#Environmental Hazards

[marithlizard]

Genuine question here: what about ponds? People spend a lot of time around them, and even swim in them. How much does the water have to move for it to not qualify as stagnant? (wind, insects, fish, etc, cause the water to move around but is that enough)

Is there a size threshold above which a body of water just isn't going to be stagnant? I'm thinking about the difference between a still small scummed-over pond and a clear lake. You absolutely would not want to drink from either of them, but I'm having a hard time believing that it would be dangerous to be around even the first one. Point very much taken about water in abandoned buildings and water cups left out for more than a day, though. Maybe we should be changing the pets' water daily too.

kids these days don’t know how lethal stagnant water is

[medicalmeowmeow]

Frostbite

With winter months quickly approaching, let's take a quick look at something a lot of people talk about: frostbite!

Frostbite is caused by freezing of the skin and tissues underneath, and the early stages are called frostnip. Exposed skin is at risk in freezing temperatures and windy, or wet weather.

Symptoms can be tingling, numbness, skin changing color, waxy or hard skin, joint stiffness, pain, and blistering after rewarming.

Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, ears, cheeks, chin, and tip of the nose. Because of numbness it may be hard to notice.

[slypuzzle]

The Missing 411 Phenomenon: Mystery or Misunderstanding?

Mysterious disappearances in national parks have fueled theories ranging from supernatural forces to simple accidents. Did you know the National Park Service doesn’t keep a centralized database of missing persons? What do you think is behind the Missing 411 cases?  

[ultra-phthalo]

Uni Update

[Tough update, current vent] Well, I've really messed up. The entire reason I went to Italy was to create a geology report. And I have 8 hours to write; source literature and create graphs in XL for the report. My work is going to be capped.

I also had information I was suppose to give to classmates about results tables and the rocks seen in the volcanic ash. I hope they could do it without me.

I don't feel good. I'm not even 100% on what to do with late submissions. And will have to have an awkward talk today at best. Just to know what to do next.

[westvalleyfaultph]

Safeguarding Coastal Communities: MGB Conducts Vital Coastal Vulnerability Assessment in Caraga Town

Scan the QR code to get this post on the go. In a proactive move to monitor climate-induced hazards, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) recently conducted a comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment in Caraga town, Davao Oriental. The aim was to analyze and address potential risks posed by erosion, tsunamis, storm surges, and sea level rise in these inherently susceptible coastal…

[gaiawisdom]

“false” plastics facility distracts from change

ExxonMobil’s new plastics recycling plant, one of the largest in North America, has been criticized by environmental advocates for generating hazardous pollutants and diverting attention from reducing plastics production. The company’s pyrolysis plastics technology is inefficient and worse for the environment than mechanical recycling. Many see the technology as a cover allowing oil giants to continue producing millions of tons of plastic yearly.                        --newsletter of the Price-Pottenger Foundation, 4/15/23

[mewniemoon]

A Poll to figure out who is the most hated Golden Fleece Run Killer. Sorry if u think Burrower enemies are the worse, my apologies that you've never made it past darkwood </3 /j

[ladymariayuri]

god i hate these fucking pick me gamer girls blaming trans women for why they cant get past fucking plat in overwatch. youre just dogshit and getting high off copium genuinely i hope you kill yourself for being a transmisogynist dumb fuck

[lele-o-north]

Recycling Centre Site Visit ✨

Today I had the opportunity to visit the Hazardous Waste Recycling Centre in Gateshead (i): a tour organised by Suez, the site owner ♻️

I am pleased with how transparent Laura and Hannah, our guides, have been while explaining what happens to the local recycling and general waste. No question has been left unanswered, and topics have been discussed with the most environmentally friendly tone: everything led to the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 🙌🏻

The overall experience exceeded my expectations as the amount of knowledge I gained was HUGE ⛰️

This is how I would summarise today’s experience in few points:

1. Disposable vapes are a PROBLEM 💨

Strangely classified by UK Legislation as “toys, leisure and sport equipment”, they have been responsible for numerous fires at the recycling centre. E-cigarettes contain lithium batteries, which can easily ignite when segregated with the other waste streams. Furthermore, recycling one 200L barrel full of disposable vapes costs more than £2000 😰

2. Machines that sort general waste out DO NOT EXIST ⚙️

Due to complex composition of general waste, there is no machine or automated process able to effectively separate non-recyclables from recyclables that ended up in the general waste. At Suez, sorting is done BY HANDS 🤲🏻

3. Energy-from-Waste (EFW) requires A LOT of ENERGY ⚡️

Suez’s EFW facility has the potential to generate enough electricity to power 30.000 homes via waste incineration. However, the majority of energy goes back into the facility to keep the process going: fire is on 24/7 🔥

4. Separate food waste segregation at home is COMING SOON 🍔

Around 6.5 MILLION tonnes of food waste come from households every year. The shocking thing is: around 70% of that food waste IS STILL EDIBLE when people dispose of it (4.5 MILLION tonnes). Suez compared it to 90 Royal Albert Halls! 😱

5. Load contamination is a serious thing ☣️

Staff works hard every day to ensure skips contain the waste they have been designed for. When hazardous materials get in the same bin with recyclables, the WHOLE load becomes hazardous. This means that all the waste contained in that bin is very likely to lose its recycling potential. As it has been said today: “It is better losing some recycling in the general waste than contaminating an entire load of recycling and losing all of it” 😞 This is such a powerful sentence.

For those interested in knowing about waste disposal and recycling, I strongly recommend this experience. Event details can be found on Eventbrite and many waste sites are available for tour booking 🤩

Ah, forgot this: IT’S FREE 🤯

References:

i. (Photo) https://lnkd.in/eYyWCWmp

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Tree wells.

[wikipediapictures]

Lung cancer

[theclearblue]

Love my roommates truly and dearly but being told AI is the future and I have to accept it is top 5 most agonizing things I've ever heard in my entire life

[elektroskopik]

Heaps of pharmaceuticals, toxic chemicals found in recycled plastics

The largest class of chemicals found were pesticides, with 162 chemical compounds coming from this category. Second in the list were 89 different pharmaceuticals. Third place went to 65 different industrial chemicals. These were followed by other classes of chemicals including surfactants, stimulants, fragrances, dyes, repellents, corrosion inhibitors, and more. In all, the researchers say that "491 organic compounds were detected and quantified, with an additional 170 compounds tentatively annotated."

Some of these chemicals come from the manufacturing of plastics themselves, while others are introduced during the recycling stage, and still others find their ways into the plastics through the process of adsorption, a process in which atoms of certain substances form a film that adheres to various surfaces. Because of the range of compounds found, the researchers say that they believe recycled plastics are unfit for most uses (...).

Published in Science

[ergativeabsolutive]

Cooking at 11 pm to destress after a somewhat hectic evening hehe….

[meticulousfragments]

I don’t think a HAZWOPER certification prepares you for mutant stoats actively fighting you off