Traffic accidents: an econometric investigation

OpenAIRE

Tito Moreira; Adolfo Sachsida; Loureiro Paulo

2004-01-01

Based on a sample of drivers in Brasilia's streets, this article investigates whether distraction explains traffic accidents. A probit model is estimated to determine the predictive power of several variables on traffic accidents. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that the proxies used to measure distraction, such as the use of cell phones and cigarette smoking in a moving vehicle, are significant factors in determining traffic accidents.

32 CFR 634.28 - Traffic accident investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Traffic accident investigation. 634.28 Section... ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC SUPERVISION Traffic Supervision § 634.28 Traffic accident investigation. Installation law enforcement personnel must make detailed investigations of...

Deepwater Horizon Accident Investigation Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-09-01

On the evening of April 20, 2010, a well control event allowed hydrocarbons to escape from the Macondo well onto Transocean's Deepwater Horizon, resulting in explosions and fire on the rig. Eleven people lost their lives, and 17 others were injured. The fire, which was fed by hydrocarbons from the well, continued for 36 hours until the rig sank. Hydrocarbons continued to flow from the reservoir through the wellbore and the blowout preventer (BOP) for 87 days, causing a spill of national significance. BP Exploration and Production Inc. was the lease operator of Mississippi Canyon Block 252, which contains the Macondo well. BP formed an investigation team that was charged with gathering the facts surrounding the accident, analyzing available information to identify possible causes and making recommendations to enable prevention of similar accidents in the future. The BP investigation team began its work immediately in the aftermath of the accident, working independently from other BP spill response activities and organizations. The ability to gather information was limited by a scarcity of physical evidence and restricted access to potentially relevant witnesses. The team had access to partial real-time data from the rig, documents from various aspects of the Macondo well's development and construction, witness interviews and testimony from public hearings. The team used the information that was made available by other companies, including Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron. Over the course of the investigation, the team involved over 50 internal and external specialists from a variety of fields: safety, operations, subsea, drilling, well control, cementing, well flow dynamic modeling, BOP systems and process hazard analysis. This report presents an analysis of the events leading up to the accident, eight key findings related to the causal chain of events and recommendations to enable the prevention of a similar accident. The investigation team worked separately

Deepwater Horizon Accident Investigation Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-09-15

On the evening of April 20, 2010, a well control event allowed hydrocarbons to escape from the Macondo well onto Transocean's Deepwater Horizon, resulting in explosions and fire on the rig. Eleven people lost their lives, and 17 others were injured. The fire, which was fed by hydrocarbons from the well, continued for 36 hours until the rig sank. Hydrocarbons continued to flow from the reservoir through the wellbore and the blowout preventer (BOP) for 87 days, causing a spill of national significance. BP Exploration and Production Inc. was the lease operator of Mississippi Canyon Block 252, which contains the Macondo well. BP formed an investigation team that was charged with gathering the facts surrounding the accident, analyzing available information to identify possible causes and making recommendations to enable prevention of similar accidents in the future. The BP investigation team began its work immediately in the aftermath of the accident, working independently from other BP spill response activities and organizations. The ability to gather information was limited by a scarcity of physical evidence and restricted access to potentially relevant witnesses. The team had access to partial real-time data from the rig, documents from various aspects of the Macondo well's development and construction, witness interviews and testimony from public hearings. The team used the information that was made available by other companies, including Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron. Over the course of the investigation, the team involved over 50 internal and external specialists from a variety of fields: safety, operations, subsea, drilling, well control, cementing, well flow dynamic modeling, BOP systems and process hazard analysis. This report presents an analysis of the events leading up to the accident, eight key findings related to the causal chain of events and recommendations to enable the prevention of a similar accident. The investigation team worked

32 CFR 636.12 - Traffic accident investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Traffic accident investigation. 636.12 Section... ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC SUPERVISION (SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS) Fort Stewart, Georgia § 636.12 Traffic accident investigation. In addition to the requirements in § 634.28 of...

In-depth analysis of urban accidents involving motorcycle and moped riders in France, construction of prototypical accident scenarios and prospects for their prevention

OpenAIRE

CLABAUX, N

2007-01-01

owered two-wheeler users constitute, with cyclists and pedestrians, a category of road users who are particularly vulnerable in case of accident, since the slightest impact exposes them to injury. The recent and actual growth in the use of powered two-wheelers in France, notably in urban areas, and the over-representation of this category of road users in injury accidents show the need for a better understanding of motorcycle and moped accident phenomena in order to define new countermeasures...

Early measurements in urban areas after the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Likhtarev, I.

2000-01-01

This paper summarises the experience on the radioactive monitoring of the environment and population dose assessment provided in urban areas, mainly in Kiev, after the Chernobyl accident. It emphasises the need of several radiological teams, of the support from several institutions and of preparedness for a consistent database, dose assessment and criteria for decision making. Main results of measurements of gamma exposure rates, air, grass and food radioactive contamination are presented. (author)

Traffic Accident Propagation Properties and Control Measures for Urban Links Based on Cellular Automata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xian-sheng Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid development of urban transport and the sharp increase in vehicle population, traffic accidents form one of the most important causes of urban traffic congestion other than the imbalance between traffic supply and demand. Traffic congestion causes severe problems, such as environment contamination and energy dissipation. Therefore, it would be useful to analyze the congestion propagation characteristics after traffic accidents. Numerical analysis and computer simulation were two of the typical methods used at present to study the traffic congestion propagation properties. The latter was more widespread as it is more consistent with the actual traffic flow and more visual than the former. In this paper, an improved cellular automata (CA model was presented to analyze traffic congestion propagation properties and to evaluate control strategies. In order to apply them to urban traffic flow simulation, the CA models have been improved and expanded on. Computer simulations were built for congestion not only extending to the upstream intersection, but also the upstream intersection and the entire road network, respectively. Congestion propagation characteristics after road traffic accidents were obtained, and controls of different severities and durations were analyzed. The results provide the theoretical foundation and practical means for the control of congestion.

A Tool for Safety Officers Investigating " simple" Accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kirsten

2010-01-01

Most workplace accidents that happen in enterprises are simple and seldom result in serious injuries. Very often these kinds of workplace accidents are not investigated, and if they are, then the investigation is very brief, with comments such as that it was the victim’s own fault or just...... accidents normally caused by apparent banalities occur much more frequently and with a higher rate of fatalities, disablements and other serious injuries than the ostensibly most dangerous kinds of accidents. In 1999 a practical tool for use by safety officers was developed; this tool is based...... on the investigation methods applied in major accidents, but comprises a simpler and more user-friendly presentation. The tool involves three steps: Mapping the facts, analysing the events, and developing preventive solutions. Practical application of the tool has shown that it affords managers and workers...

Urban violence is the biggest cause of fatal work-related accidents in Brazil

OpenAIRE

Cordeiro, Ricardo; Luz, Verônica Gronau; Hennington, Élida Azevedo; Martins, Ana Cláudia Alves; Tófoli, Luís Fernando

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To quantify the occurrence of deaths directly associated with urban violence among fatal work-related accidents. METHODS Verbal autopsies were performed with the relatives and coworkers of residents of Campinas, state of São Paulo, Brazil, who died from external causes in 2015. We have also analyzed police reports and reports of the Legal Medical Institute related to these deaths. RESULTS We have identified 82 fatal work-related accidents in Campinas in 2015, of which 25...

Quality and representativity of the traffic accident data in urban areas: State of the Art

OpenAIRE

Chisvert Perales, Mauricio Javier; López-de-Cózar, Elena; Ballestar Tarín, María Luisa

2007-01-01

The reduction of the number of road accident fatalities by 50 %, by the year 2010, suggested by the EU, involves the active contribution of all the agents in charge of the road safety in Europe. Even though the accidents that happened in urban areas have a relative smaller severity, it is the place where, for the moment, in absolute terms, the major number of accidents take place in the EU countries, as well as generating serious consequences on the more vulnerable users (pe...

A Simplified Approach to Estimate the Urban Expressway Capacity after Traffic Accidents Using a Micro-Simulation Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the decomposition of the evolution processes of the urban expressway capacity after traffic accidents and the influence factors analysis, an approach for estimating the capacity has been proposed. Firstly, the approach introduces the Decision Tree ID algorithm, solves the accident delay time of different accident types by the Information Gain Value, and determines congestion dissipation time by the Traffic Flow Wave Theory. Secondly, taking the accident delay time as the observation cycle, the maximum number of the vehicles through the accident road per unit time was considered as its capacity. Finally, the attenuation simulation of the capacity for different accident types was calculated by the VISSIM software. The simulation results suggest that capacity attenuation of vehicle anchor is minimal and the rate is 30.074%; the next is vehicles fire, rear-end, and roll-over, and the rate is 38.389%, 40.204%, and 43.130%, respectively; the capacity attenuation of vehicle collision is the largest, and the rate is 50.037%. Moreover, the further research shows that the accident delay time is proportional to congestion dissipation time, time difference, and the ratio between them, but it is an inverse relationship with the residual capacity of urban expressway.

Multidisciplinary accident investigation : volume 1

Science.gov (United States)

1976-09-01

The final report of the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team of the Maryland Medical-Legal Foundation, Inc. is presented. The report describes the methodology, results, discussions, conclusions and recommendations pertaining to the investiga...

Evaluating advancements in accident investigations using a novel framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karanikas, N.; Soltani, P.; de Boer, R.J.; Roelen, A.

2015-01-01

Safety is monitored by various proactive and reactive methods, including the investigation of adverse accidents and incidents, which are collectively known as safety investigations. In this study we demonstrate how accident and incident investigation reports can be useful to identify implicit safety

Investigating accidents involving aircraft manufactured from polymer composite materials

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Leigh

This study looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. As the use of composite materials in aircraft construction increases, the understanding of how macroscopic failure characteristics of composite materials may aid the field investigator is becoming of increasing importance.. The first phase of this research project was to explore how investigation practitioners conduct wreckage examinations. Four accident investigation case studies were examined. The analysis of the case studies provided a framework of the wreckage examination process. Subsequently, a literature survey was conducted to establish the current level of knowledge on the visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite failures. Relevant literature was identified and a compendium of visual and macroscopic characteristics was created. Two full-scale polymer composite wing structures were loaded statically, in an upward bending direction, until each wing structure fractured and separated. The wing structures were subsequently examined for the existence of failure characteristics. The examination revealed that whilst characteristics were present, the fragmentation of the structure destroyed valuable evidence. A hypothetical accident scenario utilising the fractured wing structures was developed, which UK government accident investigators subsequently investigated. This provided refinement to the investigative framework and suggested further guidance on the interpretation of polymer composite failures by accident investigators..

Multidisciplinary accident investigation : volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

1976-05-01

The Task II final report for 1974 of the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation : Team of the Maryland Medical-Legal Foundation, Inc. is presented. This report describes some preliminary findings emanating from a series of comprehensive, multivaria...

Strategies for dealing with resistance to recommendations from accident investigations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundberg, J.; Rollenhagen, C.; Hollnagel, E.

2012-01-01

Accident investigation reports usually lead to a set of recommendations for change. These recommendations are, however, sometimes resisted for reasons such as various aspects of ethics and power. When accident investigators are aware of this, they use several strategies to overcome the resistance....... This paper describes strategies for dealing with four different types of resistance to change. The strategies were derived from qualitative analysis of 25 interviews with Swedish accident investigators from seven application domains. The main contribution of the paper is a better understanding of effective...... strategies for achieving change associated with accident investigation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Strategies for dealing with resistance to recommendations from accident investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lundberg, Jonas; Rollenhagen, Carl; Hollnagel, Erik; Rankin, Amy

2012-03-01

Accident investigation reports usually lead to a set of recommendations for change. These recommendations are, however, sometimes resisted for reasons such as various aspects of ethics and power. When accident investigators are aware of this, they use several strategies to overcome the resistance. This paper describes strategies for dealing with four different types of resistance to change. The strategies were derived from qualitative analysis of 25 interviews with Swedish accident investigators from seven application domains. The main contribution of the paper is a better understanding of effective strategies for achieving change associated with accident investigation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of accidents within construction zones in Louisiana.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-07-01

This investigation is to analyze construction and maintenance work zone accidents by reviewing accident data to determine if deficiencies exist and recommend possible corrective measures for future traffic control applications. To accomplish this, a ...

32 CFR 634.30 - Use of traffic accident investigation report data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Use of traffic accident investigation report data... § 634.30 Use of traffic accident investigation report data. (a) Data derived from traffic accident... accidents (collision diagram) will be examined. (b) Law enforcement personnel and others who prepare traffic...

A Serious Game for Traffic Accident Investigators

Science.gov (United States)

Binsubaih, Ahmed; Maddock, Steve; Romano, Daniela

2006-01-01

In Dubai, traffic accidents kill one person every 37 hours and injure one person every 3 hours. Novice traffic accident investigators in the Dubai police force are expected to "learn by doing" in this intense environment. Currently, they use no alternative to the real world in order to practice. This paper argues for the use of an…

ACCOUNT OF ROAD CONDITIONS WHILE INVESTIGATING TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. D. Selioukov

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers problems on better traffic safety at government, authority, engineering and driver activity levels, account of road conditions while investigating traffic accidents. The paper also provides road defects mentioned in forensic transport examinations of traffic accidents.

Research investigation report on Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-03-01

This report was issued in February 2012 by Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation's Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, which consisted of six members from the private sector in independent positions and with no direct interest in the business of promoting nuclear power. Commission aimed to determine the truth behind the accident by clarifying the various problems and reveal systematic problems behind these issues so as to create a new starting point by identifying clear lessons learned. Report composed of four chapters; (1) progression of Fukushima accident and resulting damage (accident management after Fukushima accident, and effects and countermeasure of radioactive materials discharged into the environment), (2) response against Fukushima accident (emergency response of cabinet office against nuclear disaster, risk communication and on-site response against nuclear disaster), (3) analysis of historical and structural factors (technical philosophy of nuclear safety, problems of nuclear safety regulation of Fukushima accident, safety regulatory governance and social background of 'Safety Myth'), (4) Global Context (implication in nuclear security, Japan in nuclear safety regime, U.S.-Japan relations for response against Fukushima accident, lessons learned from Fukushima accident - aiming at creation of resilience). Report could identify causes of Fukushima accident and factors related to resulting damages, show the realities behind failure to prevent the spread of damage, and analyze the overall structural and historical background behind the accidents. (T. Tanaka)

Introduction of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident, Investigation Details, Findings and Crew Survival Investigation Report

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler, Michael

2010-01-01

As the Space Shuttle Program comes to an end, it is important that the lessons learned from the Columbia accident be captured and understood by those who will be developing future aerospace programs and supporting current programs. Aeromedical lessons learned from the Accident were presented at AsMA in 2005. This Panel will update that information, closeout the lessons learned, provide additional information on the accident and provide suggestions for the future. To set the stage, an overview of the accident is required. The Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth with a crew of seven astronauts on 1Feb, 2003. It disintegrated along a track extending from California to Louisiana and observers along part of the track filmed the breakup of Columbia. Debris was recovered from Littlefield, Texas to Fort Polk, Louisiana, along a 567 statute mile track; the largest ever recorded debris field. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) concluded its investigation in August 2003, and released their findings in a report published in February 2004. NASA recognized the importance of capturing the lessons learned from the loss of Columbia and her crew and the Space Shuttle Program managers commissioned the Spacecraft Crew Survival Integrated Investigation Team (SCSIIT) to accomplish this. Their task was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the accident, focusing on factors and events affecting crew survival, and to develop recommendations for improving crew survival, including the design features, equipment, training and procedures intended to protect the crew. NASA released the Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report in December 2008. Key personnel have been assembled to give you an overview of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, the medical response, the medico-legal issues, the SCSIIT findings and recommendations and future NASA flight surgeon spacecraft accident response training. Educational Objectives: Set the stage for the Panel to address the

Investigation into information flow during the accident at Three Mile Island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

This report was prepared in response to a request from NRC Chairman Ahearne that directed the Office of Inspection and Enforcement to resume its investigation of information flow during the accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) that occurred on March 28, 1979. This investigation was resumed on March 21, 1980. The transfer of information among individuals, agencies, and personnel from Metropolitan Edison was analyzed to ascertain what knowledge was held by various individuals of the specific events, parameters, and systems during the accident at TMI. Maximum use was made of existing records, and additional interviews were conducted to clarify areas that had not been pursued during earlier investigations. Although the passage of time between the accident and post-accident interviews hampered precise recollections of events and circumstances, the investigation revealed that information was not intentionally withheld during the accident and that the system for effective transfer of information was inadequate during the accident

Strategies for dealing with resistance to recommendations from accident investigations

OpenAIRE

Lundberg, Jonas; Rollenhagen, Carl; Hollnagel, Erik; Rankin, Amy

2012-01-01

Accident investigation reports usually lead to a set of recommendations for change. These recommendations are, however, sometimes resisted for reasons such as various aspects of ethics and power. When accident investigators are aware of this, they use several strategies to overcome the resistance. This paper describes strategies for dealing with four different types of resistance to change. The strategies were derived from qualitative analysis of 25 interviews with Swedish accident investigat...

A microcomputer-based model for identifying urban and suburban roadways with critical large truck accident rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brogan, J.D.; Cashwell, J.W.

1992-01-01

This paper presents an overview of techniques for merging highway accident record and roadway inventory files and employing the combined data set to identify spots or sections on highway facilities in urban and suburban areas with unusually high large truck accident rates. A statistical technique, the rate/quality control method, is used to calculate a critical rate for each location of interest. This critical rate may then be compared to the location's actual accident rate to identify locations for further study. Model enhancements and modifications are described to enable the technique to be employed in the evaluation of routing alternatives for the transport of radioactive material

Development of a multi-criteria tool to support decision-making process on decontamination of urban areas after a nuclear accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Luca, Christiano de [Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Pc. Gen. Tiburcio, 80, Praia Vermelha, Rio de Janeiro, 22290-270 RJ (Brazil); Silva, Diogo N.G. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Rio de Janeiro 21941-902 RJ (Brazil); Wasserman, Maria Angelica V. [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear, Cidade Universitaria, Ilha do Fundao, 21941-906, Rio de Janeiro RJ (Brazil)

2014-07-01

This work describes the main efforts to derive criteria for classifying technical aspects related to decontamination procedures to feed a multi-criteria tool to support decisions on remediation of urban areas after nuclear accidents. After listing procedures already tested or used in previous accident, technical aspects to be considered were derived. The relevance of each aspect was determined based on questionnaires answered by experts with experience on remediation after an accident. The questionnaire included 12 aspects and for each of them one or more technical criteria where developed to allow the classification of remediation procedures for urban areas. The criteria described in this work relate to the effects of each procedure on doses to the public, doses to remediation workers, waste generation and infrastructure needed. The aim of this project was to increase public concerns by turning the decision making process more reliable and transparent. In this work, the list of criteria and associated values are described. This list is now being included in a previously developed dose assessment computer program to allow the optimization of actions to be used considering all justifiable procedures based on the current experience on dealing with urban areas contamination after a nuclear or radiological accident. (authors)

Accident investigation practices in Europe--main responses from a recent study of accidents in industry and transport.

Science.gov (United States)

Roed-Larsen, Sverre; Valvisto, T; Harms-Ringdahl, L; Kirchsteiger, C

2004-07-26

Europe has during recent years been shocked by disasters from natural events and technical breakdowns. The consequences have been comprehensive, measured by lost lives, injuries, and material and environmental damage. ESReDA wanted in 2000--by setting up a special expert group on accident investigation--to clarify the state of art of accident investigation practices and to map the use of thoroughly accident investigation in order to learn lessons from past disasters and prevent new ones. The scope was to cover three sectors in the society: transport, production processes and storage of hazardous materials, and energy production. The main method used was a questionnaire, which was sent in 2001 to about 150 organisations. About 50 replies were analysed. The replies showed great variations but also similarities, among others in definition of accident and incident, the objectives of the investigation team, criteria used to start an investigation, the status of the investigation organisation, the flow of information, the composition of the investigation team, and the use of internal or international procedures or rules. Several methods (in total 14 different methods were mentioned) were used for carrying out accident /incident investigations. Most of the respondents were willing to co-operate in one or another way with ESReDA. Although there are important biases in the material, the results from questionnaire are important inputs to the future work of ESReDA Expert group in this field. 3 safety approaches have been identified.

Investigating accidents involving aircraft manufactured from polymer composite materials

OpenAIRE

Dunn, Leigh

2013-01-01

This thesis looks into the examination of polymer composite wreckage from the perspective of the aircraft accident investigator. It develops an understanding of the process of wreckage examination as well as identifying the potential for visual and macroscopic interpretation of polymer composite aircraft wreckage. The in-field examination of aircraft wreckage, and subsequent interpretations of material failures, can be a significant part of an aircraft accident investigation. ...

Burden, distribution and impact of domestic accidents in a semi-urban area of coastal Tamil Nadu, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Stalin, P; Senthilvel, V; Kanimozhy, K; Singh, Zile; Rajkamal, R; Purty, Anil J

2015-01-01

The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of domestic accidents, describe the factors associated with domestic accidents and assess the medical and economical consequences of domestic accidents. Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in a semi-urban area of Tamil Nadu during February 2013. A total of 3947 study participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Study variables included were socio-demography, housing conditions, epidemiological factors, medical and economical consequences of domestic accidents. Means and proportions were calculated. The prevalence of domestic accidents was 12.7%. Out of 500 domestic accidents, falls (54.4%) was the most common type of domestic accident. Females and the respondents in age group of 21-40 years were more commonly affected. About 60% of victims received treatment. Mean duration of hospital stay, mean amount of money spent for treatment and mean number of days away from routine work for falls category were 16 days, US$25 and 8 days, respectively, which are higher than other types of accidents. The burden and impact of domestic accidents was high. Therefore, in order to prevent and control domestic accidents, promotion of house safety measures and creation of awareness among the community using IEC programmes have to be undertaken.

The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-07-01

In October 2011, the Act regarding Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission was enacted to investigate the Fukushima accident with the authority to request documents and request the legislative branch to use its investigative powers to obtain any necessary documents or evidence required. In December 2011, chairman and nine other members were appointed. After a six-month investigation, Commission had concluded. 'In order to prevent future disasters, fundamental reforms must take place covering both the structure of electric power industry and the structure of related government and regulatory agencies as well as operation processes, for both normal and emergency situations'. Main parts of report consisted of overview, conclusions and recommendations, and six findings; (1) was the accident preventable?, (2) Escalation of the accident, (3) Emergency response to the accident, (4) Spread of the damage, (5) Organizational issues in accident prevention and response and (6) the legal system. Based on the above findings, Commission made seven recommendations regarding (1) Monitoring of the nuclear regulatory body by the National Diet, (2) Reform the crisis management system, (3) Government responsibility for public health and welfare, (4) Monitoring the operators, (5) Criteria for the new regulatory body, (6) Reforming laws related to nuclear energy and (7) Develop a system of independent investigation commissions. National Diet's thorough debate and deliberate on these recommendation was highly encouraged for the future. (T. Tanaka)

Lessons learned from accidents investigations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zuniga-Bello, P. [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), Mexico City (Mexico); Croft, J. [National Radiological Protection Board (United Kingdom); Glenn, J

1997-12-31

Accidents from three main practices: medical applications, industrial radiography and industrial irradiators are used to illustrate some common causes of accidents and the main lessons to be learned. A brief description of some of these accidents is given. Lessons learned from the described accidents are approached by subjects covering: safety culture, quality assurance, human factors, good engineering practice, defence in depth, security of sources, safety assessment and monitoring and verification compliance. (author)

Lessons learned from accident investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuniga-Bello, P.; Croft, J.R.; Glenn, J.

1998-01-01

Accidents in three main practices - medical applications, industrial radiography and industrial irradiators - are used to illustrate some common causes of accidents and the main lessons to be learned from them. A brief description of some of these accidents is given. Lessons learned from the accidents described are approached bearing in mind: safety culture, quality assurance, human factors, good engineering practice, defence in depth, security of sources, safety assessment and monitoring and verification compliance. (author)

Accident Investigation on a Large Construction Project: An Ethnographic Case Study

OpenAIRE

Oswald, David; Smith, Simon; Sherratt, Fred

2015-01-01

Unsafe acts are believed to account for approximately 80 to 90 percent of accidents. This paper will investigate this issue through exploring the reasoning behind the unsafe acts that resulted in a minor accident on a large construction project (+$1B) in the UK. The study described here, part of a wider PhD project, was undertaken using an ethnographic approach. Participant observation enabled the researcher to be involved in the whole accident investigation process including witness statemen...

In-depth investigation of escalator riding accidents in heavy capacity MRT stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Chia-Fen; Chang, Tin-Chang; Tsou, Chi-Lin

2006-07-01

In 2000, the accident rate for escalator riding was about 0.815 accidents per million passenger trips through Taipei Metro Rapid Transit (MRT) heavy capacity stations. In order to reduce the probability and severity of escalator riding accidents and enhance the safety of passengers, the Drury and Brill model [Drury, C.G., Brill, M., 1983. Human factors in consumer product accident investigation. Hum. Factors 25 (3), 329-342] for in-depth investigation was adopted to analyze the 194 escalator riding accidents in terms of victim, task, product and environment. Prevention measures have been developed based on the major causes of accidents and other related contributing factors. The results from the analysis indicated that the majority of the escalator riding accidents was caused by passengers' carrying out other tasks (38 cases, including carrying luggage 24 cases, looking after accompany persons 9 cases, and 5 others), loss of balance (26 cases, 13.4%), not holding the handrail (20 cases, 10.3%), unhealthy passengers (18 cases, 9.3%), followed by people struck by other passenger (16 cases, 8.2%). For female passengers aged 15-64 years, their rushing for trains accidents could have been prevented by wearing safer footwear or by appropriate signing being provided indicating the location and traveling direction of escalators. Female passengers aged 65 years and above whose accidents were caused by loss of balance, should be encouraged to take the elevator instead. To prevent entrapment injuries, following a stricter design code can be most effective. Further in-depth accident investigation is suggested to cover the activity of the victim prior to the accident, any involved product, the location of the accident on the escalator, any medical treatment, what went wrong, opinion of the respondent on the causes of the accident, and personal characteristics of the passengers. Also, management must trade off productivity and safety appropriately to prevent "Organizational

Urbapat: External exposure and countermeasures after a radiological accident in the urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, J.E.; Gallego, E.

1992-01-01

URBAPAT (URBAN PATHWAY) is a computer model, written in FORTRAN 77, for the evaluation of the gamma external exposure, and the adequate countermeasures, after a radiological accident involving dispersion and deposition of radioactive material on different urban surfaces. The code estimates the evolution of radioactive material in the urban environment using a dynamic model consisting on 21 compartments, that simulate five different urban surfaces with their particular retention properties. For the assessment of the gamma external exposure in urban areas, one of then main contributors to the long-term individual dose, the model considers the contribution of each surface to the dose rate delivered by five radionuclides (Cs-137, Cs-134, I-131, Te-132, Ba-140) in different locations outside and inside three types of buildings (semi-detached houses, terrace houses and multi-stored buildings). The population is classified in various groups, attending to their stay time in each location. The model can evaluate the dose avoided by the introduction of countermeasures like decontamination of the urban surfaces or relocation. An assessment of their associated costs will permit to perform the needed cost-benefit analysis of the different countermeasures and alternatives, following IAEA and ICRP recommendations. The capability to perform sensitivity and uncertainty assessment of the more important parameters affecting the results obtained will also be included in the model. (Author)

Independent accident investigation: a modern safety tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoop, John A.

2004-01-01

Historically, safety has been subjected to a fragmented approach. In the past, every department has had its own responsibility towards safety, focusing either on working conditions, internal safety, external safety, rescue and emergency, public order or security. They each issued policy documents, which in their time were leading statements for elaboration and regulation. They also addressed safety issues with tools of various nature, often specifically developed within their domain. Due to a series of major accidents and disasters, the focus of attention is shifting from complying with quantitative risk standards towards intervention in primary operational processes, coping with systemic deficiencies and a more integrated assessment of safety in its societal context. In The Netherlands recognition of the importance of independent investigations has led to an expansion of this philosophy from the transport sector to other sectors. The philosophy now covers transport, industry, defense, natural disaster, environment and health and other major occurrences such as explosions, fires, and collapse of buildings or structures. In 2003 a multi-sector covering law will establish an independent safety board in The Netherlands. At a European level, mandatory investigation agencies are recognized as indispensable safety instruments for aviation, railways and the maritime sector, for which EU Directives are in place or being progressed [Transport accident and incident investigation in the European Union, European Transport Safety Council, ISBN 90-76024-10-3, Brussel, 2001]. Due to a series of major events, attention has been drawn to the consequences of disasters, highlighting the involvement of rescue and emergency services. They also have become subjected to investigative efforts, which in return, puts demands on investigation methodology. This paper comments on an evolutionary development in safety thinking and of safety boards, highlighting some consequences for strategic

Occurrence and countermeasures of urban power grid accident

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wang; Tao, Zhang

2018-03-01

With the advance of technology, the development of network communication and the extensive use of power grids, people can get to know power grid accidents around the world through the network timely. Power grid accidents occur frequently. Large-scale power system blackout and casualty accidents caused by electric shock are also fairly commonplace. All of those accidents have seriously endangered the property and personal safety of the country and people, and the development of society and economy is severely affected by power grid accidents. Through the researches on several typical cases of power grid accidents at home and abroad in recent years and taking these accident cases as the research object, this paper will analyze the three major factors that cause power grid accidents at present. At the same time, combining with various factors and impacts caused by power grid accidents, the paper will put forward corresponding solutions and suggestions to prevent the occurrence of the accident and lower the impact of the accident.

Comparison of different methods for work accidents investigation in hospitals: A Portuguese case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Cláudia; Santos, Joana; da Silva, Manuela Vieira; Lourenço, Irina; Carvalhais, Carlos

2015-01-01

The hospital environment has many occupational health risks that predispose healthcare workers to various kinds of work accidents. This study aims to compare different methods for work accidents investigation and to verify their suitability in hospital environment. For this purpose, we selected three types of accidents that were related with needle stick, worker fall and inadequate effort/movement during the mobilization of patients. A total of thirty accidents were analysed with six different work accidents investigation methods. The results showed that organizational factors were the group of causes which had the greatest impact in the three types of work accidents. The methods selected to be compared in this paper are applicable and appropriate for the work accidents investigation in hospitals. However, the Registration, Research and Analysis of Work Accidents method (RIAAT) showed to be an optimal technique to use in this context.

Investigation report on causes of radiation underexposure accident at Yamagata University Hospital and Prevention of Similar accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The accident in the title was announced on February 18, 2004 by the hospital, which asked its investigation immediately. The group based on 4 academic societies concerned, thereby started investigations of the in-house reports on the accident and of subsequent hospital visit in March, which involved hearing from personnel concerned, physical/technological examinations and clinical evaluation, with respect to the hospital system for radiation treatment, flow of the treatment, accident details, estimation of the actual expose dose and classification of patients. The investigational group found for the actual number of patients underexposed to be 36 (63, in the in-house report) in 1,377. The cause of the accident was thought essentially the input error for the correct power coefficient 1.032 to be a wrong one 1.320 for 15 x 15 cm 4 MV X-ray. The error had been overlooked by the contract operator from the introduction of the treatment planning equipment in 1999. For prevention, setting up of quality assurance (QA) program by the hospital, the user itself, was pointed out necessary. Making the guideline for introducing the new equipment was conceivably an important work of the trader. (N.I.)

Diamond Fire: Serious Accident Investigation Report

Science.gov (United States)

John Waconda; Ivan Pupulidy; Leonard Diaz; Robin Broyles; Roberta Junge; James Saveland

2012-01-01

This incident is effectively two studies. The first study, and the reason the Serious Accident Investigation Team was assembled, was due to a fatality, which the autopsy later determined to have been caused by a heart attack. The team was not aware of the cause of death for over 4 weeks after the incident occurred. However, the observed and reported cases of heat...

Safety and Health Standard 110: Incident/accident reporting and investigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sones, K. [West Kootenay Power, BC (Canada)

1999-10-01

Incident/accident reporting requirements in effect at West Kootenay Power are discussed. Details provided include definitions of low risk, high risk, and critical events, the incidents to be reported, the nature of the reports, the timelines, the investigation to be undertaken for each type of incident/accident, counselling services available to employees involved in serious incidents, and the procedures to be followed in accidents involving serious injury to non-employees. The emphasis is on the `critical five` high risk events and the procedures relating to them.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident final report of the AESJ investigation committee

CERN Document Server

Atomic Energy Society of Japan

2015-01-01

The Magnitude 9 Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, followed by a massive tsunami struck  TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and triggered an unprecedented core melt/severe accident in Units 1 – 3. The radioactivity release led to the evacuation of local residents, many of whom still have not been able to return to their homes. As a group of nuclear experts, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan established the Investigation Committee on the Nuclear Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, to investigate and analyze the accident from scientific and technical perspectives for clarifying the underlying and fundamental causes, and to make recommendations. The results of the investigation by the AESJ Investigation Committee has been compiled herewith as the Final Report. Direct contributing factors of the catastrophic nuclear incident at Fukushima Daiichi NPP initiated by an unprecedented massive earthquake/ tsunami – inadequacies in tsunami measures, severe accident ma...

Report of investigation regarding accident in Tomsk reprocessing facilities in Russia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

At 1258 on April 6, 1993, the explosion accident of a welded tank occurred in the military reprocessing facilities in Tomsk, Siberia District, Russia. Japan carried out the investigation of the effect on the environmental radiation in Japan, dispatched the investigation mission to Russia, and explained the way of thinking on securing the safety of Japanese reprocessing plants to local communities. Science and Technology Agency organized the working group for investigating the accident, which exerted efforts to collect the information, analyze and examine it. This report is the summary of its results. The explosion occurred in the tank for adjusting the acid concentration of the solution to be supplied to the solvent extraction shop, and the building was destructed. No one died or was injured. The results of the radioactivity examination are reported. The process of the accident was inferred, and described. The factors that caused the accident were the mixing of organic impurities the use of the diluting liquid containing aromatic hydrocarbon, the contact of nitric acid with organic substances at high temperature, in sufficient agitation at the time of pouring nitric acid and so on. The safety countermeasures in Japanese reprocessing plants and the response by Japan based on the accident are described. (K.I.)

Traffic Accident Investigation: A Suitable Theme for Teaching Mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, P. K.

1987-01-01

Suggests the development of curriculum materials on the applications of physics to traffic accident investigations as a theme for teaching mechanics. Describes several standard investigation techniques and the physics principles involved, along with some sample exercises. (TW)

Comparison between motorcyclist’ violation behavior and accidents in urban and rural area in Indonesia: A comparative study

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmawati, N.; Widyanti, A.

2017-12-01

Some studies stated that the main factor related to the accident was driving behavior. This study aims to explore the differences between motorcyclist” behaviour and repetitive violation behaviour in two different area, urban and rural area in Indonesia. Respondents were selected based on convenience sampling method in Bandung as a representative of urban area and Kulon Progo as a representative of rural area. They were asked to fill in a questionnaire about driving behaviour, consists of 10 dimensions or 51 questions with Likert scales ranging from 1 (very often) to 6 (never). The results of this study shows that the motorcyclists’ behavior differ significantly between rural and urban area. Motorcyclists in the urban area (Bandung) are more committed to violations than in rural area (Kulon Progo). This result is not in line with previous studies in Australia and United States which stated that motorcyclists in rural area more frequently speeding than in urban area. Implications of the result are discussed.

Review of the TMI-2 accident evaluation and vessel investigation projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ladekarl Thomsen, Knud

1998-03-01

The results of the TMI-2 Accident Evaluation Programme and the Vessel Investigation Project have been reviewed as part of a literature study on core meltdown and in-vessel coolability. The emphasis is placed on the late phase melt progression, which is of special relevance to the NKS-sponsored RAK-2.1 project on Severe Accident Phenomenology. The body of the report comprises three main sections, The TMI-2 Accident Scenario, Core Region and Relocation Path Investigations, and Lower Head Investigations. In the final discussion, the lower head gap formation mechanism is explained in terms of thermal contraction and fracturing of the debris crust. This model seems more plausible than the MAAP model based on creep expansion of the lower head. (au) 1 tab., 33 ills., 31 refs.

Mortality from road traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city: A 20-year analysis in Shenzhen, 1994-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Shao-Hua; Wu, Yong-Sheng; Liu, Xiao-Jian; Fu, Ying-Bin; Li, Shan-Shan; Ma, Han-Wu; Zou, Fei; Cheng, Jin-Quan

2016-01-01

This study aimed to describe the trends of motorization and mortality rates from road traffic accidents and examine their associations in a rapidly urbanizing city in China, Shenzhen. Using data from the Shenzhen Deaths Registry between 1994 and 2013, we calculated the annual mortality rates of road traffic accidents, in addition to the age- and sex-specific mortality rates and their annual percentage changes (APCs) for the period of 2000-2013. We also examined the associations between mortality rate of road traffic accidents and traffic growth with Spearman's rank correlation analysis and a log-linear model derived from Smeed's law. A total of 20,196 deaths due to road traffic accidents, including 14,391 (71.3%) male deaths and 5,805 (28.7%) female deaths, were recorded in Shenzhen from 1994 to 2013. The annual mortality rates in terms of deaths per population and deaths per vehicle changed in similar patterns, demonstrating an increase since 1994 and peaking in 1997, followed by a steady decrease thereafter. The decrease in mortality was faster in individuals aged 20 year or older compared to those younger than 20 years. The mortality rates in term of deaths per population were positively correlated with the total number of vehicles per kilometer of road but negatively correlated with the motorization rate in term of vehicles per population. The estimated model for deaths due to road traffic accidents in relation to the total population and the number of registered vehicles was ln (deaths/10,000 vehicles) = -1.902 × ln (vehicles/population) - 1.961. The coefficient was statistically significant (P traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city based observations in the 20-year period from 1994 to 2013. The decreased mortality rate may be explained by the expansion of road network construction, improved road safety regulations and management, as well as more accessible ambulance services in recent years. Nevertheless, road traffic accidents remain a

Investigations of Human and Organizational Factors in hazardous vapor accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yanfu; Faghih Roohi, Shahrzad; Hu Xiuming; Xie Min

2011-01-01

Highlights: → HFACS provides a systematic guideline in accident investigations. The hierarchal structure of HFACS forces investigators to seek out latent HOFs. → Bayesian Network enhances the ability of the HFACS by allowing experts to quantify the degree of relationships among the HOFs. → The fuzzy AHP helps to reduce the subjective biases by avoiding the need to give explicit probability values for the variables' states. - Abstract: This paper presents a model to assess the contribution of Human and Organizational Factor (HOF) to accidents. The proposed model is made up of two phases. The first phase is the qualitative analysis of HOF responsible for accidents, which utilizes Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) to seek out latent HOFs. The hierarchy of HOFs identified in the first phase provides inputs for the analysis in the second phase, which is a quantitative analysis using Bayesian Network (BN). BN enhances the ability of HFACS by allowing investigators or domain experts to measure the degree of relationships among the HOFs. In order to estimate the conditional probabilities of BN, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and decomposition method are applied in the model. Case studies show that the model is capable of seeking out critical latent human and organizational errors and carrying out quantitative analysis of accidents. Thereafter, corresponding safety prevention measures are derived.

Investigation of evaluation method for marine radiological impact during an accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-08-15

In 2012, JNES carried out to investigate the measurement information of radionuclide released to the ocean at Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, the foreign regulation for marine radiological impact, and the evaluation method for release and diffusion to the ocean at the accident inside and outside Japan. (author)

Multidisciplinary perspective on accident investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basnyat, S.; Chozos, N.; Palanque, P.

2006-01-01

The increasing complexity of many computer-controlled application processes is placing increasing demands on the investigation of adverse events. At the same time, there is a growing realisation that accident investigators must consider a wider range of contributory and contextual factors that help to shape human behaviour in the causes of safety-related incidents. A range of techniques have been developed to address these issues. For example (as we show in this paper), task modelling techniques have been extended from human computer interaction and systems design to analyse the causes and consequences of operator 'error'. Similarly, barrier analysis has been widely used to identify the way in which defences either protected or failed to protect a target system from potential hazards. Many barriers fail from common causes, including misconceptions that can be traced back to early stages in the development of a safety-critical system. For instance, unwarranted assumptions can be made about the impact of training on operator behaviour in emergency situations. Similarly, barrier analysis can also be used before a system has been designed to inform the system model and make it more tolerant to errors by incorporating human and technical barriers into the design. Task models often uncover deep-rooted problems, for instance, in workload allocation across many different aspects of an interactive control system. It can be difficult to use barrier and task analysis to trace these common causes that lie behind the failure of many different defences. In order to deal with this complex combination of contributory factors and systems, we promote the use of abstraction (via models) as a way of representing these components and their interrelations whether it is design, construction or investigation. We use, to formally model an abstraction of the system. Additionally, the system model (described using a dialect of high-level Petri-nets) allows to reason about the system and to

Multidisciplinary perspective on accident investigation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Basnyat, S. [LIIHS-IRIT, Universite Paul Sabatier, 118, route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France)]. E-mail: basnyat@irit.fr; Chozos, N. [Dept. of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: nick@dcs.gla.ac.uk; Palanque, P. [LIIHS-IRIT, Universite Paul Sabatier, 118, route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France)]. E-mail: palanque@irit.fr

2006-12-15

The increasing complexity of many computer-controlled application processes is placing increasing demands on the investigation of adverse events. At the same time, there is a growing realisation that accident investigators must consider a wider range of contributory and contextual factors that help to shape human behaviour in the causes of safety-related incidents. A range of techniques have been developed to address these issues. For example (as we show in this paper), task modelling techniques have been extended from human computer interaction and systems design to analyse the causes and consequences of operator 'error'. Similarly, barrier analysis has been widely used to identify the way in which defences either protected or failed to protect a target system from potential hazards. Many barriers fail from common causes, including misconceptions that can be traced back to early stages in the development of a safety-critical system. For instance, unwarranted assumptions can be made about the impact of training on operator behaviour in emergency situations. Similarly, barrier analysis can also be used before a system has been designed to inform the system model and make it more tolerant to errors by incorporating human and technical barriers into the design. Task models often uncover deep-rooted problems, for instance, in workload allocation across many different aspects of an interactive control system. It can be difficult to use barrier and task analysis to trace these common causes that lie behind the failure of many different defences. In order to deal with this complex combination of contributory factors and systems, we promote the use of abstraction (via models) as a way of representing these components and their interrelations whether it is design, construction or investigation. We use, to formally model an abstraction of the system. Additionally, the system model (described using a dialect of high-level Petri-nets) allows to reason about the

Psychophysiological and other factors affecting human performance in accident prevention and investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinestiver, L.R.

1980-01-01

Psychophysiological factors are not uncommon terms in the aviation incident/accident investigation sequence where human error is involved. It is highly suspect that the same psychophysiological factors may also exist in the industrial arena where operator personnel function; but, there is little evidence in literature indicating how management and subordinates cope with these factors to prevent or reduce accidents. It is apparent that human factors psychophysological training is quite evident in the aviation industry. However, while the industrial arena appears to analyze psychophysiological factors in accident investigations, there is little evidence that established training programs exist for supervisors and operator personnel

Additional investigations on the consequences of accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrhardt, J.; Bayer, A.; Burkart, K.

1982-01-01

As a first step to improve the accident consequence model of the German Risk Study within the Phase B, additional investigations on special problems and questions were performed. In detail attention is given to the following topics: emergency protective actions in the vicinity of the site; latent cancer fatalities - allocated to the population living during the nuclear accident and to persons born afterwards, within and beyond a distance of 540 km from the site, caused by radiation doses below the dose limits of the German radiation protection regulations estimated assuming a nonlinear dose response function; risk assessments of nuclear power plants with lower capacities; loss of life expectancy after accidental radiation exposure. All results are presented separately for the 8 release categories of the German Risk Study. (orig.) [de

THE USE OF AVIATION ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORTS AS EVIDENCE IN COURT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorana POP PĂUN

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Air transport is an essential part of the international society, constituting a liaison between people and continents and an important contributor to the world economy and globalization. Aircraft operation has grown in complexity needing for a safety level to be maintained and constantly grown. Along with the development of the aviation industry, the legal system in the aviation field has registered significant challenges, one of them being the claims related to air crashes which are contested. The investigation process of an accident or incident has become not only important for the safety of operations but also to the establishment of legal fault and blame. The article proposes to present the principles of conducting and accident and incident investigation, the value of the report and new developments in relation to the recent case law on the use of the accident investigation report in Court.

Investigation on accident management measures for VVER-1000 reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tusheva, P.; Schaefer, F.; Rohde, U.; Reinke, N.

2009-01-01

A consequence of a total loss of AC power supply (station blackout) leading to unavailability of major active safety systems which could not perform their safety functions is that the safety criteria ensuring a secure operation of the nuclear power plant would be violated and a consequent core heat-up with possible core degradation would occur. Currently, a study which examines the thermal-hydraulic behaviour of the plant during the early phase of the scenario is being performed. This paper focuses on the possibilities for delay or mitigation of the accident sequence to progress into a severe one by applying Accident Management Measures (AMM). The strategy 'Primary circuit depressurization' as a basic strategy, which is realized in the management of severe accidents is being investigated. By reducing the load over the vessel under severe accident conditions, prerequisites for maintaining the integrity of the primary circuit are being created. The time-margins for operators' intervention as key issues are being also assessed. The task is accomplished by applying the GRS thermal-hydraulic system code ATHLET. In addition, a comparative analysis of the accident progression for a station blackout event for both a reference German PWR and a reference VVER-1000, taking into account the plant specifics, is being performed. (authors)

Hybrid and electric low-noise cars cause an increase in traffic accidents involving vulnerable road users in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Stephan; Petri, Maximilian; Haas, Philipp; Krettek, Christian; Haasper, Carl

2013-01-01

Due to resource scarcity, the number of low-noise and electric cars is expected to increase rapidly. The frequent use of these cars will lead to a significant reduction of traffic related noise and pollution. On the other hand, due to the adaption and conditioning of vulnerable road users the number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists is postulated to increase as well. Children, older people with reduced eyesight and the blind are especially reliant on a combination of acoustic and visual warning signals with approaching or accelerating vehicles. This is even more evident in urban areas where the engine sound is the dominating sound up to 30 kph (kilometres per hour). Above this, tyre-road interaction is the main cause of traffic noise. With the missing typical engine sound a new sound design is necessary to prevent traffic accidents in urban areas. Drivers should not be able to switch the sound generator off.

Model to predict radiological consequences of transportation accidents involving dispersal of radioactive material in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.

1978-01-01

The analysis of accidental releases of radioactive material which may result from transportation accidents in high-density urban areas is influenced by several urban characteristics which make computer simulation the calculational method of choice. These urban features fall into four categories. Each of these categories contains time- and location-dependent parameters which must be coupled to the actual time and location of the release in the calculation of the anticipated radiological consequences. Due to the large number of dependent parameters a computer model, METRAN, has been developed to quantify these radiological consequences. Rather than attempt to describe an urban area as a single entity, a specific urban area is subdivided into a set of cells of fixed size to permit more detailed characterization. Initially, the study area is subdivided into a set of 2-dimensional cells. A uniform set of time-dependent physical characteristics which describe the land use, population distribution, traffic density, etc., within that cell are then computed from various data sources. The METRAN code incorporates several details of urban areas. A principal limitation of the analysis is the limited availability of accurate information to use as input data. Although the code was originally developed to analyze dispersal of radioactive material, it is currently being evaluated for use in analyzing the effects of dispersal of other hazardous materials in both urban and rural areas

Reclamation of contaminated urban and rural environments following a severe nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strand, P.; Skuterud, L.

1997-10-01

In the event of a severe nuclear accident releasing radioactive materials to the atmosphere, there is a potential for widespread contamination of both the urban and rural environments. In some instances of environmental contamination, natural processes may eventually reduce or eliminate the problem without man's intervention. The situation with respect to radioactive contamination is no different except that radioactive contamination will also disappear through normal physical radioactive decay. In other cases, man is often able to mitigate potential harmful effects by cleaning, washing, abrading or by the application of chemicals. The actions taken by man to mitigate the potential harmful effects of contamination are described as countermeasures. In the case of radioactive contamination, the objective of countermeasures is to minimise radiation doses to man. This document is intended as a guide to those groups who may, at very short notice, be called upon to manage and reclaim radioactively contaminated urban and rural environments in the Nordic countries. However, much of the information and recommendations are also equally applicable in other countries. The document is divided into eight distinct parts, namely: 1. The Urban Environment; 2. The Cultivated Agricultural Environment; 3. Animals; 4. Forests; 5. Freshwater and Fish; 6. Management and Disposal of Radioactive Waste from Clean-up Operations; 7. Radiation Protection and Safety of Clean-up Operators; 8. Resources Available in Society. (EG)

Reclamation of contaminated urban and rural environments following a severe nuclear accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strand, P; Skuterud, L [eds.; Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (Norway); Melin, J [ed.; Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (Sweden)

1997-10-01

In the event of a severe nuclear accident releasing radioactive materials to the atmosphere, there is a potential for widespread contamination of both the urban and rural environments. In some instances of environmental contamination, natural processes may eventually reduce or eliminate the problem without man`s intervention. The situation with respect to radioactive contamination is no different except that radioactive contamination will also disappear through normal physical radioactive decay. In other cases, man is often able to mitigate potential harmful effects by cleaning, washing, abrading or by the application of chemicals. The actions taken by man to mitigate the potential harmful effects of contamination are described as countermeasures. In the case of radioactive contamination, the objective of countermeasures is to minimise radiation doses to man. This document is intended as a guide to those groups who may, at very short notice, be called upon to manage and reclaim radioactively contaminated urban and rural environments in the Nordic countries. However, much of the information and recommendations are also equally applicable in other countries. The document is divided into eight distinct parts, namely: 1. The Urban Environment; 2. The Cultivated Agricultural Environment; 3. Animals; 4. Forests; 5. Freshwater and Fish; 6. Management and Disposal of Radioactive Waste from Clean-up Operations; 7. Radiation Protection and Safety of Clean-up Operators; 8. Resources Available in Society. (EG).

Challenging the immediate causes: A work accident investigation in an oil refinery using organizational analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Beltran, Sandra Lorena; Vilela, Rodolfo Andrade de Gouveia; de Almeida, Ildeberto Muniz

2018-01-01

In many companies, investigations of accidents still blame the victims without exploring deeper causes. Those investigations are reactive and have no learning potential. This paper aims to debate the historical organizational aspects of a company whose policy was incubating an accident. The empirical data are analyzed as part of a qualitative study of an accident that occurred in an oil refinery in Brazil in 2014. To investigate and analyse this case we used one-to-one and group interviews, participant observation, Collective Analyses of Work and a documentary review. The analysis was conducted on the basis of concepts of the Organizational Analysis of the event and the Model for Analysis and Prevention of Work Accidents. The accident had its origin in the interaction of social and organizational factors, among them being: excessively standardized culture, management tools and outcome indicators that give a false sense of safety, the decision to speed up the project, the change of operator to facilitate this outcome and performance management that encourages getting around the usual barriers. The superficial accident analysis conducted by the company that ignored human and organizational factors reinforces the traditional safety culture and favors the occurrence of new accidents.

Estimation of fatality and injury risk by means of in-depth fatal accident investigation data.

Science.gov (United States)

Yannis, George; Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Dupont, Emmanuelle; Martensen, Heike

2010-10-01

In this article the factors affecting fatality and injury risk of road users involved in fatal accidents are analyzed by means of in-depth accident investigation data, with emphasis on parameters not extensively explored in previous research. A fatal accident investigation (FAI) database is used, which includes intermediate-level in-depth data for a harmonized representative sample of 1300 fatal accidents in 7 European countries. The FAI database offers improved potential for analysis, because it includes information on a number of variables that are seldom available, complete, or accurately recorded in road accident databases. However, the fact that only fatal accidents are examined requires for methodological adjustments, namely, the correction for two types of effects on a road user's baseline risk: "accident size" effects, and "relative vulnerability" effects. Fatality and injury risk can be then modeled through multilevel logistic regression models, which account for the hierarchical dependences of the road accident process. The results show that the baseline fatality risk of road users involved in fatal accidents decreases with accident size and increases with the vulnerability of the road user. On the contrary, accident size increases nonfatal injury risk of road users involved in fatal accidents. Other significant effects on fatality and injury risk in fatal accidents include road user age, vehicle type, speed limit, the chain of accident events, vehicle maneuver, and safety equipment. In particular, the presence and use of safety equipment such as seat belt, antilock braking system (ABS), and electronic stability program (ESP) are protection factors for car occupants, especially for those seated at the front seats. Although ABS and ESP systems are typically associated with positive effects on accident occurrence, the results of this research revealed significant related effects on accident severity as well. Moreover, accident consequences are more severe

An exercise on clean-up actions in an urban environment after a nuclear accident. Report of the NKS EKO 4 programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

French, S.; Haemaelaeinen, R.; Naadland, E.; Roed, J.; Salo, A.; Sinkko, K.

1996-03-01

The EKO 4/c working group of the environmental effects and emergency preparedness programme (EKO) of the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research (NKS) organised a decision conference on August 30th and 31st, 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting was designed to be attended by those responsible for planning and deciding on protective actions in the Nordic countries after a nuclear accident. Issues concerning clean-up strategies in an urban environment after a hypothetical and very severe reactor accident were discussed at the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to provide a shared understanding between the decision makers and the radiation protection community on concerns and issues related to decision on protective actions after a nuclear accident. (6 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.)

An exercise on clean-up actions in an urban environment after a nuclear accident. Report of the NKS EKO 4 programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

French, S. [ed.] [Leeds Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Computer Studies; Finck, R. [ed.] [Swedish Radiation Protection Inst., Stockholm (Sweden); Haemaelaeinen, R. [ed.] [Helsinki Univ. of Technology, Espoo (Finland); Naadland, E. [ed.] [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, Oesteraas (Norway); Roed, J. [ed.] [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark); Salo, A. [ed.] [Helsinki (Finland); Sinkko, K. [ed.] [Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki (Finland)

1996-03-01

The EKO 4/c working group of the environmental effects and emergency preparedness programme (EKO) of the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research (NKS) organised a decision conference on August 30th and 31st, 1995 in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting was designed to be attended by those responsible for planning and deciding on protective actions in the Nordic countries after a nuclear accident. Issues concerning clean-up strategies in an urban environment after a hypothetical and very severe reactor accident were discussed at the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to provide a shared understanding between the decision makers and the radiation protection community on concerns and issues related to decision on protective actions after a nuclear accident. (6 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.).

Investigations of radioactivity level variations in Armenia after the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nalbandyan, A.

2006-01-01

The problem of radioactive pollution of biosphere has been acquiring a special topicality after nuclear weapon testing and NPP-induced accidents that have already brought to global pollution of the Earth with radioactive substances. One of visual examples of regional radioactive pollution is dispersion of emissions all over the territory of Central Europe after the Chernobyl accident, which aftermaths impacted Armenia, as well. Monitoring investigations in the Ararat Valley showed a precise peak of gross radioactivity of atmospheric fallout in 1986 - the year of Chernobyl accident. Gross mean annual radioactivity was established 1783 10 7 Bq/KXm 2 yr. Later, a sharp fall in the activity was observed. Mostly, radioactive fallout consisted of short-lived radionuclides. Measurements for 1986-1987 showed that gross β-radioactivity level in soils amounted to 977-1022 Bq/KXg, repeated measurements in 1991 allowed establishing 640-656 Bq/KXg. A precise indicator of radioactive emissions that reached Armenia after the Chernobyl accident was a short-lived radionuclide 134 Cs (T 1 /2=2.07 yr) identified in soils. Measurements made 2 years later showed half as much decay of 134 Cs, and in some points established were its traces only. 137 Cs/134 Cs ratio in varied 1.4 to 1.8 in atmospheric fallout and 2.1 to 33.4 in soils. Thus, monitoring investigations evidence a regional character of Chernobyl emission dispersion, this being proved by investigations of radioactivity level variations in Armenia, too

Accident Management System Based on Vehicular Network for an Intelligent Transportation System in Urban Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yusor Rafid Bahar Al-Mayouf

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As cities across the world grow and the mobility of populations increases, there has also been a corresponding increase in the number of vehicles on roads. The result of this has been a proliferation of challenges for authorities with regard to road traffic management. A consequence of this has been congestion of traffic, more accidents, and pollution. Accidents are a still major cause of death, despite the development of sophisticated systems for traffic management and other technologies linked with vehicles. Hence, it is necessary that a common system for accident management is developed. For instance, traffic congestion in most urban areas can be alleviated by the real-time planning of routes. However, the designing of an efficient route planning algorithm to attain a globally optimal vehicle control is still a challenge that needs to be solved, especially when the unique preferences of drivers are considered. The aim of this paper is to establish an accident management system that makes use of vehicular ad hoc networks coupled with systems that employ cellular technology in public transport. This system ensures the possibility of real-time communication among vehicles, ambulances, hospitals, roadside units, and central servers. In addition, the accident management system is able to lessen the amount of time required to alert an ambulance that it is required at an accident scene by using a multihop optimal forwarding algorithm. Moreover, an optimal route planning algorithm (ORPA is proposed in this system to improve the aggregate spatial use of a road network, at the same time bringing down the travel cost of operating a vehicle. This can reduce the incidence of vehicles being stuck on congested roads. Simulations are performed to evaluate ORPA, and the results are compared with existing algorithms. The evaluation results provided evidence that ORPA outperformed others in terms of average ambulance speed and travelling time. Finally, our

Social disorder, accidents, and municipal wildfires

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas S. Thomas; David T. Butry; Jeffrey P. Prestemon

2012-01-01

Societal safeguards, established by those who have shared perceptions of the importance of safety and taking preventative measures, reduce the incidence of accidents that harm people and damage property. These safeguards prevent or discourage community members from partaking in careless behaviors that often lead to accidents. Wildland urban interface communities that...

Psychosocial reconstruction inventory : a postdictal instrument in aircraft accident investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

1972-01-01

A new approach to the investigation of aviation accidents has recently been initiated, utilizing a follow-on to the psychological autopsy. This approach, the psychosocial reconstruction inventory, enables the development of a dynamic, retrospective p...

Aircraft accident investigation: the decision-making in initial action scenario.

Science.gov (United States)

Barreto, Marcia M; Ribeiro, Selma L O

2012-01-01

In the complex aeronautical environment, the efforts in terms of operational safety involve the adoption of proactive and reactive measures. The process of investigation begins right after the occurrence of the aeronautical accident, through the initial action. Thus, it is in the crisis scenario, that the person responsible for the initial action makes decisions and gathers the necessary information for the subsequent phases of the investigation process. Within this scenario, which is a natural environment, researches have shown the fragility of rational models of decision making. The theoretical perspective of naturalistic decision making constitutes a breakthrough in the understanding of decision problems demanded by real world. The proposal of this study was to verify if the initial action, after the occurrence of an accident, and the decision-making strategies, used by the investigators responsible for this activity, are characteristic of the naturalistic decision making theoretical approach. To attend the proposed objective a descriptive research was undertaken with a sample of professionals that work in this activity. The data collected through individual interviews were analyzed and the results demonstrated that the initial action environment, which includes restricted time, dynamic conditions, the presence of multiple actors, stress and insufficient information is characteristic of the naturalistic decision making. They also demonstrated that, when the investigators make their decisions, they use their experience and the mental simulation, intuition, improvisation, metaphors and analogues cases, as strategies, all of them related to the naturalistic approach of decision making, in order to satisfy the needs of the situation and reach the objectives of the initial action in the accident scenario.

THE FUNCTION AND PURPOSE OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL AIR LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atip Latipulhayat

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The main objective of an aircraft accident investigation is to find out the most probable causes of such accident. This represents a technical investigation in nature. At the practical level, however, this report is often used as legal evidence before the court. This paper argues that the main purpose of an aircraft acccident investigation is technical in nature and judicial investigation is carried out when the technical investigation found elements of crime that has been alleged as the most probable cause of the accident.   Menurut Konvensi Chicago 1944, tujuan utama suatu investigasi kecelakaan pesawat udara adalah untuk menemukan penyebab terjadinya kecelakaan tersebut. Jadi, investigasi ini bersifat teknis. Namun, laporan investigasi ini seringkali dijadikan alat bukti di pengadilan khususnya apabila faktor kesalahan manusia dianggap sebagai penyebab utama terjadinya kecelakaan tersebut. Investigasi teknis berubah menjadi investigasi yuridis. Tulisan ini berpendapat bahwa hakikat investigasi kecelakaan pesawat udara adalah bersifat teknis dan investigasi yuridis hanya akan dilakukan apabila laporan investigasi teknis menunjukkan adanya elemen kriminal.

Investigating the Differences of Single-Vehicle and Multivehicle Accident Probability Using Mixed Logit Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bowen Dong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Road traffic accidents are believed to be associated with not only road geometric feature and traffic characteristic, but also weather condition. To address these safety issues, it is of paramount importance to understand how these factors affect the occurrences of the crashes. Existing studies have suggested that the mechanisms of single-vehicle (SV accidents and multivehicle (MV accidents can be very different. Few studies were conducted to examine the difference of SV and MV accident probability by addressing unobserved heterogeneity at the same time. To investigate the different contributing factors on SV and MV, a mixed logit model is employed using disaggregated data with the response variable categorized as no accidents, SV accidents, and MV accidents. The results indicate that, in addition to speed gap, length of segment, and wet road surfaces which are significant for both SV and MV accidents, most of other variables are significant only for MV accidents. Traffic, road, and surface characteristics are main influence factors of SV and MV accident possibility. Hourly traffic volume, inside shoulder width, and wet road surface are found to produce statistically significant random parameters. Their effects on the possibility of SV and MV accident vary across different road segments.

Investigation of air cleaning system response to accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrae, R.W.; Bolstad, J.W.; Foster, R.D.; Gregory, W.S.; Horak, H.L.; Idar, E.S.; Martin, R.A.; Ricketts, C.I.; Smith, P.R.; Tang, P.K.

1980-01-01

Air cleaning system response to the stress of accident conditions are being investigated. A program overview and hghlight recent results of our investigation are presented. The program includes both analytical and experimental investigations. Computer codes for predicting effects of tornados, explosions, fires, and material transport are described. The test facilities used to obtain supportive experimental data to define structural integrity and confinement effectiveness of ventilation system components are described. Examples of experimental results for code verification, blower response to tornado transients, and filter response to tornado and explosion transients are reported

Measurements after the Chernobyl accident in relation to the exposure of an urban population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacob, P.; Meckbach, R.

2000-01-01

After the Chernobyl accident in-situ gammaspectrometric measurements have been performed in Munich and in smaller towns in Southern Bavaria. At the measurement sites about two thirds of the total contamination was deposited by rain. For grassland, the attenuation of the radiation from 131 I, 103 Ru, 134 Cs, and 140 Ba due to the initial migration of the radionuclides in the ground and due to the surface roughness was found to be similar. However, large variations between the retention of the various elements on smooth surfaces have been observed. The absorbed dose-rate inside houses due to Chernobyl radionuclides was the range of one tenth to one hundredth of the absorbed dose-rate over open grassland, depending on the type of house and the location in the house, especially on the angle of view from the detector position to outside locations. The absorbed dose-rate in air due to caesium, isotopes was measured over a period of 1 month to 8 years after the accident. To facilitate a use in models on radiation doses in urban environments, the time dependence of the results were approximated by analytical functions. (author)

Investigation of Qom Rural Area Water Network Accident in 2010 and Minimization Approaches of Accident Frequencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Jafari Mansoorian

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study : Accidents in water networks can lead to increase the uncounted water, costs of repair, maintenance, restoration and enter water contaminants to water network. The aim of this study is to survey the accidents of Qom rural water network and choose the right approaches to reduce the number of accidents. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, four sector of Qom province (Markazi, Dastjerd, Kahak and Qahan, were assessed over a period of 8 months (July – January 2010. This study was conducted through questionnaire of Ministry of Energy. Results: The total number of accidents was 763. The highest number of accidents in the four sectors was related to Markazi sector with 228 accidents. According to the time of the accident, the highest and lowest number of accident was related to September (19.7% and November (6.8%, respectively. According to the location of the accident on network, the highest and lowest number of accident was related to distribution network (64% and connections (17.5% and transmission pipe (18.34%, respectively. According to the type of the accident, the highest and lowest number of accident was related to breaking (47.8% and gasket failure (1.2%, respectively. Considering with the pipes’ material, the highest and lowest number of accident was related to polyethylene pipes (93% and steel and cast iron pipes (0.5%, 0.5%, respectively. Conclusions: Due to the high break rate of Polyethylene pipes, it is recommended to be placed in priority of leak detection and rehabilitation.   .

Dutch in-depth accident investigation: first experiences and analysis results for motorcycles and mopeds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mooi, H.G.; Galliano, F.

2001-01-01

In September 1999 the Dutch Accident Research Team (DART) within TNO Automotive started with the in-depth investigation of traffic accidents. In this paper, the methodology, working procedures and experiences of the team are described and explained in detail. Furthermore, an elaborate description of

Investigation and evaluation for environmental impact at Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

In 2012, JNES investigated the weather data and the environmental monitoring data and constructed the method to specify contribution of the environmental impact from each plant based on the dose analysis result at Unit 1-3 of Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. JNES calculated the dose rate in an accident early stage based on analysis of a monitoring data. Moreover, JNES evaluated the dose by additional release of the radioactive material in case of assuming the loss of coolant injection to a nuclear reactor by the request of NISA. (author)

CFD investigating the air ingress accident for a HTGR simulation of graphite corrosion oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferng, Y.M.; Chi, C.W.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A CFD model is proposed to investigate graphite oxidation corrosion in the HTR-10. ► A postulated air ingress accident is assumed in this paper. ► Air ingress flowrate is the predicted result, instead of the preset one. ► O 2 would react with graphite on pebble surface, causing the graphite corrosion. ► No fuel exposure is predicted to be occurred under the air ingress accident. - Abstract: Through a compressible multi-component CFD model, this paper investigates the characteristics of graphite oxidation corrosion in the HTR-10 core under the postulated accident of gas duct rupture. In this accident, air in the steam generator cavity would enter into the core after pressure equilibrium is achieved between the core and the cavity, which is also called as the air ingress accident. Oxygen in the air would react with graphite on pebble surface, subsequently resulting in oxidation corrosion and challenging fuel integrity. In this paper, characteristics of graphite oxidation corrosion during the air ingress accident can be reasonably captured, including distributions of graphite corrosion amount on the different cross-sections, time histories of local corrosion amount at the monitoring points and overall corrosion amount in the core, respectively. Based on the transient simulation results, the corrosion pattern and its corrosion rate would approach to the steady-state conditions as the accident continuously progresses. The total amount of graphite corrosion during a 3-day accident time is predicted to be about 31 kg with the predicted asymptotic corrosion rate. This predicted value is less than that from the previous work of Gao and Shi.

Study on Developments in Accident Investigation Methods: A Survey of the 'State-of-the-Art'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollnagel, Erik; Speziali, Josephine

2008-01-01

The objective of this project was to survey the main accident investigation methods that have been developed since the early or mid-1990s. The motivation was the increasing frequency of accidents that defy explanations in simple terms, for instance cause-effect chains or 'human error'. Whereas the complexity of socio-technical systems is steadily growing across all industrial domains, including nuclear power production, accident investigation methods are only updated when their inability to account for novel types of accidents and incidents becomes inescapable. Accident investigation methods therefore typically lag behind the socio-technological developments by 20 years or more. The project first compiled a set of methods from the recognised scientific literature and in major major research and development programs, excluding methods limited to risk assessment, technological malfunctions, human reliability, and safety management methods. An initial set of 21 methods was further reduced to seven by retaining only prima facie accident investigation methods and avoiding overlapping or highly similar methods. The second step was to develop a set of criteria used to characterise the methods. The starting point was Perrow's description of normal accidents in socio-technical systems, which used the dimensions of coupling, going from loose to tight, and interactions, going from linear to complex. For practical reasons, the second dimension was changed to that of tractability or how easy it is to describe the system, where the sub-criteria are the level of detail, the availability of an articulated model, and the system dynamics. On this basis the seven selected methods were characterised in terms of the systems - or conditions - they could account for, leading to the following four groups: methods suitable for systems that are loosely coupled and tractable, methods suitable for systems that are tightly coupled and tractable, methods suitable for systems that are loosely

Use of casual tree method for investigation of incidents and accidents involving radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Senne Junior, Murillo; Marques, Raissa Oliveira

2013-01-01

There are many methodologies used for investigation of accidents to facilitate the search of the factors that cause these events in different areas of industry. These can be called proactive methods, if they are used before the occurrence of the events, or reactive methods that are applied after the occurrence of the incident or accident, and are used as a basis of information to prevent further events. One of these methods is the Causal Tree Method (CTM). The basic idea of this technique is that incidents and accidents result from variations in usual processes. These variations can be related to the individual, the task, the material or the environment. The tree starts with the end event (incident or accident) and works backwards. The facts relating to the end event are used in the construction of the causal tree. The end event is the starting point and only the facts that contributed to the incident or accident should be selected. The analyst has to identify and list the variations and then display them in the analytic tree, showing causal relations. The objective of this paper is to test the application of the CTM method in investigation of incidents and accidents involving radioactive materials, in order to evaluate its efficiency on finding the typical factors causing these events. (author)

[Accidents on Iceland's most dangerous roads].

Science.gov (United States)

Bjarnason, Thóroddur; Arnarsson, Sveinn

2012-02-01

The objective of this paper was to identify the most dangerous segments of the Icelandic road system in terms of the number of accidents pr km and the rate of accidents pr million km travelled. First to identify the segments where the number of accidents is highest and where the risk of the individual traveller is the greatest. Second to evaluate if the association between the number and the rate of accidents is positive or negative. Third to identify the road segments that are the most dangerous in the sense of many accidents and great risk to individual travellers. Main roads outside urban centers were divided into 45 segments that were on average 78 km in length. Infrequently travelled roads and roads within urban centers were omitted. Information on the length of roads, traffic density and number of accidents was used to calculate the number of accidents per km and the rate of accidents per million km travelled. The correlation between the number and rate of accidents was calculated and the most dangerous road segments were identified by the average rank order on both dimensions. Most accidents pr km occurred on the main roads to and from the capital region, but also east towards Hvolsvöllur, north towards Akureyri and in the Mideast region of the country. The rate of accidents pr million km travelled was highest in the northeast region, in northern Snæfellsnes and in the Westfjords. The most dangerous roads on both dimensions were in Mideast, northern Westfjords, in the north between Blönduós and Akureyri and in northern Snæfellsnes. Most accidents pr km occurred on roads with a low accident rate pr million km travelled. It is therefore possible to reduce accidents the most by increasing road safety where it is already the greatest but that would however increase inequalities in road safety. Policy development in transportation is therefore in part a question of priorities in healthcare. Individual equality in safety and health are not always fully

Type A Accident Investigation Board report on the January 17, 1996, electrical accident with injury in Technical Area 21 Tritium Science and Fabrication Facility Los Alamos National Laboratory. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-04-01

An electrical accident was investigated in which a crafts person received serious injuries as a result of coming into contact with a 13.2 kilovolt (kV) electrical cable in the basement of Building 209 in Technical Area 21 (TA-21-209) in the Tritium Science and Fabrication Facility (TSFF) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In conducting its investigation, the Accident Investigation Board used various analytical techniques, including events and causal factor analysis, barrier analysis, change analysis, fault tree analysis, materials analysis, and root cause analysis. The board inspected the accident site, reviewed events surrounding the accident, conducted extensive interviews and document reviews, and performed causation analyses to determine the factors that contributed to the accident, including any management system deficiencies. Relevant management systems and factors that could have contributed to the accident were evaluated in accordance with the guiding principles of safety management identified by the Secretary of Energy in an October 1994 letter to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and subsequently to Congress

Type A Accident Investigation Board report on the January 17, 1996, electrical accident with injury in Technical Area 21 Tritium Science and Fabrication Facility Los Alamos National Laboratory. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-04-01

An electrical accident was investigated in which a crafts person received serious injuries as a result of coming into contact with a 13.2 kilovolt (kV) electrical cable in the basement of Building 209 in Technical Area 21 (TA-21-209) in the Tritium Science and Fabrication Facility (TSFF) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In conducting its investigation, the Accident Investigation Board used various analytical techniques, including events and causal factor analysis, barrier analysis, change analysis, fault tree analysis, materials analysis, and root cause analysis. The board inspected the accident site, reviewed events surrounding the accident, conducted extensive interviews and document reviews, and performed causation analyses to determine the factors that contributed to the accident, including any management system deficiencies. Relevant management systems and factors that could have contributed to the accident were evaluated in accordance with the guiding principles of safety management identified by the Secretary of Energy in an October 1994 letter to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and subsequently to Congress.

An analysis on human factor issues in criticality accident at a uranium processing plant. Investigation on human behavior contributing to the criticality accident. Interim report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasou, Kuonihide; Goda, Hideki; Hirotsu, Yuko

1999-01-01

At 10:30 am, September 30th, 1999, a criticality accident occurred in a conversion building of a uranium processing plant in Tokai, Ibaraki prefecture. 69 people including 3 workers who then worked at the building, 3 fire fighters who dispatched to rescue them were exposed to the radiation. People with a 350 m-radius of the site were recommended to evacuate themselves from the region to a temporarily prepared evacuation center. And about one hundred thousand people within a 10 km-radius were also advised to stay inside of their home. Nuclear Safety Commission's Accident Investigation Committee is investigating causes of this accident and have been revealing that deviation from government-authorized processing method and negligence of its illegal procedure had contributed to the accident. The influence of this accident is expanding not only to the plant operating company, local people but also to Japanese nuclear power policy, the whole nuclear industry in Japan. Especially pervasion of 'Safety Culture' is strongly being required. This report analyses latent factors of some human behavior directly contributing to the criticality accident. It also mentions that 4 critical points on the poor climate for safety in the work place, the inadequate safety management, the unsuitable equipment and the production-biased company's policy are the latent factors of this accident. It also finds that the poor climate and the production-biased policy are the most important factors. It can be said that some people directly or indirectly having caused the accident are the victims of them. (author)

Investigation of evaluation method for marine radiological impact during an accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

In 2012, JNES investigated the evaluation method, long-term seawater and marine deposition for release and diffusion to the ocean at the accident, and marine impact assessment code, in Japan and overseas. Also, the foreign regulations for marine radiological impact (direct release to ocean from the facilities and fallout on marine, etc.) were investigated. Furthermore, the index (e.g., intervention level) at emergency control in USA and Europe were investigated. (author)

Investigation of evaluation method for marine radiological impact during an accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-08-15

In 2012, JNES investigated the evaluation method, long-term seawater and marine deposition for release and diffusion to the ocean at the accident, and marine impact assessment code, in Japan and overseas. Also, the foreign regulations for marine radiological impact (direct release to ocean from the facilities and fallout on marine, etc.) were investigated. Furthermore, the index (e.g., intervention level) at emergency control in USA and Europe were investigated. (author)

The urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roed, J.

1997-01-01

Since the majority of the population of Nordic countries, and indeed most of Western Europe, reside in towns and cities, decontamination and reclamation of urban areas must figure prominently in nuclear accident contingency planning. If clean-up is to be both efficient and cost-effective a number of factors must be taken into account. They are: distribution of the deposited radionuclide(s) on the various urban surfaces (roofs, soil, walls, roads etc.); radiation levels on the various surfaces; attenuation of radiation through shielding by urban structures (e.g. walls); habits of the populace with respect to time spent indoors and outdoors and time spent on various floors within buildings typical of particular urban complexes; decontamination by natural processes, described as weathering (which includes rain, traffic, routine cleaning); diminution in radiation levels through radioactive decay; decontamination achievable by artificial means. Of all the radioactive materials which might be released in the event of a severe accident, 134 Cs and 137 Cs would present the greatest radiation hazard to the populace of a contaminated urban complex in both the medium and long-term. (EG)

Investigation into the March 28, 1979 Three Mile Island accident by Office of Inspection and Enforcement (Investigative Report No. 50-320/79-10)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-07-01

On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant experienced the most severe accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history. This report sets forth the facts concerning the events of the accident determined as a result of an investigation by the NRC Office of Inspection and Enforcement. The IE investigation is limited to two aspects of the accident: (1) Those related operational actions by the licensee during the period from before the initiating event until approximately 8:00 p.m., March 28, when primary coolant flow was re-established by starting a reactor coolant pump, and (2) Those steps taken by the licensee to control the release of radioactive material to the off-site environs, and to implement his emergency plan during the period from the initiation of the event to midnight, March 30. These investigation periods were selected because they include the licensee actions which most significantly affected the accident sequence and its results

An investigation of awareness on the Fukushima nuclear accident and Radioactive contamination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Jeong Chul; Song, Young Ju [Dept. of Consumer Safety, Korea Consumer Agency, Eumseong (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The objective of this study was to investigate Korean people's awareness about impact of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in Japan and radioactive contamination caused by it. The respondents of the survey were 600 adults who resided in the Seoul metropolitan area. The survey results show that the majority of respondents were concerned about impact of radiation leakage that might have an effect on our environment. They were worried about radioactive contamination of foodstuffs, particularly fishery products and preferred to acquire information through TV(49.8%) or the Internet(31.3%). Meanwhile, respondents mentioned that the information on the Fukushima nuclear accident and radioactive contamination had not been sufficient and they didn't know well about the follow-up measures of the government on the accident. Most respondents answered that information on radioactive contamination levels and safety of foods and environment was most needed. The results of this study could be useful to enhance awareness on radioactivity and improve risk communication on nuclear power plant accidents.

Investigation of Zircaloy-2 oxidation model for SFP accident analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemoto, Yoshiyuki, E-mail: nemoto.yoshiyuki@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata, Ohaza, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki, 319-1195 (Japan); Kaji, Yoshiyuki; Ogawa, Chihiro; Kondo, Keietsu [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata, Ohaza, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki, 319-1195 (Japan); Nakashima, Kazuo; Kanazawa, Toru; Tojo, Masayuki [Global Nuclear Fuel – Japan Co., Ltd., 2-3-1, Uchikawa, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, 239-0836 (Japan)

2017-05-15

The authors previously conducted thermogravimetric analyses on Zircaloy-2 in air. By using the thermogravimetric data, an oxidation model was constructed in this study so that it can be applied for the modeling of cladding degradation in spent fuel pool (SFP) severe accident condition. For its validation, oxidation tests of long cladding tube were conducted, and computational fluid dynamics analyses using the constructed oxidation model were proceeded to simulate the experiments. In the oxidation tests, high temperature thermal gradient along the cladding axis was applied and air flow rates in testing chamber were controlled to simulate hypothetical SFP accidents. The analytical outputs successfully reproduced the growth of oxide film and porous oxide layer on the claddings in oxidation tests, and validity of the oxidation model was proved. Influence of air flow rate for the oxidation behavior was thought negligible in the conditions investigated in this study. - Highlights: •An oxidation model of Zircaloy-2 in air environment was developed. •The oxidation model was validated by the comparison with oxidation tests using long cladding tubes in hypothetical spent fuel pool accident condition. •The oxidation model successfully reproduced the typical oxidation behavior in air.

Weathering of radiocaesium contamination on urban streets, walls and roofs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, K.G.; Roed, J.; Fogh, C.L.

2002-01-01

Recent investigations in Russia have emphasised the significance of dose contributions from contamination on urban streets and roof pavings, and, typically to a lesser extent, walls in the urban environment. The crucial factor determining the magnitude of these contributions is the retention of the contamination by the different types of urban surface. Since the Chernobyl accident, a series of long-term field studies has been carried out on urban streets, walls and roofs, to examine the weathering processes of 137 Cs on the various surface types. The derived time-functions are applied to estimate resultant long-term doses to inhabitants of an urban centre. The paper highlights the effect on caesium retention of surface material characteristics

The resuspension and redeposition of 137Cs in an urban area: the experience after the Goiania accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pires Do Rio, M.A.; Amaral, E.C.S.; Paretzke, H.G.

1994-01-01

In Goiania, Brazil, the accidental opening of a 137 Cs teletherapy source led to the contamination of an urban area of approximately 1 km 2 . The restricted, local contamination patterns without any significant influence from previous contaminations (Chernobyl reactor accident and atmospheric atomic bomb test fall-out) provided a unique opportunity to study the resuspension and redeposition mechanisms in an urban area under tropical climate characteristics. Air, total deposition, rainwater, surface soil and street dust were sampled over 2 years at a garden of a house and the surroundings and analysed for 137 Cs. The local meteorological conditions were recorded. In addition, some size fractionation measurements were performed. The data show a significant seasonality and a very slow long-term decrease with time for the activity concentration in air and deposition rate. The data as a whole suggest that in Goiania, resuspension and deposition are mainly local phenomena and no evidence was found for a significant spreading of 137 Cs from the place of primary contamination. (author)

Accident Journalism and Traffic Safety Education: A Three-Phase Investigation of Accident Reporting in the Canadian Daily Press.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilde, Gerald J. S.; Ackersviller, Melody J.

A study examined the potential for development of a traffic accident-reporting form in the Canadian daily press that strengthens concern for road safety in the general population and enhances knowledge, attitudes, and behavior leading to greater safety. The investigation was conducted on three levels: a content analysis, a readership analysis, and…

Proposal for computer investigation of LMFBR core meltdown accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boudreau, J.E.; Harlow, F.H.; Reed, W.H.; Barnes, J.F.

1974-01-01

The environmental consequences of an LMFBR accident involving breach of containment are so severe that such accidents must not be allowed to happen. Present methods for analyzing hypothetical core disruptive accidents like a loss of flow with failure to scram cannot show conclusively that such accidents do not lead to a rupture of the pressure vessel. A major deficiency of present methods is their inability to follow large motions of a molten LMFBR core. Such motions may lead to a secondary supercritical configuration with a subsequent energy release that is sufficient to rupture the pressure vessel. The Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory proposes to develop a computer program for describing the dynamics of hypothetical accidents. This computer program will utilize implicit Eulerian fluid dynamics methods coupled with a time-dependent transport theory description of the neutronic behavior. This program will be capable of following core motions until a stable coolable configuration is reached. Survey calculations of reactor accidents with a variety of initiating events will be performed for reactors under current design to assess the safety of such reactors

Accident Investigation and Analysis - a roadmap for organisational learning -

OpenAIRE

Jacinto, Celeste

2016-01-01

1. Scope & Objective Scope: The investigation of occupational accidents has long been a matter of discussion, mainly among specialists, but its translation into company practice has only registered real growth on the turn of the new millennium, essentially as a natural consequence of the H&S (Health & Safety) emerging management systems. In Europe, the many H&S Directives have also played a central role in this field by bringing about new requirements and creating new needs. This trend has...

Risk analysis of urban gas pipeline network based on improved bow-tie model

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, M. J.; You, Q. J.; Yue, Z.

2017-11-01

Gas pipeline network is a major hazard source in urban areas. In the event of an accident, there could be grave consequences. In order to understand more clearly the causes and consequences of gas pipeline network accidents, and to develop prevention and mitigation measures, the author puts forward the application of improved bow-tie model to analyze risks of urban gas pipeline network. The improved bow-tie model analyzes accident causes from four aspects: human, materials, environment and management; it also analyzes the consequences from four aspects: casualty, property loss, environment and society. Then it quantifies the causes and consequences. Risk identification, risk analysis, risk assessment, risk control, and risk management will be clearly shown in the model figures. Then it can suggest prevention and mitigation measures accordingly to help reduce accident rate of gas pipeline network. The results show that the whole process of an accident can be visually investigated using the bow-tie model. It can also provide reasons for and predict consequences of an unfortunate event. It is of great significance in order to analyze leakage failure of gas pipeline network.

URBAN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ANALYSIS BY USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meltem SAPLIOĞLU

2006-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, traffic accidents that cause more social and economic losses than that of natural disasters,have become a national problem in Turkey. To solve this problem and to reduce the casualties, road safety programs are tried to be developed. It is necessary to develop the most effective measures with low investment cost due to limited budgets allocated to such road safety programs. The most important program is to determine dangerous locations of traffic accidents and to improve these sections from the road safety view point. New Technologies are driving a cycle of continuous improvement that causes rapid changes in the traffic engineering and any engineering services within it. It is obvious that this developed services will be the potential for forward-thinking engineering studies to take a more influence role. In this study, Geographic Information System (GIS was used to identify the hazardous locations of traffic accidents in Isparta. Isparta city map was digitized by using Arcinfo 7.21. Traffic accident reports occurred between 1998-2002 were obtained from Directory of Isparta Traffic Region and had been used to form the database. Topology was set up by using Crash Diagrams and Geographic Position Reference Systems. Tables are formed according to the obtained results and interpreted.

Study on Developments in Accident Investigation Methods: A Survey of the 'State-of-the-Art'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollnagel, Erik; Speziali, Josephine (Ecole des Mines de Paris, F-06904 Sophia Antipolis (France))

2008-01-15

The objective of this project was to survey the main accident investigation methods that have been developed since the early or mid-1990s. The motivation was the increasing frequency of accidents that defy explanations in simple terms, for instance cause-effect chains or 'human error'. Whereas the complexity of socio-technical systems is steadily growing across all industrial domains, including nuclear power production, accident investigation methods are only updated when their inability to account for novel types of accidents and incidents becomes inescapable. Accident investigation methods therefore typically lag behind the socio-technological developments by 20 years or more. The project first compiled a set of methods from the recognised scientific literature and in major major research and development programs, excluding methods limited to risk assessment, technological malfunctions, human reliability, and safety management methods. An initial set of 21 methods was further reduced to seven by retaining only prima facie accident investigation methods and avoiding overlapping or highly similar methods. The second step was to develop a set of criteria used to characterise the methods. The starting point was Perrow's description of normal accidents in socio-technical systems, which used the dimensions of coupling, going from loose to tight, and interactions, going from linear to complex. For practical reasons, the second dimension was changed to that of tractability or how easy it is to describe the system, where the sub-criteria are the level of detail, the availability of an articulated model, and the system dynamics. On this basis the seven selected methods were characterised in terms of the systems - or conditions - they could account for, leading to the following four groups: methods suitable for systems that are loosely coupled and tractable, methods suitable for systems that are tightly coupled and tractable, methods suitable for systems that

Epidemiology of school accidents during a six school-year period in one region in Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Sosnowska, Stefania; Kostka, Tomasz

2003-01-01

The aim of the study was to analyse the incidence of school accidents in relation to school size, urban/rural environment and conditions of physical education classes. 202 primary schools with nearly 50,000 students aged 7-15 years were studied during a 6-year period in the Włocławek region in Poland. There were in total 3274 school accidents per 293,000 student-years. Accidents during breaks (36.6%) and physical education (33.2%) were most common. Most frequently accidents took place at schoolyard (29.7%), gymnasium (20.2%), and in the corridor and stairs (25.2%). After adjustment for students' age and sex, student-staff ratio and duration of school hours, urban environment increased the probability of accident (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.14-1.38). Middle-size schools (8-23 classes) had similar accident rate as small schools (OR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.83-1.04), while schools with 24-32 classes (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.10-1.43) and with > or = 33 classes (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.17-1.58) had increased accident rate. Presence of a gymnasium was also associated with increased probability of accident (OR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.38-1.61). Urban environment, larger school-size and equipment with full-size gymnasium are important and independent risk factors for school accidents. These findings provide some new insights into the epidemiology of school-related accidents and may be useful information for the planning of strategies to reduce accident incidence in schools.

An investigation of construction accidents in Rwanda: Perspectives from Kigali

OpenAIRE

Cokeham, M; Tutesigensi, A

2013-01-01

The International Labour Organization suggests that measuring accident statistics is the first step in reducing accident numbers. However, many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, including Rwanda, do not record accident statistics. In response to this, a questionnaire survey of 130 construction workers was undertaken in Kigali, the capital of the Republic of Rwanda, to raise awareness of construction accidents within the country. The survey generated information about 482...

Risk Factors of Road Traffic Accidents Associated Mortality in Northern Iran; A Single Center Experience Utilizing Oaxaca Blinder Decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherafati, Faranak; Homaie-Rad, Enayatollah; Afkar, Abolhassan; Gholampoor-Sigaroodi, Ramin; Sirusbakht, Soheil

2017-04-01

To investigate the differences in death after receiving emergency services in traffic accidents between urban and rural regions, and decompose factors of the gap in Langerood, Northern Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Langrood, Northern Iran during a 1-year period from 2013 to 2014. The hospital data of traffic crashes were used. Data contained those patients who survived at the scene of accident. Injury severity score, time to admission, age, gender, season of crash and type of collision were variables used in this study. Oaxaca decomposition technique was used to show the amount of inequity. In addition, three regression models were used to show the reason of inequity. Overall 1520 patients with road traffic accidents were admitted to our center during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 35.45 ± 17.9 years, and there were 1158 (76.1 %) men among the victims. Motorbike accidents accounted for 869 (57.1%) injuries and 833 (54.8 %) accidents occurred in rural regions. The in-hospital mortality rate was 60 (3.9%). The results of this study showed that 95% of inequity came from factors used in this study and 2.04% disadvantages were for rural crashes. Severity of crash and time to admission had relationship with death, while the effects of time to admission was higher in rural region and severity of the accident had more effect on mortality in urban regions in comparison with rural ones. The high rate of fatal accidents could be decreased by deleting the gap of access to health care services between urban and rural regions. This study suggested that more efforts of health system are needed to reduce the gap.

[The inadequacy of official classification of work accidents in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Cordeiro, Ricardo

2018-02-19

Traditionally, work accidents in Brazil have been categorized in government documents and legal and academic texts as typical work accidents and commuting accidents. Given the increase in urban violence and the increasingly precarious work conditions in recent decades, this article addresses the conceptual inadequacy of this classification and its implications for the underestimation of work accidents in the country. An alternative classification is presented as an example and a contribution to the discussion on the improvement of statistics on work-related injuries in Brazil.

MELCOR assessment of sequential severe accident mitigation actions under SGTR accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Wonjun; Jeon, Joongoo; Kim, Nam Kyung; Kim, Sung Joong

2017-01-01

The representative example of the severe accident studies using the severe accident code is investigation of effectiveness of developed severe accident management (SAM) strategy considering the positive and adverse effects. In Korea, some numerical studies were performed to investigate the SAM strategy using various severe accident codes. Seo et.al performed validation of RCS depressurization strategy and investigated the effect of severe accident management guidance (SAMG) entry condition under small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) without safety injection (SI), station blackout (SBO), and total loss of feed water (TLOFW) scenarios. The SGTR accident with the sequential mitigation actions according to the flow chart of SAMG was simulated by the MELCOR 1.8.6 code. Three scenariospreventing the RPV failure were investigated in terms of fission product release, hydrogen risk, and the containment pressure. Major conclusions can be summarized as follows: (1) According to the flow chart of SAMG, RPV failure can be prevented depending on the method of RCS depressurization. (2) To reduce the release of fission product during the injecting into SGs, a temporary opening of SDS before the injecting into SGs was suggested. These modified sequences of mitigation actions can reduce the release of fission product and the adverse effect of SDS.

An investigation of the closure problem applied to reactor accident source terms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brearley, I.R.; Nixon, W.; Hayns, M.R.

1987-01-01

The closure problem, as considered here, focuses attention on the question of when in current research programmes enough has been learned about the source terms for reactor accident releases. Noting that current research is tending to reduce the estimated magnitude of the aerosol component of atmospheric, accidental releases, several possible criteria for closure are suggested. Moreover, using the reactor accident consequence model CRACUK, the effect of gradually reducing the aerosol release fractions of a pressurized water reactor (PWR2) source term (as defined in the WASH-1400 study) is investigated and the implications of applying the suggested criteria to current source term research discussed. (author)

Site restoration: Estimation of attributable costs from plutonium-dispersal accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chanin, D.I.; Murfin, W.B.

1996-05-01

A nuclear weapons accident is an extremely unlikely event due to the extensive care taken in operations. However, under some hypothetical accident conditions, plutonium might be dispersed to the environment. This would result in costs being incurred by the government to remediate the site and compensate for losses. This study is a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the potential scope of the post-accident response that includes technical factors, current and proposed legal requirements and constraints, as well as social/political factors that could influence decision making. The study provides parameters that can be used to assess economic costs for accidents postulated to occur in urban areas, Midwest farmland, Western rangeland, and forest. Per-area remediation costs have been estimated, using industry-standard methods, for both expedited and extended remediation. Expedited remediation costs have been evaluated for highways, airports, and urban areas. Extended remediation costs have been evaluated for all land uses except highways and airports. The inclusion of cost estimates in risk assessments, together with the conventional estimation of doses and health effects, allows a fuller understanding of the post-accident environment. The insights obtained can be used to minimize economic risks by evaluation of operational and design alternatives, and through development of improved capabilities for accident response

Site restoration: Estimation of attributable costs from plutonium-dispersal accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chanin, D.I.; Murfin, W.B. [Technadyne Engineering Consultants, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1996-05-01

A nuclear weapons accident is an extremely unlikely event due to the extensive care taken in operations. However, under some hypothetical accident conditions, plutonium might be dispersed to the environment. This would result in costs being incurred by the government to remediate the site and compensate for losses. This study is a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the potential scope of the post-accident response that includes technical factors, current and proposed legal requirements and constraints, as well as social/political factors that could influence decision making. The study provides parameters that can be used to assess economic costs for accidents postulated to occur in urban areas, Midwest farmland, Western rangeland, and forest. Per-area remediation costs have been estimated, using industry-standard methods, for both expedited and extended remediation. Expedited remediation costs have been evaluated for highways, airports, and urban areas. Extended remediation costs have been evaluated for all land uses except highways and airports. The inclusion of cost estimates in risk assessments, together with the conventional estimation of doses and health effects, allows a fuller understanding of the post-accident environment. The insights obtained can be used to minimize economic risks by evaluation of operational and design alternatives, and through development of improved capabilities for accident response.

Skills of novices early trained or traditionaly trained versus experienced drivers confronted to simulated urban accidents' scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Berthelon, Catherine; Damm, Loïc

2012-01-01

In order to prevent the over-representation of young drivers in car crashes, France instated an early driver training from the age of 16, but the positive effects of this opportunity have not yet been proven. Three groups of male drivers (12 subjects each) were confronted with some prototypical accident scenarios introduced in a simulated urban circuit. The first and second groups were composed of young drivers having less than one month of driving licence; twelve have had a traditional learning course, and twelve had followed, in addition to the initial course, an early driver training under the supervision of an adult. The third group was composed of experienced drivers. Strategies of the three groups were analyzed through their response time, speed and maneuvers. No difference appeared across groups regarding obstacle detection. But traditionally-trained drivers' position control was more conservative than the two others groups, which were more likely to involve efficient evasive action. The exposure gained during early training could thus increase the development of visuo-motor coordination and involve better skills in case of difficult situations. Others accidents' scenarios could be used to confront young drivers with difficult situations not commonly encountered in natural driving.

The Activities and radioactive dispersion consequences for urban and rural area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pande Made Udiyani; Sri Kuntjoro; Jupiter Sitorus Pane

2015-01-01

The consequences of radioactive releases of contaminants by humans is influenced by many factors such as the amount of activity that spread contaminants and environmental conditions. Environmental conditions include meteorological conditions, the contours of the site and contaminant pathways to humans. The purpose of this research is the analysis of the consequences of radionuclide activity and long half-life time due to accidents in urban and rural areas. The specific objective is to calculate the activity of the air dispersion and surface deposition, dose rate predictions and the risks posed to urban and rural areas as a function of the location. The estimates method used is simulation of the consequences on fission products dispersion in the atmosphere due to the postulated accident Beyond Design Basis Accident, BDBA. The calculation is performed for radioactive releases from accidents in 1000 MWe PWR simulated for rural and urban areas on Bojanegara-Serang site. Results of the analysis are that the activity of air dispersion and deposition surface at rural areas higher than urban areas. The Acceptance dose is higher for rural areas compared with urban areas. The maximum effective individual dose for rural areas is 9.24 x 10"-"2 Sv and urban areas is 5.14 x 10"-"2 Sv. The total risk of cancer for people who live in urban areas is higher than rural areas. (author)

Psychophysiological and other factors affecting human performance in accident prevention and investigation. [Comparison of aviation with other industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klinestiver, L.R.

1980-01-01

Psychophysiological factors are not uncommon terms in the aviation incident/accident investigation sequence where human error is involved. It is highly suspect that the same psychophysiological factors may also exist in the industrial arena where operator personnel function; but, there is little evidence in literature indicating how management and subordinates cope with these factors to prevent or reduce accidents. It is apparent that human factors psychophysological training is quite evident in the aviation industry. However, while the industrial arena appears to analyze psychophysiological factors in accident investigations, there is little evidence that established training programs exist for supervisors and operator personnel.

M5 model tree based predictive modeling of road accidents on non-urban sections of highways in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gyanendra; Sachdeva, S N; Pal, Mahesh

2016-11-01

This work examines the application of M5 model tree and conventionally used fixed/random effect negative binomial (FENB/RENB) regression models for accident prediction on non-urban sections of highway in Haryana (India). Road accident data for a period of 2-6 years on different sections of 8 National and State Highways in Haryana was collected from police records. Data related to road geometry, traffic and road environment related variables was collected through field studies. Total two hundred and twenty two data points were gathered by dividing highways into sections with certain uniform geometric characteristics. For prediction of accident frequencies using fifteen input parameters, two modeling approaches: FENB/RENB regression and M5 model tree were used. Results suggest that both models perform comparably well in terms of correlation coefficient and root mean square error values. M5 model tree provides simple linear equations that are easy to interpret and provide better insight, indicating that this approach can effectively be used as an alternative to RENB approach if the sole purpose is to predict motor vehicle crashes. Sensitivity analysis using M5 model tree also suggests that its results reflect the physical conditions. Both models clearly indicate that to improve safety on Indian highways minor accesses to the highways need to be properly designed and controlled, the service roads to be made functional and dispersion of speeds is to be brought down. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety investigation of team performance in accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petkov, G.; Todorov, V.; Takov, T.; Petrov, V.; Stoychev, K.; Vladimirov, V.; Chukov, I.

2004-01-01

The paper presents the capacities of the performance evaluation of teamwork (PET) method. Its practicability and efficiency are illustrated by retrospective human reliability analyse of the famous nuclear and maritime accidents. A quantitative assessment of operators' performance on the base of thermo-hydraulic (T/H) calculations and full-scope simulator data for set of NPP design basic accidents with WWER is demonstrated. The last data are obtained on the 'WWER-1000' full-scope simulator of Kozloduy NPP during the regular practical training of the operators' teams. An outlook on the 'evaluation system of main control room (MCR) operators' reliability' project, based on simulator data of operators' training is given

Report from investigation committee on the accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshizuka, Seiichi

2012-01-01

Government's Investigation Committee on the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company published its final report on July 23, 2012. Results of investigation combined final report and interim report published on December 26, 2011. The author was head of accident accuse investigation team mostly in charge of site response, prior measure and plant behavior. This article reported author related technical investigation results focusing on site response and prior measures against tsunamis of units 1-3 of Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations. Misunderstanding of working state of isolation condenser of unit 1, unsuitability of alternative water injection at manual stop of high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI) system of unit 3 and improper prior measure against tsunami and severe accident were pointed out in interim report. Improper monitoring of suppression chamber of unit 2 and again unsuitable work for HPCI system of unit 3 were reported in final report. Thorough technical investigation was more encouraged to update safety measures of nuclear power stations. (T. Tanaka)

Mapping patterns of pedestrian fatal accidents in Israel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo Giacomo; Gitelman, Victoria; Bekhor, Shlomo

2010-01-01

This study intends to provide insight into pedestrian accidents by uncovering their patterns in order to design preventive measures and to allocate resources for identifiable problems. Kohonen neural networks are applied to a database of pedestrian fatal accidents occurred during the four-year pe......, results suggest the necessity of designing education campaigns for parents, promoting information campaigns for road users and allocating resources for infrastructural interventions and law enforcement in order to address the identified major problems.......-year period between 2003 and 2006. Results show the existence of five pedestrian accident patterns: (i) elderly pedestrians crossing on crosswalks far from intersection in metropolitan areas; (ii) pedestrians crossing suddenly or from hidden places and colliding with two-wheel vehicles on urban road sections......; (iii) male pedestrians crossing at night and being hit by four-wheel vehicles on rural road sections; (iv) young male pedestrians crossing at night wide road sections in both urban and rural areas; (v) children and teenagers crossing road sections in small rural communities. From the policy perspective...

Large Break LOCA Accident Management Strategies for Accidents With Large Containment Leaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sdouz, Gert

2006-01-01

The goal of this work is the investigation of the influence of different accident management strategies on the thermal-hydraulics in the containment during a Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident with a large containment leak from the beginning of the accident. The increasing relevance of terrorism suggests a closer look at this kind of severe accidents. Normally the course of severe accidents and their associated phenomena are investigated with the assumption of an intact containment from the beginning of the accident. This intact containment has the ability to retain a large part of the radioactive inventory. In these cases there is only a release via a very small leakage due to the un-tightness of the containment up to cavity bottom melt through. This paper represents the last part of a comprehensive study on the influence of accident management strategies on the source term of VVER-1000 reactors. Basically two different accident sequences were investigated: the 'Station Blackout'- sequence and the 'Large Break LOCA'. In a first step the source term calculations were performed assuming an intact containment from the beginning of the accident and no accident management action. In a further step the influence of different accident management strategies was studied. The last part of the project was a repetition of the calculations with the assumption of a damaged containment from the beginning of the accident. This paper concentrates on the last step in the case of a Large Break LOCA. To be able to compare the results with calculations performed years ago the calculations were performed using the Source Term Code Package (STCP), hydrogen explosions are not considered. In this study four different scenarios have been investigated. The main parameter was the switch on time of the spray systems. One of the results is the influence of different accident management strategies on the source term. In the comparison with the sequence with intact containment it was

An analysis of urban collisions using an artificial intelligence model.

Science.gov (United States)

Mussone, L; Ferrari, A; Oneta, M

1999-11-01

Traditional studies on road accidents estimate the effect of variables (such as vehicular flows, road geometry, vehicular characteristics), and the calculation of the number of accidents. A descriptive statistical analysis of the accidents (those used in the model) over the period 1992-1995 is proposed. The paper describes an alternative method based on the use of artificial neural networks (ANN) in order to work out a model that relates to the analysis of vehicular accidents in Milan. The degree of danger of urban intersections using different scenarios is quantified by the ANN model. Methodology is the first result, which allows us to tackle the modelling of urban vehicular accidents by the innovative use of ANN. Other results deal with model outputs: intersection complexity may determine a higher accident index depending on the regulation of intersection. The highest index for running over of pedestrian occurs at non-signalised intersections at night-time.

An outline of the interim report of the investigation committee on the accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshioka, Hitoshi

2012-01-01

Interim report of the Investigation Committee of the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations (NPSs) was published in December 26, 2011. The Japanese cabinet approved ten committee members including the author in May 2011. The committee interviewed more than 400 people over a total of 900 hours of hearings with about 40 staffs consisting of administrative team and three investigation teams of social system, root causes of the accident and countermeasures to prevent damage expansion of the accident. Interim report concluded 'the accident at Fukushima NPSs was caused by failures of every provision against reactor severe accident'. The failures appeared on (1) function of supervisory system for emergency response, (2) Fukushima Daiichi NPSs on-site disaster response especially related with operation of isolation condenser of unit 1 and high-pressure coolant injection system of unit 3, (3) Fukushima Daiichi NPSs off-site disaster response such the government failed to make use of data on the radioactive plumes released from the plant for evacuations, and (4) preparedness against tsunami and severe accident management. Possible worst or best simulation cases were also discussed. With no human support available on-site, workers might not have been able to prevent the meltdowns. Final report was due at the end of July 2012. (T. Tanaka)

Use of PSA and severe accident assessment results for the accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, S. H.; Kim, H. G.; Jang, H. S.; Moon, S. K.; Park, J. U.

1993-12-01

The objectives for this study are to investigate the basic principle or methodology which is applicable to accident management, by using the results of PSA and severe accident research, and also facilitate the preparation of accidents management program in the future. This study was performed as follows: derivation of measures for core damage prevention, derivation of measures for accident mitigation, application of computerized tool to assess severe accident management

Use of PSA and severe accident assessment results for the accident management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, S H; Kim, H G; Jang, H S; Moon, S K; Park, J U [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

1993-12-15

The objectives for this study are to investigate the basic principle or methodology which is applicable to accident management, by using the results of PSA and severe accident research, and also facilitate the preparation of accidents management program in the future. This study was performed as follows: derivation of measures for core damage prevention, derivation of measures for accident mitigation, application of computerized tool to assess severe accident management.

Aspects Concerning The Rules And The Investigation Of Traffic Accidents As Work Accidents

Science.gov (United States)

Tarnu, Lucian Ioan

2015-07-01

When Romania joined the European Union, it was imposed that the Romanian legislation in the field of the security and health at work be in line with the European one. The concept of health as it is defined by the International Body of Health, refers to a good physical, mental and social condition. The improvement of the activity of preventing the traffic accidents as work accidents must have as basis the correct and accurate evaluation of risks of getting injured. The goal of the activity of prevention and protection is to ensure the best working conditions, the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases and the adjustment to the scientific and technological progress. In the road transport sector, as in any other sector, it is very important to pay attention to working conditions to ensure a workforce motivated and well qualified. Some features make it a more difficult sector risk management than other sectors. However, if one takes into account how it works in practice this sector and the characteristics of drivers and how they work routinely, risks, dangers and threats can be managed efficiently and with great success.

Investigations on accidents with massive water ingress exemplified by the pebble bed reactor PNP-500

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moormann, R.

1986-01-01

A computer code is used for analyses of massive water ingress accidents in the High-Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor concept PNP-500 with pebble bed core. The analyses are mainly focussed on graphite corrosion processes. For the investigated accidents a correct reactor shut down in assumed. The mass of water ingressing into the primary circuit is varied between 1000 and 7500 kg (i.e., up to hypothetical values). The dependence of accident consequences on parameters such as intensity and starting time of the afterheat removal system or kinetic values of the chemical processes is examined. The results show that even under pessimistic assumptions the extent of the graphite corrosion is relatively low; significant damaging of fuel elements or graphite components does not occur. A primary circuit depressurization, combined with local burning of water gas, would probably not affect the fission product retention potential of the (gastight) containment. Summing up, the risk caused by these accidents remains small. (orig.) [de

Analysis of factors associated with traffic accidents of cyclists attended in Brazilian state capitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, Carlos Augusto Moreira de; Bahia, Camila Alves; Constantino, Patrícia

2016-12-01

Brazil has the sixth largest bicycles fleet in the world and bicycle is the most used individual transport vehicle in the country. Few studies address the issue of cyclists' accidents and factors that contribute to or prevent this event. VIVA is a cross-sectional survey and is part of the Violence and Accidents Surveillance System, Brazilian Ministry of Health. We used complex sampling and subsequent data review through multivariate logistic regression and calculation of the respective odds ratios. Odds ratios showed greater likelihood of cyclists' accidents in males, people with less schooling and living in urban and periurban areas. People who were not using the bike to go to work were more likely to suffer an accident. The profile found in this study corroborates findings of other studies. They claim that the coexistence of cyclists and other means of transportation in the same urban space increases the likelihood of accidents. The construction of bicycle-exclusive spaces and educational campaigns are required.

Safety-critical human factors issues derived from analysis of the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi accident investigation reports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakuda, Hiroshi; Takeuchi, Michiru

2013-01-01

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident on March 11, 2011 had a large impact both in and outside Japan, and is not yet concluded. After Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO's) Fukushima accident, electric power suppliers have taken measures to respond in the event that the same state of emergency occurs - deploying mobile generators, temporary pumps and hoses, and training employees in the use of this equipment. However, it is not only the “hard” problems including the design of equipment, but the “soft” problems such as organization and safety culture that have been highlighted as key contributors in this accident. Although a number of organizations have undertaken factor analysis of the accident and proposed issues to be reviewed and measures to be taken, a systematic overview about electric power suppliers' organization and safety culture has not yet been undertaken. This study is based on three major reports: the report by the national Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (the Diet report), the report by the Investigation Committee on the Accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Government report), and the report by the non-government committee supported by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation (Non-government report). From these reports, the sections relevant to electric power suppliers' organization and safety culture were extracted. These sections were arranged to correspond with the prerequisites for the ideal organization, and 30 issues to be reviewed by electric power suppliers were extracted using brainstorming methods. It is expected that the identified issues will become a reference for every organization concerned to work on preventive measures hereafter. (author)

Investigate the causes of transport and tramming accidents on coal mines.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Rushworth, AM

1999-03-01

Full Text Available Transport and tramming accidents on coal mines in South Africa are a major component in the overall pattern of colliery accidents. Furthermore, there is now a widespread acceptance that human error is a common cause of failure in accident patterns...

Investigating plutonium contamination in marine sediments off Fukushima coast following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bu Wenting; Guo Qiuju; Zheng, Jian; Aono, Tatsuo; Tagami, Keiko; Uchida, Shigeo; Zhang, Jing; Yamada, Masatoshi

2013-01-01

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident has caused large amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides to be released into the atmosphere as well as directly discharged into the sea. To obtain the vertical distribution of Pu isotopes in marine sediments and to better assess the possible contamination from the FDNPP accident in the marine environment, activities of "2"3"9"+"2"4"0Pu and "2"4"1Pu, as well as the atom ratios of "2"4"0Pu/"2"3"9Pu and "2"4"1Pu/"2"3"9Pu, were investigated in a sediment core collected from the western North Pacific in July 2011. The observed vertical profile of "2"3"9"+"2"4"0Pu activities and "2"4"0Pu/"2"3"9Pu atom ratios showed no extra injection of Pu from the accident, indicating no immediate Pu contamination from the FDNPP accident in the marine sediments in the region investigated. (author)

Incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder after traffic accidents in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Stephan; Otte, Dietmar; Petri, Maximilian; Decker, Sebastian; Stübig, Timo; Krettek, Christian; Müller, Christian W

2014-01-01

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is possibly an overlooked diagnosis of victims suffering from traffic accidents sustaining serious to severe injuries. This paper investigates the incidence of PTSD after traffic accidents in Germany. Data from an accident research unit were analyzed in regard to collision details, and preclinical and clinical data. Preclinical data included details on crash circumstances and estimated injury severity as well as data on victims' conditions (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, breath rate). Clinical data included initial assessment in the emergency department, radiographic diagnoses, and basic life parameters comparable to the preclinical data as well as follow-up data on the daily ward. Data were collected in the German-In-Depth Accident Research study, and included gender, type of accident (e.g. type of vehicle, road conditions, rural or urban area), mental disorder, and AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) head score. AIS represent a scoring system to measure the injury severity of traffic accident victims. A total 258 out of 32807 data sets were included in this analysis. Data on accident and victims was collected on scene by specialized teams following established algorithms. Besides higher AIS Head scores for male motorcyclists compared to all other subgroups, no significant correlation was found between the mean maximum AIS score and the occurrence of PTSD. Furthermore, there was no correlation between higher AIS head scores, gender, or involvement in road traffic accidents and PTSD. In our study the overall incidence of PTSD after road traffic accidents was very low (0.78% in a total of 32.807 collected data sets) when compared to other published studies. The reason for this very low incidence of PTSD in our patient sample could be seen in an underestimation of the psychophysiological impact of traffic accidents on patients. Patients suffering from direct experiences of traumatic events such as a traffic accident

Investigations of postulated accident sequences for the Fort St. Vrain HTGR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, S.J.; Cleveland, J.C.; Conklin, J.C.; Hatta, M.; Sanders, J.P.

1978-01-01

The systems analysis capability of the ORNL HTGR Safety analysis research program includes a family of computer codes: an overall plant NSSS simulation (ORTAP), and detailed component codes for investigating core neutronic accidents (CORTAP), shutdown emergency-cooling accidents via a 3-dimensional core model (ORECA), and once-through steam generator transients (BLAST). The component codes can either be run independently or in the overall NSSS code. Verification efforts have consisted primarily of using existing Fort St. Vrain reactor dynamics data to compare against code predictions. Comparisons of core thermal conditions made for reactor scrams from power levels between 30 and 50% showed good agreement. An optimization program was used to rationalize the difference between the predicted and measured refueling region outlet temperatures, and, in general, excellent agreement was attained by adjustment of models and parameters within their uncertainty ranges. However, more work is required to establish a unique and valid set of models

Safety evaluation model of urban cross-river tunnel based on driving simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yingqi; Lu, Linjun; Lu, Jian John

2017-09-01

Currently, Shanghai urban cross-river tunnels have three principal characteristics: increased traffic, a high accident rate and rapidly developing construction. Because of their complex geographic and hydrological characteristics, the alignment conditions in urban cross-river tunnels are more complicated than in highway tunnels, so a safety evaluation of urban cross-river tunnels is necessary to suggest follow-up construction and changes in operational management. A driving risk index (DRI) for urban cross-river tunnels was proposed in this study. An index system was also constructed, combining eight factors derived from the output of a driving simulator regarding three aspects of risk due to following, lateral accidents and driver workload. Analytic hierarchy process methods and expert marking and normalization processing were applied to construct a mathematical model for the DRI. The driving simulator was used to simulate 12 Shanghai urban cross-river tunnels and a relationship was obtained between the DRI for the tunnels and the corresponding accident rate (AR) via a regression analysis. The regression analysis results showed that the relationship between the DRI and the AR mapped to an exponential function with a high degree of fit. In the absence of detailed accident data, a safety evaluation model based on factors derived from a driving simulation can effectively assess the driving risk in urban cross-river tunnels constructed or in design.

Dentofacial injuries in commercial motorcycle accidents in Cameroon

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: This was a hospital based study conducted in 6 out of 10 regional ... large portion of road traffic accidents in developing ... networks, unplanned urban transportation with the ... This study was of 387 cases of dentofacial injuries at-.

Lateral car collisions : characteristics of lateral car collisions based on SWOV accident investigation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

1979-01-01

During 1976 and part of 1977 the Dutch institute for road safety research SWOV carried out the field work for an accident study involving passenger cars. The purpose of this crash injury investigation was to evaluate the influence of relevant crash safety factors (like safety belts and head

Utilization of the IAIA (Investigation and Analysis of Incidents and Accidents) method in the investigation of the P-36 platform accident; Utilizacao do metodo IAIA (Investigacao e Analise de Acidentes e Incidentes) na investigacao do acidente ocorrido na plataforma P-36

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teles, Marcus de Barros [ARCE - Agencia Reguladora de Servicos Publicos Delegados do Estado do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE (Brazil)

2004-07-01

In the beginning of XXI century the Brazilian oil industry report a big accident involving that which was the biggest petroleum platform of the world. With capacity production of 180.000 barrels a day and capacity compression of 7,2 million cubic meter a day of natural gas, the off-shore platform P-36 was situated on Roncador field, in Campos basin, operating in 1360 meters of water. As consequences, eleven deaths with irreparable traumas to the families, friends and worker partners, one billion dollars in prejudices to brazilian country, environmental damages by oil leak and injuries to PETROBRAS reputation in Brazil and in the world. The method of investigation and analysis of incidents and accidents - IAIA is very wide and its philosophy contain a lot of topics, since basic concepts, investigation actions, analysis action and diagnosis by the general kind of fail. Using this method and taking advantage from the report elaborated by the commission organized by ANP - Agencia Nacional do Petroleo and DPC - Diretoria de Portos e Costas, responsible for the investigation and analysis of the accident occurred with P-36, this paper identify the direct and indirect causes of the accident, in attempt to avoid new similar situations. (author)

Development of a strategy for decontamination of an urban area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roed, J.; Andersson, K.G.

2000-01-01

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 lead to high level contamination in urban areas in different parts of Europe and showed the importance of preparedness in the optimisation of any mitigatory interference. To meet this demand, a method for development of a decontamination strategy for urban areas has been developed based on measurements of radionuclide distribution in the urban environment after the Chernobyl accident, calculations of dose and experimentally obtained data on effectiveness and cost of practicable clean-up procedures. The approach highlights where decontamination would be of greatest benefit in terms of dose reduction and cost. (author)

Criticality accident of nuclear fuel facility. Think back on JCO criticality accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, Keiji

2003-09-01

This book is written in order to understand the fundamental knowledge of criticality safety or criticality accident of nuclear fuel facility by the citizens. It consists of four chapters such as critical conditions and criticality accident of nuclear facility, risk of criticality accident, prevention of criticality accident and a measure at an occurrence of criticality accident. A definition of criticality, control of critical conditions, an aspect of accident, a rate of incident, damage, three sufferers, safety control method of criticality, engineering and administrative control, safety design of criticality, investigation of failure of safety control of JCO criticality accident, safety culture are explained. JCO criticality accident was caused with intention of disregarding regulation. It is important that we recognize the correct risk of criticality accident of nuclear fuel facility and prevent disasters. On the basis of them, we should establish safety culture. (S.Y.)

The potential importance of water pathways for spent fuel transportation accident risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostmeyer, R.M.

1986-01-01

This paper analyzes the potential importance of water pathway contamination for spent fuel transportation accident risk using a ''worst-case'' water contamination scenario. The scenario used for the analysis involves an accident release that occurs near a reservoir. Water pathway doses are compared to doses for accident releases in urban or agricultural areas. The results of the analysis indicate that water pathways are not important for assessing the risk of transporting spent reactor fuel by truck or by rail

A “JUST CULTURE”? CONFLICTS OF INTEREST IN THE INVESTIGATION OF AVIATION ACCIDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz BALCERZAK

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The sole purpose of air accident investigations should be the prevention of accidents and other incidents in the future, without apportioning blame or liability. A civil aviation safety system is based on feedback and lessons learned from accidents and incidents, while requiring the strict application of rules on confidentiality in order to ensure the availability of valuable sources of information in the future. Therefore, related data, especially sensitive safety information, should be protected in an appropriate manner. Information provided by an individual in the framework of a safety investigation should not be used against them, in full respect of constitutional principles, and national and international law. Each “involved person” who knows about an accident or serious incident should promptly notify the competent state authority for carrying out an investigation of the event. “Involved person” refers to one of the following: the owner; a member of the crew; the operator of the aircraft involved in an accident or serious incident; any person involved in the maintenance, design, manufacture of that aircraft or in the training of its crew; any person involved in air traffic control, providing flight information or providing airport services, which provided services for the aircraft concerned; staff of the national civil aviation authority; or staff of the European Aviation Safety Agency. In terms of the protection level of the organization (employer, employees who report an event or submit an application to the investigation cannot bear any prejudice from their employer because of information provided by the applicant. The protection does not cover (exclusions: infringement with wilful misconduct (direct intent, recklessness infringement; infringement committed by a clear and serious disregard of the obvious risks; and serious professional negligence, i.e., the failure to provide unquestionably duty of care required under the

Explaining the road accident risk: weather effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergel-Hayat, Ruth; Debbarh, Mohammed; Antoniou, Constantinos; Yannis, George

2013-11-01

This research aims to highlight the link between weather conditions and road accident risk at an aggregate level and on a monthly basis, in order to improve road safety monitoring at a national level. It is based on some case studies carried out in Work Package 7 on "Data analysis and synthesis" of the EU-FP6 project "SafetyNet-Building the European Road Safety Observatory", which illustrate the use of weather variables for analysing changes in the number of road injury accidents. Time series analysis models with explanatory variables that measure the weather quantitatively were used and applied to aggregate datasets of injury accidents for France, the Netherlands and the Athens region, over periods of more than 20 years. The main results reveal significant correlations on a monthly basis between weather variables and the aggregate number of injury accidents, but the magnitude and even the sign of these correlations vary according to the type of road (motorways, rural roads or urban roads). Moreover, in the case of the interurban network in France, it appears that the rainfall effect is mainly direct on motorways--exposure being unchanged, and partly indirect on main roads--as a result of changes in exposure. Additional results obtained on a daily basis for the Athens region indicate that capturing the within-the-month variability of the weather variables and including it in a monthly model highlights the effects of extreme weather. Such findings are consistent with previous results obtained for France using a similar approach, with the exception of the negative correlation between precipitation and the number of injury accidents found for the Athens region, which is further investigated. The outlook for the approach and its added value are discussed in the conclusion. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Investigation of the possible effect of the Chernobyl accident on Irish mortality rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowley, M.J.; Reville, W.J.

1989-01-01

Radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident reached Ireland in May 1986 and caused serious concern with regard to its possible effects on health. Reports of a large scale American study claim an almost immediate effect of Chernobyl fallout in terms of increased mortality rates. A study of Irish mortality rates reported a substantial increase in numbers of deaths during the three months immediately post-Chernobyl. The present study investigates whether there is a statistically significant basis for the reported increase in mortality in Ireland. No discernible evidence was found for increased mortality rates in Ireland during 1986, following the Chernobyl accident. The initial report of increased mortality rates was based on provisional mortality registration statistics and not on actual day to day data. (author)

[A spatially explicit analysis of traffic accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists in Berlin].

Science.gov (United States)

Lakes, Tobia

2017-12-01

In many German cities and counties, sustainable mobility concepts that strengthen pedestrian and cyclist traffic are promoted. From the perspectives of urban development, traffic planning and public healthcare, a spatially differentiated analysis of traffic accident data is decisive. 1) The identification of spatial and temporal patterns of the distribution of accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians, 2) the identification of hotspots and exploration of possible underlying causes and 3) the critical discussion of benefits and challenges of the results and the derivation of conclusions. Spatio-temporal distributions of data from accident statistics in Berlin involving pedestrians and cyclists from 2011 to 2015 were analysed with geographic information systems (GIS). While the total number of accidents remains relatively stable for pedestrian and cyclist accidents, the spatial distribution analysis shows, however, that there are significant spatial clusters (hotspots) of traffic accidents with a strong concentration in the inner city area. In a critical discussion, the benefits of geographic concepts are identified, such as spatially explicit health data (in this case traffic accident data), the importance of the integration of other data sources for the evaluation of the health impact of areas (traffic accident statistics of the police), and the possibilities and limitations of spatial-temporal data analysis (spatial point-density analyses) for the derivation of decision-supported recommendations and for the evaluation of policy measures of health prevention and of health-relevant urban development.

Assessment of the environmental impacts produced by the transport of radioactive materials through urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DuCharme, A.R.; Taylor, J.M.; Tierney, M.S.; Finley, B.H.

1977-01-01

Sandia Laboratories is performing an environmental assessment for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ascertain the impacts produced by the transportation of radioactive materials near and through a large, densely populated area. Radiological, nonradiological and economic environmental impacts due to the transportation of all radioactive materials are considered, excepting those related to weapons, weapon components, or shipments on military vehicles. Although New York City is being studied initially to execute the methodology as a function of a real, complex urban environment, the assessment model developed is general in its basic content and is suitable for application to any urban area. Radiological consequences are being computed for cases involving ''normal'' and accident conditions. In the ''normal'' case, nothing unusual takes place, but small radiation doses are still received by nearby people. In the accident case, dispersion of possibly released material away from the accident site is considered. In addition, impacts due to deviations from quality assurance practices, as a result of human error, are being calculated using the assessment model in a special manner. Certain aspects of sabotage and diversion are also being investigated for an urban setting. Radiological consequences are being quantified in terms of human health effects and decontamination costs

The Epidemiology of Injuries and Accidents in Children Under one Year of Age, during (2009-2016 in Hamadan Province, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaher Khazaei

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background Injuries and accidents are the first cause of death in the first 5 years of children life in the world; the present study was conducted to investigate the extent and distribution of accidents in the infants under one year in Hamadan Province, Iran. Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was carried out using of   data of injuries and accidents related to children under one year for Hamadan province in seven years period from March 2009 to March 2016. In this study we used data according national injuries and accidents recorded program. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as analytical statistics including the Chi-square test. Data were analyzed using Stata software version 12. Results:In this 7 year periods, 3,200 accidents were registered among children under one year. The highest occurrence of accidents was in the spring 1,029 (31.15% of cases. 1,890 (59.1% of accidents occurred in the urban area and only 429 (13.4% of them were in rural area. In total, car accidents (53.4%, trauma (12.6% and fall from altitude (8.8% had most frequency from all accidents. There was a significant difference between gender and place of accident with type of accident (P

Evaluation to a long term remediation actions after Goiania radiological accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Rio, Monica A. Pires do; Coutinho, Celia M.C.; Acar, Maria E.D.; Romeiro, Carlos H.

2000-01-01

Ten years after the Goiania radiological accident, the results obtained by the IRD Environmental Monitoring Program are compared to the values adopted for establishing the intervention levels at the time of the accident occurrence (1987), and to the values of the parameters obtained by European countries, after the Chernobyl accident. Significant differences were observed in parameter values, particularly, those related to a long term prediction of the contamination behaviour in an urban area. This paper shows the importance of the survey for the environmental behaviour of pollutants in tropical climate conditions. (author)

Accident investigation board report on the May 14, 1997, chemical explosion at the Plutonium Reclamation Facility, Hanford Site,Richland, Washington - final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerton, R.E.

1997-01-01

On May 14, 1997, at 7:53 p.m. (PDT), a chemical explosion occur-red in Tank A- 109 in Room 40 of the Plutonium Reclamation Facility (Facility) located in the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site, approximately 30 miles north of Richland, Washington. The inactive processing Facility is part of the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). On May 16, 1997, Lloyd L. Piper, Deputy Manager, acting for John D. Wagoner, Manager, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (RL), formally established an Accident Investigation Board (Board) to investigate the explosion in accordance with DOE Order 225. 1, Accident Investigations. The Board commenced its investigation on May 15, 1997, completed the investigation on July 2, 1997, and submitted its findings to the RL Manager on July 26, 1997. The scope of the Board's investigation was to review and analyze the circumstances of the events that led to the explosion; to analyze facts and to determine the causes of the accident; and to develop conclusions and judgments of need that may help prevent a recurrence of the accident. The scope also included the application of lessons learned from similar accidents within DOE. In addition to this detailed report, a companion document has also been prepared that provides a concise summary of the facts and conclusions of this report, with an emphasis on management issues (DOE/RL-97-63)

Allometric scaling and accidents at work

Science.gov (United States)

Cempel, Czesław; Tabaszewski, Maciej; Ordysiński, Szymon

2016-01-01

Allometry is the knowledge concerning relations between the features of some beings, like animals, or cities. For example, the daily energy rate is proportional to a mass of mammals rise of 3/4. This way of thinking has spread quickly from biology to many areas of research concerned with sociotechnical systems. It was revealed that the number of innovations, patents or heavy crimes rises as social interaction increases in a bigger city, while other urban indexes such as suicides decrease with social interaction. Enterprise is also a sociotechnical system, where social interaction and accidents at work take place. Therefore, do these interactions increase the number of accidents at work or, on the contrary, are they reduction-driving components? This article tries to catch such links and assess the allometric exponent between the number of accidents at work and the number of employees in an enterprise. PMID:26655044

Investigation on the health effects and radioactive contamination after the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagataki, Shigenobu; Yokoyama, Naokata

1996-01-01

In the screening of the thyroid diseases in the radiation cohort, it is essential to make correct diagnosis, to measure radiation dose in every subjects and to analyze the dose response relationship by the most appropriate statistical method. Based on experiences of atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, children around Chernobyl area were examined. In the Chernobyl accident, various investigations were supported by many international organizations and groups in the world. More than 80,000 children were screened in 5 diagnostic centers; Klincy in Russia, Mogilev and Gomel in Beralus and Kiev and Korosten in Ukraine. Children with thyroid cancer confirmed by histology were 2 in Mogilev. 19 in Gomel, 6 in Kiev, 5 in Korosten and 4 in Klincy until the end of 1994. The prevalence of thyroid cancer was remarkably high (lowest 100 and highest 1,000/million children), compared to the other parts of the world (0.2 to 5/millions/year). However, there was no dose response relationship between the prevalence of thyroid diseases and whole body 137 Cs radioactivity or the soil 137 Cs radio contaminated levels. Although a significant correlation between thyroid cancer and reconstructed thyroid 131 I dose was presented, there are no previous reports to prove that 131 I produces thyroid cancer in human. It is concluded about childhood thyroid cancer around Chernobyl that; it is confirmed that there are many children with thyroid cancer in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia and its diagnosis is correct. The increases of the incidence of thyroid cancer after the Chernobyl accident is probable confirmed. It is suspected but no confirmed that cause of thyroid cancer is the radioactive fallout of Chernobyl accident. Investigation on internal radiation and short lived isotopes along with 131 I may be important to elucidate the cause of thyroid cancer. (K.H.)

Vulnerability Identification and Resilience Enhancements of Urban Environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, K.; Riedel, W.; Häring, I.; Nieuwenhuijs, A.H.; Crabbe, S.; Trojaborg, S.; Hynes, W.; Müllers, I.

2012-01-01

Steadily increasing number of the world’s population is living in ur-ban centres. The issue of security and citizen safety in densely populated areas is a growing concern. Considering terrorism and large scale accident scenarios, natural disasters and crime, urban planning practice must be

Accidents - Chernobyl accident; Accidents - accident de Tchernobyl

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This file is devoted to the Chernobyl accident. It is divided in four parts. The first part concerns the accident itself and its technical management. The second part is relative to the radiation doses and the different contaminations. The third part reports the sanitary effects, the determinists ones and the stochastic ones. The fourth and last part relates the consequences for the other European countries with the case of France. Through the different parts a point is tackled with the measures taken after the accident by the other countries to manage an accident, the cooperation between the different countries and the groups of research and studies about the reactors safety, and also with the international medical cooperation, specially for the children, everything in relation with the Chernobyl accident. (N.C.)

Investigation program on PWR-steel-containment behavior under accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krieg, R.; Eberle, F.; Goeller, B.; Gulden, W.; Kadlec, J.; Messemer, G.; Mueller, S.; Wolf, E.

1983-10-01

This report is a first documentation of the KfK/PNS activities and plans to investigate the behaviour of steel containments under accident conditions. The investigations will deal with a free standing spherical containment shell built for the latest type of a German pressurized water reactor. The diameter of the containment shell is 56 m. The minimum wall thickness is 38 mm. The material used is the ferritic steel 15MnNi63. According to the actual planning the program is concerned with four different problems which are beyond the common design and licensing practice: Containment behavior under quasi-static pressure increase up to containment failure. Containment behavior under high transient pressures. Containment oscillations due to earthquake loadings; consideration of shell imperfections. Containment buckling due to earthquake loadings. The investigation program consists of both theoretical and experimental activities including membrane tests allowing for very high plastic strains and oscillation tests with a thin-walled, high-accurate spherical shell. (orig.) [de

Evaluation of severe accident environmental conditions taking accident management strategy into account for equipment survivability assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Byung Chul; Jeong, Ji Hwan; Na, Man Gyun; Kim, Soong Pyung

2003-01-01

This paper presents a methodology utilizing accident management strategy in order to determine accident environmental conditions in equipment survivability assessments. In case that there is well-established accident management strategy for specific nuclear power plant, an application of this tool can provide a technical rationale on equipment survivability assessment so that plant-specific and time-dependent accident environmental conditions could be practically and realistically defined in accordance with the equipment and instrumentation required for accident management strategy or action appropriately taken. For this work, three different tools are introduced; Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) outcomes, major accident management strategy actions, and Accident Environmental Stages (AESs). In order to quantitatively investigate an applicability of accident management strategy to equipment survivability, the accident simulation for a most likely scenario in Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants (KSNPs) is performed with MAAP4 code. The Accident Management Guidance (AMG) actions such as the Reactor Control System (RCS) depressurization, water injection into the RCS, the containment pressure and temperature control, and hydrogen concentration control in containment are applied. The effects of these AMG actions on the accident environmental conditions are investigated by comparing with those from previous normal accident simulation, especially focused on equipment survivability assessment. As a result, the AMG-involved case shows the higher accident consequences along the accident environmental stages

Transport of radionuclides in urban environs: working draft assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DuCharme, A.R.; Akins, R.E.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.; Finley, B.H.; Kaestner, P.C.; Sheldon, D.D.; Taylor, J.M.; Tierney, M.S.; Finley, N.N.

1978-05-01

Purpose of this study is to assess the environmental impacts from transportation of radioactive materials in urban environs. The impacts from accident-free transport, vehicular accidents during transport, and from other abnormal situations are analyzed. The approach is outlined including description of the models developed and the data bases employed to account for the special features of the urban environment. The operations and contributions of the task group formed to assist in this study are also discussed. The results obtained for the New York City study area are presented and explained.

Transport of radionuclides in urban environs: working draft assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DuCharme, A.R.; Akins, R.E.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.; Finley, B.H.; Kaestner, P.C.; Sheldon, D.D.; Taylor, J.M.; Tierney, M.S.; Finley, N.N.

1978-05-01

Purpose of this study is to assess the environmental impacts from transportation of radioactive materials in urban environs. The impacts from accident-free transport, vehicular accidents during transport, and from other abnormal situations are analyzed. The approach is outlined including description of the models developed and the data bases employed to account for the special features of the urban environment. The operations and contributions of the task group formed to assist in this study are also discussed. The results obtained for the New York City study area are presented and explained

Facial trauma among victims of terrestrial transport accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

d'Avila, Sérgio; Barbosa, Kevan Guilherme Nóbrega; Bernardino, Ítalo de Macedo; da Nóbrega, Lorena Marques; Bento, Patrícia Meira; E Ferreira, Efigênia Ferreira

2016-01-01

In developing countries, terrestrial transport accidents - TTA, especially those involving automobiles and motorcycles - are a major cause of facial trauma, surpassing urban violence. This cross-sectional census study attempted to determine facial trauma occurrence with terrestrial transport accidents etiology, involving cars, motorcycles, or accidents with pedestrians in the northeastern region of Brazil, and examine victims' socio-demographic characteristics. Morbidity data from forensic service reports of victims who sought care from January to December 2012 were analyzed. Altogether, 2379 reports were evaluated, of which 673 were related to terrestrial transport accidents and 103 involved facial trauma. Three previously trained and calibrated researchers collected data using a specific form. Facial trauma occurrence rate was 15.3% (n=103). The most affected age group was 20-29 years (48.3%), and more men than women were affected (2.81:1). Motorcycles were involved in the majority of accidents resulting in facial trauma (66.3%). The occurrence of facial trauma in terrestrial transport accident victims tends to affect a greater proportion of young and male subjects, and the most prevalent accidents involve motorcycles. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

[Investigation of emergency capacities for occupational hazard accidents in silicon solar cell producing enterprises].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, D D; Xu, J N; Zhu, B L

2016-11-20

Objective: To investigate and analyze the influential factors of occupational hazard acci-dents, emergency facilities and emergency management in Silicon solar cell producing enterprises, then to pro-vide scientific strategies. Methods: The methods of occupationally healthy field investigating, inspecting of ven-tilation effectiveness, setup of emergency program and wearing chemical suit were used. Results: The mainly occupational hazard accidents factors in the process of Silicon solar cell producing included poisoning chemi-cals, high temperature, onizing radiation and some workplaces. The poisoning chemicals included nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, chlorine, phos-phorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, silane, and so on; the workplaces in-cluded the area of producing battery slides and auxiliary producing area. Among the nine enterprises, gas detec-tors were installed in special gas supplying stations and sites, but the height, location and alarmvalues of gas detectors in six enterprises were not according with standard criteria; emergency shower and eyewash equip-ment were installed in workplaces with strong corrosive chemicals, but the issues of waste water were not solved; ventilation systems were set in the workplaces with ammonia and silane, but not qualified with part lo-cations and parameters in two enterprises; warehouses with materials of acid, alkali, chemical ammonia and phosphorus oxychloride were equipped with positive - pressure air respirator resuscitator and emergency cabi-nets, but with insufficient quantity in seven enterprises and expiration in part of products. The error rate of set-up emergency program and wearing chemical cloth were 30%~100% and 10%~30%, respectively. Among the nine enterprises, there were emergency rescue plans for dangerous chemical accidents, but without profession-al heatstroke and irradiation accident emergency plans

Cavity Heating Experiments Supporting Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Everhart, Joel L.; Berger, Karen T.; Bey, Kim S.; Merski, N. Ronald; Wood, William A.

2011-01-01

The two-color thermographic phosphor method has been used to map the local heating augmentation of scaled idealized cavities at conditions simulating the windward surface of the Shuttle Orbiter Columbia during flight STS-107. Two experiments initiated in support of the Columbia Accident Investigation were conducted in the Langley 20-Inch Mach 6 Tunnel. Generally, the first test series evaluated open (length-to-depth less than 10) rectangular cavity geometries proposed as possible damage scenarios resulting from foam and ice impact during launch at several discrete locations on the vehicle windward surface, though some closed (length-to-depth greater than 13) geometries were briefly examined. The second test series was designed to parametrically evaluate heating augmentation in closed rectangular cavities. The tests were conducted under laminar cavity entry conditions over a range of local boundary layer edge-flow parameters typical of re-entry. Cavity design parameters were developed using laminar computational predictions, while the experimental boundary layer state conditions were inferred from the heating measurements. An analysis of the aeroheating caused by cavities allowed exclusion of non-breeching damage from the possible loss scenarios being considered during the investigation.

Natural sorbents for decontamination of objects of urban territories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Movchan, N.; Fedorenko, Yu.; Zlobenko, B.; Spigoun, A.

1996-01-01

This paper gives an information about the use of film coverings, based on natural sorbents, in decontamination of buildings, contaminated after the Chernobyl accident. This method has incontrovertible advantages in the beginning period after the accident and can be used for cleaning considerable areas of urban territories

Using Occupational Safety and Health Administration accident investigations to study patterns in work fatalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendeloff, J M; Kagey, B T

1990-11-01

Investigations of fatalities by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provide the most detailed available information about traumatic workplace deaths that are potentially related to violations of existing safety standards. Comparison of the number of such deaths investigated by OSHA from 1977 to 1986 with the comparable category of deaths reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses indicates that the overall magnitudes have been roughly similar. The OSHA data contain more information than other sources and are especially valuable for analyses of fatalities at smaller workplaces. The OSHA data show that death rates decline sharply with establishment size; the inverted "U" pattern for lost workday injury rates is absent. Because accident investigations are conducted as part of an administrative system, the OSHA data can be influenced by changes in administrative policies. Changes over time in the percent of fatalities in which violations of OSHA standards were cited have clearly been influenced by changes in OSHA citation policy and thus do not provide a valid measure of the rate of violation-caused deaths. Realization of the epidemiological value of this data source depends upon a commitment from OSHA to maintain consistency in investigating accidents and to improve its data collection methods.

Experimental investigations relevant for hydrogen and fission product issues raised by the Fukushima accident

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjeev Gupta

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, caused by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, resulted in a failure of the power systems that are needed to cool the reactors at the plant. The accident progression in the absence of heat removal systems caused Units 1-3 to undergo fuel melting. Containment pressurization and hydrogen explosions ultimately resulted in the escape of radioactivity from reactor containments into the atmosphere and ocean. Problems in containment venting operation, leakage from primary containment boundary to the reactor building, improper functioning of standby gas treatment system (SGTS, unmitigated hydrogen accumulation in the reactor building were identified as some of the reasons those added-up in the severity of the accident. The Fukushima accident not only initiated worldwide demand for installation of adequate control and mitigation measures to minimize the potential source term to the environment but also advocated assessment of the existing mitigation systems performance behavior under a wide range of postulated accident scenarios. The uncertainty in estimating the released fraction of the radionuclides due to the Fukushima accident also underlined the need for comprehensive understanding of fission product behavior as a function of the thermal hydraulic conditions and the type of gaseous, aqueous, and solid materials available for interaction, e.g., gas components, decontamination paint, aerosols, and water pools. In the light of the Fukushima accident, additional experimental needs identified for hydrogen and fission product issues need to be investigated in an integrated and optimized way. Additionally, as more and more passive safety systems, such as passive autocatalytic recombiners and filtered containment venting systems are being retrofitted in current reactors and also planned for future reactors, identified hydrogen and fission product issues will need to be coupled

Towards more realistic assessment of reactor accident consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tveten, U.

1985-07-01

The purpose of the Nordic project described in the report has been to improve the data base used in accident consequence assessments, and also to improve the assessment models in use in the Nordic countries. The following data related questions have been dealt with: Terrestrial transfer factors, the freshwater pathways, comparison of dynamic and static calculation models for fish, and the shielding effect of buildings. The work on terrestrial transfer factors has resulted in the generation of a Nordic fallout data bank. The following experimental investigations have been performed: Natural decontamination of roofs under summer and winter conditions, deposition in urban areas, and the filter effect of buildings. Various aspects of mitigating actions have also been examined

Insomnia and accidents: cross-sectional study (EQUINOX) on sleep-related home, work and car accidents in 5293 subjects with insomnia from 10 countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Léger, Damien; Bayon, Virginie; Ohayon, Maurice M; Philip, Pierre; Ement, Philippe; Metlaine, Arnaud; Chennaoui, Mounir; Faraut, Brice

2014-04-01

The link between sleepiness and the risk of motor vehicle accidents is well known, but little is understood regarding the risk of home, work and car accidents of subjects with insomnia. An international cross-sectional survey was conducted across 10 countries in a population of subjects with sleep disturbances. Primary care physicians administered a questionnaire that included assessment of sociodemographic characteristics, sleep disturbance and accidents (motor vehicle, work and home) related to sleep problems to each subject. Insomnia was defined using the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-10) criteria. A total of 5293 subjects were included in the study, of whom 20.9% reported having had at least one home accident within the past 12 months, 10.1% at least one work accident, 9% reported having fallen asleep while driving at least once and 4.1% reported having had at least one car accident related to their sleepiness. All types of accident were reported more commonly by subjects living in urban compared to other residential areas. Car accidents were reported more commonly by employed subjects, whereas home injuries were reported more frequently by the unemployed. Car accidents were reported more frequently by males than by females, whereas home accidents were reported more commonly by females. Patients with insomnia have high rates of home accidents, car accidents and work accidents related to sleep disturbances independently of any adverse effects of hypnotic treatments. Reduced total sleep time may be one factor explaining the high risk of accidents in individuals who complain of insomnia. © 2013 European Sleep Research Society.

Behaviour of Chernobyl fallout radionuclides deposited on peat and urban surfaces in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reponen, A.

1992-10-01

In the thesis the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident on Finland was studied in three aspects: (1) the areal distribution of Chernobyl fallout in Finland was determined by measuring peat samples, (2) the behaviour of fallout radionuclides was investigated in the combustion of peat in power plants, and (3) the removal rates of fallout radionuclides on urban surfaces were resolved

Military Curricula for Vocational and Technical Education. Traffic Management and Accident Investigation, 17-8.

Science.gov (United States)

Air Force, Washington, DC.

This teaching guide and student workbook for a postsecondary level course in traffic management and accident investigation is one of a number of military-developed curriculum packages selected for adaptation to vocational instruction and curriculum development in a civilian setting. Purpose stated for the 132-hour course is to expose students to…

Measuring accident risk exposure for pedestrians in different micro-environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lassarre, Sylvain; Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Yannis, George; Golias, John

2007-11-01

Pedestrians are mainly exposed to the risk of road accident when crossing a road in urban areas. Traditionally in the road safety field, the risk of accident for pedestrian is estimated as a rate of accident involvement per unit of time spent on the road network. The objective of this research is to develop an approach of accident risk based on the concept of risk exposure used in environmental epidemiology, such as in the case of exposure to pollutants. This type of indicator would be useful for comparing the effects of urban transportation policy scenarios on pedestrian safety. The first step is to create an indicator of pedestrians' exposure, which is based on motorised vehicles' "concentration" by lane and also takes account of traffic speed and time spent to cross. This is applied to two specific micro-environments: junctions and mid-block locations. A model of pedestrians' crossing behaviour along a trip is then developed, based on a hierarchical choice between junctions and mid-block locations and taking account of origin and destination, traffic characteristics and pedestrian facilities. Finally, a complete framework is produced for modelling pedestrians' exposure in the light of their crossing behaviour. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated on an artificial network and a first set of results is obtained from the validation of the models in observational studies.

Investigation of the management of the wastes from plant accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-08-15

The accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant discharged large amount of radio-nuclides and contaminated wide areas in and out of the site. The decontamination, storage, treatment and disposal of generated wastes are now under planning. Though regulations for the radioactive wastes arisen from normal operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities have been prepared, it is necessary to make amendment of those regulations to deal with wastes from the severe accident which may have much different features on nuclides contents, or possible accompanying hazardous chemical materials. Characteristics of wastes from accidents in foreign nuclear installations, and the treatment and the disposal of those wastes were surveyed by literature and radionuclide migration from the assumed temporally storage yards of the disaster debris was analyzed for consideration of future regulation. (author)

Investigating of the effect of Biorhythm on work-related Accidents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Arab

2014-07-01

Conclusion: Findings of this research showed that bad and critical days of individuals’ biorhythms cycle influence the occurrence of accidents. Therefore, by training and increasing the knowledge of workers regarding biological cycle and its effects on mental, emotional and physical status, each person effects can make some changes to theire work plans during days that they do not feel well, physically or mentally, in order to prevent the likely accidents.

PSB-VVER experimental and analytical investigation of station blackout accident in VVER-1000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipatov, I.A.; Kapustin, A.V.; Nikonov, S.M.; Rovnov, A.A.; Basov, A.V. [Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Centre (EREC), Moscow Region (Russian Federation); Elkin, I.V. [NSI RRC, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2007-07-01

In November 2003, an experiment simulating station blackout accident was carried out in the PSB-VVER integral test facility at the Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Centre (Russia). The purpose of the experiment was to provide missing data for code validation as well as to investigate the VVER thermohydraulics in the blackout conditions. The experiment covers a wide range of phenomena relating not only to transients but also to small break loss-of-coolant accidents. The data gained in the test has been used to assess the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code. In this paper, a special attention has been paid to the code assessment regarding the mixture level and entrainment in steam generator secondary side. The analysis of the recorded transient has shown that the calculation of the heat transfer on the secondary side of steam generators is very sensitive to the steam generator nodalization. (authors)

Causal effects of informal care and health on falls and other accidents among the elderly population in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hong; Lu, Naiji; Wang, Chenguang; Tu, Xinming

2018-03-01

This article analyzes the causal effects of informal care, mental health, and physical health on falls and other accidents (e.g., traffic accidents) among elderly people. We also examine if there are heterogeneous impacts on elderly of different gender, urban status, and past accident history. To purge potential reversal causal effects, e.g., past accidents induce more future informal care, we use two-stage least squares to identify the impacts. We use longitudinal data from a representative national China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study of people aged 45 and older in China. A total of 3935 respondents with two-wave data are included in our study. Each respondent is interviewed to measure health status and report their accident history. Mental health is assessed using CES-D questions. Our findings indicate that while informal care decreased the occurrence of accidents, poor health conditions increase the occurrence of accidents. We also find heterogeneous impacts on the occurrence of accidents, varying by gender, urban status, and past accident history. Our findings suggest the following three policy implications. First, policy makers who aim to decrease accidents should take informal care of elders into account. Second, ease of birth policy and postponed retirement policy are urgently needed to meet the demands of informal care. Third, medical policies should attach great importance not only to physical health but also mental health of elderly parents especially for older people with accident history.

NASA Medical Response to Human Spacecraft Accidents

Science.gov (United States)

Patlach, Robert

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews NASA's role in the response to spacecraft accidents that involve human fatalities or injuries. Particular attention is given to the work of the Mishap Investigation Team (MIT), the first response to the accidents and the interface to the accident investigation board. The MIT does not investigate the accident, but the objective of the MIT is to gather, guard, preserve and document the evidence. The primary medical objectives of the MIT is to receive, analyze, identify, and transport human remains, provide assistance in the recovery effort, and to provide family Casualty Coordinators with latest recovery information. The MIT while it does not determine the cause of the accident, it acts as the fact gathering arm of the Mishap Investigation Board (MIB), which when it is activated may chose to continue to use the MIT as its field investigation resource. The MIT membership and the specific responsibilities and tasks of the flight surgeon is reviewed. The current law establishing the process is also reviewed.

Bayes classifiers for imbalanced traffic accidents datasets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mujalli, Randa Oqab; López, Griselda; Garach, Laura

2016-03-01

Traffic accidents data sets are usually imbalanced, where the number of instances classified under the killed or severe injuries class (minority) is much lower than those classified under the slight injuries class (majority). This, however, supposes a challenging problem for classification algorithms and may cause obtaining a model that well cover the slight injuries instances whereas the killed or severe injuries instances are misclassified frequently. Based on traffic accidents data collected on urban and suburban roads in Jordan for three years (2009-2011); three different data balancing techniques were used: under-sampling which removes some instances of the majority class, oversampling which creates new instances of the minority class and a mix technique that combines both. In addition, different Bayes classifiers were compared for the different imbalanced and balanced data sets: Averaged One-Dependence Estimators, Weightily Average One-Dependence Estimators, and Bayesian networks in order to identify factors that affect the severity of an accident. The results indicated that using the balanced data sets, especially those created using oversampling techniques, with Bayesian networks improved classifying a traffic accident according to its severity and reduced the misclassification of killed and severe injuries instances. On the other hand, the following variables were found to contribute to the occurrence of a killed causality or a severe injury in a traffic accident: number of vehicles involved, accident pattern, number of directions, accident type, lighting, surface condition, and speed limit. This work, to the knowledge of the authors, is the first that aims at analyzing historical data records for traffic accidents occurring in Jordan and the first to apply balancing techniques to analyze injury severity of traffic accidents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Professional experience and traffic accidents/near-miss accidents among truck drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Girotto, Edmarlon; Andrade, Selma Maffei de; González, Alberto Durán; Mesas, Arthur Eumann

2016-10-01

To investigate the relationship between the time working as a truck driver and the report of involvement in traffic accidents or near-miss accidents. A cross-sectional study was performed with truck drivers transporting products from the Brazilian grain harvest to the Port of Paranaguá, Paraná, Brazil. The drivers were interviewed regarding sociodemographic characteristics, working conditions, behavior in traffic and involvement in accidents or near-miss accidents in the previous 12 months. Subsequently, the participants answered a self-applied questionnaire on substance use. The time of professional experience as drivers was categorized in tertiles. Statistical analyses were performed through the construction of models adjusted by multinomial regression to assess the relationship between the length of experience as a truck driver and the involvement in accidents or near-miss accidents. This study included 665 male drivers with an average age of 42.2 (±11.1) years. Among them, 7.2% and 41.7% of the drivers reported involvement in accidents and near-miss accidents, respectively. In fully adjusted analysis, the 3rd tertile of professional experience (>22years) was shown to be inversely associated with involvement in accidents (odds ratio [OR] 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.16-0.52) and near-miss accidents (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.05-0.53). The 2nd tertile of professional experience (11-22 years) was inversely associated with involvement in accidents (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.40-0.98). An evident relationship was observed between longer professional experience and a reduction in reporting involvement in accidents and near-miss accidents, regardless of age, substance use, working conditions and behavior in traffic. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating the multi-causal and complex nature of the accident causal influence of construction project features.

Science.gov (United States)

Manu, Patrick A; Ankrah, Nii A; Proverbs, David G; Suresh, Subashini

2012-09-01

Construction project features (CPFs) are organisational, physical and operational attributes that characterise construction projects. Although previous studies have examined the accident causal influence of CPFs, the multi-causal attribute of this causal phenomenon still remain elusive and thus requires further investigation. Aiming to shed light on this facet of the accident causal phenomenon of CPFs, this study examines relevant literature and crystallises the attained insight of the multi-causal attribute by a graphical model which is subsequently operationalised by a derived mathematical risk expression that offers a systematic approach for evaluating the potential of CPFs to cause harm and consequently their health and safety (H&S) risk implications. The graphical model and the risk expression put forth by the study thus advance current understanding of the accident causal phenomenon of CPFs and they present an opportunity for project participants to manage the H&S risk associated with CPFs from the early stages of project procurement. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mortality Patterns In The Accident And Emergency Department Of An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mortality Patterns In The Accident And Emergency Department Of An Urban Hospital In Nigeria. ... Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice ... subset being 4.6:1 and 1.2:1 respectively Most of the cases were of non-traumatic origin (79.8%), with the ...

Environmental impacts of the transportation of radioactive materials in urban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finley, N.C.; Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.

1980-01-01

Radioactive material transport in urban areas is investigated and the specific urban features which influence environmental impacts are addressed. These features include the geographic and demographic make-up, and vehicular population and transportation patterns in the area. Previous efforts have not identified a most important population exposure pathway or group. This assessment examines several pathways and a number of urban specific population groups to evaluate their relative significance. In addition, because different causative events contribute to the overall environmental impacts, this assessment addresses four of these: incident free transport, vehicular accidents, human errors, and sabotage or malevolent acts. Not only does radioactive material transport produce radiological and economic consequences but also it can have social impacts. The objective of this study is to examine both the quantitative environmental impacts of radioactive material transport in urban areas and the more subjective social effects of this process. The social impacts assessment was performed by Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, Seattle, Washington and their conclusions are only summarized here

Applicability of simplified methods to evaluate consequences of criticality accident using past accident data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Ken

2003-01-01

Applicability of four simplified methods to evaluate the consequences of criticality accident was investigated. Fissions in the initial burst and total fissions were evaluated using the simplified methods and those results were compared with the past accident data. The simplified methods give the number of fissions in the initial burst as a function of solution volume; however the accident data did not show such tendency. This would be caused by the lack of accident data for the initial burst with high accuracy. For total fissions, simplified almost reproduced the upper envelope of the accidents. However several accidents, which were beyond the applicable conditions, resulted in the larger total fissions than the evaluations. In particular, the Tokai-mura accident in 1999 gave in the largest total specific fissions, because the activation of cooling system brought the relatively high power for a long time. (author)

Accident characteristics at construction and maintenance zones in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

Work zone safety is currently a major concern to transportation and highway engineers because of the relatively higher rates of accidents in these areas. There is a strong indication that during the next decade, emphasis will be placed on maintenance...

Deposition and removal of radioactive substances in an urban area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roed, J.

1990-01-01

Radiation doses received by the population of a contaminated urban area have been estimated. Possible dose reduction measures and their cost-effectiveness are investigated. Potentially important parameters influencing the doses have also been studied. They include distribution of contamination following both wet and dry deposition, run-off, weathering, shielding, resuspension, indoor deposition, the relative airborne concentrations indoors and outdors, and forced decontamination. It is shown that contamination of the green areas in an urban complex is generally a major contributor to dose. A study of the cost-effectiveness of different clean-up procedures indicates that decontamination of green areas and streets are relatively cost-effective and would rank highly in a list of priorities. Following a contamination due to a reactor accident, the dose rate to an individual will generally be less in an urban area than in a rural environment. (author) 89 refs

Determinants of injuries in passenger vessel accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Yip, Tsz Leung; Jin, Di; Talley, Wayne K

2015-09-01

This paper investigates determinants of crew and passenger injuries in passenger vessel accidents. Crew and passenger injury equations are estimated for ferry, ocean cruise, and river cruise vessel accidents, utilizing detailed data of individual vessel accidents that were investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard during the time period 2001-2008. The estimation results provide empirical evidence (for the first time in the literature) that crew injuries are determinants of passenger injuries in passenger vessel accidents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

evaluation of morbidity and epidemiology of two wheelers accidents

African Journals Online (AJOL)

urbanization are putting heavy pressure on the transport network in general and on road system in ... of road traffic accidents involving two wheelers were interviewed, using interview ... influence of alcohol making it a major reason of trauma. ... tool for data collection, the demographic and injury ..... the analysis of injury data.

Factors Impacting Mortality in the Pre-Hospital Period After Road Traffic Accidents in Urban India.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekharan, Ananthnarayan; Nanavati, Aditya J; Prabhakar, Sandhya; Prabhakar, Subramaniam

2016-07-01

India currently has the dubious distinction of experiencing the highest number of road traffic accidents in the world. We believe that this study on road traffic accidents may help to identify factors in the pre-hospital setting that may influence mortality rates. A prospective observational study was carried out in a metro area in India over a period of one year. The study included consecutive patients admitted to the trauma service after road traffic accidents. Demographic information, time and place of accident, and details regarding the vehicle and the events leading up to the hospital admission were recorded. Injury severity, management in the hospital, and final outcomes in terms of mortality were noted. The data were analyzed with SPSS software. A total of 773 patients were enrolled. Of these, there were 197 deaths and 576 survivors. The majority of patients were aged 15 - 40 years (67%) and were male (87.84%). More accidents occurred at night (58.2%) than during the day (41.8%). Mortality was not significantly associated with age, sex, or time of accident. City roads (38.9%) saw more accidents than highways (26.13%), but highway accidents were more likely to be fatal. Two-wheeler riders (37.65%) and pedestrians (35.75%) formed the majority of our study population. Mortality was significantly associated with crossing the road on foot (P = 0.004). Pillion riders on two-wheeler vehicles were more likely to experience poor outcomes (relative risk [RR] = 1.9, P = 0.001). Front-seat occupants in four-wheeler vehicles were at an increased risk of not surviving the accident (61.98%; RR=2.56, P = 0.01). Lack of safety gear, such as helmets, seat belts, and airbags, was significantly associated with mortality (P = 0.05). Delays in transfers of patients to the hospital and a lack of pre-hospital emergency services was significantly associated with increased mortality (P = 0.000). A lack of respect for the law, weak legislation and law enforcement, disregard for

An examination of aviation accidents in the context of a conflict of interests between law enforcement, insurers, commissions for aircraft accident investigations and other entities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz BALCERZAK

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The sole purpose of air accident investigations should be the prevention of accidents and incidents in the future without apportioning blame or liability. Any civil aviation safety system is based on feedback and lessons learned from accidents and incidents, which require the strict application of rules on confidentiality in order to ensure the availability of valuable sources of information in the future. Therefore, related data, especially sensitive safety information, should be protected in an appropriate manner. Information provided by a person in the framework of a safety investigation should not be used against that person, in full respect of constitutional principles, as well as national and international law. Each “involved person” in an accident or another serious incident should promptly notify the competent investigating authority of the state of the event. An “involved person” means the owner, a member of the crew, the operator of the aircraft involved in an accident or other serious incident, or any person involved in the maintenance, design, manufacture of the affected aircraft or in the training of its crews, as well as any person involved in air traffic control, providing flight information or providing airport services to the aircraft in question, the staff of the national civil aviation authority, or staff of the European Aviation Safety Agency. The protection level of the organization (employer: employees who report an event or replace applications following an event with regard to the appropriate reporting systems should not face any prejudice from their employer because of information provided by the applicant. The protection does not cover (exclusions: infringement with wilful misconduct (direct intent, recklessness infringement; infringement committed by a clear and serious disregard of the obvious risks; and serious professional negligence of an unquestionably duty of care required under the circumstances

Accident investigation board report on the May 14, 1997, chemical explosion at the Plutonium Reclamation Facility, Hanford Site,Richland, Washington - summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerton, R.E.

1997-01-01

This report is a summary of the Accident Investigation Board Report on the May 14, 1997, Chemical Explosion at the Plutonium Reclamation Facility, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (DOE/RL-97-59). The referenced report provides a greater level of detail and includes a complete discussion of the facts identified, analysis of those facts, conclusions derived from the analysis, identification of the accident's causal factors, and recommendations that should be addressed through follow-up action by the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors. This companion document provides a concise summary of that report, with emphasis on management issues. Evaluation of emergency and occupational health response to, and radiological and chemical releases from, this accident was not within the scope of this investigation, but is the subject of a separate investigation and report (see DOE/RL-97-62)

Accidents - Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This file is devoted to the Chernobyl accident. It is divided in four parts. The first part concerns the accident itself and its technical management. The second part is relative to the radiation doses and the different contaminations. The third part reports the sanitary effects, the determinists ones and the stochastic ones. The fourth and last part relates the consequences for the other European countries with the case of France. Through the different parts a point is tackled with the measures taken after the accident by the other countries to manage an accident, the cooperation between the different countries and the groups of research and studies about the reactors safety, and also with the international medical cooperation, specially for the children, everything in relation with the Chernobyl accident. (N.C.)

[Road safety in Italy: epidemiology of two-wheeled motor vehicles accidents. National statistics 2000].

Science.gov (United States)

Morandi, Anna; Berzolari, Francesca Gigli; Marinoni, Alessandra

2004-01-01

to describe road accidents occurred in Italy focusing, in particular, on two-wheeled motor vehicles. Analysis of road accidents based on current data referring to year 2000. Italy. In Italy, 67,127 two-wheeled motor vehicle accidents occurred in 2000. Two crash types account for 75% of the accidents: side impact and front-side impact. Per one million kilometres travelled 0.4 cars and 1.3 two-wheeled vehicles are involved (0.7 motorcycles and 2.2 mopeds). In 2000 there were 1,229 deaths and 69,543 injured riders. Males up to forty years old are the most represented. The masculinity ratio presents a decreasing trend from motorcycles to mopeds and to cars both for killed people and for injured people. The lethality rate increases with age for all types of vehicles but for mopeds this trend is much more evident. Most of the accident occur in urban road while most of the deaths happen in extra-urban road. Mopeds and motorcycles, which are a small subset of all motor vehicles (approximately 20%), are greatly overrepresented in crashes. Considering the kilometres travelled, the risk to be involved in a crash for mopeds is estimated to be 32.6 times higher than the comparable risk for cars and for motorcycles it is 17 times higher. The risk of death for riders is two times the risk for cars.

Regulation Plans on Severe Accidents developed by KINS Severe Accident Regulation Preparation TFT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyun Tae; Chung, Ku Young; Na, Han Bee

2016-01-01

Some nuclear power plants in Fukushima Daiichi site had lost their emergency reactor cooling function for long-time so the fuels inside the reactors were molten, and the integrity of containment was damaged. Therefore, large amount of radioactive material was released to environment. Because the social and economic effects of severe accidents are enormous, Korean Government already issued 'Severe Accident Policy' in 2001 which requires nuclear power plant operators to set up 'Quantitative Safety Goal', to do 'Probabilistic Safety Analysis', to install 'Severe Accident Countermeasures' and to make 'Severe Accident Management Plan'. After the Fukushima disaster, a Special Safety Inspection was performed for all operating nuclear power plants of Korea. The inspection team from industry, academia, and research institutes assessed Korean NPPs capabilities to cope with or respond to severe accidents and emergency situation caused by natural disasters such as a large earthquake or tsunami. As a result of the special inspection, about 50 action items were identified to increase the capability to cope with natural disaster and severe accidents. Nuclear Safety Act has been amended to require NPP operators to submit Accident Management Plant as part of operating license application. The KINS Severe Accident Regulation Preparation TFT had first investigated oversea severe accident regulation trend before and after the Fukushima accident. Then, the TFT has developed regulation draft for severe accidents such as Severe accident Management Plans, the required design features for new NPPs to prevent severe accident against multiple failures and beyond-design external events, countermeasures to mitigate severe accident and to keep the integrity of containment, and assessment methodology on safety assessment plan and probabilistic safety assessment

Delimiting the Boundary of Delhi for Effective Urban Political Ecology Investigations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Govind Singh

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Delhi, capital of the world’s largest democracy, is witnessing large-scale increase in population since the beginning of the twentieth century. Two prominent factors that have contributed to this include the shifting of capital of the British Raj from Calcutta (now Kolkata to Delhi in 1911 and the partition of India that accompanied its independence in 1947. Delhi continued to witness high rate of migration in post-independent India due to uneven implementation of development policies. Rising population led to spatial expansion and the largest connotation of Delhi today (National Capital Region is an area 36 times its size in 1947. Rising population has also had an adverse impact on Delhi’s natural resources. Consequently, clean air, water and land availability have become limited and Delhi today is undergoing a severe sustainability crisis. The latter requires urgent intervention for restoring Delhi’s urban ecosystem. Since urban areas are highly contested ecological spaces, urban ecological interventions are incomplete without political overtones. Thus, the success of urban ecological interventions lies in identifying politically correct boundaries which encompasses true ‘urban Delhi’ despite the political boundaries. This research contribution attempts to identify the geographical expanse of ‘urban Delhi’ amidst the various political terminologies that define Delhi. An understanding of various divisions and definitions of Delhi is also presented from the perspective of appreciating the challenges in urban planning. We conclude that urban ecology investigations in Delhi should be embedded within the ‘Delhi conurbation’, which represents a geographical area greater than the Delhi city-state but much smaller than Delhi NCR.

Estimating the Influence of Accident Related Factors on Motorcycle Fatal Accidents using Logistic Regression (Case Study: Denpasar-Bali

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wedagama D.M.P.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In Denpasar the capital of Bali Province, motorcycle accident contributes to about 80% of total road accidents. Out of those motorcycle accidents, 32% are fatal accidents. This study investigates the influence of accident related factors on motorcycle fatal accidents in the city of Denpasar during period 2006-2008 using a logistic regression model. The study found that the fatality of collision with pedestrians and right angle accidents were respectively about 0.44 and 0.40 times lower than collision with other vehicles and accidents due to other factors. In contrast, the odds that a motorcycle accident will be fatal due to collision with heavy and light vehicles were 1.67 times more likely than with other motorcycles. Collision with pedestrians, right angle accidents, and heavy and light vehicles were respectively accounted for 31%, 29%, and 63% of motorcycle fatal accidents.

Prevention and investigations of core degradation in case of beyond design accidents of the 2400 MWTH gas-cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertrand, F.; Gatin, V.; Bentivoglio, F.; Gueneau, C.

2011-01-01

The present paper deals with studies carried out to assess the ability of the core of the Gas Fast Reactor (GFR) to withstand beyond design accidents. The work presented here is aimed at simulating the behaviour of this core by using analytical models whose input parameters are calculated with the CATHARE2 code. Among possible severe accident initiators, the Unprotected Loss Of Coolant Accident (ULOCA of 3 Inches diameter) is investigated in detail in the paper with CATHARE2. Additionally, a simplified pessimistic assessment of the effect of a postulated power excursion that could result from the failure of prevention provisions is presented. (author)

Occupational accidents aboard merchant ships

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, H.L.; Nielsen, D.; Frydenberg, Morten

2002-01-01

Objectives: To investigate the frequency, circumstances, and causes of occupational accidents aboard merchant ships in international trade, and to identify risk factors for the occurrence of occupational accidents as well as dangerous working situations where possible preventive measures may...... be initiated. Methods: The study is a historical follow up on occupational accidents among crew aboard Danish merchant ships in the period 1993–7. Data were extracted from the Danish Maritime Authority and insurance data. Exact data on time at risk were available. Results: A total of 1993 accidents were...... aboard. Relative risks for notified accidents and accidents causing permanent disability of 5% or more were calculated in a multivariate analysis including ship type, occupation, age, time on board, change of ship since last employment period, and nationality. Foreigners had a considerably lower recorded...

Effect of a new motorway on social-spatial patterning of road traffic accidents: A retrospective longitudinal natural experimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Jonathan R; Mitchell, Richard; Ogilvie, David

2017-01-01

The World Health Organisation reports that road traffic accidents (accidents) could become the seventh leading cause of death globally by 2030. Accidents often occur in spatial clusters and, generally, there are more accidents in less advantaged areas. Infrastructure changes, such as new roads, can affect the locations and magnitude of accident clusters but evidence of impact is lacking. A new 5-mile motorway extension was opened in 2011 in Glasgow, Scotland. Previous research found no impact on the number of accidents but did not consider their spatial location or socio-economic setting. We evaluated impacts on these, both locally and city-wide. We used STATS19 data covering the period 2008 to 2014 and describing the location and details of all reported accidents involving a personal injury. Poisson-based continuous scan statistics were used to detect spatial clusters of accidents and any change in these over time. Change in the socio-economic distribution of accident cluster locations during the study period was also assessed. In each year accidents were strongly clustered, with statistically significant clusters more likely to occur in socio-economically deprived areas. There was no significant shift in the magnitude or location of accident clusters during motorway construction or following opening, either locally or city-wide. There was also no impact on the socio-economic patterning of accident cluster locations. Although urban infrastructure changes occur constantly, all around the world, this is the first study to evaluate the impact of such changes on road accident clusters. Despite expectations to the contrary from both proponents and opponents of the M74 extension, we found no beneficial or adverse change in the socio-spatial distribution of accidents associated with its construction, opening or operation. Our approach and findings can help inform urban planning internationally.

Regulation Plans on Severe Accidents developed by KINS Severe Accident Regulation Preparation TFT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyun Tae; Chung, Ku Young; Na, Han Bee [KINS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Some nuclear power plants in Fukushima Daiichi site had lost their emergency reactor cooling function for long-time so the fuels inside the reactors were molten, and the integrity of containment was damaged. Therefore, large amount of radioactive material was released to environment. Because the social and economic effects of severe accidents are enormous, Korean Government already issued 'Severe Accident Policy' in 2001 which requires nuclear power plant operators to set up 'Quantitative Safety Goal', to do 'Probabilistic Safety Analysis', to install 'Severe Accident Countermeasures' and to make 'Severe Accident Management Plan'. After the Fukushima disaster, a Special Safety Inspection was performed for all operating nuclear power plants of Korea. The inspection team from industry, academia, and research institutes assessed Korean NPPs capabilities to cope with or respond to severe accidents and emergency situation caused by natural disasters such as a large earthquake or tsunami. As a result of the special inspection, about 50 action items were identified to increase the capability to cope with natural disaster and severe accidents. Nuclear Safety Act has been amended to require NPP operators to submit Accident Management Plant as part of operating license application. The KINS Severe Accident Regulation Preparation TFT had first investigated oversea severe accident regulation trend before and after the Fukushima accident. Then, the TFT has developed regulation draft for severe accidents such as Severe accident Management Plans, the required design features for new NPPs to prevent severe accident against multiple failures and beyond-design external events, countermeasures to mitigate severe accident and to keep the integrity of containment, and assessment methodology on safety assessment plan and probabilistic safety assessment.

Barriers to learning from incidents and accidents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dechy, N.; Dien, Y.; Drupsteen, L.; Felicio, A.; Cunha, C.; Roed-Larsen, S.; Marsden, E.; Tulonen, T.; Stoop, J.; Strucic, M.; Vetere Arellano, A.L.; Vorm, J.K.J. van der; Benner, L.

2015-01-01

This document provides an overview of knowledge concerning barriers to learning from incidents and accidents. It focuses on learning from accident investigations, public inquiries and operational experience feedback, in industrial sectors that are exposed to major accident hazards. The document

Investigation of safety measures to severe accident of Fast Breeder Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-08-15

So as to plan the accident management to severe accident of Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR), it is primary important to understand the progression of severe accident (SA) precisely. In this study, it has been aimed to reveal two items that work as keys in the evaluation of SA in sodium cooled FBR. One is the cool-ability of degraded core on the core support plate by sodium natural circulation in the post accident heat removal (PAHR) phase. An obstacle that hinders the smooth heat transfer from fuel debris to coolant is the formation of sodium-uranate by chemical reaction between sodium and fuel. Following the measurement of physical values of sodium-uranate in FY 2011, experiments has been performed to reveal the conditions for sodium-uranate formation on fuel debris in sodium pool simulating the actual situation of the degraded core. The cool-ability of the debris bed was analyzed using the Lipinski 1-D model. Another research performed in this study is the measurement of fission product (cesium and antimony) evaporation rates from FBR fuel as a function of temperature, because presently the fission product evaporation rates data for LWR is also temporarily used for FBR SA analysis. The measurement was performed using the irradiated fuels in the Test Reactor JOYO. (author)

What are the factors that contribute to road accidents? An assessment of law enforcement views, ordinary drivers' opinions, and road accident records.

Science.gov (United States)

Rolison, Jonathan J; Regev, Shirley; Moutari, Salissou; Feeney, Aidan

2018-06-01

What are the main contributing factors to road accidents? Factors such as inexperience, lack of skill, and risk-taking behaviors have been associated with the collisions of young drivers. In contrast, visual, cognitive, and mobility impairment have been associated with the collisions of older drivers. We investigated the main causes of road accidents by drawing on multiple sources: expert views of police officers, lay views of the driving public, and official road accident records. In Studies 1 and 2, police officers and the public were asked about the typical causes of road traffic collisions using hypothetical accident scenarios. In Study 3, we investigated whether the views of police officers and the public about accident causation influence their recall accuracy for factors reported to contribute to hypothetical road accidents. The results show that both expert views of police officers and lay views of the driving public closely approximated the typical factors associated with the collisions of young and older drivers, as determined from official accident records. The results also reveal potential underreporting of factors in existing accident records, identifying possible inadequacies in law enforcement practices for investigating driver distraction, drug and alcohol impairment, and uncorrected or defective eyesight. Our investigation also highlights a need for accident report forms to be continuously reviewed and updated to ensure that contributing factor lists reflect the full range of factors that contribute to road accidents. Finally, the views held by police officers and the public on accident causation influenced their memory recall of factors involved in hypothetical scenarios. These findings indicate that delay in completing accident report forms should be minimised, possibly by use of mobile reporting devices at the accident scene. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The covariance between the number of accidents and the number of victims in multivariate analysis of accident related outcomes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijleveld, F. D.

In this study some statistical issues involved in the simultaneous analysis of accident related outcomes of the road traffic process are investigated. Since accident related outcomes like the number of victims, fatalities or accidents show interdependencies, their simultaneous analysis requires that

[Self-reporting of road traffic accidents in a national survey of urban population in Peru].

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Paolo; Gutiérrez, César; Romaní, Franco

2010-06-01

To estimate the frequency of self-reporting of road traffic accidents in the previous year in the general population and to determine the associated factors. We conducted a secondary analysis of the data of the III National Survey of Drug Use in the General Population of Peru, 2006. We measured socio-demographical variables: age, gender, place of origin, educational level and marital status. We also evaluated the use of legal, illegal and medical drugs. The independent variable was the self-reporting of a road traffic accident. We performed the descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis of the socio-demographical variables and the drug use (legal and illegal), together with the self-reporting of the traffic accident. The frequency of reporting of road traffic accidents in the last year according to the survey was 2.93% (95%CI: 2.92-2.94). The associated factors for self-reporting of a road traffic accident were: to live in the jungle areas (OR: 2.03; 95%CI:1.55-2.65), male gender (OR: 1.79; 95%CI: 1.46-2.22), legal drugs use in the last year (OR: 1.98, 95%CI: 1.53-2.55), alcohol consumption in the last year (OR: 1.82; 95%CI: 1.44-2.32) and medical drugs use in the last year (OR: 2.45, 95%CI 1.63-3.68). The prevalence of self-reporting of road traffic accidents in the last year was very high compared to similar studies and other reporting sources. The variables associated with having had a traffic accident were: living in the jungle area, being male, legal drug use in the last month, especially alcohol and medical drug use in the last month. It is necessary to think carefully about the information system of the road traffic accidents in order to achieve a better picture of the problem putting emphasis in the legal drugs use.

The investigation on the mass media reports on the JCO accident in the major atomic energy countries and Asian countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-12-01

The JCO (Japan Conversion Organization) accident is the worst one in the history of the atomic energy developments in Japan. The many reports about the accident appeared in the 44 mass media in the world from Sep. 30 to Oct. 14, 1999. Chronological statistics of issued 522 articles are listed under particular criteria. Some of them were based on wrong knowledge and/or overestimations about the accident based on delivered articles by the news agency. Some of others gave critics over the total atomic energy industries of Japan, especially on safety managements and so-called similar Japan syndromes. This investigation gives emphasis on the articles based on wrong knowledge. We identified the countries and the newspaper publishers and the news agencies those gave wrong descriptions. Total 25 articles used the words [explosion] and [fire], which were delivered from the Kyodo News Service. Some of the Asian newspaper wrote that a large quantity of radioactivity, radioactive material and/or nuclear fuels was released. Some other news publishers said the accident was happened at fuel reprocessing facilities, when the waste fuel rods were under cutting. Critics delivered in the individual countries were summarized, i.e. USA, Canada, France, UK, German, Russia, Australia, China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan and the news agencies. One of the key issues is the exact information release for the press corps on the early stage of the accidents. The second point is to recognize the different status on atomic energy in the individual countries, when Japan want to explain their domestic situations. Accidents of atomic energy gave many impacts on various aspects to other countries. Japan should understand the neighborhood by collecting world information on atomic energy and analyzing them. Summaries of 522 articles appeared in the mass media were attached in this investigation among the report of 180 pages. (Tanaka, Y.)

Type A behavior pattern, accident optimism and fatalism: an investigation into non-compliance with safety work behaviors among hospital nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ugwu, Fabian O; Onyishi, Ike E; Ugwu, Chidi; Onyishi, Charity N

2015-01-01

Safety work behavior has continued to attract the interest of organizational researchers and practitioners especially in the health sector. The goal of the study was to investigate whether personality type A, accident optimism and fatalism could predict non-compliance with safety work behaviors among hospital nurses. One hundred and fifty-nine nursing staff sampled from three government-owned hospitals in a state in southeast Nigeria, participated in the study. Data were collected through Type A Behavior Scale (TABS), Accident Optimism, Fatalism and Compliance with Safety Behavior (CSB) Scales. Our results showed that personality type A, accident optimism and fatalism were all related to non-compliance with safety work behaviors. Personality type A individuals tend to comply less with safety work behaviors than personality type B individuals. In addition, optimistic and fatalistic views about accidents and existing safety rules also have implications for compliance with safety work behaviors.

Accident investigation of construction sites in Qom city using Pareto chart (2009-2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. H. Beheshti

2015-07-01

.Conclusions: Employing Pareto charts as a method for analyzing and identification of accident causes can have an effective role in the management of work-related accidents, proper allocation of funds and time.

Investigation of primary-to-secondary leakage accident on the PSB-VVER integral test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipatov, I.A.; Dremin, G.I.; Galtchanskaya, S.A.; Chmal, I.I.; Moloshnikov, A.S.; Gorbunov, Y.S.; Antonova, A.I.; Elkin, I.V.

2001-01-01

the core residual heat by opening the ADS in one of the intact loop. The results show that AM-procedure related to the accident investigated is adequate to prevent core overheating. (authors)

Aviation safety and maintenance under major organizational changes, investigating non-existing accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Ivonne A; Nordskag, Arve O; Myhre, Grete; Halvorsen, Kåre

2009-11-01

The objective of this paper is to discuss the following questions: Do concurrent organizational changes have a direct impact on aviation maintenance and safety, if so, how can this be measured? These questions were part of the investigation carried out by the Accident Investigation Board, Norway (AIBN). The AIBN investigated whether Norwegian aviation safety had been affected due to major organizational changes between 2000 and 2004. The main concern was the reduction in safety margins and its consequences. This paper presents a summary of the techniques used and explains how they were applied in three airlines and by two offshore helicopter operators. The paper also discusses the development of safety related indicators in the aviation industry. In addition, there is a summary of the lessons learned and safety recommendations. The Norwegian Ministry of Transport has required all players in the aviation industry to follow up the findings and recommendations of the AIBN study.

Results of the reliability investigations for the design basis accident 'Rupture of a cold primary coolant system'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoertner, H.; Nieckau, E.; Spindler, H.

1976-12-01

This report gives a comprehensive presentation of the detailed reliability investigation carried out for the engineered safety features installed to cope with the design basis accident 'Large LOCA' of a German nuclear power plant with pressurized water reactor. The investigation is based on the engineered safety features of the Biblis Nuclear Power Plant, Unit A. The reliability investigation is carried out by means of a fault tree analysis. The influence of common-mode failures is assessed. (orig.) [de

Ambulance traffic accidents in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Po-Wei; Lin, Chih-Hao; Wu, Chen-Long; Fang, Pin-Hui; Lu, Chien-Hsin; Hsu, Hsiang-Chin; Chi, Chih-Hsien

2018-04-01

Ambulance traffic accidents (ATAs) are the leading cause of occupation-related fatalities among emergency medical service (EMS) personnel. We aim to use the Taiwan national surveillance system to analyze the characteristics of ATAs and to assist EMS directors in developing policies governing ambulance operations. A retrospective, cross-sectional and largely descriptive study was conducted using Taiwan national traffic accidents surveillance data from January 1, 2011 to October 31, 2016. Among the 1,627,217 traffic accidents during the study period, 715 ATAs caused 8 deaths within 24 h and 1844 injured patients. On average, there was one ATA for every 8598 ambulance runs. Compared to overall traffic accidents, ATAs were 1.7 times more likely to result in death and 1.9 times more likely to have injured patients. Among the 715 ATAs, 8 (1.1%) ATAs were fatal and 707 (98.9%) were nonfatal. All 8 fatalities were associated with motorcycles. The urban areas were significantly higher than the rural areas in the annual number of ATAs (14.2 ± 7.3 [7.0-26.7] versus 3.1 ± 1.9 [0.5-8.4], p = 0.013), the number of ATA-associated fatalities per year (0.2 ± 0.2 [0.0-0.7] versus 0.1 ± 0.1 [0.0-0.2], p = 0.022), and the annual number of injured patients (who needed urgent hospital visits) in ATAs (19.4 ± 7.3 [10.5-30.9] versus 5.2 ± 3.8 [0.9-15.3], p traffic accident reporting system should be built to provide EMS policy guidance for ATA reduction and outcome improvements. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Process-based investigation of cross-boundary environmental pressure from urban household consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Dewei; Lin, Yanjie; Gao, Lijie; Sun, Yanwei; Wang, Run; Zhang, Guoqin

2013-01-01

Sustainability research at the city scale is increasingly focusing on urban household consumption in the context of global climate change. We use a complementary emergy accounting (EMA) and carbon footprint accounting (CFA) method to investigate the environmental pressure generated by household consumption in Xiamen, China. We distinguish between the resource extraction, consumption and disposal stages within an urban spatial conceptual framework, comprising the Urban Footprint Region (UFR) and Urban Sprawl Region (USR), and analyze five environmental footprint categories associated with cross-boundary household emergy and carbon flows. Cross-boundary activities, which link the USR with its UFR, contributed nearly 90% of total emergy and 70% of total GHG emissions in CFA. Transport fuel, building materials and food contribute most to environmental pressure in both EMA and CFA. The results indicate a significant cross-boundary resource burden and environmental footprint associated with household activities. The employed framework, method, and scope challenge the conventional spatial boundary of the urban system, and the results have important policy implications for urban sustainability and cross-boundary environmental management. - Highlights: ► We propose an urban spatial conceptual framework that includes USR and UFRs. ► A complementary EMA and CFA method is employed in urban household consumption system. ► Process-based cross-boundary environmental pressure of household consumption are evaluated. ► USR exerts pressure on its UFRs by extensive resource extraction and environmental emissions. ► We elucidate the USR–UFR environmental relationships and household energy policy

29 CFR 1960.70 - Reporting of serious accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Reporting of serious accidents. 1960.70 Section 1960.70... accidents. Agencies must provide the Office of Federal Agency Programs with a summary report of each fatal and catastrophic accident investigation. The summaries shall address the date/time of accident, agency...

The Importance of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in the Investigation of Road Traffic Accidents: A Case Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Younis M. Albalooshi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Bloodstain pattern analysis has become a field of specialization in Forensic sciences and plays an important role in the reconstruction of events at a crime scene. Research, books, and articles have been published on the analysis and interpretation of bloodstain patterns We present a case study of a road traffic accident in which bloodstain pattern analysis helped us to solve the discrepancy between reports produced by forensic examiners and by the forensic biology department. The case was of a 22-year-old man who died immediately and a 31- year-old woman who survived a road traffic accident. They were both found outside their overturned car and it was impossible to ascertain from initial observations which of the victims was driving the car at the time of the accident. An external examination of the man revealed multiple injuries, and the cause of his death was severe brain injury. The woman survived with a fracture of the forearm, dislocated clavicle bone, and other minor injuries. After initial examination of the car and based on the pattern of injuries the deceased received, forensic examiner concluded that the man was the driving the car at the time of accident. On the other hand, the forensic DNA analysis of bloodstains obtained from the driver's seat matched that of the woman, suggesting that she was the driver. This apparent discrepancy directed the forensic examiner to carry out a bloodstain pattern analysis on the driver's seat. The bloodstain pattern analysis helped resolve the discrepancy and enabled the investigators to identify the driver correctly. This case report emphasizes the importance of bloodstain pattern analysis in the reconstruction of cases involving road traffic accidents.

An investigation of the role of China's urban population on coal consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michieka, Nyakundi M.; Fletcher, Jerald J.

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the causal relationship between urban population, real GDP, electricity production and coal consumption in China for the period 1971–2009. Using a vector autoregression framework and a modified version of the Granger (1969) causality test proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (J. Econ. 66 (1995) 225), the results suggest that there is causality running from GDP to coal consumption. The variance decomposition analysis report that urban population and coal affect electricity production variability over the forecast period. We also find that increasing urban population may negatively affect China's GDP over time. Policy measures aimed at influencing GDP could ultimately affect coal consumption. - Highlights: ► We find Granger Causality running from GDP to coal consumption. ► China can mitigate the adverse environmental effects of coal by altering GDP path. ► We find Granger Causality running from urbanization to electricity production. ► China needs to find other sources of energy to cater for growing electricity demand. ► Increasing urban population may slow economic growth due to overcrowding in cities.

Investigation of accident management procedures related to loss of feedwater and station blackout in PSB-VVER integral test facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bucalossi, A. [EC JRC, (JRC F.5) PO Box 2, 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands); Del Nevo, A., E-mail: alessandro.delnevo@enea.it [ENEA, C.R. Brasimone, 40032 Camugnano (Italy); Moretti, F.; D' Auria, F. [GRNSPG, Universita di Pisa, via Diotisalvi 2, 56100 Pisa (Italy); Elkin, I.V.; Melikhov, O.I. [Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Centre, Electrogorsk, Moscow Region (Russian Federation)

2012-09-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Four integral test facility experiments related to VVER-1000 reactor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer TH response of the VVER-1000 primary system following total loss of feedwater and station blackout scenarios. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Accident management procedures in case of total loss of feedwater and station blackout. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Experimental data represent an improvement of existing database for TH code validation. - Abstract: VVER 1000 reactors have some unique and specific features (e.g. large primary and secondary side fluid inventory, horizontal steam generators, core design) that require dedicated experimental and analytical analyses in order to assess the performance of safety systems and the effectiveness of possible accident management strategies. The European Commission funded project 'TACIS 2.03/97', Part A, provided valuable experimental data from the large-scale (1:300) PSB-VVER test facility, investigating accident management procedures in VVER-1000 reactor. A test matrix was developed at University of Pisa (responsible of the project) with the objective of obtaining the experimental data not covered by the OECD VVER validation matrix and with main focus on accident management procedures. Scenarios related to total loss of feed water and station blackout are investigated by means of four experiments accounting for different countermeasures, based on secondary cooling strategies and primary feed and bleed procedures. The transients are analyzed thoroughly focusing on the identification of phenomena that will challenge the code models during the simulations.

Fukushima nuclear accident independent investigation commission by the National Diet of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurokawa, Kiyoshi

2013-01-01

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, Independent Investigation Commission (IIC) was firstly established in constitutional government by the National Diet of Japan. This article described recognition of its necessity, its setup process, its framework with start from almost zero and about 6 months period and time, its basic way to proceed investigation and several obstacles and hardships, significance of openness to the public, web's communication and simultaneous interpretation (transparency) and basic philosophy of the report. Further significance of Diet's IIC in the democratic system and evaluation of the report were added. As a problem of separation of three powers in Japan, specific recommendations to the legislation of IIC and their future evaluation, nation's governance system problem and social responsibility of scientists and others were also discussed. If Japan were not to be changed after the disaster, Japanese future might be unreliable. (T. Tanaka)

Investigation into slipping and falling accidents and materials handling in the South African mining industry.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Schutte, PC

2003-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to analyze information on slipping and falling accidents and materials handling activities in the South African mining industry. Accident data pertaining to slipping, falling and materials handling accidents...

Accident management for severe accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bari, R.A.; Pratt, W.T.; Lehner, J.; Leonard, M.; Disalvo, R.; Sheron, B.

1988-01-01

The management of severe accidents in light water reactors is receiving much attention in several countries. The reduction of risk by measures and/or actions that would affect the behavior of a severe accident is discussed. The research program that is being conducted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission focuses on both in-vessel accident management and containment and release accident management. The key issues and approaches taken in this program are summarized. 6 refs

Investigation of an accident in a resins manufacturing site: The role of accelerator on polymerisation of methyl methacrylate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casson, Valeria, E-mail: valeria.casson.moreno@gmail.com [Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Mineraria e delle Tecnologie Ambientali, Bologna (Italy); Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova (Italy); Snee, Tim, E-mail: Tim.Snee@hsl.gsi.gov.uk [Health and Safety Laboratory, Harpur Hill, Buxton, Derbyshire SK 179 JN (United Kingdom); Maschio, Giuseppe, E-mail: giuseppe.maschio@unipd.it [Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova (Italy)

2014-04-01

Highlights: • The accelerator produces an increase in the initial rate of polymerisation. • The accelerator increases the extent of polymerisation in certain conditions. • The accelerator decreases the induction time due to the presence of inhibitor. • Runaway reaction is more likely to occur in presence of the accelerator. • The experimental data support the hypothesis about the accident. - Abstract: This paper analyzes the effect of an accelerator on the polymerisation of methyl methacrylate (MMA). This study is based on the results of an investigation of an accident in a manufacturing site for resins located in the United Kingdom. As sequence of event to cause the accident the following was assumed: during an unattended batch process a runaway undesired polymerisation of methyl methacrylate occurred, generating rapid vaporisation of monomer, which in contact with an ignition source, led to an explosion followed by a fire. Since no initiator for the polymerisation reaction had been jet added to the blend, it was supposed that the accelerator contributed to the onset of the undesired polymerisation. The accelerator involved in the accident t has therefore been tested by differential scanning calorimetry and adiabatic calorimetry. The experimental data allowed the authors to prove the hypothesis made and to define safety ranges for the polymerisation reaction.

Our reflections and lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi; Sawada, Takashi; Yagawa, Genki

2017-01-01

In order to investigate the cause of the accident that began on March 11, 2011 at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Science Council of Japan set an investigation committee, the 'Sub-Committee on Fukushima Nuclear Accident (SCFNA)' under the Comprehensive Synthetic Engineering Committee. The committee has published a record entitled 'Reflections and Lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, (1st report)'. There are still many items about the accident for which the details are not clear. It is important to discuss the reasons why the severe accident could not be prevented and the possibilities that there might have been other proper operations and accident management to prevent or lessen the severity of the accident than those adopted at the time. SCFNA decided to continue its investigation by setting up our working group called the 'Working Group on Fukushima Nuclear Accident'. Our working group have published 'Reflection and Lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (2nd Report)'. We investigated the issues of specific units. Unit 1 were validity of the operation of the isolation condenser, whether or not a loss of coolant accident occurred due to a failure of the cooling piping system by the seismic ground motion, and the cause of the loss of the emergency AC power supply, Unit 2 was the reason why a large amount of radioactive materials was emitted to the environment although the reactor building did not explode, Unit 3 was the reasons why the operator stopped running the high pressure coolant injection system, and Units 1 to 3 was validity of the venting operation. These items were considered to be the key issues in these units that would have prevented progression to the severe accident. (author)

Radioactivity measurement for emergency or post-accident situations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Champion, D.

2010-01-01

Specific objectives have to be achieved by radioactivity measurements during emergency or post-accident situations, which are different from those in normal situation. At the beginning of a nuclear emergency, few radioactivity data will be available, mainly from automatic monitoring systems implemented on the site or in its surrounding. Progressively, measurement programmes will be performed, in priority to get information on dose rate, atmospheric radionuclides and surface activities. In order to avoid excessive exposure of the measure teams, these programmes should be optimized. During early post-accident phase, different types of measurements will be done, following two main objectives: 1) to improve the assessment of the environmental contamination and people exposure; 2) for control purpose, to check the contamination of urban places, foodstuff and other products, compared to specific reference levels. The samples measurement in laboratories would be a challenge: usually, the laboratories involved in routine monitoring have to deal with very low level of radioactivity and a poor diversity of artificial radionuclides; after a reactor accident, the environmental samples to be measured would be more active and with a mixture of radionuclides (mainly with short or middle half-life) difficult to be characterized. So theses laboratories have to be trained and organised before any severe accident. (author)

Investigation of primary-to-secondary leakage accident on the PSB-VVER integral test facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipatov, I.A.; Dremin, G.I.; Galtchanskaya, S.A.; Chmal, I.I.; Moloshnikov, A.S.; Gorbunov, Y.S.; Antonova, A.I. [Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Center, EREC, Moscow (Russian Federation); Elkin, I.V. [RRC ' ' Kurchatov Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2001-07-01

and begins to remove the core residual heat by opening the ADS in one of the intact loop. The results show that AM-procedure related to the accident investigated is adequate to prevent core overheating. (authors)

49 CFR 837.3 - Published reports, material contained in the public accident investigation dockets, and accident...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Published reports, material contained in the... OF RECORDS IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS § 837.3 Published reports, material contained in the public accident... submitted, in writing, to the Public Inquiries Branch. Demands for specific published reports and studies...

Investigation Effect of Biorhythm on Work-Related Accidents in The Metal Industry (A Short Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ehsanollah Habibi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Biorhythm is one of the newest subjects in the field of cognition of mental ergonomics which can be very effective in reduction of work-related accidents or mistakes with no apparent reason. With evaluating Biorhythm individuals can intervention action to reduce job accidents carried out. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship Biorhythm and work-related accidents in the metal industry. This research is a cross-sectional and analytical-descriptive in the metal industrial Isfahan city of 120 work-related accidents during 2015. The required information was collected from available documents in HSE unit of the company biorhythm charts were drawn based on a date of accidents and participants birthdays, using natural Biorhythm Software V3.02 Conduct. Finally، the data were analyzed using spss version 20 and descriptive statistics.This study showed that the frequency of accidents in critical days and negative section of physical cycle was more than expected. Also the frequency of accidents in critical days and negative section of emotional and intellectual cycles was less than expected. Most type of injury, including cuts to 35.8 percent and the lowest type of injury was torsion with 5 percent. Most limb injury, hands and fingers with 51.7 percent and the lowest limb injury were back at 2.5 percent. Accidents outbreak in physical cycles was 38.3 percent. These 120 accidents in additionally were causing 120 loss of working days in effect accident. Most percent of loss of working days were for 20 to 30 days with of 39.2 percent. Most percent of loss of working days were for 20 to 30 days with of 39.2 percent. Due to the physical nature of the work activities in the metal industry can be stated that the study showed that in physical work activities, frequency of accidents in critical days and negative section of physical cycle in which the person is not physically ready to do the job was more than expected. Therefore, by training

49 CFR 225.11 - Reporting of accidents/incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Reporting of accidents/incidents. 225.11 Section... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS: REPORTS CLASSIFICATION, AND INVESTIGATIONS § 225.11 Reporting of accidents/incidents. Each railroad subject to this part shall submit to FRA...

Investigation of the behavior of TMI-2 containment structure for hydrogen burn accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamil, H.; Chen, M.C.; Kost, G.; Miller, A.

1981-01-01

The paper describes the following main tasks performed as part of this investigation: 1) definition of design; 2) identification of conservatisms in design; 3) review of load functions; 4) determination of preliminary capacity of the containment. The basic design criteria, acceptance criteria, and analytical procedures which formed the basis of the original containment design were first briefly reviewed. The conservatisms in the various assumptions and parameters used in the design and analysis of the containment were then identified. The postulated load functions for hydrogen burn accidents used in the evaluation of the containment capacity were then reviewed. (orig./HP)

Assessment of off-site consequences of nuclear accidents (MARIA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haywood, S.M.

1985-01-01

A brief report is given of a workshop held in Luxembourg in 1985 on methods for assessing the off-site radiological consequences of nuclear accidents (MARIA). The sessions included topics such as atmospheric dispersion; foodchain transfer; urban contamination; demographic and land use data; dosimetry, health effects, economic and countermeasures models; uncertainty analysis; and application of probabilistic risk assessment results as input to decision aids. (U.K.)

Preliminary safety analysis of the PWR with accident-tolerant fuels during severe accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Xiaoli; Li, Wei; Wang, Yang; Zhang, Yapei; Tian, Wenxi; Su, Guanghui; Qiu, Suizheng; Liu, Tong; Deng, Yongjun; Huang, Heng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Analysis of severe accident scenarios for a PWR fueled with ATF system is performed. • A large-break LOCA without ECCS is analyzed for the PWR fueled with ATF system. • Extended SBO cases are discussed for the PWR fueled with ATF system. • The accident-tolerance of ATF system for application in PWR is illustrated. - Abstract: Experience gained in decades of nuclear safety research and previous nuclear accidents direct to the investigation of passive safety system design and accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) system which is now becoming a hot research point in the nuclear energy field. The ATF system is aimed at upgrading safety characteristics of the nuclear fuel and cladding in a reactor core where active cooling has been lost, and is preferable or comparable to the current UO 2 –Zr system when the reactor is in normal operation. By virtue of advanced materials with improved properties, the ATF system will obviously slow down the progression of accidents, allowing wider margin of time for the mitigation measures to work. Specifically, the simulation and analysis of a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA) without ECCS and extended station blackout (SBO) severe accident are performed for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) loaded with ATF candidates, to reflect the accident-tolerance of ATF

Contributing factors in construction accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Haslam, R A; Hide, S A; Gibb, A G F; Gyi, D E; Pavitt, T; Atkinson, S; Duff, A R

2005-07-01

This overview paper draws together findings from previous focus group research and studies of 100 individual construction accidents. Pursuing issues raised by the focus groups, the accident studies collected qualitative information on the circumstances of each incident and the causal influences involved. Site based data collection entailed interviews with accident-involved personnel and their supervisor or manager, inspection of the accident location, and review of appropriate documentation. Relevant issues from the site investigations were then followed up with off-site stakeholders, including designers, manufacturers and suppliers. Levels of involvement of key factors in the accidents were: problems arising from workers or the work team (70% of accidents), workplace issues (49%), shortcomings with equipment (including PPE) (56%), problems with suitability and condition of materials (27%), and deficiencies with risk management (84%). Employing an ergonomics systems approach, a model is proposed, indicating the manner in which originating managerial, design and cultural factors shape the circumstances found in the work place, giving rise to the acts and conditions which, in turn, lead to accidents. It is argued that attention to the originating influences will be necessary for sustained improvement in construction safety to be achieved.

Motorcycle accident is the main cause of maxillofacial injuries in the Penang Mainland, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, Hasnah; Iqbal, Syed

2011-02-01

Maxillofacial injuries are among the commonest forms of body injuries. There are three divisions, namely, facial bone fractures, soft tissue injuries, and dentoalveolar injuries. Etiologies include motor vehicle accidents, assaults, falls, and sporting injuries. The aim of this study was to determine the profiles including the causes of maxillofacial injuries seen in an urban government hospital in the mainland of Penang State, Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study that recruited cases reported within a period of 1 year. The source population was maxillofacial injury patients presenting to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of an urban hospital in the Penang Mainland, North Malaysia between May 2007 and May 2008. Cases of patients involved in accidents that occurred outside the reference vicinity were excluded. A case report form was developed and completed by the attending clinicians. Data were analyzed using spss version 12.0. A total of 194 cases were studied, with the mean patient age being 27.8 (SD 15.20) years. The majority of patients were Malay men between 20 and 29 years of age. The main cause of injury was motorcycle accident (53.6%). The commonest injury (in isolation/combination with other injuries) involved the soft tissues (87.2%), dentoalveolar region (33.4%), and facial bones (23.9%). Laceration was the commonest soft tissue injury, and crown fracture was the most frequent dentoalveolar injury. The facial bone that was most highly involved in the injury was the zygoma. Subjects involved in motorcycle accidents had a significantly higher incidence of sustaining facial bone fractures. Motorcycle accidents were the commonest cause of maxillofacial injuries in the Penang Mainland, Malaysia. Most patients were young men. Hence, it is prudent to reinforce appropriate road safety and awareness interventions particularly focusing young male motorcyclists so as to reduce the risk of accidents. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Traffic accident injuries in a referral Orthopedic Hospital in North West of Iran during summer 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Mohammad Navali

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Road traffic injuries are a major public health problem, requiring huge efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. Because of the high occurrence of traffic accidents in Iran, basic data acquisition is highly needed to implement prevention plans. The present research is conducted as an epidemiological study of the traffic accident victims referred to a referral orthopedic center in North West of Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during a 3 months period from June to September 2009 in Tabriz, Iran. A total of 16681 patients were admitted to the emergency ward, and 3246 patients (19.5% were hospitalized during this period because of traffic related injuries. After randomization, 630 cases were selected to be enrolled in the study. The location of an accident, position of road users, type of crashed vehicle, cause of accident, type of injury, time interval from accident to hospitalization and treatment outcome were recorded. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS software. Results: The mean age of the patients was 31 years (range, 6 months to 98 years and 77.0% of patients (468 cases were men. A total of 193 (36.6% patients sustained traffic accident in open roads and 335 (63.4% in urban corridors. In 67 (12.9% of accidents, there was only a single occupant in the vehicle. The time interval between the accident and admission was 6.6 ± 3.2 hours. Of the 608 cases, 45.7% were drivers, 30.3% passengers, and 24.0% pedestrians. Most cases of the car accident happened in urban areas, and the male victims were largely in the driver group. The most frequent type of injury was knee, leg and head trauma. Conclusion: The large number of traffic-related injuries admitted to our emergency ward that comprise mostly young adults should be considered as an alarming signal to policy makers and health providers in our province. Strict control on drivers’ behavior should be taken into account if increasing human

Approach to accident management in RBMK-1500

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaliatka, A.; Urbonavicius, E.; Uspuras, E.

2008-01-01

In order to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plants accident management programs are being developed around the world. These accident management programs cover the whole spectrum of accidents, including severe accidents. A lot of work is done to investigate the severe accident phenomena and implement severe accident management in NPPs with vessel-type reactors, while less attention is paid to channel-type reactors CANDU and RBMK. Ignalina NPP with RBMK-1500 reactor has implemented symptom based emergency operation procedures, which cover management of accidents until the core damage and do not extend to core damage region. In order to ensure coverage of the whole spectrum of accidents and meet the requirements of IAEA the severe accident management guidelines have to be developed. This paper presents the basic principles and approach to management of beyond design basis accidents at Ignalina NPP. In general, this approach could be applied to NPPs with RBMK-1000 reactors that are available in Russia, but the design differences should be taken into account

Database on aircraft accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

2012-09-01

The Reactor Safety Subcommittee in the Nuclear Safety and Preservation Committee published the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' as the standard method for evaluating probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities in July 2002. In response to the report, Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been collecting open information on aircraft accidents of commercial airplanes, self-defense force (SDF) airplanes and US force airplanes every year since 2003, sorting out them and developing the database of aircraft accidents for latest 20 years to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities. This year, the database was revised by adding aircraft accidents in 2010 to the existing database and deleting aircraft accidents in 1991 from it, resulting in development of the revised 2011 database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010. Furthermore, the flight information on commercial aircrafts was also collected to develop the flight database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010 to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities. The method for developing the database of aircraft accidents to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities is based on the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' described above. The 2011 revised database for latest 20 years from 1991 to 2010 shows the followings. The trend of the 2011 database changes little as compared to the last year's one. (1) The data of commercial aircraft accidents is based on 'Aircraft accident investigation reports of Japan transport safety board' of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 4 large fixed-wing aircraft accidents, 58 small fixed-wing aircraft accidents, 5 large bladed aircraft accidents and 114 small bladed aircraft accidents occurred. The relevant accidents for evaluating

Application of the severe accident code ATHLET-CD. Modelling and evaluation of accident management measures (Project WASA-BOSS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilhelm, Polina; Jobst, Matthias; Kliem, Soeren; Kozmenkov, Yaroslav; Schaefer, Frank [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Div. Reactor Safety

2016-07-01

The improvement of the safety of nuclear power plants is a continuously on-going process. The analysis of transients and accidents is an important research topic, which significantly contributes to safety enhancements of existing power plants. In case of an accident with multiple failures of safety systems core uncovery and heat-up can occur. In order to prevent the accident to turn into a severe one or to mitigate the consequences of severe accidents, different accident management measures can be applied. Numerical analyses are used to investigate the accident progression and the complex physical phenomena during the core degradation phase, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of possible countermeasures in the preventive and mitigative domain [1, 2]. The presented analyses have been performed with the computer code ATHLET-CD developed by GRS [3, 4].

Analysis and research status of severe core damage accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-03-01

The Severe Core Damage Research and Analysis Task Force was established in Nuclear Safety Research Center, Tokai Research Establishment, JAERI, in May, 1982 to make a quantitative analysis on the issues related with the severe core damage accident and also to survey the present status of the research and provide the required research subjects on the severe core damage accident. This report summarizes the results of the works performed by the Task Force during last one and half years. The main subjects investigated are as follows; (1) Discussion on the purposes and necessities of severe core damage accident research, (2) proposal of phenomenological research subjects required in Japan, (3) analysis of severe core damage accidents and identification of risk dominant accident sequences, (4) investigation of significant physical phenomena in severe core damage accidents, and (5) survey of the research status. (author)

House Church: Investigating Chinese Urban Christians’ Choice of Religious Practicing Site in Wuhan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junqiang Han

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we discuss the reasons why urban Christians choose certain sites for religious activities and explain the rapid development of house churches in urban areas in China from the perspective of individual Christians, through survey data obtained by the Chinese Urban Research Center for Ethnic and Religious Affairs Management in the city of Wuhan. We found that Christians who attend religious activities in urban house churches are generally younger in age, higher in education level, and more likely to be working in independent, private, or foreign-invested enterprises. Further investigation reveals that “Three-Self churches” are few in number and poorly planned geographically, resulting in very limited service abilities, thus being far from satisfactory for all believers. Moreover, the activities of such churches are unvaried and lack attractiveness. On the other hand, in house churches, Christians are able to build tight-knit social networks and house churches are more competitively aware in the “religious market”, leading some urban Christians to choose house churches, thereby inciting the fast development of house churches in Chinese urban areas.

How to reduce the number of accidents

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

Among the safety objectives that the Director-General has established for CERN in 2012 is a reduction in the number of workplace accidents.   The best way to prevent workplace accidents is to learn from experience. This is why any accident, fire, instance of pollution, or even a near-miss, should be reported using the EDH form that can be found here. All accident reports are followed up. The departments investigate all accidents that result in sick leave, as well as all the more common categories of accidents at CERN, essentially falls (slipping, falling on stairs, etc.), regardless of whether or not they lead to sick leave. By studying the accident causes that come to light in this way, it is possible to take preventive action to avoid such accidents in the future. If you have any questions, the HSE Unit will be happy to answer them. Contact us at safety-general@cern.ch. HSE Unit

Diet of residents of Bryansk region western areas and it's variation resulted from the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travnikova, I.G.; Balonov, M.I.; Kaplun, I.S.

1993-01-01

The paper presents the results of the examination of 955 inhabitants of the Bryansk region areas affected greatly by the Chernobyl accident. The examination was carried out in August-September, 1987. The examination was conducted to estimate the efficiency of the protective measures taken to reduce the levels of population irradiation at the alimentary in take of radionuclides. The ratios characteristic for the urban and rural population and the variations of the rations resulted from the accident became one the objects of the investigation. Milk consumption by all groups of the population is determined to reduce abruptly thus affecting the usual structure of nutrition. Consumption of meat, of fish from local lakes and rivers, of mushrooms, of forest berries reduced, as well. The mentioned variations enabled to decrease the dose of internal irradiation of the population by several times, But protein, microelements and vitamin deficiency in combination with the stress may negative affet the health of the people

Preventing marine accidents caused by technology-induced human error

OpenAIRE

Bielić, Toni; Hasanspahić, Nermin; Čulin, Jelena

2017-01-01

The objective of embedding technology on board ships, to improve safety, is not fully accomplished. The paper studies marine accidents caused by human error resulting from improper human-technology interaction. The aim of the paper is to propose measures to prevent reoccurrence of such accidents. This study analyses the marine accident reports issued by Marine Accidents Investigation Branch covering the period from 2012 to 2014. The factors that caused these accidents are examined and categor...

[Occupational accidents in an oil refinery in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Carlos Augusto Vaz de; Freitas, Carlos Machado de

2002-10-01

Work in oil refineries involves the risk of minor to major accidents. National data show the impact of accidents on this industry. A study was carried out to describe accident profile and evaluate the adequacy of accident reporting system. Data on all accidents reported in an oil refinery in the state of Rio de Janeiro for the year 1997 were organized and analyzed. The study population consisted of 153 injury cases, 83 hired and 69 contracted workers. The variables were: type of accident, operation mode and position of the worker injured. Among hired workers, minor accidents predominated (54.2%) and they occurred during regular operation activities (62.9%). Among contracted workers, there also predominated minor accidents (75.5%) in a higher percentage, but they occurred mainly during maintenance activities (96.8%). The study results showed that there is a predominance of accidents in lower hierarchy workers, and these accidents occur mainly during maintenance activities. There is a need to improve the company's accident reporting system and accident investigation procedures.

Postulated accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullrich, W.

1980-01-01

This lecture on 'Postulated Accidents' is the first of a series of lectures on the dynamic and transient behaviour of nuclear power plants, especially pressurized water reactors. The main points covered will be: Reactivity Accidents, Transients (Intact Loop) and Loss of Cooland Accidents (LOCA) including small leak. This lecture will discuss the accident analysis in general, the definition of the various operational phases, the accident classification, and, as an example, an accident sequence analysis on the basis of 'Postulated Accidents'. (orig./RW)

Learning non-technical skill lessons from testimony given in the investigation of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hikono, Masaru; Sakuda, Hiroshi; Matsui, Yuko; Goto, Manabu; Kanayama, Masaki

2016-01-01

The Government Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations interviewed individuals concerned. The hearing records, published in 2014, are considered to have valuable lessons for power station managers who encounter severe accidents. In this study, descriptions from the hearing records were extracted as lessons for managers. The extractions were classified by the subject (for whom the lessons are intended), and the category of the non-technical skills. The results showed the possibility of pointing out the lessons in accordance with responsibilities. (author)

On high-temperature reactor accident topology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fassbender, J.; Kroeger, W.; Wolters, J.

1981-01-01

American and German risk studies for an HTGR and independent investigations of hypothetical accident sequences led to a fundamental understanding of the topology of HTGR accident sequences. The dominating importance of core heat-up accidents was confirmed and the initiating events were identified. Complications of core heat-up accidents by air or water ingress are of minor importance for the risk, whereas the long-term development of accidents during days and weeks plays an important role for the environmental impact. The risk caused by an HTGR at a German site cannot yet be determined exactly, because no modern German HTGR design has passed a licensing procedure. Cautious estimates show that risk will appear to be substantially smaller than the LWR risk. The main reasons are the considerably reduced release of fission procucts and the slow development of core heat-up accidents leaving much time for measures which reduce the risk. (orig.) [de

Safety climate and accidents at work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ajslev, Jeppe; Dastjerdi, Efat Lali; Dyreborg, Johnny

2017-01-01

Aim: Occupational safety climate is utilized as a way to measure the risk of accidents and injuries at work. This study investigates which factors are associated with safety climate and accidents at work. Methods: In the 2012 round of the Danish Work Environment and Health Study, 15,144 workers...... from the general working population of Denmark replied to questions about safety climate and accidents at work. Mutually adjusted logistic regression analyses determined the association between variables. Results: Within the last year, 5.7% had experienced an accident resulting in sickness absence....... The number of safety climate problems was progressively associated with the odds ratio (OR) for accidents. For one safety climate problem the OR for accidents was 2.01 (95% CI 1.67–2.42), for four or more safety climate problems the OR was 4.57 (95% CI 3.64–5.74). Young workers (18–24 years) had higher odds...

49 CFR 225.19 - Primary groups of accidents/incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Primary groups of accidents/incidents. 225.19... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS: REPORTS CLASSIFICATION, AND INVESTIGATIONS § 225.19 Primary groups of accidents/incidents. (a) For reporting purposes reportable railroad...

Indirect Damage of Urban Flooding: Investigation of Flood-Induced Traffic Congestion Using Dynamic Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingxuan Zhu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In many countries, industrialization has led to rapid urbanization. Increased frequency of urban flooding is one consequence of the expansion of urban areas which can seriously affect the productivity and livelihoods of urban residents. Therefore, it is of vital importance to study the effects of rainfall and urban flooding on traffic congestion and driver behavior. In this study, a comprehensive method to analyze the influence of urban flooding on traffic congestion was developed. First, a flood simulation was conducted to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of flooding based on Storm Water Management Model (SWMM and TELAMAC-2D. Second, an agent-based model (ABM was used to simulate driver behavior during a period of urban flooding, and a car-following model was established. Finally, in order to study the mechanisms behind how urban flooding affects traffic congestion, the impact of flooding on urban traffic was investigated based on a case study of the urban area of Lishui, China, covering an area of 4.4 km2. It was found that for most events, two-hour rainfall has a certain impact on traffic congestion over a five-hour period, with the greatest impact during the hour following the cessation of the rain. Furthermore, the effects of rainfall with 10- and 20-year return periods were found to be similar and small, whereas the effects with a 50-year return period were obvious. Based on a combined analysis of hydrology and transportation, the proposed methods and conclusions could help to reduce traffic congestion during flood seasons, to facilitate early warning and risk management of urban flooding, and to assist users in making informed decisions regarding travel.

Investigation of a hydrogen mitigation system during large break loss-of-coolant accident for a two-loop pressurized water reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dehjourian, Mehdi; Rahgoshay, Mohmmad; Jahanfamia, Gholamreza [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sayareh, Reza [Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kerman Graduate University of Technology, Kerman (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shirani, Amir Saied [Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-10-15

Hydrogen release during severe accidents poses a serious threat to containment integrity. Mitigating procedures are necessary to prevent global or local explosions, especially in large steel shell containments. The management of hydrogen safety and prevention of over-pressurization could be implemented through a hydrogen reduction system and spray system. During the course of the hypothetical large break loss-of-coolant accident in a nuclear power plant, hydrogen is generated by a reaction between steam and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel and also core concrete interaction after ejection of melt into the cavity. The MELCOR 1.8.6 was used to assess core degradation and containment behavior during the large break loss-of-coolant accident without the actuation of the safety injection system except for accumulators in Beznau nuclear power plant. Also, hydrogen distribution in containment and performance of hydrogen reduction system were investigated.

Age-related risk factors with nonfatal traffic accidents in urban areas in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

de Melo, Willian Augusto; Alarcão, Ana Carolina Jacinto; de Oliveira, Analice Paula Rocha; Pelloso, Sandra Marisa; Carvalho, Maria Dalva de Barros

2017-02-17

The present study aimed to analyze the factors associated with the occurrence of nonfatal traffic accidents regarding age. A retrospective, transversal, and analytical study was carried out in the municipality of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, based on data from Boletins de Ocorrência de Acidente de Trânsito ("Police Occurrence Bulletins"; BOATs). Following probability sampling, the sociodemographic aspects, logistics, environmental conditions, and time of occurrence of 418 cases of accidents were analyzed. The age of the victims was considered to be the dependent variable. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate, multivariate, and variance analysis, considering a confidence interval of 95% and a significance level of 5% (P accidents (P accidents were being single, having over 8 years of education, having had a driver's license for less than 3 years, roads with low luminosity, and driving at night. Demographic, environmental, and logistical factors were associated with morbidity due to traffic accidents among young people. These results challenge society and policy makers to create more effective strategies to minimize this serious public health problem.

JAERI's activities in JCO accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-09-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) was actively involved in a variety of technical supports and cooperative activities, such as advice on terminating the criticality condition, contamination checks of the residents and consultation services for the residents, as emergency response actions to the criticality accident at the uranium processing facility operated by the JCO Co. Ltd., which occurred on September 30, 1999. These activities were carried out in collaborative ways by the JAERI staff from the Tokai Research Establishment, Naka Fusion Research Establishment, Oarai Research Establishment, and Headquarter Office in Tokyo. As well, the JAERI was engaged in the post-accident activities such as identification of accident causes, analyses of the criticality accident, and dose assessment of exposed residents, to support the Headquarter for Accident Countermeasures of the Science and Technology Agency (STA), the Accident Investigation Committee and the Health Control Committee of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC). This report compiles the activities, that the JAERI has conducted to date, including the discussions on measures for terminating the criticality condition, evaluation of the fission number, radiation monitoring in the environment, dose assessment, analyses of criticality dynamics. (author)

Accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutz, R.J.; Monty, B.S.; Liparulo, N.J.; Desaedeleer, G.

1989-01-01

The foundation of the framework for a Severe Accident Management Program is the contained in the Probabilistic Safety Study (PSS) or the Individual Plant Evaluations (IPE) for a specific plant. The development of a Severe Accident Management Program at a plant is based on the use of the information, in conjunction with other applicable information. A Severe Accident Management Program must address both accident prevention and accident mitigation. The overall Severe Accident Management framework must address these two facets, as a living program in terms of gathering the evaluating information, the readiness to respond to an event. Significant international experience in the development of severe accident management programs exist which should provide some direction for the development of Severe Accident Management in the U.S. This paper reports that the two most important elements of a Severe Accident Management Program are the Emergency Consultation process and the standards for measuring the effectiveness of individual Severe Accident Management Programs at utilities

Public Health Profile of Road Traffic Accidents in Kosovo 2010-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadani, Naser; Zhjeqi, Valbona; Berisha, Merita; Hoxha, Rina; Begolli, Ilir; Salihu, Drita; Krasniqi, Pranvera

2017-12-15

To determine the characteristics of the Socio-medical profile of road traffic accidents in Kosovo, between 2010 and 2015 year. Retrospective study. A descriptive method based on the database of road traffic accidents from the National Police of Kosovo. In Kosovo for the period 2010-2015, on average, the yearly number of road traffic accidents is 18437 with mortality rate 7.4 per 100000 and lethality of 1.5%. The highest number of fatal cases are drivers and above 19 years old with more than 80%. Among injured significantly highest percentage is among passengers for all years and above 19 years old. Road traffic accident with a vehicle occurs most frequently, with approximately over 70%, mostly on dry road 72.9% and clear weather 71.1%. The driver is the contributing factors of road traffic accidents on average 99.3% whereas climatic conditions only 0.5%, with over 50% of crashes occurring in urban road 56.2%, mostly during Monday 16.0% and in the afternoon rush hours between 14.00-18.00 with 31.0%. There is a slight decrease in the mortality rate of 0.1‰ and lethality rate of 0.1% each year, whereas there is an increase of 21.5‰ for traumatism rate for each year.

Lockout/tagout accident investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

White, James R

2014-08-01

When I was in boot camp, our drill instructor told us that assume makes an ass out of u and me. It was true then, and it is true today. In this instance, assumptions came into play several times, both by the worker and by the companies involved. The good news is that it did not result in a fatality, but that does not relieve the pain and suffering that the employee had to endure. This same type of scenario is likely repeated at many job sites throughout the United States. Multiple contractors, dozens--maybe hundreds--of workers, power system equipment and devices; all of these have to be taken into consideration when performing maintenance activities. It can become a blur. People are people, and people make mistakes. That is why we have OSHA regulations, NFPA 70E, company procedures, policies, etc. Most if not all of us have either been involved in accidents or know people who have been. It's not like it's a secret that people make mistakes, but talk to some and they seem to think only others have that failing. Safety is not about just any one procedure or rule. It's about slowing down, making a plan, and executing that plan. There are plenty of tools available to help us: policies, procedures, codes, standards, federal regulations, and state and local laws. I am not about to say that the worker involved in this incident was not taking safety seriously, but he failed to follow some fundamental safety rules like test-before-touch. If he had taken just that one step, there would be nothing to write about.

Containment severe accident thermohydraulic phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frid, W.

1991-08-01

This report describes and discusses the containment accident progression and the important severe accident containment thermohydraulic phenomena. The overall objective of the report is to provide a rather detailed presentation of the present status of phenomenological knowledge, including an account of relevant experimental investigations and to discuss, to some extent, the modelling approach used in the MAAP 3.0 computer code. The MAAP code has been used in Sweden as the main tool in the analysis of severe accidents. The dependence of the containment accident progression and containment phenomena on the initial conditions, which in turn are heavily dependent on the in-vessel accident progression and phenomena as well as associated uncertainties, is emphasized. The report is in three parts dealing with: * Swedish reactor containments, the severe accident mitigation programme in Sweden and containment accident progression in Swedish PWRs and BWRs as predicted by the MAAP 3.0 code. * Key non-energetic ex-vessel phenomena (melt fragmentation in water, melt quenching and coolability, core-concrete interaction and high temperature in containment). * Early containment threats due to energetic events (hydrogen combustion, high pressure melt ejection and direct containment heating, and ex-vessel steam explosions). The report concludes that our understanding of the containment severe accident progression and phenomena has improved very significantly over the parts ten years and, thereby, our ability to assess containment threats, to quantify uncertainties, and to interpret the results of experiments and computer code calculations have also increased. (au)

On preparation for accident management in LWR power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

Nuclear Safety Commission received the report from Reactor Safety General Examination Committee which investigated the policy of executing the preparation for accident management. The basic policy on the preparation for accident management was decided by Nuclear Safety Commission in May, 1992. This Examination Committee investigated the policy of executing the preparation for accident management, which had been reported from the administrative office, and as the result, it judged the policy as adequate, therefore, the report is made. The course to the foundation of subcommittee is reported. The basic policy of the examination on accident management by the subcommittee conforming to the decision by Nuclear Safety Commission, the measures of accident management which were extracted for BWR and PWR facilities, the examination of the technical adequacy of selecting accident sequences in BWR and PWR facilities and the countermeasures to them, the adequacy of the evaluation of the possibility of executing accident management measures and their effectiveness and the adequacy of the evaluation of effect to existing safety functions, the preparation of operation procedure manual, and education and training plan are reported. (K.I.)

Vulnerability Identification and Resilience Enhancements of Urban Environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fischer, K.; Riedel, W.; Häring, I.; Nieuwenhuijs, A.H.; Crabbe, S.; Trojaborg, S.; Hynes, W.; Müllers, I.

2012-01-01

A steadily increasing number of the world’s population is living in urban centres. The issue of security and citizen safety in densely populated areas is of paramount importance and a growing concern. In view of the growing sensitivity to terrorism and large scale accident scenarios, natural

Accident history, risk perception and traffic safe behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngueutsa, Robert; Kouabenan, Dongo Rémi

2017-09-01

This study clarifies the associations between accident history, perception of the riskiness of road travel and traffic safety behaviours by taking into account the number and severity of accidents experienced. A sample of 525 road users in Cameroon answered a questionnaire comprising items on perception of risk, safe behaviour and personal accident history. Participants who reported involvement in more than three accidents or involvement in a severe accident perceived road travel as less risky and also reported behaving less safely compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. The results have practical implications for the prevention of traffic accidents. Practitioner Summary: The associations between accident history, perceived risk of road travel and safe behaviour were investigated using self-report questionnaire data. Participants involved in more than three accidents, or in severe accidents, perceived road travel as less risky and also reported more unsafe behaviour compared with those involved in fewer, or less severe accidents. Campaigns targeting people with a less serious, less extensive accident history should aim to increase awareness of hazards and the potential severity of their consequences, as well as emphasising how easy it is to take the recommended preventive actions. Campaigns targeting those involved in more frequent accidents, and survivors of serious accidents, should address feelings of invulnerability and helplessness.

Primary school accident reporting in one education authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Latif, A H A; Williams, W R; Sibert, J

2002-02-01

Studies have shown a correlation between increased accident rates and levels of deprivation in the community. School accident reporting is one area where an association might be expected. To investigate differences in primary school accident rates in deprived and more affluent wards, in an area managed by one education authority. Statistical analysis of accident form returns for 100 primary schools in one education authority in Wales over a two year period, in conjunction with visits to over one third of school sites. Accident report rates from schools in deprived wards were three times higher than those from schools in more affluent wards. School visits showed that this discrepancy was attributable primarily to differences in reporting procedures. One third of schools did not report accidents and approximately half did not keep records of minor accidents. The association between school accident report rates and deprivation in the community is complex. School accident data from local education authorities may be unreliable for most purposes of collection.

Numerical investigation of road salt impact on an urban wellfield.

Science.gov (United States)

Bester, M L; Frind, E O; Molson, J W; Rudolph, D L

2006-01-01

The impact of road salt on a wellfield in a complex glacial moraine aquifer system is studied by numerical simulation. The moraine underlies an extensive urban and industrial landscape, which draws its water supply from >20 wellfields, several of which are approaching or have exceeded the drinking water limit for chloride. The study investigates the mechanisms of road salt infiltration, storage, and transport in the subsurface and assesses the effectiveness of mitigation measures designed to reduce the impact. The three-dimensional transport model accounts for increases in salt loading, as well as growth of the urbanized area and road network over the past 50 years. The simulations, which focus on one impacted wellfield, show chloride plumes originating mainly at arterial roads and migrating through aquitard windows into the water supply aquifers. The results suggest that the aquifer system contains a large and heterogeneously distributed mass of chloride and that concentrations in the aquifer can be substantially higher than the concentrations in the well water. Future impact scenarios indicate that although the system responds rapidly to reductions in salt loading, the residual chloride mass may take decades to flush out, even if road salting were discontinued. The implications with respect to urban wellfields in typical snow-belt areas are discussed.

School accidents to children: time to act.

Science.gov (United States)

Maitra, A

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of injuries sustained by children in school accidents and suggest preventive measures. DESIGN: A five month prospective study of children attending an urban accident and emergency (A&E) department. SUBJECTS: 500 children who sustained injuries in school due to a variety of activities. RESULTS: 10 and 12 year old pupils suffered most injuries in school grounds/playgrounds, on concrete, or on grass/soil surfaces due to random activities resulting in striking or being struck by objects/persons, tripping or slipping, and sports (mainly football); 65.5% of these activities were not supervised and 67.4% occurred "out of lessons"; 22% sustained fractures or dislocations, 28.2% needed follow up treatment, and 1.4% were admitted. CONCLUSIONS: Injuries to children in school are a cause for concern. Effective preventive measures should concentrate on (a) specific target areas using schemes based on individual school, and (b) establishing a credible system of monitoring of their effectiveness. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:9248914

On the results of investigating cause of sodium leak accident in prototype fast breeder reactor 'Monju' in Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The sodium leak accident in the secondary system of Monju occurred on December 8, 1995. The task force for investigating the accident was established in Nuclear Safety Bureau, and on May 23, 1996, the May report on the results of investigation was published. In order to elucidate the details of the fact that only one thermometer in the secondary system was broken and the reaction of leaked sodium with steel materials, the investigation was continued. In this report, also the results of these additional investigations are included. First, the accident of this time is outlined. As for the cause of the occurrence of sodium leak, the examination of the fracture surface of the broken thermometer, the high cycle fatigue due to hydrodynamic vibration, the investigation of the design, manufacture and installation of the thermometer, and the evaluation of secondary system thermometers which were not broken are reported. The cause that only one thermometer was broken was the way of its insertion which made the restraint of vibration amplitude ineffective. As the effects of sodium leak, the pile of sodium compound on floor liner, the damage of ducts and gratings, and the color change of concrete walls were observed. The burning experiment due to sodium leak was carried out to confirm the effects. (K.I.)

The handling of radiation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

The symposium was attended by 204 participants from 39 countries and 5 international organizations. Forty-two papers were presented in 8 sessions. The purpose of the meeting was to foster an exchange of experiences gained in establishing and exercising plans for mitigating the effects of radiation accidents and in the handling of actual accident situations. Only a small number of accidents were reported at the symposium, and this reflects the very high standards of safety that has been achieved by the nuclear industry. No accidents of radiological significance were reported to have occurred at commercial nuclear power plants. Of the accidents reported, industrial radiography continues to be the area in which most of the radiation accidents occur. The experience gained in the reported accident situations served to confirm the crucial importance of the prompt availability of medical and radiological services, particularly in the case of uptake of radioactive material, and emphasized the importance of detailed investigation into the causes of the accident in order to improve preventative measures. One of the principal themes of the symposium involved emergency procedures related to nuclear power plant accidents, and several papers defining the scope, progression and consequences of design base accidents for both thermal and fast reactor systems were presented. These were complemented by papers defining the resultant protection requirements that should be satisfied in the establishment of plans designed to mitigate the effects of the postulated accident situations. Several papers were presented describing existing emergency organizational arrangements relating both to specific nuclear power plants and to comprehensive national schemes, and a particularly informative session was devoted to the topic of training of personnel in the practical conduct of emergency arrangements. The general feeling of the participants was one of studied confidence in the competence and

Psychological aspects of accident prevention in mines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lukestikova, M

1981-04-01

This paper duscusses ways of preventing work accidents and increasing work safety in underground black coal mines. Specific conditions of underground operations in coal mines are stressed. Elements of work accident prevention are analyzed: reducing hazards by introducing safer technology, automation and mechanization of operations associated with hazards, introducing special measures within the framework of safety engineering. Dependence of accident rate on such factors as personnel training, age, motivation, qualifications, and labor discipline is discussed. Investigations indicate that miner motivation plays a significant role in accident prevention. A high degree of labor motivation successfully reduces accident rate and a low degree of motivation increases accident rate. Role of labor collective in labor motivation as well as a correct system of wage incentives are evaluated. Methods of personnel training aimed at reducing accident rate are described. Role of a technique by which a group of miners attempts to find a solution to a work safety problem by amassing all ideas spontaneously contributed by participants is stressed.

Investigation of the different scenarios occurring in a PWR in case of a TMLB accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pochard, R.; Dufresne, J.; Autrusson, B.

1988-10-01

Severe accidents in light water reactors fall into one of two main categories, depending on whether or not core meltdown is accompanied by a pressure buildup in the primary system. The way in which the accident develops is, in fact, largely conditioned by this pressure aspect: temperature distribution in the core and primary system resulting from natural convection gas streams; fuel clad failure mode, etc... One major effect of pressure buildup on the accident scenario is primary system failure under the combined actions of pressure and temperature. The purpose of the present paper is to present, after a detailed thermalhydraulic study, an analysis of the timing and location of the system failures in case of a TMLB accident on CPY french type reactor

Radiological accident 'The Citadel' medical aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardenas Herrera, Juan; Fernandez, Isis M.; Lopez, Gladys; Garcia, Omar; Lamadrid, Ana I.; Ramos, Enma O.; Villa, Rosario; Giron, Carmen M.; Escobar, Myrian; Zerpa, Miguel; Romero, Argenis H.; Medina, Julio; Laurenti, Zenia; Oliva, Maria T.; Sierra, Nitza; Lorenzo, Alexis

2008-01-01

The work exposes the medical actions carried out in the mitigation of the consequences of the accident and its main results. In a facility of storage of radioactive waste in Caracas, Venezuela, it was happened a radiological accident. This event caused radioactive contamination of the environment, as well as the irradiation and radioactive contamination of at least 10 people involved in the fact, in its majority children. Cuban institutions participated in response to the accident. Among the decisions adopted by the team of combined work Cuban-Venezuelan, we find the one of transferring affected people to Cuba, for their dosimetric and medical evaluation. Being designed a work strategy to develop the investigations to people affected by the radiological accident, in correspondence with the circumstances, magnitude and consequences of the accident. The obtained main results are: 100% presented affectations in its health, not associate directly to the accident, although the accident influenced in its psychological state. In 3 of studied people they were detected radioactive contamination with Cesium -137 with dose among 2.01 X 10-4 Sv up to 2.78 X 10-4 Sv. This accident demonstrated the necessity to have technical capacities to face these events and the importance of the international solidarity. (author)

Experimental Investigation of Operation of VVER Steam Generator in Condensation Mode in the Event of the Severe Accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morozov, Andrey [Institute for Physics and Power Engineering by A.I. Leypunsky, 1 Bondarenko sq. Obninsk, 249033 (Russian Federation)

2008-07-01

For new Russian nuclear power plants with VVER-1200 reactor in the event of a beyond design basis accident, provision is made for the use of passive safety systems for necessary core cooling. These safety systems include the passive heat removal system (PHRS). In the case of leakage in the primary circuit this system assures the transition of steam generators (SG) to operation in the mode of condensation of the primary circuit steam. As a result, the condensate from SG arrives at the core providing its additional cooling. To investigate the condensation mode of VVER SG operation, a large scale HA2M-SG test facility was constructed. The rig incorporates: buffer tank, SG model with scale is 1:46, PHRS heat exchanger. Experiments at the test facility have been performed to investigate condensation mode of operation of SG model at the pressure 0.4 MPa, correspond to VVER reactor pressure at the last stage of the beyond design basis accident. The report presents the test procedure and the basic obtained test results. (authors)

The expert assistant in accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goddard, A.J.H.; Cannell, R.J.

1990-01-01

In the event of a nuclear accident in proximity to an urban area, the consequences resulting from the complex processes of environmental transport of radioactivity would require complex countermeasures. Emphasis has been placed on either modelling the potential effects of such an event on the population, or on attempting to predict the geographical evolution of the release. Less emphasis has been placed on the development of accident management aids with a in-built data acquisition capability. Given the problems of predicting the evolution of an accidental release of activity, more emphasis should be placed on the development of small regional systems specifically engineered to acquire and display environmental data in the most efficaceous form possible. A wealth of information can be obtained from appropriately-sited outstations which can aid those responsible for countermeasures in their decision making processes. The substantial volume of data which would arrive within the duration and during the aftermath of an accident requires skilled interpretation under conditions of considerable stress. It is necessary that a management aid notonly presents these data in a rapidly assimilable form, but is capable of making intelligent decisions of its own, on such matters as information display priority and the polling frequency of outstations. The requirement is for an expert assistant. The XERSES accident management aid has been designed with the foregoing features in mind. Intended for covering regions up to approximately 100 kms square, it links with between 1 and 64 outstations supplying a variety of environmental data. Under quiescent conditions the system will operate unattended, raising alarms remotely only when detecting abnormal conditions. Under emergency conditions, the system automatically adjusts such operating parameters as data acquisition rate

The environmental restoration in the management of radiological accidents with off site consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vazquez, C.; Montero, M.; Moraleda, M.; Diaz, J.; Claver, F.; Valles, O.; Rodriguez, N.; Gutierrez, J.

1998-01-01

Radiological accidents are among the potential cases of environmental contamination that could have consequences on the health of the population. These accidents, associated with an increase in the level of radiological exposure surpassing the natural background, have been investigated in greater depth than other conventional accidents. This investigation has included the evaluation of their probability, magnitude and consequences in order to establish safety norms. Nevertheless, the social perception of this type of risk appears to be disproportionately high. The development of a comprehensible and adequate standardized system for the evaluation of the radiological risk and the applicability of corrective actions to reduce this type of risk at local level, will undoubtedly contribute to increase the public confidence in the advised options for the restoration of environments contaminated with the long lived radionuclides. This system should consider the local specificity of each contaminated place, and take into account the associated unwanted consequences for each option. This paper presents the first results of a system to help the decision makers in the quantitative evaluation of the radiological risk produced by long lived radionuclides Cs 137, Cs 134 and Sr 90 spread over urban, agricultural and semi-natural environments and the applicable options to reduce it. The evaluation of these applicable options is made considering the reduction of dose that can be reached, the monetary costs and the significant associated secondary effects if there are any. All these factors are integrated for a time period depending on the half-life of the contaminants and on their strength and distribution on the scenario when intervention is being planned. (authors)

The radiological accident in Cochabamba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-07-01

In April 2002 an accident involving an industrial radiography source containing 192 Ir occurred in Cochabamba, Bolivia, some 400 km from the capital, La Paz. A faulty radiography source container had been sent back to the headquarters of the company concerned in La Paz together with other equipment as cargo on a passenger bus. This gave rise to a potential for serious exposure for the bus passengers as well as for the company employees who were using and transporting the source. The Government of Bolivia requested the assistance of the IAEA under the terms of the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. The IAEA in response assembled and sent to Bolivia a team composed of senior radiation safety experts and radiation pathology experts from Brazil, the United Kingdom and the IAEA to investigate the accident. The IAEA is grateful to the Government of Bolivia for the opportunity to report on this accident in order to disseminate the valuable lessons learned and help prevent similar accidents in the future

Secondary school accident reporting in one education authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, W R; Latif, A H A; Sibert, J

2002-01-01

Secondary schools appear to have very different accident rates when they are compared on the basis of accident report returns. The variation may be as a result of real differences in accident rates or different reporting procedures. This study investigates accident reporting from secondary schools and, in particular, the role of the school nurse. Accident form returns covering a 2-year period were collected for statistical analysis from 13 comprehensive schools in one local education authority in Wales. School sites were visited in the following school year to obtain information about accident records held on site and accident reporting procedures. The main factors determining the number of school accident reports submitted to the education authority relate to differences in recording and reporting procedures, such as the employment of a nurse and the policy of the head teacher/safety officer on submitting accident returns. Accident and emergency department referrals from similar schools may show significant differences in specific injuries and their causes. The level of school accident activity cannot be gauged from reports submitted to the education authority. Lack of incentives for collecting good accident data, in conjunction with the degree of complacency in the current system, suggest that future accident rates and reporting activity are unlikely to change.

Statistical modelling of the frequency and severity of road accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Janstrup, Kira Hyldekær

-reporting. The problem of under-reporting is not unique for traffic accidents as severe under-reporting is a challenge in many other fields of incident reporting. In other incidents fields with intended or unintended harm, research has investigated the behavioural reasons for why people choose to report an incident......Under-reporting of traffic accidents is a well-discussed subject in traffic safety and it is well-known that the degree of under-reporting of traffic accidents is quite high in many countries. Nevertheless, very little literature has been made to investigate what causes the high degree of under...... on the service quality within the police none have looked at the service quality specific for the handling of traffic accidents.The objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to investigate the extent of under-reporting of traffic accidents in Denmark and trace the under-reporting systematically. As something new...

Traffic Accidents Involving Cyclists Identifying Causal Factors Using Questionnaire Survey, Traffic Accident Data, and Real-World Observation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oikawa, Shoko; Hirose, Toshiya; Aomura, Shigeru; Matsui, Yasuhiro

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study is to clarify the mechanism of traffic accidents involving cyclists. The focus is on the characteristics of cyclist accidents and scenarios, because the number of traffic accidents involving cyclists in Tokyo is the highest in Japan. First, dangerous situations in traffic incidents were investigated by collecting data from 304 cyclists in one city in Tokyo using a questionnaire survey. The survey indicated that cyclists used their bicycles generally while commuting to work or school in the morning. Second, the study investigated the characteristics of 250 accident situations involving cyclists that happened in the city using real-world bicycle accident data. The results revealed that the traffic accidents occurred at intersections of local streets, where cyclists collided most often with vehicles during commute time in the morning. Third, cyclists' behavior was observed at a local street intersection in the morning in the city using video pictures. In one hour during the morning commute period, 250 bicycles passed through the intersection. The results indicated that one of the reasons for traffic accidents involving cyclists might be the combined effect of low visibility, caused by the presence of box-like building structures close to the intersections, and the cyclists' behavior in terms of their velocity and no confirming safety. It was observed that, on average, bicycle velocity was 3.1 m/s at the initial line of an intersection. The findings from this study could be useful in developing new technologies to improve cyclist safety, such as alert devices for cyclists and vehicle drivers, wireless communication systems between cyclists and vehicle drivers, or advanced vehicles with bicycle detection and collision mitigation systems.

Analysis on relation between safety input and accidents

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YAO Qing-guo; ZHANG Xue-mu; LI Chun-hui

2007-01-01

The number of safety input directly determines the level of safety, and there exists dialectical and unified relations between safety input and accidents. Based on the field investigation and reliable data, this paper deeply studied the dialectical relationship between safety input and accidents, and acquired the conclusions. The security situation of the coal enterprises was related to the security input rate, being effected little by the security input scale, and build the relationship model between safety input and accidents on this basis, that is the accident model.

Road Accident Mortality Rate of the Iranian Elderly from 2006 to 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad reza Ghadirzadeh

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Mortality rate in traffic accident is high for Iranian elderly. Twenty percent of elderly people are involved in traffic accident in Iran `s cities every year. Methods & Materials: This study is a descriptive cross sectional study. All data in this field from 2006 to 2008 collected from forensic medicine centers across the country and were analyzed with SPSS software. Results: In general, 12029 deaths due to traffic accident occurred in people over 60 years old in Iran from 2006 to 2008. On average 65% of deaths were occurred in young-old: 34.5% in old group and 0.5% in the old-old group. In these years 19.2% of death in elderly people was occurred in drivers, 56.9% in pedestrians and 23.2% in occupants. On average, each year 46% of deaths in traffic accidents were happened in cities 46.3% on suburban roads, and 6.8% were occurred on rural roads. Conclusion: The rate of traffic accident in Iran is about 20 folds in compare to those of other countries. In years of study mortality rate in old and old-old age groups were increased and in young-old group was decreased. The frequency of deaths in elderly people due to traffic accidents was decreased in suburban roads and increased in urban roads.

Serum homocysteine levels in cerebrovascular accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Zongte, Zolianthanga; Shaini, L; Debbarma, Asis; Singh, Th Bhimo; Devi, S Bilasini; Singh, W Gyaneshwar

2008-04-01

Hyperhomocysteinemia has been considered an independent risk factor in the development of stroke. The present study was undertaken to evaluate serum homocysteine levels in patients with cerebrovascular accidents among the Manipuri population and to compare with the normal cases. Ninety-three cerebrovascular accident cases admitted in the hospital were enrolled for the study and twenty-seven age and sex matched individuals free from cerebrovascular diseases were taken as control group. Serum homocysteine levels were estimated by ELISA method using Axis homocysteine EIA kit manufactured by Ranbaxy Diagnostic Ltd. India. The finding suggests that hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with cerebrovascular accident with male preponderance, which increases with advancing age. However, whether hyperhomocysteinemia is the cause or the result of cerebrovascular accidents needs further investigations.

Four years after the JCO criticality accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumita, Kenji

2003-01-01

It has been about four years since the first criticality accident in Japan. The JCO accident site was not so far from this auditorium. I have been asked to give a short review of important results from the various technical investigations on the accident that have been performed during the past four years. I will also give a short introduction to the changes that have been made in the nuclear safety regulation systems of the Japanese Government. (author)

A global analysis approach for investigating structural resilience in urban drainage systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Mugume, Seith N; Gomez, Diego E; Fu, Guangtao; Farmani, Raziyeh; Butler, David

2015-09-15

Building resilience in urban drainage systems requires consideration of a wide range of threats that contribute to urban flooding. Existing hydraulic reliability based approaches have focused on quantifying functional failure caused by extreme rainfall or increase in dry weather flows that lead to hydraulic overloading of the system. Such approaches however, do not fully explore the full system failure scenario space due to exclusion of crucial threats such as equipment malfunction, pipe collapse and blockage that can also lead to urban flooding. In this research, a new analytical approach based on global resilience analysis is investigated and applied to systematically evaluate the performance of an urban drainage system when subjected to a wide range of structural failure scenarios resulting from random cumulative link failure. Link failure envelopes, which represent the resulting loss of system functionality (impacts) are determined by computing the upper and lower limits of the simulation results for total flood volume (failure magnitude) and average flood duration (failure duration) at each link failure level. A new resilience index that combines the failure magnitude and duration into a single metric is applied to quantify system residual functionality at each considered link failure level. With this approach, resilience has been tested and characterised for an existing urban drainage system in Kampala city, Uganda. In addition, the effectiveness of potential adaptation strategies in enhancing its resilience to cumulative link failure has been tested. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Urban Sprawl and Transportation Externalities

OpenAIRE

Holcombe, Randall G.; Williams, DeEdgra W.

2010-01-01

One argument in support of minimizing urban sprawl is that sprawl creates transportation externalities. A problem with empirically examining the relationship between sprawl and transportation externalities is that sprawl is a difficult concept to quantify. This paper uses a measure of sprawl designed by Ewing, Pendall, and Chen (2002) to examine the relationship between sprawl and commute times, automobile ownership, miles driven, fatal auto accidents, air pollution, and highway expenditures....

Severe Accident Research Program plan update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-12-01

In August 1989, the staff published NUREG-1365, ''Revised Severe Accident Research Program Plan.'' Since 1989, significant progress has been made in severe accident research to warrant an update to NUREG-1365. The staff has prepared this SARP Plan Update to: (1) Identify those issues that have been closed or are near completion, (2) Describe the progress in our understanding of important severe accident phenomena, (3) Define the long-term research that is directed at improving our understanding of severe accident phenomena and developing improved methods for assessing core melt progression, direct containment heating, and fuel-coolant interactions, and (4) Reflect the growing emphasis in two additional areas--advanced light water reactors, and support for the assessment of criteria for containment performance during severe accidents. The report describes recent major accomplishments in understanding the underlying phenomena that can occur during a severe accident. These include Mark I liner failure, severe accident scaling methodology, source term issues, core-concrete interactions, hydrogen transport and combustion, TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project, and direct containment heating. The report also describes the major planned activities under the SARP over the next several years. These activities will focus on two phenomenological issues (core melt progression, and fuel-coolant interactions and debris coolability) that have significant uncertainties that impact our understanding and ability to predict severe accident phenomena and their effect on containment performance SARP will also focus on severe accident code development, assessment and validation. As the staff completes the research on severe accident issues that relate to current generation reactors, continued research will focus on efforts to independently evaluate the capability of new advanced light water reactor designs to withstand severe accidents

The effect of vehicle characteristics on road accidents

CERN Document Server

Jones, I S

2016-01-01

The Effect of Vehicle Characteristics on Road Accidents investigates whether vehicle characteristics related to handling and stability contribute to road accidents. Using multiple regression analysis, this book addresses driver and vehicle effects separately in order to define both the magnitude of the handling/accident causation problem as well as the relative importance of the various performance measures. This monograph is comprised of six chapters and begins with detailed studies of accidents to determine the circumstances which lead to loss of control or overturning of a car on the road, and which accidents are likely to be influenced by the handling and stability characteristics of cars. Accident rates for these types of accident are then examined for the more popular models of car. Measures of vehicle handling and stability related to accident rates are also discussed. This text will be a useful resource for motorists and road engineers as well as transportation officials.

Research activities about the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl NPS accident and social activities to assist the sufferers by the accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imanaka, T.

1998-03-01

The 12th anniversary is coming soon of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the former USSR on April 26, 1986. Many issues are, however, still unresolved about the radiological impacts on the environment and people due to the Chernobyl accident. This report contains the results of an international collaborative project about the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident, carried out from November 1995 to October 1997 under the research grant of the Toyota foundation. Collaborative works were promoted along with the following 5 sub-themes: 1) General description of research activities in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine concerning the radiological consequences of the accident. 2) Investigation of the current situation of epidemiological studies about Chernobyl in each affected country. 3) Investigation of acute radiation syndrome among inhabitants evacuated soon after the accident from the 30 km zone around the Chernobyl NPS. 4) Overview of social activities to assist the sufferers by the accident in each affected country. 5) Preparation of special reports of interesting studies being carried out in each affected country. The 27 papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

Accident management insights after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degueldre, Didier; Viktorov, Alexandre; Tuomainen, Minna; Ducamp, Francois; Chevalier, Sophie; Guigueno, Yves; Tasset, Daniel; Heinrich, Marcus; Schneider, Matthias; Funahashi, Toshihiro; Hotta, Akitoshi; Kajimoto, Mitsuhiro; Chung, Dae-Wook; Kuriene, Laima; Kozlova, Nadezhda; Zivko, Tomi; Aleza, Santiago; Jones, John; McHale, Jack; Nieh, Ho; Pascal, Ghislain; ); Nakoski, John; Neretin, Victor; Nezuka, Takayoshi; )

2014-01-01

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, that took place on 11 March 2011, initiated a significant number of activities at the national and international levels to reassess the safety of existing NPPs, evaluate the sufficiency of technical means and administrative measures available for emergency response, and develop recommendations for increasing the robustness of NPPs to withstand extreme external events and beyond design basis accidents. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is working closely with its member and partner countries to examine the causes of the accident and to identify lessons learnt with a view to the appropriate follow-up actions to be taken by the nuclear safety community. Accident management is a priority area of work for the NEA to address lessons being learnt from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP following the recommendations of Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA), Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), and Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH). Considering the importance of these issues, the CNRA authorised the formation of a task group on accident management (TGAM) in June 2012 to review the regulatory framework for accident management following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. The task group was requested to assess the NEA member countries needs and challenges in light of the accident from a regulatory point of view. The general objectives of the TGAM review were to consider: - enhancements of on-site accident management procedures and guidelines based on lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident; - decision-making and guiding principles in emergency situations; - guidance for instrumentation, equipment and supplies for addressing long-term aspects of accident management; - guidance and implementation when taking extreme measures for accident management. The report is built on the existing bases for capabilities to respond to design basis

Investigation of the radiological impact of reactor accidents under probabilistic aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huebschmann, W.; Vogt, S.

1977-01-01

An analysis and conceptional investigation have been performed for the accident consequence model of the German reactor risk study. A dynamic atmospheric diffusion model is developed, which is applied in the first stage of the study to all distance ranges, and will be restricted finally to the long distance range. The wind direction and its variations are not taken into account in this model. The program set UFO-BAS calculates the time integrated nuclide concentration in air at any location downwind of the source. A further model which takes into account wind direction variations is being developed. On the basis of the proposals for the calculation of the health effects in the German risk study considerations on the storage requirements were accomplished. By means of these assessments a revised grid of parameters was evaluated. Furthermore, considerations were made for the implementation of an evaluation model, which will be developed by the Institut fuer Unfallforschung. (orig./RW) [de

Investigation of controlled flight into terrain : descriptions of flight paths for selected controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) aircraft accidents, 1985-1997

Science.gov (United States)

1999-03-01

This report documents an investigation of the flight paths of 13 selected controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) aircraft accidents that occurred between 1985 and 1997. The Operations Assessment Division (DTS-43) and the Aviation Safety Division (DTS-...

Database on aircraft accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

2013-11-01

The Reactor Safety Subcommittee in the Nuclear Safety and Preservation Committee published 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' as the standard method for evaluating probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities in July 2002. In response to this issue, Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been collecting open information on aircraft accidents of commercial airplanes, self-defense force (SDF) airplanes and US force airplanes every year since 2003, sorting out them and developing the database of aircraft accidents for the latest 20 years to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into nuclear reactor facilities. In this report the database was revised by adding aircraft accidents in 2011 to the existing database and deleting aircraft accidents in 1991 from it, resulting in development of the revised 2012 database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011. Furthermore, the flight information on commercial aircrafts was also collected to develop the flight database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011 to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities. The method for developing the database of aircraft accidents to evaluate probability of aircraft crash into reactor facilities is based on the report 'The criteria on assessment of probability of aircraft crash into light water reactor facilities' described above. The 2012 revised database for the latest 20 years from 1992 to 2011 shows the followings. The trend of the 2012 database changes little as compared to the last year's report. (1) The data of commercial aircraft accidents is based on 'Aircraft accident investigation reports of Japan transport safety board' of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The number of commercial aircraft accidents is 4 for large fixed-wing aircraft, 58 for small fixed-wing aircraft, 5 for large bladed aircraft and 99 for small bladed aircraft. The relevant accidents

Trend of elevator-related accidents in tehran.

Science.gov (United States)

Khaji, Ali; Ghodsi, Syyed Mohammad

2014-06-01

Elevator-related accidents are uncommon, but can cause significant injury. However, little data exist on these types of accidents. To compile and analyze accident data involving elevators in an effort to eliminate or at least significantly reduce such accidents. In this retrospective study we investigated 1,819 cases of elevator-related accidents during a four-year period (1999-2003) in Tehran. The data were obtained from the Tehran Safety Services & Fire Fighting Organization (TSFO) that is officially and solely responsible to conduct rescue missions of civilians in Tehran. The number of elevator accidents has increased steadily during the four year study period. During these four years there was a positive upward trend for serious injuries and mortality resulting from elevator accidents. Technical problems were the main cause with 74.5%, followed by power loss and overcapacity riding with 11.5% and 7.9% respectively. Sixty-three individuals sustained serious injury and 15 people died as a result of elevator accidents. The number of accidents was significantly higher in summer (x2=18.32, P=0.032) and a considerable proportion of incidences (54%, 947 cases out of 1819) occurred between 5 and 12 pm. Establishment of an organization to inspect the settings, maintenance, and repair of elevators is necessary.

Goiania radiation accident: 30 years - a half-life for a whole life..

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, R.G.; Lucena, E.A.; Arantes, R.R.; Silva, A.A.; Reis, A.A.

2017-01-01

The radiological accident in Goiânia, Brazil, considered the largest urban radiological accident in the world, generated several publications in the technical area that are widely disseminated in the scientific literature, given the importance of the lessons learned. However, in a simple conversation with people who worked on that accident, it is noted that many reports have not been recorded. In this year in which 30 years of the event is completed, it will be of great value to record personal testimonies that are not in technical or scientific books. And what can we tell after a half-life that lasted for a lifetime? The lived stories, the situations, the improvisations, the way to solve, the overcoming, the human side, the emotions, happy or sad, short or long, funny or not. The objective of this work is to preserve, maintain and divulge reports and situations experienced by people who worked on the radiological accident with Cs-137 in Goiânia. Audio or video recordings about experiences lived in Goiânia by people who worked in that emergency situation were carried out. The reports are free and the form of registration is always at the discretion of the narrator. Storing records allows to preserve, maintain, and disclose the accident to other generations

Compilation of accident statistics in PSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jobst, C.

1983-04-01

The objective of the investigations on transportation carried out within the framework of the 'Project - Studies on Safety in Waste Management (PSE II)' is the determination of the risk of accidents in the transportation of radioactive materials by rail. The fault tree analysis is used for the determination of risks in the transportation system. This method offers a possibility for the determination of frequency and consequences of accidents which could lead to an unintended release of radionuclides. The study presented compiles all data obtained from the accident statistics of the Federal German Railways. (orig./RB) [de

An evaluation of the Triage Early Warning Score in an urban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-12-03

Dec 3, 2013 ... Original Research: An evaluation of the Triage Early Warning Score in an urban accident and emergency department. 69 ... This can potentially improve the gap .... were defined as “discharge within 24 hours of admission,.

Site Specific Analyses of a Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biwer, B. M.; Chen, S. Y.

2003-01-01

The number of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) shipments is expected to increase significantly during the time period that the United States' inventory of SNF is sent to a final disposal site. Prior work estimated that the highest accident risks of a SNF shipping campaign to the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain were in the corridor states, such as Illinois. The largest potential human health impacts would be expected to occur in areas with high population densities such as urban settings. Thus, our current study examined the human health impacts from the most plausible severe SNF transportation accidents in the Chicago metropolitan area. The RISKIND 2.0 program was used to model site-specific data for an area where the largest impacts might occur. The results have shown that the radiological human health consequences of a severe SNF rail transportation accident on average might be similar to one year of exposure to natural background radiation for those persons living a nd working in the most affected areas downwind of the actual accident location. For maximally exposed individuals, an exposure similar to about two years of exposure to natural background radiation was estimated. In addition to the accident probabilities being very low (approximately 1 chance in 10,000 or less during the entire shipping campaign), the actual human health impacts are expected to be lower if any of the accidents considered did occur, because the results are dependent on the specific location and weather conditions, such as wind speed and direction, that were selected to maximize the results. Also, comparison of the results of longer duration accident scenarios against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines was made to demonstrate the usefulness of this site-specific analysis for emergency planning purposes

Modeling secondary accidents identified by traffic shock waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Junhua, Wang; Boya, Liu; Lanfang, Zhang; Ragland, David R

2016-02-01

The high potential for occurrence and the negative consequences of secondary accidents make them an issue of great concern affecting freeway safety. Using accident records from a three-year period together with California interstate freeway loop data, a dynamic method for more accurate classification based on the traffic shock wave detecting method was used to identify secondary accidents. Spatio-temporal gaps between the primary and secondary accident were proven be fit via a mixture of Weibull and normal distribution. A logistic regression model was developed to investigate major factors contributing to secondary accident occurrence. Traffic shock wave speed and volume at the occurrence of a primary accident were explicitly considered in the model, as a secondary accident is defined as an accident that occurs within the spatio-temporal impact scope of the primary accident. Results show that the shock waves originating in the wake of a primary accident have a more significant impact on the likelihood of a secondary accident occurrence than the effects of traffic volume. Primary accidents with long durations can significantly increase the possibility of secondary accidents. Unsafe speed and weather are other factors contributing to secondary crash occurrence. It is strongly suggested that when police or rescue personnel arrive at the scene of an accident, they should not suddenly block, decrease, or unblock the traffic flow, but instead endeavor to control traffic in a smooth and controlled manner. Also it is important to reduce accident processing time to reduce the risk of secondary accident. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Unavoidable Accident

OpenAIRE

Grady, Mark F.

2009-01-01

In negligence law, "unavoidable accident" is the risk that remains when an actor has used due care. The counterpart of unavoidable accident is "negligent harm." Negligence law makes parties immune for unavoidable accident even when they have used less than due care. Courts have developed a number of methods by which they "sort" accidents to unavoidable accident or to negligent harm, holding parties liable only for the latter. These sorting techniques are interesting in their own right and als...

The distribution on trees of dry deposited material from the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roed, J.

1988-01-01

The distribution of material from the Chernobyl accident that has been dry deposited on forest trees near Roskilde (Denmark) and on trees in a suburban area of Roskilde are investigated. The dry deposition velocities on the plan-projected area covered by the trees are found and compared with those on paved surfaces. The conclusion is that the deposited material is distributed fairly uniformly on the trees, and that the deposition velocities on trees are more than 10 times higher than on paved surfaces. A bulk deposition constant is defined and proposed to be used for modelling the deposition on trees in an urban environment. This work was supported by the EEC Radiation Protection Programme under contract No. B16-107-DK and by NKA, the Nordic Liaison Committee for Atomic Energy

The investigation on the public panic caused from the Fukushima nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao Li; Wang Yilong; He Xu

2012-01-01

March 11, 2011, a huge earthquake and tidal waves in Japan lead to dangerous levels of nuclear leakage at Fukushima nuclear plant, the nuclear accident also cause public panic m many countries. To investigate the reason of the public panic, we employ the theories of sociology and psychology, analyzed that the public panic come from Ignorant Panic. Herd Behavior, Primacy Effect, Stereotype Activation Effect, and the superposition of these effects. In addition, we proposed three measures to the public panic: First, we should emphasize the safety of nuclear power and establish the positive image of nuclear power Second, we should emphasize the popular science of nuclear power so that nu clear power can be accepted in the public; Third, we should enhance the psychological intervention system for nuclear safe emergency and improve the effect of psychological intervention

Risk factors affecting the severity of traffic accidents at Shanghai river-crossing tunnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jian John; Xing, Yingying; Wang, Chen; Cai, Xiaonan

2016-01-01

With increasing traffic volume and urban development, increasing numbers of underground tunnels have been constructed to relieve conflict between strained land and heavy traffic. However, as more long tunnels are constructed, tunnel traffic safety is becoming increasingly serious. Thus, it is necessary to acquire their implications and impacts. This study examined 4,539 traffic accidents that have occurred in 14 Shanghai river-crossing tunnels for the period 2011-2012 and analyze the correlation between potential factors and accident injury severity. An ordered logit model was developed to examine the correlation between potential factors and accident injury severity. Results show that increased injury severity is associated with male drivers, drivers aged 65 years or older, accident time from midnight to dawn, weekends, wet road surface, goods vehicles, 3 or more vehicles, 4 or more lanes, middle speed limits (50-79 km/h), zone 3, extra-long tunnels (over 3,000 m), and maximum longitudinal gradient. This article aims to provide useful information for engineers to develop interventions and countermeasures to improve tunnel safety in China.

Predicted occurrence rate of severe transportation accidents involving large casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dennis, A.W.

1978-01-01

A summary of the results of an investigation of the severities of highway and railroad accidents as they relate to the shipment of large radioactive materials casks is discussed. The accident environments considered are fire, impact, crash, immersion, and puncture. For each of these environments, the accident severities and their predicted frequencies of occurrence are presented. These accident environments are presented in tabular and graphic form to allow the reader to evaluate the probabilities of occurrence of the accident parameter severities he selects

Determinants of the property damage costs of tanker accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talley, W.K.

1999-01-01

This study investigates determinants of the vessel, oil cargo spillage, and other-property damage costs of tanker accidents. Tobit estimation of a three-equation recursive model suggests that, among types of tanker accidents, fire/explosion accidents incur the largest vessel damage costs, but the smallest oil cargo spillage costs. Alternatively, grounding accidents incur the smallest vessel damage costs, but the largest oil cargo spillage costs, reflecting the difficulty of controlling oil cargo spillage subsequent to such accidents. Also, oil cargo spillage costs are lower for US flag tanker accidents. A dollar of vessel damage cost increases other-property damage cost by 0.06 dollars, whereas a dollar of oil cargo spillage increases this cost by 1.55 dollars

49 CFR 225.15 - Accidents/incidents not to be reported.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Accidents/incidents not to be reported. 225.15... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RAILROAD ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS: REPORTS CLASSIFICATION, AND INVESTIGATIONS § 225.15 Accidents/incidents not to be reported. A railroad need not report: (a) Casualties which...

Domino effect in chemical accidents: main features and accident sequences

OpenAIRE

Casal Fàbrega, Joaquim; Darbra Roman, Rosa Maria

2010-01-01

The main features of domino accidents in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials were studied through an analysis of 225 accidents involving this effect. Data on these accidents, which occurred after 1961, were taken from several sources. Aspects analyzed included the accident scenario, the type of accident, the materials involved, the causes and consequences and the most common accident sequences. The analysis showed that the most frequent causes a...

Stress in accident and post-accident management at Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girard, P.; Dubreuil, G.H.

1996-01-01

The effects of the Chernobyl nuclear accident on the psychology of the affected population have been much discussed. The psychological dimension has been advanced as a factor explaining the emergence, from 1990 onwards, of a post-accident crisis in the main CIS countries affected. This article presents the conclusions of a series of European studies, which focused on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. These studies show that the psychological and social effects associated with the post-accident situation arise from the interdependency of a number of complex factors exerting a deleterious effect on the population. We shall first attempt to characterise the stress phenomena observed among the population affected by the accident. Secondly, we will be presenting an anlysis of the various factors that have contributed to the emerging psychological and social features of population reaction to the accident and in post-accident phases, while not neglecting the effects of the pre-accident situation on the target population. Thirdly, we shall devote some initial consideration to the conditions that might be conducive to better management of post-accident stress. In conclusion, we shall emphasise the need to restore confidence among the population generally. (Author)

Release of fission products during controlled loss-of-coolant accidents and hypothetical core meltdown accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, H.; Malinauskas, A.P.

1978-01-01

A few years ago the Projekt Nukleare Sicherheit joined the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the development of a research program which was designed to investigate fission product release from light water reactor fuel under conditions ranging from spent fuel shipping cask accidents to core meltdown accidents. Three laboratories have been involved in this cooperative effort. At Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the research effort has focused on noble gas fission product release, whereas at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and at Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (KfK), the studies have emphasized the release of species other than the noble gases. In addition, the ORNL program has been directed toward the development of fission product source terms applicable to analyses of spent fuel shipping cask accidents and controlled loss-of-coolant accidents, and the KfK program has been aimed at providing similar source terms which are characteristic of core meltdown accidents. The ORNL results are presented for fission product release from defected fuel rods into a steam atmosphere over the temperature range 500 to 1200 0 C, and the KfK results for release during core meltdown sequences

The role of OSHA violations in serious workplace accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendeloff, J

1984-05-01

California accident investigations for 1976 show that violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's safety standards were a contributing factor in 13% to 19% of the 645 deaths reported to the workers' compensation program during that year. However, a panel of safety engineers judged that only about 50% of these violations could have been detected if an inspector had visited the day before the accident. These findings indicate that the potential gains from stronger enforcement of current standards are limited but not insignificant. The likelihood that a violation contributed to a serious accident varied considerably among accident types, industries, and size classes of plants. These findings can be used to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the OSHA program by means of better targeting of inspections and accident investigations, more intelligent assessment of which violations should be penalized most heavily, and the provision of information to employers and workers about which violations are most consequential.

Scoping Study Investigating PWR Instrumentation during a Severe Accident Scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rempe, J. L. [Rempe and Associates, LLC, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Knudson, D. L. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lutz, R. J. [Lutz Nuclear Safety Consultant, LLC, Asheville, NC (United States)

2015-09-01

The accidents at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) and Fukushima Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3 nuclear power plants demonstrate the critical importance of accurate, relevant, and timely information on the status of reactor systems during a severe accident. These events also highlight the critical importance of understanding and focusing on the key elements of system status information in an environment where operators may be overwhelmed with superfluous and sometimes conflicting data. While progress in these areas has been made since TMI-2, the events at Fukushima suggests that there may still be a potential need to ensure that critical plant information is available to plant operators. Recognizing the significant technical and economic challenges associated with plant modifications, it is important to focus on instrumentation that can address these information critical needs. As part of a program initiated by the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), a scoping effort was initiated to assess critical information needs identified for severe accident management and mitigation in commercial Light Water Reactors (LWRs), to quantify the environment instruments monitoring this data would have to survive, and to identify gaps where predicted environments exceed instrumentation qualification envelop (QE) limits. Results from the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) scoping evaluations are documented in this report. The PWR evaluations were limited in this scoping evaluation to quantifying the environmental conditions for an unmitigated Short-Term Station BlackOut (STSBO) sequence in one unit at the Surry nuclear power station. Results were obtained using the MELCOR models developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-sponsored State of the Art Consequence Assessment (SOARCA) program project. Results from this scoping evaluation indicate that some instrumentation identified to provide critical information would be exposed to conditions that

Assessment of work-related accidents associated with waste handling in Belo Horizonte (Brazil).

Science.gov (United States)

Mol, Marcos Pg; Pereira, Amanda F; Greco, Dirceu B; Cairncross, Sandy; Heller, Leo

2017-10-01

As more urban solid waste is generated, managing it becomes ever more challenging and the potential impacts on the environment and human health also become greater. Handling waste - including collection, treatment and final disposal - entails risks of work accidents. This article assesses the perception of waste management workers regarding work-related accidents in domestic and health service contexts in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. These perceptions are compared with national data from the Ministry of Social Security on accidents involving workers in solid waste management. A high proportion of accidents involves cuts and puncture injuries; 53.9% among workers exposed to domestic waste and 75% among those exposed to health service waste. Muscular lesions and fractures accounted for 25.7% and 12.5% of accidents, respectively. Data from the Ministry of Social Security diverge from the local survey results, presumably owing to under-reporting, which is frequent in this sector. Greater commitment is needed from managers and supervisory entities to ensure that effective measures are taken to protect workers' health and quality of life. Moreover, workers should defend their right to demand an accurate registry of accidents to complement monitoring performed by health professionals trained in risk identification. This would contribute to the improved recovery of injured workers and would require managers in waste management to prepare effective preventive action.

Cycling to work in Brazil: users profile, risk behaviors, and traffic accident occurrence.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacchieri, Giancarlo; Barros, Aluísio J D; Dos Santos, Janaína V; Gigante, Denise P

2010-07-01

In 2006, we carried out a cross-sectional study in the urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil, with the aim of outlining the profile of bicycle commuters, analyzing their use of safety equipment and risk behaviors and the association between these variables and involvement in traffic accidents in the previous 12 months. This study was based on the baseline survey carried out prior to an educational intervention aimed at reducing accidents among cyclists. The sample included 1133 male subjects aged 20 years or more, and who used a bicycle for commuting. Crude and adjusted analyses were carried out using Poisson regression. We recorded a total of 152 reported traffic accidents in the 12 months preceding the interview, involving 10.8% of subjects. Most risk behaviors studied and the use of safety equipment showed no significant association with accidents. Only commuting by bicycle seven days per week, as opposed to five or six, and a combination of extremely imprudent behaviors such as zigzagging through traffic, riding after ingesting alcohol, and high-speed riding were found to be risk factors for accidents. Our findings suggest that in the context where the study was done (poor road signaling, limited policing, aggressive driving) changing cyclist behavior may not have substantial impact in terms of accident reduction before other road traffic interventions are implemented. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trend of Elevator-Related Accidents in Tehran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Khaji

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background:   Elevator-related accidents are uncommon, but can cause significant injury. However, little data exist on these types of accidents. To compile and analyze accident data involving elevators in an effort to eliminate or at least significantly reduce such accidents. Methods: In this retrospective study we investigated 1,819 cases of elevator-related accidents during a four-year period (1999-2003 in Tehran. The data were obtained from the Tehran Safety Services & Fire Fighting Organization (TSFO that is officially and solely responsible to conduct rescue missions of civilians in Tehran. Results: The number of elevator accidents has increased steadily during the four year study period. During these four years here was a positive upward trend for serious injuries and mortality resulting from elevator accidents. Technical problems were the main cause with 74.5%, followed by power loss and overcapacity riding with 11.5% and 7.9%respectively. Sixty-three individuals sustained serious injury and 15 people died as a result of elevator accidents. The number of accidents was significantly higher in summer (x2=18.32, P=0.032 and a considerable proportion of incidences (54%, 947 cases out of 1819 occurred between 5 and 12 pm. Conclusions: Establishment of an organization to inspect the settings, maintenance, and repair of elevators is necessary

Accidents Preventive Practice for High-Rise Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goh Kai Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The demand of high-rise projects continues to grow due to the reducing of usable land area in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The rapidly development of high-rise projects has leaded to the rise of fatalities and accidents. An accident that happened in a construction site can cause serious physical injury. The accidents such as people falling from height and struck by falling object were the most frequent accidents happened in Malaysian construction industry. The continuous growth of high-rise buildings indicates that there is a need of an effective safety and health management. Hence, this research aims to identify the causes of accidents and the ways to prevent accidents that occur at high-rise building construction site. Qualitative method was employed in this research. Interview surveying with safety officers who are involved in highrise building project in Kuala Lumpur were conducted in this research. Accidents were caused by man-made factors, environment factors or machinery factors. The accidents prevention methods were provide sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE, have a good housekeeping, execute safety inspection, provide safety training and execute accidents investigation. In the meanwhile, interviewees have suggested the new prevention methods that were develop a proper site layout planning and de-merit and merit system among sub-contractors, suppliers and even employees regarding safety at workplace matters. This research helps in explaining the causes of accidents and identifying area where prevention action should be implemented, so that workers and top management will increase awareness in preventing site accidents.

Cleanup of large areas contaminated as a result of a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The purposes of the report are to provide an overview of the methodology and technology available to clean up contaminated areas and to give preliminary guidance on matters related to the planning, implementation and management of such cleanups. This report provides an integrated overview of important aspects related to the cleanup of very large areas contaminated as a result of a serious nuclear accident, including information on methods and equipment available to: characterize the affected area and the radioactive fallout; stabilize or isolate the contamination; and clean up contaminated urban, rural and forested areas. The report also includes brief sections on planning and management considerations and the transport and disposal of the large volumes of wastes arising from such cleanups. For the purposes of this report, nuclear accidents which could result in the deposition of decontamination over large areas if the outer containment fails badly include: 1) An accident with a nuclear weapon involving detonation of the chemical high explosive but little, if any, nuclear fission. 2) A major loss of medium/high level liquid waste (HLLW) due to an explosion/fire at a storage site for such waste. 3) An accident at a nuclear power plant (NPP), for example a loss of coolant accident, which results in some core disruption and fuel melting. 4) An accident at an NPP involving an uncontrolled reactivity excursion resulting in the violent ejection of a reactor core material and rupture of the containment building. 117 refs, 32 figs, 12 tabs

Injury protection and accident causation parameters for vulnerable road users based on German In-Depth Accident Study GIDAS.

Science.gov (United States)

Otte, Dietmar; Jänsch, Michael; Haasper, Carl

2012-01-01

Within a study of accident data from GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study), vulnerable road users are investigated regarding injury risk in traffic accidents. GIDAS is the largest in-depth accident study in Germany. Due to a well-defined sampling plan, representativeness with respect to the federal statistics is also guaranteed. A hierarchical system ACASS (Accident Causation Analysis with Seven Steps) was developed in GIDAS, describing the human causation factors in a chronological sequence. The accordingly classified causation factors - derived from the systematic of the analysis of human accident causes ("7 steps") - can be used to describe the influence of accident causes on the injury outcome. The bases of the study are accident documentations over ten years from 1999 to 2008 with 8204 vulnerable road users (VRU), of which 3 different groups were selected as pedestrians n=2041, motorcyclists n=2199 and bicyclists n=3964, and analyzed on collisions with cars and trucks as well as vulnerable road users alone. The paper will give a description of the injury pattern and injury mechanisms of accidents. The injury frequencies and severities are pointed out considering different types of VRU and protective measures of helmet and clothes of the human body. The impact points are demonstrated on the car, following to conclusion of protective measures on the vehicle. Existing standards of protection devices as well as interdisciplinary research, including accident and injury statistics, are described. With this paper, a summarization of the existing possibilities on protective measures for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists is given and discussed by comparison of all three groups of vulnerable road users. Also the relevance of special impact situations and accident causes mainly responsible for severe injuries are pointed out, given the new orientation of research for the avoidance and reduction of accident patterns. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The consequences of the Chernobyl accident - the radioecological database Redac of the French-German initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deville-Cavelin, G.; Biesold, H.; Chabanyuk, V. [Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute (IRSN), Dir. of Environment and Intervention (DEI) - CEA Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)

2004-07-01

The French-German Initiative for Chernobyl (FGI), implemented by IRSN and GRS from 1997 until the end of 2003, included the 'Project on the Radioecological Consequences of the Accident'. The most relevant fields of radioecology and post-accidental aspects have been studied, such as radionuclides transfers to plants, to animals, by surface runoff, in the aquatic environment and in the urban environment, wastes management and countermeasures. The main goal was to collect and harmonise, from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the highest possible amount of data and results on these different topics. These data have been verified, validated and organized in a common geo-referenced database REDAC (Radioecological Database After Chernobyl). For linking the different data, maps of initial and present contamination by {sup 137}Cs and {sup 90}Sr have been drawn up and relevant environmental non-radioactive data have been included. The operational database built will also allow the management of the wastes disposal sites. Countermeasures used after the accident for urban areas, natural and agricultural environment, have been described and classified. A methodology for evaluating their effectiveness has been developed. This database constitutes a tool for the development and validation of operational, assessment and explicative models. This allows the quantification and assessment of radionuclide transfer in the different compartments of ecosystems. So the main parameters influencing the transfers can be identified. REDAC should be completed by further investigations, for example on transuranic elements and extended to larger geographical zones. The database should also be combined with others provided by different organisations (IAEA, IRSN, UIR, ). (author)

The consequences of the Chernobyl accident - the radioecological database Redac of the French-German initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deville-Cavelin, G.; Biesold, H.; Chabanyuk, V.

2004-01-01

The French-German Initiative for Chernobyl (FGI), implemented by IRSN and GRS from 1997 until the end of 2003, included the 'Project on the Radioecological Consequences of the Accident'. The most relevant fields of radioecology and post-accidental aspects have been studied, such as radionuclides transfers to plants, to animals, by surface runoff, in the aquatic environment and in the urban environment, wastes management and countermeasures. The main goal was to collect and harmonise, from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, the highest possible amount of data and results on these different topics. These data have been verified, validated and organized in a common geo-referenced database REDAC (Radioecological Database After Chernobyl). For linking the different data, maps of initial and present contamination by 137 Cs and 90 Sr have been drawn up and relevant environmental non-radioactive data have been included. The operational database built will also allow the management of the wastes disposal sites. Countermeasures used after the accident for urban areas, natural and agricultural environment, have been described and classified. A methodology for evaluating their effectiveness has been developed. This database constitutes a tool for the development and validation of operational, assessment and explicative models. This allows the quantification and assessment of radionuclide transfer in the different compartments of ecosystems. So the main parameters influencing the transfers can be identified. REDAC should be completed by further investigations, for example on transuranic elements and extended to larger geographical zones. The database should also be combined with others provided by different organisations (IAEA, IRSN, UIR, ). (author)

Overview of severe accident research at JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, Jun

1999-01-01

Severe accident research at JAERI aims at the confirmation of the safety margin, the quantification of the associated risk, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the accident management measures of the nuclear power reactors, in accordance with the government five-year nuclear safety research program. JAERI has been conducting a wide range of severe accident research activities both in experiment and analysis, such as melt coolant interactions, fission product behaviors in coolant system, containment integrity and assessment of accident management measures. Molten core/coolant interaction and in-vessel molten coolability have been investigated in ALPHA Program. MUSE experiments in ALPHA Program has been conducted for the precise energy measurement due to steam explosion in melt jet and stratified geometries. In VEGA Program, which aims at FP release from irradiated fuels at high temperature and high pressure under various atmospheric conditions, the facility construction is almost completed. In WIND Program the revaporization of aerosols due to decay heating and also the integrity of the piping from this heat source are being investigated. Code development activities are in progress for an integrated source term analysis with THALES, fission product behaviors with ART, steam explosion with JASMINE, and in-vessel debris behaviors with CAMP. The experimental analyses and reactor application have made progress by participating international standard problem and code comparison exercises, along with the use of introduced codes, such as SCDAP/RELAP5 and MELCOR. The outcome of the severe accident research will be utilized for the evaluation of more reliable severe accident scenarios, detailed implementation of the accident management measures, and also for the future reactor development, basically through the sophisticated use of verified analytical tools. (author)

NPP Krsko Severe Accident Management Guidelines Implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basic, I.; Krajnc, B.; Bilic-Zabric, T.; Spiler, J.

2002-01-01

Severe Accident Management is a framework to identify and implement the Emergency Response Capabilities that can be used to prevent or mitigate severe accidents and their consequences. The USA NRC has indicated that the development of a licensee plant specific accident management program will be required in order to close out the severe accident regulatory issue (Ref. SECY-88-147). Generic Letter 88-20 ties the Accident management Program to IPE for each plant. The SECY-89-012 defines those actions taken during the course of an accident by the plant operating and technical staff to: 1) prevent core damage, 2) terminate the progress of core damage if it begins and retain the core within the reactor vessel, 3) maintain containment integrity as long as possible, and 4) minimize offsite releases. The subject of this paper is to document the severe accident management activities, which resulted in a plant specific Severe Accident Management Guidelines implementation. They have been developed based on the Krsko IPE (Individual Plant Examination) insights, Generic WOG SAMGs (Westinghouse Owners Group Severe Accident Management Guidances) and plant specific documents developed within this effort. Among the required plant specific actions the following are the most important ones: Identification and documentation of those Krsko plant specific severe accident management features (which also resulted from the IPE investigations). The development of the Krsko plant specific background documents (Severe Accident Plant Specific Strategies and SAMG Setpoint Calculation). Also, paper discusses effort done in the areas of NPP Krsko SAMG review (internal and external ), validation on Krsko Full Scope Simulator (Severe Accident sequences are simulated by MAAP4 in real time) and world 1st IAEA Review of Accident Management Programmes (RAMP). (author)

Status of ANL out-of-pile investigations of severe accident phenomena for liquid metal reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spencer, B.W.; Marchaterre, J.F.; Anderson, R.P.

1986-01-01

Research addressing LMFBR whole core accidents has been terminated, and there is now emphasis on quantifying reactivity feedbacks, and in particular enhancing negative feedback, so that advanced LMR designs will provide inherently safe operation. The status of recent HCDA-related laboratory research performed at ANL, up to the time that such activities were no longer needed to support CRBR licensing, is described. Included are descriptions of programs addressing sodium channel voiding, fuel sweepout, fuel dispersal and plugging, boiled-up pool, UO 2 /sodium FCI, and debris coolability. Descriptions of recent investigations involving the metal fuel/sodium system are also included

An Investigation of the Correlation between Safety Locus of Control and Occupational Accidents in Selected Medium-sized Manufacturing Industries in Qom Province, Iran, 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

mohammad khandan

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Today, occupational accidents impose many direct and indirect costs on communities. In order to prevent the occurrence of work-related accidents, it is necessary that environmental factors be considered along with personal factors, such as safety Locus of control (SLOC. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between safety locus of control and occupational accidents in two manufacturing companies in Qom province in 2015. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 163 workers who participated in the census. The tools used for data collection were valid questionnaire for SLOC and demographic questionnaire, and accidents were stated as self-report. Data were analyzed using t-, one-way ANOVA, and Poisson regression statistical tests. Results: Among all workers, 52.8% were female and others were male. The average age of the workers was 29.8±6.6 years. A total of 37 (22.8% workers had experienced occupational accident. Also, score of SLOC was 39.1±6.7. Among the demographic variables, there was no significant relationship between work history and number of occupational accidents (p=0.06, but there was a significant relationship between external control (one of the SLOC subscales and occupational accidents (p<0.05. Conclusion: Based on the findings, subjects who perceive positive or negative events as consequences of their own behavior, and attribute them to chance, fate, and uncontrollable environmental factors, experience more occupational accidents compared to other people. Hence, paying attention to psychological and cognitive factors in work environments should be a priority for managers and decision makers of the industry.  

Worksite element as causes of occupational accidents and illnesses in Malaysian residential construction industry

Science.gov (United States)

Hafiidz, J. Mohd; Arifin, K.; Aiyub, K.; Razman, M. R.; Samsurijan, M. S.; Syakir, M. I.

2017-09-01

Construction industry is an important sector that contributes to the development of economy and socioeconomy in Malaysia. It is a vital component in achieving the developed country status. However, fatalities in the Malaysian construction industry are a critical problem. Number of fatalities in this industry is the highest compared to other industries registered in Malaysia under the investigation of Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Worksite element (worksite conditions, poor site management, construction tasks, and equipment & materials) was identified as one category of causes of occupational accidents and illnesses in Malaysian construction industry. The main objective of this study is to understand the perception of local construction personnel in terms of worksite element as causes of occupational accidents and illnesses in Malaysian residential construction industry. 13 housing projects that were registered with Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government and being permitted to perform construction work in 2012 were selected in Pulau Pinang to be studied using questionnaire survey. Worksite condition and poor site management was perceived as the most significant with the mean values of 3.68 and 3.61 respectively.

Scientific aspects of the Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident

Science.gov (United States)

Koketsu, Kazuki

2016-04-01

We investigated the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and assessments conducted beforehand for earthquake and tsunami potential in the Pacific offshore region of the Tohoku District. The results of our investigation show that all the assessments failed to foresee the earthquake and its related tsunami, which was the main cause of the accident. Therefore, the disaster caused by the earthquake, and the accident were scientifically unforeseeable at the time. However, for a zone neighboring the reactors, a 2008 assessment showed tsunamis higher than the plant height. As a lesson learned from the accident, companies operating nuclear power plants should be prepared using even such assessment results for neighboring zones.

Risks of insufficient information communication during the post-accident period of the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joukovskaia, Olga V.; Rolevich, Igor V.

2000-01-01

The modified psychological climate and increased social-psychological pressure in the population, affected as a result of the Chernobyl accident, emerged partially because of insufficient information provided to the population with respect to the radiation and ecological conditions. Such situation resulted in development of chronic psychological stress in the majority of the population residing on the affected areas. The post-accidental stress, which appeared in many people, is characterized by its extraordinary stability. Up to 74% of the affected population were subjected to stress. In 1986 the depressing condition of anxiety was observed in 50% of those examined. By 1998 this number increased up to 76%. Aggravation of health condition still remains in the center of anxiety reasons for the majority of those examined, when in the areas contaminated greater the number of those anxious is much higher than in others. Besides, the urban population is more concerned in unsatisfactory solution of the problem of liquidation of the Chernobyl accident consequences, than village inhabitants (88,5 and 79,70/o accordingly). Noteworthy, that 43% of the urban population and only 25,20/6 of the village settlers is concerned in small efficiency of rehabilitation activities on the radioactive contaminated territories. Respondents-women 86,1%) are more anxious than men 84,2%). Besides, almost three quarters of the respondents 74,5%) for last three years became more anxious for their future and future of their children, which leads to greater worries. At the same time it is necessary to take into account, that 7 of the respondents expressed apathy and indifference to everything, and at 75% have the feeling of hopelessness. Another negative tendency exposed in the population, affected by the Chernobyl accident is the reduction of trust to the authorities and governmental bodies, reduction of satisfaction by the activity of local authorities. Only 60,6% of the interrogated

Self-reported accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Katrine Meltofte; Andersen, Camilla Sloth

2016-01-01

The main idea behind the self-reporting of accidents is to ask people about their traffic accidents and gain knowledge on these accidents without relying on the official records kept by police and/or hospitals.......The main idea behind the self-reporting of accidents is to ask people about their traffic accidents and gain knowledge on these accidents without relying on the official records kept by police and/or hospitals....

Restoration of environments affected by residues from radiological accidents: Approaches to decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-05-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency, jointly with the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Brazil, the Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institut fuer Strahlenschutz, Germany, and with the collaboration of the European Commission, held a workshop in Rio de Janeiro and Goiania, Brazil, in August 1994, on the scientific basis for decision-making after radioactive contamination of an urban environment. This volume presents the proceedings of the workshop. Eighty-eight participants from 18 Member States and 39 organizations attended the workshop. The main thrust of the workshop was to foster information exchange on the scientific basis for intervention in a de facto situation created by an accident affecting an urban area and resulting in long term human radiation exposure. The venue of the workshop was particularly appropriate. Some years before, in September 1987, an accident involving a lost radioactive source had occurred in the city of Goiania, causing serious contamination and serious injuries and deaths among members of the public. The IAEA, in close collaboration with the Brazilian authorities and with the help of an international group of senior experts, drew up and published a comprehensive appraisal of that accident so that Member States might benefit from the lessons to be learned. In 1994, seven years after that fateful event, it was felt that the time was ripe to draw further lessons and to facilitate an exchange of ideas among experts.

Restoration of environments affected by residues from radiological accidents: Approaches to decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-05-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency, jointly with the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria of the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Brazil, the Forschungszentrum fuer Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institut fuer Strahlenschutz, Germany, and with the collaboration of the European Commission, held a workshop in Rio de Janeiro and Goiania, Brazil, in August 1994, on the scientific basis for decision-making after radioactive contamination of an urban environment. This volume presents the proceedings of the workshop. Eighty-eight participants from 18 Member States and 39 organizations attended the workshop. The main thrust of the workshop was to foster information exchange on the scientific basis for intervention in a de facto situation created by an accident affecting an urban area and resulting in long term human radiation exposure. The venue of the workshop was particularly appropriate. Some years before, in September 1987, an accident involving a lost radioactive source had occurred in the city of Goiania, causing serious contamination and serious injuries and deaths among members of the public. The IAEA, in close collaboration with the Brazilian authorities and with the help of an international group of senior experts, drew up and published a comprehensive appraisal of that accident so that Member States might benefit from the lessons to be learned. In 1994, seven years after that fateful event, it was felt that the time was ripe to draw further lessons and to facilitate an exchange of ideas among experts

Injury severity and seating position in accidents with German EMS helicopters.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinkelbein, Jochen; Spelten, Oliver; Neuhaus, Christopher; Hinkelbein, Mandy; Özgür, Enver; Wetsch, Wolfgang A

2013-10-01

Accident rates and fatality rates for Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) missions have been investigated recently, but none of these studies considered the influence of the seating position in the helicopter. The aim of the present descriptive and observational study was to analyze injury severity depending on the seating position during HEMS accidents in Germany. Data from the German Federal Agency for Flight Accident Investigation was gathered for a period of 40 years (from 1970 to 2009). The seating position in the aircraft during the accident and the resulting injury severity (i.e., 1=no; 2=slight; 3=severe; and 4=fatal) were recorded. Injury severity was compared using the Fisher's exact test. P values accidents were investigated (n=61 accidents did not lead to any injuries in the occupants, n=7 accidents resulted in minor, and n=6 in severe injuries, and lethal injuries resulted from n=15 accidents). The occupant in the "patient" position was most likely to suffer from deadly injuries (44.9%), followed by the HEMS crew member rear seat (25.0%), compared to lower lethality rates in the other seating positions (9.4-11.2%). Sitting on the HEMS crew member rear seat also was associated with the highest percentage of severe and minor injuries (12.5% each). In HEMS accidents, the patients' position and the HEMS crew member rear seat were found to be at the highest risk for fatal or severe injuries. These results support the urgent requirement of a large international data base for HEMS accidents as a basis for further studies to improve the safety in HEMS missions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Causes of Accidents among Commercial Motorcyclists (Okada) in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Motor cycle accidents have become the most serious problem threatening the entire Nigerian population. It is against this background that this study attempted to investigate the causes of accidents among commercial motorcyclists in Borno State, Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of all the commercial ...

Estimated consequences from severe spent nuclear fuel transportation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnish, J.J.; Monette, F.; LePoire, D.; Biwer, B.M.

1996-01-01

The RISKIND software package is used to estimate radiological consequences of severe accident scenarios involving the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. Radiological risks are estimated for both a collective population and a maximally exposed individual based on representative truck and rail cask designs described in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) modal study. The estimate of collective population risk considers all possible environmental pathways, including acute and long-term exposures, and is presented in terms of the 50-y committed effective dose equivalent. Radiological risks to a maximally exposed individual from acute exposure are estimated and presented in terms of the first year and 50-y committed effective dose equivalent. Consequences are estimated for accidents occurring in rural and urban population areas. The modeled pathways include inhalation during initial passing of the radioactive cloud, external exposure from a reduction of the cask shielding, long-term external exposure. from ground deposition, and ingestion from contaminated food (rural only). The major pathways and contributing radionuclides are identified, and the effects of possible mitigative actions are discussed. The cask accident responses and the radionuclide release fractions are modeled as described in the NRC modal study. Estimates of severe accident probabilities are presented for both truck and rail modes of transport. The assumptions made in this study tend to be conservative; however, a set of multiplicative factors are identified that can be applied to estimate more realistic conditions

Accident management for PWRs in France and Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heili, F.; Lecomte, C.; L'Homme, A.

1991-11-01

The results of risk analyses, research and particularly the two severe accidents in the nuclear power plants TMI-2 and Chernobyl let to a worldwide re-examination of all aspects dealing with the capability to cope with severe accidents. Strategies have been developed or are under development providing actions that can be taken to prevent severe accidents or to mitigate their consequences. Those strategies are investigated and discussed using the term 'accident management'. The purpose of this report is to present the respective views in France and Germany and to point out differences and commonalties of the approaches. This report also includes proposals for further work

Overview of severe accident research at the USNRC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, S.; Ader, C.E.

1999-01-01

This paper summarizes the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (USNRC) severe accident research activities, in particular, progress made in the past year toward the resolution and/or improved understanding of a number of severe accident issues. The direct containment heating (DCH) is nearing resolution for Combustion Engineering and Babcock and Wilcox type pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are well as for ice condensers. Additionally, two lower pressure DCH tests were conducted recently at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) under the NRC/IPSN/FzK sponsorship to provide data regarding intentional depressurization as an accident management strategy to mitigate DCH loads. In the area of lower head integrity, the experimental program to investigate boiling heat transfer on downward facing curved surfaces with insulation was completed. Finally, the SNL program investigating the creep rupture behavior of the lower head under the combined thermo-mechanical loading was completed recently. Additional lower head experiments at SNL are being planned as an OECD project. During the past year, the USNRC participated in two programs aimed at extending the data base on hydrogen combustion into more prototypic situations. Testing was performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to investigate detonation transmission at elevated temperatures. In a cooperative program under the sponsorship of NRC/IPSN/FzK, Russian Research Center (RRC) investigated hydrogen combustion issues at large scale at the RUT facility. The experimental program at the SNL to examine the performance of Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs) was completed also this year. In the fuel-coolant interaction (FCI) area, the experimental work at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to investigate chemical augmentation of FCI energetics was completed as was the experimental work at the University of Wisconsin (UW) involving one-dimensional propagation experiments (similar to KROTOS). The USNRC is

A study of maintenance-related major accident cases in the 21st century

OpenAIRE

Okoh, Peter; Haugen, Stein

2014-01-01

This paper is based on a review of 183 detailed, major accident investigation and analysis reports related to the handling, processing and storage of hydrocarbons and hazardous chemicals over a decade from 2000 to 2011. The reports cover technical, human and organizational factors. In this paper, the Work and Accident Process (WAP) classification scheme is applied to the accident reports with the intention of investigating to what extent maintenance has been a cause of major accidents and wha...

Investigation of relationship between mental workload and information flow rate of accident diagnosis tasks in NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Chang Hoon

2005-02-01

The objective of this study is to investigate experimentally the relationship between an operator's mental workload and the information flow rate of accident diagnosis tasks and further to propose the information flow rate as an analytic method for measuring the mental workload. There are two types of mental workload in the advanced MCR of NPPs: the information processing workload, which is the processing that the human operator must actually perform in order to complete the diagnosis task, and emotional stress workload experienced by the operator. In this study, the focus is on the former. Three kinds of methods are used to measure the operator's workload: information flow rate, subjective methods, and physiological measures. Information flows for eight accident diagnosis tasks are modeled qualitatively using a stage model and are quantified using Conant's model. The eight accident cases are considered here are: Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR), Steam Line Break (SLB), Feedwater Line Break (FLB), Pressurizer (PZR) spray and heater failure, Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) trip, Main Steam Isolation Valve (MSIV) failure, and PZR spray failure. The information flow rate is obtained for each diagnosis task by imposing time limit restrictions for the tasks. Subjective methods require the operators to respond to questionnaires to rate their level of mental effort. NASA-TLX and MCH scale are selected as subjective methods. NASA-TLX is a subjective method used in the various fields including the aviation, automobile, and nuclear industries. It has a multi-dimensional rating technique and provides an overall workload score based on a weighted average on six subscales using pair-wise comparison tests. MCH, on the other hand, is one-dimensional and uses a 10- point rating technique. As with NASA-TLX, the higher the score is, the higher the subjective workload is. For the physiological measurements, an eye tracking system analyzes eye movements

Major Accidents (Gray Swans) Likelihood Modeling Using Accident Precursors and Approximate Reasoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Khakzad, Nima; Khan, Faisal; Amyotte, Paul

2015-07-01

Compared to the remarkable progress in risk analysis of normal accidents, the risk analysis of major accidents has not been so well-established, partly due to the complexity of such accidents and partly due to low probabilities involved. The issue of low probabilities normally arises from the scarcity of major accidents' relevant data since such accidents are few and far between. In this work, knowing that major accidents are frequently preceded by accident precursors, a novel precursor-based methodology has been developed for likelihood modeling of major accidents in critical infrastructures based on a unique combination of accident precursor data, information theory, and approximate reasoning. For this purpose, we have introduced an innovative application of information analysis to identify the most informative near accident of a major accident. The observed data of the near accident were then used to establish predictive scenarios to foresee the occurrence of the major accident. We verified the methodology using offshore blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico, and then demonstrated its application to dam breaches in the United Sates. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

The future is urban.

Science.gov (United States)

1992-05-01

Urban centers are growing due to natural increase and the movement of people from rural areas. Urban areas are the traditional centers of trade, science, and culture, but growth over a threshold results in crime, congestion, and pollution. Sustainability is threatened in modern towns that are dependent on other sources for food, fuel, or water. Housing, water, food supplies, and sanitation, communication, and transportation services are threatened in rapidly growing cities. In 1990 45/100 people lived in towns or cities. Hyper-cities have grown in number to 20, of which 14 are in developing countries. 83% of world population increase is expected to occur in cities. In 48 countries with faster population growth cities had growth rates averaging about 6.1% per year, and the urban share of total population averaged 2.8%. In 49 countries with slower population growth, urban growth rates averaged only 3.6% per year, and the urban share of total population averaged about 1.8%. Squatter settlements are endemic to urban areas that are congested and without basic services, limited housing particularly for the poor, and few job opportunities. The number of street children in urban areas has risen. This child population is subjected to low wages, overwork, auto accidents, poor health, and lack of social services. Malnutrition is a more serious issue in urban areas. In the Philippines malnutrition is 3% nationally and 9% in Metro Manila. Rural land reform in the Philippines is no longer a viable solution. In Metro Manila squatters are expected to increase in number to 4 million people by the year 2000, which would be almost 50% of total population. The squatter areas are areas of neglect, decay, and poverty. Cities are viewed as development's "blind alleys."

Domino effect in chemical accidents: main features and accident sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Darbra, R M; Palacios, Adriana; Casal, Joaquim

2010-11-15

The main features of domino accidents in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials were studied through an analysis of 225 accidents involving this effect. Data on these accidents, which occurred after 1961, were taken from several sources. Aspects analyzed included the accident scenario, the type of accident, the materials involved, the causes and consequences and the most common accident sequences. The analysis showed that the most frequent causes are external events (31%) and mechanical failure (29%). Storage areas (35%) and process plants (28%) are by far the most common settings for domino accidents. Eighty-nine per cent of the accidents involved flammable materials, the most frequent of which was LPG. The domino effect sequences were analyzed using relative probability event trees. The most frequent sequences were explosion→fire (27.6%), fire→explosion (27.5%) and fire→fire (17.8%). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Accident information needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, D.J.; Arcieri, W.C.; Ward, L.W.

1992-01-01

A Five-step methodology has been developed to evaluate information needs for nuclear power plants under accident conditions and the availability of plant instrumentation during severe accidents. Step 1 examines the credible accidents and their relationships to plant safety functions. Step 2 determines the information personnel involved in accident management will need to understand plant behavior. Step 3 determines the capability of the instrumentation to function properly under severe accident conditions. Step 4 determines the conditions expected during the identified severe accidents. Step 5 compares the instrument capabilities and the severe accident conditions to evaluate the availability of the instrumentation to supply needed plant information

Accident information needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanson, D.J.; Arcieri, W.C.; Ward, L.W.

1992-12-31

A Five-step methodology has been developed to evaluate information needs for nuclear power plants under accident conditions and the availability of plant instrumentation during severe accidents. Step 1 examines the credible accidents and their relationships to plant safety functions. Step 2 determines the information personnel involved in accident management will need to understand plant behavior. Step 3 determines the capability of the instrumentation to function properly under severe accident conditions. Step 4 determines the conditions expected during the identified severe accidents. Step 5 compares the instrument capabilities and the severe accident conditions to evaluate the availability of the instrumentation to supply needed plant information.

Accident information needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanson, D.J.; Arcieri, W.C.; Ward, L.W.

1992-01-01

A Five-step methodology has been developed to evaluate information needs for nuclear power plants under accident conditions and the availability of plant instrumentation during severe accidents. Step 1 examines the credible accidents and their relationships to plant safety functions. Step 2 determines the information personnel involved in accident management will need to understand plant behavior. Step 3 determines the capability of the instrumentation to function properly under severe accident conditions. Step 4 determines the conditions expected during the identified severe accidents. Step 5 compares the instrument capabilities and the severe accident conditions to evaluate the availability of the instrumentation to supply needed plant information.

SIMBATH 1976-1992, seventeen years of experimental investigation of key issues concerned with severe reactor accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, A.; Peppler, W.; Will, H.

1994-01-01

The course of the initiating phase of severe fast reactor accidents is determined by early material motion. In simulation experiments (SIMBATH, simulation experiments in fuel element mock-ups with thermite) the behavior of single pin, 7 pin, 19 pin, 37 pin bundles undergoing meltdown was investigated. Thermite (Al + Fe 2 O 3 ) filled tubes were used to simulate fuel rods, while exothermal heat of the thermite reaction simulated the nuclear heat. The energy of 3.4 kJ per centimeter of pin length resulted in melting temperature of about 3200 K. SIMBATH is an out-of-pile experimental program with non-radioactive materials which provided the possibility to perform numerous experiments. The x-ray high speed photography used in the test enabled to visualise material motion and relocation qualitatively, and furthermore to gain quantitative results by additionally installed photodiodes. The results of the experiment serve as a database to evaluate physical phenomena relevant to be modelled by computer codes (SIMMER) and to verify the codes. The experiments were carried out either in stagnant sodium with an axial temperature gradient, or in flowing sodium, simulating unprotected loss of flow (ULOF) or unprotected transient overpower accidents (UTOP) conditions, respectively

Investigation regarding the long-term security developments in the Swedish nuclear power and the response to the accident at Fukushima

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaanberg, Lars

2012-01-01

Swedish nuclear plants need to continue to work on analysis and actions in the plants, partly to meet the demands of legislation and agreed action plans, and partly due to additional security requirements on account of experiences from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident, stress tests, security investigations and investigations relating to physical protection. It is also essential to continue with safety improvements to gradually increase margins against unforeseen events in aging plants during long-term operation

Learning lessons from Natech accidents - the eNATECH accident database

Science.gov (United States)

Krausmann, Elisabeth; Girgin, Serkan

2016-04-01

When natural hazards impact industrial facilities that house or process hazardous materials, fires, explosions and toxic releases can occur. This type of accident is commonly referred to as Natech accident. In order to prevent the recurrence of accidents or to better mitigate their consequences, lessons-learned type studies using available accident data are usually carried out. Through post-accident analysis, conclusions can be drawn on the most common damage and failure modes and hazmat release paths, particularly vulnerable storage and process equipment, and the hazardous materials most commonly involved in these types of accidents. These analyses also lend themselves to identifying technical and organisational risk-reduction measures that require improvement or are missing. Industrial accident databases are commonly used for retrieving sets of Natech accident case histories for further analysis. These databases contain accident data from the open literature, government authorities or in-company sources. The quality of reported information is not uniform and exhibits different levels of detail and accuracy. This is due to the difficulty of finding qualified information sources, especially in situations where accident reporting by the industry or by authorities is not compulsory, e.g. when spill quantities are below the reporting threshold. Data collection has then to rely on voluntary record keeping often by non-experts. The level of detail is particularly non-uniform for Natech accident data depending on whether the consequences of the Natech event were major or minor, and whether comprehensive information was available for reporting. In addition to the reporting bias towards high-consequence events, industrial accident databases frequently lack information on the severity of the triggering natural hazard, as well as on failure modes that led to the hazmat release. This makes it difficult to reconstruct the dynamics of the accident and renders the development of

A model for evaluating the radioactive contamination in the urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Won Tae; Kim, Eun Han; Jeong, Hyo Joon; Suh, Kyung Suk; Han, Moon Hee

2005-01-01

A model for evaluating radioactive contamination in the urban environment, named METRO-K, was developed as a basic step for accident consequence analysis in case of an accidental release. The three kind of radionuclides ( 137 Cs, 106 Ru, 131 I) and the different chemical forms of iodine (particulate, organic and elemental forms) are considered in the model. The radioactive concentrations are evaluated for the five types of surface (roof, paved road, wall, lawn/soil, tree) as a function of time. Using the model, the contaminative impacts of the surfaces were intensively investigated with respect to with and without precipitation during the measurement periods of radionuclides in air. In addition, a practical application study was conducted using 137 Cs concentration in air and precipitation measured in an European country at the Chernobyl accident. As a result, precipitation was an influential factor in surface contamination. The degree of contamination was strongly dependent on the types of radionuclide and surface. Precipitation was more influential in contamination of 137 Cs than that of 131 I (elemental form)

Model to predict the radiological consequences of transportation of radioactive material through an urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.; DuCharme, A.R.; Finley, N.N.

1977-01-01

A model has been developed which predicts the radiological consequences of the transportation of radioactive material in and around urban environments. This discussion of the model includes discussion of the following general topics: health effects from radiation exposure, urban area characterization, computation of dose resulting from normal transportation, computation of dose resulting from vehicular accidents or sabotage, and preliminary results and conclusions

ADAM: An Accident Diagnostic,Analysis and Management System - Applications to Severe Accident Simulation and Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavisca, M.J.; Khatib-Rahbar, M.; Esmaili, H.; Schulz, R.

2002-01-01

The Accident Diagnostic, Analysis and Management (ADAM) computer code has been developed as a tool for on-line applications to accident diagnostics, simulation, management and training. ADAM's severe accident simulation capabilities incorporate a balance of mechanistic, phenomenologically based models with simple parametric approaches for elements including (but not limited to) thermal hydraulics; heat transfer; fuel heatup, meltdown, and relocation; fission product release and transport; combustible gas generation and combustion; and core-concrete interaction. The overall model is defined by a relatively coarse spatial nodalization of the reactor coolant and containment systems and is advanced explicitly in time. The result is to enable much faster than real time (i.e., 100 to 1000 times faster than real time on a personal computer) applications to on-line investigations and/or accident management training. Other features of the simulation module include provision for activation of water injection, including the Engineered Safety Features, as well as other mechanisms for the assessment of accident management and recovery strategies and the evaluation of PSA success criteria. The accident diagnostics module of ADAM uses on-line access to selected plant parameters (as measured by plant sensors) to compute the thermodynamic state of the plant, and to predict various margins to safety (e.g., times to pressure vessel saturation and steam generator dryout). Rule-based logic is employed to classify the measured data as belonging to one of a number of likely scenarios based on symptoms, and a number of 'alarms' are generated to signal the state of the reactor and containment. This paper will address the features and limitations of ADAM with particular focus on accident simulation and management. (authors)

Benchmarking Severe Accident Computer Codes for Heavy Water Reactor Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-12-01

Requests for severe accident investigations and assurance of mitigation measures have increased for operating nuclear power plants and the design of advanced nuclear power plants. Severe accident analysis investigations necessitate the analysis of the very complex physical phenomena that occur sequentially during various stages of accident progression. Computer codes are essential tools for understanding how the reactor and its containment might respond under severe accident conditions. The IAEA organizes coordinated research projects (CRPs) to facilitate technology development through international collaboration among Member States. The CRP on Benchmarking Severe Accident Computer Codes for HWR Applications was planned on the advice and with the support of the IAEA Nuclear Energy Department's Technical Working Group on Advanced Technologies for HWRs (the TWG-HWR). This publication summarizes the results from the CRP participants. The CRP promoted international collaboration among Member States to improve the phenomenological understanding of severe core damage accidents and the capability to analyse them. The CRP scope included the identification and selection of a severe accident sequence, selection of appropriate geometrical and boundary conditions, conduct of benchmark analyses, comparison of the results of all code outputs, evaluation of the capabilities of computer codes to predict important severe accident phenomena, and the proposal of necessary code improvements and/or new experiments to reduce uncertainties. Seven institutes from five countries with HWRs participated in this CRP

Ultrasonic sensors in urban traffic driving-aid systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Luciano; Milanés, Vicente; Torre-Ferrero, Carlos; Godoy, Jorge; Oria, Juan P; de Pedro, Teresa

2011-01-01

Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS), Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems.

Road traffic accidents and self-reported Portuguese car driver's attitudes, behaviors, and opinions: Are they related?

Science.gov (United States)

Bon de Sousa, Teresa; Santos, Carolina; Mateus, Ceu; Areal, Alain; Trigoso, Jose; Nunes, Carla

2016-10-02

This study aims to characterize Portuguese car drivers in terms of demographic characteristics, driving experience, and attitudes, opinions, and behaviors concerning road traffic safety. Furthermore, associations between these characteristics and self-reported involvement in a road traffic accident as a driver in the last 3 years were analyzed. A final goal was to develop a final predictive model of the risk of suffering a road traffic accident. A cross-sectional analytic study was developed, based on a convenience sample of 612 car drivers. A questionnaire was applied by trained interviewers, embracing various topics related to road safety such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, phone use while driving, speeding, use of advanced driver assistance systems, and the transport infrastructure and environment (European Project SARTRE 4, Portuguese version). From the 52 initial questions, 19 variables were selected through principal component analysis. Then, and in addition to the usual descriptive measures, logistic binary regression models were used in order to describe associations and to develop a predictive model of being involved in a road traffic accident. Of the 612 car drivers, 37.3% (228) reported being involved in a road traffic accident with damage or injury in the past 3 years. In this group, the majority were male, older than 65, with no children, not employed, and living in an urban area. In the multivariate model, several factors were identified: being widowed (vs. single; odds ratio [OR] = 3.478, 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.159-10.434); living in a suburban area (vs. a rural area; OR = 5.023, 95% CI, 2.260-11.166); having been checked for alcohol once in the last 3 years (vs. not checked; OR = 3.124, 95% CI, 2.040-4,783); and seldom drinking an energetic beverage such as coffee when tired (vs. always do; OR = 6.822, 95% CI, 2.619-17.769) all suffered a higher risk of being involved in a car accident. The results obtained with

The business cycle and mortality: Urban versus rural counties.

Science.gov (United States)

Sameem, Sediq; Sylwester, Kevin

2017-02-01

Many studies have found that mortality declines during recessions, but do such results remain consistent in both urban and rural settings? To help uncover explanations for such a pro-cyclical nature of mortality, the present study revisits this topic but allows for associations between unemployment and mortality to differ between urban and rural areas. Using a total of 66 863 observations across 3066 counties of the U.S. from 1990 to 2013, we allow the coefficient on unemployment to differ between urban and rural counties. With an exception of deaths due to external accidents being pro-cyclical in rural settings, we find that the negative association between unemployment and mortality more generally holds for urban areas, particularly for females and the elderly. Moreover, we find death due to circulatory disease or influenza/pneumonia to be especially more prevalent in urban areas. Given that the negative associations between unemployment and mortality are generally stronger in cities, views attempting to explain pro-cyclical mortality should focus on characteristics in urban settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating the role of urban development in the conventional environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from the globe.

Science.gov (United States)

Katircioglu, Setareh; Katircioglu, Salih; Kilinc, Ceyhun C

2018-03-19

We investigated the role of urbanization in the conventional environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) of the globe. The overall population and rural population were also considered for control purposes. Based on our findings, we suggest that the conventional EKC of the globe is not an inverted U-shape but becomes downward sloping when urban development is added and inverted U-shapes when the overall population and rural population volumes are added.

Introduction of Bayesian network in risk analysis of maritime accidents in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Sohanur

2017-12-01

Due to the unique geographic location, complex navigation environment and intense vessel traffic, a considerable number of maritime accidents occurred in Bangladesh which caused serious loss of life, property and environmental contamination. Based on the historical data of maritime accidents from 1981 to 2015, which has been collected from Department of Shipping (DOS) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), this paper conducted a risk analysis of maritime accidents by applying Bayesian network. In order to conduct this study, a Bayesian network model has been developed to find out the relation among parameters and the probability of them which affect accidents based on the accident investigation report of Bangladesh. Furthermore, number of accidents in different categories has also been investigated in this paper. Finally, some viable recommendations have been proposed in order to ensure greater safety of inland vessels in Bangladesh.

Radiation accidents and defence of population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Memmedov, A.M.

2002-01-01

), don't pollute the industry environ and surroundings, don't do real danger of reirradiation and pollution but demand investigation of their origin; accidents as a result when personal and persons from population have gotten a doze of outward irradiation (over PN); accidents as a result when industry or surroundings have been polluted (over PN);.accidents, as a result of outward and inside irradiation of personal, persons from population (over NPP-norms of radiation safety). Volume and character of measures by foregoing radiation accidents and their consequence depend on groups and scale of accident. They include investigation of the accident reasons; realization the radiation control for estimation degree of ionizing radiation pressure to personal and individual persons from population; rendering medical help to victims; definition of surroundings pollution level; equipment, industrial and habitable places; prevention of further influence of ionizing radiation to population and spreading radionuclides in surroundings; elimination of disrepairs and liquidation of radiation accident source. Radiation accident in the nuclear engineering establishments and industry have been divided into accident and proper-crash. At present international organizations have divided a school of crashes and accidents at NPP. According to that scale 3 levels of accidents and 4 levels of crashes have been chosen. The accidents have been qualified: insignificant (1 level), middle difficulty (2 level), serious (3 level), but crashes - within the NPP (4 level), at the risk of surroundings (5 level), difficult (6 level), global (7 level). Character, volume and forms of measures by defence of population in the crashes at NPP depend on both the level of crash and the concrete radiation situation and stage of crash development. Those measures include: notification about crash; rendering medical help to victims, primary measures of personal and population defence (cover, iodine precautions

Comparative analysis of station blackout accident progression in typical PWR, BWR, and PHWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Soo Young; Ahn, Kwang Il

2012-01-01

Since the crisis at the Fukushima plants, severe accident progression during a station blackout accident in nuclear power plants is recognized as a very important area for accident management and emergency planning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the comparative characteristics of anticipated severe accident progression among the three typical types of nuclear reactors. A station blackout scenario, where all off-site power is lost and the diesel generators fail, is simulated as an initiating event of a severe accident sequence. In this study a comparative analysis was performed for typical pressurized water reactor (PWR), boiling water reactor (BWR), and pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR). The study includes the summarization of design differences that would impact severe accident progressions, thermal hydraulic/severe accident phenomenological analysis during a station blackout initiated-severe accident; and an investigation of the core damage process, both within the reactor vessel before it fails and in the containment afterwards, and the resultant impact on the containment.

JCO criticality accident as POST-LOCA: Poor structure induced loss of organizational control accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuhama, Yutaka

2000-01-01

Some problems in operation and business management of JCO (Japan Nuclear Fuel Conversion Co.) have been studied as background factors of the criticality accident. Open information about business conditions of JCO suggests that the cause of the accident is not so simple as to be attributed only to economic pressure, but includes immanent problems in JCO. We investigate the problems from five viewpoints, organization of safety management, system of operation management, activities for business improvement, risk awareness, and restructuring of business, and discuss the effects and causality of background factors as well as remedies for them. (author)

Analysis of Fukushima Daiichi Accident Using HFACS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, Saeed Almheiri

2013-01-01

The shadow of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident is still too big and will last long. On the other hand, it could still teach us lots of lessons to better design and operate nuclear power plants. In this paper, we will be focusing on the Fukushima Daiichi accident, especially on human organizational factors. We will analyze the accident using Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) in order to better understand the organizational climate of TEPCO 1 and NISA 2 that led to Fukushima Daiichi Accident. HFACS was developed for the U. S. aviation industry and has been used at many industries like the rail and mining industries. We found that the HFACS to be greatly beneficial in investigating the latent and organizational causes for the accident. The application results show that the causes of Fukushima Daiichi accident were spread out from sharp end (i.e. Unsafe Act) to blunt end (i. e. Organizational Influences). This means that the corresponding countermeasures should cover from front line staff to management. Thus, we managed to develop a better understanding on how to prevent similar errors or violations. The incident and near-miss have a lot of helpful information because it may show the actual and latent deficiencies of complex systems. We applied the HFACS into Fukushima Daiichi accident to better locate the causes related to both sharp and blunt ends of operation of NPP. In order to derive useful lessons from the accident analysis, the analyst should try to find the similarities not differences from the incident. It is imperative that whatever accident/incident analysis systems we use, we should fully utilize the disastrous Fukushima accident

Analysis of Fukushima Daiichi Accident Using HFACS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohamed, Saeed Almheiri [Korea Advanced Institue of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

The shadow of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident is still too big and will last long. On the other hand, it could still teach us lots of lessons to better design and operate nuclear power plants. In this paper, we will be focusing on the Fukushima Daiichi accident, especially on human organizational factors. We will analyze the accident using Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) in order to better understand the organizational climate of TEPCO{sup 1} and NISA{sup 2} that led to Fukushima Daiichi Accident. HFACS was developed for the U. S. aviation industry and has been used at many industries like the rail and mining industries. We found that the HFACS to be greatly beneficial in investigating the latent and organizational causes for the accident. The application results show that the causes of Fukushima Daiichi accident were spread out from sharp end (i.e. Unsafe Act) to blunt end (i. e. Organizational Influences). This means that the corresponding countermeasures should cover from front line staff to management. Thus, we managed to develop a better understanding on how to prevent similar errors or violations. The incident and near-miss have a lot of helpful information because it may show the actual and latent deficiencies of complex systems. We applied the HFACS into Fukushima Daiichi accident to better locate the causes related to both sharp and blunt ends of operation of NPP. In order to derive useful lessons from the accident analysis, the analyst should try to find the similarities not differences from the incident. It is imperative that whatever accident/incident analysis systems we use, we should fully utilize the disastrous Fukushima accident.

Proceedings of the first part of a joint OECD(NEA)/CEC workshop on recent advances in reactor accident consequence assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1988-02-15

The first part of the Joint Workshop, organised by the NEA, is focused on the progress achieved in the work of CSNI's GRECA (Group of Experts on Accident Consequences). The program is composed of the following papers. Session 1: characteristics of the Chernobyl release and fallout that affect transport and behaviour of radioactive substances in the environment; Chernobyl accident and hot particles in the fallout; radionuclides associated with colloids and particles in the Chernobyl fallout; source term in the Chernobyl accident; long range transport of radionuclides; parameters in consequence calculations for an urban area. Session 2: review of evaluations concerning radionuclide transfer to foodstuffs via plants in view of the data available after the Chernobyl accident; GRECA review of Chernobyl data on transfer to animal products; Chernobyl accident radiometric data (Cs-137 in fresh water fishes of north Italy lakes); distribution of Cs-137 in water sediment and fish in the Ijsselmeer (Netherlands); uptake in the human body resulting from the Chernobyl accident; radioactivity of people in the nordic countries following the Chernobyl accident; preparations for an international study to evaluate long-range transport models against the Chernobyl accident

Causal Analysis to a Subway Accident: A Comparison of STAMP and RAIB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhou Yao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Accident investigation and analysis after the accident, vital to prevent the occurrence of similar accident and improve the safety of the system. Different methods led to a different understanding of the accident. In this paper, a subway accident was analysed with a systemic accident analysis model – STAMP (System-Theoretic Accident Modelling and Processes. The hierarchical safety control structure was obtained, and the system-level safety constraints were obtained, controllers of the physical layer were analysed one by one, and put forward the relevant safety requirements and constraints, the dynamic analysis of the structure of the safety control is carried out, and the targeted recommendations are pointed out. In comparison with the analysis results obtained by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB. Some useful findings have been concluded. STAMP treats safety as a control problem and reduces or eliminates causes of the accident from the controlling perspective. Whereas RAIB obtains causes of the accident by analysing the sequence of events related to the accident and reasons of these events, then chooses one(or moreevent(s as the immediate cause and some of the key events as causal factors. RAIB analysis is based on the sequential event models, but STAMP analysis provides us with a holistic, dynamic way to control system to maintain safety.

Effects of Car Accidents on Three-Lane Traffic Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianzhong Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A three-lane traffic flow model is proposed to investigate the effect of car accidents on the traffic flow. The model is an extension of the full velocity difference (FVD model by taking into account the lane changing. The extended lane-changing rules are presented to model the lane-changing behaviour. The cases that the car accidents occupy the exterior or interior lane, the medium lane, and two lanes are studied by numerical simulations. The time-space diagrams and the current diagrams are presented, and the traffic jams are investigated. The results show that the car accident has a different effect on the traffic flow when it occupies different lanes. The car accidents have a more serious effect on the whole road when they occupy two lanes. The larger the density is, the greater the influence on the traffic flow becomes.

Dosimetric management during a criticality accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebaron-Jacobs, L.; Fottorino, R.; Racine, Y.; Miele, A.; Barbry, F.; Briot, F.; Distinguin, S.; Le Goff, J.P.; Berard, P.; Boisson, P.; Cavadore, D.; Lecoix, G.; Persico, M.H.; Rongier, E.; Challeton-De Vathaire, C.; Medioni, R.; Voisin, P.; Exmelin, L.; Flury-Herard, A.; Gaillard-Lecanu, E.; Lemaire, G.; Gonin, M.; Riasse, C.

2008-01-01

A working group from health occupational and clinical biochemistry services on French sites has issued essential data sheets on the guidelines to follow in managing the victims of a criticality accident. Since the priority of the medical management after a criticality accident is to assess the dose and the distribution of dose, some dosimetric investigations have been selected in order to provide a prompt response and to anticipate the final dose reconstruction. Comparison exercises between clinical biochemistry laboratories on French sites were carried out to confirm that each laboratory maintained the required operational methods for hair treatment and the appropriate equipment for 32 P activity in hair and 24 Na activity in blood measurements, and to demonstrate its ability to rapidly provide neutron dose estimates after a criticality accident. As a result, a relation has been assessed to estimate the dose and the distribution of dose according to the neutron spectrum following a criticality accident. (authors)

An Investigation of a Cross-Content Vocabulary Intervention in an Urban Middle School

Science.gov (United States)

Cianciosi-Rimbey, Michelle

2017-01-01

This case study was designed to investigate the implementation of a cross-content academic vocabulary intervention in an urban school. Two aspects of the intervention were the focus of interest: student learning and teacher sensemaking. Participants included four content-area teachers and their sixth-grade students. Each week, students received…

Group unified accident reporting database (GUARD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koene, W.; Waterfall, K.W.

1991-01-01

Significant advances have been made in recent years in enhancing the standard of safety within Shell Companies, such that safety has now been raised to a status equal to other primary business objectives. It is widely accepted that accident prevention is part of good business practice, and that a safe operation is normally an efficient operation. Safety programmes are being widely implemented which involve all employees from top management right down to the workforce including the contract staff, and the benefits are being realized. The effectiveness of any safety programme, however, must be continuously monitored, and in this respect injury and accident statistics play an important role as a prime indicator of safety performance. Statistics form part of the safety management process indicating the success of the safety programmes being implemented, and highlighting areas of weakness. Statistical information relating to the number and frequency of accidents, significant as it is, tells us little about how the accidents occur, or about how to improve the intrinsic safety of the operations. More detailed information on accident causes and lessons derived from the investigation of non-injurious accidents and near-misses is required for this, and for the setting of appropriate remedial actions. This paper concentrates on the feedback from accidents which have already occurred. This feedback plays a vital role as an indicator of safety performance upon which to judge the effectiveness of safety programmes, and also to provide important information relating to the immediate and underlying causes of accidents. To meet these requirements, however, a system for recording analyzing and communicating safety data is essential

HOW TO SECURE BASIC EVIDENCE AFTER AN AVIATION ACCIDENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert KONIECZKA

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article attempts to provide a synthesis of basic directions indispensable to accurately collecting evidence after an aviation accident. The proper collection procedure ensures the avoidance of the loss of evidence critical for an investigation carried out by law enforcement agencies and/or the criminal justice system, which includes the participation of aviation expert investigators. Proper and complete evidence is also used to define the cause of the accident in the proceedings conducted by Państwowa Komisja Badania Wypadków Lotniczych (State Committee for Aviation Incidents Investigation, The State Committee for Aviation Incidents Investigation, hereafter referred to as the PKBWL. The methodology of securing evidence refers to the evidence collected at the scene of an accident right after its occurrence, and also to the evidence collected at other sites. It also includes, within its scope, additional materials that are essential to furthering the investigation process, although their collection does not require any urgent action. Furthermore, the article explains the meaning of particular pieces of evidence and their possible relevance to the investigation process.

JAERI's activities in JCO accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-09-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) was actively involved in a variety of technical supports and cooperative activities, such as advice on terminating the criticality condition, contamination checks of the residents and consultation services for the residents, as emergency response actions to the criticality accident at the uranium processing facility operated by the JCO Co. Ltd., which occurred on September 30, 1999. These activities were carried out in collaborative ways by the JAERI staff from the Tokai Research Establishment, Naka Fusion Research Establishment, Oarai Research Establishment, and Headquarter Office in Tokyo. As well, the JAERI was engaged in the post-accident activities such as identification of accident causes, analyses of the criticality accident, and dose assessment of exposed residents, to support the Headquarter for Accident Countermeasures of the Science and Technology Agency (STA), the Accident Investigation Committee and the Health Control Committee of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC). This report compiles the activities, that the JAERI has conducted to date, including the discussions on measures for terminating the criticality condition, evaluation of the fission number, radiation monitoring in the environment, dose assessment, analyses of criticality dynamics. (author)

Stocks and energy shocks : the impact of energy accidents on stock market value

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholtens, B.; Boersen, A.

We investigate how financial market participants value energy accidents. We employ an event study to look into the response of stock markets to 209 accidents. These accidents were derived from Sovacool's (2008) database on major energy accidents from 1907 to 2007. It appears that the stock market in

Investigating Prevalence of deaths from Traffic Accidents and Factors Associated with it in Yazd in 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gh Soltani

2014-02-01

Conclusion: This study findings provide useful information for setting priorities in order to prevent the traffic accidents injuries. In addition, appropriate intervention programs are necessary in order to prevent traffic accidents and their complications, as well as to minimize injuries in accordance with other relevant organizations.

Accident termination by element dropout in the GCFR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torri, A.; Tomkins, J.L.

1976-01-01

Severe loss-of-flow accidents are being investigated for the GCFR in order to assess the risk from those low-probability accidents which lead to a loss of coolable core geometry. Accident mitigating phenomena unique to the GCFR have been identified for the loss of decay heat removal accident. Circumferential assembly duct melting is calculated to occur at the core mid-plane before the fuel within the assembly melts. The GCFR core assemblies are top-mounted and there is clearance between assemblies to accommodate swelling and thermal distortions without interference. No lateral core clamping system is employed and there are no structures in the plenum below the core. Thus it is possible for the lower portion of the individual assemblies, including most of the fuel, to drop to the cavity floor unless interference or bonding between assemblies develops during the accident. Due to the delay in duct corner melting the melt front at the duct mid-flat progresses over about one-half of the core height. The possibility of inter-element bonding by molten duct steel dislocated into the gap between assemblies has been recognized and a test program to verify the duct melting sequence and to investigate the duct dropout is being planned at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Thermal Hydraulic design parameters study for severe accidents using neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roh, Chang Hyun; Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Keun Sun [Sunmoon University, Asan (Korea, Republic of)

1998-12-31

To provide the information on severe accident progression is very important for advanced or new type of nuclear power plant (NPP) design. A parametric study, therefore, was performed to investigate the effect of thermal hydraulic design parameters on severe accident progression of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Nine parameters, which are considered important in NPP design or severe accident progression, were selected among the various thermal hydraulic design parameters. The backpropagation neural network (BPN) was used to determine parameters, which might more strongly affect the severe accident progression, among nine parameters. For training, different input patterns were generated by the latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique and then different target patterns that contain core uncovery time and vessel failure time were obtained for Young Gwang Nuclear (YGN) Units 3 and 4 using modular accident analysis program (MAAP) 3.0B code. Three different severe accident scenarios, such as two loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and station blackout (SBO), were considered in this analysis. Results indicated that design parameters related to refueling water storage tank (RWST), accumulator and steam generator (S/G) have more dominant effects on the progression of severe accidents investigated, compared to the other six parameters. 9 refs., 5 tabs. (Author)

Thermal Hydraulic design parameters study for severe accidents using neural networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roh, Chang Hyun; Chang, Soon Heung [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Keun Sun [Sunmoon University, Asan (Korea, Republic of)

1997-12-31

To provide the information on severe accident progression is very important for advanced or new type of nuclear power plant (NPP) design. A parametric study, therefore, was performed to investigate the effect of thermal hydraulic design parameters on severe accident progression of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Nine parameters, which are considered important in NPP design or severe accident progression, were selected among the various thermal hydraulic design parameters. The backpropagation neural network (BPN) was used to determine parameters, which might more strongly affect the severe accident progression, among nine parameters. For training, different input patterns were generated by the latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique and then different target patterns that contain core uncovery time and vessel failure time were obtained for Young Gwang Nuclear (YGN) Units 3 and 4 using modular accident analysis program (MAAP) 3.0B code. Three different severe accident scenarios, such as two loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and station blackout (SBO), were considered in this analysis. Results indicated that design parameters related to refueling water storage tank (RWST), accumulator and steam generator (S/G) have more dominant effects on the progression of severe accidents investigated, compared to the other six parameters. 9 refs., 5 tabs. (Author)

Key Characteristics of Combined Accident including TLOFW accident for PSA Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon [Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2015-05-15

The conventional PSA techniques cannot adequately evaluate all events. The conventional PSA models usually focus on single internal events such as DBAs, the external hazards such as fire, seismic. However, the Fukushima accident of Japan in 2011 reveals that very rare event is necessary to be considered in the PSA model to prevent the radioactive release to environment caused by poor treatment based on lack of the information, and to improve the emergency operation procedure. Especially, the results from PSA can be used to decision making for regulators. Moreover, designers can consider the weakness of plant safety based on the quantified results and understand accident sequence based on human actions and system availability. This study is for PSA modeling of combined accidents including total loss of feedwater (TLOFW) accident. The TLOFW accident is a representative accident involving the failure of cooling through secondary side. If the amount of heat transfer is not enough due to the failure of secondary side, the heat will be accumulated to the primary side by continuous core decay heat. Transients with loss of feedwater include total loss of feedwater accident, loss of condenser vacuum accident, and closure of all MSIVs. When residual heat removal by the secondary side is terminated, the safety injection into the RCS with direct primary depressurization would provide alternative heat removal. This operation is called feed and bleed (F and B) operation. Combined accidents including TLOFW accident are very rare event and partially considered in conventional PSA model. Since the necessity of F and B operation is related to plant conditions, the PSA modeling for combined accidents including TLOFW accident is necessary to identify the design and operational vulnerabilities.The PSA is significant to assess the risk of NPPs, and to identify the design and operational vulnerabilities. Even though the combined accident is very rare event, the consequence of combined

30 years After the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: Time for Reflection and Re-evaluation of Current Disaster Preparedness Plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Zablotska, Lydia B

2016-06-01

It has been 30 years since the worst accident in the history of the nuclear era occurred at the Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine close to densely populated urban areas. To date, epidemiological studies reported increased long-term risks of leukemia, cardiovascular diseases, and cataracts among cleanup workers and of thyroid cancer and non-malignant diseases in those exposed as children and adolescents. Mental health effects were the most significant public health consequence of the accident in the three most contaminated countries of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation. Timely and clear communication with affected populations emerged as one of the main lessons in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Urban meteorological modelling for nuclear emergency preparedness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baklanov, Alexander; Sorensen, Jens Havskov; Hoe, Steen Cordt; Amstrup, Bjarne

2006-01-01

The main objectives of the current EU project 'Integrated Systems for Forecasting Urban Meteorology, Air Pollution and Population Exposure' (FUMAPEX) are the improvement of meteorological forecasts for urban areas, the connection of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to urban air pollution and population dose models, the building of improved urban air quality information and forecasting systems, and their application in cities in various European climates. In addition to the forecast of the worst air-pollution episodes in large cities, the potential use of improved weather forecasts for nuclear emergency management in urban areas, in case of hazardous releases from nuclear accidents or terror acts, is considered. Such use of NWP data is tested for the Copenhagen metropolitan area and the Oresund region. The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) is running an experimental version of the HIRLAM NWP model over Zealand including the Copenhagen metropolitan area with a horizontal resolution of 1.4 km, thus approaching the city-scale. This involves 1-km resolution physiographic data with implications for the urban surface parameters, e.g. surface fluxes, roughness length and albedo. For the city of Copenhagen, the enhanced high-resolution NWP forecasting will be provided to demonstrate the improved dispersion forecasting capabilities of the Danish nuclear emergency preparedness decision-support system, the Accident Reporting and Guidance Operational System (ARGOS), used by the Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA). Recently, ARGOS has been extended with a capability of real-time calculation of regional-scale atmospheric dispersion of radioactive material from accidental releases. This is effectuated through on-line interfacing with the Danish Emergency Response Model of the Atmosphere (DERMA), which is run at DMI. For local-scale modelling of atmospheric dispersion, ARGOS utilises the Local-Scale Model Chain (LSMC), which makes use of high-resolution DMI

Accident knowledge and emergency management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasmussen, B; Groenberg, C D

1997-03-01

The report contains an overall frame for transformation of knowledge and experience from risk analysis to emergency education. An accident model has been developed to describe the emergency situation. A key concept of this model is uncontrolled flow of energy (UFOE), essential elements are the state, location and movement of the energy (and mass). A UFOE can be considered as the driving force of an accident, e.g., an explosion, a fire, a release of heavy gases. As long as the energy is confined, i.e. the location and movement of the energy are under control, the situation is safe, but loss of confinement will create a hazardous situation that may develop into an accident. A domain model has been developed for representing accident and emergency scenarios occurring in society. The domain model uses three main categories: status, context and objectives. A domain is a group of activities with allied goals and elements and ten specific domains have been investigated: process plant, storage, nuclear power plant, energy distribution, marine transport of goods, marine transport of people, aviation, transport by road, transport by rail and natural disasters. Totally 25 accident cases were consulted and information was extracted for filling into the schematic representations with two to four cases pr. specific domain. (au) 41 tabs., 8 ills.; 79 refs.

Accident knowledge and emergency management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmussen, B.; Groenberg, C.D.

1997-03-01

The report contains an overall frame for transformation of knowledge and experience from risk analysis to emergency education. An accident model has been developed to describe the emergency situation. A key concept of this model is uncontrolled flow of energy (UFOE), essential elements are the state, location and movement of the energy (and mass). A UFOE can be considered as the driving force of an accident, e.g., an explosion, a fire, a release of heavy gases. As long as the energy is confined, i.e. the location and movement of the energy are under control, the situation is safe, but loss of confinement will create a hazardous situation that may develop into an accident. A domain model has been developed for representing accident and emergency scenarios occurring in society. The domain model uses three main categories: status, context and objectives. A domain is a group of activities with allied goals and elements and ten specific domains have been investigated: process plant, storage, nuclear power plant, energy distribution, marine transport of goods, marine transport of people, aviation, transport by road, transport by rail and natural disasters. Totally 25 accident cases were consulted and information was extracted for filling into the schematic representations with two to four cases pr. specific domain. (au) 41 tabs., 8 ills.; 79 refs

Severe accidents at nuclear power plants. Their risk assessment and accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Kiyoharu.

1995-05-01

This document is to explain the severe accident issues. Severe Accidents are defined as accidents which are far beyond the design basis and result in severe damage of the core. Accidents at Three Mild Island in USA and at Chernobyl in former Soviet Union are examples of severe accidents. The causes and progressions of the accidents as well as the actions taken are described. Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is a method to estimate the risk of severe accidents at nuclear reactors. The methodology for PSA is briefly described and current status on its application to safety related issues is introduced. The acceptability of the risks which inherently accompany every technology is then discussed. Finally, provision of accident management in Japan is introduced, including the description of accident management measures proposed for BWRs and PWRs. (author)

The investigation of Passive Accident Mitigation Scheme for advanced PWR NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Er-bing; Fang, Cheng-yue; Wang, Chang; Xia, Geng-lei; Zhao, Cui-na

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We put forward a new PAMS and analyze its operation characteristics under SBO. • We conduct comparative analysis between PAMS and Traditional Secondary Side PHRS. • The PAMS could cope with SBO accident and maintain the plant in safe conditions. • PAMS could decrease heat removal capacity of PHRS. • PAMS has advantage in reducing cooling rate and PCCT temperature rising amplitude. - Abstract: To enhance inherent safety features of nuclear power plant, the advanced pressurized water reactors implement a series of passive safety systems. This paper puts forward and designs a new Passive Accident Mitigation Scheme (PAMS) to remove residual heat, which consists of two parts: the first part is Passive Auxiliary Feedwater System (PAFS), and the other part is Passive Heat Removal System (PHRS). This paper takes the Westinghouse-designed Advanced Passive PWR (AP1000) as research object and analyzes the operation characteristics of PAMS to cope with the Station Blackout Accident (SBO) by using RELAP5 code. Moreover, the comparative analysis is also conducted between PAMS and Traditional Secondary Circuit PHRS to derive the advantages of PAMS. The results show that the designed scheme can remove core residual heat significantly and maintain the plant in safe conditions; the first part of PAMS would stop after 120 min and the second part has to come into use simultaneously; the low pressurizer (PZR) pressure signal would be generated 109 min later caused by coolant volume shrinkage, which would actuate the Passive Safety Injection System (PSIS) to recovery the water level of pressurizer; the flow instability phenomenon would occur and last 21 min after the PHRS start-up; according to the comparative analysis, the coolant average temperature gradient and the Passive Condensate Cooling Tank (PCCT) water temperature rising amplitude of PAMS are lower than those of Traditional Secondary Circuit PHRS

Experience and lessons learned from emergency disposal of Fukushima nuclear power station accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xiegu; Zhen Bei; Yang Xiaoming; Chen Xiaohua

2012-01-01

After Fukushima nuclear accident, we visited the related medical aid agencies for nuclear accidents and conducted investigations in disaster-affected areas in Japan. This article summarizes the problems with emergency disposal of Fukushima nuclear accident while disclosing problems should be solved during the emergency force construction for nuclear accidents. (authors)

Identification of Drivers in Traffic Accidents and Determination of Passenger Position in a Vehicle by Finger Marks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matej Trapečar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The following paper aims to illustrate certain investigative activities in the forensic analysis and examination of the scene of traffic accidents. When a traffic accident occurs, the scene must be secured as soon as possible to enable professional and proper forensic investigation. Failure to secure the accident scene might result in losing or contaminating the traces, which makes it more difficult to prove or explain trace evidence in further procedure or even makes such evidence inadmissible. The topic is discussed from the viewpoint of crime scene examination, since analysing and investigating traffic accidents requires a great deal of expertise and attention of the investigators. Complex traffic accidents include feigned accidents, hit-and-run accidents as well as accidents in which the driver and passengers, dead or alive, need to be identified. In identifying the passengers, standard criminal investigation methods as well as police forensic and forensic medicine methods are followed. Such methods include confirming the identities with identity documents, other documents and vehicle ownership, fingerprints, biological traces, fibre traces, contact traces, traces of physical injuries on the driver and passengers, etc. According to the results obtained in fingerprint detection on human skin surfaces, this method can also be applied in confirming physical contact between the driver and the passengers in the accident, e.g. in the event of moving the victims and changing the scene of the accident.   Key words: traffic accidents, accident analysis, driver's identity, passengers' position, finger marks, human skin

Severe accident phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jokiniemi, J.; Kilpi, K.; Lindholm, I.; Maekynen, J.; Pekkarinen, E.; Sairanen, R.; Silde, A.

1995-02-01

Severe accidents are nuclear reactor accidents in which the reactor core is substantially damaged. The report describes severe reactor accident phenomena and their significance for the safety of nuclear power plants. A comprehensive set of phenomena ranging from accident initiation to containment behaviour and containment integrity questions are covered. The report is based on expertise gained in the severe accident assessment projects conducted at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). (49 refs., 32 figs., 12 tabs.)

Investigation of relationship between mental workload and information flow rate of accident diagnosis tasks in NPPs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Chang Hoon

2005-02-15

The objective of this study is to investigate experimentally the relationship between an operator's mental workload and the information flow rate of accident diagnosis tasks and further to propose the information flow rate as an analytic method for measuring the mental workload. There are two types of mental workload in the advanced MCR of NPPs: the information processing workload, which is the processing that the human operator must actually perform in order to complete the diagnosis task, and emotional stress workload experienced by the operator. In this study, the focus is on the former. Three kinds of methods are used to measure the operator's workload: information flow rate, subjective methods, and physiological measures. Information flows for eight accident diagnosis tasks are modeled qualitatively using a stage model and are quantified using Conant's model. The eight accident cases are considered here are: Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR), Steam Line Break (SLB), Feedwater Line Break (FLB), Pressurizer (PZR) spray and heater failure, Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) trip, Main Steam Isolation Valve (MSIV) failure, and PZR spray failure. The information flow rate is obtained for each diagnosis task by imposing time limit restrictions for the tasks. Subjective methods require the operators to respond to questionnaires to rate their level of mental effort. NASA-TLX and MCH scale are selected as subjective methods. NASA-TLX is a subjective method used in the various fields including the aviation, automobile, and nuclear industries. It has a multi-dimensional rating technique and provides an overall workload score based on a weighted average on six subscales using pair-wise comparison tests. MCH, on the other hand, is one-dimensional and uses a 10- point rating technique. As with NASA-TLX, the higher the score is, the higher the subjective workload is. For the physiological measurements, an eye tracking system analyzes

Consequences of urban pollution on health; Consequences de la pollution urbaine sur la sante

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adedeji, A. [Agence pour la Protection de l' Environnement de l' Etat de Lagos, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency - Lasepa (Nigeria)

2002-11-01

This article treats of the urbanization process in Africa and of the direct impact of urban pollution on people's health. After a description of the spectacular growth of urban populations in Africa since 1970, the author focusses on the experience of Nigeria and on the city of Lagos: urbanization causes, demographic growth, origins of urban pollution (road traffic, uncontrolled wastes tipping, sanitary conditions) and different types of pollution (atmospheric, hydric, domestic wastes, noise, heat..). The second part of the article deals with the impact of this urban pollution on the public health in conditions of overpopulation: domestic environment, diseases linked with water quality, diseases transmission, accidents, occupational diseases. This analysis stresses on the lack of urban management and development policies in Nigeria, and on the lack of a representative, liable and competent public authority. (J.S.)

Review of progress on enhanced accident tolerant fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCoy, K.; Dunn, B.; Kochendarfer, R.

2015-01-01

The accident at Fukushima has resulted in renewed interest in understanding the performance of nuclear power plants under accident conditions. Part of that interest is directed toward determining how to improve the performance of fuel during an accident that involves long exposures of the fuel to high temperatures. This paper describes the method being used by AREVA to select and evaluate approaches for improving the accident tolerance of nuclear fuel. The method involves starting with a large number of approaches that might enhance accident tolerance, and reviewing how well each approach satisfies a set of engineering requirements and goals. Among the approaches investigated we have the development of fuel pellets that contain a second phase to improve thermal conductivity, the use of molybdenum alloy tubing as fuel cladding, the use of oxidation-resistant coatings to zirconium cladding, and the use of nanoparticles in the coolant to improve heat transfer

A drill-hole geodatabase as a tool to investigate geological hazard in Napoli Urban Area

Science.gov (United States)

Albericoa, I.; Lirer, L.; Petrosino, P.

2003-04-01

Geological investigations in urban areas are complicated by the absence of good outcrops and field exposures, as a result of the density of civil buildings and railway and road network. On the other side, in urban areas geological investigation represents a basic tool to decisional support for the management of present private buildings and public works and for the planning of new ones. This is much more true in urban areas very exposed to geological hazard (volcanic, hydrogeological, seismic) where the high exposed value greatly rises the risk. The methodology to deal with the geological hazard in urban areas here presented is the reconstruction of buried geological formations deduced by drill-holes stratigraphy.The test area is represented by the whole municipality of Napoli city, that proves very apt to the investigation of the hazard in urban areas since it stands over an active volcanic area, comprised between the Campi Flegrei volcanic field and the Somma-Vesuvio district, that both gave explosive and effusive activity through the last centuries. Besides, the extension of the main part of the city constrained between the coastline and the belt of volcanic hills together with the presence of loose material due to pyroclastic activity makes the alluvional events an other hazardous phenomenon for the city. The performed up datable drill-holes geodata-base for the city of Napoli at present contains the record of about 800 holes stratigraphy, collected through the main public and private bodies, reflecting the drill-holes surveys made along the last 50 years before constructing the main railways, roads and aqueduct network. Drill-holes data have been interpreted and can now be read under various viewpoints (geological, lithological, volcanological); the present work presents the first results of the geological hazard investigation. The investigation of buried stratigraphy in the eastern area allows to identify the presence of pyroclastic flow deposits from Somma

Environmental Modelling of Remediation of Urban Contaminated Areas. Report of the Urban Remediation Working Group of EMRAS Theme 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for RAdiation Safety) programme was concerned with remediation assessment for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. Types of events that could result in dispersal or deposition of radionuclides in an urban situation include both intentional and unintentional events, and releases could range from major events involving a nuclear facility to small events such as a transportation accident. The primary objective of the Urban Remediation Working Group was (1) to test and improve the prediction of dose rates and cumulative doses to humans for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides, including prediction of changes in radionuclide concentrations or dose rates as a function of location and time; (2) to identify the most important pathways for human exposure; and (3) to predict the reduction in radionuclide concentrations, dose rates, or doses expected to result from various countermeasures or remediation efforts. Specific objectives of the Working Group have included (1) the identification of realistic scenarios for a wide variety of situations, (2) comparison and testing of approaches and models for assessing the significance of a given contamination event and for guiding decisions about countermeasures or remediation measures implemented to reduce doses to humans or to clean up the contaminated area, and (3) improving the understanding of processes and situations that affect the spread of contamination to aid in the development of appropriate models and parameter values for use in assessment of these situations. The major activities of the Working Group have included three areas. The first of these was a review of the available modelling approaches and computer models for use in assessing urban contamination and potential countermeasures or remediation activities. The second area of work was a modelling exercise based on data

Radiation doses in accidents at sea-transportation of spent fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appelgren, A.; Bergstroem, U.; Devell, L.

1978-01-01

In order to investigate the consequences of shipping accidents, a release of activity is assumed. This report presents the calculations of individual and collective doses from the two most severe postulated accidents which are given in a special accident analysis. One of the accidents is a ship collision together with fire on-board, the ship is floating after the collision and a certain quantity volatile fission products gives airborne activity. In the other case, it is a fire on-board, the ship will sink and cause a certain leakage to the sea

Non-vehicular homicides masquerading as road traffic accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Zine, K U; Mugadlimath, Anand B; Sane, Mandar Ramchandra; Bhuyyar, Chandrashekhar; Rathod, S N

2016-03-01

Interfering with or planting evidence to disguise the cause of a death is not uncommon in forensic practice. Homicides staged as road accidents are, however, rarely encountered by crime scene investigators. We report two homicides which were presented as road traffic accidents. Case 1: Dead body of a 35-year-old male was brought for autopsy with history of road traffic accident. Primary police inquiry suggested that the victim was knocked down by a speeding four-wheeler, while walking by the side of a high way with his friends. On postmortem examination the deceased's death was found due to homicidal smothering staged as a road traffic accident. Case 2: Dead body of 40-year-old male was brought for autopsy with history of road traffic accident. It was an unwitnessed crush by a speeding four-wheeler. However, on postmortem examination, the deceased was found to have died from homicidal multiple stab wounds with his death staged as a road traffic accident. Importance of meticulous autopsy to determine accurately the cause of death is emphasized. © The Author(s) 2015.

Lesson from a 60Co source radiation accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Yong; Zhang Wenzhong

2002-01-01

A serious radiation accident happened an a 60 Co irradiation facility in Shanghai. 7 workers were uniformly exposed acutely. An investigation was done after the accident and a conclusion was achieved that the irregular operation was the direct reason for the accident. The operation of these workers did not comply with the requirements specified in the national standards-- 60 irradiation facility>> which demands that the examination should be done every day before operation, and the irradiation facility does not stop running when the auto-lock safety system on that facility has been removed. Some lessons should be drawn from the accident: popularizing the culture of safety, enhancing the law of safety, and ensuring the operation of radiation devices within the demands of safety

Lessons from the Fukushima nuclear power accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatamura, Yotaro

2013-01-01

Through the investigation of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Accident as the chairman of the related Government's Committee, many things had been considered. Essence of the accident could be not only what occurred in the Fukushima nuclear power station, but also dispersed radioactive materials forced many residents to move and not to be returned. Such events as indication errors of water level meter occurring in severe accident could no be thought and remote mechanical operation of valves under high radiation environment were not prepared. Contamination by radioactive clouds caused the evacuation of residents for a long period. Lessons learned from the accident were described such as; (1) the verification of the road to failure connecting selected accident sequence and road to success with another supposed choice, (2) considering what might occur and then what should be needed on the contrary, (3) nuclear power, if should be continued, should be used with the premise of its hazards, and (4) advise to nuclear engineer for adequate information dissemination and technical explanation to the public and keeping nuclear technologies alive. (T. Tanaka)

Ultrasonic Sensors in Urban Traffic Driving-Aid Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa de Pedro

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, vehicles are often equipped with active safety systems to reduce the risk of accidents, most of which occur in urban environments. The most prominent include Antilock Braking Systems (ABS, Traction Control and Stability Control. All these systems use different kinds of sensors to constantly monitor the conditions of the vehicle, and act in an emergency. In this paper the use of ultrasonic sensors in active safety systems for urban traffic is proposed, and the advantages and disadvantages when compared to other sensors are discussed. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC for urban traffic based on ultrasounds is presented as an application example. The proposed system has been implemented in a fully-automated prototype vehicle and has been tested under real traffic conditions. The results confirm the good performance of ultrasonic sensors in these systems.

Contribution to the study of the behaviour, in the urban environment, during the runoff of rainwater, of the fission products emitted during a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pioch, M.

1993-01-01

In the context of research into the environmental consequences of a serious accident occurring on a pressurized water reactor, this paper concerns the experimental study of behaviour of five fission products (caesium, strontium, iodine, ruthenium and tellurium) in the urban environment under the action of rainwater. Stable or radioactive multiple-element aerosols were produced. Their physicochemical characteristics and their solubility in rainwater were studied. Caesium and rubidium forms solutions totally and quickly, while strontium is partially soluble (approximately 50 %) and iodine is only slightly soluble. The behaviour of fission products on five urban surfaces was then studied. Batch experiments showed that the retention of dissolved forms of radioelements varied according to the material. The reactions involved are ion exchange reactions. The presence of certain ions in water (in particular NH 4 + ) increase the desorption of radioelements. Using a laboratory rainfall simulator, the re-entrainment of fission products by rainwater was examined. Two modes of deposition and two intensities of rainfall were simulated. The desorption of radioelements is greater after wet deposition and remobilization is reduced by an increase in intensity of rainfall. An addition of NH 4 + in water is especially effective in the case of wet depositions. Suggestions are made in order to improve experimental protocols and continue the research. (author). 75 refs., 51 figs., 69 tabs., 14 appends

Prevention of pedestrian accidents.

OpenAIRE

Kendrick, D

1993-01-01

Child pedestrian accidents are the most common road traffic accident resulting in injury. Much of the existing work on road traffic accidents is based on analysing clusters of accidents despite evidence that child pedestrian accidents tend to be more dispersed than this. This paper analyses pedestrian accidents in 573 children aged 0-11 years by a locally derived deprivation score for the years 1988-90. The analysis shows a significantly higher accident rate in deprived areas and a dose respo...

Investigation of a coupling model of coordination between urbanization and the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yangfan; Li, Yi; Zhou, Yan; Shi, Yalou; Zhu, Xiaodong

2012-05-15

China's coastal cities are experiencing rapid urbanization, which has resulted in many challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive index system for assessment of the level of urbanization based on four aspects: demographic urbanization, economic urbanization, social urbanization and spatial urbanization. The developed index system also characterizes the environment based on three factors: environmental pressure, environmental level and environmental control. Furthermore, a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) focusing on the degree of coordination between urbanization and the environment was established using panel data collected from 2000 to 2008 for Lianyungang, China. The results showed that: (1) the dynamic of coordination between urbanization and the environment showed a U-shaped curve, and both sub-systems evolved into a superior balance during rapid urbanization; (2) social urbanization and environmental control make the greatest contribution to the coupling system, indicating that they are the critical factors to consider when adjusting coordination development during decision-making; and (3) the two parameters (α-urbanization, β-environment) that have been widely used in previous studies had less of an effect on the coupling coordinated system than the other factors considered herein. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accident Locations, MDTA Accidents, Accidents on MDTA locations, Accidents on I 95, US 50, I 695, Accident on John F Kennedy Highway, Nice Bridge, Bay Bridge locations, Published in 2011, 1:1200 (1in=100ft) scale, Maryland Transportation Authority.

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — Accident Locations dataset current as of 2011. MDTA Accidents, Accidents on MDTA locations, Accidents on I 95, US 50, I 695, Accident on John F Kennedy Highway, Nice...

Evaluation to a long term remediation actions after Goiania radiological accident; Avaliacao a longo prazo das acoes de remediacao apos o acidente radiologico de Goiania

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Rio, Monica A. Pires do; Coutinho, Celia M.C.; Acar, Maria E.D.; Romeiro, Carlos H. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2000-07-01

Ten years after the Goiania radiological accident, the results obtained by the IRD Environmental Monitoring Program are compared to the values adopted for establishing the intervention levels at the time of the accident occurrence (1987), and to the values of the parameters obtained by European countries, after the Chernobyl accident. Significant differences were observed in parameter values, particularly, those related to a long term prediction of the contamination behaviour in an urban area. This paper shows the importance of the survey for the environmental behaviour of pollutants in tropical climate conditions. (author)

Innovative urban forestry governance in Melbourne?: Investigating "green placemaking" as a nature-based solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulsrud, Natalie Marie; Hertzog, Kelly; Shears, Ian

2018-02-01

A nature-based approach to climate resilience aims to challenge and re-frame conventional environmental management methods by refocusing solutions from technological strategies to socio-ecological principles such as human well-being and community-based governance models, thereby improving and legitimizing the delivery of ecosystem services (ES). There are, however, many challenges to applying a socio-ecological agenda to urban climate resilience and thereby re-framing ES delivery as community and people focused, a knowledge gap extensively outlined in the environmental governance literature. In this paper, we aim to contribute to this re-assesment of urban environmental governance by examining the City of Melbourne's approach to urban re-naturing governance from a place-based perspective. Here we focus on the city's internationally-acclaimed urban forest strategy (UFS), investigating how and to which extent the governance arrangements embedded within the UFS draw strength from diverse perspectives and allow for institutional arrangements that support "situated" reflexive decision making and co-creation. We find that Melbourne's UFS governance process fosters green placemaking by re-focusing climate adaptation solutions from technological strategies to situated socio-ecological principles such as human well-being and community-based decision making. In this sense, this case provides valuable insight for the broader UGI governance field regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with a socio-cultural approach to urban re-naturing and ES delivery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reactor Core Coolability Analysis during Hypothesized Severe Accidents of OPR1000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yongjae; Seo, Seungwon; Kim, Sung Joong; Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Hwan-Yeol

2014-01-01

Assessment of the safety features over the hypothesized severe accidents may be performed experimentally or numerically. Due to the considerable time and expenditures, experimental assessment is implemented only to the limited cases. Therefore numerical assessment has played a major role in revisiting severe accident analysis of the existing or newly designed power plants. Computer codes for the numerical analysis of severe accidents are categorized as the fast running integral code and detailed code. Fast running integral codes are characterized by a well-balanced combination of detailed and simplified models for the simulation of the relevant phenomena within an NPP in the case of a severe accident. MAAP, MELCOR and ASTEC belong to the examples of fast running integral codes. Detailed code is to model as far as possible all relevant phenomena in detail by mechanistic models. The examples of detailed code is SCDAP/RELAP5. Using the MELCOR, Carbajo. investigated sensitivity studies of Station Black Out (SBO) using the MELCOR for Peach Bottom BWR. Park et al. conduct regulatory research of the PWR severe accident. Ahn et al. research sensitivity analysis of the severe accident for APR1400 with MELCOR 1.8.4. Lee et al. investigated RCS depressurization strategy and developed a core coolability map for independent scenarios of Small Break Loss-of-Coolant Accident (SBLOCA), SBO, and Total Loss of Feed Water (TLOFW). In this study, three initiating cases were selected, which are SBLOCA without SI, SBO, and TLOFW. The initiating cases exhibit the highest probability of transitioning into core damage according to PSA 1 of OPR 1000. The objective of this study is to investigate the reactor core coolability during hypothesized severe accidents of OPR1000. As a representative indicator, we have employed Jakob number and developed JaCET and JaMCT using the MELCOR simulation. Although the RCS pressures for the respective accident scenarios were different, the JaMCT and Ja

Prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use and road accident injuries amongst college students in Kerman, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammadi Ghorbanali

2011-06-01

Full Text Available 【Abstract】 Objective: To investigate the prevalence of mobile phone and seat belt use in driving in college stu- dents aged 18-24 years. Methods: The study consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a questionnaire was given to 265 college students. The sample contained 188 males and 77 females. In the second phase, the data pertaining to road accident injuries from March 20, 2007 to March 20, 2008 were collected from Bahonar Central Hospital in Kerman, Iran, and analyzed. Results: There were 14.0% of male and 19.0% of fe- male participants traveled belted while driving on urban roads. It indicated that the participants unbelted or using mobile phone were more involved in accidents in last three years. This study also revealed that 19.0% of male and 4.2% of female drivers considered using mobile phone in driving not hazardous. The highest injury and property damage crash rates were 87 and 137 per 100 000 inhabitants, which occured in male group aged 18-24 years. And 30% of all fatalities were 19-24 years old. Conclusions: More than 50% of college students trav- eled unbelted. The females were less involved in road acci- dent injuries. The college students aged 18-24 years had the highest percentages of trauma and head injury. Key words: Craniocerebral trauma; Accidents, traffic; Seat belts; Cellular phone

Radiological Emergency Preparedness after the Early Phase of an Accident : Focusing on an Air Contamination Event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hyo Joon; Hwang, Won Tae; Kim, Eun Han; Han, Moon Hee

2010-01-01

Toxic materials in an urban area can be caused by a variety of events, such as accidental releases on industrial complexes, accidents during the transportation of hazardous materials and intentional explosions. Most governments around the world and their citizens have become increasingly worried about intentional accidents in urban area after the 911 terrorist attack in the United States of America. Even though there have been only a few attempted uses of Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs), accidental releases have occurred many times at commercial nuclear power plants and nuclear waste disposal sites. When an intentional release of radioactive materials occurs in an urban area, air quality for radioactive materials in the environment is of great importance to take action for countermeasures and environmental risk assessments. Atmospheric modeling is part of the decision making tasks and that it is particularly important for emergency managers as they often need to take actions quickly on very inadequate information(1). A simple model such as HOTSPOT required wind direction and source term would be enough to support the decision making in the early phase of an accident, but more sophisticated atmospheric modeling is required to adjust decontamination area and relocation etc after the early phase of an accidental event. In this study, we assume an explosion of 137 Cs using RDDs in the metropolitan area of Soul, South Korea. California Puff Model (CALPUFF) is used to calculate an atmospheric dispersion and transport for 137 Cs. Atmospheric dispersion and quantitative radiological risk analysis for 137 Cs were performed assuming an intentional explosion in the metropolitan area of Soul, South Korea after the early phase of emergency. These kinds of atmospheric modeling and risk analysis could provide a means for decision makers to take action on important issues such as the cleanup of the contaminated area and countermeasures to protect the public caused by

Defining criteria related to wastes for use in multi-criteria decision tool for nuclear accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Diogo N.G.; Guimaraes, Jean R.D., E-mail: dneves@biof.ufrj.br, E-mail: jeanrdg@biof.ufrj.br [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho; Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; De Luca, Christiano, E-mail: elainerochedo@gmail.com, E-mail: christiano_luca@hotmail.com [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Rochedo, Pedro R.R., E-mail: rochedopedro@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia

2013-07-01

The selection of protective measures and strategies for remediation of contaminated areas after a nuclear accident must be based on previously established criteria in order to prevent stress of the population and the unnecessary exposure of workers. After a nuclear accident resulting in environmental contamination, decisions on remediation of areas is complex due to the large numbers of factors involved in decontamination processes. This work is part of a project which aims to develop a multi-criteria tool to support a decision-making process in cases of a radiological or a nuclear accident in Brazil. First, a database of remediation strategies for contaminated areas was created. In this process, the most relevant aspects for the implementation of these strategies were considered, including technical criteria regarding aspects related to the generation of wastes in a reference urban area, which are discussed in this paper. The specific objective of this study is to define criteria for the aspects of radioactive wastes, resulted by the implementation of some urban measures, in order to be incorporated in a multi-criteria decision tool. Main aspects considered were the type, the amount and the type of treatment necessary for each procedure. The decontamination procedures are then classified according to the selected criteria in order to feed the multi-criteria decision tool. This paper describes the steps for the establishment of these criteria and evaluates the potential for future applications in order to improve predictions and to support the decisions to be made. (author)

Defining criteria related to wastes for use in multi-criteria decision tool for nuclear accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Diogo N.G.; Guimaraes, Jean R.D.; Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; De Luca, Christiano; Rochedo, Pedro R.R.

2013-01-01

The selection of protective measures and strategies for remediation of contaminated areas after a nuclear accident must be based on previously established criteria in order to prevent stress of the population and the unnecessary exposure of workers. After a nuclear accident resulting in environmental contamination, decisions on remediation of areas is complex due to the large numbers of factors involved in decontamination processes. This work is part of a project which aims to develop a multi-criteria tool to support a decision-making process in cases of a radiological or a nuclear accident in Brazil. First, a database of remediation strategies for contaminated areas was created. In this process, the most relevant aspects for the implementation of these strategies were considered, including technical criteria regarding aspects related to the generation of wastes in a reference urban area, which are discussed in this paper. The specific objective of this study is to define criteria for the aspects of radioactive wastes, resulted by the implementation of some urban measures, in order to be incorporated in a multi-criteria decision tool. Main aspects considered were the type, the amount and the type of treatment necessary for each procedure. The decontamination procedures are then classified according to the selected criteria in order to feed the multi-criteria decision tool. This paper describes the steps for the establishment of these criteria and evaluates the potential for future applications in order to improve predictions and to support the decisions to be made. (author)

Modelling and analysis of severe accidents for VVER-1000 reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tusheva, Polina

2012-01-01

Accident conditions involving significant core degradation are termed severe accidents /IAEA: NS-G-2.15/. Despite the low probability of occurrence of such events, the investigation of severe accident scenarios is an important part of the nuclear safety research. Considering a hypothetical core melt down scenario in a VVER-1000 light water reactor, the early in-vessel phase focusing on the thermal-hydraulic phenomena, and the late in-vessel phase focusing on the melt relocation into the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) lower head, are investigated. The objective of this work is the assessment of severe accident management procedures for VVER-1000 reactors, i.e. the estimation of the maximum period of time available for taking appropriate measures and particular decisions by the plant personnel. During high pressure severe accident sequences it is of prime importance to depressurize the primary circuit in order to allow for effective injection from the emergency core cooling systems and to avoid reactor pressure vessel failure at high pressure that could cause direct containment heating and subsequent challenge to the containment structure. Therefore different accident management measures were investigated for the in-vessel phase of a hypothetical station blackout accident using the severe accident code ASTEC, the mechanistic code ATHLET and the multi-purpose code system ANSYS. The analyses performed on the PHEBUS ISP-46 experiment, as well as simulations of small break loss of coolant accident and station blackout scenarios were used to contribute to the validation and improvement of the integral severe accident code ASTEC. Investigations on the applicability and the effectiveness of accident management procedures in the preventive domain, as well as detailed analyses on the thermal-hydraulic phenomena during the early in-vessel phase of a station blackout accident have been performed with the mechanistic code ATHLET. The results of the simulations show, that the

Conceptualizing, Designing, and Investigating Locative Media Use in Urban Space

Science.gov (United States)

Diamantaki, Katerina; Rizopoulos, Charalampos; Charitos, Dimitris; Kaimakamis, Nikos

This chapter investigates the social implications of locative media (LM) use and attempts to outline a theoretical framework that may support the design and implementation of location-based applications. Furthermore, it stresses the significance of physical space and location awareness as important factors that influence both human-computer interaction and computer-mediated communication. The chapter documents part of the theoretical aspect of the research undertaken as part of LOcation-based Communication Urban NETwork (LOCUNET), a project that aims to investigate the way users interact with one another (human-computer-human interaction aspect) and with the location-based system itself (human-computer interaction aspect). A number of relevant theoretical approaches are discussed in an attempt to provide a holistic theoretical background for LM use. Additionally, the actual implementation of the LOCUNET system is described and some of the findings are discussed.

Study on risk factors of PWR accidents beyond design basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Seung Hoon; Nah, W. J.; Bang, Y. S.; Oh, D. Y.; Oh, S. H.

2005-01-01

Development of the regulatory guidelines for Beyond Design Basis Accidents (BDBA) with high risk requires a detailed investigation of major factors contributing to the event risk. In this study, each event was classified by the level of risk, based on the probabilistic safety assessment results, so that BDBA with high risk could be selected, with consideration of foreign and domestic regulations, and operating experiences. The regulatory requirements and technical backgrounds for the selected accidents were investigated, and effective regulatory approaches for risk reduction of the accidents. The following conclusions were drawn from this study: - Selected high risk BDBA is station blackout, anticipated without scram, total loss of feedwater. - Major contributors to the risk of selected events were investigated, and appropriate assessment of them was recommended for development of the regulatory guidelines

The Human Aspect of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anegawa, T.; Kawano, A.

2016-01-01

Recognizing itself as the main party involved in the nuclear accident triggered by the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyo-Oki Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has performed accident investigation from various aspects. Results of the investigation are reported mainly in two reports; (1) Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report (June 20, 2012), which identified the timeline and the proximate causes of the accident, and (2) Summary of Fukushima Nuclear Accident and Nuclear Safety Reform Plan (March 29, 2013) to set forth the results of the investigation and provide an analysis of the background factors surrounding the accident and countermeasures taken. This presentation will first provide overview of the accident response at Fukushima Daiichi and Daini Nuclear Power Stations. Voices from the first responders at the sites will be introduced in order to share thoughts of individuals involved in the emergency response. Summary of retrospective study of the accident by one of the shift supervisors at the time of the accident will be presented in order to share the facts that happened at main control rooms. The shift supervisor and his crew had to manage the situation for extended period of time that exceeded the scenarios that they had been trained, in a situation with no lightning and high radiation condition. During the accident response, shift supervisors had to decide to dispatch some of his crew members to the field to open valves, check the status of equipment etc., in the situation where the high radiation exposure is foreseen. The presentation will include conflict of shift supervisors and crew focusing on the human aspects. In addition, actions being taken at the Emergency Response Centers (ERC) set up at the seismic-isolated building on-site and the Headquarters in Tokyo will be shared focusing on the human aspects related to the accident progress. This includes difficult decisions to dispatch first responders to the field, in the

A tool for safety officers when analysing the basic causes of simple accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Kirsten

Most accidents that happen in enterprises are simple and seldom have serious invalidating consequences. Very often these kinds of accident are not investigated and if they are, then the investigation is very brief, with comments such as that it was the victim’s own fault or just an unlucky...... for some years with interesting results. Both the difficulties and the benefits will be presented, together with examples of the use of the tool. The main purpose of the tool is to demonstrate how management and workers can get a much better understanding of why accidents happen, even those accidents...... that seem to be unavoidable, and that simple accidents never are simple, but always have root causes on which preventive action can be focused....

The radiological accident in Goiania, Brazil an overwiew

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoca, A.H.

1988-01-01

The Cs-137 radiological accident which occurred in Goiania, Brazil, the largest of its kind, consisted of an accidental dispersion of 1370 Ci contained in the radiotherapy source by the rupture of its shield and capsule. The dissemination of the 19 g of the radioactive material, in the form of cesium chloride, way by a) displacement and personal contact of the people involved, b) commercialization of the raw materials collected in the junkyard and c) wind and rainwater transport. Such dispersion occurred in the period between the capsule rupture on September 17th and 29th when CNEN was informed of the accident. With the CNEN intervention ground and aero radiometric surveys were carried out and population monitored. Seven main radioactive points were identified in the city districts around this junkyard, some of them with exposure levels of up to 100 R/h at one meter. More than 118,000 people were monitored out of which 244 presented internal or external contamination. Medical care was provided to 129 people, but only fifty were hospitalized. Thirteen developed severe bone-marrow depression, among them four died. The drainage system was monitored as well as an environmental monitoring network has been established at the urban area around the main contaminations focus. Up to now, the results have shown the urban area as the most affected one. Soil and leaves samples presented specific activities of up to 10 5 Bq/kg within 50 m apart the main focus. Decontamination work resulted in more than 2,000 drums of 200 l/each, several metal containers and boxes. The wastes were removed to a temporary repository 20 km away from Goiania

Urban bioclimatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, H

1993-11-15

This article deals with the part of urban climatology which is of particular relevance to human beings. Presented first is a summary of all human biometerologically effective complexes, as well as other factors which are relevant to urban planning and which depend on atmospheric conditions in urban structures in a direct or indirect manner. Later, methods for human biometerologically significant assessment of thermal and air pollution components of the urban climate are discussed in detail, because these components can be strongly influenced by urban planning. The application of these methods is illustrated by some results of appropriate investigations in urban areas.

Applying the AcciMap methodology to investigate the tragic Sewol Ferry accident in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Samuel; Moh, Young Bo; Tabibzadeh, Maryam; Meshkati, Najmedin

2017-03-01

This study applies the AcciMap methodology, which was originally proposed by Professor Jens Rasmussen (1997), to the analysis of the tragic Sewol Ferry accident in South Korea on April 16, 2014, which killed 304 mostly young people and is considered as a national disaster in that country. This graphical representation, by incorporating associated socio-technical factors into an integrated framework, provides a big-picture to illustrate the context in which an accident occurred as well as the interactions between different levels of the studied system that resulted in that event. In general, analysis of past accidents within the stated framework can define the patterns of hazards within an industrial sector. Such analysis can lead to the definition of preconditions for safe operations, which is a main focus of proactive risk management systems. In the case of the Sewol Ferry accident, a lot of the blame has been placed on the Sewol's captain and its crewmembers. However, according to this study, which relied on analyzing all available sources published in English and Korean, the disaster is the result of a series of lapses and disregards for safety across different levels of government and regulatory bodies, Chonghaejin Company, and the Sewol's crewmembers. The primary layers of the AcciMap framework, which include the political environment and non-proactive governmental body; inadequate regulations and their lax oversight and enforcement; poor safety culture; inconsideration of human factors issues; and lack of and/or outdated standard operating and emergency procedures were not only limited to the maritime industry in South Korea, and the Sewol Ferry accident, but they could also subject any safety-sensitive industry anywhere in the world. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alcohol abuse and involvement in traffic accidents in the Brazilian population, 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Damacena, Giseli Nogueira; Malta, Deborah Carvalho; Boccolini, Cristiano Siqueira; Souza, Paulo Roberto Borges de; Almeida, Wanessa da Silva de; Ribeiro, Lucas Sisinno; Szwarcwald, Célia Landmann

2016-12-01

Abstract This article aims to analyze alcohol abuse and frequent consumption according to sociodemographic characteristics and investigate the risk of greater involvement in traffic accidents, using data from the National Health Survey (PNS), 2013, Brazil. Events investigated were alcohol abuse and frequent consumption and if the individual was involved in a traffic accident and sustained an injury in the last 12 months. We investigated both events according to sociodemographic characteristics and assessed the association among them through multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence of alcohol abuse and frequent consumption was 6.1% for the population aged 18 years and over, 8.9% among men and 3.6% among women. The prevalence of involvement in traffic accidents was 3.1% in the general population and 6.1% among those who reported alcohol abuse. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, alcohol abuse and frequent consumption was significantly associated with traffic accidents. Considering a higher risk of involvement in traffic accidents among individuals who reported alcohol abuse and frequent consumption, monitoring blood alcohol concentration of drivers becomes a strategic possibility of intervention.