of Uranium, and it’s only 3% enriched (there’s U235 and U238. Uranium 238 is practically worthless. It’s not that radioactive and produces almost no energy. You need to enrich your Uranium to get all the U238 out, and 3% enriched still has a ton of U238 in it)! 3) In order to craft a nuclear bomb, unlike the uranium in a power plant, which manages to create an amazing amount of electricity, you need up to 13 kg of 90% enriched Uranium to craft it, meaning it is SIGNIFICANTLY more powerful than a nuclear power plant, that can still power one whole city, or more! 4) Uranium is so dense, that it sinks in mercury! 5) Depleted uranium (which is uranium that has 0.03% or less U235) is used for bullets and armor. Given that it is so dense and poisonous, it does all that lead does, but better and more effectively. When the depleted Uranium hits a wall, it becomes a dust. If you inhale that...
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...Environmental Pollution at Hindustan Lever’s Kodaikanal Plant In mid-2004, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) executives looked back at the events of the past three years at their mercury thermometer factory in Kodaikanal in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. After mercury leakage from the plant had been reported in March 2001, heavy expenditure had been incurred in environmental risk assessment, waste disposal and health monitoring. The expenditure had exceeded the total profits generated by the plant since its inception. But the pressure from NGOs, led by Greenpeace , who had been protesting since March 2001 had not subsided. The NGOs had indulged in novel ways of keeping the issue alive. These included chaining themselves to the HLL branch office in Chennai on 15th November 2002, disrupting the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of HLL held on 13th June 2003 and 29th June 2004, shouting slogans and brandishing placards and enlisting sympathy from ex-workers and the general public. Greenpeace also maintained the pressure on HLL through its website, photoalbums, posters, persistent media briefing and seminars. The NGOs had most recently attacked HLL in April 2004 in a seminar in Chennai. Even as they waited anxiously for the regulator, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s (TNPCB) nod to start decontamination of equipment and remediation of soil, HLL’s senior managers believed they had discharged their duties conscientiously. They wondered what more was needed to be done...
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...The use of batteries in the modern days has become an essential need for a wide range of electrical devices and products that are globally used. Batteries are convenient sources being used from household applications such as toys, remote controls, torch lights to large industrial operations. Not only batteries supply convenient power sources, it has a significant role as a back-up power in critical needs such as in hospitals, airports and military undertakings. Batteries come in different size and shapes in adapting different types of devices being used, but mainly consists of two elements to direct electric current: an electrolyte and a heavy metal. There are four major types of batteries that are being used widely: dry cell battery, mercury battery, lead storage battery and lithium-ion battery. The sole purpose of batteries definitely abundantly contributes to mankind, providing conveniences to the usage of daily appliances. However, the abuse of the use of batteries and negligence of the proper way of disposing has become a critical issue that everyone should be aware of. The contents in batteries such as mercury, lead, cadmium, lithium and nickel are hazardous to human health when batteries are erroneously disposed of. Contamination of the environment may also be severe due to the release of the hazardous contents in the batteries. No doubt that the blame is on the actions of mankind. People choose to ignore the proper way of disposal of the wastes that no longer useful to...
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... • A fossil-fuelled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it. Most coal fired power stations have dedicated rail links to supply the coal. Sounds good, huh! Think again! The important issue as of now is whether there are more advantages than disadvantages of using coal to generate electricity! How about these… Some disadvantages of using coal to generate electricity: • It is Nonrenewable and fast depleting; • High coal transportation costs, especially for countries with no coal resources and hence will require special harbours for coal import and storage. • Coal storage cost is high especially if required to have enough stock for few years to assure power production availability. • Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, that had been stored in the earth for millions of years, contributing to global warming. • It leaves behind harmful byproducts upon combustion, thereby causing a lot of pollution. • Mining of coal leads to irreversible damage to the adjoining environment. • Mining and burning of coal pollutes the environment, causes acid rain and ruins all living creature’s lungs. • It will eventually run out. • It cannot be recycled. • Prices for all fossil fuels are rising, especially if the real cost of their carbon is included. • An average of 170 pounds of mercury is made by one coal plant every year. When 1/70 of a teaspoon of mercury is put...
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...Saving Our Planet through Renewable Energy Fossil fuels are made out of dead plants and trees. The United States Energy Information Administration reported the national average of electricity: coal- 49.7%, nuclear- 19.3%, natural gas- 18.7%, hydroelectric- 6.5%, petroleum- 3%, and renewables- 2.3%. Coal is mined in the United States and coal accounts for 50% of the electricity we use. The EPA reported that the warmest 10 days recorded took place in the last 15 years. All of this warming is melting the polar icecaps and is contributing to the rising sea levels. There are about 600 coal-fueled power plants in the United States. Fossil fuels are also linked to our cars. Oil is another huge resource that we use and the United States gets more than 50% of their oil from other countries. The American Petroleum Institute estimated that one 42 gallon barrel of crude oil produces 44.2 gallons of petroleum products. Drilling sites for this oil takes up miles of road and pipelines and they have to have hundreds of drilling pads. In the ocean, they are on the ocean floor. Spills of this oil can happen both on land and in the ocean. The spills occur during pumping; transporting and can contaminate the oceans, soil, groundwater, or surface water. On April of 2010 there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 men and sent millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This spill cause a catastrophe and endangered many of the sea life and birds. There is a...
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