The Context and Concept of Individual and Household Preparedness: The Case of Fako Division in Cameroon

Almost every day, we see and hear about disasters impacting individuals and households in communities worldwide. Impacts experienced include loss of life and injury, loss of property, and more. Disasters are often devastating for those who experience them. It is for this reason that preparedness is advocated by national and international organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United Nations. And, it is for this reason that researchers have often attempted to assess how prepared people are. Yet, what is this thing they call preparedness? What does it look like? What is involved in becoming a wholly prepared person? One might have assumed that organizations like FEMA and researchers would have addressed these fundamental questions prior to recommending that people become prepared or measuring how prepared people are, but that is not the case. The absence of an understanding of what preparedness is and entails is a critical theoretical gap with significant practical implications. This research explored the basic issue of what preparedness means and entails to people in Fako Division, Cameroon?a place threated by many hazards and which has experienced many disasters. From the analysis of the 33 interviews conducted in this study, the researcher found that preparedness is a dynamic state of readiness that is dependent on context, a social process, and a process of completing activities to save lives and minimize the effects of disasters. In addition, the researcher found that Cameroonians view a wholly prepared person as a) one who would have knowledge about hazards and what to do about them, b) one who would engage others, including their families and neighbors, in discussions about activities related to hazards and what to do about them, and c) one who would engage in activities to minimize loss from hazards, sustain themselves in the face of hazards, and flee from hazards. The findings from the interview data synch to a large extent with what is implied, but not clearly stated, in the existing research literature. The researcher address this synchrony and posit a definition of preparedness and identify the theoretical components of preparedness

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity in electrochemistry:Anion uptake and transport effects in thin film electrodes and in free-standing ionic diode membranes

Anion uptake and charge transport in a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (here PIM-EA-TB) is investigated for three cases: (i) the oxidation of ferrocene embedded into a thin film of PIM-EA-TB on a glassy carbon electrode, (ii) the reduction of protons absorbed into a thin film of PIM-EA-TB on a platinum electrode, and (iii) the potential-driven transport of anions and protons in an asymmetrically deposited free-standing PIM-EA-TB membrane working as a current rectifier or "ionic diode". In all three cases the competing effects of the diameter and hydrophobicity (size and hydration energy) of the anion are important. For free-standing membranes very high ionic diode rectification ratios (&gt;103 at ±1V) are observed in particular for thicker deposits of PIM-EA-TB and for chloride or perchlorate containing electrolyte.</p

Organoclays as sorbents for organic contaminants in aqueous and mixed-solvent systems

Ph.D.Evangelos A. Voudria

Case studies of phytoremediation of petrochemicals and chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater

The use of plants and the microbes associated with their growth to cleanup contaminated soils and water (phytoremediation) is an innovative technique approved by state and federal regulators for use in full-scale restoration of hazardous waste sites. Three case studies on the use of phytoremediation technologies for remediation of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) in soil and groundwater are discussed. In Case Study #1 willow tress were planted over a petroleum spill and used to clean-up residual contamination in soils and the contaminated groundwater below. After three growing seasons 90% of the contamination was removed from the site. In Case Study #2, a combination of poplar and willows trees was used as a polishing step for a chlorinated solvent plume while in-situ chemical oxidation with potassium permanganate was used for source control. The parent chlorinated ethenes and chloroacetic acids (oxidative transformation products) were detected in the tree tissues at the end of the first growing season, confirming the uptake and phytodegradation of the contaminants. Case Study #3 focused on the assessment of the contribution of plants in the attenuation of a mixed-contaminant plume of hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents at a hydrocarbon burn facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Analysis of the geochemical and hydrogeological data confirmed the attenuation of the plume in the natural wetland at the site.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources Facult

Watershed monitoring group programs: impact and assessment of oil and sewage spills in Hunnicutt Creek; Athens, Georgia

In August 2003, up to 14,000 gallons of used oil spilled into Hunnicutt creek, headwaters to the Middle Oconee River. This resulted in significant aquatic ecological damage documented by members of the Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN). The biological score for Hunnicutt Creek determined after the spill was poor (<11). In February 2004, free oil phases were observed at various points on the water surface and sediments extending as far as the mouth of Hunnicutt, the entry point into the Middle Oconee River. Initial chemical analysis of the creek water in September 2003 was high in hydrocarbon concentrations, particularly dibenzo (a,h) anthracene (>345 μg/L) and hexadecane (178.66 mg/L). This was consistent with the poor biological score obtained in our September 2003 and January 2004 quarterly sampling at Ben Burton Park. The latter event yielded a poor biological score (12). The scores obtained in July 2004 were poor (7) closer to the contamination source but had returned good (20) at the creek’s mouth. A shallow depth (<15 cm) chemical analysis of the sediments did not detect any organic contaminants of concern and monitoring results for 2004 show signs of improvement. Hunnicutt may have attained a fair level of recovery through natural attenuation, which can only be confirmed through continual monitoring of the water, sediments, and the biological activity in the creek.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources Facult