NEW ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT SYSTEM SOON

Extracted from paper cutting  dated 29 July 2017

GOERGETOWN - The new Environmental impact assessment  (EIA) system will be introduced soon, which among others, list more stringent conditions for mega development projects including marine land reclamation.

Natural resources and Environment Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku  Jaafar, said the new EIS system, would be tabled at the cabinet before being taken to the next level.

"After the cabinet endorses it, we will present it to the National Physical Development Council before  presenting it to the National Land Council."

"After that , if all is clear , the new EIA system can then be adopted." he told the reporters after  witnessing the signing of amemorandum of understaning (MoU) between the Department of Wildlife  and the Malaysian Association of Veterinary  Pathology here yesterday.

He said the new EIA  system would take into account social factors and politicl impact including fisherman's complaints as well as involving the participation  of more agencies, including the Department of Environment, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Department of Marine Park and the Nationa Hydraulic  Research Institure of Malaysia (NAHRIM).

How rainbows are formed

The formation of rainbow in a sky after its rains is natural phenomena related to dispersion of light. A rainbow is a natural spectrum of sunlight that formed in the sky after it rains. After it rains, water droplets are suspended in the air. These droplets act as prisms to disperse sunlight into the colours of spectrum. A primary rainbow A primary rainbow is formed when sunlight undergoes two refractions and one reflection in water droplet A primary rainbow has the colour of red on the outside and colour violet on the inside of a curve A secondary rainbow A secondary rainbow is formed when sunlight undergoes two refractions and two reflections in a water droplet. Sometimes a secondary rainbow is formed above a primary rainbow. A secondary rainbow has the colour violet on the outside and the colour of red on the inside the curve. This is the double reflection of light. A primary rainbow is brighter than a secondary rainbow. The double reflection of light in a water droplet results in the loss of light. A rainbow is formed if the angle of elevation of the sun is less than 42 degree. A rainbow will be formed when we spray water in the air towards the sky, if the sun is behind us. A colour spectrum will be seen in he water spray.

Long term mobileuse and the risk of brain cancer

Using mobile phones for more than 10 years doubles the risk of brain cancer, newspapers reported. They suggest that the risk may be greater in children whose thinner skulls and developing nervous system make them more vulnerable.

The Daily Mail reported that “researchers found that long-term users had double the chance of getting a malignant tumour on the side of the brain where they held the handset”.

The stories are based on a review of studies that looked at the difference in mobile phone usage between people with and without brain tumours for more than a 10 year period.

The authors found 11 studies on people who had used mobile phones for more than a decade. Some of these showed that mobile phone use significantly increased the risk of some types of brain cancer while others did not.

Further perspective is given to this by data from Cancer Research UK, which suggests that “brain tumours” are rare and occur in less than seven in 100,000 people.

Contrary to newspaper reports, this review did not find that children are at greater risk of cancer from mobile use. The review did not look specifically at children and it would not be possible to come to this conclusion. These headlines originated from a comment by one of the authors.

However, the Stewart Report, a government sponsored independent review, recommended in 2004 that the use of mobiles by children should be minimised as a precautionary measure. This recommendation is endorsed by the findings from the 2007 MTHR Report, which found that although there was no evidence that mobile phones were associated with adverse effects in adults, further research is still needed for their use by children, and for their long-term use by adults. Proposals for the MTHR 2 study that begins in 2008 include epidemiological studies of the risk of brain tumours in children.

read more...

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2007/October/Pages/Longtermmobileuseandtheriskofbraincancer.aspx

Radiation level and its effects

Source:http://themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/how-much-radiation-is-dangerous/March 15, 2011



TOKYO, March 15 — Japan asked local governments to make more frequent radiation checks after explosions at two nuclear reactors, with reports of radiation levels nine times normal briefly detected in Kanagawa near Tokyo.

Below are some facts about the health dangers posed by higher radiation levels.

1.Chief Cabinet Minister Yukio Edano said radiation levels near the stricken plant on the northeast coast reached as high as 400 millisieverts (mSv) an hour, thousands of times higher than readings before the blast. That would be 20 times the current yearly level for some nuclear-industry employees and uranium miners.

2.Exposure to 350 mSv was the criterion for relocating people after the Chernobyl accident, according to the World Nuclear Association.

3.People are exposed to natural radiation of about 2 mSv a year.

4. Airline crew flying the New York-Tokyo polar route are exposed to 9 mSv a year.

5. Exposure to 100 mSv a year is the lowest level at which any increase in cancer is clearly evident. A cumulative 1,000 mSv would probably cause a fatal cancer many years later in five out of every 100 persons exposed to it.

6. A single 1,000 mSv dose causes radiation sickness such as nausea but not death. A single dose of 5,000 mSv would kill about half of those exposed to it within a month.

7. Very acute radiation, like that which happened in Chernobyl and to the Japanese workers at the nuclear power station, is unlikely for the population,” said Lam Ching-wan, a chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong.

For the latest news on Japan’s nuclear crisis, go to http://www.world-nuclear.org/ — Reuters

Water Crisis - We Are Running Out of Water

It is worrisome that we would be talking of water crisis, scarcity or problems when two-third of our world is composed of water. Of the whole bulk of water on earth, only 2.5 per cent is fresh and suitable for human and agricultural use. This makes usable water a finite resource. Of this 2.5 percent, 99 per cent is held up in icebergs, glaciers or underground. Only 1 per cent of freshwater is therefore available to the nearly 7 billion human population and a countless other forms of life.

This tiny fraction of freshwater is unevenly distributed throughout the world. So, some people have much, while others have almost none. In some countries like Nigeria and Mali, quantity is not a problem, but distribution and quality are. This is commonly so in developing nations.

Each year, about 3.575 million people die from water-related disease. Million of people die globally from poor sanitation and contaminated water. Ninety per cent of the victims are children. Over a third of the world's population is seriously affected by water and sanitation crisis.

While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %. This population growth, coupled with industrialization and urbanization, will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment. Thus, the water crisis would continue to heighten.

People Lacking Water

More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases. One must know that these figures represent only people with very poor conditions. In reality, these figures should be much higher.

As the resource is becoming scarce, tensions among different users may intensify, both at the national and international level. Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. In the absence of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin can lead to trans-boundary tensions. When major projects proceed without regional collaboration, they can become a point of conflicts, heightening regional instability. The Parana La Plata, the Aral Sea, the Jordan and the Danube may serve as examples. Due to the pressure on the Aral Sea, a good proportion of the water has disappeared

Towards A Way to Improve the Situation

The water crisis witness today is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs but rather a crisis of bad management of water.

With the current state of affairs, corrective measures still can be taken to check the worsening situation. There is an increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality. This water challenge affects not only the water community, but also decision-makers and every human being.

Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle and attitude, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.

Trans-boundary Cooperation

As far as trans-boundary conflicts are concerned, regional economic development and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by states cooperating on water-related issues. Instead of a trend towards war, water management can be viewed as a trend towards cooperation and peace. Many initiatives are launched to avoid crises. Institutional commitments like in the Senegal River are created.

Water Crisis Facts
43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhea.
84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14.
98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world.
884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people.

The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fortune_Ihunweze

Water Crisis - We Are Running Out of Water

It is worrisome that we would be talking of water crisis, scarcity or problems when two-third of our world is composed of water. Of the whole bulk of water on earth, only 2.5 per cent is fresh and suitable for human and agricultural use. This makes usable water a finite resource. Of this 2.5 percent, 99 per cent is held up in icebergs, glaciers or underground. Only 1 per cent of freshwater is therefore available to the nearly 7 billion human population and a countless other forms of life.

This tiny fraction of freshwater is unevenly distributed throughout the world. So, some people have much, while others have almost none. In some countries like Nigeria and Mali, quantity is not a problem, but distribution and quality are. This is commonly so in developing nations.

Each year, about 3.575 million people die from water-related disease. Million of people die globally from poor sanitation and contaminated water. Ninety per cent of the victims are children. Over a third of the world's population is seriously affected by water and sanitation crisis.

While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %. This population growth, coupled with industrialization and urbanization, will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment. Thus, the water crisis would continue to heighten.

People Lacking Water
More than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases. One must know that these figures represent only people with very poor conditions. In reality, these figures should be much higher.

As the resource is becoming scarce, tensions among different users may intensify, both at the national and international level. Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. In the absence of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin can lead to trans-boundary tensions. When major projects proceed without regional collaboration, they can become a point of conflicts, heightening regional instability. The Parana La Plata, the Aral Sea, the Jordan and the Danube may serve as examples. Due to the pressure on the Aral Sea, a good proportion of the water has disappeared

Towards A Way to Improve the Situation
The water crisis witness today is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs but rather a crisis of bad management of water.

With the current state of affairs, corrective measures still can be taken to check the worsening situation. There is an increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality. This water challenge affects not only the water community, but also decision-makers and every human being.

Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle and attitude, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.

Trans-boundary Cooperation
As far as trans-boundary conflicts are concerned, regional economic development and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by states cooperating on water-related issues. Instead of a trend towards war, water management can be viewed as a trend towards cooperation and peace. Many initiatives are launched to avoid crises. Institutional commitments like in the Senegal River are created.

Water Crisis Facts
43% of water-related deaths are due to diarrhea.
84% of water-related deaths are in children ages 0 - 14.
98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world.
884 million people, lack access to safe water supplies, approximately one in eight people.
The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fortune_Ihunweze

Storm Drain Seal Covers

Storm water (air hujan) can be a serious threat to the environment. That's especially the case if the water is draining from areas like parking lots, car repair shops, or any type of industrial facility, where hydrocarbons, oils, or chemicals might have leaked and are sitting on the ground. During a storm, oily and chemical residues will be swept up in the run-off, which then drains into the ground water - Unless something is done to prevent that from happening.

And what can be done to keep the groundwater safe? The storm drains in the critical areas can be covered. And now, a new generation of storm drain seal covers make that task very easy and economical.

A new generation of storm drain seal covers:

For example, there's the new Drain Cover Seal & Spill Stopper and Blocker II, which has a feature that makes it even more versatile and easier to apply than the regular kind: It's reversible.

These covers are made out of tough and tacky polyurethane without any fillers whatsoever. It's the fact that they're tacky on both sides that makes them reversible - and with that they can create a durable seal no matter which side you're using.

Easy to keep handy:

They're also much lighter in weight than traditional products, so you can keep them handy and use them at a moment's notice in the event of chemical spill emergencies.

Can be reused:

But their useful life doesn't end with one use. After washing them and replacing the plastic film they originally came with, you can roll them on the tube and put them right back into their original container. And with that, they will be ready for action when another spill should occur.

Resistant to chemicals:

Rubbers and plastics can disintegrate when they come into contact with certain chemicals. Polyurethane is resistant to a much wider range of chemicals, solvents, and oils. That makes seal covers made out of polyurethane the ideal solution for protecting the environment from solvents, oils and chemicals.

Drain cover seal protectors are also available in a range of sizes, from 18 inches all the way to 48 inches, to provide customized protection for any size drain covers. They are available in round as well as in square versions. In addition, customized seal protectors are also available.

How large should storm drain seal covers be? A good rule of thumb: Seals should be 6" larger than the drains they are designed to cover. So do a little survey and tally up the sizes you'll need to be prepared.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Travis_Zdrazil

Landslide Bukit Antarabangsa.. Malaysia never learn

The quiet in Taman Bukit Mewah and Taman Bukit Utama in Bukit Antarabangsa was shattered by the sound of strong wind and an explosion just before the landslide hit the neighbourhood in the wee hours of the morning, according to an eyewitness.

Businessman Hassan Saad, 48, said he was watching television in his sitting room at 3.30am when he heard what sounded like strong wind but when he looked out, the air was still and the trees were not swaying.

He returned to watching the TV but suddenly he heard an explosion like that of a bomb. He ran out of the house and saw the earth sliding down the hillslope and hitting his neighbour's house in front.

Hassan said he shouted to wake up his family and alert his neighbours to run for their lives. His family of 10, including his mother-in-law and two cousins managed to run to safety.

Hassan, who has been living there for 15 years, said it was the first time that such a thing had happened in the area.

"Last month, eight trees fell on the hillslop about 20m behind my house and I informed the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) about it.

"They came and chopped the trees. I thought that everything was okay then," he told reporters at the scene.

Another resident, Lian Wan Jian of Taman Bukit Mewah, said he heard two loud noises and thought that it was an earthquake.

He said he was still awake at that time but his wife and two children were jolted from their sleep by the noises.

When he opened the door to run out, he and his family saw the force of the earth movement lifting the cars and felt his house being pushed towards the neighbour's house.

He and his family, however, managed to run to safety.

"Maybe we we were able to save ourselves because our house is at the end (of the row)," he said at the centre for the victims at the Addinniah surau in Taman Bukit Mewah.

Meanwhile, a man who wanted to be known only as Chong, said his daughter and two-month-old grandchild were buried alive in the landslide while his son was still missing as at 9am.

He said he visited them last night and had gone home at 11pm but was told by a neighbour's son that his son's house had been buried in the landslide.

The place was in chaos and hundreds of residents were unable to get out of the area because the only road leading out was jam-packed with buldozers, fire engines, ambulances and trucks and the security forces invovled in the search and rescue operation.

Residents trying to flee the area also contributed to the jam. - Bernama

Landlslide... Malaysia never learn?

Landslide in Malaysia 2008

Dec 4 - 300 people were forced to evacuate two buildings when a landslide caused part of the retaining wall of a car park to collapse in Jalan Semantan, Kuala Lumpur.

Nov 30 - Two sisters were buried alive when a landslide hit their bungalow in Ulu Yam Perdana near Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor.

Oct 22 - Tonnes of earth came crashing down a hill onto the grounds of the Taman Terubong Jaya apartments in Butterworth where over 1,000 residents were staying.

Oct 19 - Four families evacuated from houses along the banks of Sungai Kayu Ara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, after landslide there.

Oct 17 - Two Indonesians were killed after they were buried alive by tonnes of sand in a landslide in Ganesan Quarry, Hulu Langat near Kajang, Selangor.

Oct 15 - A landslide after a downpour at Pinggir Bukit Segar, Cheras, Selangor caused a family to move out as they feared for their safety.

Sept 6 - Roads from the George Town to Teluk Bahang and Balik Pulau in Penang were cut off due to landslides and fallen trees.

Jan 17 - Two foreign workers were killed after they were buried in a landslide while working at a plantation in Cameron Highlands.