Risk mitigation and trust: Experimental Evidence from Jordan and the United States

Abstract Phosphorus (P) enrichment to streams, lakes, and estuaries is increasing throughout the United States. P loading is typically viewed from a harmful algal bloom perspective; if added P causes excess growths of phytoplankton or macroalgae, it may become targeted for control. However, P loading also contributes to two other non–algae-based aquatic problems. Field and experimental evidence shows that P loading directly stimulates growth of aquatic bacteria, which can increase to concentrations that exert a significant biochemical oxygen demand on water bodies, contributing to hypoxia, a widespread impairment. Experimental evidence also demonstrates that fecal bacterial growth can be significantly stimulated by P loading, increasing health risks through exposure or the consumption of contaminated shellfish and causing economic losses from beach and shellfish area closures. Resource managers need to look beyond algal bloom stimulation and should consider the broader roles that excess P loading can have on ecosystem function and microbiological safety for humans.

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Cyber Defense as a part of Hazard Mitigation: Comparing High Hazard Potential Dam Safety Programs in the United States and Sweden

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management ◽

10.1515/jhsem-2015-0047 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rosemary A. Burk ◽

Jan Kallberg

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Cyber Security ◽

Critical Infrastructure ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

The United States ◽

Dam Safety ◽

Cyber Defense ◽

Industrial Control Systems

AbstractCyber security tends to only address the technical aspects of the information systems. The lack of considerations for environmental long-range implications of failed cyber security planning and measures, especially in the protection of critical infrastructure and industrial control systems, have created ecological risks that are to a high degree unaddressed. This study compares dam safety arrangements in the United States and Sweden. Dam safety in the United States is highly regulated in many states, but inconsistent over the nation. In Sweden dam safety is managed by self-regulation. The study investigates the weaknesses and strengths in these regulatory and institutional arrangements from a cyber security perspective. If ecological and environmental concerns were a part of the risk evaluation and risk mitigation processes for cyber security, the hazard could be limited. Successful environmentally-linked cyber defense mitigates the risk for significant damage to domestic freshwater, aquatic and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems, and protects ecosystem function.

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Application of the Recommendations of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission to the Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Buildings and Seismic Risk Mitigation Policies in the United States

Earthquake Spectra ◽

10.1193/030613eqs064m ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 427-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

William T. Holmes ◽

Nicolas Luco ◽

Fred Turner

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

The United States ◽

Royal Commission ◽

Engineering Practice ◽

Final Report ◽

Building Performance ◽

Seismic Risk Mitigation ◽

Oral Testimony ◽

Building Safety

An unprecedented level of data concerning building performance in the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010–2011 has been collected by the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission of Inquiry. In addition to data from a technical investigation undertaken by the New Zealand Department of Building and Housing on four specific buildings, the Royal Commission has collected data from many other invited reports, international peer reviews of reports, submitted testimony, and oral testimony and examination at public hearings. Contained in the Commission's seven-volume final report are 189 specific recommendations for improvements in design codes and standards, hazard mitigation policy, post-earthquake building safety and occupancy tagging, and other topics. Some of these recommendations are unique to New Zealand's system of government, engineering practice, or codes and standards, but many are applicable in the United States.

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Risk Mitigation of Chemical Munitions in a Deep-Water Geohazard Assessment

Marine Technology Society Journal ◽

10.4031/mtsj.44.1.4 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 86-96

Author(s):

John Herbert

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Deep Water ◽

Department Of Defense ◽

Annual Report ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

The United States ◽

Chemical Warfare ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Management Service ◽

Environmental Programs

AbstractThe Department of Defense is currently conducting a review of archival information in an attempt to verify the types, quantities, and locations of chemical warfare material and conventional munitions disposed of by the Department of Defense (DoD) in waters of the United States, in accordance with Section 314 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and report the results of that review annually in the Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress. Previous to this effort, disposal of military munitions, including chemical warfare materials (CWM) and conventional munitions, in the ocean from World War I through 1970 was done by many nations and was not well documented. A 2001 U.S. Army report entitled “Off-shore Disposal of Chemical Agents and Weapons Conducted by the United States” indicated that the disposal of CWM in the ocean through 1970 was more widespread geographically than was widely known. In accordance with Section 314, the DoD published updated information on disposals in the 2006 and 2007 “Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress.” Two directives implemented in 2006 and 2007, respectively, by the Minerals Management Service referenced an increased concern with unexploded ordnance (UXO) in deep water (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib5">NTLs 2006-G12</xref> and <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib6">2007-G01</xref>). With the industry’s increase in deep-water exploration, the potential for encounters with military munitions is increasing. This paper will describe an unprecedented in-depth study that provided the oil and gas industry quantitative avoidance criteria and risk management analysis of CWM including drums that were critical during a routine geohazard survey in the Gulf of Mexico. During the underway period, a team of UXO technicians from AMTI, an operation of Science Applications International Corporation, located and identified munitions and drums in one of seven known dumping zones in 1,710 feet of water. Using their global munitions expertise and the information obtained in the previously conducted study, AMTI provided analysis of supporting conclusions and risk mitigation strategies, including in-depth decontamination procedures. The UXO technicians used proven risk assessment and risk mitigation processes and quickly assessed and quantified risk.

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