EPA has assessed the risks of chlorpyrifos and reached an Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (IRED) for this organophosphate (OP) pesticide. Provided that risk mitigation measures are adopted, chlorpyrifos fits into its own 'risk cup'-its individ...

A risk-based decision-making methodology conceived and developed at JPL and NASA has been used to aid in decision making for spacecraft technology assessment, adoption, development and operation. It takes a risk-centric perspective, through which risks are used as a reasoning step to interpose between mission objectives and risk mitigation measures.

...ADMINISTRATION 12 CFR Part 614 RIN 3052-AC60 Loan Policies and Operations; Lending and Leasing...and leasing limits (lending limits) and loan and lease concentration risk mitigation...measure and monitor their exposures to loan and lease (collectively loan)...

to mitigate the risks of space debris, including spacecraft design measures to pro- tect against .... all-weather and day-and-night performance. The radar ..... In the case of the Space Shuttle, the orbiter is often oriented ..... A = Business as usual ...

...exposed to noise levels above...construction work. Mitigation Measures...conducted underwater acoustic...follow the mitigation requirements...cetaceans, mitigation may not be...levels of noise reduction are expected underwater....

Biodiversity loss is being exacerbated by climate change and this is hindering the European Union commitment to achieving the Gothenburg target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Whilst mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are essential, adaptation measures are also required to minimise the risk of loss of plant and animal species. Synergies should also be developed between biodiversity conservation and adaptation and mitigation policies in other key sectors.

The purpose of this Risk Management Plan (RMP) is to establish the concept and define the process to assure that National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office Environmental Management (NNSA/NV EM) programs and projects incorporate appropriate, efficient, cost-effective measures to mitigate the impact of program-and/or project-related risks. In addition, it describes the roles and responsibilities of program personnel in performing the risk management functions, and defines reporting and tracking requirements for risk-related information. The product of this risk analysis will be a risk analysis report listing the various risks with their classification, mitigation and handling strategies, impact on cost and schedule, and action items. The risk management process will identify potential risk sources; assess individual risks and impacts on performance, cost, and schedule; evaluate alternative approaches to mitigate high and moderate risks; develop action plans to handle individual risks; and interface risks with other programs and/or projects. Risk management and risk assessment will be consistent with DOE Orders 430.1 and 413.3 and their associated guidance documentation. The RMP will remain valid for the life cycle of the program and/or projects and will be under configuration control with revisions to be conducted as required and approved.

In the aftermath of 9/11, concern over security increased dramatically in both the public and the private sector. Yet, no clear algorithm exists to inform firms on the amount and the timing of security investments to mitigate the impact of catastrophic risks. The goal of this article is to devise an optimum investment strategy for firms to mitigate exposure to catastrophic risks, focusing on how much to invest and when to invest. The latter question addresses the issue of whether postponing a risk mitigating decision is an optimal strategy or not. Accordingly, we develop and estimate both a one-period model and a multiperiod model within the framework of extreme value theory (EVT). We calibrate these models using probability measures for catastrophic terrorism risks associated with attacks on the food sector. We then compare our findings with the purchase of catastrophic risk insurance. PMID:22694261

In the absence of data, qualitative risk assessment frameworks have proved useful to assess risks associated with animal health diseases. As part of a scientific opinion for the European Commission (EC) on African Swine Fever (ASF), a working group of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the risk of ASF remaining endemic in Trans Caucasus Countries (TCC) and the Russian Federation (RF) and the risk of ASF becoming endemic in the EU if disease were introduced. The aim was to develop a tool to evaluate how current control or preventive measures mitigate the risk of spread and giving decision makers the means to review how strengthening of surveillance and control measures would mitigate the risk of disease spread. Based on a generic model outlining disease introduction, spread ...

...proposed mitigation measures...summarizes underwater pinniped...nonpulse noise at sound...sounds used in underwater data communication, underwater drilling...construction noise. Few studies...activities, a mitigation measure...

With escalating costs of landslide risk mitigation and relief, a challenge for local authorities is to develop landslide risk mitigation measures that are viewed as efficient, feasible and fair by the many stakeholders involved. Innovative measures and the participation of stakeholders in the decision making process are essential elements in developing effective strategies to deal with the ever-changing spatial and temporal patterns of landslide risk. A stakeholder-led policy process, however, can face many social and economic challenges. One of the most difficult is deciding between costly protection measures or relocating homes. Particularly in areas with high population density, protection works are often not built because of economic/environmental constraints or private interests of the local residents. At the same time it not always possible to relocate households even if the costs are deemed less than protecting them. These issues turned out to be crucial in a recent participatory process for selecting risk mitigation measures in the town of Nocera Inferiore, Southern Italy, which experienced a landslide in 2005 causing three fatalities. The paper reports on this process which was structured in a series of meetings with a group of selected residents and several parallel activities open to the public. The preparatory work included semi-structured interviews carried out with key local stakeholders and a public survey eliciting residents' views on landslide risk mitigation. After describing the background of the landslide risk management problem in Nocera Inferiore, the paper focuses on three packages of risk mitigation measures (each of them not exceeding a total cost of 7 million Euro, namely the available funds) and the key trade-offs that emerged during the meetings with the residents. The participants reached a unanimous consensus on fundamental priorities, i.e. the improvement of the warning system, the implementation of an integrated system of monitoring and territorial survey and the stabilization of the open slopes with naturalistic engineering works. Much more debate was devoted to the relocation of residents from the most endangered areas and/or the need to build passive structural works, especially on private properties. Notwithstanding the difficulties in reaching a shared "compromise solution" for risk mitigation, the results demonstrate the value of citizen participation in landslide risk mitigation decisions and highlight the role that participation can play in risk management more generally.

...to assess any potential impacts by performing...abatement or mitigation measures to...gray (mangrove) snapper...additional red mangrove swamps are present...licensee has a mitigation and monitoring...information regarding potential impacts to listed...NMFS determine mitigation measures...

Purpose - The supply of trade credit by small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is the product of both customer demand and the possibility of strategic advantage, but is subject to risk. In the current financial climate the demand for trade credit may be heightened, leading to further increased risk. This paper seeks to evaluate current risk mitigation measures in the UK and considers how these might be improved. Design/methodology/approach - The supply of and demand for trade credit and the inherent risks are explained by reference to the literature. Then, using both the academic and grey literature and data from a large-scale questionnaire, the paper highlights the limitations of both regulatory and management approaches to mitigate the risks in the context of UK SMEs. Finally, the pap...

The development of a means to quantify risk, the determination of a risk criterion, and the establishment of a method to compare risks are three essential components in a probabilistic safety assessment. In this paper, the quantitative definition of risk given by Kaplan and Garrick is converted from a table to a graph to accommodate Farmer`s method of constructing a risk criterion. Farmer`s criterion is limited to a straight line, but its slope is made a free parameter. The high-frequency small-consequence problem noted by Farmer is solved by using an auxiliary vertical line to exclude scenarios with insignificant consequences. To compare risks associated with various accident scenarios, an index of risk relative to the straight-line risk criterion is proposed and developed. The results allow various accident scenarios to be ranked according to their weighted risks and, in turn, provide a measure of the effectiveness of mitigation.

This booklet, designed as an orientation tool for Hibernia employees, provides brief explanations of the Hibernia installation, management systems, health and safety, environmental protection measures, emergency response measures, platform operation control, and monitoring procedures in place. Details of the risk assessment process, measures to prevent, control or mitigate major hazards, emergency response procedures, and an outline of offshore chemical and waste management practices are also described. Safety and environmentally responsible operations are stressed throughout. 9 figs.

In the absence of data, qualitative risk assessment frameworks have proved useful to assess risks associated with animal health diseases. As part of a scientific opinion for the European Commission (EC) on African Swine Fever (ASF), a working group of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assessed the risk of ASF remaining endemic in Trans Caucasus Countries (TCC) and the Russian Federation (RF) and the risk of ASF becoming endemic in the EU if disease were introduced. The aim was to develop a tool to evaluate how current control or preventive measures mitigate the risk of spread and giving decision makers the means to review how strengthening of surveillance and control measures would mitigate the risk of disease spread. Based on a generic model outlining disease introduction, spread and endemicity in a region, the impact of risk mitigation measures on spread of disease was assessed for specific risk questions. The resulting hierarchical models consisted of key steps containing several sub-steps. For each step of the risk pathways risk estimates were determined by the expert group based on existing data or through expert opinion elicitation. Risk estimates were combined using two different combination matrices, one to combine estimates of independent steps and one to combine conditional probabilities. The qualitative risk assessment indicated a moderate risk that ASF will remain endemic in current affected areas in the TCC and RF and a high risk of spread to currently unaffected areas. If introduced into the EU, ASF is likely to be controlled effectively in the production sector with high or limited biosecurity. In the free range production sector, however, there is a moderate risk of ASF becoming endemic due to wild boar contact, non-compliance with animal movement bans, and difficult access to all individual pigs upon implementation of control measures. This study demonstrated the advantages of a systematic framework to assist an expert panel to carry out a risk assessment as it helped experts to disassociate steps in the risk pathway and to overcome preconceived notions of final risk estimates. The approach presented here shows how a qualitative risk assessment framework can address animal diseases with complexity in their spread and control measures and how transparency of the resulting estimates was achieved. PMID:21292336

The NIF Risk Management Plan has been prepared in accordance with the DOE Life Cycle Asset Management Good Practice Guide to support Critical Decision 3 of the NIF Project. The objectives of the plan are to: 1) identify the risks to the completion of the Project in terms of meeting technical and regulatory requirements, cost, and schedule, 2) assess the risks in terms of likelihood of occurrence and their impact potential relative to technical performance, ES&H (environment, safety and health), costs, and schedule, and 3) address each identified risk in terms of suitable risk mitigation measures. The documents that form the basis for this risk assessment are as follows: 1. Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Stockpile Stewardship and Management (DOE, 1996a) and Record of Decision (DOE, 1996b), 2. Preliminary Hazards Analysis (Brereton, 1993), 3. Fire Hazards Analysis (Jensen, 1997), 4. Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (LLNL, 1996a), 5. Reliability, Availability and Maintainability Report, 6. Radiation Protection Evaluation, 7. Primary Criteria and Functional Requirements (LLNL, 1996b), 8. Project Execution Plan (DOE, 1996c), 9. Schedule Risk Assessment, 10. Construction Safety Program (LLNL, 1997), 11. Title I Design Media, 12. Congressional Data Sheet. The process used in developing this plan was to form a Risk Assessment team of knowledgeable project personnel. This included: Assurances Manager, Systems Integration Manager, Project Control Manager, a Risk Management consultant, Deputy Associate Project Engineer for Activation and Start-up (Co-chairperson), and Lead Engineer for Safety Analysis (Co-chairperson). They were familiar with the risk basis documents and developed a list of the key risk elements. A methodology for assigning likelihoods, consequences, and risks was developed. Risk elements were then reviewed, and likelihoods, consequences, and risks were assigned. Risk mitigation measures were then developed. Comments were obtained, resolved and incorporated, and this document presents the results of the assessment.

This paper presents the results of a risk assessment performed for E and P/Bahia installations, as per E and P/GETINP/GEFAP specifications. It shows how preliminary hazards assessment and hazards and operability studies techniques were used to identify critical areas as well as fire and explosion scenarios, physical effects and risk mitigation measures. It also indicates how managers can prioritize mitigation based upon a Risk x Cost x Schedule methodology developed by E and P/GEFAP technology area. Quantitative results of the vulnerability analysis obtained with the VULNER program of Principia for the six most critical scenarios are presented. All explosion scenarios were evaluated using the Multi-Energy Method developed by the Dutch TNO's Prins Maurits Laboratory and implemented in the VULNER program. Results will be used to define a contingency plan for the installations, to be detailed later by E and P/Bahia State. (author)

When it comes to the nuclear weapons stockpile, risk must be as low as possible. Design and care to keep the stockpile healthy involves all aspects of risk management. Design diversity is a method that helps to mitigate risk.

The practice of employing risk assessment as a tool for developing assessment plans has been universally accepted by the gas and liquid pipeline operators. Risk management is an inherent process in the effective implementation of a pipeline integrity management program (IMP). Some operators may however question the merit in conducting ongoing risk assessment now that baseline assessment plans have been developed. The overriding functional benefit of managing pipeline integrity through risk assessment is that is provides a basis for evaluating the potential impact of different incident types, the likelihood that such events may occur, and the benefit that may be possible from the implementation of various preventative and mitigative measures. It also does this in a manner that is rational, defendable and consistent. This paper outlines the principles that justify reassessment of risk on an ongoing basis and that are an inherent part of an effective risk assessment strategy.

Risk analysis has become a top priority for authorities and stakeholders in many European countries, with the aim of reducing flooding risk, considering the population's needs and improving risk awareness. Within this context, two methodological pieces have been developed in the period 2009-2011 within the SUFRI project (Sustainable Strategies of Urban Flood Risk Management with non-structural measures to cope with the residual risk, 2nd ERA-Net CRUE Funding Initiative). First, the "SUFRI Methodology for pluvial and river flooding risk assessment in urban areas to inform decision-making" provides a comprehensive and quantitative tool for flood risk analysis. Second, the "Methodology for investigation of risk awareness of the population concerned" presents the basis to estimate current risk from a social perspective and identify tendencies in the way floods are understood by citizens. Outcomes of both methods are integrated in this paper with the aim of informing decision making on non-structural protection measures. The results of two case studies are shown to illustrate practical applications of this developed approach. The main advantage of applying the methodology herein presented consists in providing a quantitative estimation of flooding risk before and after investing in non-structural risk mitigation measures. It can be of great interest for decision makers as it provides rational and solid information.

Despite the long tradition of technical mitigation on a catchment scale in European mountain regions, losses due to mountain hazards are still considerably high in number and monetary loss. Therefore, the concept of technical mitigation had been supplemented by land-use planning and, more recently, local structural protection. Local structural protection includes measures directly implemented at or adjacent to endangered objects, and has proven to be particularly cost-effective with respect to integral risk management strategies. However, the effect of local structural protection in reducing the vulnerability of elements at risk, and the associated consequences with respect to a reduction of structural vulnerability have not been quantified so far. Moreover, there is a particular gap in qu...

Following the completion of two projects funded by the UK EPSRC and two for the Airports Cooperative Research Program, The projects overall focused on the development of an improved airport risk assessment methodology aimed at assessing risks related to aircraft accidents at and in the vicinity of airports and managing Runway Safety Areas (RSAs) as a risk mitigation measure. The improved methodology is more quantitative, risk-sensitive, flexible and transparent than traditional risk assessment approaches. As such, it contributes to the implementation of Safety Management Systems at airports, as stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The innovative elements of this research are twofold. First, an accident database covering undershoots, overruns, and veer-off crashes cl...

This study presents an extended framework for the analysis of economic effects of natural disaster risk management. It also attempts to define and evaluate the optimal insurance arrangements. A model, the economic utility constrained-maximization model, is proposed. The purpose of this study is to establish a strategy for determining an insurance and risk control plan in which consideration is given to balancing the economic effects (e.g., decrease in costs due to damage) by disaster mitigation. Furthermore, these values are compared with risk control actions for purposes of prioritization, to provide data to help evaluate the benefit of each risk control action. Disaster insurance policy premiums in contrast are based on actuarial data taken from situations in which risk control measures ...

In accordance with EPA's mission to minimize risks to human health and to safeguard ecological integrity, the EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) is committed to assessing and mitigating any risk posed by biotechnology-derived crops. Consequently, ...

Following the premises of integral risk management, comprehensive mitigation concepts have to be elaborated in a structured manner aiming to fulfil the requirements of effectiveness and efficiency. In order to achieve the optimal protection level against hazard processes, the planning process has to follow distinct guidelines that allow for a consistent management process. Thereby, the necessities of efficient risk reduction have to meet other commensurate requirements, such as ecological sustainability, technical reliability, feasibility of the concept itself even under changing system loadings, as well as an adapted maintenance strategy. Until now, only little work has been done to conceptualise such necessities from an integrative point of view. So far, most of the engineering strategies aimed either at maximising the hydraulic discharge capacity or the bed load retention, or at consolidating the streambed and limit the rate of bedload production. To overcome these shortcomings we propose a revision of the underlying planning process by means of a step-by-step approach. This approach will gear functionally efficient mitigation measures that are able to provide a higher degree of risk reduction than conventional mitigation strategies by including possible alternatives already in the early planning stages.

The objective of the FWS Acid Precipitation Mitigation Program (APMP) is to investigate the ecological aspects of liming, using aquatic systems representative of those exposed to acidic deposition and as risk of damage. Findings from the research will provide guidance for resource managers electing to initiate mitigation measures. APMP is a cooperative effort with individual states combining federal and state support for relatively long-term monitoring of treated lake and stream systems. To ensure the high degree of conformity required in data collection and for quality control, specific protocols were developed for the field sampling and laboratory analyses. The measurements of these selected physical, chemical and biological parameters were designed to reflect the environmental factors that are most responsive to liming treatment and that have biological importance. In this paper the authors describe the study sites in this program and present some of the preliminary results of the first year of field and laboratory work.

Mar 25, 2009 ... risk analysis to determine the consequence and likelihood associated with a risk. ... Risk assessment is the qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the ..... risk attribute (leading indicator) shall be identified for each risk. The ..... realized [not mitigated]), aids in determining financial exposure and when ...

An overview of the cyber security risks associated with smart meter systems was presented, and a set of risk mitigation strategies was offered. Ontario specifications have determined that advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) should have security features to prevent unauthorized access to the AMI and meter data. Security for AMI involves the appropriate use of cryptography, user authenticity and auditing, as well as a range of confidentiality measures. A layered approach to security is needed that uses a combination of monitoring, network defenses and vulnerability management tactics. A risk profile of both the internal and external risks of smart meters. It was noted that cyber security is most effective when applied at the foundational level. It was concluded that AMI should be viewed as an interconnected system, and that monitoring capabilities should be implemented to ensure the potential for security improvements. refs., tabs., figs.

The purpose of this analysis is to systematically identify and evaluate hazards related to the Yucca Mountain Project Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) Design Package 1E, Surface Facilities, (for a list of design items included in the package 1E system safety analysis see section 3). This process is an integral part of the systems engineering process; whereby safety is considered during planning, design, testing, and construction. A largely qualitative approach was used since a radiological System Safety Analysis is not required. The risk assessment in this analysis characterizes the accident scenarios associated with the Design Package 1E structures/systems/components(S/S/Cs) in terms of relative risk and includes recommendations for mitigating all identified risks. The priority for recommending and implementing mitigation control features is: (1) Incorporate measures to reduce risks and hazards into the structure/system/component design, (2) add safety devices and capabilities to the designs that reduce risk, (3) provide devices that detect and warn personnel of hazardous conditions, and (4) develop procedures and conduct training to increase worker awareness of potential hazards, on methods to reduce exposure to hazards, and on the actions required to avoid accidents or correct hazardous conditions.

Like many areas of the region, the community of Tacuba, Ahuachapan, El Salvador, is subjected to the hazard of landslides. During the last years, thousands have died in landslides in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The effects on economic development have also been disastrous. Central government institutions often lack the resources, personnel, technical equipment and training to assess and manage hazards. Recognizing the importance of mitigation before disasters and the involvement of the local community in the process, the project MARLAH initiated measures to prepare for future landslides in Tacuba that included raising awareness, assessing the hazard, installing early warning systems, creating vulnerability and hazard maps and developing emergency plans. We also present this case study of disaster mitigation in a rural area of El Salvador to show the relevance of a community-based disaster risk management approach to other areas and contexts.

Many spatial structures, including some public buildings, were built in the last thirty years, but considerable uncertainty remains with respect to their structural performance under impact loading. This paper focuses on single-layer reticulated domes because they encounter significant safety hazards when subject to terrorist attack. Three kinds of protective measures are proposed for mitigating the probability of global structural collapse under impact loads. The risk reduction measures include Lighter Roofs, Whole Member Strengthening and Strengthening of Key Members. These measures are compared and evaluated with respect to risk reduction. A technique is then used for assessing the cost-effectiveness of these measures. An example of a single-layer reticulated dome subject to airplane im...

This conference was organized to bring together researchers, practitioners and municipal leaders to share ideas on trends, best practices and the latest advances on heat island adaptation and mitigation measures. Discussions included exploring ways of how research can inform and influence policy and practices designed to reduce and respond to extreme summer heat, examine methods of addressing urban heat island and health issues, and to exchange information on practical cost-effective solutions to the problems of the urban heat island. A total of 20 papers were presented, among them: Opportunities and challenges for mitigation and adaptation of urban heat islands; An overview of research on urban heat islands and its implications; Urban surface radiative energy budgets determined using aircraft scanner data; Impacts of expanding urbanization on Toronto's temperature record; Assessing the health risks and response opportunities under climate change; How to deal with the relationship between urban development, urban climate and human health; Extreme heat, ground level ozone concentration and UHI effect in the Washington DC metropolitan area; Status of the US EPA's heat island reduction initiative; The development of the new Toronto Heat-Health Alert system; Residential land use and the UHI effect; Evidence for atmospheric risk to public health; Lessons from Toronto's Green Roof Research and Demonstration Project; and Research needed to support cool communities. A series of site visits and tours of Toronto heat island mitigation projects also formed part of the agenda.

Providing ideas, tools, and a new way of thinking, this important guide introduces the concept of emerging risk and the effective mitigation of and response to unforeseen events. It describes new types of risks, their identification, and their implications for mass casualty and damage. Encouraging cooperation among services, it proposes response actions with regard to identification, mitigation, messaging, crisis communications, planning, and preparedness. It explains techniques for modeling new risks and threat outlooks, methods for calculating and creating strategy and tactics, and guideline

The purpose of this analysis is to systematically identify and evaluate hazards related to the tunnel boring machine (TBM) used in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) at the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. This process is an integral part of the systems engineering process; whereby safety is considered during planning, design, testing, and construction. Since the TBM is an ''as built'' system, the M&O is conducting the System Safety Analysis during the construction or assembly phase of the TBM. A largely qualitative approach was used since a radiological System Safety Analysis is not required. The risk assessment in this analysis characterizes the accident scenarios associated with the TBM in terms of relative risk and includes recommendations for mitigating all identified risks. The priority for recommending and implementing mitigation control features is: (1) Incorporate measures to reduce risks and hazards into the system/subsystem/component design, (2) add safety features and capabilities to existing designs, and (3) develop procedures and conduct training to increase worker awareness of potential hazards, on methods to reduce exposure to hazards, and on the actions required to avoid accidents or correct hazardous conditions. The scope of this analysis is limited to the TBM during normal operations, excluding hazards occurring during assembly and test of the TBM or maintenance of the TBM equipment.

This investigation examines the degree to which linguistic mitigation is motivated by levels of imposition and speaker certitude in dialogic interactions in Spanish. In an experimental approach, native speakers of Mexican Spanish participated in four role play scenarios, each varying in the levels of imposition and certitude. Mitigation was measured using a density measure of mitigation markers (i.e., interpersonal markers, discourse markers, and epistemic markers). Results indicated that severe imposition and speaker uncertainty motivate mitigation. A significant interaction between imposition and certitude showed that the combined effect of severe imposition and speaker uncertainty motivates the highest degree of mitigation, confirming the hypothesis. Specifically, the impact of certitud...

The primary purpose of the tank mixing and sampling demonstration program is to mitigate the technical risks associated with the ability of the Hanford tank farm delivery and celtification systems to measure and deliver a uniformly mixed high-level waste (HLW) feed to the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Uniform feed to the WTP is a requirement of 24590-WTP-ICD-MG-01-019, ICD-19 - Interface Control Document for Waste Feed, although the exact definition of uniform is evolving in this context. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling has been used to assist in evaluating scaleup issues, study operational parameters, and predict mixing performance at full-scale.

Sandia National Laboratory/New Mexico's (SNL/NM) Environmental Management System is the integrated approach for members of the workforce to identify and manage environmental risks. Each fiscal year (FY) significant environmental aspects are identified and the environmental programs associated with them are charged with the task of routinely monitoring and measuring the objectives and targets that are designed to mitigate the impact of SNL/NM's operations on the environment. An annual summary of the results achieved towards meeting established objectives and targets provides a connection to and rational for annually revised significant aspects. The purpose of this document is to summarize the results achieved and documented in FY2010.

As the risk paradigm gains acceptance in the scientific community for setting priorities and choosing cost-effective mitigation strategies, increasing emphasis is being placed upon understanding multimedia/multiroute/multipathway exposures. The use of biomarkers offers great potential to integrate all routes, media, and pathways of exposure so that scientifically defensible risk characterizations can be realized. Together with environmental or exposure measurements and questionnaire/activity data, these may help to evaluate completeness of exposure assessments for all relevant media and pathways and to characterize {open_quotes}highly exposed{close_quotes} population groups. Biomarkers of exposure are indicators of current or historical contact with an environmental agent, including the agent itself or its metabolites, depending on the biological media and time-constants for metabolism, storage, and excretion of specific chemicals. This paper will review historical use of biomarkers of exposure and explore their potential for future research, assessment, and control of environmental risks.

Working population is often exposed to risks associated with moving parts of machines. In this paper a methodology for managing occupational risk owing to contact with moving parts while working with machines is presented. The methodology is based on the principles of quantified risk assessment. A logic model for contact with moving parts while working with machines has been developed under the Workgroup Occupational Model (WORM) project, financed by the Dutch government and is presented in this paper. Sixty-three other models have been developed to cover different hazards in all working activities. These models allow the delineation of accidents into sequences of events describing measures (technical and/or procedural) in place to prevent them or to mitigate their consequences. Identifica...

FLAIM was developed to provide offshore operators and others a means to measure the state of safety existing on an operating platform and within the platform`s safety management system (organizational) structure in an effective and user-friendly manner. FLAIM`s development, driven by the tragic loss of 167 lives in the Piper Alpha fire and explosion, incorporates a fire and life safety indexing methodology which has been specifically designed to accommodate regional and operational variability, and to allow users to formulate safety management programs based on their own proprietary databases and risk preferences. Using FLAIM, platform operators and regulators can identify those structures and operations posing higher levels of risk, and examining the impact of various risk mitigating approaches, accounting for both heuristic and deterministic factors.

Risk communication and vaccines is complex and the nature of risk perception is changing, with perceptions converging, evolving and having impacts well beyond specific geographic localities and points in time, especially when amplified through the Internet and other modes of global communication. This article examines the globalization of risk perceptions and their impacts, including the example of measles and the globalization of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine risk perceptions, and calls for a new, more holistic model of risk assessment, risk communication and risk mitigation, embedded in an ongoing process of risk management for vaccines and immunization programmes. It envisions risk communication as an ongoing process that includes trust-building strategies hand-in-hand with operational and policy strategies needed to mitigate and manage vaccine-related risks, as well as perceptions of risk. PMID:23061781

Abstract Given increasing political and financial commitments to wildfire preparedness, risk policy demands that risk identification, assessment, and mitigation activities are balanced among diverse resident groups. Essential for this is the understanding of residents' perceptions of wildfire risks. This study compares wildfire-risk perceptions of Pennsylvania residents with those of Minnesotans living in natural-amenity-rich communities. Natural-amenity-driven migration shifts land-use patterns and social conditions, making it important to understand if and how such changes affect residents' perceptions of wildfire. Key informant interviews suggest land use and contrasting values associated with sociodemographic shifts were intertwined with wildfire-risk awareness, concern, and mitigation...

The design capacity of an urban drainage system is often smaller than that of a fluvial protection facility such as levee. Many metropolises located in lowlands suffer pluvial inundation disaster more than pluvial flood disaster. For improving mitigation strategies, flood risk assessment is an important tool of non-structure flood control measures, especially in the countries suffering tropical cyclones and monsoon with high frequency. Locating in the hot zone of typhoon tracks in the Western Pacific, Taiwan suffers three to five typhoons annually. As results of urbanization in Taiwan, heavy rainfalls cause inundation disaster rising with the increase of population and the demand of land development. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on the hazard, vulnerability and risk of pluvial disaster. This study applies the concept that risk is composed by hazard and vulnerability to assess the flood risk of human life. Two-dimensional overland-flow simulation is performed based on a design extreme rainfall event to calculate the score of pluvial hazard factors for human life, including flood depth, velocity and rising ratio. The score of pluvial vulnerability for human life is carried out according to the factors of resident and environment. The risk matrix is applied to show the risk by composing the inundation hazards and vulnerabilities. Additionally, flood simulations performed are concerned with different stages of drainage channel construction that indicates the progress of the pluvial disaster mitigation for evaluating the impacts of urbanization on inundation hazard. The changes of land use and density of population are concerned with the impacts of urbanization on inundation vulnerability. The Tainan City, one of the earliest cities on Taiwan, is selected as the case study because serious flooding was induced by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Typhoon Morakot carried intense rain moved from the east slowly as low as 4 km/hr while the southwest monsoon also entered this region at the same time. The combined effect of these was that in the mid-area between typhoon and southwest monsoon, a sharp air-pressure gradient was built which unpredictably brought about heavy rainfall for about 72 hours in the study area to produce a record-breaking rainfall of 625mm in 48 hours. Through the assessing the impacts of urbanization on pluvial inundation risk of the Tainan City in the Typhoon Morakot event, the results show that the inundation hazard is decreased and the vulnerability is increased due to urbanization. Finally, the pluvial inundation risk maps for human life can provide useful information for setting mitigation strategies of flood inundation.

Recent studies have confirmed the increased risks to human health for populations near roadways with large traffic volumes. This paper summarizes methods in which these impacts may be mitigated by infrastructure design options such as roadway configuration and roadside structures...

TO Title: Lightweight Materials and Structures - Risk Mitigation ... manufacturing, research and technology development; engineering analysis, laboratory/field ...... Provide option for autonomous, battery-powered operation over a 1-hour period ...

This report contains viewgraphs on the CINC mobile alternate headquarters and the tech control automation, maintenance and support facility. A discussion on software cost reduction by reuse is given as well as managing risk by assessment and mitigation.

This paper describes this algorithm and presents results from ... ABSTRACT FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY- NOT FOR PUBLICATION ..... Suite System, which was designed and built to support conjunction risk assessment and mitigation for ...

...ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...ICR, titled: ``Soil Fumigant Risk Mitigation'' and...Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk...pesticide handlers, soil fumigant registrants, state...

This paper examines the relationship between operational risk management and knowledge learning process, with an emphasis on establishing the importance of statistical and mathematical approach on organizational capability to forecast, mitigate and control uncertain and vulnerable situations. Knowle...

... of advanced robots to increase productivity, reduce cost, and mitigate risk for future ... crew interviews, and mobile sensor readings (e.g., RFID, noise dosimeter). ... Traffic Management + Gigapan Voyage Remotely Captures First Underwater ...

into NASA human rated flight systems have been, for the most part, complicated .... On account of the need to develop special avionics computing components, which are .... 2) Risk mitigation plan to cover the possibility of loss of the supplier or ...

... Cost-Effectively Mitigate Risk,” IEEE Aerospace Conference 2001, Big Sky, MT. ...... M., and Hartini, S., “Hyperspectral Mapping of Rainforests and Mangroves”, ...... Crowley, J. K., B.E. Hubbard, and J.C. Mars, Analysis of potential debris flow ...

requirements for lunar exploration; risk mitigation related to astronaut health .... to discuss potential long-term Space Industrial Base policies and issues affecting ...... distribution and dynamics of the mangrove forests of the world from 1990 to ...

Nov 12, 2004... and J. Howard, “How EO-1 Used Operations to Cost-Effectively Mitigate Risk,” IEEE ..... Mapping of Rainforests and Mangroves”, IEEE 2001 International ..... Crowley, J. K., B.E. Hubbard, and J.C. Mars, Analysis of potential ...

...Rules and Regulations [[Page 12437...Animal and Plant Health Inspection...Based on this plant pest risk...provisions of the regulations. Indeed...may employ steam, hot water...establishing regulations to mitigate the plant pest...

Globalization of demand, supply, and increased international competition. ... Examples of value chain elements: technology development, product design, process engineering, ... Mitigate capital investment requirements, financial exposure, and risk. Strengthen .... Working level staff should meet regularly with management.

relationship to NASA's Strategic Goals and government-wide goals. This section .... mitigate health risks associated with human space exploration missions. APG ...... Outcome 6.2. Promote STEM literacy through strategic partnerships with ...

for Submission of Data Needed for Toxicological Assessment of Chemicals to be ... equipment (GFE), risk mitigation experiments (RMEs), developmental test ... lethal disease as result of exposure by the inhalation route (applicable to clinical, ...

The abstract presents concepts and approaches for the reduction of uncertainty in radiation exposure estimation. Radiation presents a major challenge for human exploration of Mars and some risk could be mitigated through less uncertainty.

This work focuses on the issue of natural hazards threatening roads. Nowadays, risk estimations of rock falls or landslides affecting whole sections of road are generally quite accurate and under relatively good control. Mitigation measures provide intervention means to reduce the hazards along roads. However, as classical models of risk calculation on communication routes do not take into account the dynamic traffic parameters, little is known on the way of reducing the risk at road level. It is not known precisely what really happens on the road when an event occurs and how vehicles interact. A dynamic traffic simulator in development provides information on factors having an impact on the risk level related to the road. Variables such as visibility, curvature radius of turns or vehicle type were included in the model. Varying these variables within dynamic traffic simulations can suggest solutions to minimize the risks for road users. These simulations can provide answers to various questions, such as: does speed have a significant impact on the risk incurred by drivers? Is it possible to significantly reduce the risk with appropriate speeds? The simulation is performed with the MATLAB © software. The model is yet to be calibrated and validated through in situ tests.

Exposures from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) - made up of high-energy protons and high-energy and charge (HZE) nuclei, and solar particle events (SPEs) - comprised largely of low- to medium-energy protons are the primary health concern for astronauts for long-term space missions. Experimental studies have shown that HZE nuclei produce both qualitative and quantitative differences in biological effects compared to terrestrial radiation, making risk assessments for cancer and degenerative risks, such as central nervous system effects and heart disease, highly uncertain. The goal for space radiation protection at NASA is to be able to reduce the uncertainties in risk assessments for Mars exploration to be small enough to ensure acceptable levels of risks are not exceeded and to adequately assess the efficacy of mitigation measures such as shielding or biological countermeasures. We review the recent BEIR VII and UNSCEAR-2006 models of cancer risks and their uncertainties. These models are shown to have an inherent 2-fold uncertainty as defined by ratio of the 95% percent confidence level to the mean projection, even before radiation quality is considered. In order to overcome the uncertainties in these models, new approaches to risk assessment are warranted. We consider new computational biology approaches to modeling cancer risks. A basic program of research that includes stochastic descriptions of the physics and chemistry of radiation tracks and biochemistry of metabolic pathways, to emerging biological understanding of cellular and tissue modifications leading to cancer is described.

Food safety is integral to food security and sustainable development. The liberalization of trade in agriculture has given rise to the need for science-based food safety programs. The Codex Alimentarius, the standards and texts of which serve as the benchmark for food safety in the World Trade Organization, provides guidance in developing science-based measures to preempt or mitigate food safety risks. Within the Codex framework, risk analysis is the iterative and highly interactive process of ensuring that measures to assure the safety of food, i.e., standards, are scientifically and legally defensible. Despite a lack of resources to provide the ideal food safety infrastructure, institutions of higher learning in developing countries are in a unique position to respond to food safety challenges, as the specialized expertise needed for risk assessment, risk management and risk communication resides in these institutions. The tripartite function of teaching, research and extension of agricultural universities allows their resident experts to contribute to all aspects of risk analysis. Curricular programs in agriculture and food technology can accommodate a specialized course in food safety. With global concerns on food safety increasing, it is inevitable that food safety topics will be infused into a number of course offerings in related programs. University-based research can generate the data needed for robust risk assessment that adequately covers peculiarities in health status and vulnerabilities; such research can also provide information for designing appropriate risk management systems. Networking for the dissemination of information on food safety to all stakeholders and the provision of expert services will be key contributions to university extension programs on risk communication.Despite the expertise that resides in agricultural universities, university-based experts still need to be familiarized with established approaches to ensuring food safety. Both disciplinary and integrated approaches are needed for academe to participate effectively in risk-based national food safety programs.   

The anthrax mailings that followed the attacks of September 11, 2001 highlighted the need for a comprehensive national strategy to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of biological attacks. The goal of U.S. biodefense strategy is to reduce the likelihood of a future biological event, improve overall U.S. public health security, and minimize the economic and social disruption of a biological incident. Presidential communications, federal legislation, and executive agency planning documents provide the foundation for this strategy. Central to current U.S. biodefense strategy is the 2004 Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 10, Biodefense for the 21st Century, which states that ''the United States will use all means necessary to prevent, protect against, and mitigate biological weapons attacks perpetrated against our homeland and our global interests.'' HSPD-10 also sets forth four pillars of U.S. biodefense: {sm_bullet} Threat awareness includes timely, accurate, and relevant intelligence, threat assessment, and the anticipation of future threats. {sm_bullet} Prevention and protection involve continuing and expanding efforts to limit access to agents, technologies, and knowledge to certain groups and countries as well as protecting critical infrastructure from the effects of biological attacks. {sm_bullet} Surveillance and detection provide early warning or recognition of biological attacks to permit a timely response and mitigation of consequences as well as attribution. {sm_bullet} Response and recovery include pre-attack planning and preparedness, capabilities to treat casualties, risk communications, physical control measures, medical countermeasures, and decontamination capabilities.

Sandia National Laboratories operates DOE`s Kauai Test Facility (KTF) on the western coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. In July 1992, DOE approved a comprehensive Environmental Assessment (EA) covering ongoing and future rocket launches of experimental payloads. The KTF EA fulfilled two basic objectives: Consideration of environmental values early in the planning and decision making process; and public disclosure. These objectives can also be considered to be benefits of preparing comprehensive NEPA documents. However, proponents of an action are not as dedicated to these twin NEPA objectives as they are motivated by NEPA`s ability to reduce program risks. Once the KTF environmental assessment was underway, it was apparent that reducing risks to the program, budget, and schedule was the main incentive for successful completion of the EA. The comprehensive or ``omnibus`` environmental assessment prepared for the KTF is a de facto ``detailed statement,`` and it is also a good example of a ``mitigated FONSI,`` i.e., mitigation measures are essential to render some potential impacts not significant. Because the KTF EA is a broad scope, umbrella-like, site-wide assessment, it ``bounds`` the impacts of continuing and proposed future actions. The successful completion of this document eliminated the need to review, document, and gain approval individually for numerous related actions. Also, because it supported a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) after identifying appropriate mitigation, it also eliminated the need for an environmental impact statement (EIS). This paper discusses seven specific ways in which the KTF EA reduced program risks and supported budget and schedule objectives.

The purpose of the risk register is to identify and rank the risk inherent to the installation, operation, maintenance, dismantling and disposal of each item of the facility and to propose ways of mitigating such risks.It is an important input for the safety report which will be mandatory for the study towards the construction of the EURISOL Facility.

Abstract The majority of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lack the means to mitigate the impact of risks associated with rainfall and commodity prices due to capital constraints and the imperfect insurance market in these countries. Because most SSA farmers are risk averse, they may be willing to invest in productive assets that can mitigate the impacts of such risks if their capital constraints are relaxed through external financial assistance. We test this hypothesis by using panel data on investment behavior of Nigerian farmers who received financial assistance on productive assets. The empirical results show that farmers facing higher rainfall risks are more likely to invest in irrigation pumps that can mitigate the impact of rainfall risks, while those facing higher risks of white ...

The overall topic of this thesis is the valuation of power generation assets under energy and risk constraints. Our focus is on the modeling aspect i.e. to find the right balance between accuracy and computational feasibility. We define a new not yet investigated unit commitment problem that introduces an energy constraint to a thermal power plant. We define a continuous stochastic dynamic program with a nested mixed integer program (MIP). We introduce a fast implementation approach by replacing the MIP with an efficient matrix calculation and use principal component analysis to reduce the number of risk factors. We also provide a fast heuristic valuation approach for comparison. As both models can only provide lower bounds of the asset value, we investigate the theory of upper bounds for a proper validation of our power plant results. We review the primal dual algorithm for swing options by Meinshausen and Hambly and in particular clarify their notation and implementation. Then we provide an extension for swing options with multiple exercises at the same stage that we developed together with Prof. Bender, University of Braunschweig. We outline Prof. Bender's proof and describe the implementation in detail. Finally we provide a risk analysis for our thermal power plant. In particular we investigate strategies to reduce spot price risk to which power plants are significantly exposed. First, we focus on the measurement of spot price risk and propose three appropriate risk figures (Forward delta as opposed to Futures delta, synthetic spot delta and Earnings-at-Risk) and illustrate their application using a business case. Second we suggest risk mitigation strategies for both periods, before and in delivery. The latter tries to alter the dispatch policy i.e. pick less risky hours and accept a (desirably only slightly) smaller return. We introduce a benchmark that weighs risk versus return and that we will call EaR-efficient option value. We propose a mitigation strategy for this benchmark that is based on quantile regression. It defines a price interval for executing an individual swing right and is therefore very well suited for real world applications. In case of an American option we are able to show EaR-efficiency of our strategy in particular for a changing risk profile of the underlying price (altering volatility). Finally, we investigate hedging strategies before the delivery period as a function of the maximum available energy. In particular, we look at a hedge for the spot price risk of the power plant using a swing option. We propose a heuristic based on our synthetic spot deltas to find the relevant parameters of the swing option (number of swing rights and swing size) for a given upper generation amount. (orig.)

The goal of planning risk management is to make everyone involved in a program aware that risk should be a consideration in the design, development, and fielding of a system. Risk planning is a tool to assess and mitigate events that might adversely impact the program. Therefore, risk management increases the probability/likelihood of program success and can help to avoid program crisis management and improve problem solving by managing risk early in the acquisition cycle.

This paper illustrates the concept of vulnerability within the disaster management cycle from a geospatial perspective. Disaster management is widely regarded as a cyclic multi-stage concept starting with (1) a response phase after a disaster strikes, followed by (2) risk analysis and (3) mitigation efforts to minimize the impacts of future disasters. Different types of hazards such as hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and fires feature individual characteristics and require adapted actions in all three stages mentioned above. From a general point of view the phase of response includes first-pass impact assessment and accordingly coordinated search and rescue efforts as well as follow-on recovery and rehabilitation. Mitigating impacts of disasters starts with risk reduction and prevention measurements whereas land use management plays an important role as well as general preparedness both in terms of social and economic activities and infrastructural measures. Prediction and early warning preceding the next hazard event form the final part of this phase and at the same time start the next run of the disaster management cycle. Risk assessment as an integral part of disaster management is composed of hazard and vulnerability analysis. Most aspects of hazard investigations have a spatial component whereas both Earth Observation data and terrestrial surveys provide essential information for delineation of potentially affected areas and monitoring influencing environmental conditions. The mere incidence of a natural event does not necessarily cause negative effects, e.g. wildfires are actually an important factor for ecosystem stability and recurring flooding often benefits riparian forests and agricultural areas. The term disaster is thus not used until impacts on social systems including human beings and associated assets (i.e. economic, infrastructural) are caused. This is where the concept of vulnerability comes into play which is defined by a set of interrelating input factors including exposure and sensitivity, initial coping capacity and social response of a system. Public awareness and accepted residual risks are essential factors in this context of social response, system susceptibility and resilience. Analysis of documented damage records from the severe flooding event in the western part of Austria in the year 2005 confirmed that the actual impact of natural disasters is not directly related to pre-installed risk-reducing measures. Protection measures providing safe conditions until a certain threshold often lead to distorted human risk perception. Technical flood protection (e.g. levees, dams) eliminates flooding hazard up to a certain flood dimension. The residual risk of rare but very large floods is thus not perceived as such by local populations. Built-up areas are often extended to these 'risk-freed' regions without considering the residual risk. This increases the probability of high damage costs and direct impact on humans (e.g. casualties) as a consequence of flood events exceeding the protection capacities of technical measures. Active public communication can play an important role in disaster mitigation and prevention. A well informed society being aware of environmental risks and hazards and understanding that it is impossible to achieve zero risk is less vulnerable to certain natural events. This awareness may eventually reduce disaster impacts and damage costs.

Abstract In the nitrogen fertilizer industry, potentially severe impacts can stem from toxic, fire, and explosion hazards from accidental releases and hazards associated with failures in high pressure equipment. While consequence analysis can be used to calculate the severity (as measured by the personnel or buildings in the hazard zone), the very large zones associated with some of the most severe scenarios essentially place the entire facility within the hazard zone, leaving few practical options to mitigate the consequence. Using a quantitative risk analysis approach, which evaluates both the consequence and likelihood of potential events at fertilizer sites, provides additional insight to help make informed decisions about the best way to minimize the risk exposure. 2012 American Insti...

Abstract in english Although industries operate under safe conditions, an industrial accident may occur, threatening human life, property or environment. In the context of environmental management, the importance of taking into account the risk of major technological accidents is concerned not only with the definition of the extent of it consequences but with the measures taken to mitigate unwanted impacts. With regard to these objectives, the consequence analysis performed in Bahía Blanca (more) industrial area are shown. Bahía Blanca is a middle-size populated town with one of the most important Argentinean petrochemical sites, where dangerous goods are processed, transported and stored. In particular, this work presents the results of evaluating the effects of about 200 possible accidental scenarios involving toxic and flammable substances releases. Hazard areas defined by means of this analysis have been employed to improve the local emergency plan. Finally, an easily understandable document was elaborated in order to achieve the effective risk communication to the local community.

The present work is finalised at the implementation of a landslide risk mitigation master plan of the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu. After the warning launched in March 2001, by the scientific community on potential collapse of the citadel from a near-disastrous landslide event different studies have been promoted to reconstruct landslide activity and suggest landslide risk mitigation measures for the protection and conservation of Machu Picchu cultural heritage. A site-scale analysis has been implemented following the application and integration of geomechanical classifications, ambient noise measurements and structural and kinematical analysis. The geology of the area is characterized by granitoid bodies that had been emplaced in the axial zones of the main rift system that are now exposed at the highest altitudes, together with country rocks (Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic metamorphics) originally constituting the rift ‘roots'. The bedrock of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is mainly composed by granite and subordinately granodiorite. This is mainly located in the lower part of the slopes. Superficially, the granite is jointed in blocks with variable dimensions, promoted by local structural setting. Single blocks vary from 10-1 to about 200 m3. Soil cover, widely outcropping in the area, is mainly composed by individual blocks and subordinately by coarse materials originated by chemical and physical weathering of minerals. Regional tectonic uplift and structural setting rule the general morphological features of the area and as a consequence, landslide type and evolution. Rock falls, rock slides, debris flows and debris slides are the main landslide typologies affecting the citadel slopes. In the last mission in May 2009, elastic and deformation rock parameters have been collected using a passive seismic innovative technique based on natural microtremor measurements and geostructural scan lines elaboration. A landslide zoning of the citadel has been developed by comparing GSI classification, geomorphological field survey and kinematical analysis. More in detail, areas potentially prone to rock fall and toppling have been discriminated with respect to those kinematically affected by planar sliding, and a map on potential landslide types has been implemented. This map has been used to develop a preliminary master plan on landslide risk mitigation works that take into account a vulnerability analysis previously undertaken for each single archaeological structure. Finally, a set of low impact structural measures have been designed as a function of rock mass quality and site landslide potential activity suggesting priorities in the light of recent development and exploitation by local authorities of new areas, potentially at risk, for tourism.

In this work we identify and quantify new seismic and volcanic risks threatening the strategic Caspian oil and gas pipelines through the Republic of Georgia, in the vicinity of the recent Abuli Samsari Volcanic Ridge, and evaluate risk reduction measures, mitigation measures, and monitoring. As regards seismic risk, we identified a major, NW-SE trending strike-slip fault; based on the analysis of fault planes along this major transcurrent structure, an about N-S trend of the maximum, horizontal compressive stress (?1) was determined, which is in good agreement with data instrumentally derived after the 1986, M 5.6 Paravani earthquake and its aftershock. Particularly notable is the strong alignment of volcanic vents along an about N-S trend that suggests a magma rising controlled by the about N-S-directed ?1. The original pipeline design included mitigation measures for seismic risk and other geohazards, including burial of the pipeline for its entire length, increased wall thickness, block valve spacing near recognized hazards, and monitoring of known landslide hazards. However, the design did not consider volcanic risk or the specific seismic hazards revealed by this study. The result of our analysis is that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum South Caucasian natural gas pipeline (SCP) were designed in such a way that they significantly reduce the risk posed by the newly-identified geohazards in the vicinity of the Abuli-Samsari Ridge. No new measures are recommended for the pipeline itself as a result of this study. However, since the consequences of long-term shut-down would be very damaging to the economies of Western Europe, we conclude that the regionally significant BTC and SCP warrant greater protections, described in the final section of or work. The overall objective of our effort is to present the results in a matrix framework that allows the technical information to be used further in the decision-making process, with the goal of reducing the uncertainty in the final decision. This approach is applicable to the study of risks in other pipeline systems. PMID:21385663

In 2003, there were 54 fixed-crest lamprey barriers used in the Great Lakes region, with more construction planned. Although the barriers are relatively small structures of about 1-2 m in height, they present a drowning hazard. On the downstream side of the structure, a submerged hydraulic jump creates a strong vortex flow that even an experienced swimmer cannot escape. This study developed a method to assess the risk of hazardous flows at the barrier sites to enable dam owners to decide whether or not mitigative measures need to be undertaken at their sites. This hazard assessment was demonstrated for 2 existing lamprey barriers in Ontario, namely the Duffins Creek Barrier at Ajax and the Little Otter Creek Barrier near Straffordville. However, the work can be applied to the dam safety assessment and the development of potential mitigative strategies for drowning at other low-head dams and weirs. A flow-duration curves was developed for each site in order to determine the risk of having a drowning hazard at the barrier sites. In the flow-duration analysis, the percentage time, or probability, that a given flow rate was equalled or exceeded was calculated directly from observations of the average daily discharge in the channel. 18 refs., 1 tab., 7 figs.

The need to protect people and property with a changing pattern of landslide hazard and risk caused by climate change and changes in demography, and the reality for societies in Europe to live with the risk associated with natural hazards, were the motives for the project SafeLand: "Living with landslide risk in Europe: Assessment, effects of global change, and risk management strategies." SafeLand is a large, integrating research project under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (FP7). The project started on 1 May 2009 and will end on 30 April 2012. It involves 27 partners from 12 European countries, and has international collaborators and advisers from China, India, USA, Japan and Hong Kong. SafeLand also involves 25 End-Users from 11 countries. SafeLand is coordinated by the International Centre for Geohazards (ICG) at Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in Norway. Further information on the SafeLand project can be found at its web site http://safeland-fp7.eu/. Main results achieved in SafeLand include: - Various guidelines related to landslide triggering processes and run-out modelling. - Development and testing of several empirical methods for predicting the characteristics of threshold rainfall events for triggering of precipitation-induced landslides, and development of an empirical model for assessing the changes in landslide frequency (hazard) as a function of changes in the demography and population density. - Guideline for landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk assessment and zoning. - New methodologies for physical and societal vulnerability assessment. - Identification of landslide hazard and risk hotspots for Europe. The results show clearly where areas with the largest landslide risk are located in Europe and the objective approach allows a ranking of the countries by exposed area and population. - Different regional and local climate model simulations over selected regions of Europe at spatial resolutions of 10x10 km and 2.8x2.8 km. These simulations were used to perform an extreme value analysis for trends in heavy precipitation events, and subsequent effects on landslide hazard and risk trends. - Guidelines for use of remote sensing techniques, monitoring and early warning systems. - Development of a prototype web-based "toolbox" of innovative and technically appropriate prevention and mitigation measures. The toolbox does a preliminary assessment and ranking of up to 60 structural and non-structural landslide risk mitigation options. - Case histories and "hotspots" of European Land¬slides have been collected and documented. Data for close to fifty potential case study sites have been compiled and summarized. Most of the case study sites are located in Europe (Italy, France, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Andorra, and Romania); but they also include one site in Canada and one in India. Almost every type of landslide and every type of movement is represented in these sites. - Research on stakeholder workshops and participatory processes to involve the population exposed to landslide risk in the decision-making process for choosing the most appropriate risk mitigation measure(s).

Current collection by high voltage solar arrays on the International Space Station (ISS) drives the vehicle to negative floating potentials in the low Earth orbit daytime plasma environment. Pre-flight predictions of ISS floating potentials Phi greater than |-100 V| suggested a risk for degradation of dielectric thermal control coatings on surfaces in the U.S. sector due to arcing and an electrical shock hazard to astronauts during extravehicular activity (EVA). However, hazard studies conducted by the ISS program have demonstrated that the thermal control material degradation risk is effectively mitigated during the lifetime of the ISS vehicle by a sufficiently large ion collection area present on the vehicle to balance current collection by the solar arrays. To date, crew risk during EVA has been mitigated by operating one of two plasma contactors during EVA to control the vehicle potential within Phi less than or equal to |-40 V| with a backup process requiring reorientation of the solar arrays into a configuration which places the current collection surfaces into wake. This operation minimizes current collection by the solar arrays should the plasma contactors fail. This paper presents an analysis of F-region electron density and temperature variations at low and midlatitudes generated by space weather events to determine what range of conditions represent charging threats to ISS. We first use historical ionospheric plasma measurements from spacecraft operating at altitudes relevant to the 51.6 degree inclination ISS orbit to provide an extensive database of F-region plasma conditions over a variety of solar cycle conditions. Then, the statistical results from the historical data are compared to more recent in-situ measurements from the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) operating on ISS in a campaign mode since its installation in August, 2006.

The potential reduction of risk in LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) road transport due to the adoption of passive fire protections was investigated. Experimental data available for small scale vessels fully engulfed by a fire were extended to real scale road and rail tankers through a finite elements model. The results of mathematical simulations of real scale fire engulfment scenarios that may follow accidents involving LPG tankers proved the effectiveness of the thermal protections in preventing the "fired" BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion) scenario. The presence of a thermal coating greatly increases the "time to failure", providing a time lapse that in the European experience may be considered sufficient to allow the start of effective mitigation actions by fire brigades. The results obtained were used to calculate the expected reduction of individual and societal risk due to LPG transportation in real case scenarios. The analysis confirmed that the introduction of passive fire protections turns out in a significant reduction of risk, up to an order of magnitude in the case of individual risk and of about 50% if the expectation value is considered. Thus, the adoption of passive fire protections, not compulsory in European regulations, may be an effective technical measure for risk reduction, and may contribute to achieve the control of "major accidents hazards" cited by the European legislation. PMID:19188020

This longitudinal study focused on the effects of two different principles of intervention in children at risk of developing dyslexia from 5 to 8 years old. The children were selected on the basis of a background questionnaire given to parents and preschool teachers, with cognitive and functional magnetic resonance imaging results substantiating group differences in neuropsychological processes associated with phonology, orthography, and phoneme-grapheme correspondence (i.e., alphabetic principle). The two principles of intervention were bottom-up (BU), "from sound to meaning", and top-down (TD), "from meaning to sound." Thus, four subgroups were established: risk/BU, risk/TD, control/BU, and control/TD. Computer-based training took place for 2 months every spring, and cognitive assessments were performed each fall of the project period. Measures of preliteracy skills for reading and spelling were phonological awareness, working memory, verbal learning, and letter knowledge. Literacy skills were assessed by word reading and spelling. At project end the control group scored significantly above age norm, whereas the risk group scored within the norm. In the at-risk group, training based on the BU principle had the strongest effects on phonological awareness and working memory scores, whereas training based on the TD principle had the strongest effects on verbal learning, letter knowledge, and literacy scores. It was concluded that appropriate, specific, data-based intervention starting in preschool can mitigate literacy impairment and that interventions should contain BU training for preliteracy skills and TD training for literacy training. (Contains 4 figures and 3 tables.)

Policies to mitigate potential damages from global climate change impose costs on the current generation to provide benefits to future generations. This paper examines how comparisons among three stylized policies - business-as-usual, mitigation of climate change, and compensation for climate change - depend on social preferences with respect to risk and intertemporal equity. The author also examines the opportunity-cost criterion, which asserts that mitigation should not be chosen if its net present value is smaller than that of business-as-usual. Analysis reveals that the discount factor used to evaluate whether mitigation satisfies this criterion depends on preference regarding risk and intertemporal inequality of consumption, and on the risk of the compensation policy. Risk aversion favours mitigation over business-as-usual. If society of neutral to inequality, risk aversion does not favour compensation. But if society is averse to inequality, the effect of risk aversion on preferences between compensation and business-as-usual is ambiguous. Inequality aversion tends to favour business-as-usual over both alternative policies provided that, roughly speaking, the anticipated future improvements in welfare exceed the anticipated climate changes. 21 refs., 2 fig.

The results of four expert working groups on the risk analysis process on anti-microbial resistance are described. They focus on the procedure recommended by the FAO/WHO CODEX Alimentarius Commission in 1999 including hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. In all four areas, the current scientific knowledge was evaluated and recommendations for risk management options were given. They will form the basis for mitigating the health risk caused by resistant micro-organisms. PMID:15525365

In this document the authors present mitigation implementation activities to protect and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. This plan only addresses non-operational actions (mitigation measures that do not affect dam operation) described in the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' (Mitigation Plan) submitted to the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council) in March 1991 and in accordance with subsequent Council action on that Mitigation Plan. Operational mitigation was deferred for consideration under the Columbia Basin System Operation Review (SOR) process. This document represents an implementation plan considered and conditionally approved by the Council in March of 1993.

Past research on augmented systems has been predominately concerned with measuring and classifying an operator’s functional states. Only recently has the field begun researching mitigation strategies. The purpose of this paper is to add further conceptual understanding to mitigation strategies. Based upon the decision making literature, we pose three issues that mitigation strategies need to resolve: the types of decision strategies an operator uses, the structure of the information that an operator processes, and finally, the cue or pattern of cues that the operator relies on in making decisions. These issues are important to ensure that mitigation strategies are congruent to operator’s decision-making behaviors.

A Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, required by the California Environmental Quality Act, was developed by UC as part of the Final EIS/EIR process. This document describing the program is a companion to the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Continued Operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore (SNL, Livermore). The Final EIS/EIR analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action, which for the purposes of NEPA is: continued operation, including near-term (within 5 to 1 0 years) proposed projects, of LLNL and SNL, Livermore. The proposed action for the EIR is the renewal of the contract between DOE and UC for UC`s continued operation and management of LLNL. The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program is for implementing and monitoring progress of measures taken to mitigate the significant impacts of the proposed action. A complete description of the impacts and proposed mitigations is in Section 5 of Volume I of the Final EIS/EIR. This report summarizes the mitigation measures, identifies the responsible party at the Laboratory for implementing the mitigation measure, states when monitoring will be implemented, when the mitigation measure will be in place and monitoring completed, and who will verify that the mitigation measure was implemented.

Managers, firms, and communities were increasingly faced with the severe impact of hazardous materials incidents that demand a significant level of crisis readiness. To ensure the safety of people, property, and environment, those events must be anticipated with risk reduction measures and a supporting infrastructure to mitigate their consequences. This study described and analyzed seven cases involving hazardous materials incidents. A content analysis design with a historical case methodology was used to examine the strategies used to deal with the crisis environment created by these incidents. A crisis readiness analytical construct was used as a basis for the content analysis. The analysis provided ex post facto qualitative information that revealed the relationships among the response measure to mitigate a crisis, the response infrastructure, and the actual impact of the crisis. The strategic crisis readiness analytical construct formulated to address the problem postulates that a hazardous materials crisis is precipitated by an organizations-environment mismatch in two distinct ways. First, the level of risk associated with a technology exceeds the level of preparedness within a firm to deal with the potential impacts. Second, the firm's supporting infrastructure is ill-prepared to handle the impacts. Preparation for and the ability to cope with crises requires technical systems, an intra-organizational response infrastructure, and knowledgeable, skilled individuals to carry out detection, warning, response, and recovery actions. The severity of the crisis environment exceeded the capability of firms and their supporting infrastructures to prevent or reduce damage. Gaps in operational performance revealed a universal weakness in the capability to detect the risks of potential crises. Failures in the execution of warning, initial response, and recovery contributed to impact severity.

part of a risk mitigation activity to identify and assess potential risks to the .... 21" ( height) x 50" (width) .... Four types of radiator designs were inspired from the literature review: the flat ..... s.l. : Thermal Fluid Analysis Work Shop (TFAWS), 2006.

This article assesses the risk of flooding and identifies efficient measures to reduce flood risk in Hat Yai Municipality, southern Thailand using GIS and satellite imagery. The center of commercial trade and administration in southern Thailand, Hat Yai is located in the downstream area of the Khlong U-Taphao Basin. From 1982 to 2002, forest resources in the basin's upstream were decreased from 48,281 to 26,781 hectares, equivalent to a reduction of 44.5 %. This was largely attributable to the expansion of rubber cultivation. Further analysis revealed that 17,116 ha, 42.7 % of the forest resources in the basin's headwater source areas mainly had been replaced by rubber plantations. As a consequence of extensive deforestation, particularly in headwater source areas, the municipality has become vulnerable to natural disasters; primarily floods. Hat Yai Municipality experienced two flood events of catastrophic magnitudes in 1988 and 2000. These destructive floods were detrimental to its vulnerable social and economic development due to the loss of life and destruction of property. Since the 2000 flood, considerable structural mitigation measures have been undertaken to prevent and alleviate future flooding of the municipality. Recent flooding on 10 December 2003, caused by a storm like that experienced in 2000, indicates that structural mitigation efforts undertaken so far are inadequate to withstand natural threats. Hat Yai Municipality will continue to be extremely vulnerable to future flood disasters. This shows the compelling need to increase the municipality's resilience against flooding through adoption in the coming year of non-structural disaster reduction schemes to supplement existing efforts. Risk assessment based on hazard and vulnerability analysis is needed to identify and implement adequate and successful non-structural alternatives. Analyses showed that 99.0, 400.0, 1110.0, 346.0, and 100.0 ha of the municipality's total land areas were subjected respectively to very low, low, moderate, high, and very high flood hazards. Further analysis revealed that 39.6, 654.6, 152.7, 664.5, and 543.6 ha of the land areas respectively faced very low, low, moderate, high, and very high flood risks. Analyses also showed that all the residential, commercial, industrial, and the public utilities and facilities areas, equivalent to 1,188.0 ha (57.8 %) of the municipality's total land area, faced high and very high flood risks. Measures to reduce the risk of flooding in Hat Yai Municipality are discussed.   

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be impacted by electromagnetic pulse (EMP) during normal long-pulse operation, but the largest impacts are expected during short-pulse operation utilizing the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC). Without mitigation these impacts could range from data corruption to hardware damage. We describe our EMP measurement systems on Titan and NIF and present some preliminary results and thoughts on mitigation.

An important commitment in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is to conduct mitigation analysis and to communicate climate change measures and policies. In major part reducing CO{sub 2} as well as the other greenhouse gas emissions in Kazakstan, can be a side-product of measures addressed to increasing energy efficiency. Since such measures are very important for the national economy, mitigation strategies in the energy sector of Kazakstan are directly connected with the general national strategy of the energy sector development. This paper outlines the main measures and technologies in energy sector of Kazakstan which can lead to GHG emissions reduction and presents the results of current mitigation assessment. The mitigation analysis is addressed to energy production sector. A baseline and six mitigation scenarios were developed to evaluate the most attractive mitigation options, focusing on specific technologies which have been already included in sustainable energy programs. According to the baseline projection, Kazakstan`s CO{sub 2} emissions will not exceed their 1990 level until 2005. The potential for CO{sub 2} emission reduction is estimated to be about 11 % of the base line emission level by the end of considered period (in 2020). The main mitigation options in the energy production sector in terms of mitigation potential and technical and economical feasibility include rehabilitation of thermal power plants aimed to increasing efficiency, use of nuclear energy and further expansion in the use of hydro energy based on small hydroelectric power plants.

The main goal of the Austrian radon database is to establish a technical basis for the objective and transparent information of the public about the health risks due to high radon exposures with the aim to reduce those exposures. The radon database is therefore primarily a tool for Ministries and federal states (official organisations) to collect and govern radon measurements and the associated data like building data, addresses, measuring laboratories, measurement methods, measurement time, remediations, etc. The official organisations start a radon measurement in the database by entering the data of the applicant, defining the measurement method and the assignment of the measuring laboratory. The measurement results are entered in the database and after validation released. Now the official organisation continues by defining mitigation measures (if appropriate), exporting the results and associated data, and finishes by sending the report to the applicant. The technical basis for the radon database is a web-based solution where the access is given via a web portal. The data from the Austrian National Radon Project (OeNRAP) will be migrated into the new radon database. With the recorded data the Austrian radon potential map will be up-dated on a regular basis and be made accessible for the public via the governmental radon website. Furthermore, the data are an important source of information for the government for monitoring the radon situation in Austria and for applying efficient measures. (orig.)

Exploration and production companies (EPs) require new solutions on using and manipulating data from a range of sources due to data variability and newer technologies. Data capture methods and data accuracy levels collected over the operating history of a well's life cycle also pose challenges in terms of data integrity. Data quality is the basis and prerequisite for standardization and integration of varying data repositories into value added knowledge management systems. A roadmap for improving business performance was presented by providing examples of EP companies who have encountered data quality issues and successfully measured the business impact associated with poor data quality, and developed solutions that delivered benefits throughout their organizations. The paper discussed how to overcome the data quality challenge and provided reasons to enhance data quality. Several case studies were profiled that examined operational risk mitigation, regulatory compliance risk, contractual and liability risk, and corporate and financial risk. Second generation data profiling, cleansing and migration tools are introduced with an emphasis on how these automated tools helped EPs define, and deliver business benefits with data quality. 1 fig.

Results of the collision avoidance operation at the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) are presented in this paper. Currently, five operational satellites in the LEO region are supported in the monitoring system. In addition to the daily prediction using Two-Line Elements (TLEs) as source of orbital elements for space objects, possible critical approaches are also detected by the proximity search performed by Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC). An automated alarming system is available for both screening results, and the detailed risk evaluation is performed by the Flight Dynamics team in case of a remaining high risk. After the introduction of the operational collision avoidance procedure, the risk assessment process for critical close approaches as well as the maneuver planning strategy are further discussed in this paper. For the two operational satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement), which are controlled against a reference orbit inside a control tube with a diameter of 500 m and in a very close formation (min. distance of about 400 m), a dedicated mitigation strategy has to be applied to minimize the violation of strict mission requirements. Two cases of the recent critical approach are presented for these satellites, which lead to the execution of a collision avoidance maneuver after a careful risk assessment, followed by the operational experiences and feedbacks.

In this edited transcript of a presentation at the CARE/CEASA conference, a U.S. army officer who teaches economics and finance at West Point discusses the Army's approach to managing uncertainty and risk while reflecting on his own two tours of duty in Iraq. The U.S. military makes a clear distinction between risk and uncertainty. Whereas -risks- are threats to a mission or operation that can be identified, and at least to some degree controlled or mitigated, -uncertainty- applies to unknown or ambiguous hazards that resist any application of probability theory or quantitative methods. The risk mitigation process begins with assessments of the probability and severity of a given risk followed by the development of controls designed to limit that risk. Once the controls are implemented, th...

Engineered (structural) debris-flow mitigation for all creeks with elements at risk and subject to debris flows is often outside of the financial capability of the regulating government, and heavy task-specific taxation may be politically undesirable. Structural debris-flow mitigation may only be achieved over long (decadal scale) time periods. Where immediate structural mitigation is cost-prohibitive, an interim solution can be identified to manage residual risk. This can be achieved by implementing a debris-flow warning system that enables residents to reduce their personal risk for loss of life through timely evacuation. This paper describes Canada?s first real-time debris-flow warning system which has been operated for 2 years for the District of North Vancouver. The system was develop...

Purpose - This paper seeks to consider selected aspects of the relationship between real estate valuation, human cognition, and translational research. Its purpose is to introduce the concept of cognitive risk, to propose a framework for mitigating it, and to develop a stream of translational research to transfer knowledge to real estate valuers. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes an interdisciplinary conceptual approach towards the development and study of cognitive risk, and its mitigation. It proposes to broaden the study of behavioral issues in real estate valuation beyond cognitive psychology to cognitive science, and also fields such as time studies and human failure, in order to identify and mitigate cognitive risk. Findings - The paper offers a framework as a starting-po...

Along the coast, anticipating the different morphological responses induced by storm events is crucial for managers to evaluate coastal risks and to develop the best measures to mitigate them. In this paper, a methodology is developed to determine the best storm intensity parameter to derive storm thresholds for different morphological responses. The methodology is applied to the northern part of the Gulf of Lions coastline where storm events can induce important morphological changes. These include shoreline retreat, beach and dune erosion, significant migration of nearshore bars, overwashes and even breaches of coastal barriers, as well as damage to coastal defences and coastal infrastructure. In order to evaluate historical storm characteristics and impact, an extensive review was under...

This paper focuses attention on emergency management associated with a terrorist attack in the transport of hazardous materials in urban areas. The case study is in an urban area, a potential target for terrorist attacks due to its high vulnerability. Since it is not possible to predict where and when an attack will occur, the risk associated with terrorism is complex. It is only possible to identify the critical points for potential actions where counter measure must be applied. In the case of incidents which evolve relatively slowly, mitigation actions can be applied. The use of dynamic geoevents permits the immediate location of the event on a georeferenced map and the possibility of having a dynamic evolution of the scenario and of the number of people involved. The dynamic scenario ha...

The “5.12” Wenchuan earthquake not only had catastrophic primary effects, but also triggered many major secondary effects in mountainous regions including collapse (rock fail, slide, and so on), landslides, debris flows, and the formation of barrier lakes. These secondary disasters had a major influence on the areas affected by the earthquake, as they resulted in significant blocks to aid and seriously slowed down the rescue process. Furthermore, huge amounts of uncompacted debris created by collapse and landslides continue to pose a substantial long-term risk to the safety of the people and to their property as it can form powerful debris flows with strong rains. In this study, the distribution characteristics and physical status were investigated through field surveys and image interpretation. The features and distribution of future sediment disasters were estimated, and suggestions for corresponding mitigation measures were proposed. These will play an important role in protecting the safety of the people and in facilitating the reconstruction of disaster areas.   

EPA`s 112(r)(7) rule, which requires the preparation of Risk Management Plans, requires sources to perform offsite consequence analyses for a worst case release scenario and also for alternative (more likely to occur) scenarios. The worst case scenarios are well defined by the regulation and will be recognized for most situations as over predicting the potential impact of a release major factors. Model selection does have an effect on calculated distances to toxic endpoints. However, as is shown, the magnitude of these results does not vary greatly. The need to define alternative scenarios presents an opportunity for sources to consider much more carefully what a more likely to occur (although, hopefully also improbable) accident might pose as a threat to the public. Precautionary and preventative as well as mitigative measures become more important to the actual safety of the public.

A global safety assessment of geological storage of CO2 involves looking both at the direct protection of the populations with respect to health and sanitary risks, and at the mitigation of CO2 with respect to global warming. A set of safety criteria can be defined in order to assess the impact on human and environment of CO2 leaking from the reservoir. These criteria have to take into account the fact that CO2 can either take the form of gas and cause a threat in case of inhalation or affect the global climate; or it can be dissolved in the water and cause a direct threat to health measurable according to drinking water criteria (pH, dissolved elements). The nature and amount of potential leakage are calculated by modeling the evolution of the reservoir-caprock system which has to include...

Four principal areas of discussion were addressed in the workshop: the current state of knowledge about global climate change and its likely consequences; energy policy options for slowing the expected growth in emissions of greenhouse gases; mitigation measures to cope with the impacts (including impacts related to agriculture and sea-level rise), should they occur, and; research needs to assist decision makers in the Pacific and Asia. 37 papers were presented; they covered both the critical scientific issues and the current policies of countries in this region. Additionally, four working sessions were held to crystallize the consensus of the workshop attendees in four areas: energy policy, sea-level rise, agriculture, and risk management. Two of the papers have been abstracted separately.

Traditional agricultural practices based on non-customized irrigation and soil fertilization are harmful for the environment, and may pose a risk for human health. By continuing the use of these practices, it is not possible to ensure effective land management, which might be acquired by using advanced satellite technology configured for modern agricultural development. The paper presents a methodology based on the correlation between remote sensing data and field observations, aiming to identify the key features and to establish an interpretation pattern for the inhomogeneity highlighted by the remote sensing data. Instead of using classical methods for the evaluation of land features (field analysis, measurements and mapping), the approach is to use high resolution multispectral and hyperspectral methods, in correlation with data processing and geographic information systems (GIS), in order to improve the agricultural practices and mitigate their environmental impact (soil and shallow aquifer). PMID:22744689

Uranium and plutonium production at the Hanford Site produced large quantities of radioactive by-products and contaminated process chemicals, which are stored in underground tanks awaiting treatment and disposal. Having been made strongly alkaline and then subjected to successive water evaporation campaigns to increase storage capacity, the wastes now exist in the physical forms of salt cakes, metal oxide sludges, and partially saturated aqueous brine solutions. The tanks that contain organic process chemicals mixed with nitrate/nitrite salt wastes may be at risk for fuel- nitrate combustion accidents. The purpose of the Waste Aging Task is to elucidate how chemical and radiological processes will have aged or degraded the organic compounds stored in the tanks. Ultimately, the task seeks to develop quantitative measures of how aging changes the energetic properties of the wastes. This information will directly support efforts to evaluate the hazard as well as to develop potential control and mitigation strategies.

The present report is a summary report including thermal-hydraulic analyses made at Studsvik Eco and Safety AB for the ITER NSSR-2 safety documentation. The objective of the analyses was to reveal the safety characteristics of various heat transfer systems at specified operating conditions and to indicate the conditions for which there were obvious risks of jeopardising the structural integrity of the coolant systems. In the latter case also some analyses were made to indicate conceivable mitigating measures for maintaining the integrity.The analyses were primarily concerned with the First Wall and Divertor heat transfer systems. Several enveloping transients were analysed with associated specific flow and heat load boundary conditions. The analyses were performed with the ATHENA and INTRA codes 8 refs, 14 figs, 15 tabs

Risks associated with gas and water in-rushes can be mitigated by the application of drilling techniques. The paper addresses some of the sources of risk in Australian coal mining and reports on the current status of the application of drilling to alleviate those risks. Drilling principally helps in addressing the potential for outburst events and face gas-outs by enabling gas to drain from the borehole thereby lowering bulk seam gas content. 7 refs., 6 figs.

To obtain the regulatory authorization for the use or operation of a nuclear or radioactive facility, the applicants thereof must prepare and submit, among other regulatory documents, an On-site emergency Plan (PEI) that will be approved when said authorisations are granted. The PEI must detail the measures established by the owner of the facility and detail the assignment of responsibilities to handle the accident conditions and mitigate the consequences thereof: to protect the personnel at the facility, the general public and the environment; and to immediately notify the occurrence of an accident to the competent public authorities. This includes an initial evaluation of the circumstances and of the possible consequences of the accident or the radiological emergency that has occurred. To analyse the radiological criteria applicable to possible emergencies at nuclear facilities and radioactive in their various fields of application, it is essential to take into account the various types of facilities and the practices and radioactive sources involved in each case. Considering the aforementioned, emergency plans must consider the potential radiological risks at each type of facility, and the owner of the facility has to be prepared to mitigate the possible consequences of an accident at the origin and to alert the public authorities, who have to be prepared to control and reduce the impact of a radiological accident to the public. (Author)

Civil Protection (CP) organisations aim, in general, at safeguarding human life and health, goods, national heritage, human settlements and environment from all natural or man-made disasters. In order to achieve these objectives, for any concerned kind of risk, a comprehensive approach should deal with: - Forecasting and Warning - Prevention and Mitigation - Rescue and Assistance - Emergency overcoming CP systems all over the world have different organisations and are differently finalised at the above objectives and actions. Quite often, only some of them, usually only those relevant to forecasting and rescue, are pursued by CP, risk mitigation and emergency overcoming being in charge of other organisations. However, this is not the case of the Italian Civil Protection, whose mandate is relevant to all the items listed above, and, articularly, to prevention and mitigation. As far as seismic risk is concerned, prevention and mitigation are addressed through an integrated set of actions, that go from the seismic vulnerability and seismic hazard assessment to complete risk assessment, from the conception to the actual application of risk reduction strategies, from the seismic zonation and the seismic code set up to their enforcement and actual implementation. The proposed contribution will deal with the main aspects related to the actual implementation of the above said actions finalised to the seismic risk prevention and mitigation, as they are carried out by the Italian Civil Protection. Emphasis will be given to the interactions between the scientific community and the National Civil Protection Department, as they are finalised at getting the best exploitation of the scientific advancements to obtain concrete results in prevention and mitigation.

This slide presentation reviews risk assessment and its role in risk-informed decision making. It includes information on probabilistic risk assessment, typical risk management process, origins of risk matrix, performance measures, performance objectives and Bayes theorem.

It is apparent that environmental issues affect the livelihoods and well being of individuals, communities and businesses the world over. In that vein, this book examines the impact that climate change and other environmental factors have on business. Climate change, while a powerful force, will impose change on business slowly, but inexorably. Executives should manage environmental risk at three levels: regulatory compliance, potential liability from industrial accidents, and pollutant release mitigation. Companies that are proactive in mitigating their exposure to climate-change risks will n

An operational event is a safety-relevant incident that occurred in an industrial installation like a nuclear power plant (NPP). The probabilistic approach to event analysis focuses on the potential consequences of an operational event. Within its scope of application, it provides a quantitative assessment of the risk significance of this event (and similar events): it calculates the risk increase induced by the event. Such analyses may result in a more objective and a more accurate event severity measure than those provided by commonly used qualitative methods. Probabilistic event analysis complements the traditional event analysis approaches that are oriented towards the understanding of the (root) causes of an event. In practice, risk-based precursor analysis consists of the mapping of an operational event on a risk model of the installation, such as a probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) model. Precursor analyses result in an objective risk ranking of safety-significant events, called accident precursors. An unexpectedly high (or low) risk increase value is in itself already an important finding. This assessment also yields a lot of information on the structure of the risk, since the underlying dominant factors can easily be determined. Relevant 'what if' studies on similar events and conditions can be identified and performed (which is generally not considered in conventional event analysis), with the potential to yield even broader findings. The findings of such a structured assessment can be used for other purposes than merely risk ranking. The operational experience feedback process can be improved by helping to identify design measures and operational practices in order to prevent re-occurrence or in order to mitigate future consequences, and even to evaluate their expected effectiveness, contributing to the validation and prioritization of corrective measures. Confirmed and re-occurring precursors with correlated characteristics may point out opportunities for safety improvements that might otherwise have remained un-addressed. Precursor program results can be included in performance indicators, or can be used for the statistical monitoring and trending of the risk level in plants, sites or entire industries. Last but not least, precursor analysis results can be used to communicate in a more objective way on the safety significance of events, e.g. between regulators and utilities. The paper recapitulates on some methodological steps, and then gives an overview of the objectives and the results of the Belgian precursor program, showing some recent analysis examples. In a second part, the paper attempts to summarize the various activities worldwide in this field: it elaborates on some similarities and differences in various aspects, such as objectives, screening, analysis and modelling methodology, results, uses and achievements. It also discusses some international trends and perspectives. (author)

The purpose of this analysis is to systematically identify and evaluate hazards related to the design of the Yucca Mountain Project Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) East-West Cross Drift. This analysis builds upon prior ESF System Safety Analyses and incorporates TS Main Drift scenarios, where applicable, into the East-West Drift scenarios. This System Safety Analysis (SSA) focuses on the personnel safety and health hazards associated with the engineered design of the East-West Drift. The analysis also evaluates other aspects of the East-West Drift, including purchased equipment (e.g., scientific mapping platform) or Systems/Structures/Components (SSCs) and out-of-tolerance conditions. In addition to recommending design mitigation features, the analysis identifies the potential need for procedures, training, or Job Safety Analyses (JSAs). The inclusion of this information in the SSA is intended to assist the organization(s) (e.g., constructor, Safety and Health, design) responsible for these aspects of the East-West Drift in evaluating personnel hazards and augment the information developed by these organizations. The SSA is an integral part of the systems engineering process, whereby safety is considered during planning, design, testing, and construction. A largely qualitative approach is used which incorporates operating experiences and recommendations from vendors, the constructor and the operating contractor. The risk assessment in this analysis characterizes the scenarios associated with East-West Drift SSCs in terms of relative risk and includes recommendations for mitigating all identified hazards. The priority for recommending and implementing mitigation control features is: (1) Incorporate measures to reduce risks and hazards into SSC designs. (2) Add safety features and capabilities to existing designs. (3) Develop procedures and conduct training to increase worker awareness of potential hazards, reduce exposure to hazards, and inform personnel of the actions required to avoid accidents or correct hazardous conditions. This analysis does not consider temporary construction items and, therefore, does not consider hazards associated with temporary construction items. This analysis will be reviewed and updated to reflect new East-West Drift design changes, construction modifications, and ''as built'' documentation of the East-West Drift when completed. A major difference between this analysis and previous ESF SSAs is the inclusion of hazards that arise as a result of non-accident events, (e.g., ''off-normal'' operations, adverse environmental conditions, or ''out-of-tolerance'' conditions). Non-accident events, that were not included in previous ESF SSAs, include environmental and/or toxic hazards such as leaking gases/fluids, off-gassing reactions, and excessive dust, particulates, exhaust fumes, noise, temperature, etc. which could have an adverse health effect on personnel.

Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug-related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of capital murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of capital murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by capital murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study ...

Until a few decades ago, damages and human losses related to the avalanche risk represented only a small part of the destructive effects produced each year by natural events. Nowadays, on the contrary, the situation has considerably changed due to growing of the built-up areas and human presence in the mountain environment: this fact increases the current avalanche risk and puts snow avalanches and hydro-geological risks (floods, landslides, rock falls, etc…) at the same importance level. To mitigate the effects, Authorities provide both specific policies for urban development and mountain land use and simple but reliable methodologies to define the avalanche risk. As is well known, risk can be defined as the product of three factors: the environmental danger P (probability that a given phenomenon with its catastrophic intensity occurs in a specific area and time), the vulnerability V (degree of loss of one or more elements by a natural phenomenon of a known magnitude) and the exposure E (measure of the exposed value for each vulnerable element). A novel approach for the evaluation of the "Vulnerability factor" of a new or existing building under avalanche hazard by considering its structural (materials, strength and robustness, etc…) and architectural (shape, exposure, etc…) peculiarities is presented. A real avalanche event occurred in December, 2008 in Aosta Valley, which caused the total collapse of a building is taken as an example for tesing the effectiveness of the proposed risk assessment. By means of photographical analysis on undamaged parts, local surveys and debris arrangement, the impact pressure and the collapse dynamics are back-analyzed. The results are commented and comparisons between the damages and Vulnerability factor are made.

Energy systems are significantly vulnerable to current climate variability and extreme events. As climate change becomes more pronounced, the risks and vulnerabilities will be exacerbated. To date, energy sector adaptation issues have received very limited attention. In this paper, a climate risk management framework is used as the basis for identifying key challenges and opportunities to enhance the integration of climate change adaptation in energy planning and decision-making. Given its importance for raising awareness and for stimulating action by planners and decision-makers, emphasis is placed on reviewing the current knowledge on risks and vulnerabilities of energy systems and on potential adaptation options. The paper finds that short and longer term action on climate risk management of energy systems strongly depends on: Strengthening the capacity to model and project climate change and its impacts at local and regional scales; improving the geographical coverage of risk, vulnerability and adaptationassessments, and the availability of systematic and integrated assessments; and, providing information and guidance in a form appropriate for planners and decision makers. Another important area concerns establishing improved understanding of potential trade-offs and synergies between energy system adaptation and mitigation options, and adaptation and development prospects in other sectors or areas. Finally, improved knowledge on damage costs, and adaptation costs and benefits is likely to remove barriers to integration of climate risks and adaptive responses in energy planning and decision making. Both detailed assessments of the costs and benefits of integrating adaptation measures and rougher ‘order of magnitude’ estimates would enhance awareness raising and momentum for action.

Energy systems are significantly vulnerable to current climate variability and extreme events. As climate change becomes more pronounced, the risks and vulnerabilities will be exacerbated. To date, energy sector adaptation issues have received very limited attention. In this paper, a climate risk management framework is used as the basis for identifying key challenges and opportunities to enhance the integration of climate change adaptation in energy planning and decision-making. Given its importance for raising awareness and for stimulating action by planners and decision-makers, emphasis is placed on reviewing the current knowledge on risks and vulnerabilities of energy systems and on potential adaptation options. The paper finds that short and longer term action on climate risk management of energy systems strongly depends on: Strengthening the capacity to model and project climate change and its impacts at local and regional scales; improving the geographical coverage of risk, vulnerability and adaptationassessments, and the availability of systematic and integrated assessments; and, providing information and guidance in a form appropriate for planners and decision makers. Another important area concerns establishing improved understanding of potential trade-offs and synergies between energy system adaptation and mitigation options, and adaptation and development prospects in other sectors or areas. Finally, improved knowledge on damage costs, and adaptation costs and benefits is likely to remove barriers to integration of climate risks and adaptive responses in energy planning and decision making. Both detailed assessments of the costs and benefits of integrating adaptation measures and rougher ‘order of magnitude’ estimates would enhance awareness raising and momentum for action.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: MRSA prevalence in nursing homes often exceeds that in hospitals, but reasons for this are not well understood. We sought to measure MRSA burden in a large number of nursing homes and identify facility characteristics associated with high MRSA burden. METHODS: We performed nasal swabs of residents from 26 nursing homes to measure MRSA importation and point prevalence, and estimate transmission. Using nursing home administrative data, we identified facility characteristics associated with MRSA point prevalence and estimated transmission risk in multivariate models. RESULTS: We obtained 1,649 admission and 2,111 point prevalence swabs. Mean MRSA point prevalence was 24%, significantly higher than mean MRSA admission prevalence, 16%, (paired t-test, pMRSA transmission risk of 16%.In multivariate models, higher MRSA point prevalence was associated with higher admission prevalence (p=0.005) and higher proportions of residents with indwelling devices (p=0.01). Higher estimated MRSA transmission risk was associated with higher proportions of residents with diabetes (p=0.01) and lower levels of social engagement (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: MRSA importation was a strong predictor of MRSA prevalence, but MRSA burden and transmission were also associated with nursing homes caring for more residents with chronic illnesses or indwelling devices. Frequent social interaction among residents appeared to be protective of MRSA transmission, suggesting that residents healthy enough to engage in group activities do not incur substantial risks of MRSA from social contact. Identifying characteristics of nursing homes at risk for high MRSA burden and transmission may allow facilities to tailor infection control policies and interventions to mitigate MRSA spread. PMID:23095678

...transferred to the Secretary of Energy for its ultimate disposal in a repository. Licensees of nuclear power reactors that have permanently...of the facility to mitigate the consequences of an aircraft impact; (v) Measures to reduce visual discrimination of the...

This is "an account of variable responses from Swedish municipalities in terms of both adaptation and mitigation measures. By looking at the relationships between national and municipal policies, Langlais examines the adaptation barriers and acknowledges the role of 'visionary individuals&#...

...measures, such as water quality monitoring...addressing energy conservation or mitigating...description of a plan to conduct water quality monitoring...landowners on conservation easements...activities on water quality...Wetlands Reserve Plan of...

Table 3G: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Envelopes. Does not exceed size ..... Are mitigation measures required to reduce emissions? YES (include in Section ... Yes No N/A. D. NOISE. Project would not generate significant noise impacts.

Recommend a prioritized list of measurements, and identify potential new ..... Similarly, the mitigation plan for the altimeter, ALT, which was removed from the ...... dramatically altered; for example, 50 percent of the world's mangrove forests, ...

Maps of climate, climate change scenarios, soil properties, and potential ...... 164, in: Global Climate Change: Implications, Challenges and Mitigation Measures. ..... 104 Appalachian oak forest 105 Mangrove Broadleaf and needleleaf forests ...

...from existing land use plan decisions. The Draft...and safety and fire management; hazardous or solid waste; social and economic...State, and local plans, including the ongoing...mitigation measures, and management practices for...

This bibliography on Indoor Air Pollution highlights Sources of Indoor Air Pollution, Factors Contributing to Indoor Air Pollution, the Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollution, and Measures to Mitigate Indoor Air Pollution.

This work aims at illustrating the potential of advanced interferometric techniques for detection and long-term monitoring of landslide ground deformations at local scale. Space-born InSAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry) has been successfully exploited in recent years to measure ground deformations associated to processes with slow kinematics, such as landslides, tectonic motions, subsidence or volcanic activity, thanks to both the standard single-interferogram approach (centimeter accuracy) and advanced time-series analyses of long temporal radar satellite data stacks (millimeter accuracy), such as Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) techniques. In order to get a complete overview and an in-depth knowledge of an investigated landslide, InSAR satellite measures can support conventional in situ data. This methodology allows studying the spatial pattern and the temporal evolution of ground deformations, improving the spatial coverage and overcoming issues related to installation of ground-based instrumentation and data acquisition in unstable areas. Here we describe the application of the above-mentioned methodology on the test area of Agrigento, Sicily (Italy), affected by hydrogeological risk. The town is located in Southern Sicily, at edge of the Apennine-Maghrebian thrust belt, on the Plio-Pleistocene and Miocene sediments of the Gela Nappe. Ground instabilities affect the urban area and involve the infrastructures of its NW side, such as the Cathedral, the Seminary and many private buildings. An integration between InSAR analyses and conventional field investigations (e.g. structural damages and fractures surveys) was therefore carried out, to support Regional Civil Protection authorities for emergency management and risk mitigation. The results of InSAR analysis highlighted a general stability of the whole urban area between 1992 and 2007. However, very high deformation rates (up to 10-12 mm/y) were identified in 1992-2000 in the W slope of the town, within the crown and the main scarp area of the Addolorata landslide (occurred in July 1966), and thus was highlighted that the phenomenon was still active. The time-series analysis performed in the NW area of the town, also allowed measuring acceleration (up to 13 mm/y) of the deformation rates near the main Cathedral, starting from August 2006 and persisting until the end of the monitoring period (2007). The new information about the state of activity of these landslides were discussed with the Civil Protection authorities to plan further field investigations and structural surveys to be carried out in the areas at higher risk. The analysis on Agrigento confirmed the capabilities of this integrated approach for detection of ground deformations, long-term monitoring of landslides and, finally, management and mitigation of hydrogeological risk in urban area at local scale.

Extremes of climate and weather, storms, floods and droughts, require vigorous adaptation measures in a generally stable climate or in one that is rapidly changing. These adaptation measures, to reduce loss of life, human suffering and economic losses come under the heading {sup d}isaster loss mitigation'. Since 1990 the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction has provided for international cooperation and information dissemination. Nevertheless, world-wide economic disaster losses in the 1990s have continued to show a rapid increase - and the increase for climate related disasters has been three to four times greater than those for geological disasters. Is some of this increased loss due to anthropogenic climate change? There is some evidence of increases in frequency of heavy rainfalls in a number of regions and of severe winter storms in the northern hemisphere. On the other hand, there is little global trend in frequency or intensity of tropical cyclones whose geographical distribution is more closely related to ENSO events. But is there a possibility that increases in intensity over the past few decades of El Nino and La Nina events are related to increased radiative forcing from greenhouse gases? Whatever the outcome of emerging research on extreme events in a changing climate, it is evident that climate adaptation through disaster mitigation measures is of increasing importance with growing populations in more vulnerable regions. Measures that must be supported vigorously include improved warning and preparedness systems, safer buildings, risk-averse land use planning, better protected urban infrastructure, and more resilient water supply systems, among others. Both national and international efforts must not be allowed to diminish after the end of the IDNDR in 1999. The task is only begun. 32 refs.

Water scarcity and drought are particularly relevant phenomena in Spain, a country with a Mediterranean climate and intense pressure on existing water resources. Spain's drought management policies have evolved significantly over time, and today Spain is at the forefront of drought management and mitigation planning in Europe. However, drought management policies are not informed by comprehensive or accurate estimations of the socioeconomic impacts of drought, nor by the efficiency or efficacy of drought management and mitigation measures. Previous studies attempting to estimate on the impacts of drought are based on direct economic users of water, primarily irrigated agriculture and hydropower. Existing analyses do not take into consideration the impacts on other economic sectors, such as recreational uses, which have a growing importance from a socioeconomic perspective. Additionally, the intangible or non-market impacts (on social welfare and wellbeing and on the environment) are not considered or measured, although they can be significant. This paper presents the mid-point results of the PREEMPT project (Policy relevant assessment of the socioeconomic effects of droughts and floods, ECHO - grant agreement # 070401/2010/579119/SUB/C4), an effort to provide a comprehensive assessment of the socioeconomic impacts of the 2004-2008 drought in the Ebro river basin. The study gathers existing information on direct and indirect economic impacts of drought on different sectors, completing existing gaps and comparing the results of studies that use different methodologies. It also estimates the welfare losses resulting from domestic water use restrictions and environmental degradation as a result of the drought using a value transfer approach from results derived from value choice experiments developed for other Spanish and international river basins. Results indicate that there is a clear need to improve our knowledge of the direct and indirect impacts of drought and to devise simple methodological and institutional approaches that allow for more effective and harmonized information gathering. We propose more accurate and policy relevant methodological alternatives. In terms of the welfare and environmental impacts of drought, we use different and complementary approaches and discuss possible limitations of existing methodologies. In spite of these limitations, we argue that an improved knowledge of the risks and costs of extreme meteorological events will help inform and improve decision making for effective and cost-efficient risk mitigation practices. Comparing our results of the Ebro drought 2004-2008 with previous academic and official analyses reveals significant biases, resulting from impacts overestimation and from omitting non-market water uses, indirect effects and intangible effects.

Although overhead electrical wires are known to have caused severe declines of bird populations, there are no studies in India that address this danger, even for endangered species. Rates of mortality, factors affecting mortality and population effects of electrical wires on the globally endangered sarus crane (Grus antigone) were assessed for breeding and non-breeding cranes in Etawah and Mainpuri districts, Uttar Pradesh, India. Non-breeding cranes were most susceptible to wires and, within territories, mortalities were higher for pre-dispersed young. Similar proportions of non-breeding and breeding cranes were killed, together accounting for nearly 1% of the total sarus crane population annually. Supply wires accounted for the majority of sarus crane deaths, and only non-breeding cranes were killed by both supply and high-tension power lines. Non-breeding crane deaths at roost sites were correlated with numbers of roosting birds and numbers of wires at each site. Over 40% of 251 known sarus crane territories had at least one overhead wire posing a risk to breeding adults and pre-dispersed young. A risk index for wires over territories of cranes was computed; mortality was not affected by increasing the number and therefore risk posed by wires. Most crane deaths in territories occurred as a result of wires at edges of territories. Wires around roosting sites, territoriality and age of sarus cranes appear to be the most important factors affecting their mortality due to wires. Mitigation measures will be most effective around roost sites and for wires that border territories of breeding pairs. (author)

Objectives: Prenatal exposure to heroin may have long-term consequences for development during early and middle childhood. The present research studied the cognitive, social, and emotional functioning of adolescents exposed to drugs prenatally, and investigated the extent to which the early adoption of children exposed prenatally to drugs would alleviate the possible effects of exposure. Methods: The study included 191 adolescents (12-16 years of age) and their parents in Israel, who had or had not been exposed prenatally to drugs and differing in socio-economic status (SES), and in adoptive status. They were administered five subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III), and the Youth Self-Report Form for assessing behavior problems that measures problems associated with attention deficit, self-esteem and risk-taking. Parents were administered the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for assessing behavior problems, the Conners Rating Scale (CRS) for assessing attention deficit problems in their children and the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS), a self-report measure of ADHD-related problems. Results: Adolescents exposed to at least one risk factor (exposure to drugs, low SES, or adoption) performed more poorly than those exposed to none of these risk factors on the WISC-III subtests, the CBCL and the CRS. The effects of risk factors did not cumulate. Contrary to our hypothesis, adoption did not mitigate the effects of prenatal exposure to drugs: for cognitive functioning exposure to drugs was associated with poorer performance among the exposed High SES Adopted versus non-exposed High SES non-adopted children on three of the WISC-III subtests. Exposed low SES children living with their parents performed at the same relatively low level as non-exposed low SES controls. Exposure to drugs was associated with adult ADHD-related problems assessed by the WURS. There were no direct or interaction effects of exposure on neurological functioning, self-competence, behavior problems on the CBCL or risk-taking. Conclusions: Children exposed to drugs of abuse prenatally, including those adopted away, and children who grow up in low SES backgrounds, may be at risk of relatively reduced cognitive functioning (though still within the normal range) in adolescence. Children exposed to drugs, who are from low SES backgrounds, or who are adopted, may be at risk for lower cognitive or social functioning than children who have not experienced such risks. Practice implications: There is a need for implementing early monitoring and long-term intervention programs featuring encouragement of cognitive and social skills for children prenatally exposed to drugs in order to alleviate the possible long-term effects of exposure to risk. (Contains 6 tables.)

During the last decades land-use increased significantly in the Swiss (and European) mountain regions. Due to the scarceness of areas suitable for development, anthropic activities were extended into areas prone to natural hazards such as avalanches, debris flows and rockfalls (Smith 2001). Furthermore, the transalpine transport system necessity to develop effective links in an important area collides with the need to ensure the safety of travelers and the health of the population. Consequently, an increase in losses due to hazards can be observed. To mitigate these associated losses, both traditional protective measures and land-use planning policies are to be developed and implemented to optimize future investments. Efficient protection alternatives can be obtained considering the concept of integral risk management. Risk analysis, as the central part of risk management, has become gradually a generally accepted approach for the assessment of current and future scenarios (Loat & Zimmermann 2004). The procedure aims at risk reduction which can be reached by conventional mitigation on one hand and the implementation of land-use planning on the other hand: a combination of active and passive mitigation measures is applied to prevent damage to buildings, people and infrastructures. As part of the Swiss National Science Foundation Project 54 "Evaluation of the optimal resilience for vulnerable infrastructure networks - An interdisciplinary pilot study on the transalpine transportation corridors" we study the vulnerability of infrastructures due to natural hazards. The project aims to study various natural hazards (and later, even man-made) and to obtain an evaluation of the resilience according to an interdisciplinary approach, considering the possible damage by means of risk criteria and pointing out the feasibility of conceivable measures to reduce potential damage. The project consists of a geoscientific part and an application. The fist part consists in studying the dangers (natural) and related risks in terms of infrastructure vulnerability. The application considers different types of danger (logically intersected with the transport infrastructure) and compares them with fixed values to obtain a so-called deficit. As framework we adopt The Swiss system for risk analysis of gravitational natural hazards (BUWAL 1999). In this way the project develops a methodology that makes possible a risk analysis aiming to optimize the infrastructure vulnerability and therefore allows to obtain a model designed to optimize the functionality of the network infrastructure. A simulation environment, RiskBox, is developed within the open-source GIS environment GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) and a database (PostgreSQL) in order to manage a infrastructure data catalog. The targeted simulation environment includes the elements that identify the consecutive steps of risk analysis: hazard - vulnerability - risk. The initial results of the experimental case study show how useful a GIS-based system, which identify the risk of any single vulnerable element in the corridor and to assess the risk to the global system on the basis of priorities of the actors involved, can be for effective and efficient disaster response management, as explained in (ARMONIA Project 2007). In our work we wanted to highlight the complexity of the risk analysis methodology, difficulty that is amplified by many peculiarities in the mountain areas. In particular, the illustrative performed process can give an overview of the interests and the need to act to reduce vulnerability and the hazardous nature of the Gotthard corridor. We present the concept and current state of development of our project and our application to the testbed, the Alps-crossing corridor of St. Gotthard. REFERENCES ARMONIA Project 2007: Land use plans in Risky areas fro Unwise to Wise Practices - Materials 2nd conference. Politecnico di Milano. BUWAL 1999: Risikoanalyse bei gravitativen Naturgefahren - Methode, Fallbeispiele und Daten (Risk analyses for gravitational natural hazards). Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft (BUWAL). Umwelt-Materialen Nr. 107, 1-244. Loat, R. & Zimmermann, M. 2004 : La gestion des risques en Suisse (Risk Management in Switzerland). In: Veyret, Y., Garry, G., Meschinet de Richemont, N. & Armand Colin (eds) 2002: Colloque Arche de la Défense 22-24 octobre 2002, dans Risques naturels et aménagement en Europe, 108-120. Smith, K. 2001: Environmental hazards. Assessing the risk and reducing disaster. Third edition. London

Planning and decision making amidst programmatic and technological risks represent significant challenges for projects. This presentation addresses the four step risk-assessment process needed to determine clear path forward to mature needed technology and design, license, and construct advanced nuclear power plants, which have never been built before, including Small Modular Reactors. This four step process has been carefully applied to the Next Generation Nuclear Plant. STEP 1 - Risk Identification Risks are identified, collected, and categorized as technical risks, programmatic risks, and project risks, each of which result in cost and schedule impacts if realized. These include risks arising from the use of technologies not previously demonstrated in a relevant application. These risks include normal and accident scenarios which the SMR could experience including events that cause the disablement of engineered safety features (typically documented in Phenomena Identification Ranking Tables (PIRT) as produced with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and design needs which must be addressed to further detail the design. Product - Project Risk Register contained in a database with sorting, presentation, rollup, risk work off functionality similar to the NGNP Risk Management System . STEP 2 - Risk Quantification The risks contained in the risk register are then scored for probability of occurrence and severity of consequence, if realized. Here the scoring methodology is established and the basis for the scoring is well documented. Product - Quantified project risk register with documented basis for scoring. STEP 3 - Risk Handling Strategy Risks are mitigated by applying a systematic approach to maturing the technology through Research and Development, modeling, test, and design. A Technology Readiness Assessment is performed to determine baseline Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). Tasks needed to mature the technology are developed and documented in a roadmap. Product - Risk Handling Strategy. STEP 4 - Residual Risk Work off The risk handling strategy is entered into the Project Risk Allocation Tool (PRAT) to analyze each task for its ability to reduce risk. The result is risk-informed task prioritization. The risk handling strategy is captured in the Risk Management System, a relational database that provides conventional database utility, including data maintenance, archiving, configuration control, and query ability. The tool's Hierarchy Tree allows visualization and analyses of complex relationships between risks, risk mitigation tasks, design needs, and PIRTs. Product - Project Risk Allocation Tool and Risk Management System which depict project plan to reduce risk and current progress in doing so.

Assessing seismic risk, defined as the probability of occurrence of economical and social losses as consequence of an earthquake, both at regional and at local scale is a challenging, multi-disciplinary task. In order to provide a reliable estimate, diverse information must be gathered by seismologists, geologists, engineers and civil authorities, and carefully integrated keeping into account the different levels of uncertainty. The research towards an integrated methodology, able to seamlessly describe seismic risk at different spatial scales is challenging, but discloses new application perspectives, particularly in those countries which suffer from a relevant seismic hazard but do not have resources for a standard assessment. Central Asian countries in particular, which exhibit one of the highest seismic hazard in the world, are experiencing a steady demographic growth, often accompanied by informal settlement and urban sprawling. A reliable evaluation of how these factors affect the seismic risk, together with a realistic assessment of the assets exposed to seismic hazard and their structural vulnerability is of particular importance, in order to undertake proper mitigation actions and to promptly and efficiently react to a catastrophic event. New strategies are needed to efficiently cope with systematic lack of information and uncertainties. An original approach is presented to assess seismic risk based on integration of information coming from remote-sensing and ground-based panoramic imaging, in situ measurements, expert knowledge and already available data. Efficient sampling strategies based on freely available medium-resolution multi-spectral satellite images are adopted to optimize data collection and validation, in a multi-scale approach. Panoramic imaging is also considered as a valuable ground-based visual data collection technique, suitable both for manual and automatic analysis. A full-probabilistic framework based on Bayes Network is proposed to integrate available information taking into account both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. An improved risk model for the capital of Kyrgyz Republic, Biskek, has been developed following this approach and tested based on different earthquake scenarios. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed.

The pipeline which carries synthetic crude from Syncrude Canada's facility in Fort McMurray to Edmonton crosses the House River valley over an old deep-seated landslide on the north slope. The slope has been monitored since 1991 by three slope indicators. Movements versus time curves indicate that there has been a significant increase in slope movement since 1996. For this reason, AEC Pipelines Ltd., which operates the pipeline, has taken a closer look at the cause of the increased movement rates and the relationship between slope movement and actual stress level in the pipeline. AGRA Earth and Environmental assessed the level of risk to which the pipeline may be exposed and recommended remedial measures. Stresstech Engineering Inc., conducted a stress analysis of the pipeline which included the modeling of the pipeline soil interaction using a finite element program called PIPLIN. It was determined that ground movement may have been significant enough to induce compressive strains on the pipeline in excess of the 0.32 per cent compressive strain criterion. While AGRA had proposed several remedial procedures the main parameters input into the strain modeling program were not clear. When AEC considered all the alternatives and costs it became difficult to quantify the effectiveness of any mitigative measure. The effect of slope movement on the buried pipeline is an area of ongoing research. AEC achieved their goal of establishing a rational, quantifiable and reproducible method of analyzing the effect of moving soil on the pipeline to balance risk and cost. 8 refs., 16 figs.

A roving creel survey was conducted on the Flathead River system, May 1992 through May 1993, as part of Hungry Horse Dam Fisheries Mitigation, funded by Bonneville Power Administration. The Flathead River system is a tributary to the Clarks Fork of the Columbia River originating in northwest Montana and southern British Columbia. The river creel survey was conducted in conjunction with a Flathead Lake creel survey. This document summarizes the creel survey on the river system. The purpose of these creel surveys was to quantify fishery status prior to mitigation efforts and provide replicative survey methodology to measure success of future mitigation activities. 4 figs., 21 tabs.

The Mitigation Options for Phosphorus and Sediment (MOPS) project investigated the effectiveness of within-field control measures (tramline management, straw residue management, type of cultivation and direction, and vegetative buffers) in terms of mitigating sediment and phosphorus loss from winter-sown combinable cereal crops using three case study sites. To determine the cost of the approaches, simple financial spreadsheet models were constructed at both farm and regional levels. Taking into account crop areas, crop rotation margins per hectare were calculated to reflect the costs of crop establishment, fertiliser and agro-chemical applications, harvesting, and the associated labour and machinery costs. Variable and operating costs associated with each mitigation option were then incorp...

Mathematical models that estimate the proportion of foodborne illnesses attributable to food commodities at specific points in the food chain may be useful to risk managers and policy makers to formulate public health goals, prioritize interventions, and document the effectiveness of mitigations aim...

Physics-Based Identification, Modeling and Risk Management for ..... Numerical and Physical Modeling of the Response of Resonator Liners to Intense Sound and High Speed Grazing Flow ... Cognitive Modeling for Closed-Loop Task Mitigation ..... Robust 3-D Algorithm for Flare Planning and Guidance for Impaired Aircraft ...

Diverse public sector organisations are engaged in the contemporary e-government projects, so the significance of new organisational capability for e-government interoperability is increasing. The risks of these projects implementation could be effectively mitigated through the assessment of e-gover...

Fish intake may mitigate bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular, and cancer risks. ... Vitamin K. Vitamin K status does not appear affected by spaceflight (or bed rest ). ... Obese. 0. 400. 800. 1200. 1600. 2000. 2400. 2800. 20. 40. 60. 80. 100. 120 ...

Cold acclimation of ectotherms results typically in enhanced oxidative capacities and lipid remodeling, changes that should increase the risk of lipid peroxidation (LPO). It is unclear whether activities of antioxidant enzymes may respond in a manner to mitigate the increased potential for LPO. The ...

Organisms, including Vibrio cholerae, can be transferred between harbors in the ballast water of ships. Zones in the Caribbean region where distance from shore and water depth meet International Maritime Organization guidelines for ballast water exchange are extremely limited. Use of ballast water treatment systems could mitigate the risk for organism transfer. PMID:23017338

for several operating systems have been developed so that SAs can ... (SAs) to scan for open ports on a computer system and compare ... security risks and take steps to mitigate them. The ... ports with a severity rating of running a particular ...

also explains how the J-2X engine effort mitigates risk by building on the ... other lessons lived to deliver a human-rated engine that is on an aggressive development ... development, qualification, and certification testing of the engine system, with ..... data will be combined with computer models to develop a comprehensive ...

This work was supported by the NASA Earth Science Applications ..... modeling, risk assessment, mitigation, and response. ..... surface height, and sea surface ..... in the literature include the use of GNOME with NOAA's Trajectory Analysis Planner ... NOAA constructed the software using the most up-to-date, object- oriented ...

Authors' Index 543 , Rapid manufacturing - technologies and applications D. T. Pham Pham, D. T. S. S. Dimov Dimov, S. S. 3 , Risk mitigation investment in concurrent design process S. Amornsawadwatana Amornsawadwatana, S. A. Ahmed Ahmed, A. B. Kayis Kayis, B. H. Kaebernick Kaebernick, H. 23 , Discrete ada...

Passenger air bags experienced considerable design modification in the late 1990s, principally to mitigate risks to child passengers. This study utilized Data from the Partners for Child Passenger Safety study, a large-scale child-focused crash surveillance system, to examine the effect of vehicle t...

...appropriate measure for a particular...Specific risk measures may vary in...institutions. In some cases, a single risk...comparing risk measures, the FDIC will consider the performance of similar institutions...substantially different business models....

Challenging environmental conditions, including heat and humidity, cold, and altitude, pose particular risks to the health of Olympic and other high-level athletes. As a further commitment to athlete safety, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission convened a panel of experts to review the scientific evidence base, reach consensus, and underscore practical safety guidelines and new research priorities regarding the unique environmental challenges Olympic and other international-level athletes face. For non-aquatic events, external thermal load is dependent on ambient temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation, while clothing and protective gear can measurably increase thermal strain and prompt premature fatigue. In swimmers, body heat loss is the direct result of convection at a rate that is proportional to the effective water velocity around the swimmer and the temperature difference between the skin and the water. Other cold exposure and conditions, such as during Alpine skiing, biathlon and other sliding sports, facilitate body heat transfer to the environment, potentially leading to hypothermia and/or frostbite; although metabolic heat production during these activities usually increases well above the rate of body heat loss, and protective clothing and limited exposure time in certain events reduces these clinical risks as well. Most athletic events are held at altitudes that pose little to no health risks; and training exposures are typically brief and well-tolerated. While these and other environment-related threats to performance and safety can be lessened or averted by implementing a variety of individual and event preventative measures, more research and evidence-based guidelines and recommendations are needed. In the mean time, the IOC Medical Commission and International Sport Federations have implemented new guidelines and taken additional steps to mitigate risk even further. PMID:22685119

The Human Research Program (HRP) is formulated around the program architecture of Evidence-Risk-Gap-Task-Deliverable. Review of accumulated evidence forms the basis for identification of high priority risks to human health and performance in space exploration. Gaps in knowledge or disposition are identified for each risk, and a portfolio of research tasks is developed to fill them. Deliverables from the tasks inform the evidence base with the ultimate goal of defining the level of risk and reducing it to an acceptable level. A comprehensive framework for gap identification, focus, and metrics has been developed based on principles of continuous risk management and clinical care. Research towards knowledge gaps improves understanding of the likelihood, consequence or timeframe of the risk. Disposition gaps include development of standards or requirements for risk acceptance, development of countermeasures or technology to mitigate the risk, and yearly technology assessment related to watching developments related to the risk. Standard concepts from clinical care: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, rehabilitation, and surveillance, can be used to focus gaps dealing with risk mitigation. The research plan for the new HRP Risk of Decompression Sickness (DCS) used the framework to identify one disposition gap related to establishment of a DCS standard for acceptable risk, two knowledge gaps related to DCS phenomenon and mission attributes, and three mitigation gaps focused on prediction, prevention, and new technology watch. These gaps were organized in this manner primarily based on target for closure and ease of organizing interim metrics so that gap status could be quantified. Additional considerations for the knowledge gaps were that one was highly design reference mission specific and the other gap was focused on DCS phenomenon.

Some of the factors that banks consider before providing financing to any project are described. Basic lending principles, the mine development risk profile, feasibility study, risk mitigation and financial structure, and protection ratio are described in detail. For the mining industry, it is likely that the bank will require that independent professionals undertake due diligence to consider both technical aspects and the economic factors affecting the project`s potential cash flow. 14 figs.

This Mitigation Action Plan Annual Report (MAPAR) has been prepared by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of implementing the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility (DARHT) Mitigation Action Plan (MAP). This MAPAR provides a status on specific DARHT facility design- and construction-related mitigation actions that have been initiated in order to fulfill DOE`s commitments under the DARHT MAP. The functions of the DARHT MAP are to (1) document potentially adverse environmental impacts of the Phased Containment Option delineated in the Final EIS, (2) identify commitments made in the Final EIS and ROD to mitigate those potential impacts, and (3) establish Action Plans to carry out each commitment (DOE 1996). The DARHT MAP is divided into eight sections. Sections 1--5 provide background information regarding the NEPA review of the DARHT project and an introduction to the associated MAP. Section 6 references the Mitigation Action Summary Table which summaries the potential impacts and mitigation measures; indicates whether the mitigation is design-, construction-, or operational-related; the organization responsible for the mitigation measure; and the projected or actual completion data for each mitigation measure. Sections 7 and 8 discuss the Mitigation Action Plan Annual Report and Tracking System commitment and the Potential Impacts, Commitments, and Action Plans respectively. Under Section 8, potential impacts are categorized into five areas of concern: General Environment, including impacts to air and water; Soils, especially impacts affecting soil loss and contamination; Biotic Resources, especially impacts affecting threatened and endangered species; Cultural/Paleontological Resources, especially impacts affecting the archeological site known as Nake`muu; and Human Health and Safety, especially impacts pertaining to noise and radiation. Each potential impact includes a brief statement of the nature of the impact and its cause(s). The commitment made to mitigate the potential impact is identified and the Action Plan for each commitment is described in detail, with a description of actions to be taken, pertinent time frames for the actions, verification of mitigation activities, and identification of agencies/organizations responsible for satisfying the requirements of the commitment.

The focus of the current investigations was to apply quality by design (QbD) approach to the development of dispersible tablets. Critical material and process parameters are linked to the critical quality attributes of the product. Variability is reduced by product and process understanding which translates into quality improvement, risk reduction and productivity enhancement. The risk management approach further leads to better understanding of the risks, ways to mitigate them and control strategy is proposed commensurate with the level of the risk. Design space in combination with pharmaceutical quality management system provide for flexible regulatory approaches with opportunity for continuous improvement that benefit patient and manufacturer alike. The development of dispersible tablet...

Abstract This article addresses the problem of collateral-free lending in the context of agricultural development. We investigate a viable alternative to traditional credit products through the development of risk-contingent credit for operating loans and farm mortgages and apply the concept to agricultural loans for pulse crops in India. Risk-contingent credit mitigates business and financial risk by reducing debt obligations depending on the embedded commodity options whose payoffs are linked with commodity price fluctuations. We analyze daily commodity spot prices for pulse crops in India and show how risk-contingent structured financial instruments can be priced in practice.

This paper presents initial results of a task to identify accident initiating events for inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant designs. Initiating events (IEs) are a fundamental building block of a probabilistic risk assessment; they are the ‘accident starters’ that are analyzed to determine the risks posed to members of the public in the vicinity of the power plant. The IE results for the SOMBRERO design are presented in tabular form. The SOMBRERO design was analyzed since it is representative of dry chamber wall, laser driven designs. This work is used to characterize IFE plant risk and to identify potential design changes that would mitigate the plant risk.

Drought is a normal part of climate for virtually all of the world's climatic regimes. To better address the risks associated with this hazard and societal vulnerability, there must be a dramatic paradigm shift in our approach to drought management in the coming decade in the light of the increasing frequency of droughts and projections of increased severity and duration of these events in the future for many regions, especially in the developing world. Addressing this challenge will require an improved awareness of drought as a natural hazard, the establishment of integrated drought monitoring and early warning systems, a higher level of preparedness that fully incorporates risk-based management, and the adoption of national drought policies that are directed at increasing the coping capacity and resilience of populations to future drought episodes. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in partnership with other United Nations' agencies, the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other partners, is currently launching a program to organize a High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) in March 2013 to encourage the development of national drought policies through the development of a compendium of key policy elements. The key objectives of a national drought policy are to: (1) encourage vulnerable economic sectors and population groups to adopt self-reliant measures that promote risk management; (2) promote sustainable use of the agricultural and natural resource base; and (3) facilitate early recovery from drought through actions consistent with national drought policy objectives. The key elements of a drought policy framework are policy and governance, including political will; addressing risk and improving early warnings, including vulnerability analysis, impact assessment, and communication; mitigation and preparedness, including the application of effective and affordable practices; and awareness and education, including a well-informed public and a participatory process that fully engages stakeholders at all stages of development. In preparation for the HMNDP, an International Symposium on Integrated Drought Information Systems was held in November 2011 in Casablanca, Morocco, to place emphasis on promoting rapid implementation of integrated drought information systems at the national level in all countries around the world.

In this paper, the current knowledge on mitigation strategies to reduce pesticide inputs into surface water and groundwater, and their effectiveness when applied in practice is reviewed. Apart from their effectiveness in reducing pesticide inputs into ground- and surface water, the mitigation measures identified in the literature are evaluated with respect to their practicability. Those measures considered both effective and feasible are recommended for implementing at the farm and catchment scale. Finally, recommendations for modelling are provided using the identified reduction efficiencies. Roughly 180 publications directly dealing with or being somehow related to mitigation of pesticide inputs into water bodies were examined. The effectiveness of grassed buffer strips located at the lower edges of fields has been demonstrated. However, this effectiveness is very variable, and the variability cannot be explained by strip width alone. Riparian buffer strips are most probably much less effective than edge-of-field buffer strips in reducing pesticide runoff and erosion inputs into surface waters. Constructed wetlands are promising tools for mitigating pesticide inputs via runoff/erosion and drift into surface waters, but their effectiveness still has to be demonstrated for weakly and moderately sorbing compounds. Subsurface drains are an effective mitigation measure for pesticide runoff losses from slowly permeable soils with frequent waterlogging. For the pathways drainage and leaching, the only feasible mitigation measures are application rate reduction, product substitution and shift of the application date. There are many possible effective measures of spray drift reduction. While sufficient knowledge exists for suggesting default values for the efficiency of single drift mitigation measures, little information exists on the effect of the drift reduction efficiency of combinations of measures. More research on possible interactions between different drift mitigation measures and the resulting overall drift reduction efficiency is therefore indicated. Point-source inputs can be mitigated against by increasing awareness of the farmers with regard to pesticide handling and application, and encouraging them to implement loss-reducing measures of "best management practice". In catchments dominated by diffuse inputs at least in some years, mitigation of point-source inputs alone may not be sufficient to reduce pesticide loads/concentrations in water bodies to an acceptable level. PMID:17588646

The salient of Cape Canaveral interrupts a relatively straight, sandy, passive margin coastline that extends nearly 400 km from the St. Johns River mouth to the St. Lucie Inlet along the Florida Atlantic coast. OSL dating indicates that the modern cape has been prograding rapidly since the LGM and subtle topographic features, inland from the modern cape, suggest that this salient has persisted over several sea level cycles since the early Pleistocene. Dynamic shoreline change over the past decade at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is threatening critical NASA infrastructure and has prompted officials to develop a mitigation strategy through a partnership among researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, private coastal engineering firms, and the University of Florida. Since May 2009, the research team has assembled data on decadal to event-scale shoreline change (dGPS), beach and nearshore morphodynamics (dGPS and Argus), beach sedimentary character (grain size analysis), wave climate and transformation (ADCP), and inner shelf bathymetry (Echo Sounding) in an effort to assess dune vulnerability and flooding risk. In addition, SWAN numerical modeling simulations offer insight into the influence of irregular bathymetry (cape-associated shoals) on the alteration of spatial patterns of wave energy flux during a decadal shift in deep-water wave climate. Beach-fx, modeling of cross-shore profile evolution is being applied to evaluate the performance of alternative protective measures, estimate project costs, and examine ecological influences of the proposed alternative protective measures. By combining contemporaneous data of coastal geomorphic and sedimentary response to wave forcing with numerical model results that explore a range of climate scenarios, we aim to develop a useful understanding of the coastal geomorphic behavior at KSC that can be used to make a mitigation recommendation.

We experimentally examine to what extent long-term -lender-borrower- relationships mitigate moral hazard. The originality of our research lies in recruiting not only students but also commercial and social bankers. The opportunity to engage in bilateral long-term relationships mitigates the repayment problem. Lenders take advantage of their long-term situation by increasing their rates. Consequently, borrowers are incited to take more risk. Improving information disclosure ameliorates the repayment but does not incite lenders to offer more credits. Social bankers exhibit a higher probability of granting a loan and make fairer credit offers to borrowers than the other subject pools do.

Recent observations of cetacean mass strandings, coincident with anthropogenic sounds emissions, have raised concerns on the potential environmental impact of underwater noise. Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) was reported in all the cited stranding events. Within the NATO Marine Mammal Risk Mitigation project (MMRM), multiple interdisciplinary sea trials have been conducted in the Mediterranean Sea with the objective of developing tools and procedures to mitigate the impact of underwater sound emissions. During these cruises, visual observations, passive acoustic detections and environmental data were collected. The aim of this study was to evaluate "a priori" predictions of Cuvier's beaked whale presence in the Alboran Sea, using models developed in the Ligurian Sea that emplo...

Abstract in spanish Este artículo describe una metodología cualitativa, para evaluar un índice de riesgo físico por caída de rocas a escala detallada (1:1000). Se realiza una cartografía detallada de las áreas de salida de bloques, depósitos de talud y geomorfología. Los depósitos de talud son indicadores de la frecuencia y distribución espacial del fenómeno de caída de rocas y su relación con las áreas fuente, donde se hizo una detallada clasificación de los bloques potencia (more) lmente inestables. El resultado final es la definición de los "corredores de tránsito" y su correspondiente clasificación en las categorías bajo, medio o alto índice de amenaza. Abstract in english This paper describes a qualitative methodology for the assessment of rock fall physical risk index at large-scale (1:1000). Through a detailed geologic and geomorphological survey both rock fall deposits and rock fall sources are identified and mapped. Analysis of the rock fall deposits give indications over the temporal frequency and spatial distribution of the phenomenon and point out the most active areas. Rock fall sources are meticulously studied and individual rock (more) blocks are classified based on its potential instability. The final product is a definition of the rock's ?transit corridors? and their corresponding classification, concerning the rock fall hazard index, using the heuristically defined categories of low, moderate and high hazard. Hazard index is estimated as lineal function of main variables, whose values (numeric indexes) are ground together in three categories: high, moderate, and low. Physical vulnerability index to each ?transit corridor? is assessed based on the number of people and dwellings. Finally, physical risk index to every ?transit corridor? is obtained crossing hazard index and vulnerability index data. The risk assessment results allowed the local authorities to carry out an integrated set of urban reorganization measures aimed at the mitigation of the rock fall related risk.