Unraveling Environmental Disasters

2nd Edition - October 1, 2023
Authors: Daniel A. Vallero, Trevor Letcher
Language: English
Hardback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 8 6 5 1 - 6
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 8 6 5 1 - 6
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 8 6 5 2 - 3

Unraveling Environmental Disasters, Second Edition provides scientific explanations of the most threatening current and future environmental disasters, including an analysis of way… Read more

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Unraveling Environmental Disasters, Second Edition provides scientific explanations of the most threatening current and future environmental disasters, including an analysis of ways disasters could have been prevented and how to minimize risk of similar disasters in the future. In this new edition the authors provide foundational knowledge on why certain environmental disasters occur and ways of reducing the risk of recurrences. Anyone involved in teaching or working in the main sciences of physics, chemistry, and biology, or in the applied sciences, including engineering, design, planning, and homeland security, should read the book to become acquainted with these very important issues.

1. Failure
Events
Disasters as Failures
Types of Failure
Types of Disasters
Systems Engineering
References and Notes

2. Science
Scientific Advancement
Laws of Motion
Laws of Chemistry and Thermodynamics
Science in the Public Eye
References

3. Explosions
Dust
Ammonium Nitrate
Picric Acid and TNT
Methyl Isocyanate
Natural Explosions—Volcanoes
References

4. Plumes
Nomenclature
Early Air Quality Disasters
Toxic Plumes
Plume Characterization
Nuclear Fallout Plumes
References and Notes

5. Leaks
Surreptitious Disasters
Pollutant Transport in Groundwater
Love Canal
Chester
Times Beach
Valley of the Drums
Stringfellow Acid Pits
Tar Creek
The March Continues
References and Notes

6. Spills
Disastrous Releases
Oil Spills
Niger River Delta Oil Spills
Other Spills
Partitioning in the Environment
References and Notes

7. Fires
Fire Disaster Thermodynamics
Kuwait Oil Fires
Release of Radioactive Material
Indonesian Wildfires
World Trade Center Fire
The Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami
Other Major Fires
Tire Fires
Coal Mine Fires
Indirect Effect: Formation of Toxic Substances
Indirect Impact: Transport
References and Notes

8. Climate
Global Climate Change
Greenhouse Gases
Consequences of Global Warming
Is It a Disaster?
Responding to Climate Change
Carbon and Climate
Potential Warming Disaster
Geoengineering
Biological Drivers of Climate Change
References and Notes

9. Nature
Hurricanes
Floods
Drought
Ecosystem Resilience
References and Notes

10. Minerals
Inorganic Substances
Toxic Metals
Asbestos
Cyanide
Surface Mining
Value
References and Notes

11. Recalcitrance
The Dirty Dozen
Agent Orange
Lake Apopka
James River
Persistent Wastes
The Arctic Disaster
References and Notes

12. Radiation
Electromagnetic Radiation
Nuclear Radiation
Nuclear Plants
Nuclear Power Plant Failure
Is Nuclear Power Worth the Risks?
Meltdown at Chernobyl
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster
Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
Radioisotopes and Radiation Poisoning
Carbon Dating
Nuclear Waste Disposal
References and Notes

13. Invasions
The Worst 100
Sensitive Habitats
References and Notes

14. Products
Precaution
Endocrine Disruptors and Hormonally Active Agents
Antibiotics: Superbugs and Cross-Resistance
Organophosphates
Scientific Principles at Work
Milk and Terrorism
References and Notes

15. Unsustainability
Oil
Phosphates
Helium
Platinum Group Metals
Lithium
Rare Earth Metals
Other Metals
Biomass
Methane
Carbon Dioxide
References and Notes

16. Society
Justice
Solid Waste
Food Supply
Vinyl Chloride
Food Versus Fuel
Burning as a Societal Issue
Risk Trade-Offs
References and Notes

17. Food

18. Health

19. Water

20. Future

Recommendations

Daniel A. Vallero

Professor Daniel A. Vallero is an internationally recognized author and expert in environmental science and engineering. He has devoted decades to conducting research, teaching, and mentoring future scientists and engineers. He is currently developing tools and models to predict potential exposures to chemicals in consumer products. He is a full adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. He has authored 20 environmental textbooks, with the most recent addressing the importance of physical principles in environmental science and engineering. His books have addressed all environmental compartments and media within the earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere.

Affiliations and expertise

Full Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, NC, USA

Trevor Letcher

Professor Trevor Letcher is an Emeritus Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and living in the United Kingdom. He was previously Professor of Chemistry, and Head of Department, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Rhodes University, and Natal, in South Africa (1969-2004). He has published over 300 papers on areas such as chemical thermodynamic and waste from landfill in peer reviewed journals, and 100 papers in popular science and education journals. Prof. Letcher has edited and/or written 32 major books, of which 22 were published by Elsevier, on topics ranging from future energy, climate change, storing energy, waste, tyre waste and recycling, wind energy, solar energy, managing global warming, plastic waste, renewable energy, and environmental disasters. He has been awarded gold medals by the South African Institute of Chemistry and the South African Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics honoured him with a Festschrift in 2018. He is a life member of both the Royal Society of Chemistry (London) and the South African Institute of Chemistry. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, and is a Director of the Board of the International Association of Chemical Thermodynamics since 2002.

Affiliations and expertise

Emeritus Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa