Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 17.2
Insulation foam in buildings likely containing asbestos
(Bandyopadhyay and Rudrajit 2012 ; Allworth 2005 ; Potera 2005 ). Last but not least,
the presence of asbestos in buildings used in sheeting, fi re-proofi ng and insulation
(Fig. 17.2 ) is commonly found in earthquake and tsunami devastated areas, creating
yet more serious health hazards (CBC 2011 ; Lateline 2013 ).
Immediately after the 2011 tsunami, the Toxic Watch Network ( 2011 ) made a
comparison between the Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry (PRTR 2009 )
companies with fl ood maps in the Tohoku area. An estimated 1,000 factories and
manufacturing companies were likely to have been damaged in Miyagi Prefecture
alone, resulting in the release of many toxic and hazardous materials (Bird and
Grossman 2011 ) including ammonia, heavy metals and metalloids (Cd, Cu, Zn,
Hg, Ni, As), aldehydes and formaldehydes, dioxins, vinyl, insecticides, petroleum
and coal products as well as PCBs, among many other compounds. Moreover, fi res
resulting from the 145,000-barrel-per-day-capacity oil refi nery in Sendai (Eneos
Guide topic 2010 ) and storage tanks released many varieties of dioxins including
other hazardous substances (Bird and Grossman 2011 ).
As rice is grown in Miyagi Prefecture, large amounts of stored fertilizers and
pesticides were released by the tsunami, one example being the Miyagi-based
Ishinomaki fertilizer facility. Nonetheless, studies based on isotope data from
Sendai have shown that the majority of sulphur (S) in the soil originated from
seawater. Therefore, sulphur in water-leachable form found in tsunami sediment
could not be from fertilizer, which in turn suggests that even if there were some
contamination from fertilizer, it would be minimal compared to that of the sea
(Chagué-Goff et al. 2012a , b ).
Pollution could have also resulted from other sources, such as the seafl oor, as
sediment is carried inland by tsunami waters. Szczuci
ski et al. ( 2005 , 2007 )
showed that the 2004 tsunami in Thailand brought heavy metals ashore. Likewise,
Komai et al. ( 2012 ) found alarmingly high concentrations of arsenic and lead in
sediment found along certain areas of Japan's northeastern coastline (including Miyagi).
ń
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