③ what are the specification
of an
earthquake pollution ?
Answers
Answer:
Quality of building materials used in the construction is a very important factor which determines the strength of the building.
Foundation of the buildings should be strong while building seismic resistant structures.
Number of storeys or height of the building should be calculated because it determines the load borne by the foundation.
The quality of the soil is important to withstand the pressure of the earthquake. The soil should have good flexibility and capability.
Symmetry in the structural designing of the building is also important in the distribution of loads.
Earthquakes can cause pollution in a number of ways:
Dust exposure - this is certainly a form of air pollution and is very damaging to human health. It can exacerbate asthma and cause bronchitis. Tectonic shifts will cause buildings to collapse and disrupt large amounts of sediment. This will create large dust clouds that can engulf cities. Just take a look at the Wolrd Trade Centre, that’s thousands of tonnes of cement that’s just been crumbled:
Hazardous vapours: if the earthquake were to hit an urban area. You could have pipelines and storage tankers housing hazardous chemicals. An earthquake could rupture them and cause a leakage of harmful vapours
Resulting fires - hypothetically speaking, let's say after the earthquake and damaged tankers, a lot of chemical vapours are emitted. This can create an explosive atmosphere, meaning it would be far more likely something could catch fire. This can melt various plastics, emitting carcinogenic fumes and burn wood, destroying the carbon sink and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
Microbes & moulds: sanitation is a real problem after earthquakes. It’s going to create a lot more damp conditions, mixing timber, concrete and various other building materials like insulation with water. This creates the perfect environment for mould proliferation. Again, this is a form of air pollution that's particularly damaging to human health if you inhale the spores
Greenhouse gases: earthquakes can cause fissures (cracks in the Earth). Perhaps before the earthquake, it stored copious amounts of methane? Certain types of compacted sediment form a cap rock that's impervious to oil and gas migration. But now, there would be nothing stopping it reaching the surface and polluting the atmosphere if the cap rock is broken apart