Early socio-political and environmental consequences of the Prestige oil spill in Galicia

The controversial form in which the oil industry is run has once more caused a huge disaster--this one affecting the Galician coastal environment and economy. Oil-spill clean-up operations have been managed in Europe with some success but with considerable economic, environmental and social costs. The oil industry often avoids fully or even partially compensating those affected. The lack of both political will and political power has let the culprit (the oil industry) off the hook. This paper considers the spill of the Prestige to assess whether the balance of power between affected people and the oil industry can be changed. The paper examines the growing awareness of environmental issues among ordinary people in Spain, through the massive involvement of volunteers concerned with the damage done to the environment and to the livelihoods of fishing communities in Galicia. To understand these growing public concerns and the strength of opinion, the paper examines the details of the decisions taken by the central Spanish and local governments and the way these have informed the clean-up operations, the character of the oil companies involved and the feeling of impotence in the face of such disasters. The conclusion here is that the operations of the oil industry should be tightly regulated through EU legislation, and that this can come about as a result of organised political pressure from those affected by the oil spill, from the mass of volunteers, as well as from public opinion at large.     

Indirect assessment of economic damages from the Prestige oil spill: consequences for liability and risk prevention

The social losses arising from the Prestige oil spill exceed the compensation granted under the IOPC (International Oil Pollution Compensation) system, with losses estimated at 15 times more than the applicable limit of compensations. This is far above the level of costs for which those responsible for hydrocarbons spills are liable. The highest market losses correspond to sectors of extraction, elaboration and commercialisation of seafood. However, damages to non-commercial natural resources could constitute an outstanding group of losses for which further primary data are needed: these losses would only be compensable under the current system by means of a refund for cleaning and restoration costs. Results show that, in Europe, the responsibility for oil spills in maritime transport is limited and unclear. The consequence of this is net social losses from recurrent oil spills and internationally accepted incentives for risky strategies in the marine transport of hydrocarbons.     

Insiders and outsiders: local government and NGO engagement in disaster response in Guimaras,Philippines

This paper examines local government and non‐governmental organisation (NGO) engagement in disaster response in the wake of the M/T Solar 1 oil spill in Guimaras, Western Visayas, Philippines, on 11 August 2006. It assesses the response activities of these two entities as well as the institutional factors that affected their interaction on the ground. Local government and NGO engagement was shaped by multi‐layered, overlapping, and oftentimes contending government‐designed response frameworks. Within these frameworks, government actors played the role of primary implementer and provider of relief, allowing them to determine who could be involved and the extent of their involvement. The absence of formal roles for NGOs in these frameworks not only undermines their ability to work in a setting where such institutional set‐ups are operational but also it reaffirms their ‘outsider’ status. This study of the Guimaras oil spill illustrates the complexity and the institutional difficulties inherent in disaster response and coordination in the Philippines.     

Symptomatic profile and health‐related quality of life of persons affected by the Prestige catastrophe

This study analyses the impact of the Prestige oil spill on the mental health and the perception of physical health and functional capacity in the affected population. The sample comprised 926 residents from the section of the Spanish coast affected by the oil spill. The data was collected slightly more than one year after the accident. Scales referring to clinical symptoms (SCL‐36) and health‐related quality of life (SF‐36) were administered. The results suggest that individuals with higher degrees of exposure or residing in areas closest to the spill show lower levels of mental health in comparison to those with lower levels of exposure or living in areas farther away from the spill. This study also finds that women and fishermen tend to suffer more from the consequences of these types of disaster.     

The Prestige oil spill and its economic impact on the Galician fishing sector

The sinking of the Prestige oil tanker on 18 November 2002 off the coast of Galicia, Spain, had important economic, environmental and social ramifications. The aim of this paper is to carry out an initial analysis of the costs related to a halt in fishing activities in Galicia between November 2002 and December 2003. This involves three different steps: an assessment of the cost of the preventative and palliative measures introduced by Spanish public administrations (compensation for affected fishermen and shellfish fisherman); an indirect evaluation of the implications of the disaster (via a study of data on production); and a direct appraisal of the economic impact of the event (reduction in income), using questionnaires completed by a representative sample of fishermen and shellfish fisherman. The results obtained from these three methods of estimating losses are compatible. By December 2003, losses to the Galician fishing sector stood at an estimated EUR 76 million.     

Incident, accident, catastrophe: cyanide on the Danube

It has been described as the worst disaster since Chernobyl. In January 2000, a retaining wall failed at the Aurul gold processing plant in Romania, releasing a wave of cyanide and heavy metals that moved quickly from one river to the next through Romania, Hungary, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, killing tens of thousands of fish and other forms of wildlife and poisoning drinking-water supplies. This paper examines how and why the chemical spill at Baia Mare occurred and how responses to it emerged from circumstances at the global, local and immediate levels. The spill demonstrates the importance of the flow of information in framing and interpreting disasters, suggesting that such an event can go unnoticed or be viewed as catastrophic, depending on the political, historical and personal struggles that lead to its publicity. The paper offers a framework for understanding why the spill was alternately perceived as an incident, an accident and a catastrophe based on changing perceptions of culpability.     

电动给水泵液力耦合器回油温度高问题分析

针对内蒙古京海煤矸石电厂一期工程2号机组3台电动给水泵液力耦合器在分部试运阶段出现回油温度高,导致给水泵停运的问题,进行影响因素分析,找出了故障原因并提出了处理办法。结果表明:油管路直径设计偏小、工作油溢流调节阀泄流量大和节流孔板设计不合理,是造成液力耦合器循环油量少,导致液力耦合器工作油回油温度高的原因。     

Analysis of hazardous material releases due to natural hazards in the United States

Natural hazards were the cause of approximately 16,600 hazardous material (hazmat) releases reported to the National Response Center (NRC) between 1990 and 2008-three per cent of all reported hazmat releases. Rain-induced releases were most numerous (26 per cent of the total), followed by those associated with hurricanes (20 per cent), many of which resulted from major episodes in 2005 and 2008. Winds, storms or other weather-related phenomena were responsible for another 25 per cent of hazmat releases. Large releases were most frequently due to major natural disasters. For instance, hurricane-induced releases of petroleum from storage tanks account for a large fraction of the total volume of petroleum released during 'natechs' (understood here as a natural hazard and the hazardous materials release that results). Among the most commonly released chemicals were nitrogen oxides, benzene, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Three deaths, 52 injuries, and the evacuation of at least 5,000 persons were recorded as a consequence of natech events. Overall, results suggest that the number of natechs increased over the study period (1990-2008) with potential for serious human and environmental impacts.     

Training Community Health Workers in refugee camps: A case study from Pakistan

In October 1983 a training programme for refugee community health workers was begun as the major part of a primary health care programme for Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The programme began with a pilot period in Badaber camp, situated near to Peshawar. The general issues involved in training auxiliary health personnel were answered by the use of a "knowledge, attitudes and practices survey" and involvement of the refugees from the beginning of the programme. The development of the training programme is discussed with reference to these issues and the constraints arising from the special circumstances of the refugees, in addition to those common to most national training programmes, are reviewed.     

减少油页岩矿井可燃气体爆炸灾害

在自行搭建的热解试验台上，对油页岩矿井灭火过程中气体的释放特性进行模拟研究。利用红外光谱分析仪对所收集的热解气体的成分进行了分析，研究发现，H2，CO，CH4，C2H6是主要的热解可燃气体，其在热解气体中的含量与热解温度有很强的依变关系，氢气在热解可燃气中占有最大的比例。利用查特里公式对热解气体的爆炸极限进行了定量判定，为定量了解矿井灭火过程中气体的释放规律及防爆处理提供参考。     

Success in Kashmir: a positive trend in civil–military integration during humanitarian assistance operations

The modern cast of disaster relief actors includes host nations, non-governmental organisations, private volunteer organisations, military organisations and others. Each group, civilian or military, has valuable skills and experiences critical to disaster relief work. The goal of this paper is to supplement the study of civil–military relief efforts with contemporary anecdotal experience. The paper examines the interaction between US military forces and other disaster relief actors during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake relief effort. The author uses direct observations made while working in Pakistan to contrast the relationships and activities from that effort with other accounts in prevailing scholarly disaster literature and military doctrine. Finally, this paper suggests that the Kashmir model of integration, coordination and transparency of intent creates a framework in which future humanitarian assistance operations could be successfully executed. Recommendations to improve civil–military interaction in future relief efforts will also be addressed.     

Social capital's role in recovery: evidence from communities affected by the 2010 Pakistan floods

Pakistan suffered large‐scale flooding in summer 2010 that caused damage amounting to approximately USD 43 billion, claimed the lives of at least 1,700 people, and negatively affected some 20 million others. Observers have debated the degree to which social capital plays a role in recovery after a catastrophe of this magnitude. Using new survey data on 450 residents impacted by the disaster, this study found that, controlling for various confounding factors, the social capital levels of victims serve as robust correlates of life recovery. Other important variables connected with recovery include education and income, family size, occupation, material damage suffered, stability of home, and trauma experience. The findings point to a number of relevant policy recommendations, most notably that during and following major shocks, disaster managers should work to keep the social networks of victims intact so that they can benefit from interaction with family, friends, and neighbours.     

Reducing disaster risks 1980–2010: Some reflections and speculations

Through personal reflections on themes covering past experiences, the author considers selected experiences of disaster risk management (DRM) that span 30 years of DRM, and makes some speculations concerning the future, and ponders whether within the selected themes the future looks positive or negative. The observations begin with some memories of the Ocho Rios Conference: a multi disciplinary expedition to examine housing and hazards in Pakistan; issues concerning education and training; and finally the success of a massive reconstruction project of rural dwellings in Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake. Some key questions are considered: the value of community-based risk management; the reduction of short- or long-term risks; the protection of critical facilities; whose reality is being addressed? official neglect of education for DRM; the conditions needed to create highly effective safe reconstruction in rural Pakistan.     

油页岩地下开采巷道围岩的流变特性及工程应用

为研究油页岩巷道围岩的流变特性,采用岩土SJ-1B三轴蠕变仪对油页岩进行了三轴蠕变试验。根据试验结果,建立了油页岩非线性蠕变方程。根据上述非线性蠕变方程,以吉林桦甸油页岩矿一井运输大巷为工程背景,分析了围岩的应力场和位移场,并对不同支护强度和应力状态下的蠕变变形进行了系统的分析。研究结果表明,油页岩蠕变具有非线性,控制油页岩巷道围岩过量变形的根本途径是改变围岩的应力状态,以及适当提高锚杆、锚索的初始预应力。本文为有效控制油页岩开采时巷道围岩的有害变形提供了理论依据。     

An investigation into the socioeconomic aspects of two major earthquakes in Iran

An evaluation of the socioeconomic consequences of earthquakes is an essential part of the development of risk reduction and disaster management plans. However, these variables are not normally addressed sufficiently after strong earthquakes; researchers and relevant stakeholders focus primarily on the physical damage and casualties. The importance of the socioeconomic consequences of seismic events became clearer in Iran after the Bam earthquake on 26 December 2003, as demonstrated by the formulation and approval of various laws and ordinances. This paper reviews the country's regulatory framework in the light of the socioeconomic aspects of two major and destructive earthquakes: in Manjil–Rudbar in 1990, and in Bam in 2003. The results take the form of recommendations and practical strategies for incorporating the socioeconomic dimensions of earthquakes in disaster risk management planning. The results presented here can be applied in other countries with similar conditions to those of Iran in order to improve public preparedness and risk reduction.     

Why the poor pay with their lives: oil pipeline vandalisation, fires and human security in Nigeria

Since its discovery in Nigeria in 1956 crude oil has been a source of mixed blessing to the country. It is believed to have generated enormous wealth, but it has also claimed a great many lives. Scholarly attention on the impact of oil on security in Nigeria has largely focused on internal conflicts rather than on how disasters associated with oil pipeline vandalisation have impacted on human security in terms of causing bodily injuries and death, destroying livelihoods and fracturing families. This paper examines how pipeline vandalisation affects human security in these ways. It identifies women and children as those who are hardest hit and questions why the poor are the most vulnerable in oil pipeline disasters in this country. It recommends the adoption of a comprehensive and integrated framework of disaster management that will ensure prompt response to key early warning signs, risk-reduction and appropriate mitigation and management strategies.     

基于理论播种期的油葵花期雨害风险模型——以环渤海地区为例

随着环渤海盐碱地区油葵引种品种的不断增多,种植面积不断扩大,部分地区盲目引种现象时有发生,油葵开花期与雨季同期干扰花期授粉,严重影响了油葵产量。通过分析油葵播种期的关键因子（稳定通过10℃的初终日）30年的概率密度分布,并结合实际播期定义了理论播种期;在此基础上利用连续3 d降雨概率密度分布构建了花期雨害风险模型。应用此模型得到的环渤海地区早熟、中早熟、中晚熟油葵花期低雨害风险的适宜播种期与当地现实最佳播种期间存在较高的吻合度。研究可为农作物适宜播种期的选择及减轻灾害风险提供理论参考。     

The Spanish toxic oil syndrome: Some explanations for the pathology and an appraisal of the similarities with other episodes of food adulteration

In 1981 in Madrid, a new disease was identified, and attributed to the fraudulent sale of adulterated, industrial-quality oil as olive oil. The competing hypotheses for the clinical symptoms and tissue changes are reviewed but it is also important to note the general similarities between this epidemic and those other incidents where food adulteration has presented an acute hazard.     

常压立式储油罐地震应力的有限元计算

采用有限元方法 ,考虑在静载和动载共同作用下 ,对常压立式拱顶储油罐的地震应力进行了计算分析 ,给出了轴向应力的分布状态 ;并与相关抗震设计规范中的验算公式得出的结果进行了比较。结果表明 :由于地震的动力作用 ,储油罐的受力状态不是均匀分布 ,出现了峰值和谷值 ,而这些应力峰值大于工业设备抗震鉴定标准和石油化工设备抗震鉴定标准中公式的计算应力值 ,这应引起足够的注意。     

驳船池火灾的危险性分析

从现代社会中广泛用于原油运输的船只入手,介绍了在原油转移的过程中发生意外泄漏而产生池火灾的几个重要参数模型。结合热辐射伤害的破坏准则,对死亡、重伤、轻伤的范围进行了量化研究,进一步分析了池火灾所造成的直接财产损失和间接的财产损失,并给出了相应的计算模型。以湘江边上一艘驳船发生柴油泄漏后产生的池火灾为例,计算分析结果表明:池火灾对周围一定半径内造成巨大的财产和人员损失。