Are you living in, or would you live in, a dangerous area? If so, why?

Too Close to Home?

It's a crowded world, and the resources we value, including jobs, tend to be concentrated in certain areas. It is not so surprising then, perhaps, that sometimes we choose to live in dangerous places, or choose to allow dangerous businesses to be set up near us. Sometimes we have little choice, either because of environmental injustice, or because we do not choose where we are born and where our family and childhood friends live, or because we did not know the danger when moved there - perhaps nobody did, or because the danger arrived afterwards and we could not prevent it.

Some places are only very dangerous to those who are not familiar with them, such as deserts, jungles and the frozen north; I am not talking about these, nor about one-off accidents.

People often live near volcanoes because the soil can be very rich there. They consider it worth the risk.

One form of danger is when potentially hazardous industrial processes are carried out too close to residential areas (or houses are built too close to the factories). Examples include this week's explosions at a gas factory (see below), the chemical disaster at Bhopal in December 1984, and firework factory explosions. Few years pass by without fireworks explosions in or near residential areas. In 1998, for example people were killed in fireworks factories in China near Beijing, in Mexico, in Michigan, in Brazil and Peru. There were more deaths due to fireworks in 2000 in eastern China, Mexico, Netherlands (Enschede), Spain (Rafelcofer) and in China's Jiangxi province. China's Jiangxi province was the scene of another fatal fireworks blast at a primary school where pupils had been putting fuses into firecrackers. In some countries, such as Iraq, ammunition dumps are kept near to houses and people are killed when they go off. On 21 September 2001 30 were killed and 2,000 injured in an explosion at a petrochemical factory in Toulouse, France.

Living near a nuclear plant is always a risk, but as Chernobyl showed us, it can be dangerous to live a long way away too.

Another risky place to live is near a railway line or road upon which dangerous chemicals and/or nuclear waste are transported. People living en route to Yucca Mountain in Nevada are concerned about the possibility of nuclear waste being transported near them. If they decide to start transporting such stuff near your house, should you move elsewhere? Similarly, airports and planes have grown larger over the years, affecting a wider swathe of the conurbations around them. This increases not only noise pollution but also the risk of a crash (like that of Concorde).

Another form of danger that can creep up on people is due to global warming. Some areas may become within the range of mosquitoes and therefore prone to malaria for the first time as they get warmer. People living on low-lying islands and other areas could lose their homes, and the entire nation of Tuvalu may end up under water. Changes in weather patterns can mean increased risk of drought in some places, and increased risk of storms in others. Deforestation can lead to greater risks of landslides, which often, though not always, affect people living in slum conditions as they crowded onto steep hillsides on the edge of cities. Living in flood plains brings risk of flooding, but often it is the richest land agriculturally, or the only land not yet built on. People on low-lying coasts are also at risk of tsunamis, and while the risk of these occurring has not changed, the destruction of mangroves and the amount of building on coastlines means that when tsunamis do occur they are likely to cause far more damage. There are likely to be more causes of pollution let loose by the waves, too.

Hurricanes may already be increasing. Why do people continue to live in places like Florida, which suffered so badly last year, or in tornado alley? Similarly, why live in an earthquake-prone area?

As we build on more and more brown field sites, we may be exposed to dangers such as those faced by residents of Love Canal (details of this and others under Environmental Justice). In 1966 116 children and 5 teachers died in the village of Aberfan in Wales died when a slag heap became unstable and poured over a school.

As the world gets more crowded and resources become scarcer, more and more areas are going to become contested, and therefore not safe places to live. Many already are refugees from their homes.

To many of us, home is our refuge, and we never want to leave. Many are fortunate to be able to stay in our homes if we wish, yet others have no choice but to stay whatever the dangers. Yet others are forced out even if there is no danger (Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes).

There's no such thing as security in your own home whether it is from natural disasters, man-made disasters, war or terrorism; some of us humans have shown ourselves resilient and willing to learn from disasters; others haven't.

Explosions Rock St. Louis Gas Plant

Explosions at a St. Louis plant which processes propane and other gases for industrial use caused evacuation of nearby residents for a spell. Exploding tanks caused huge fireballs. Residents have been allowed to return home; none were hurt or taken ill.

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U.S. finds second mad cow, industry defends guards,
U.S. Seeks Source of Mad Cow Infection,
U.S. assures safety of beef despite mad cow case,
Taiwan Reimposes Ban on U.S. Beef Imports,
Japanese Concerned About U.S. Mad Cow Case,
American Ranchers Reliving 2003 Worries

A second case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the USA, leading ranchers to fear that their beef will be banned and exports will fall as happened in 2003 after the first case. Beef exports shrank from $3.1 billion in 2003 to about $550 million last year. It is 7 months since this particular animal was suspected of having mad cow disease, but it is still not known for sure where it came from; DNA tests are being conducted. It did not enter the food chain. The BSE was not the same strain as the first case or as the one that occurred in Britain in the 1980s. The first case had been born in Canada.

Taiwan has already banned American beef again despite the USA's assurances that it is safe and Japan is unlikely to raise its ban. In 1997 both the U.S. and Canada banned the use of cattle parts in cattle feed; both affected animals were born before then. The USDA expanded its testing of cattle after the earlier case, and there are calls for it to expand testing again.

Chance of bird flu between humans increases-Vietnam

The H5N1 bird flu virus in Vietnam is mutating, increasing the likelihood of it passing between humans, which increases the likelihood of a pandemic.

Group Estimates Potential Flu Death Toll, Potential Pandemic Influenza Deaths

A research group assuming that the severity of pandemic bird flu virus would be mid way between that of the previous pandemics of 1918 and 1968 estimates that over 2.3 million could be hospitalized and half a million people could die in the United States. One quarter of the population would fall sick. This compares to 36,000 to 40,000 people dying of flu and 200,000 hospitalized in an average year. The Trust for America's Health has provided an estimate for each state.

The Trust for America's Health called for the government to stockpile about 70 million doses of Tamiflu to ease the situation while a vaccine was developed. Currently 5.3 million courses are on order.

Enriched Uranium Missing From Japan Plant

An amount of enriched uranium insufficient to make a bomb has disappeared from the Takahama nuclear power plant in central Japan. It was in a device used to detect neutrons, and is not considered radioactive enough to be hazardous to human health. A maintenance lapse last year at a nearby plant run by the same company caused 5 workers to be killed by steam - no radiation escaped.

Are you living in, or would you live in, a dangerous area? If so, why?

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