"Major tremor expected anytime, not possible to predict exact time," says geologist , AniNews.in

"Major tremor expected anytime, not possible to predict exact time," says geologist , AniNews.in



Ranchi, Apr. 27 (ANI): Geologist Nitish Priyadarshi has stated that another major tremor can be expected anytime and the countries near the Himalayan region should be on high alert.
"Major tremor can occur anytime, maybe in a week or two.It is not possible to predict the exact time. Countries near the Himalayan region like Afghanistan, Nepal, India and Pakistan should be on high alert," Nitish Priyadarshi told ANI here.


Priyadarshi asserted that the earthquake was triggered by natural phenomenon and anthropogenic activities as well.
"The main reason for this earthquake is tectonic movements, the plates are colliding with each other, below the Himalayas. Also, the huge blasting which is going on in Himalayas to make roads is impacting the rocks in the Himalayas. This earthquake is trigged by natural phenomenon and anthropogenic activities as well," he added.

Slide show of Deluge in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Heavy rainfalls battered the western Himalayas last week due to a clash between monsoon currents and winds from the Caspian Sea. 

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Geologist

Ranchi.

Squeezing Earth to Death: Premises and Effects.

My  book on  

Understanding Different Environmental and Geological Issues From Past to Present.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Bloggingbooks (April 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3841770339
• ISBN-13: 978-3841770332
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches

• Price:

  $64.00

  Book Description

  Publication Date: April 20, 2012
  Our planet is at risk. The current explosion in the human population is forcing us to a simple but pivotal choice: stabilize the planet or perish. The coming years will bring grave crisis-environmental, economic, human. Only if we achieve a close understanding of the system of which we are part- how it came about and how it works- will the next generation be positioned to cope with the emerging problems. Geology and environment has a remarkable influence on our lives today, as it has on all life since the beginning billions of years ago. Perhaps the clearest influence we see of this is through the development of wealth from the exploitation of fossil fuels and mineral resources including precious metals and gems and there impacts on surrounding, climate change, pollution, radiation, etc. This book is a collection of my articles and research papers on different aspects of environment and geology and its interrelationship. It is from climate change to global warming, pollution to search for diamonds, radiation to war for water, origin of water to origin of our atmosphere and many more.
  
  
  Researching and writing a book that covers and connects ideas in such a wide variety of disciplines is a challenging and exciting task. Almost everyday I learn about some new connection in nature. I hope you have as much fun learning about such connections and their implications as I have over the past 20 years. My goal is to provide you with an interesting, balanced, and challenging book that furthers your understanding of this vital subject. I have also attempted to provide balance on presenting various sides of key environmental and geological issues.
  

  
  

Diesel Generators releases black carbon which affects plant life.

It is also hazardous to the lungs and general health.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Fig.1. Thick layer of black carbon deposited on the fungus. Source is nearby diesel generator.
Fig.2 Black carbon being deposited on the fungus.
Fig.3 Black carbon deposited on the fungus.
Fig.4. Black carbon deposited on leafs.
Fig.5. Dead leafs due to the impact of exhaust fumes from the diesel generator.

Above photographs shows how the black carbons released by the diesel generators affect the plants. Black carbon or soot is seen deposited on fungus. These fungus are very nearer to the exhaust pipe of the generator. Even the leaves exposed to the fumes are seen dead in the picture.

Commonly known as soot, black carbon enters the air when fossil fuels and biofuels, such as coal, wood, and diesel are burned. Black carbon is found worldwide, but its presence and impact are particularly strong in Asia.

These black particulate can affect vegetation in three ways. These are:

• Direct deposition on leaf surfaces or other surfaces exposed to atmosphere.
• Blocking leaf stomata and /or uptake into leaf tissues.
• Deposition onto substrates (e.g. soil) and indirect effects via changes in substrate chemistry.

Black carbon is a potent climate forcing agent, estimated to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. They are classified as a "known human carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Soot or black carbon is in the general category of airborne particulate matter, and as such is considered hazardous to the lungs and general health when the particles are less than five micrometres in diameter, as such particles are not filtered out by the upper respiratory tract. Smoke from diesel engines, while composed mostly of carbon soot, is considered especially dangerous owing to both its particulate size and the many other chemical compounds present.

Between 25 and 35 percent of black carbon in the global atmosphere comes from China and India, emitted from the burning of wood and cow dung in household cooking and through the use of coal to heat homes. Countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also contribute large amounts.

Diesel combustion in trucks, buses and cars emit a lot of black carbon. The particulate air pollution also commonly comes from burning firewood, indoor cooking, and biomass burning.

Black soot deposited on Tibetan glaciers has contributed significantly to the retreat of the world's largest non-polar ice masses, according to new research by scientists from NASA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soot absorbs incoming solar radiation and can speed glacial melting when deposited on snow in sufficient quantities.

Suicides at India’s Nuclear Plants.

The largest number of suicide cases at 74 have been reported from Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, Jharkhand.
by
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

197 employees belonging to a number of nuclear establishments and related institutes in India have committed suicide and 1,733 scientists and employees belonging to these centres have died of illnesses like multiple organ failure, lung cancer, cirrhosis of liver etc, as per a report compiled by Mumbai-based RTI activist Chetan Kothari..

Suicide is often committed out of despair, or attributed to some underlying mental disorder which includes depression, bipolar disorder,schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse, Financial difficulties, interpersonal relationships and other undesirable situations play a significant role.
Over one million people commit suicide every year. The World Health Organization estimates that it is the thirteenth-leading cause of death worldwide. It is a leading cause of death among teenagers and adults under 35. There are an estimated 10to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.

The report based on 175 pages of documents sourced through 32 such centres also reveal that 1,733 employees and scientists from these establishments died due to various illnesses that include cardiac strokes, liver failure, multiple organ failure, tuberculosis, cardio-respiratory diseases, lung cancer, septicemia, cirrhosis of liver, cerebro-vascular dieseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, mellitus etc amongst a host of other diseases.

Some of these illnesses can be contributed to Occupational Health Hazard. Exposure to radiation, chemicals and other biological agents account for one of the most common and most harmful of occupational health hazards that effect several industries. The health risks from these hazards include liver damage, cancer etc.


The largest number of suicide cases at 74 have been reported from Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, Jharkhand, and those who died of other illnesses mentioned above stood at 203 at this centre. Major cause of suicide in this area may be attributed to its remote position . As this area situated in very remote in Jharkhand State does not have any recreation spots as it is in metro cities or big towns. Lack of recreation coupled with work pressure and working in adverse condition and in hazardous condition may increase mental disorders among the officials and workers.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, have reported highest number of deaths, at 680, of its employees and scientists due to various illnesses.
The data has been sourced from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India in Mumbai, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tata Memorial Hospital, Department of Atomic Energy, Atomic Energy Rgulatory Board, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (Kolkata ), Uranium Corporation of India (Jharkhand), Nuclear Fuel Complex (Hyderabad), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Environmental and Industrial safety (Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu), The Institute fo Mathematical Sciences (Chennai), Department fo Atomic Energy, Heavy Watyer Plant (Tuticorin), Harish Chandra Research Institute (Allahabad), Institute for Plasma Research Centre (Gandhinagar), Institute of Physics (Bhubaneshwar), Heavy Water Plant in Kota (Rajasthan ), Heavy water Pklant, Talcher (Orissa), Raja Ramanna Centre for Advaced Technology (Indore) amongst several others.

Source of this informations:
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/oct/04/suicides-at-indias-atomic-centres-in-15-years.htm

Fresh photographs of Jharia mine fire.

Fresh photographs of Jharia mine fire in Jharkhand State of India.

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Fig. Jharia resembles a cremation ground at night.

Fig: smoke coming out in main town

Fig. Cavities being formed on the surface of the Jharia town

The haunting inscription that marks the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno could well be true for Jharia, located in Jharkhand in India. For, the underground fires that have been raging in the coalfields of this town over several decades are now beginning to engulf its thickly inhabited areas as well.
Such is the intensity of the fires that even a mid-summer sun pales in the smoky haze that they generate. After dusk, the flames take on morbid hues. “Jharia resembles a cremation ground at night”.
The fires have consumed about 42 million tones of India’s best coking coal.
There appears to be no permanent solution in sight. The only opinion seems to be cut out trenches to disconnect fire seams which have been identified. But this would require a huge investment. But the extent to which has flared up in Jharia makes dousing it an uphill task-particularly when all the prevailing conditions further fan the fire.
The only solution which is now seen is the “shifting of town”. This means that the relocation would affect the nearly 0.3 million population of Jharia, approximately 0.1 million houses and other buildings and prospering economy.

A coal seam fire or mine fire is the underground smouldering of a coal deposit, often in a coal mine. Such fires have economic, social and ecological impacts. They are often started by lightning, grass, or forest fires, and are particularly insidious because they continue to smoulder underground after surface fires have been extinguished, sometimes for many years, before flaring up and restarting forest and brush fires nearby. They propagate in a creeping fashion along mine shafts and cracks in geologic structures.
Coal fires are a serious problem because hazards to health and safety and the environment include toxic fumes, reigniting grass, brush, or forest fires, and subsidence of surface infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, electric lines, bridge supports, buildings and homes. Whether started by humans or by natural causes, coal seam fires continue to burn for decades or even centuries until either the fuel source is exhausted; a permanent groundwater table is encountered; the depth of the burn becomes greater than the ground’s capacity to subside and vent; or humans intervene. Because they burn underground, coal seam fires are extremely difficult and costly to extinguish, and are unlikely to be suppressed by rainfall.