What is environmental risk? Can it occur in my organization or in the area where I live? Are there measures to reduce it? Environmental risk catches our attention, both for the conditions to the environment and for the danger that our own health is running.
Environmental risk is a broader concept of what it may seem to the naked eye. Therefore, in Ecology Verde we teach you What is environmental risk And, for greater understanding, we illustrate it with Simple environmental risk examples.
What is environmental risk
He Environmental risk can be defined as a damage or potential catastrophe in the environmentdue to both a natural phenomenon and anthropic action.
As we see, it is a somewhat ambiguous definition, because it depends largely on what we consider “potential” or not. Depending on the observer, a factor will constitute an environmental risk or not, as well as its influence.
In the risk two parameters can be distinguished that help us both to classify them and give them a priority order to attend them. On the one hand, we find the “frequency”, that is, the effective probability of that they occur. For example, a flood plain or a rambla have an X frequency of flooding (each decades regularly). On the other hand, we find the “severity” of risk, that is, what is the outcome of this situation. Abundant in the example, the ramblas and the flood plains are extremely dangerous, because they have a great gravity associated. In addition, having little frequency, we usually tend to forget that the dangerous consequences they imply.
As we have mentioned in the definition, Environmental risks can be classified as natural and anthropic.
- Natural environmental risks are given by natural phenomena that escape our control, but that cause great damage to the ecosystem equally. They would be, for example, the floods we have talked about.
- The Anthropic environmental risks They are those caused by the action of the human being, such as wastewater spills or chemical agents, explosions, fires …
In some cases it is difficult to delimit how far the anthropic risks are and where they are natural. Take for example the well -known accident of the Fukushima nuclear power plant (Japan) in 2011: there was an environmental risk due to high seismic activity, something very frequent in the area where the Japanese islands are based (they are between the Pacific and Eurasian plate, which makes them a high -risk area), which was also aggravated by the presence of the central. In this case, the risk became a serious impact of notable consequences.
In general, anthropic environmental risks are usually more serious than natural. For example, in nature the fires can be given, which raviate ecosystems for a period of time; However, in those areas where natural fires have more frequency, vegetation has developed strategies to improve their reproductive capacity when produced. They are the so -called “pyrophil” plants. However, given a chemical, gravity can be greater, since it is not a situation that ecosystems have faced before, and therefore do not have so many adaptations to mitigate their effects.
Thus, in environmental risks, not only the danger of risk should be taken into account, but also the ability to adapt to change or Resilience that the ecosystem has in question.
Likewise, an environmental impact should not be confused with an environmental risk. An environmental impact is a change produced by anthropic action on ecosystems, which can be harmful or beneficial and has an evaluation process associated to reduce its consequences. It is not the same as a company generates a wastewater discharge with a discharge authorization to which a discharge occurs by the breakdown of the facilities. In this other ecology article, we tell you what is negative and positive environmental impact.
Environmental risk examples
Here are some Examples of environmental risks They are easy to understand:
Natural risks: examples
- Natural fires Know in this other article what forest fires are and how they occur.
- Earthquakes
- Maremotes and tsunamis. Learn here how tsunamis and more data about them are formed.
- Fractures and clay strains.
Anthropogenic risks: examples
- Wastewater spills.
- Chemical spills.
- Oil spills.
- Chemical clouds.
- Radiation emission.
In this article you will discover everything about what are industrial discharges in the water and their treatment.
Consequences of not assessing environmental risks
Environmental risks must always be taken into account when drawing plans for environmental care. In fact, all organizations, whether public or private, should take into account possible Environmental repercussions that they may have the activities they develop, for which there are specific regulations and guides of evaluation and taking of actions to reduce the frequency or the severity of the risks.
Some of the more serious consequences of not taking into account environmental risks are:
- Soil degradation: for example with poor infrastructure management.
- Water quality degradation: especially during spills, which also affect the ground.
- Damage to ecosystems and loss of biodiversity: all environmental damages have negative impacts on ecosystems and their biodiversity.
- Degradation of air quality: especially due to the accidental emission of various pollutants. Possibly, this affects our health more directly and visible than the rest of the damages.
If you want to learn how to take care of the environment, do not hesitate to read this ecology article that we recommend.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is environmental risk and exampleswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
