Flashcards Workplace Hazards, Risk Mitigation, and Central Texas Geology

chemical hazards

toxic fumes, acid burns

physical hazards

broken glass, sharps, noise

biological hazards

bacteria, viruses

acute exposure

Occurring in ONE EVENT or over a

SHORT PERIOD of time (i.e.

respiratory distress by inhalation of

smoke from a fire)

chronic exposure

Resulting from LONG TERM contact or

exposure (i.e. hearing loss from

workplace environment)

physical risk

sharps: needle stick and potential infection from exposure

sharp scissors: cut into skin while opening testing kit

chemical risk

accidental splash to the face and chemical burn

biological risk

accidental spill and possible exposure to harmful viruses or bacteria

4 Types of Risk Mitigation

1) accept- acknowledge and tolerate the risk

2) avoid- eliminate the risk

3) transfer- shift risk to another party

4) reduce- decrease likelihood or severity

Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era in Central Texas

• Central Texas was under a

shallow sea

• Pliosaurs - swam in the sea;

"age of dinosaurs"

- limestone formations formed from marine sediments

• Plants dominated by

gymnosperms, like conifers

• Fossil remains - footprints

Cretaceous sedimentary rock

formations in Central Texas notable features:

Fossils of marine animals and limestone deposits (skeletons of microorganisms called coccoliths)

5 different types of rock formations

White Rock Escarpment: Limestone and chalk deposits from San Antonio to Dallas

Blackland Prarie

- deep, fertile, black soil that formed the Late Cretaceous marine muds and chalks.

- rich soil supported a tall-grass prairie dominated by grasses (bluestem, Indiangrass, and switchgrass)

- trees and other shrubs were only found near the occasional streams

- much of the original prairie was converted to agriculture and development

- high biodiversity loss risk

Forest Habitats

- more shade and moisture

before lodging texas was covered with the post oak and the east texas pineywoods

post oak: post oak and black jack oaks surrounding small meadows of little and big bluestem grasses

poineywoods: forest of majestic loblolly, short leaf, and long leaf pines twoering

cave dwellers: Troglobites

- live entirely in caves

- often blind and colorless

troglophiles

- can live in caves or outside

trogloxenes

- use caves temporarily

- must leave to survive

(bats)

death of mammoths

Trapped and buried by the muddy waters of the Bosque River

- climate change

- habitat change

- human hunting

- food shortages

mean

- average

- most affetced by outliers

median

- middle values

- less affected by outliers

mode

- most common value

variance

important in determining whether differences between population means are in reality different

low variance

data clustered together

- indicates greator ocnsistancy

high variance

data widely spread

ideal conditions for mean, median, and variance

- The mean and median are similar

- Lower variance indicates greater consistency

outliers

- extreme valuses pull the eman up or down

- median usually chganges very little

- mode often unchanged

why demographics matter

- predict resource needs

- understand population growth

- assess environmental impacts

survivorship curves: Early Loss

- high mortality when young

-common in many wildlife species

survivorship curves: Late Loss

- most individuals survive until old age

- common in modern human populations

Human populations: Pre-1940's

more early loss

human populations: Post-2000s

more late loss due to improved healthcare

survivorship curve axes: X&Y

X axis: age or time

Y axis: number/proportion surviving

energy vampires and wasted watts

Lab objective

to assess how much energy can be wasted in our day-to-day lives

Recognize ways to minimize energy waste in our future

Energy sources for the U.S.

-petroleum

- natural gas

- nonrenewable gas

- renewable energy

- coal

- nuclear

most consumed energy sources for the U.S.

- Petroleum

- natural gas

Texas Winter Storm (2021)

- 69% of Texans lost power for an average of 42 hours

- Contributed to at least 210 deaths

- Estimated storm-related financial losses range from $80 billion to $130 billion

- Energy power generators failed on all fronts (natural gas, wind, and coal)

- rolling blackouts were intended to take stress off the power grid but turned into shortages

- ERCOT underestimated peak demand by almost 14%

Heat loss deficiencies

- major source of energy loss is flow under and around doors and through windows

Calculate kilowatt hours for a year from a device given the watts and hours it is used per day

kWh/year=

(Watts x Hours/day x 365) /

1000

Energy(kWh)=

power(kW) x Time(hrs/yr)

Energy Cost ($)=

Energy (kWh) x Energy Rate($/kWh)

formulas

use $0.15/kWh as your energy rate

total gas=

miles per year / miles per gallon

city gallons used per month=

city miles per mo/city MPG

highway gallons used per month=

highway miles per month/highway MPG

total monthly gallons=

city gallons + highway gallons

monthly fuel cost=

total monthly gallons x cost per gallon

annual fuel cost=

monthly cost x 12

truck fuel use

highest fuel consumption

car

moderate

hybrid

low

electric

lowest gasoline use (none)

decibel

- unit measuring sound intensity

- logarithmic scale

how sound travels

- through vibrations in matter

- cannot travel through a vacuum

acute sound exposure

one event of over a short period

- fire alarm

- firework

chronic expoosure

longer term contract

- air conditioner

- college dorms

- workplace noise exposure

health effects that occur and long-term risks when exposed to sound for humans and wildlife

- disrupted communication

- altered migration

- reduced hunting success

- marine mammal navigation problems

around 60 dB

normal conversation

around 120 dB

painful

above 85

Long-term damage possible

around 120 dB

painful

around 60 dB

normal conversation

plastic properties

- cheap to make

- strong, doesn't fall apart easily

- made from fossil fuels (crude oil, petroleum)

nanoplastics

extremely small particles

microplastics

macroplastics

>25 mm

point source

a stationary and continuous source of plastic wastes, like factories that release plastic beads or fragments into waterways

nonpoint source

Non-stationary or intermittent sources of plastic waste, such as an individual dropping a piece of trash or a child losing a plastic toy that washes into a culvert and then into a river. Plastic pollution is difficult to control since most of it comes from this source

how plastics break down

- sunlight (UV)

- weathering

- mechanical abrasion

contaminants associated with plastics

BPA

Phthalates

additives and flame retardants

Health concerns with contaminants

- BPA

- Phthalates

-additives and flame retardants

- hormone disruption

- developmental impacts

- toxic exposure

point source examples

- factory discharge source

- wastewater outlet

nonpoint source

- road runoff

- urban stormwater

- agricultural runoff

environmental harm

- wildlife ingestion

- entanglement

- habitat contamination

- chemical leaching

microplastic accumulation in ecosystems