ENMT301 Enviroment And Ecosystems Principles
Week 4 Discussion
DQ1 Environmental Disasters
Humans have been responsible for numerous environmental disasters throughout history. Examples include Fukushima, Three Miles Island, Chernobyl, Deep Water Horizon, Exxon Valdez, Hudson River, Love Canal, Times Beach, Minamata, Bhopal, Seveso, Flint Water Crisis, and the Dust Bowl to name a few.
Research one environmental disaster and briefly describe what happened, when and where it happened, what it was caused by, what effects it had/has on human health and the environment, and what – if anything – we learned from it to prevent a recurrence.
Could this disaster be prevented by better land use management decisions?
Please select a disaster not previously covered by one of your classmates and post your response using the disaster you selected as header for your post.
DQ2 “Toxic Baby” and the Risk Assessment Process
Think about the human health risk assessment process we have learned about this week, which is used to determine potential risks to human health resulting from the exposure to chemicals in the environment. You also watched the TED Talk “Toxic Baby” with Tyrone Hayes and Penelope Jagessar Chaffer.
First, briefly answer the following question: What was the most surprising or interesting new thing you learned from this TED Talk? Have you heard of the issues discussed in this talk previously?
Then, briefly research one toxic chemical that we are, or may be, exposed to. It can be a chemical discussed in the TED Talk or any other toxic chemical that you have heard of or that interests you. Answer one of the following questions, using the toxin you selected as an example to support your answer:
What happens in the hazard identification stage?
What happens during the dose-response assessment?
What happens during the exposure assessment?
What happens in the risk characterization stage? How is the risk “characterized”?
What is the difference between non-cancer risk assessment and cancer-risk assessment?
What is the difference between risk assessment and risk management?
Please choose a toxin not yet described by other students and indicate it in the header of your post. As always, remember to document any sources you have used, including our course materials.
DQ3 Thinking about your ENMT Career: Exploration of ENMT positions available
Here are some websites that you might want to explore in examining positions (internships and jobs) within various environmental management fields:
Bureau of Labor and Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/)
Department of Labor (https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs)
Environmental Careers (https://environmentalcareer.com/)
EPA Internships (https://www.epa.gov/careers/student-internships)
EPA Careers (https://www.epa.gov/careers)
Occupational Health Internship Program (http://aoec.org/ohip/how-to-apply/)
Environmental Health and Safety Positions (https://www.indeed.com/q-Environmental-Health-Safety-jobs.html)
Sustainability Positions (https://www.indeed.com/q-Sustainability-jobs.html)
Construction Jobs (https://constructionjobs.com/)
Food Safety Jobs (https://www.careersinfood.com/food-safety-jobs.cfm)
Choose two of these websites and compare the results to the job listings you obtained in CareerQuest in Week 3. How do the results compare in terms of (1) number, (2) detail, (3) relevance, and (4) practical usefulness to you?