BUILDING INSPECTION |
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Construction and building inspectors examine buildings, highways and streets, sewer and water systems, dams, bridges, and other structures to ensure that their construction, alteration, or repair complies with building codes and ordinances, zoning regulations, and contract specifications. Building codes and standards are the primary means by which building construction is regulated in the United States for the health and safety of the general public. National model building codes are published by the International Code Council (ICC), although many localities have additional ordinances and codes that modify or add to the National model codes. To monitor compliance with regulations, inspectors make an initial inspection during the first phase of construction and follow up with further inspections throughout the construction project. However, no inspection is ever exactly the same. In areas where certain types of severe weather or natural disasterssuch as earthquakes or hurricanesare more common, inspectors monitor compliance with additional safety regulations designed to protect structures and occupants during those events.
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CLOTHING / GARMENT / APPAREL |
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Clothing is defined, in its broadest sense, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands (gloves), feet (socks, shoes, sandals, boots) and head (hats, caps). Humans nearly universally wear clothing, which is also known as dress, garments, attire, or apparel. People wear clothing for functional as well as for social reasons. Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather and other features of our environment. But every article of clothing also carries a cultural and social meaning.
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EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT |
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Emergency preparedness is a set of doctrines to prepare civil society to cope with - or plan for - natural or man-made disasters. Emergency Operations or Disaster relief are the subset of these doctrines that are concerned with recovery efforts; these comprise the execution or implementation of the Emergency preparedness plans. This is usually a government policy adapted from civil defense to prepare for nonmilitary civil emergencies before they happen. Emergency management involves plans, structures and arrangements established to engage the normal endeavours of government, voluntary and private agencies in a comprehensive and coordinated way to respond to the whole spectrum of emergency needs. This is also known as disaster management
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ENGINEERING - CIVIL |
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In modern usage, civil engineering is a broad field of engineering that deals with the planning, construction, and maintenance of fixed structures, or public works, as they are related to earth, water, or civilization and their processes. Most civil engineering today deals with roads, structures, water supply, sewer, flood control and traffic. In essence, civil engineering is a profession which makes the world a more habitable place to live.
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HYDROLOGY |
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Hydrology (from Greek: Yδρoλoγια, Yδωρ+Λoγos, Hydrologia, the "study of water") is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of either earth or environmental science, or civil and environmental engineering.
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LAND USE PLANNING & ZONING |
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Land Use Planning is the term used for a branch of public policy which encompasses various disciplines which seek to order and regulate the use of land in an efficient way.
Despite confusing nomenclature, the essential function of planning remains the same whatever term is applied. The Canadian Planners Association offers a definition that; "[Land Use] Planning means the scientific, aesthetic, and orderly disposition of land, resources, facilities and services with a view to securing the physical, economic and social efficiency, health and well-being of urban and rural communities"
Zoning is a North American term for a system of land-use regulation. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one part of a community from another. Zoning regulations fall under the police power rights governments may exercise over real property. Theoretically, its primary purpose is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible; in practice, zoning is used as a permitting system to prevent new development from harming existing residents or businesses. Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities.
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LIQUIFIED NATURAL GAS - LNG |
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Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been processed to remove impurities and heavy hydrocarbons and then condensed into a liquid at atmospheric pressure by cooling it to approximately -163 degrees Celsius. LNG is transported by specially designed vessels and stored in specially designed tanks. LNG is about 1/600th the volume of natural gas at standard temperature and pressure (STP), making it much more cost-efficient to transport over long distances where pipelines do not exist. Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical, it can be transported by LNG vessels, where the most common tank types are membrane(prismatic) or Moss Rosenberg(spheres).
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POLLUTION |
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Pollution is the release of environmental contaminants. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and dissolved oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The U.S., Russia, China and Japan are the world leaders in air pollution emissions; however, Canada is the number two country on a per capita basis.
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PUBLIC HEALTH |
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Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. Many organizations define health and how to promote health differently. The World Health Organization, the United Nations body that sets standards and provides global surveillance of disease, defines health as: "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
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