All Flashcards
What is the purpose of the Clean Air Act?
To regulate air emissions from stationary and mobile sources.
What does CERCLA (Superfund) do?
Provides a Federal 'Superfund' to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment.
What were the impacts of the Chernobyl disaster?
High rates of cancer and birth defects; high radiation levels making the area uninhabitable; radioactive cloud spread across Europe.
What were the impacts of the Three Mile Island accident?
Public distrust in government regulation of nuclear reactors in the USA; decrease in the use of nuclear energy in the US.
What were the effects of the Fukushima disaster?
Contamination of 11,580 square miles with radioactive materials; creation of exclusion zones; abandonment of cities.
What were the impacts of the Exxon Valdez oil spill?
Widespread damage to the coastline; significant reduction in biodiversity; death of hundreds of thousands of animals.
What were the impacts of the Great Smog in London?
Many deaths due to respiratory illness.
What were the impacts of the Bhopal disaster?
Thousands of deaths within hours; about 15,000 more deaths from complications; 500,000 total injuries; children born with defects.
What were the impacts of the Love Canal disaster?
Families were forced to evacuate; birth defects and endocrine disruption caused by chemical contamination of drinking water.
What were the impacts of the Minamata Bay disaster?
Many people developed Minamata Disease, with symptoms including fatigue, convulsions, loss of motor functions, and slurred speech.
What are the impacts of coral reef bleaching?
Loss of biodiversity; loss of habitat for many fish species.
What is the purpose of the CERCLA Superfund Program?
To clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites and protect human health and the environment.
What was the result of the Great Smog in London?
The Great Smog in London led to revisions to the Clean Air Act and requirements for scrubbers in industrial factories.