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November 6, 2013

In-depth: The legacy of disasters

 

History is littered with catastrophic events occurring somewhere globally in an almost weekly basis, some with such enormity it is difficult to comprehend and equate the scale to something we can understand.

What I intend to explore in this piece is the potential legacy of disaster, particularly the medium to long-term effects on health and consider if we can reduce such an impact.

Health and safety practitioners are often asked to offer views on the probability of something occurring and the level of risk should that probability be realised. In doing so business and operational management, logistical support and the behaviour of individuals and indeed the culture within the organisation all need to be considered in terms of risk management.

Health issues arising from both natural and man-made disasters are wide-ranging from physical to psychological impacting on sociological and technical issues across the world. Health and safety practitioners are aware that there are often many factors leading to the culmination of an incident, in this case the disaster. The stages in disaster management are well documented but what is perhaps not fully appreciated is the scale of the long-term impact on health.

Whilst radiation and the effects of radiation are well known the complexity and long-term potential effects on the lives of relatives, communities both local and distant are to some extent, unknown. Similarly the trauma on those surviving and witnessing disasters not only affects the individual but those who live, work or otherwise interacts with them.

Dependent upon an individual’s health and lifestyle exposure to substances might give rise to health issues many years after the event eg. asbestos or silica dust.

Health studies have shown an increase in cases of asthma. A recent study1 by the University of Toronto and Manchester University has estimated there are 4,837,000 sufferers with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) worldwide. Aspergillus can be found in damp conditions as a fungus or mould which in turn produces spores which can be inhaled. Most people breath in aspergillus spores each day without adverse effect, however some people may be susceptible through weakened immune system or other health condition. How many people do you know who has an allergy?

During the aftermath of flooding, concern is given to how and when buildings are dried out and refurbished. Depending upon conditions mould can develop and multiply and the spores can be present which can be breathed in. There are a range of spores that can be present in damp conditions, some with greater health effects on individuals than others depending on age and level of fitness or susceptibility to these, as with allergies. I raise this as an area where more research may be needed in methods of clean-up and decontamination employed, coupled with a better understanding on the potential impact on health to prevent this adding to the legacy of disasters. With the growing number of properties affected by flooding in recent years can we be satisfied that the methods employed to clean-up and decontaminate will not contribute to adverse health issues in future decades.

The legacy of a single disaster may last for generations let alone multiple disasters.  Brian Toft and Simon Reynolds2 suggest that “one reason for behaviour sometimes ignoring warning signs is that an organisation tends to forget the lessons of history, as personnel, routines and procedures changes.” It is therefore essential that we continue to learn from disasters and take action.

In conclusion, whilst I have probably raised more questions than provided answers I hope that the foregoing provokes thought and further discussion on how we might plan better to mitigate both natural and man-made disaster and deal with potential health issues thus reducing the future legacy from disaster.

References:

1.    Medical Mycology, 2013. Perspectives in Public Health, Journal of the Royal Society for Public Health

2.    Learning from Disasters — a management approach. Brian Toft and Simon Reynold

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