National arrangements for incidents involving radioactivity (NAIR) 1982/83

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, G.C.

1984-01-01

A summary is presented of the data on incidents notified under the National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity (NAIR), extending the data previously reported to include information for 1982/83. The categories of incidents discussed include transport, damaged sources or containers, undamaged sources, empty containers found and hoaxes or false alarms. It is concluded that the Arrangements continue to demonstrate their value in minimizing the alarm potentially inherent in even minor incidents involving radioactive materials. (U.K.)

Developing a hazmat incident evaluation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, D.L.; Kaikumba, F.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that all communities are at risk of experiencing a hazardous materials incident, whether in transportation or at a fixed facility (such as petroleum refineries, oil fields, processing plants, etc.). However, many communities are unprepared to cope with this emergency. Administrators of state agencies and local response organizations often face fierce competition for tax dollars in support of their hazardous materials emergency response programs. Historically, little statistical information has been available to support their call for additional budget dollars in the areas of personnel, training, and equipment. It is difficult to plan for an emergency when you have little understanding of the risks, the frequency of incidents, the type of chemicals generally involved, and other vital information. The Illinois Hazardous Materials Incident Evaluation Program was designed to address the state and local needs, and position government and industry in a more responsive and proactive mode. The result is a program that works

78 FR 60755 - Hazardous Materials: Enhanced Enforcement Procedures-Resumption of Transportation

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-02

... material,'' we envisioned etiological agents, such as biological products, infectious substances, medical... accidents or incidents involving the transportation of hazardous material. In order to achieve a uniform... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 49 CFR Part...

Hazard detection in noise-related incidents - the role of driving experience with battery electric vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Cocron, Peter; Bachl, Veronika; Früh, Laura; Koch, Iris; Krems, Josef F

2014-12-01

The low noise emission of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) has led to discussions about how to address potential safety issues for other road users. Legislative actions have already been undertaken to implement artificial sounds. In previous research, BEV drivers reported that due to low noise emission they paid particular attention to pedestrians and bicyclists. For the current research, we developed a hazard detection task to test whether drivers with BEV experience respond faster to incidents, which arise due to the low noise emission, than inexperienced drivers. The first study (N=65) revealed that BEV experience only played a minor role in drivers' response to hazards resulting from low BEV noise. The tendency to respond, reaction times and hazard evaluations were similar among experienced and inexperienced BEV drivers; only small trends in the assumed direction were observed. Still, both groups clearly differentiated between critical and non-critical scenarios and responded accordingly. In the second study (N=58), we investigated additionally if sensitization to low noise emission of BEVs had an effect on hazard perception in incidents where the noise difference is crucial. Again, participants in all groups differentiated between critical and non-critical scenarios. Even though trends in response rates and latencies occurred, experience and sensitization to low noise seemed to only play a minor role in detecting hazards due to low BEV noise. An additional global evaluation of BEV noise further suggests that even after a short test drive, the lack of noise is perceived more as a comfort feature than a safety threat. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Review of US accident/incident experience involving the transportation of radioactive material (RAM) 1971-1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClure, J.D.; Emerson, E.L.

1980-01-01

This paper analyzes the transportation accidents and incidents which have occurred in the United States in the period 1971-1980 based upon the information in the Radioactive Material Transportation Accident/Incident Data Base developed by the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) at Sandia National Laboratories. The accident/incident data base incorporates the files of the Hazardous Material Incident Report (HMIR) system operated by the Material Transportation Bureau of the US Department of Transportation (DOT) with additional information obtained from the files of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A principal objective of this paper is to summarize US accident/incident experience for the past ten years, providing a concise statement of radioactive material (RAM) package failure description for the transport modes of truck, rail and air

A comparison of the hazard perception ability of accident-involved and accident-free motorcycle riders.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Andy S K; Ng, Terry C K; Lee, Hoe C

2011-07-01

Hazard perception is the ability to read the road and is closely related to involvement in traffic accidents. It consists of both cognitive and behavioral components. Within the cognitive component, visual attention is an important function of driving whereas driving behavior, which represents the behavioral component, can affect the hazard perception of the driver. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable types of road user. The primary purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the correlation of different subtypes of visual attention and driving violation behaviors and their effect on hazard perception between accident-free and accident-involved motorcycle riders. Sixty-three accident-free and 46 accident-involved motorcycle riders undertook four neuropsychological tests of attention (Digit Vigilance Test, Color Trails Test-1, Color Trails Test-2, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), filled out the Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation (CMRDV) Questionnaire, and viewed a road-user-based hazard situation with an eye-tracking system to record the response latencies to potentially dangerous traffic situations. The results showed that both the divided and selective attention of accident-involved motorcycle riders were significantly inferior to those of accident-free motorcycle riders, and that accident-involved riders exhibited significantly higher driving violation behaviors and took longer to identify hazardous situations compared to their accident-free counterparts. However, the results of the regression analysis showed that aggressive driving violation CMRDV score significantly predicted hazard perception and accident involvement of motorcycle riders. Given that all participants were mature and experienced motorcycle riders, the most plausible explanation for the differences between them is their driving style (influenced by an undesirable driving attitude), rather than skill deficits per se. The present study points to the importance of

Predicting Cumulative Incidence Probability by Direct Binomial Regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheike, Thomas H.; Zhang, Mei-Jie

Binomial modelling; cumulative incidence probability; cause-specific hazards; subdistribution hazard......Binomial modelling; cumulative incidence probability; cause-specific hazards; subdistribution hazard...

The breast cancer incidence risk among females and a hazards in the microenvironments of work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brunon Zemła

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Background. In the earlier examinations on the Silesia voivodeship territory was found ultimately that in the districts with greatest development of industry the incidence of breast cancer was significantly greater in native females (stationary population than in immigrants (no stationary population, which suggests that there is a harmful influence of industrial pollutants in the female population (a longer time living in such conditions. It is possible that various chemical compounds especially from industrial-communal emissions and in the place of work – in the atmosphere contribute to a rise in the incidence of breast cancer in females as well. Material and methods. In analyse case-control type two women populations, i.e. natives – 540 cases with a breast cancer and 687 cases of control (women born within Silesia voivodeship, and immigrants – 319 cases of ills for breast cancer and 446 not-ills (all ones born outside Silesia voivodeship – were examinated. Anywhere in this case checking thesis whether character and long-time of hazards in microenvironment of work is significant in a risk of breast cancer. Results. The females that manually working without hazards in the place of work were characterized a bigger breast cancer risk – independently from place of birth (natives, immigrants, age group (30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60, 60 and total age and the endemic areas about statistically significantly high or low incidence and mortality (tab. II, III. It can not distinguished in this study no bigger females group with any characteristic impurities in the place of work comparatively suffering groups to controls ones. Conclusions. In this study the occupational risk factors are small significant mark in the incidence for female breast cancer.

Cyber Incidents Involving Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert J. Turk

2005-10-01

The Analysis Function of the US-CERT Control Systems Security Center (CSSC) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has prepared this report to document cyber security incidents for use by the CSSC. The description and analysis of incidents reported herein support three CSSC tasks: establishing a business case; increasing security awareness and private and corporate participation related to enhanced cyber security of control systems; and providing informational material to support model development and prioritize activities for CSSC. The stated mission of CSSC is to reduce vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber attack on control systems. As stated in the Incident Management Tool Requirements (August 2005) ''Vulnerability reduction is promoted by risk analysis that tracks actual risk, emphasizes high risk, determines risk reduction as a function of countermeasures, tracks increase of risk due to external influence, and measures success of the vulnerability reduction program''. Process control and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, with their reliance on proprietary networks and hardware, have long been considered immune to the network attacks that have wreaked so much havoc on corporate information systems. New research indicates this confidence is misplaced--the move to open standards such as Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, and Web technologies is allowing hackers to take advantage of the control industry's unawareness. Much of the available information about cyber incidents represents a characterization as opposed to an analysis of events. The lack of good analyses reflects an overall weakness in reporting requirements as well as the fact that to date there have been very few serious cyber attacks on control systems. Most companies prefer not to share cyber attack incident data because of potential financial repercussions. Uniform reporting requirements will do much to make this

NAIR: handbook on the national arrangements for incidents involving radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

A revised handbook on the national arrangements for incidents involving radioactivity (NAIR) has been published. Following brief introductory sections on the administrative aspects and operational aspects, the main part of the handbook is devoted to operational and call-out lists including an index of police forces served by NAIR, an index of establishments providing assistance under NAIR, sources of stage 1 and stage 2 assistance for each police constabulary, hospitals prepared to accept contaminated casualties and to assist with decontamination of personnel, and hospitals prepared to advise on the treatment and admission of casualties exposed to large doses of radiation. Technical appendices are also given on radiological protection in NAIR incidents, instruments and equipment, radionuclide data and a guide to suitable detectors, package and source identification and disposal of radioactive materials involved in NAIR accidents. (U.K.)

Occupational hazards to dental staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamshid Ayatollahi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Dental professionals are predisposed to a number of occupational hazards. These include exposure to infections (including Human Immunodeficiency Virus and viral hepatitis; percutaneous exposure incidents, dental materials, radiation, and noise; musculoskeletal disorders; psychological problems and dermatitis; respiratory disorders; and eye insults. Percutaneous exposure incidents remain a main concern, as exposure to serious infectious agents is a virtual risk. Minimizing percutaneous exposure incidents and their consequences should continue to be considered, including sound infection control practices, continuing education, and hepatitis B vaccination. Basically, for any infection control strategies, dentists should be aware of individual protective measures and appropriate sterilization or other high-level disinfection utilities. Strained posture at work disturbs the musculoskeletal alignment and leads to stooped spine. The stooped posture also involved certain groups of muscles and joints. This may lead to diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Continuous educating and appropriate intervention studies are needed to reduce the complication of these hazards. So, it is important for dentists to remain constantly up-to-date about measures on how to deal with newer strategies and dental materials, and implicates the need for special medical care for this professional group.

Predicting Cumulative Incidence Probability: Marginal and Cause-Specific Modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheike, Thomas H.; Zhang, Mei-Jie

2005-01-01

cumulative incidence probability; cause-specific hazards; subdistribution hazard; binomial modelling......cumulative incidence probability; cause-specific hazards; subdistribution hazard; binomial modelling...

Injury/Fatality-Causing Incidents Involving the Rearward Movement of Agricultural Machinery: Types, Causes, and Preventive Measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shawn G. Ehlers

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The research reported here sought to more fully understand the types and causative factors of injury/fatality incidents resulting from the rearward-movement of tractors and other self-propelled agricultural machinery, with the view that such findings might lead to the development, improvement, and/or better utilization of safety procedures, design principles, and technologies that would prevent—or at least markedly reduce—their occurrence. Thus, the scope of this study focused only on rearward-travel (not mechanical malfunction incidents, and principally on agricultural equipment (although cases involving similar equipment in industrial or construction settings were also drawn upon. Applying these two criteria, a search of published and online sources uncovered more than 100 documented cases, 35 of which could clearly be identified as rearward-movement incidents, of which 28 (80% were fatal. Each of these 35 cases were then assessed, based on the type of machine, type of worksite, and type/description of incident (i.e., ‘scenario’, which fell into one of three distinct categories or classifications—(1 co-worker run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator loses visual contact with co-worker; (2 bystander run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator is unaware of bystander’s presence; and (3 operator run over/crushed/otherwise injured because operator loses visual contact with, or is unaware of, a stationary object or a hazard. Then, from each scenario, a representative incident (i.e., case study was selected for a more in-depth analysis. The collective findings, from these three case studies and all 35 machinery rearward-movement incidents, were as follows: (1 The ‘victim’ could be the machine operator as well as a co-worker or a bystander; (2 The specific site of the co-worker or bystander injury/fatality was at the base of the machine’s rear tires or tracks, at the hitching point, or behind a towed implement; (3

An OSHA based approach to safety analysis for nonradiological hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yurconic, M.

1992-08-01

The PNL method for chemical hazard classification defines major hazards by means of a list of hazardous substances (or chemical groups) with associated trigger quantities. In addition, the functional characteristics of the facility being classified is also be factored into the classification. In this way, installations defined as major hazard will only be those which have the potential for causing very serious incidents both on and off site. Because of the diversity of operations involving chemicals, it may not be possible to restrict major hazard facilities to certain types of operations. However, this hazard classification method recognizes that in the industrial sector major hazards are most commonly associated with activities involving very large quantities of chemicals and inherently energetic processes. These include operations like petrochemical plants, chemical production, LPG storage, explosives manufacturing, and facilities which use chlorine, ammonia, or other highly toxic gases in bulk quantities. The basis for this methodology is derived from concepts used by OSHA in its proposed chemical process safety standard, the Dow Fire and Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide, and the International Labor Office's program on chemical safety. For the purpose of identifying major hazard facilities, this method uses two sorting criteria, (1) facility function and processes and (2) quantity of substances to identify facilities requiringclassification. Then, a measure of chemical energy potential (material factor) is used to identify high hazard class facilities

Characterization of post-disaster environmental management for Hazardous Materials Incidents: Lessons learnt from the Tianjin warehouse explosion, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hui; Duan, Huabo; Zuo, Jian; Song, MingWei; Zhang, Yukui; Yang, Bo; Niu, Yongning

2017-09-01

Hazardous Materials Incidents (HMIs) have attracted a growing public concern worldwide. The health risks and environmental implications associated with HMIs are almost invariably severe, and underscore the urgency for sound management. Hazardous Materials Explosion incidents (HMEIs) belong to a category of extremely serious HMIs. Existing studies placed focuses predominately on the promptness and efficiency of emergency responses to HMIs and HMEIs. By contrast, post-disaster environmental management has been largely overlooked. Very few studies attempted to examine the post-disaster environmental management plan particularly its effectiveness and sufficiency. In the event of the Tianjin warehouse explosion (TWE), apart from the immediate emergency response, the post-disaster environmental management systems (P-EMSs) have been reported to be effective and sufficient in dealing with the environmental concerns. Therefore, this study aims to critically investigate the P-EMSs for the TWE, and consequently to propose a framework and procedures for P-EMSs in general for HMIs, particularly for HMEIs. These findings provide a useful reference to develop P-EMSs for HMIs in the future, not only in China but also other countries. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The Role of Emergency Medical Service in CBR Incidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castulik, P.

2007-01-01

Majority of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) have daily extensive experience with rescue of casualties having trauma injuries, resulting from conventional incidents. In the case of non-conventional incidents involving chemical, bacteriological or radiological (CBR) hazardous materials operational scene for all responders is begin to be more complicated due contamination of casualties, equipment and environment. Especially EMS personnel and receiving staff at the hospital have to work under very demanding condition due to burden of personal protective equipment (PPE) and awareness to avoiding cross-contamination during handling casualties. Those conditions require significantly different approaches for search and rescue of victims from incident site, through transportation and effective treatment at medical facilities. In cases when chemicals will be major hazard materials, the speed of rescue and treatment of victims is a major challenge. Each minute matter, and any delay of response could seriously complicated saving of lives and successful recovery of exposed victims. Success in rescue victims is finally measured thorough the ability of the first responders to save people... ALIVE..., no matter what surrounding condition is. The presentation is providing a view and suggestions on more rapid immediate medical response during non-conventional incidents. It names basic concept based on preparedness, early identification of CBR hazards through signs and symptoms of casualties, priorities of rescue procedures and care on-site, needs of decontamination, rapid evacuation casualties from a scene and immediate hospital response.(author)

Organization of public authorities in France for the event of an incident or accident involving nuclear safety: Simulation of a nuclear crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cartigny, J.; Majorel, Y.

1986-01-01

The French nuclear safety regulations lay down the action to be taken in the event of an incident or accident involving the types of radiological hazard that could arise in a nuclear installation or during the transport of radioactive material. The organization established for this purpose is designed to ensure that the technical measures taken by the authorities responsible for nuclear safety, radiation protection, public order and public safety are fully effective. The Interministerial Nuclear Safety Committee (Comite interministeriel de la securite nucleaire), which reports to the Prime Minister, co-ordinates the measures taken by the public authorities. The public authorities and the operators together organize exercises designed to verify the whole complex of measures foreseen in the event of an incident or accident. These exercises, which have been carried out in a systematic manner in France for some years, are based on scenarios which are as realistic as possible and enable the following objectives to be achieved: (1) analysis of the crisis apparatus (ORSECRAD plans, individual intervention plans, information conventions); (2) uncovering gaps or inadequacies; (3) arrangements for interchange of information between the various participants whose responsibilities involve them in the emergency; and (4) allowance for the information requirements of the media and the population. The information drawn from these exercises enables the various procedures to be improved step by step. (author)

Radioactive contamination incidents involving protective clothing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reichelt, R.; Clay, M.; Eichorst, J.

1996-10-01

The study focuses on incidents at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities involving the migration of radioactive contaminants through protective clothing. The authors analyzed 68 occurrence reports for the following factors: (1) type of work; (2) working conditions; (3) type of anti-contamination (anti-C) material; (4) area of body or clothing contaminated; and (5) nature of spread of contamination. A majority of reports identified strenuous work activities such as maintenance, construction, or decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) projects. The reports also indicated adverse working conditions that included hot and humid or cramped work environments. The type of anti-C clothing most often identified was cotton or water-resistant, disposable clothing. Most of the reports also indicated contaminants migrating through perspiration-soaked areas, typically in the knees and forearms. On the basis of their survey, the authors recommend the use of improved engineering controls and resilient, breathable, waterproof protective clothing for work in hot, humid, or damp areas where the possibility of prolonged contact with contamination cannot be easily avoided or controlled.

Radioactive contamination incidents involving protective clothing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reichelt, R.; Clay, M.; Eichorst, J.

1996-10-01

The study focuses on incidents at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities involving the migration of radioactive contaminants through protective clothing. The authors analyzed 68 occurrence reports for the following factors: (1) type of work; (2) working conditions; (3) type of anti-contamination (anti-C) material; (4) area of body or clothing contaminated; and (5) nature of spread of contamination. A majority of reports identified strenuous work activities such as maintenance, construction, or decontamination and decommissioning (D ampersand D) projects. The reports also indicated adverse working conditions that included hot and humid or cramped work environments. The type of anti-C clothing most often identified was cotton or water-resistant, disposable clothing. Most of the reports also indicated contaminants migrating through perspiration-soaked areas, typically in the knees and forearms. On the basis of their survey, the authors recommend the use of improved engineering controls and resilient, breathable, waterproof protective clothing for work in hot, humid, or damp areas where the possibility of prolonged contact with contamination cannot be easily avoided or controlled

Radioactive contamination incidents involving protective clothing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reichelt, R.A.; Clay, M.E.; Eichorst, A.J.

1998-01-01

The study focuses on incidents at Department of Energy facilities involving the migration of radioactive contaminants through protective clothing. The authors analyzed 68 occurrence reports for the following factors: (1) type of work, (2) working conditions, (3) type of anti-contamination material; (4) area of body or clothing contaminated; and (5) nature of spread of contamination. A majority of reports identified strenuous work activities such as maintenance, construction, or decontamination and decommissioning projects. The reports also indicated adverse working conditions that included hot and humid or cramped work environments. The type of anti-contamination clothing most often identified was cotton or water-resistant disposable clothing. Most of the reports also indicated contaminants migrating through perspiration-soaked areas, typically in the knees and forearms. On the basis of their survey, the authors recommend the use of improved engineering controls and resilient, breathable, waterproof protective clothing for work in hot, humid, or damp areas where the possibility of prolonged contact with contamination cannot be easily avoided or controlled. 1 ref., 6 figs., 1 tab

77 FR 53779 - Reports by Air Carriers on Incidents Involving Animals During Air Transport

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-04

... Involving Animals During Air Transport AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), Department of Transportation... period of an NPRM on the reporting of incidents involving animals during air transport that was published... animal during air transport. The NPRM proposed to: (1) Expand the reporting requirement to U.S. carriers...

An integrated risk communication system for the transport of hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minor, J.W. IV; Abkowitz, M.D.

2004-01-01

This paper describes the development and implementation of the prototype of an an internet-based, risk communication system prototype for the transport of hazardous materials. The system was designed with the objectives of: (1) incorporating functionality and features that are useful for meeting a variety of risk communication needs, and (2) demonstrating a high degree of interaction among system components, enabling customisation to meet the specific transport risk communication needs requirements of the host organisation. To demonstrate 'proof of concept', the system is applied to two scenarios: 1) building knowledge and awareness, focusing on how information can be entered, organised and disseminated to the public and other transport stakeholders, and 2) emergency management, utilising the system for securely managing information in responding to a transport incident involving hazardous materials transport incident. The effectiveness of the system in these applications is subsequently discussed. (author)

Hazardous substances shipping at inland water harbors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benkovic, Z.

2009-01-01

Safety measures and regulations system covering the aspects of fire protection, professional and ecological safety are aimed to create a safe working environment, by detection and remedy of conditions that are potentially hazardous for the well-being of the employees or are leading to certain undesired events. Such unwanted incidents may result in different consequences: operating person's injury, environment pollution or material damage. This study attempts to illustrate the organization of work during hazardous matter loading and unloading at inland water harbors, based on legal provisions and decrees involving safety precautions, and in order to achieve constant enhancement of operating procedure, decreasing thereby the number of work-related injuries and various accidental situations. Fundamental precondition required to prevent possible accidents and to optimize general safety policy is to recognize and control any danger or potential hazard, as well as to be familiar with the legal provisions covering the inland waterway transport of harmful substances.(author)

Ramp-related incidents involving wheeled mobility device users during transit bus boarding/alighting.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Karen L; Bertocci, Gina; Smalley, Craig

2015-05-01

To estimate the prevalence of wheeled mobility device (WhMD) ramp-related incidents while boarding/alighting a public transit bus and to determine whether the frequency of incidents is less when the ramp slope meets the proposed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) maximum allowable limit of ≤9.5°. Observational study. Community public transportation. WhMD users (N=414) accessing a public transit bus equipped with an instrumented ramp. Not applicable. Prevalence of boarding/alighting incidents involving WhMD users and associated ramp slopes; factors affecting incidents. A total of 4.6% (n=35) of WhMD users experienced an incident while boarding/alighting a transit bus. Significantly more incidents occurred during boarding (6.3%, n=26) than during alighting (2.2%, n=9) (Pboard/alight when the ramp slope exceeded the proposed ADA maximum allowable ramp slope was 5.1 (95% confidence interval, 2.9-9.0; P9.5° and ramps deployed to street level are associated with a higher frequency of incidents and provision of assistance. Transit agencies should increase awareness among bus operators of the effect kneeling and deployment location (street/sidewalk) have on the ramp slope. In addition, ramp components and the built environment may contribute to incidents. When prescribing WhMDs, skills training must include ascending/descending ramps at slopes encountered during boarding/alighting to ensure safe and independent access to public transit buses. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Risks to offshore installations in Europe due to natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Necci, Amos; Krausmann, Elisabeth

2017-04-01

Natural hazards, such as storms, earthquakes, or lightning are a major threat to industry. In particular, chemical plants, storage facilities, pipelines, and offshore oil and gas facilities are vulnerable to natural events which can cause hazardous materials releases and thereby endanger workers, the population and the environment. These technological accidents are commonly referred to as Natech accidents. Recent events have increased concerns about safety in the offshore oil and gas sector, and the need for improving knowledge on the matter has become evident. With those premises, we analyzed accidents, near misses and accident precursors at offshore facilities in Europe caused by natural events using both a statistical and a qualitative approach. For this purpose, we screened the World Offshore Accident Database (WOAD) to identify all incidents that featured natural events as causes or aggravating factors. A dataset of 1,085 global Natech events was built for the statistical analysis. Among those, a subset composed of 303 European records was selected. The results of the analysis showed that offshore Natech events in Europe are frequent; they resulted, however, in low consequences. The main threat to offshore facilities resulted from bad weather, such as strong winds and heavy seas. Storms can put intense loads on the structural parts of offshore installations, eventually exceeding design resistance specifications. Several incidents triggered by lightning strikes and earthquakes were also recorded. Substantial differences in terms of vulnerability, damage modality and consequences emerged between fixed and floating offshore structures. The main damage mode for floating structures was the failure of station keeping systems due to the rupture of mooring or anchors, mainly caused by adverse meteorological conditions. Most of the incidents at fixed offshore structures in Europe involved falling loads for both metal jacket and concrete base platforms due to storms. In

Incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials (1993-2005)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The confirmed incidents of illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials between 1993-2005 shows that, 27% involved nuclear materials, 62% radioactive materials,7% involved both nuclear and other radioactive materials while the remainder involved other radioactive and non radioactive materials.Also 80% of nuclear material which was recovered during the same period was not reported as stolen or lost.

78 FR 14877 - Pipeline Safety: Incident and Accident Reports

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-07

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket ID PHMSA-2013-0028] Pipeline Safety: Incident and Accident Reports AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials... PHMSA F 7100.2--Incident Report--Natural and Other Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipeline Systems and...

14 CFR 234.13 - Reports by air carriers on incidents involving animals during air transport.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... involving animals during air transport. 234.13 Section 234.13 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... REPORTS § 234.13 Reports by air carriers on incidents involving animals during air transport. (a) Any air... during air transport provided by the air carrier. (b) The report shall be made in the form and manner set...

Transportation accidents/incidents involving radioactive materials (1971-1991)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cashwell, C.E.; McClure, J.D.

1993-01-01

In 1981, Sandia National Laboratories developed the Radioactive Materials Incident Report (RMIR) database to support its research and development activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The RMIR database contains information on transportation accidents/incidents with radioactive materials that have occurred since 1971. The RMIR classifies a transportation accident/incident in one of six ways: as a transportation accident, a handling accident, a reported incident, missing or stolen, cask weeping, or other. This paper will define these terms and provide detailed examples of each. (J.P.N.)

Hazard perception in traffic. [previously knows as: Hazard perception.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2008-01-01

Hazard perception is an essential part of the driving task. There are clear indications that insufficient skills in perceiving hazards play an important role in the occurrence of crashes, especially those involving novice drivers. Proper hazard perception not only consists of scanning and perceiving

40 CFR 68.67 - Process hazard analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP); (5) Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA); (6) Fault Tree...) The hazards of the process; (2) The identification of any previous incident which had a likely...

Combustible dusts: a serious industrial hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Giby

2007-04-11

After investigating three fatal explosions in manufacturing plants, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has concluded: The explosive hazard of combustible dust is not well known, and helping industry to understand this hazard is a priority. Prompted by these three incidents in North Carolina, Kentucky and Indiana and the need to increase the hazard awareness, CSB is conducting a study to examine the nature and scope of dust explosion risks in industry and to identify initiatives that may be necessary to more effectively prevent combustible dust fires and explosions. Such initiatives may include regulatory action, voluntary consensus standards, or other measures that could be taken by industry, labor, government, and other parties. A critical task of the dust study is analyzing past incidents to determine the severity of the problem within industry. The analysis is focusing on the number of incidents, injuries and fatalities, industrial sectors affected, and regulatory oversight. This paper presents the preliminary findings from CSBs analysis of combustible dust incidents over the past 25 years. This paper has not been approved by the Board and is published for general informational purposes only. Every effort has been made to accurately present the contents of any Board-approved report mentioned in this paper. Any material in the paper that did not originate in a Board-approved report is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent an official finding, conclusion, or position of the Board.

Potential radiation exposure in emergencies involving neutron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marathe, P.K.; Bisht, J.S.; Massand, O.P.; Venkataraman, G.; Nandakumar, A.N.

1996-01-01

Incidents involving neutron sources, particularly in the field of oil well logging, may involve potential hazards by way of source lost above ground, lost under water at a depth or source damaged and spread over an area. While every effort should be made for retrieving a lost source or contain the contamination, there could be occasions when abandonment of the source may be preferable to retrieval. However, the decision to abandon the source needs to be guided primarily by considerations of potential exposure and the cost of retrieval. This report briefly discusses these aspects of such emergencies. 5 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Loss experience from natural phenomena hazards in the Department of Energy (50 years of natural phenomena hazard losses)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, J.R.

1993-01-01

This paper presents a historical prespective on losses due to natural hazard incidents (1943-1993) at Department of Energy (DOE) and predecessor agencies including the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Energy Research and Development Agency (ERDA). This paper also demonstrates how an existing DOE resource can be used to gain valuable insight into injury or property damage incidents. That resource is the Computerized Accident/Incident Reporting System (CAIRS) module of DOE's Safety Performance Measurement System. CAIRS data selected the 1981-1991 DOE injury/illness reports, from all the accident reports of the AEC that cited a natural phenomena hazard as either the direct or indirect cause of the injury/property damage. Specifically, injury or property damage reports were selected for analysis if they had a causal factor link to severe weather or natural phenomena hazard categories. Natural phenomena hazard categories are injury/property damage caused by hurricane/tornado, earthquake, lightning, or flood. Severe weather categories are injury/property damage associated with other than normal weather conditions. The lessons learned, as a result of reviewing case histories, are presented, as are suggestions on how to reduce the likelihood of future injuries/property damage as a result of similar events. A significant finding, is that most injuries and property damage were the result of an indirect causal link to a natural phenomena hazard and thus, may be more preventable than previously thought possible. The primary message, however, is that CAIRS and other incident data bases are valuable resources and should be considered for use by those interested in identifying new ways of protecting the health and safety of the worker and for reducing building losses due to the effects of natural phenomena hazards

Investigation of incidents of terrorism involving commercial aircraft.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, M A; Wagner, G N; Wright, D G; Ruehle, C J; McDonnell, E W

1989-07-01

Deaths resulting from terrorism involving aircraft have occurred incident to hijackings as well as bombings. Passengers or groups of passengers have been chosen by terrorists as the recipients of violence based on citizenship, religion, and political beliefs. They have usually been segregated from other passengers and subsequently mistreated and/or murdered. Thorough documentation of the injuries of victims is essential to the investigation of such atrocities; a medicolegal autopsy correlated with a scene investigation is of paramount importance. Aircraft bombings can create extremely sensitive political situations and public demands for quick resolution. The autopsy of victims in such circumstances, if properly conducted, can yield invaluable trace evidence leading to the identification of the explosive device. The examination of any surviving victims as well as the aircraft is also critical in reconstructing the event. Deaths occurring as the result of in-flight aircraft bombings can produce injuries by five different mechanisms, viz. blast, shrapnel, decompression, impact with the aircraft, and ground impact.

Information Disclosure on Hazards from Industrial Water Pollution Incidents: Latent Resistance and Countermeasures in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhong Tang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available China has suffered frequent water pollution incidents in recent years, and information disclosure on relevant hazards is often delayed and insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to unearth the latent resistance, and analyze the institutional arrangements and countermeasures. After reviewing representative journal literature about environmental information disclosure, this paper provides a theoretical review based on a comparison of the ontological differences between stakeholder theory and fraud triangle theory. A tentative application of fraud triangle theory as a means of explaining the phenomenon is proposed. Empirical analysis is undertaken to verify the tentative theoretical explanation. Based on news reports from Chinese official news websites, content analysis on longitudinal case evidence of representative water pollution incidents is applied, to contribute to unearthing the mechanism of the latent resistance towards information disclosure. The results show that local government agencies have a dominant position vis a vis information disclosure, but that some important actors rarely participate in information disclosure, which provides a chance for local government agencies’ information disclosure to commit fraud. The phenomenon, its essence, and proposed countermeasures are discussed and explained by referring to recent governmental environmental practices in China. Promising research topics are illuminated, providing enlightenment for future study.

Comparison of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology Versus Standard Practice in Identification of Hazards at a Mass Casualty Incident Scenario by Primary Care Paramedic Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Trevor; Sibley, Aaron; Stryhn, Henrik; Hubloue, Ives

2018-01-31

Introduction The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has the potential to change the situational awareness of incident commanders allowing greater scene safety. The aim of this study was to compare UAV technology to standard practice (SP) in hazard identification during a simulated multi-vehicle motor collision (MVC) in terms of time to identification, accuracy and the order of hazard identification. A prospective observational cohort study was conducted with 21 students randomized into UAV or SP group, based on a MVC with 7 hazards. The UAV group remained at the UAV ground station while the SP group approached the scene. After identifying hazards the time and order was recorded. The mean time (SD, range) to identify the hazards were 3 minutes 41 seconds (1 minute 37 seconds, 1 minute 48 seconds-6 minutes 51 seconds) and 2 minutes 43 seconds (55 seconds, 1 minute 43 seconds-4 minutes 38 seconds) in UAV and SP groups corresponding to a mean difference of 58 seconds (P=0.11). A non-parametric permutation test showed a significant (P=0.04) difference in identification order. Both groups had 100% accuracy in hazard identification with no statistical difference in time for hazard identification. A difference was found in the identification order of hazards. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 4).

Transportation incidents involving Canadian shipments of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jardine, J.M.

1979-06-01

This paper gives a brief statement of the legislation governing the transportation of radioactive materials in Canada, reviews the types of shipments made in Canada in 1977, and surveys the transportation incidents that have been reported to the Atomic Energy Control Board over the period 1947-1978. Some of the more significant incidents are described in detail. A totAl of 135 incidents occurred from 1947 to 1978, during which time there were 644750 shipments of radioactive material in Canada

Decontamination and management of human remains following incidents of hazardous chemical release.

Science.gov (United States)

Hauschild, Veronique D; Watson, Annetta; Bock, Robert

2012-01-01

To provide specific guidance and resources for systematic and orderly decontamination of human remains resulting from a chemical terrorist attack or accidental chemical release. A detailed review and health-based decision criteria protocol is summarized. Protocol basis and logic are derived from analyses of compound-specific toxicological data and chemical/physical characteristics. Guidance is suitable for civilian or military settings where human remains potentially contaminated with hazardous chemicals may be present, such as sites of transportation accidents, terrorist operations, or medical examiner processing points. Guidance is developed from data-characterizing controlled experiments with laboratory animals, fabrics, and materiel. Logic and specific procedures for decontamination and management of remains, protection of mortuary affairs personnel, and decision criteria to determine when remains are sufficiently decontaminated are presented. Established procedures as well as existing materiel and available equipment for decontamination and verification provide reasonable means to mitigate chemical hazards from chemically exposed remains. Unique scenarios such as those involving supralethal concentrations of certain liquid chemical warfare agents may prove difficult to decontaminate but can be resolved in a timely manner by application of the characterized systematic approaches. Decision criteria and protocols to "clear" decontaminated remains for transport and processing are also provided. Once appropriate decontamination and verification have been accomplished, normal procedures for management of remains and release can be followed.

The Diffuse Involvement of Bilateral Breasts in the Incidence of Burkitt's Lymphoma: A Case Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Myung Su; Lee, Sa Rah; Yang, Woo Ick; Kim, Eun Kyung; Jung, Hae Kyoung

2009-01-01

The incidence of Burkitt's lymphoma involving both breasts is rare. We report such a case that was diagnosed by a core biopsy of a hypoechoic lesion visualized from the ultrasonographic results of a patient that was clinically suspected of mastitis

Historical analysis of US pipeline accidents triggered by natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Girgin, Serkan; Krausmann, Elisabeth

2015-04-01

Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, or lightning, can initiate accidents in oil and gas pipelines with potentially major consequences on the population or the environment due to toxic releases, fires and explosions. Accidents of this type are also referred to as Natech events. Many major accidents highlight the risk associated with natural-hazard impact on pipelines transporting dangerous substances. For instance, in the USA in 1994, flooding of the San Jacinto River caused the rupture of 8 and the undermining of 29 pipelines by the floodwaters. About 5.5 million litres of petroleum and related products were spilled into the river and ignited. As a results, 547 people were injured and significant environmental damage occurred. Post-incident analysis is a valuable tool for better understanding the causes, dynamics and impacts of pipeline Natech accidents in support of future accident prevention and mitigation. Therefore, data on onshore hazardous-liquid pipeline accidents collected by the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) was analysed. For this purpose, a database-driven incident data analysis system was developed to aid the rapid review and categorization of PHMSA incident reports. Using an automated data-mining process followed by a peer review of the incident records and supported by natural hazard databases and external information sources, the pipeline Natechs were identified. As a by-product of the data-collection process, the database now includes over 800,000 incidents from all causes in industrial and transportation activities, which are automatically classified in the same way as the PHMSA record. This presentation describes the data collection and reviewing steps conducted during the study, provides information on the developed database and data analysis tools, and reports the findings of a statistical analysis of the identified hazardous liquid pipeline incidents in terms of accident dynamics and

Risk factors for hazardous events in olfactory-impaired patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pence, Taylor S; Reiter, Evan R; DiNardo, Laurence J; Costanzo, Richard M

2014-10-01

Normal olfaction provides essential cues to allow early detection and avoidance of potentially hazardous situations. Thus, patients with impaired olfaction may be at increased risk of experiencing certain hazardous events such as cooking or house fires, delayed detection of gas leaks, and exposure to or ingestion of toxic substances. To identify risk factors and potential trends over time in olfactory-related hazardous events in patients with impaired olfactory function. Retrospective cohort study of 1047 patients presenting to a university smell and taste clinic between 1983 and 2013. A total of 704 patients had both clinical olfactory testing and a hazard interview and were studied. On the basis of olfactory function testing results, patients were categorized as normosmic (n = 161), mildly hyposmic (n = 99), moderately hyposmic (n = 93), severely hyposmic (n = 142), and anosmic (n = 209). Patient evaluation including interview, examination, and olfactory testing. Incidence of specific olfaction-related hazardous events (ie, burning pots and/or pans, starting a fire while cooking, inability to detect gas leaks, inability to detect smoke, and ingestion of toxic substances or spoiled foods) by degree of olfactory impairment. The incidence of having experienced any hazardous event progressively increased with degree of impairment: normosmic (18.0%), mildly hyposmic (22.2%), moderately hyposmic (31.2%), severely hyposmic (32.4%), and anosmic (39.2%). Over 3 decades there was no significant change in the overall incidence of hazardous events. Analysis of demographic data (age, sex, race, smoking status, and etiology) revealed significant differences in the incidence of hazardous events based on age (among 397 patients hazardous event, vs 31 of 146 patients ≥65 years [21.3%]; P hazardous event, vs 73 of 265 men [27.6%]; P = .009), and race (among 98 African Americans, 41 [41.8%] with hazardous event, vs 134 of 434 whites [30.9%]; P = .04

Safeguarding Cultural Heritage against Climate Change and Natural Hazards through Stakeholder Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

de Wit, Rosmarie; Zuvela-Aloise, Maja; Hollosi, Brigitta; Anders, Ivonne; Höfler, Angelika; Boi, Silvia; Resta, Vanni; Patrikakis, Charalampos

2017-04-01

Europe's cultural heritage is among the richest in the world, and draws millions of visitors to archeological sites, museums, monuments, castles, and other sites each year. The protection and conservation of European heritage is of utmost importance for our society, not only in order to preserve the European cultural identity, but also because cultural heritage is a wealth creator bringing tourism-related business opportunities on which many communities depend. However, Europe's heritage assets are extremely exposed to climate change and natural hazards, which threatens their integrity and may compromise their value. The goal of the STORM (Safeguarding Cultural Heritage through Technical and Organisational Management) project is to provide critical decision-making tools to European cultural heritage stakeholders affected by climate change and natural hazards. Here, the STORM project will be presented with a focus on climate change and natural hazard risk communication to the involved stakeholders. However, climate change communication is not a one-way process, and discussions with stakeholders are necessary to identify their specific needs. Hence, the STORM concept is tested through pilot site studies in five different countries: the Diocletian Baths in Rome, Italy; the Mellor Heritage site, Manchester, UK; the Roman Ruins of Tróia, Portugal; the Historical Centre of Rethymno on Crete, Greece and Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey. Furthermore, the past and future climatic conditions at the project's pilot sites are analysed in terms of mean state and extreme events (for example temperature and precipitation changes evident from observations and climate scenarios), which will be discussed with regard to their relevance for the local cultural heritage protection based on discussions with the stakeholders.

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)

Control systems, personnel policies and management initiatives to limit pollution incidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, B.F.

1991-01-01

After the regulatory requirements are met, an important collateral step in the continuing Hazardous Waste/Environmental Management cycle of activities is to minimize the possibility of a pollution incident, spill, contamination, mislabeling, mishandling or exposure, since this minimizes a major contingent liability of the company. Human failure accounts for 88% of accidents, 10% occur from mechanical failure and only 2% are unpreventable force majeure. This implies that fully 98% of all accidents can be prevented or minimized. Good engineering, production, management and educational practices can be formulated to minimize the occurrence and effects of accidental pollution incidents. Hazardous Material/Environmental Management tends to focus on technical and regulatory objectives, a reactionary mode caused in part by the rapidly changing regulatory environment and the need to continually adapt to these changes. Management functions such as personnel management and situational management get shortchanged in research and in practice. What is needed is a system that incorporates change readily, adapts personnel to change easily and mobilizes all the human resources of a company in meeting environmental and regulatory goals in the same way other goals of the company are met. Feedback Loop/Control System concepts have been applied to management practice in the popular Management By Objectives School as well as other schools of management practice. An Environmental Management program is proposed which incorporates feedback loop/ control systems to facilitate operations and training objectives and requirements. By incorporating Environmental and Hazardous Waste goals with other management goals in a system involving all levels of management and workers on the same team, the proposed system will reduce the probability of accidental pollution incidents and thus the contingent liability of a spill or other incident

Acute Chemical Incidents With Injured First Responders, 2002-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Melnikova, Natalia; Wu, Jennifer; Yang, Alice; Orr, Maureen

2018-04-01

IntroductionFirst responders, including firefighters, police officers, emergency medical services, and company emergency response team members, have dangerous jobs that can bring them in contact with hazardous chemicals among other dangers. Limited information is available on responder injuries that occur during hazardous chemical incidents. We analyzed 2002-2012 data on acute chemical incidents with injured responders from 2 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry chemical incident surveillance programs. To learn more about such injuries, we performed descriptive analysis and looked for trends. The percentage of responders among all injured people in chemical incidents has not changed over the years. Firefighters were the most frequently injured group of responders, followed by police officers. Respiratory system problems were the most often reported injury, and the respiratory irritants, ammonia, methamphetamine-related chemicals, and carbon monoxide were the chemicals more often associated with injuries. Most of the incidents with responder injuries were caused by human error or equipment failure. Firefighters wore personal protective equipment (PPE) most frequently and police officers did so rarely. Police officers' injuries were mostly associated with exposure to ammonia and methamphetamine-related chemicals. Most responders did not receive basic awareness-level hazardous material training. All responders should have at least basic awareness-level hazardous material training to recognize and avoid exposure. Research on improving firefighter PPE should continue. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:211-221).

Technical handbook on the National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity. NAIR technical handbook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McColl, N.P.; Kruse, P.

2002-01-01

This Technical Handbook contains information for radiation specialists participating in the National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity (NAIR). Together with the NAIR Users Handbook 2000 edition, it updates and replaces the NAIR Handbook published in 1995. The Users Handbook was designed for those who might seek assistance through NAIR, principally the police or other emergency services. Both Handbooks are reproduced on the NRPB website (www.nrpb.org) and are available from NRPB

Identification and assessment of hazardous compounds in drinking water.

Science.gov (United States)

Fawell, J K; Fielding, M

1985-12-01

The identification of organic chemicals in drinking water and their assessment in terms of potential hazardous effects are two very different but closely associated tasks. In relation to both continuous low-level background contamination and specific, often high-level, contamination due to pollution incidents, the identification of contaminants is a pre-requisite to evaluation of significant hazards. Even in the case of the rapidly developing short-term bio-assays which are applied to water to indicate a potential genotoxic hazard (for example Ames tests), identification of the active chemicals is becoming a major factor in the further assessment of the response. Techniques for the identification of low concentrations of organic chemicals in drinking water have developed remarkably since the early 1970s and methods based upon gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) have revolutionised qualitative analysis of water. Such techniques are limited to "volatile" chemicals and these usually constitute a small fraction of the total organic material in water. However, in recent years there have been promising developments in techniques for "non-volatile" chemicals in water. Such techniques include combined high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and a variety of MS methods, involving, for example, field desorption, fast atom bombardment and thermospray ionisation techniques. In the paper identification techniques in general are reviewed and likely future developments outlined. The assessment of hazards associated with chemicals identified in drinking and related waters usually centres upon toxicology - an applied science which involves numerous disciplines. The paper examines the toxicological information needed, the quality and deployment of such information and discusses future research needs. Application of short-term bio-assays to drinking water is a developing area and one which is closely involved with, and to some extent dependent on

Memory Binding Test Predicts Incident Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mowrey, Wenzhu B; Lipton, Richard B; Katz, Mindy J; Ramratan, Wendy S; Loewenstein, David A; Zimmerman, Molly E; Buschke, Herman

2016-07-14

The Memory Binding Test (MBT), previously known as Memory Capacity Test, has demonstrated discriminative validity for distinguishing persons with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and dementia from cognitively normal elderly. We aimed to assess the predictive validity of the MBT for incident aMCI. In a longitudinal, community-based study of adults aged 70+, we administered the MBT to 246 cognitively normal elderly adults at baseline and followed them annually. Based on previous work, a subtle reduction in memory binding at baseline was defined by a Total Items in the Paired (TIP) condition score of ≤22 on the MBT. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the predictive validity of the MBT for incident aMCI accounting for the effects of covariates. The hazard ratio of incident aMCI was also assessed for different prediction time windows ranging from 4 to 7 years of follow-up, separately. Among 246 controls who were cognitively normal at baseline, 48 developed incident aMCI during follow-up. A baseline MBT reduction was associated with an increased risk for developing incident aMCI (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.44, 95% confidence interval: 1.30-4.56, p = 0.005). When varying the prediction window from 4-7 years, the MBT reduction remained significant for predicting incident aMCI (HR range: 2.33-3.12, p: 0.0007-0.04). Persons with poor performance on the MBT are at significantly greater risk for developing incident aMCI. High hazard ratios up to seven years of follow-up suggest that the MBT is sensitive to early disease.

Hazards associated with stage one-mining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

Radiation hazards in uranium mining arise from the presence of radon-222, a gas which can escape from exposed rock surfaces into the air. Radon daughter products have been associated with an increased incidence of respiratory lung cancer. Other hazards include the tailings which arise from the extraction of uranium ores. The tailings still contain most of the original radium and emit gamma rays and radon gas. The hazards associated with uranium enrichment and fuel manufacture are also discussed. (R.L.)

How to Report a Pesticide Incident Involving Exposures to People

Science.gov (United States)

Pesticides incidents must be reported by pesticide registrants. Others, such as members of the public and environmental professionals, would like to report pesticide incidents. This website will facilitate such incident reporting.

Experience in the analysis of accidents and incidents involving the transport of radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner-Jones, S.M.; Hughes, J.S.; Shaw, K.B.

2002-01-01

Some half a million packages containing radioactive materials are transported to, from and within the UK annually. Accidents and incidents involving these shipments are rare. However, there is always the potential for such an event, which could lead to a release of the contents of a package or an increase in radiation level caused by damaged shielding. These events could result in radiological consequences for transport workers. As transport occurs in the public environment, such events could also lead to radiation exposures of members of the public. The UK Department for Transport (DfT), together with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have supported, for almost 20 years, work to compile, analyse and report on accidents and incidents that occur during the transport of radioactive materials. Annual reports on these events have been produced for twelve years. The details of these events are recorded in the Radioactive Materials Transport Event Database (RAMTED) maintained by the National Radiological Protection Board on behalf of the DfT and HSE. Information on accidents and incidents dates back to 1958. RAMTED currently includes information of 708 accidents and incidents, covering the period 1958 to 2000. This paper presents a summary of the data covering this period, identifying trends and lessons learned together with a discussion of some examples. It was found that, historically, the most significant exposures were received as a result of accidents involving the transport of industrial radiography sources. However, the frequency and severity of these events has decreased considerably in the later years of this study due to improvements in training, awareness and equipment. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Energy Agency, have established the international nuclear event scale (INES), which is described in detail in a users' guide. The INES has been revised to fully include transport events, and the information in RAMTED has been reviewed

Surf, sand, scrapes and stings: First aid incidents involving children at New Zealand beaches, 2007–2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Kevin; Webber, Jonathon

2014-03-01

Aims: In spite of the popularity of beaches for family recreation, little is known about childhood injuries sustained at beaches. It is the purpose of this study to analyse data from incidents necessitating first aid treatment from reports compiled by surf lifeguards on New Zealand beaches.Method: A retrospective analysis of first aid incidents involving children (safety via greater care giver awareness, the use of protective clothing and footwear, and child safety promotion via health professionals and safety organisations are discussed.

The functional dependence of the total hazard from an air pollution incidence on the environmental parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skibin, D.

1980-01-01

A general case of release to the atmosphere of a pollutant is considered. In hazards evaluation the processes involved are usually estimated conservatively so as to maximize the computed doses. The present work helps to identify the worst cases. In addition, a model of the total dose is presented and its variations are studied as a function of wind speed, deposition velocity and source height. The value of each parameter giving the highest total dose as a function of the model's parameters is determined. (H.K.)

Acupuncture Therapy and Incidence of Depression After Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Chung-Yen; Huang, Hsin-Chia; Chang, Hen-Hong; Yang, Tsung-Hsien; Chang, Chee-Jen; Chang, Su-Wei; Chen, Pei-Chun

2017-06-01

We investigated whether use of acupuncture within a 3-month poststroke period after hospital discharge is associated with reduced risk of depression. This cohort study included 16 046 patients aged ≥18 years with an initial hospitalization for stroke during 2000 and 2012 in the claims database of a universal health insurance program. Patients who had received acupuncture therapies within 3 months of discharge were defined as acupuncture users (n=1714). All patients were followed up for incidence of depression until the end of 2013. We assessed the association between use of acupuncture and incidence of depression using Cox proportional hazards models in all subjects and in propensity score-matched samples consisting of 1714 pairs of users and nonusers. During the follow-up period, the incidence of depression per 1000 person-years was 11.1 and 9.7 in users and nonusers, respectively. Neither multivariable-adjusted Cox models (hazard ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-1.29) nor the propensity score-matching model (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.79-1.42) revealed an association between use of acupuncture and incidence of depression. In patients admitted to hospital for stroke, acupuncture therapy within 3 months after discharge was not associated with subsequent incidence of depression. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Onshore preparedness for hazardous chemical marine vessel accidents: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faisel T. Illiyas

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS are widely transported in marine vessels to reach every part of the world. Bulk transportation of hazardous chemicals is carried out in tank container–carrying cargo ships or in designed vessels. Ensuring the safety of HNS containers during maritime transportation is critically important as the accidental release of any substance may be lethal to the on-board crew and marine environment. A general assumption in maritime accidents in open ocean is that it will not create any danger to the coastal population. The case study discussed in this article throws light on the dangers latent in maritime HNS accidents. An accident involving an HNS-carrying marine vessel in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Yemen became a safety issue to the coastal people of Kasargod District of Kerala, India. The ship carried more than 4000 containers, which were lost to the sea in the accident. Six HNS tank containers were carried by the waves and shored at the populated coast of Kasargod, more than 650 nautical miles east from the accident spot. The unanticipated sighting of tank containers in the coast and the response of the administration to the incident, the hurdles faced by the district administration in handling the case, the need for engaging national agencies and lessons learned from the incident are discussed in the article. This case study has proven that accidents in the open ocean have the potential to put the coastal areas at risk if the on-board cargo contains hazardous chemicals. Littoral nations, especially those close to the international waterlines, must include hazardous chemical spills to their oil spill contingency plans.

49 CFR 171.16 - Detailed hazardous materials incident reports.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... containing any hazardous material suffers structural damage to the lading retention system or damage that..., explosion or dangerous evolution of heat (i.e., an amount of heat sufficient to be dangerous to packaging or personal safety to include charring of packaging, melting of packaging, scorching of packaging, or other...

Analysis on tank truck accidents involved in road hazardous materials transportation in china.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Xiaoyan; Yan, Ying; Li, Xiaonan; Xie, Chenjiang; Wang, Lihua

2014-01-01

Due to the sheer size and capacity of the tanker and the properties of cargo transported in the tank, hazmat tanker accidents are more disastrous than other types of vehicle accidents. The aim of this study was to provide a current survey on the situation of accidents involving tankers transporting hazardous materials in China. Detailed descriptions of 708 tanker accidents associated with hazmat transportation in China from 2004 to 2011 were analyzed to identify causes, location, types, time of occurrence, hazard class for materials involved, consequences, and the corresponding probability. Hazmat tanker accidents mainly occurred in eastern (38.1%) and southwest China (12.3%). The most frequent hazmat tanker accidents involved classes 2, 3, and 8. The predominant accident types were rollover (29.10%), run-off-the-road (16.67%), and rear-end collisions (13.28%), with a high likelihood of a large spill occurring. About 55.93% of the accidents occurred on freeways and class 1 roads, with the spill percentage reaching 75.00% and the proportion of spills that occurred in the total accidents amounting to 77.82%, of which 61.72% are considered large spills. The month with the highest accident probability was July (12.29%), and most crashes occurred during the early morning (4:00-6:00 a.m.) and midday (10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.) hours, 19.63% versus 16.10%. Human-related errors (73.8%) and vehicle-related defects (19.6%) were the primary reasons for hazmat tanker crashes. The most common outcomes of a hazmat tanker accident was a spill without further events (55.51%), followed by a release with fire (7.77%), and release with an explosion (2.54%). The safety situation of China's hazmat tanker transportation is grim. Such accidents not only have high spill percentages and consistently large spills but they can also cause serious consequences, such as fires and explosions. Improving the training of drivers and the quality of vehicles, deploying roll stability aids, enhancing

Ammonium nitrate explosion hazards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Negovanović Milanka

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ammonium nitrate (AN primarily is used as a fertilizer but it is also very important compound in the production of industrial explosives. The application of ammonium nitrate in the production of industrial explosives was related with the early era of Nobel dynamite and widely increased with the appearance of blasting agents such as ANFO and Slurry, in the middle of the last Century. Throughout the world millions of tons of ammonium nitrate are produced annually and handled without incident. Although ammonium nitrate generally is used safely, accidental explosions involving AN have high impact resulting in loss of lives and destruction of property. The paper presents the basic properties of ammonium nitrate as well as hazards in handling of ammonium nitrate in order to prevent accidents. Several accidents with explosions of ammonium nitrate resulted in catastrophic consequences are listed in the paper as examples of non-compliance with prescribed procedures.

Depression and incident dementia. An 8-year population-based prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Luppa, Melanie; Luck, Tobias; Ritschel, Franziska; Angermeyer, Matthias C; Villringer, Arno; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of depression (categorical diagnosis; major depression, MD) and depressive symptoms (dimensional diagnosis and symptom patterns) on incident dementia in the German general population. Within the Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (LEILA 75+), a representative sample of 1,265 individuals aged 75 years and older were interviewed every 1.5 years over 8 years (mean observation time 4.3 years; mean number of visits 4.2). Cox proportional hazards and binary logistic regressions were used to estimate the effect of baseline depression and depressive symptoms on incident dementia. The incidence of dementia was 48 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI) 45-51). Depressive symptoms (Hazard ratio HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05), and in particular mood-related symptoms (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.14), showed a significant impact on the incidence of dementia only in univariate analysis, but not after adjustment for cognitive and functional impairment. MD showed only a significant impact on incidence of dementia in Cox proportional hazards regression, but not in binary logistic regression models. The present study using different diagnostic measures of depression on future dementia found no clear significant associations of depression and incident dementia. Further in-depth investigation would help to understand the nature of depression in the context of incident dementia.

A new approach to hazardous materials transportation risk analysis: decision modeling to identify critical variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Renee M; Besterfield-Sacre, Mary E

2009-03-01

We take a novel approach to analyzing hazardous materials transportation risk in this research. Previous studies analyzed this risk from an operations research (OR) or quantitative risk assessment (QRA) perspective by minimizing or calculating risk along a transport route. Further, even though the majority of incidents occur when containers are unloaded, the research has not focused on transportation-related activities, including container loading and unloading. In this work, we developed a decision model of a hazardous materials release during unloading using actual data and an exploratory data modeling approach. Previous studies have had a theoretical perspective in terms of identifying and advancing the key variables related to this risk, and there has not been a focus on probability and statistics-based approaches for doing this. Our decision model empirically identifies the critical variables using an exploratory methodology for a large, highly categorical database involving latent class analysis (LCA), loglinear modeling, and Bayesian networking. Our model identified the most influential variables and countermeasures for two consequences of a hazmat incident, dollar loss and release quantity, and is one of the first models to do this. The most influential variables were found to be related to the failure of the container. In addition to analyzing hazmat risk, our methodology can be used to develop data-driven models for strategic decision making in other domains involving risk.

Welding hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.A.

1992-01-01

Welding technology is advancing rapidly in the developed countries and has converted into a science. Welding involving the use of electricity include resistance welding. Welding shops are opened in residential area, which was causing safety hazards, particularly the teenagers and children who eagerly see the welding arc with their naked eyes. There are radiation hazards from ultra violet rays which irritate the skin, eye irritation. Welding arc light of such intensity could damage the eyes. (Orig./A.B.)

Hydrothermal Liquefaction Treatment Hazard Analysis Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowry, Peter P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wagner, Katie A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-09-12

Hazard analyses were performed to evaluate the modular hydrothermal liquefaction treatment system. The hazard assessment process was performed in 2 stages. An initial assessment utilizing Hazard Identification and Preliminary Hazards Analysis (PHA) techniques identified areas with significant or unique hazards (process safety-related hazards) that fall outside of the normal operating envelope of PNNL and warranted additional analysis. The subsequent assessment was based on a qualitative What-If analysis. The analysis was augmented, as necessary, by additional quantitative analysis for scenarios involving a release of hazardous material or energy with the potential for affecting the public. The following selected hazardous scenarios received increased attention: •Scenarios involving a release of hazardous material or energy, controls were identified in the What-If analysis table that prevent the occurrence or mitigate the effects of the release. •Scenarios with significant consequences that could impact personnel outside the immediate operations area, quantitative analyses were performed to determine the potential magnitude of the scenario. The set of “critical controls” were identified for these scenarios (see Section 4) which prevent the occurrence or mitigate the effects of the release of events with significant consequences.

Study on exposures in incidents situations involving X-ray generators of industrial use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rios, Paulo B.; Rios, Denise A. da S.

2014-01-01

Case studies of accidents involving radiation sources provides valuable information for the improvement of equipment and procedures to be adopted to prevent their recurrence. Therefore, they are recommended as part of the licensing process of radiative facilities. However, when the equipment has no radiological protection requirements or have no record of accidents, an effective method to appropriate this knowledge necessary to improvements of process and project is the investigation of reported incidents and the proposition limit situations where exposures unlikely and even low intensity can occur. This work reviews incidents in X-ray equipment and thickness meters. Emergency situations are also studied in this type of equipment and in an accelerator of electrons self-shielded for curing of paints and varnishes. The exposure estimates are calculated from data collected in workplaces on the distance and time for each proposed case. Although there is no severe consequences to occupational health, the results can be used to improve the quality of training for operators and maintenance technicians, for proposing of new alarm systems and emergency teams procedures and may serve as a warning in inadvertent and avoidable situations of unnecessary exposures

Hazard management at the workplace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasfazilah Hassan; Azimawati Ahmad; Syed Asraf Fahlawi Wafa S M Ghazi; Hairul Nizam Idris

2005-01-01

Failure to ensure health and safety environment at workplace will cause an accident involving loss to the time, human resource, finance and for the worse case effect the moral value of an organization. If we go through to the cause of the accident, it is impossible to have a totally safety workplace. It is because every process in work activities has it own hazard elements. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the best action to prevent from the hazard with a comprehensive and effectiveness hazard management. Hazard management is the one of the pro-active hazard control. With this we manage to identify and evaluate the hazard and control the hazard risk. Therefore, hazard management should be screened constantly and continuously to make sure work hazard always in control. (Author)

Transportation of Hazardous Evidentiary Material.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osborn, Douglas.

2005-06-01

This document describes the specimen and transportation containers currently available for use with hazardous and infectious materials. A detailed comparison of advantages, disadvantages, and costs of the different technologies is included. Short- and long-term recommendations are also provided.3 DraftDraftDraftExecutive SummaryThe Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hazardous Materials Response Unit currently has hazardous material transport containers for shipping 1-quart paint cans and small amounts of contaminated forensic evidence, but the containers may not be able to maintain their integrity under accident conditions or for some types of hazardous materials. This report provides guidance and recommendations on the availability of packages for the safe and secure transport of evidence consisting of or contaminated with hazardous chemicals or infectious materials. Only non-bulk containers were considered because these are appropriate for transport on small aircraft. This report will addresses packaging and transportation concerns for Hazardous Classes 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 materials. If the evidence is known or suspected of belonging to one of these Hazardous Classes, it must be packaged in accordance with the provisions of 49 CFR Part 173. The anthrax scare of several years ago, and less well publicized incidents involving unknown and uncharacterized substances, has required that suspicious substances be sent to appropriate analytical laboratories for analysis and characterization. Transportation of potentially hazardous or infectious material to an appropriate analytical laboratory requires transport containers that maintain both the biological and chemical integrity of the substance in question. As a rule, only relatively small quantities will be available for analysis. Appropriate transportation packaging is needed that will maintain the integrity of the substance, will not allow biological alteration, will not react chemically with the substance being

Differences in incidence of suicide attempts between bipolar I and II disorders and major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Holma, K Mikael; Haukka, Jari; Suominen, Kirsi; Valtonen, Hanna M; Mantere, Outi; Melartin, Tarja K; Sokero, T Petteri; Oquendo, Maria A; Isometsä, Erkki T

2014-09-01

Whether risk of suicide attempts (SAs) differs between patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) is unclear. We investigated whether cumulative risk differences are due to dissimilarities in time spent in high-risk states, incidence per unit time in high-risk states, or both. Incidence rates for SAs during various illness phases, based on prospective life charts, were compared between patients from the Jorvi Bipolar Study (n = 176; 18 months) and the Vantaa Depression Study (n = 249; five years). Risk factors and their interactions with diagnosis were investigated with Cox proportional hazards models. By 18 months, 19.9% of patients with BD versus 9.5% of patients with MDD had attempted suicide. However, patients with BD spent 4.6% of the time in mixed episodes, and more time in major depressive episodes (MDEs) (35% versus 21%, respectively) and in subthreshold depression (39% versus 31%, respectively) than those with MDD. Compared with full remission, the combined incidence rates of SAs were 5-, 25-, and 65-fold in subthreshold depression, MDEs, and BD mixed states, respectively. Between cohorts, incidence of attempts was not different during comparable symptom states. In Cox models, hazard was elevated during MDEs and subthreshold depression, and among patients with preceding SAs, female patients, those with poor social support, and those aged < 40 years, but was unrelated to BD diagnosis. The observed higher cumulative incidence of SAs among patients with BD than among those with MDD is mostly due to patients with BD spending more time in high-risk illness phases, not to differences in incidence during these phases, or to bipolarity itself. BD mixed phases contribute to differences involving very high incidence, but short duration. Diminishing the time spent in high-risk phases is crucial for prevention. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

HASCAL -- A system for estimating contamination and doses from incidents at worldwide nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjoreen, A.L.

1995-01-01

The Hazard Assessment System for Consequence Analysis (HASCAL) is being developed to support the analysis of radiological incidents anywhere in the world for the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA). HASCAL is a component of the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC), which is a comprehensive nuclear, biological, and chemical hazard effects planning and forecasting modeling system that is being developed by DNA. HASCAL computes best-guess estimates of the consequences of radiological incidents. HASCAL estimates the amount of radioactivity released, its atmospheric transport and deposition, and the resulting radiological doses

Radiation incidents in dentistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovelock, D.J.

1996-01-01

Most dental practitioners act as their own radiographer and radiologist, unlike their medical colleagues. Virtually all dental surgeons have a dental X-ray machine for intraoral radiography available to them and 40% of dental practices have equipment for dental panoramic tomography. Because of the low energy of X-ray equipment used in dentistry, radiation incidents tend to be less serious than those associated with other aspects of patient care. Details of 47 known incidents are given. The advent of the 1985 and 1988 Ionising Radiation Regulations has made dental surgeons more aware of the hazards of radiation. These regulations, and general health and safety legislation, have led to a few dental surgeons facing legal action. Because of the publicity associated with these court cases, it is expected that there will be a decrease in radiation incidents arising from the practice of dentistry. (author)

Incident involving radioactive material in steel scrap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drabova, D.; Matzner, J.; Prouza, Z.

1998-01-01

In early March of 1996, a wagon with steel scrap heading from the Czech Republic to Italy was returned as a strongly contaminated material. Based on the integral dose (dose rate 650 mGy/h in front of the wagon) and spectrometric measurement and evaluation, it was concluded that an unshielded cobalt-60 source (1.6 TBq) was present. The history of the event (notification, assessment, intervention planning, intervention) is highlighted and the lesson learned from the incident is discussed. (P.A.)

The incidence of parametrial tumor involvement in select patients with early cervix cancer is too low to justify parametrectomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stegeman, M.; Louwen, M.; van der Velden, J.; ten Kate, F. J. W.; den Bakker, M. A.; Burger, C. W.; Ansink, A. C.

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of parametrial involvement in a select group of patients with early cervical cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with cervical cancer and a maximum tumor diameter of 2 cm, infiltration depth <10 mm and negative pelvic lymph nodes

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

Analysis of Aviation Safety Reporting System Incident Data Associated with the Technical Challenges of the Atmospheric Environment Safety Technology Project

Science.gov (United States)

Withrow, Colleen A.; Reveley, Mary S.

2014-01-01

This study analyzed aircraft incidents in the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) that apply to two of the three technical challenges (TCs) in NASA's Aviation Safety Program's Atmospheric Environment Safety Technology Project. The aircraft incidents are related to airframe icing and atmospheric hazards TCs. The study reviewed incidents that listed their primary problem as weather or environment-nonweather between 1994 and 2011 for aircraft defined by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Parts 121, 135, and 91. The study investigated the phases of flight, a variety of anomalies, flight conditions, and incidents by FAR part, along with other categories. The first part of the analysis focused on airframe-icing-related incidents and found 275 incidents out of 3526 weather-related incidents over the 18-yr period. The second portion of the study focused on atmospheric hazards and found 4647 incidents over the same time period. Atmospheric hazards-related incidents included a range of conditions from clear air turbulence and wake vortex, to controlled flight toward terrain, ground encounters, and incursions.

Incidence of sexually transmitted infections during pregnancy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chloe A Teasdale

Full Text Available Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI is high among pregnant women in certain settings. We estimated STI incidence and compared STI risk in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Data came from the Methods for Improving Reproductive Health in Africa (MIRA study conducted in South Africa and Zimbabwe 2003-2006. Women aged 18-50 years with at least one follow-up visit within 6 months of enrollment were included. Follow-up visits included laboratory testing for pregnancy, chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and HIV, as well as self-report of hormonal contraceptive (HC use, sexual behaviors and intravaginal practices. All visits were classified according to pregnancy status. Incidence of each STI was calculated using follow-up time. Cox proportional hazards models were fitted using pregnancy as a time-varying exposure and sexual behaviors and intravaginal practices as time-varying covariates. Among 4,549 women, 766 (16.8% had a positive pregnancy test. Median follow-up time was 18 months [IQR: 12-24]. The overall incidence rate of chlamydia was 6.7 per 100 person years (py and 9.9/100py during pregnancy; gonorrhea incidence was 2.7/100py and 4.9/100py during pregnancy; trichomoniasis incidence was 7.1/100py overall and 9.2/100py during pregnancy. Overall HIV incidence was 3.9/100py and 3.8/100py during pregnancy. In crude models, pregnancy increased risk for chlamydia (hazard ratio (HR 1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-1.2, however there was no increased risk of any measured STI in adjusted models. STI Incidence was high during pregnancy however pregnancy did not increase STI risk after adjustment for sexual behaviors. Greater efforts are needed to help pregnant women avoid STIs.

Incidence of silicosis among ceramic workers in central Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavariani, F; Di Pietro, A; Miceli, M; Forastiere, F; Biggeri, A; Scavalli, P; Petti, A; Borgia, P

1995-01-01

The incidence of radiological silicosis was studied among 2480 male workers employed in the ceramics industry. The subjects entered the surveillance program during 1974-1987 and were followed through 1991 with annual chest radiographs. The cumulative risk of silicosis (1/1 or greater; p,q,r) reached 48% (95% confidence interval 41.5-54.9) after 30 years of employment. In a multivariate Cox's proportional hazards model, the effect of duration of exposure increased linearly up to the category of 25-29 years; an extremely high hazard risk of 14.6 was found among those with 30 years or more of exposure in comparison with those employed 10 years or less. Smoking habit also significantly contributed to the model, although its role in the biological process is unclear. In conclusion, exposure to silica dust has been associated with a high incidence of silicosis among ceramics workers. The risk estimates are consistent with the recent findings of silicosis incidence among South African gold miners.

Barrow hazards survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-06-01

Following a series of public meetings at which PERG presented the results of a literature review and site specific accident study of the hazards of the maritime transport of spent nuclear reactor fuel to Barrow (en route to the Windscale reprocessing works), PERG was requested by the Planning Committee of Barrow Town Council to prepare an assessment of the interaction of the hazards arising from the concentration of nuclear activities in the area with those of a proposed gas-terminal. This report presents a preliminary review of the Environmental Impact Assessments prepared by the Borough Surveyor and a critical appraisal of the hazard analyses undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive, and the consultants to Cumbria County Council on this matter, the Safety and Reliability Directorate of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. After a general and historical introduction, the document continues under the following headings: a description of the hazards (BNFL spent fuel shipments; the gas terminal; gas condensate storage; the Vickers shipyard (involving nuclear powered submarines)); the interaction of hazards; planning implications and democratic decisions; recommendations. (U.K.)

Pigmentation Traits, Sun Exposure, and Risk of Incident Vitiligo in Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlap, Rachel; Wu, Shaowei; Wilmer, Erin; Cho, Eunyoung; Li, Wen-Qing; Lajevardi, Newsha; Qureshi, Abrar

2017-06-01

Vitiligo is the most common cutaneous depigmentation disorder worldwide, yet little is known about specific risk factors for disease development. Using data from the Nurses' Health Study, a prospective cohort study of 51,337 white women, we examined the associations between (i) pigmentary traits and (ii) reactions to sun exposure and risk of incident vitiligo. Nurses' Health Study participants responded to a question about clinician-diagnosed vitiligo and year of diagnosis (2001 or before, 2002-2005, 2006-2009, 2010-2011, or 2012+). We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of incident vitiligo associated with exposures variables, adjusting for potential confounders. We documented 271 cases of incident vitiligo over 835,594 person-years. Vitiligo risk was higher in women who had at least one mole larger than 3 mm in diameter on their left arms (hazard ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval = 1.02-1.83). Additionally, vitiligo risk was higher among women with better tanning ability (hazard ratio = 2.59, 95% confidence interval = 1.21-5.54) and in women who experienced at least one blistering sunburn (hazard ratio = 2.17, 95% confidence interval = 1.15-4.10). In this study, upper extremity moles, a higher ability to achieve a tan, and history of a blistering sunburn were associated with a higher risk of developing vitiligo in a population of white women. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrothermal Liquefaction Treatment Preliminary Hazard Analysis Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowry, Peter P.; Wagner, Katie A.

2015-08-31

A preliminary hazard assessment was completed during February 2015 to evaluate the conceptual design of the modular hydrothermal liquefaction treatment system. The hazard assessment was performed in 2 stages. An initial assessment utilizing Hazard Identification and Preliminary Hazards Analysis (PHA) techniques identified areas with significant or unique hazards (process safety-related hazards) that fall outside of the normal operating envelope of PNNL and warranted additional analysis. The subsequent assessment was based on a qualitative What-If analysis. This analysis was augmented, as necessary, by additional quantitative analysis for scenarios involving a release of hazardous material or energy with the potential for affecting the public.

Periodontal Disease, Regular Dental Care Use, and Incident Ischemic Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Souvik; Giamberardino, Lauren D; Moss, Kevin; Morelli, Thiago; Rosamond, Wayne D; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Beck, James; Offenbacher, Steven

2018-02-01

Periodontal disease is independently associated with cardiovascular disease. Identification of periodontal disease as a risk factor for incident ischemic stroke raises the possibility that regular dental care utilization may reduce the stroke risk. In the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study, pattern of dental visits were classified as regular or episodic dental care users. In the ancillary dental ARIC study, selected subjects from ARIC underwent fullmouth periodontal measurements collected at 6 sites per tooth and classified into 7 periodontal profile classes (PPCs). In the ARIC study 10 362 stroke-free participants, 584 participants had incident ischemic strokes over a 15-year period. In the dental ARIC study, 6736 dentate subjects were assessed for periodontal disease status using PPC with a total of 299 incident ischemic strokes over the 15-year period. The 7 levels of PPC showed a trend toward an increased stroke risk (χ 2 trend P periodontal disease). Periodontal disease was significantly associated with cardioembolic (hazard ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-5.6) and thrombotic (hazard ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.8) stroke subtypes. Regular dental care utilization was associated with lower adjusted stroke risk (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.94). We confirm an independent association between periodontal disease and incident stroke risk, particularly cardioembolic and thrombotic stroke subtype. Further, we report that regular dental care utilization may lower this risk for stroke. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

Contents of management plans for incidents and accidents involving the transport of radioactive substances. Guide no. 17, Version of 22/12/2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

This guide presents the essential topics to be developed in a management plan for incidents and accidents involving the transport of radioactive substances for civil use. It does not aim to be exhaustive and could be added to by each party involved in the transport, who can make the necessary adaptations and additions, taking account of the particularities of its shipments and its organisation, as well as those of the company or group to which it belongs. The radioactive substances transport incident and accident management plan is a document comprising a descriptive part and an operational part. It presents the overall response of the party involved in the transport operation to an incident or accident situation concerning one of its shipments and the steps it intends to make in order to support the authorities in charge of this situation, in the best possible conditions. This response is designed to cover the cases of incidents or accidents whether or not they lead to a radiological emergency situation. The guide exclusively concerns: - road transport; - rail transport; - the 'road' and 'rail' parts of multimodal transport operations. The case of an incident or an accident occurring during a particular stop such as a transit site, in a transhipment area (port, airport, railway station, etc.), or in a transport infrastructure, is also covered by the radioactive substances transport incident and accident management plan, which then supports the entities in charge of managing this situation (operator of the transhipment area or the transport infrastructure and - as applicable - their supervisory authorities). The level of risk associated with transport incidents and accidents varies widely, according to the nature and quantities of the materials being carried, the number of shipments made and the package model used. The incident and accident management plan must therefore be tailored to the specific nature of the shipments by the party concerned. The radioactive

Hemoglobin Concentration and Risk of Incident Stroke in Community-Living Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Panwar, Bhupesh; Judd, Suzanne E; Warnock, David G; McClellan, William M; Booth, John N; Muntner, Paul; Gutiérrez, Orlando M

2016-08-01

In previous observational studies, hemoglobin concentrations have been associated with an increased risk of stroke. However, these studies were limited by a relatively low number of stroke events, making it difficult to determine whether the association of hemoglobin and stroke differed by demographic or clinical factors. Using Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan-Meier plots, we examined the association of baseline hemoglobin concentrations with incident stroke in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a cohort of black and white adults aged ≥45 years. A total of 518 participants developed stroke over a mean 7±2 years of follow-up. There was a statistically significant interaction between hemoglobin and sex (P=0.05) on the risk of incident stroke. In Cox regression models adjusted for demographic and clinical variables, there was no association of baseline hemoglobin concentration with incident stroke in men, whereas in women, the lowest (14.0 g/dL) quartiles of hemoglobin were associated with higher risk of stroke when compared with the second quartile (12.4-13.2 g/dL; quartile 1: hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-2.31; quartile 2: referent; quartile 3: hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.38; quartile 4: hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.35). Similar results were observed in models stratified by hemoglobin and sex and when hemoglobin was modeled as a continuous variable using restricted quadratic spline regression. Lower and higher hemoglobin concentrations were associated with a higher risk of incident stroke in women. No such associations were found in men. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

Survey on risk perception of radiation following an incident involving a stuck 60Co source in Henan Province, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, C.; Sun, Q.; Cheng, X.; Zhang, Q.; Fu, Y.; Chu, C.; Zhao, Y.; Qin, W.; Su, X.

2012-01-01

In July 2009, an incident involving a stuck Co-60 source led hundreds of thousands of people to escape Qi County, Henan Province, China, although no medical or environmental consequences were related to the incident. To investigate knowledge about radiation, public risk-perception of radiation, and evaluation of the official response, a survey was conducted in Qi and Hui County (control). Face-to-face questionnaire interviews were conducted among three groups with different educational backgrounds. In total, 1340 valid questionnaires were collected from people interviewed. Knowledge about radiation was low in all groups in both counties, although knowledge in Qi County was higher than that in Hui County (control). More than 40 % respondents supported construction of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in China, while only a few supported constructing NPPs in their vicinity. The main reasons for the mass escape following the incident were assumed to be lack of knowledge about radiation, misinformation, the government's failure to disclose information in time and imitation of group behaviour. Over 60 % in Group I and II trusted the local government. About 64 % disapproved the response of the Qi County government. After the incident, the population in Qi County still knows little about radiation. Although people trust the government, they are dissatisfied with the response of the local government regarding the incident. (authors)

Cardiovascular Risks Associated with Incident and Prevalent Periodontal Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yau-Hua; Chasman, Daniel I; Buring, Julie E; Rose, Lynda; Ridker, Paul M

2014-01-01

Aim While prevalent periodontal disease associates with cardiovascular risk, little is known about how incident periodontal disease influences future vascular risk. We compared effects of incident versus prevalent periodontal disease in developing major cardiovascular diseases (CVD), myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke and total CVD. Material and Methods In a prospective cohort of 39863 predominantly white women, age ≥ 45 years and free of cardiovascular disease at baseline were followed for an average of 15.7 years. Cox proportional hazard models with time-varying periodontal status (prevalent [18%], incident [7.3%] vs. never [74.7%]) were used to assess future cardiovascular risks. Results Incidence rates of all CVD outcomes were higher in women with prevalent or incident periodontal disease. For women with incident periodontal disease, risk factor adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.42 (95% CI, 1.14–1.77) for major CVD, 1.72 (1.25–2.38) for MI, 1.41(1.02–1.95) for ischemic stroke, and 1.27(1.06–1.52) for total CVD. For women with prevalent periodontal disease, adjusted HRs were 1.14 (1.00–1.31) for major CVD, 1.27 (1.04–1.56) for MI, 1.12(0.91–1.37) for ischemic stroke, and 1.15(1.03–1.28) for total CVD. Conclusion New cases of periodontal disease, not just those that are pre-existing, place women at significantly elevated risks for future cardiovascular events. PMID:25385537

Occupational health hazards in veterinary medicine: Zoonoses and other biological hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Epp, Tasha; Waldner, Cheryl

2012-01-01

This study describes biological hazards reported by veterinarians working in western Canada obtained through a self-administered mailed questionnaire. The potential occupational hazards included as biological hazards were zoonotic disease events, exposure to rabies, injuries due to bites and scratches, and allergies. Only 16.7% (136/812) of responding veterinarians reported the occurrence of a zoonosis or exposure to rabies in the past 5 years; the most commonly reported event was ringworm. Most bites and scratches (86%) described by 586 veterinarians involved encounters with cats; 81% of the resulting 163 infections were due to cat bites or scratches. Approximately 38% of participants reported developing an allergy during their career, with 41% of the affected individuals altering the way they practiced in response to their allergy. PMID:22851775

UV radiation hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henderson, A.R.

1987-01-01

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is, for most people, a daily occurrence. Significant quantities of ultraviolet are present in sunlight, and this environmental exposure usually greatly exceeds that necessary for vitamin D production, the only certain benefit of UVR. In addition, occupational exposure to artificial sources of UVR is commonly encountered in commerce, industry and medicine. Exposure to UVR can present a hazard, principally to the eyes and exposed areas of the skin. The potential for any given source of UVR to cause photobiological damage depends on the spectral composition of the incident radiation, the geometry of optical coupling into the tissues at risk, the spectral sensitivity to damage of the irradiated tissue, the total accumulated exposure, and the action of any biological repair processes. In the ultraviolet region the photobiological interactions of concern are mainly photochemical. Hazard analysis and radiation protection require an appropriate framework of radiation measurement for the quantitative assessment of exposure and for the specification of safe exposure limits

Decreased incidence of gout in diabetic patients using pioglitazone.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Sheng-Wen; Chang, Kai-Ting; Lin, Hugo You-Hsien; Kuo, I-Ching; Chang, Yu-Han; Chen, Yu-Han; Hung, Chi-Chih; Chiu, Yi-Wen; Hwang, Shang-Jyh

2018-01-01

The incidence and prevalence of gout are increasing, but the management is poor. Considering the increased prevalence of gout in the diabetic population, this study evaluated the effects of pioglitazone, an insulin resistance inhibitor, on the incidence of gout in the diabetic population. We used data from the National Health Insurance program in Taiwan. The pioglitazone cohort contained 30 100 patients and each patient was age and sex matched with three non-pioglitazone users who were randomly selected from the diabetic population. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was conducted to estimate the effects of pioglitazone on the incidence of gout in the diabetic population. The incidence of gout was significantly lower in pioglitazone users than in non-pioglitazone users [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.81 (95% CI 0.78, 0.85)]. The HR for the incidence of gout was lower in both male [aHR 0.80 (95% CI 0.75, 0.85)] and female [aHR 0.83 (95% CI 0.78, 0.88)] pioglitazone users than in non-pioglitazone users. An analysis of three age groups (gout in the diabetic population using pioglitazone was less. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Hazardous-materials-management system: a guide for local emergency managers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, M.T.; Roe, P.G.

1981-07-01

An increase in the manufacture, storage, and transportation of hazardous materials is occurring across the nation. Local jurisdictions have realized that they have the responsibility to assure a reasonable level of safety to their community members and visitors alike. Such a responsibility can be met by developing methods of preventing hazardous materials incidents; enforcing laws related to transporting and storing hazardous materials; the initiating of an appropriate first response, and activating available resources of government agencies and commercial organizations that deal with containment and cleanup. This manual has been written to help in the development of a total Hazardous Material Management System. The manual describes one approach but allows for variations as may be appropriate for the specific jurisdiction

Hazardous waste research and development in the Pacific Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cirillo, R.R.; Carpenter, R.A.

1989-01-01

The effective management of hazardous waste is an issue that all countries of the Pacific Basin must address. By very rough estimates, almost 272 million metric tons of hazardous wastes are being generated every year in the region. While the data are not consistently defined and reported, they do indicate the extent of the problem. Increasing development brings along an increase in the rate of hazardous waste generation. On this basis, the developing countries of the region can be expected to experience some of the same problems of the developed countries as their economies become more industrialized. Fundamental problems are involved in the compilation of consistent hazardous-waste generation statistics in the Pacific Basin. One involves the definition of what constitutes hazardous waste

System Safety Assessment Based on Past Incidents in Oil and Gas Industries: A Focused Approach in Forecasting of Minor, Severe, Critical, and Catastrophic Incidents, 2010–2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praveen Patel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Accident in an occupation which occurred due to series of repetitive minor incidents within the working environment. This work demonstrates the critical system safety assessment based on various incidents that took place to the different system and subsystem of two Indian oil refineries in five years of span 2010 to 2015. The categorization of incidents and hazard rate function of each incident category were classified and calculated. The result of Weibull analysis estimators in the form of scale and shape parameters provides useful information of incidents forecasting and their patterns in a particular time.

Association of baseline level of physical activity and its temporal changes with incident hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jong-Young; Ryu, Seungho; Sung, Ki-Chul

2018-01-01

Background The association between baseline and temporal changes in physical activity and incident hypertension or diabetes mellitus in initially non-hypertensive or non-diabetic subjects is rarely known. Methods Among individuals who underwent consecutive comprehensive health screenings, their physical activity level was measured using a self-reported international physical activity questionnaire. First, subjects were classified into four categories: no regular physical activity with a sedentary lifestyle; minimal physical activity (diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension, respectively. After a multivariate adjustment, sufficient baseline physical activity was associated with significantly lower risk for incident hypertension (hazard ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81 to 0.97), but the difference was not significant, and showed a lower trend in diabetes mellitus incidence (hazard ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.69 to 1.04) in reference to no regular physical activity group. Regardless of the baseline physical activity level, subjects with a temporal increase in physical activity showed significantly decreased risk for incident hypertension (hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.87 to 0.99) and diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio 0.83; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.92) compared with those with a temporal decrease in their physical activity level. Conclusion Both sufficient baseline physical activity level and its temporal increase were associated with a lower risk of incident hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a large, relatively healthy, cohort.

Studies Involving Immobilization Of Hazardous Wastes In Cement-ilmenite Matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Dakrory, A.M.; Sayed, M.S.; Adham, K.

1999-01-01

Ilmenite was added to Ordinary Portland Cement to Modify the characteristic properties of the matrix as density, compressive strength and thermal stability . Coal tar and radiocesium were solidified as hazardous waste in cement-ilmenite matrix. The physical properties as density, sitting times and porosity were studied. The mechanical properties as compressive strength values and the chemical properties as leaching were measured

Soluble CD163 predicts incident chronic lung, kidney and liver disease in HIV infection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard-Klitbo, Ditte M; Mejer, Niels; Knudsen, Troels B

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine if monocyte and macrophage activity may be on the mechanistic pathway to non-AIDS comorbidity by investigating the associations between plasma-soluble CD163 (sCD163) and incident non-AIDS comorbidities in well treated HIV-infected individuals. DESIGN: Prospective single...... was examined using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for pertinent covariates. RESULTS: In HIV-1-infected individuals (n = 799), the highest quartile of plasma sCD163 was associated with incident chronic lung disease [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 3.2; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34; 7.......46] and incident chronic kidney disease (aHR, 10.94; 95% CI: 2.32; 51.35), when compared with lowest quartiles. Further, (every 1 mg) increase in plasma sCD163 was positively correlated with incident liver disease (aHR, 1.12; 95% CI: 1.05; 1.19). The sCD163 level was not associated with incident cancer...

The transport of hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goemmel, F.

1987-01-01

The rapid development of all kinds of transports has been leading to a continuously increasing number of accidents involving the release and escape of hazardous materials. The risks involved for men and the environment have to be realized and reduced to a minimum. Efforts in this field have meanwhile been accumulating an enormous quantity of rules, recommendations and regulations. They comprise, among others, both national and international rail transport, maritime transport, inland shipping, air and road transport regulations adding up to a total of about 5000 pages. The publication discusses the necessity and justification of the existing quantity of regulations, it deals with their possible simplification and modified user-oriented arrangement as well as with a possible international harmonization of regulations. Apart from giving a general survey of the transport of hazardous materials the author reviews the intensive efforts which are going into the safety of the transport of hazardous materials and points out technical and legal problems which have remained unsolved so far. The publication essentially contributes to clearing up the background, perspectives and prospects of the complex regulations controlling the transport of hazardous materials. (orig./HP) [de

INTERNAL HAZARDS ANALYSIS FOR LICENSE APPLICATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R.J. Garrett

2005-02-17

The purpose of this internal hazards analysis is to identify and document the internal hazards and potential initiating events associated with preclosure operations of the repository at Yucca Mountain. Internal hazards are those hazards presented by the operation of the facility and by its associated processes that can potentially lead to a radioactive release or cause a radiological hazard. In contrast to external hazards, internal hazards do not involve natural phenomena and external man-made hazards. This internal hazards analysis was performed in support of the preclosure safety analysis and the License Application for the Yucca Mountain Project. The methodology for this analysis provides a systematic means to identify internal hazards and potential initiating events that may result in a radiological hazard or radiological release during the repository preclosure period. These hazards are documented in tables of potential internal hazards and potential initiating events (Section 6.6) for input to the repository event sequence categorization process. The results of this analysis will undergo further screening and analysis based on the criteria that apply to the performance of event sequence analyses for the repository preclosure period. The evolving design of the repository will be re-evaluated periodically to ensure that internal hazards that have not been previously evaluated are identified.

INTERNAL HAZARDS ANALYSIS FOR LICENSE APPLICATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garrett, R.J.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this internal hazards analysis is to identify and document the internal hazards and potential initiating events associated with preclosure operations of the repository at Yucca Mountain. Internal hazards are those hazards presented by the operation of the facility and by its associated processes that can potentially lead to a radioactive release or cause a radiological hazard. In contrast to external hazards, internal hazards do not involve natural phenomena and external man-made hazards. This internal hazards analysis was performed in support of the preclosure safety analysis and the License Application for the Yucca Mountain Project. The methodology for this analysis provides a systematic means to identify internal hazards and potential initiating events that may result in a radiological hazard or radiological release during the repository preclosure period. These hazards are documented in tables of potential internal hazards and potential initiating events (Section 6.6) for input to the repository event sequence categorization process. The results of this analysis will undergo further screening and analysis based on the criteria that apply to the performance of event sequence analyses for the repository preclosure period. The evolving design of the repository will be re-evaluated periodically to ensure that internal hazards that have not been previously evaluated are identified

Social relations, depressive symptoms, and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Karin Rosenkilde; Hulman, Adam; Witte, Daniel

2017-01-01

of Ageing” (3398 men) aged 50–91 years were followed until 2012/2013, after baseline assessment of depressive symptoms, social support, relational strain, and network size. Hazard ratios (HR) for incident diabetes were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models, adjusting for relevant confounders...... behaviour, and body mass index the associations were attenuated and were no longer statistically significant. Depressive symptoms were associated with higher diabetes risk. This effect was not modified by any of the social variables. Conclusions People with stronger social relations are at lower risk...... of developing T2DM; however, this effect is largely explained by known diabetes risk factors. No evidence was found that stronger social relations reduce the association between depressive symptoms and incident T2DM....

[Relationship between 'ideal' cardiovascular behaviors and factors and the incidence of hypertension].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Caifeng; Shi, Jihong; Huang, Zhe; Li, Huiying; Wei, Xiaoming; Lin, Liming; Xing, Aijun; Chen, Shuohua; Wu, Shouling

2014-05-01

To explore the relationship between 'ideal' cardiovascular behaviors and factors and the incidence of hypertension. A prospective cohort study including 52 133 workers who had participated in the 2006-2007 Kailuan health examination without history of cerebral infraction, myocardial infarction or hypertension but with complete data, was carried out. All workers were followed on their occurrence of hypertension. According to the AHA definition of 'ideal' cardiovascular health behaviors and factors, the cumulative incidence rates of hypertension in different groups were calculated under the life table method, and compared by Log-rank test, Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate the hazard rations and 95% confidence intervals for baseline behaviors and factors. The cumulative incidence rates of hypertension according 0-1, 2, 3, 4, 5-7 ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors were 65.72%, 59.14%, 54.59%, 50.24% and 34.22%, respectively in the 0-1, 2, 3, 4, 5-7 groups. Data from the Cox proportional hazards model showed that after adjusting for age, education level and family history of hypertension, the ones who had 2, 3, 4, 5-7 ideal cardiovascular behaviors/factors were 0.75, 0.69, 0.63, 0.36 times more than those who had 0-1 ideal behaviors. The incidence of hypertension and risk reduced along with the increase of ideal cardiovascular health behaviors and factors.

Summary of canister overheating incident at the Carbon Tetrachloride Expedited Response Action site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Driggers, S.A.

1994-03-10

The granular activated carbon (GAC)-filled canister that overheated was being used to adsorb carbon tetrachloride vapors drawn from a well near the 216-Z-9 Trench, a subsurface disposal site in the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. The overheating incident resulted in a band of discolored paint on the exterior surface of the canister. Although there was no other known damage to equipment, no injuries to operating personnel, and no releases of hazardous materials, the incident is of concern because it was not anticipated. It also poses the possibility of release of carbon tetrachloride and other hazardous vapors if the incident were to recur. All soil vapor extraction system (VES) operations were halted until a better understanding of the cause of the incident could be determined and controls implemented to reduce the possibility of a recurrence. The focus of this report and the intent of all the activities associated with understanding the overheating incident has been to provide information that will allow safe restart of the VES operations, develop operational limits and controls to prevent recurrence of an overheating incident, and safely optimize recovery of carbon tetrachloride from the ground.

78 FR 38803 - Pipeline Safety: Information Collection Activities, Revisions to Incident and Annual Reports for...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-27

... Reports for Gas Pipeline Operators AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No... (OMB) Control No. 2137-0522, titled ``Incident and Annual Reports for Gas Pipeline Operators.'' PHMSA...

Volcanic hazards to airports

Science.gov (United States)

Guffanti, M.; Mayberry, G.C.; Casadevall, T.J.; Wunderman, R.

2009-01-01

Volcanic activity has caused significant hazards to numerous airports worldwide, with local to far-ranging effects on travelers and commerce. Analysis of a new compilation of incidents of airports impacted by volcanic activity from 1944 through 2006 reveals that, at a minimum, 101 airports in 28 countries were affected on 171 occasions by eruptions at 46 volcanoes. Since 1980, five airports per year on average have been affected by volcanic activity, which indicates that volcanic hazards to airports are not rare on a worldwide basis. The main hazard to airports is ashfall, with accumulations of only a few millimeters sufficient to force temporary closures of some airports. A substantial portion of incidents has been caused by ash in airspace in the vicinity of airports, without accumulation of ash on the ground. On a few occasions, airports have been impacted by hazards other than ash (pyroclastic flow, lava flow, gas emission, and phreatic explosion). Several airports have been affected repeatedly by volcanic hazards. Four airports have been affected the most often and likely will continue to be among the most vulnerable owing to continued nearby volcanic activity: Fontanarossa International Airport in Catania, Italy; Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska, USA; Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador; and Tokua Airport in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea. The USA has the most airports affected by volcanic activity (17) on the most occasions (33) and hosts the second highest number of volcanoes that have caused the disruptions (5, after Indonesia with 7). One-fifth of the affected airports are within 30 km of the source volcanoes, approximately half are located within 150 km of the source volcanoes, and about three-quarters are within 300 km; nearly one-fifth are located more than 500 km away from the source volcanoes. The volcanoes that have caused the most impacts are Soufriere Hills on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies

Summary of Auger-Related Entanglement Incidents Occurring Inside Agricultural Confined Spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Y H; Field, W E

2016-04-01

when the victim stepped into an unguarded opening or well in the floor of the confined space. The primary reason identified as to why workers were exposed to energized augers in the cases documented was to assist in the removal of residual or out-of-condition grain. The large number of cases involving augers on top-unloading silo unloaders (36) was not anticipated. Silo unloaders also accounted for the largest number of documented fatalities (15). This analysis is the first known attempt to provide a better understanding of the frequency, severity, and causative factors of these incidents. Those key causative factors were found to be: (1) lack of or inadequate guarding, (2) unintentional energizing of components due to a lack of lockout/tagout training and provisions, and (3) exposure of untrained or inexperienced workers to energized and unguarded components during procedures to remove residual grain or other agricultural crops from storage structures. It is hoped that the results and recommendations presented will raise awareness of the hazards related to using energized equipment in confined spaces as well as contribute to development of new evidenced-based educational resources, engineering safety standards, and workplace safety regulations.

Observed Hearing Loss and Incident Dementia in a Multiethnic Cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Golub, Justin S; Luchsinger, José A; Manly, Jennifer J; Stern, Yaakov; Mayeux, Richard; Schupf, Nicole

2017-08-01

To determine whether observed hearing loss (OHL) is associated with incident dementia in a multiethnic population. Prospective epidemiological cohort study. Community in northern Manhattan. Participants in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a longitudinal study on aging and dementia in an ethnically diverse community (n = 1,881). OHL was defined when the examiner observed it or according to self-reported hearing aid use. A consensus panel diagnosed dementia using standard research criteria. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the relationship between OHL at baseline and risk of incident dementia (mean 7.3 ± 4.4 years of longitudinal followup, range 0.9-20 years). OHL was associated with 1.69 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.3-2.3, P < .010) times the risk of incident dementia, adjusting for demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, apolipoprotein E4 genotype, and stroke. When stratified according to race, the association between OHL and incident dementia was high in all groups but was statistically significant only in blacks (hazard ratio = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.5-4.5, P < .010). OHL was associated with greater risk of incident dementia in a multiethnic cohort. More study is needed to determine whether HL contributes to dementia and whether treating HL can reduce the risk of dementia. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Process hazards review of the 904-A trench

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snyder, D.E.

1988-01-01

The 904-A trench is an enclosed underground concrete containment for high level and low level radioactive waste lines between the main Laboratory Building 773-A and waste storage and shipping Building 776-A. The waste generated in laboratories and other facilities in 773-A flows by gravity into the high level and low level drain lines, which proceed from 773-A through the 904-A trench. The trench ends at 776-2A, where the underground was handling tanks for both high level and low level liquids are located. The trench serves to contain any leaks originating in the drain lines. The trench is sloped downward toward the Building 776-2A pipe gallery. Any liquid collected from the sump can be pumped automatically to a waste tank sampled. The review of the 904-A trench system included a study of the trench and piping itself, as well as a study of the high level and low level drain lines from the laboratories to the trench. The present review emphasized on examination of the hazards involved in chemical reactions in the drain lines, misuse of the drains, and criticality. The following items were examined: Process Hazards Review of the Liquid Waste Collection System, Nuclear Criticality Review of the High Level Drain System, Improvements in the 904-A Trench System, Operating Procedures, and Unusual Incidents

Cigarette Smoking and Incident Heart Failure: Insights From the Jackson Heart Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamimura, Daisuke; Cain, Loretta R; Mentz, Robert J; White, Wendy B; Blaha, Michael J; DeFilippis, Andrew P; Fox, Ervin R; Rodriguez, Carlos J; Keith, Rachel J; Benjamin, Emelia J; Butler, Javed; Bhatnagar, Aruni; Robertson, Rose M; Winniford, Michael D; Correa, Adolfo; Hall, Michael E

2018-06-12

Cigarette smoking has been linked with several factors associated with cardiac dysfunction. We hypothesized that cigarette smoking is associated with left ventricular (LV) structure and function, and incident heart failure (HF) hospitalization. We investigated 4129 (never smoker n=2884, current smoker n=503, and former smoker n=742) black participants (mean age, 54 years; 63% women) without a history of HF or coronary heart disease at baseline in the Jackson Heart Study. We examined the relationships between cigarette smoking and LV structure and function by using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging among 1092 participants, cigarette smoking and brain natriuretic peptide levels among 3325 participants, and incident HF hospitalization among 3633 participants with complete data. After adjustment for confounding factors, current smoking was associated with higher mean LV mass index and lower mean LV circumferential strain ( P <0.05, for both) in comparison with never smoking. Smoking status, intensity, and burden were associated with higher mean brain natriuretic peptide levels (all P <0.05). Over 8.0 years (7.7-8.0) median follow-up, there were 147 incident HF hospitalizations. After adjustment for traditional risk factors and incident coronary heart disease, current smoking (hazard ratio, 2.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.71-4.64), smoking intensity among current smokers (≥20 cigarettes/d: hazard ratio, 3.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.65-7.32), and smoking burden among ever smokers (≥15 pack-years: hazard ratio, 2.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-3.3) were significantly associated with incident HF hospitalization in comparison with never smoking. In blacks, cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for LV hypertrophy, systolic dysfunction, and incident HF hospitalization even after adjusting for effects on coronary heart disease. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

Butt rot defect and potential hazard in lodgepole pine on selected California recreational areas

Science.gov (United States)

Lee A. Paine

1966-01-01

Within the area sampled, potentially hazardous lodgepole pine were common on recreational sites. The incidence of decayed and mechanically weak trees was correlated with fire damage. Two-thirds of fire-scarred trees were decayed; one-third were rated potentially hazardous. Fire scars occurred roughly in proportion to level of plot recreational use.

Method for investigating management impact to causes and consequences of specific hazards MIMIX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heikkilae, J; Rouhiainen, V; Suokas, J [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Tampere (Finland). Safety Engineering; Rasmussen, B [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

1996-12-31

Method for Investigating Management Impact to Causes and Consequences of Specific Hazards (MIMIX) is a new method for the identification of deficiencies in managerial means and practices used for maintaining and improving safety in a plant. MIMIX is a part of TOMHID methodology which is aimed for overall identification of hazards in a chemical plant. However, MIMIX can be used independently. This report includes guidelines for carrying out a MIMIX analysis. Some experiences from TOMHID analysis case studies, forms and other supporting material (appendix A) and an example of the preparation of incident scenarios (appendix B) are also included in the report. MIMIX consists of three main stages: preparation of incident scenarios, worker interviews and management interviews. A couple of incident scenarios are prepared to support the worker interviews. In each worker interview, such undesired conditions in the plant which promote errors and violations affecting the incident described in a scenario are identified. Deficiencies in managerial means and practices used for correcting the identified undesired conditions are investigated with management interviews. (author)

Method for investigating management impact to causes and consequences of specific hazards MIMIX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heikkilae, J.; Rouhiainen, V.; Suokas, J. [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Tampere (Finland). Safety Engineering; Rasmussen, B. [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

1995-12-31

Method for Investigating Management Impact to Causes and Consequences of Specific Hazards (MIMIX) is a new method for the identification of deficiencies in managerial means and practices used for maintaining and improving safety in a plant. MIMIX is a part of TOMHID methodology which is aimed for overall identification of hazards in a chemical plant. However, MIMIX can be used independently. This report includes guidelines for carrying out a MIMIX analysis. Some experiences from TOMHID analysis case studies, forms and other supporting material (appendix A) and an example of the preparation of incident scenarios (appendix B) are also included in the report. MIMIX consists of three main stages: preparation of incident scenarios, worker interviews and management interviews. A couple of incident scenarios are prepared to support the worker interviews. In each worker interview, such undesired conditions in the plant which promote errors and violations affecting the incident described in a scenario are identified. Deficiencies in managerial means and practices used for correcting the identified undesired conditions are investigated with management interviews. (author)

77 FR 69925 - Assessment of Hazardous Materials Incident Data Collection, Analysis, Reporting, and Use

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-21

...), 126 Stat. 835, July 6, 2012) requires the Department to conduct an assessment to improve the... adequacy of and suggestions for improvement to: 1. Information requested on the accident and incident... technology; and 5. The database used by PHMSA for recording and reporting such accidents and incidents...

Management of response to the polonium-210 incident in London

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croft, John; Bailey, Michael; Tattersall, Phil; Morrey, Mary; McColl, Neil; Prosser, Lesley; Maguire, Helen; Fraser, Graham; Gross, Roger

2008-01-01

On the 23 November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko died in London allegedly from poisoning by 210 Po, an alpha particle emitter. The spread of radioactive contamination, arising from the poisoning and the events leading up to it, involved many locations in London. The potential for intakes of 210 Po arising from the contamination posed a public health risk and generated significant public concern. The scale of the event required a multi-agency response, including top level UK Government emergency response management arrangements. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) had a leading role in co-ordinating and managing the public health response. This paper reviews the management of the incident response and the issues involved. The fatal poisoning of Mr Litvinenko with 210 Po, and the associated public health hazard from the spread of contamination to many locations across London, was an unprecedented event. Fortunately, no one else is known to have suffered any acute effects. Results from the programme of individual monitoring showed that whilst more than 100 people had measurable intakes of 210 Po, only 17 had assessed doses in excess of 6 mSv. The highest dose of about 100 mSv gives rise to an increased risk of fatal cancer of about 0.5%, compared with the natural incidence of about 25%. The incident required a co-ordinated and sustained multi-agency emergency response. The Health Protection Agency, as the lead on public health matters played a significant role in this. Whilst inevitably some lessons have been identified, the response is considered to have been very effective and to have benefited from the wide spectrum of experience and expertise developed through normal work, together with the effort put into emergency preparedness and the various emergency response. (author)

Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Incident Rosacea in Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Suyun; Cho, Eunyoung; Drucker, Aaron M; Qureshi, Abrar A; Li, Wen-Qing

2017-07-01

The relationship between smoking and rosacea is poorly understood. We aimed to conduct the first cohort study to determine the association between smoking and risk of incident rosacea. We included 95,809 women from Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2005). Information on smoking was collected biennially during follow-up. Information on history of clinician-diagnosed rosacea and year of diagnosis was collected in 2005. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate age- and multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between different measures of smoking and risk of rosacea. During follow-up, we identified 5,462 incident cases of rosacea. Compared with never smoking, we observed an increased risk of rosacea associated with past smoking (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.03, 1.16) but a decreased risk associated with current smoking (hazard ratio = 0.65, 95% confidence interval: 0.58, 0.72). We further found that increasing pack-years of smoking was associated with an elevated risk of rosacea among past smokers (P for trend = 0.003) and with a decreased risk of rosacea among current smokers (P for trend smoking cessation, and the significant association persisted among past smokers who had quit over 30 years before. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Age at menopause and incident heart failure: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebong, Imo A; Watson, Karol E; Goff, David C; Bluemke, David A; Srikanthan, Preethi; Horwich, Tamara; Bertoni, Alain G

2014-06-01

This study aims to evaluate the associations of early menopause (menopause occurring before age 45 years) and age at menopause with incident heart failure (HF) in postmenopausal women. We also explored the associations of early menopause and age at menopause with left ventricular (LV) measures of structure and function in postmenopausal women. We included 2,947 postmenopausal women, aged 45 to 84 years without known cardiovascular disease (2000-2002), from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations of early menopause and age at menopause with incident HF. In 2,123 postmenopausal women in whom cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was obtained at baseline, we explored the associations of early menopause and age at menopause with LV measures using multivariable linear regression. Across a median follow-up of 8.5 years, we observed 71 HF events. There were no significant interactions with ethnicity for incident HF (Pinteraction > 0.05). In adjusted analysis, early menopause was associated with an increased risk of incident HF (hazard ratio, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.01-2.73), whereas every 1-year increase in age at menopause was associated with a decreased risk of incident HF (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99). We observed significant interactions between early menopause and ethnicity for LV mass-to-volume ratio (LVMVR; Pinteraction = 0.02). In Chinese-American women, early menopause was associated with a higher LVMVR (+0.11; P = 0.0002), whereas every 1-year increase in age at menopause was associated with a lower LVMVR (-0.004; P = 0.04) at baseline. Older age at menopause is independently associated with a decreased risk of incident HF. Concentric LV remodeling, indicated by a higher LVMVR, is present in Chinese-American women who experienced early menopause at baseline.

Protective Behaviour of Citizens to Transport Accidents Involving Hazardous Materials: A Discrete Choice Experiment Applied to Populated Areas nearby Waterways.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esther W de Bekker-Grob

Full Text Available To improve the information for and preparation of citizens at risk to hazardous material transport accidents, a first important step is to determine how different characteristics of hazardous material transport accidents will influence citizens' protective behaviour. However, quantitative studies investigating citizens' protective behaviour in case of hazardous material transport accidents are scarce.A discrete choice experiment was conducted among subjects (19-64 years living in the direct vicinity of a large waterway. Scenarios were described by three transport accident characteristics: odour perception, smoke/vapour perception, and the proportion of people in the environment that were leaving at their own discretion. Subjects were asked to consider each scenario as realistic and to choose the alternative that was most appealing to them: staying, seeking shelter, or escaping. A panel error component model was used to quantify how different transport accident characteristics influenced subjects' protective behaviour.The response was 44% (881/1,994. The predicted probability that a subject would stay ranged from 1% in case of a severe looking accident till 62% in case of a mild looking accident. All three transport accident characteristics proved to influence protective behaviour. Particularly a perception of strong ammonia or mercaptan odours and visible smoke/vapour close to citizens had the strongest positive influence on escaping. In general, 'escaping' was more preferred than 'seeking shelter', although stated preference heterogeneity among subjects for these protective behaviour options was substantial. Males were less willing to seek shelter than females, whereas elderly people were more willing to escape than younger people.Various characteristics of transport accident involving hazardous materials influence subjects' protective behaviour. The preference heterogeneity shows that information needs to be targeted differently depending on

New York hazardous substances emergency events surveillance: learning from hazardous substances releases to improve safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welles, Wanda Lizak; Wilburn, Rebecca E.; Ehrlich, Jenny K.; Floridia, Christina M.

2004-01-01

Since 1993, the New York State Department of Health, funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, has collected data about non-petroleum hazardous substances releases through the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (NYHSEES) project. This study investigates risk factors for hazardous substances releases that may result in public health consequences such as injury or reported health effects. The 6428 qualifying events that occurred during the 10-year-period of 1993-2002 involved 8838 hazardous substances, 842 evacuations, more than 75,419 people evacuated, and more than 3120 people decontaminated. These events occurred both at fixed facilities (79%) and during transport (21%). The causative factors most frequently contributing to reported events were equipment failure (39%) and human error (33%). Five of the 10 chemicals most frequently associated with injuries were also among the 10 chemicals most frequently involved in reported events: sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ammonia, sodium hypochlorite, and carbon monoxide. The chemical categories most frequently associated with events, and with events with adverse health effects were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and solvents, and acids. Events with releases of hazardous substances were associated with injuries to 3089 people including employees (37%), responders (12%), the general public (29%) and students (22%). The most frequently reported adverse health effects were respiratory irritation, headache, and nausea or vomiting. Most of the injured were transported to the hospital, treated, and released (55%) or treated at the scene (29%). These data have been used for emergency response training, planning, and prevention activities to reduce morbidity and mortality from future events

The hazards of low-level radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackith, R.

1979-01-01

Safety standards are questioned, particularly in relation to the risk of inducing cancer at low doses of radiation. Statements are made on the following topics: incidence of leukaemia among children around reactors, general aging effect due to radiation, leukaemia among radiation workers in a shipyard repairing nuclear submarines, official withdrawal of funds from research workers in the field of radiation hazards, discrepancies between different measurements of radiation near nuclear power plants. (U.K.)

Contingency plan for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's hazardous-waste operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, R.S.

1981-01-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has the necessary equipment and trained personnel to respond to a large number of hazardous material spills and fires or other emergencies resulting from these spills including injured personnel. This response capability is further expanded by the agreements that LLNL has with a number of outside response agencies. The Hazards Control Department at LLNL functions as the central point for coordinating the response of the equipment and personnel. Emergencies involving hazardous waste are also coordinated through the Hazards Control Department, but the equipment and personnel in the Toxic Waste Control Group would be activated for large volume waste pumpouts. Descriptions of response equipment, hazardous waste locations communication systems, and procedures for personnel involved in the emergency are provided

Uncertainty on shallow landslide hazard assessment: from field data to hazard mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Trefolini, Emanuele; Tolo, Silvia; Patelli, Eduardo; Broggi, Matteo; Disperati, Leonardo; Le Tuan, Hai

2015-04-01

Shallow landsliding that involve Hillslope Deposits (HD), the surficial soil that cover the bedrock, is an important process of erosion, transport and deposition of sediment along hillslopes. Despite Shallow landslides generally mobilize relatively small volume of material, they represent the most hazardous factor in mountain regions due to their high velocity and the common absence of warning signs. Moreover, increasing urbanization and likely climate change make shallow landslides a source of widespread risk, therefore the interest of scientific community about this process grown in the last three decades. One of the main aims of research projects involved on this topic, is to perform robust shallow landslides hazard assessment for wide areas (regional assessment), in order to support sustainable spatial planning. Currently, three main methodologies may be implemented to assess regional shallow landslides hazard: expert evaluation, probabilistic (or data mining) methods and physical models based methods. The aim of this work is evaluate the uncertainty of shallow landslides hazard assessment based on physical models taking into account spatial variables such as: geotechnical and hydrogeologic parameters as well as hillslope morphometry. To achieve this goal a wide dataset of geotechnical properties (shear strength, permeability, depth and unit weight) of HD was gathered by integrating field survey, in situ and laboratory tests. This spatial database was collected from a study area of about 350 km2 including different bedrock lithotypes and geomorphological features. The uncertainty associated to each step of the hazard assessment process (e.g. field data collection, regionalization of site specific information and numerical modelling of hillslope stability) was carefully characterized. The most appropriate probability density function (PDF) was chosen for each numerical variable and we assessed the uncertainty propagation on HD strength parameters obtained by

Hazardous drugs: new challenges, new opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Valero García

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Occupational exposure to hazardous drugs can cause harmful effects on health professionals and several protective measures must be taken. Nevertheless, classification of hazardous drugs is not the same in all the published repertoires and the terminology is still confusing: hazardous drugs, biohazardous drugs or risky drugs are terms improperly described and can define very different drugs with a very different hazard profiles. In Spain, there is not an updated official list of hazardous drugs, and healthcare professionals must consider and follow other published lists. In our opinion, it is mandatory to do a consensus among these professionals, administration and labor union organizations in order to clarify some conflictive questions not only in healthcare settings but in investigational and academic scenarios too. These multidisciplinary groups should be involved also in teaching new and non-experienced personnel and in the knowledge reinforcement for the experienced ones

The incidence of eating disorders in a Danish register study: Associations with suicide risk and mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Zerwas, Stephanie; Larsen, Janne Tidselbak; Petersen, Liselotte; Thornton, Laura M; Mortensen, Preben Bo; Bulik, Cynthia M

2015-06-01

Our aim was to characterize the incidence rates and cumulative incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS), and examine associations among eating disorder diagnoses, suicide attempts, and mortality. Individuals born in Denmark between 1989 and 2006 were included (N = 966,141, 51.3% male). Eating disorders diagnoses (AN, broad AN, BN, EDNOS) were drawn from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (PCRR) and Danish National Patient Register (NPR). Suicide attempts and deaths were captured in the NPR, the PCRR, and the Danish Civil Registration System (CRS). In females, AN had a peak hazard at approximately age 15 years, BN at 22 years, and EDNOS had an extended peak that spanned 18 years-22 years. Eating disorder diagnoses predicted a significantly higher hazard for death and suicide attempt compared with the referent of individuals with no eating disorders. In males, peak hazard for diagnosis was earlier than in females. The present study represents one of the largest and longest studies of eating disorder incidence and suicide attempts and death in both females and males. Eating disorders are accompanied by increased hazard of suicide attempts and death even in young adults. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of potential safety-related incidents applicable to a breeder fuel reprocessing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, W.C.

1980-01-01

The current emphasis on safety in all phases of the nuclear fuel cycle requires that safety features be identified and included in designs of nuclear facilities at the earliest possible stage. A popular method for the early identification of these safety features is the Preliminary Hazards Analysis. An extension of this analysis is to illustrate the nature of a hazard by its effects in accident situations, that is, to identify what are called safety-related incidents. Some useful tools are described which have been used at the Savannah River Laboratory, SRL, to make Preliminary Hazards Analyses as well as safety analyses of facilities for processing spent nuclear fuels from both power and production reactors. These tools have also been used in safety studies of waste handling operations at the Savannah River Plant. The tools are the SRL Incidents Data Bank and the What If meeting. The application of this methodology to a proposed facility which has breeder fuel reprocessing capability, the Hot Experimental Facility (HEF) is illustrated

Atrophic Gastritis and the Risk of Incident Colorectal Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Laiyemo, Adeyinka O.; Kamangar, Farin; Marcus, Pamela M.; Taylor, Philip R.; Virtamo, Jarmo; Albanes, Demetrius; Stolzenberg-Solomon, Rachael Z.

2012-01-01

Objective Previous studies evaluating whether risk factors for gastric cancer are also associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) have shown inconsistent results. We prospectively examined the association of atrophic gastritis, a pre-malignant condition for gastric cancer and long-term sequelae common to many exposure factors, and the risk of incident CRC. Methods A total of 20,928 Finnish male smokers, aged 50–69, who were participants in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) had serum pepsinogen I (SPGI) levels measured. Participants with low SPGI levels (gastritis was histologically confirmed in 1,006 (95.0%) participants. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to evaluate the risk of incident CRC. Results During a mean follow-up of 11.3 years (236,258 person-years), 425 incident CRC were diagnosed. The incidence rates were 1.82, 1.48, and 1.82 per 1,000 person-years of follow-up for participants with normal SPGI (≥25 µg/l), low SPGI, and histologically-confirmed atrophic gastritis, respectively. Compared to subjects with normal SPGI, there was no increased risk of CRC among subjects with low SPGI (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.71; 95%CI: 0.47–1.05) and among those with histologically-confirmed atrophic gastritis (Adjusted HR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.55–1.34). Conclusions Atrophic gastritis is not associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer among male smokers. PMID:19838812

Relative consequences of transporting hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fullwood, R.R.; Rhyne, W.R.; Simmons, J.A.; Reese, R.T.

1980-01-01

The objective of this paper is to discuss methods under study at Transportation Technology Center to develop a perspective on how technical measures of hazard and risk relate to perception of hazards, harm, and risks associated with transporting hazardous materials. This paper is concerned with two major aspects of the relative hazards problem. The first aspect is the analyses of the possible effects associated with exposure to hazardous materials as contained in the following two parts: outlines of possible problems and controversies that could be encountered in the evaluation and comparisons of hazards and risks; and description of the various measures of harm (hazards or dangers) and subsequent comparisons thereof. The second aspect of this paper leads into a presentation of the results of a study which had the following purposes: to develop analytical techniques for a consistent treatment of the phenomenology of the consequences of a release of hazardous materials; to reduce the number of variables in the consequence analyses by development of transportation accident scenarios which have the same meteorological conditions, demography, traffic and population densities, geographical features and other appropriate conditions and to develop consistent methods for presenting the results of studies and analyses that describe the phenomenology and compare hazards. The results of the study are intended to provide a bridge between analytical certainty and perception of the hazards involved. Understanding the differences in perception of hazards resulting from transport of various hazardous materials is fraught with difficulties in isolating the qualitative and quantitative features of the problem. By relating the quantitative impacts of material hazards under identical conditions, it is hoped that the perceived differences in material hazards can be delineated and evaluated

Hazard categorization of K Basin water filtration upgrade project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conn, K.R.

1995-01-01

This supporting document provides the hazards categorization for the K Basin Water Filtration Upgrade Project at K East. All activities associated with the project are less than Hazard Category 3, except for the handling of the ECO-ROK liners containing spent filter cartridges. All activities involving the handling of liners, containing spent cartridges, by monorail, forklift or mobile crane are classified as Hazard Category 3

A SAS-macro for estimation of the cumulative incidence using Poisson regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waltoft, Berit Lindum

2009-01-01

the hazard rates, and the hazard rates are often estimated by the Cox regression. This procedure may not be suitable for large studies due to limited computer resources. Instead one uses Poisson regression, which approximates the Cox regression. Rosthøj et al. presented a SAS-macro for the estimation...... of the cumulative incidences based on the Cox regression. I present the functional form of the probabilities and variances when using piecewise constant hazard rates and a SAS-macro for the estimation using Poisson regression. The use of the macro is demonstrated through examples and compared to the macro presented...

Hazards and maximum permissible doses of radiation for man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walinder, G.

1977-11-01

Maximum permissible dose levels are primarely based on risks for genetic damage and cancer. The reason for this is the observation that such late effects of radiation seem to arise even after doses that are to low to give rise to acute effects. In contrast to the tumour incidence found in irradiated human populations no genetic effects of radiation have been observed in man. This does not mean that genetic effects have not been induced but that it has been impossible to find an increase or to discern them among all the congenital defects, that can not be ascribed to the irradiation. As a consequence, the radiological risk estimation has been concentrated on the hazard of malignant diseases. Tumour risks are generally expressed as excess rates of incidence and mortality per million persons per rem. These figures are, however, not obtained from direct epidemiological observations but have been calculated from such data under the assumption of a linear relationship between effect and radiation dose. This formal extrapolation of observed data involves an uncertainty which, of course, is proportionately greater for the calculated effects in the millirem range. However, although the calculated tumour risks can not be said to be founded on direct scientific evidence, there are scientific reasons to believe that the figures derived from the formal extrapolations constitute an upper limit of possible ri02050

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Stroke Incidence Among Migrant Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agyemang, Charles; van Oeffelen, AA; Nørredam, Marie Louise

2014-01-01

Background and Purpose—Low socioeconomic status has been linked to high incidence of stroke in industrialized countries; therefore, reducing socioeconomic disparities is an important goal of health policy. The evidence on migrant groups is, however, limited and inconsistent. We assessed socioecon......Background and Purpose—Low socioeconomic status has been linked to high incidence of stroke in industrialized countries; therefore, reducing socioeconomic disparities is an important goal of health policy. The evidence on migrant groups is, however, limited and inconsistent. We assessed...... socioeconomic inequalities in relation to stroke incidence among major ethnic groups in the Netherlands. Methods—A nationwide register-based cohort study was conducted (n=2 397 446) between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2010, among ethnic Dutch and ethnic minority groups. Standardized disposable household...... income was used as a measure of socioeconomic position. Results—Among ethnic Dutch, the incidence of stroke was higher in the low-income group than in the high-income group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.16–1.20). Similar socioeconomic inequalities in stroke incidence were found...

Occupational, social, and relationship hazards and psychological distress among low-income workers: implications of the 'inverse hazard law'.

Science.gov (United States)

Krieger, Nancy; Kaddour, Afamia; Koenen, Karestan; Kosheleva, Anna; Chen, Jarvis T; Waterman, Pamela D; Barbeau, Elizabeth M

2011-03-01

Few studies have simultaneously included exposure information on occupational hazards, relationship hazards (eg, intimate partner violence) and social hazards (eg, poverty and racial discrimination), especially among low-income multiracial/ethnic populations. A cross-sectional study (2003-2004) of 1202 workers employed at 14 worksites in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts investigated the independent and joint association of occupational, social and relationship hazards with psychological distress (K6 scale). Among this low-income cohort (45% were below the US poverty line), exposure to occupational, social and relationship hazards, per the 'inverse hazard law,' was high: 82% exposed to at least one occupational hazard, 79% to at least one social hazard, and 32% of men and 34% of women, respectively, stated they had been the perpetrator or target of intimate partner violence (IPV). Fully 15.4% had clinically significant psychological distress scores (K6 score ≥ 13). All three types of hazards, and also poverty, were independently associated with increased risk of psychological distress. In models including all three hazards, however, significant associations with psychological distress occurred among men and women for workplace abuse and high exposure to racial discrimination only; among men, for IPV; and among women, for high exposure to occupational hazards, poverty and smoking. Reckoning with the joint and embodied reality of diverse types of hazards involving how people live and work is necessary for understanding determinants of health status.

A Prospective Study of Arsenic Exposure From Drinking Water and Incidence of Skin Lesions in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Argos, Maria; Kalra, Tara; Pierce, Brandon L.; Chen, Yu; Parvez, Faruque; Islam, Tariqul; Ahmed, Alauddin; Hasan, Rabiul; Hasan, Khaled; Sarwar, Golam; Levy, Diane; Slavkovich, Vesna; Graziano, Joseph H.; Rathouz, Paul J.; Ahsan, Habibul

2011-01-01

Elevated concentrations of arsenic in groundwater pose a public health threat to millions of people worldwide. The authors aimed to evaluate the association between arsenic exposure and skin lesion incidence among participants in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS). The analyses used data on 10,182 adults free of skin lesions at baseline through the third biennial follow-up of the cohort (2000–2009). Discrete-time hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for incident skin lesions. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios for incident skin lesions comparing 10.1–50.0, 50.1–100.0, 100.1–200.0, and ≥200.1 μg/L with ≤10.0 μg/L of well water arsenic exposure were 1.17 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92, 1.49), 1.69 (95% CI: 1.33, 2.14), 1.97 (95% CI: 1.58, 2.46), and 2.98 (95% CI: 2.40, 3.71), respectively (Ptrend = 0.0001). Results were similar for the other measures of arsenic exposure, and the increased risks remained unchanged with changes in exposure in recent years. Dose-dependent associations were more pronounced in females, but the incidence of skin lesions was greater in males and older individuals. Chronic arsenic exposure from drinking water was associated with increased incidence of skin lesions, even at low levels of arsenic exposure (<100 μg/L). PMID:21576319

Health and productivity of commuter railroad employees involved in critical incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-15

ABSTRACTThe effects of accidentstermed Critical Incidentson the health and productivity of rail transit workers have not been fully investigated. Anecdotal evidence suggests lasting effects of these incidents. Surveys were obtained from 363 com...

The Incidence of Eating Disorders in a Danish Nationwide Register Study Associations with Suicide Risk and Mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Zerwas, Stephanie; Larsen, Janne Tidselbak; Petersen, Liselotte; Thornton, Laura M.; Mortensen, Preben Bo; Bulik, Cynthia M.

2015-01-01

Our aim was to characterize the incidence rates and cumulative incidence of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS), and examine associations among eating disorder diagnoses, suicide attempts, and mortality. Individuals born in Denmark between 1989 and 2006 were included (N=966,141, 51.3% male). Eating disorders diagnoses (AN, Broad AN, BN, EDNOS) were drawn from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (PCRR) and Danish National Patient Register (NPR). Suicide attempts and deaths were captured in the NPR, the PCRR, and the Danish Civil Registration System (CRS). In females, AN had a peak hazard at approximately age 15 years, BN at 22 years, and EDNOS had an extended peak that spanned 18 years to 22 years. Eating disorder diagnoses predicted a significantly higher hazard for death and suicide attempt compared with the referent of individuals with no eating disorders. In males, peak hazard for diagnosis was earlier than in females. The present study represents one of the largest and longest studies of eating disorder incidence and suicide attempts and death in both females and males. Eating disorders are accompanied by increased hazard of suicide attempts and death even in young adults. PMID:25958083

Radiological incidents in industrial gamma radiography in the Philippines, 1979-1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borras, A.M.

1994-01-01

Among the many practices of radiation sources, the practice of industrial gamma radiography in the country has the most number of reported radiological incidents. During the past fourteen (14) years, from 1979-1993, twenty (20) incidents that have occurred were reported to the Institute. This paper presents the nature and extent of the 20 reported incidents as well as the results of the analysis of why these incidents happened. The results of the analysis showed that the causes of these incidents are mainly human error and equipment failure. Hence, the factors that can minimize or prevent the chance of occurrence and/or recurrence of incidents and in minimizing the hazard in case of radiological incidents are: a) proper training and re-training of personnel; b) proper and regular inspection and maintenance of equipment; c) adequate radiation survey; and d) proper storage and inventory of the radiography sealed sources. (author). 3 refs.; 5 figs.; 1 tab

Modelling the impact of causal and non-causal factors on disruption duration for Toronto's subway system: An exploratory investigation using hazard modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Louie, Jacob; Shalaby, Amer; Habib, Khandker Nurul

2017-01-01

Most investigations of incident-related delay duration in the transportation context are restricted to highway traffic, with little attention given to delays due to transit service disruptions. Studies of transit-based delay duration are also considerably less comprehensive than their highway counterparts with respect to examining the effects of non-causal variables on the delay duration. However, delays due to incidents in public transit service can have serious consequences on the overall urban transportation system due to the pivotal and vital role of public transit. The ability to predict the durations of various types of transit system incidents is indispensable for better management and mitigation of service disruptions. This paper presents a detailed investigation on incident delay durations in Toronto's subway system over the year 2013, focusing on the effects of the incidents' location and time, the train-type involved, and the non-adherence to proper recovery procedures. Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) hazard models are estimated to investigate the relationship between these factors and the resulting delay duration. The empirical investigation reveals that incident types that impact both safety and operations simultaneously generally have longer expected delays than incident types that impact either safety or operations alone. Incidents at interchange stations are cleared faster than incidents at non-interchange stations. Incidents during peak periods have nearly the same delay durations as off-peak incidents. The estimated models are believed to be useful tools in predicting the relative magnitude of incident delay duration for better management of subway operations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidence of geohelminths on fruits and vegetable farms in Owena ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Geohelminths are soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes which present a potential public health hazard in Nigeria. The present study examined soil samples for the incidence of geohelminths on fruits and vegetable farms in Owena Community. Two hundred (200) soil samples were collected from five vegetable and fruits ...

Worker safety for occupations affected by the use, transportation and storage of radioactive and hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-07-01

A study group under the auspices of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Labor Committee and the High-level Radioactive Waste/Hazardous Materials Transportation Task Force examined worker protection and safety programs for occupations affected by the use, transportation and storage of radioactive and hazardous materials. Concern about the risks posed to people who live along spent nuclear fuel transportation routes has led to demands for redundant inspections of the transported spent fuel. It would also be prudent to examine the radiological risk to the inspectors themselves before state of federal regulations are promulgated which require redundant inspections. Other workers may also come close to a spent fuel cask during normal operations. The dose rate to which these inspectors and handlers are exposed is higher than the dose rate to which any other group is exposed during incident-free truck transportation and higher than the dose rate to the drivers when they are in the truck cab. This report consists of miscellaneous papers covering topics related to determining radiation doses to workers involved in the transport of radioactive materials

Multivitamin use and risk of stroke incidence and mortality amongst women.

Science.gov (United States)

Adebamowo, S N; Feskanich, D; Stampfer, M; Rexrode, K; Willett, W C

2017-10-01

Few studies have examined the association between multivitamin use and the risk of stroke incidence and mortality, and the results remain inconclusive as to whether multivitamins are beneficial. The associations between multivitamin use and the risk of incident stroke and stroke mortality were prospectively examined in 86 142 women in the Nurses' Health Study, aged 34-59 years and free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease at baseline. Multivitamin use and covariates were updated every 2 years and strokes were documented by review of medical records. Hazard ratios of total, ischaemic and hemorrhagic strokes were calculated across categories of multivitamin use (non-user, past, current user) and duration (years), using Cox proportional hazards models. During 32 years of follow-up from 1980 to 2012, 3615 incident strokes were documented, including 758 deaths from stroke. In multivariate analyses, women who were current multivitamin users did not have a lower risk of incident total stroke compared to non-users [relative risk (RR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93-1.11], even those with longer durations of 15 or more years of use (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.97-1.20) or those with a lower quality diet (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.80-1.15). There was also no indication of benefit from multivitamin use for incident ischaemic or hemorrhagic strokes or for total stroke mortality. Long-term multivitamin use was not associated with reduced risk of stroke incidence or mortality amongst women in the study population, even amongst those with a lower diet quality. An effect in a less well-nourished population cannot be ruled out. © 2017 EAN.

Geological hazard monitoring system in Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Gaprindashvili, George

2017-04-01

Georgia belongs to one of world's most complex mountainous regions according to the scale and frequency of Geological processes and damage caused to population, farmlands, and Infrastructure facilities. Geological hazards (landslide, debrisflow/mudflow, rockfall, erosion and etc.) are affecting many populated areas, agricultural fields, roads, oil and gas pipes, high-voltage electric power transmission towers, hydraulic structures, and tourist complexes. Landslides occur almost in all geomorphological zones, resulting in wide differentiation in the failure types and mechanisms and in the size-frequency distribution. In Georgia, geological hazards triggered by: 1. Activation of highly intense earthquakes; 2. Meteorological events provoking the disaster processes on the background of global climatic change; 3. Large-scale Human impact on the environment. The prediction and monitoring of Geological Hazards is a very wide theme, which involves different researchers from different spheres. Geological hazard monitoring is essential to prevent and mitigate these hazards. In past years in Georgia several monitoring system, such as Ground-based geodetic techniques, Debrisflow Early Warning System (EWS) were installed on high sensitive landslide and debrisflow areas. This work presents description of Geological hazard monitoring system in Georgia.

Incident pregnancy and time to death or AIDS among HIV-positive women receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Westreich

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Little is known about the impact of pregnancy on response to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the effect of incident pregnancy after HAART initiation on clinical response to HAART. METHODS: We evaluated a prospective clinical cohort of adult women initiating HAART in Johannesburg, South Africa between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2011, and followed up until an event, transfer, drop-out, or administrative end of follow-up on 30 September 2011. Women over age 45 and women who were pregnant at HAART initiation were excluded from the study. Main exposure was having experienced pregnancy after HAART initiation; main outcome was death and (separately death or new AIDS event. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs and 95% confidence limits (CL using marginal structural Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The study included 7,534 women, and 20,813 person-years of follow-up; 918 women had at least one recognized pregnancy during follow-up. For death alone, the weighted (adjusted HR was 0.84 (95% CL 0.44, 1.60. Sensitivity analyses confirmed main results, and results were similar for analysis of death or new AIDS event. Incident pregnancy was associated with a substantially reduced hazard of drop-out (HR = 0.62, 95% CL 0.51, 0.75. CONCLUSIONS: Recognized incident pregnancy after HAART initiation was not associated with increases in hazard of clinical events, but was associated with a decreased hazard of drop-out. High rates of pregnancy after initiation of HAART may point to a need to better integrate family planning services into clinical care for HIV-infected women.

Secular Trends in the Incidence of Dementia in a Multi-Ethnic Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, James M; Schupf, Nicole; Manly, Jennifer J; Andrews, Howard; Tang, Ming-Xin; Mayeux, Richard

2017-10-03

Determination of secular trends in cognitive aging is important for prioritization of resources, services, and research in aging populations. Prior studies have identified declining dementia incidence associated with changes in cardiovascular risk factors and increased educational attainment. However, few studies have examined these factors in multi-ethnic cohorts. To identify secular trends in the incidence rate of dementia in an elderly population. Participants in this study were drawn from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a multi-ethnic cohort study of northern Manhattan residents aged 65 years and older. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine differences in the incidence of dementia in cohorts recruited in 1992 and 1999, with age at dementia or age at last follow-up visit as the "time-to-event" variable. Overall, there was a 41% reduction in the hazard ratio for dementia among participants in the 1999 cohort compared with those in the 1992 cohort, adjusting for age, sex, race, and baseline memory complaints (HR = 0.59). The reduction in incidence was greatest among non-Hispanic Whites and African-Americans and lowest among Hispanic participants (HRs = 0.60, 0.52 and 0.64, respectively), and was associated with increases in level of educational attainment, especially among African-Americans. Reduction in incidence of dementia was also greater among persons 75 years or older than among younger participants (HR = 0.52 versus HR = 0.69). Our results support previous findings that secular trends in dementia incidence are changing, including in aging minority populations.

Brain function and structure and risk for incident diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bancks, Michael P; Alonso, Alvaro; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Mosley, Thomas H; Selvin, Elizabeth; Pankow, James S

2017-12-01

Diabetes is prospectively associated with cognitive decline. Whether lower cognitive function and worse brain structure are prospectively associated with incident diabetes is unclear. We analyzed data for 10,133 individuals with cognitive function testing (1990-1992) and 1212 individuals with brain magnetic resonance imaging (1993-1994) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. We estimated hazard ratios for incident diabetes through 2014 after adjustment for traditional diabetes risk factors and cohort attrition. Higher level of baseline cognitive function was associated with lower risk for diabetes (per 1 standard deviation, hazard ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval = 0.90, 0.98). This association did not persist after accounting for baseline glucose level, case ascertainment methods, and cohort attrition. No association was observed between any brain magnetic resonance imaging measure and incident diabetes. This is one of the first studies to prospectively evaluate the association between both cognitive function and brain structure and the incidence of diabetes. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Industrial ecology: Environmental chemistry and hazardous waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manahan, S.E. [Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

1999-01-01

Industrial ecology may be a relatively new concept -- yet it`s already proven instrumental for solving a wide variety of problems involving pollution and hazardous waste, especially where available material resources have been limited. By treating industrial systems in a manner that parallels ecological systems in nature, industrial ecology provides a substantial addition to the technologies of environmental chemistry. Stanley E. Manahan, bestselling author of many environmental chemistry books for Lewis Publishers, now examines Industrial Ecology: Environmental Chemistry and Hazardous Waste. His study of this innovative technology uses an overall framework of industrial ecology to cover hazardous wastes from an environmental chemistry perspective. Chapters one to seven focus on how industrial ecology relates to environmental science and technology, with consideration of the anthrosphere as one of five major environmental spheres. Subsequent chapters deal specifically with hazardous substances and hazardous waste, as they relate to industrial ecology and environmental chemistry.

Association of anxiety disorders and depression with incident heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Garfield, Lauren D; Scherrer, Jeffrey F; Hauptman, Paul J; Freedland, Kenneth E; Chrusciel, Tim; Balasubramanian, Sumitra; Carney, Robert M; Newcomer, John W; Owen, Richard; Bucholz, Kathleen K; Lustman, Patrick J

2014-02-01

Depression has been associated with increased risk of heart failure (HF). Because anxiety is highly comorbid with depression, we sought to establish if anxiety, depression, or their co-occurrence is associated with incident HF. A retrospective cohort (N = 236,079) including Veteran's Administration patients (age, 50-80 years) free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline was followed up between 2001 and 2007. Cox proportional hazards models were computed to estimate the association between anxiety disorders alone, major depressive disorder (MDD) alone, and the combination of anxiety and MDD, with incident HF before and after adjusting for sociodemographics, CVD risk factors (Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity), nicotine dependence/personal history of tobacco use, substance use disorders (alcohol and illicit drug abuse/dependence), and psychotropic medication. Compared with unaffected patients, those with anxiety only, MDD only, and both disorders were at increased risk for incident HF in age-adjusted models (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.19 [ 95% confidence interval {CI} = 1.10-1.28], HR = 1.21 [95% CI = 1.13-1.28], and HR = 1.24 [95% CI = 1.17-1.32], respectively). After controlling for psychotropics in a full model, the association between anxiety only, MDD only, and both disorders and incident HF increased (HRs = 1.46, 1.56, and 1.74, respectively). Anxiety disorders, MDD, and co-occurring anxiety and MDD are associated with incident HF in this large cohort of Veteran's Administration patients free of CVD at baseline. This risk of HF is greater after accounting for protective effects of psychotropic medications. Prospective studies are needed to clarify the role of depression and anxiety and their pharmacological treatment in the etiology of HF.

Higher levels of albuminuria within the normal range predict incident hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Forman, John P; Fisher, Naomi D L; Schopick, Emily L; Curhan, Gary C

2008-10-01

Higher levels of albumin excretion within the normal range are associated with cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals. Whether incremental increases in urinary albumin excretion, even within the normal range, are associated with the development of hypertension in low-risk individuals is unknown. This study included 1065 postmenopausal women from the first Nurses' Health Study and 1114 premenopausal women from the second Nurses' Health Study who had an albumin/creatinine ratio who did not have diabetes or hypertension. Among the older women, 271 incident cases of hypertension occurred during 4 yr of follow-up, and among the younger women, 296 incident cases of hypertension occurred during 8 yr of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine prospectively the association between the albumin/creatinine ratio and incident hypertension after adjustment for age, body mass index, estimated GFR, baseline BP, physical activity, smoking, and family history of hypertension. Participants who had an albumin/creatinine ratio in the highest quartile (4.34 to 24.17 mg/g for older women and 3.68 to 23.84 mg/g for younger women) were more likely to develop hypertension than those who had an albumin/creatinine ratio in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio 1.76 [95% confidence interval 1.21 to 2.56] and hazard ratio 1.35 [95% confidence interval 0.97 to 1.91] for older and younger women, respectively). Higher albumin/creatinine ratios, even within the normal range, are independently associated with increased risk for development of hypertension among women without diabetes. The definition of normal albumin excretion should be reevaluated.

Preparedness of hazardous materials emergencies in railyards: Guidance for railroads and adjacent communities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-09-01

Railroads are a key part of the distribution system for hazardous materials and, thus, much hazardous material passes through railyards en route to intermediate or final consumers. While the vast majority of these materials are shipped without incident, both the number of shipments and the nature of the materials themselves dictate that railyards and surrounding communities be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies. This report contains information on 11 emergency preparedness functions and 150 guidance recommendations.

The Main Biological Hazards in Animal Biosafety Level 2 Facilities and Strategies for Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiao Yan; Xue, Kang Ning; Jiang, Jin Sheng; Lu, Xuan Cheng

2016-04-01

Concern about the biological hazards involved in microbiological research, especially research involving laboratory animals, has increased in recent years. Working in an animal biosafety level 2 facility (ABSL-2), commonly used for research on infectious diseases, poses various biological hazards. Here, the regulations and standards related to laboratory biosafety in China are introduced, the potential biological hazards present in ABSL-2 facilities are analyzed, and a series of strategies to control the hazards are presented. Copyright © 2016 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

Associations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level with incidence of lung cancer and histologic types in Norwegian adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Yi-Qian; Langhammer, Arnulf; Wu, Chunsen

2018-01-01

. We performed a population-based prospective case-cohort study including 696 incident lung cancer cases and 5804 individuals in a subcohort who participated in the second survey of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in Norway. Cox proportional hazards regression models counting for the case-cohort design......Previous prospective studies have shown inconsistent associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level and lung cancer incidence. The aim of the present study was to explore the associations of serum 25(OH)D levels with incidence of lung cancer overall and different histologic types...... were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CIs) for lung cancer overall or histologic types in relation to serum 25(OH)D levels. Compared with the fourth season-specific quartile of 25(OH)D (median 68.0 nmol/L), lower 25(OH)D levels were not associated with the incidence...

Genetic Variants from Lipid-Related Pathways and Risk for Incident Myocardial Infarction

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Ci; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Reynolds, Chandra A.; Sabater-Lleal, Maria; Kanoni, Stavroula; Willenborg, Christina; Syvänen, Ann-Christine; Watkins, Hugh; Hamsten, Anders; Prince, Jonathan A.; Ingelsson, Erik

2013-01-01

Background Circulating lipids levels, as well as several familial lipid metabolism disorders, are strongly associated with initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and incidence of myocardial infarction (MI). Objectives We hypothesized that genetic variants associated with circulating lipid levels would also be associated with MI incidence, and have tested this in three independent samples. Setting and Subjects Using age- and sex-adjusted additive genetic models, we analyzed 554 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 41 candidate gene regions proposed to be involved in lipid-related pathways potentially predisposing to incidence of MI in 2,602 participants of the Swedish Twin Register (STR; 57% women). All associations with nominal P<0.01 were further investigated in the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM; N = 1,142). Results In the present study, we report associations of lipid-related SNPs with incident MI in two community-based longitudinal studies with in silico replication in a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies. Overall, there were 9 SNPs in STR with nominal P-value <0.01 that were successfully genotyped in ULSAM. rs4149313 located in ABCA1 was associated with MI incidence in both longitudinal study samples with nominal significance (hazard ratio, 1.36 and 1.40; P-value, 0.004 and 0.015 in STR and ULSAM, respectively). In silico replication supported the association of rs4149313 with coronary artery disease in an independent meta-analysis including 173,975 individuals of European descent from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D consortium (odds ratio, 1.03; P-value, 0.048). Conclusions rs4149313 is one of the few amino acid changing variants in ABCA1 known to associate with reduced cholesterol efflux. Our results are suggestive of a weak association between this variant and the development of atherosclerosis and MI. PMID:23555974

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.

OSHA standard for medical surveillance of hazardous waste workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Melius, J M

1990-01-01

The increasing amount of work involving hazardous waste sites and the heavy involvement of the federal and state governments in this work have led to the gradual development of guidelines and standards providing for occupational safety and health programs for these sites. On March 6, 1989, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration published its final rule governing occupational safety and health matters at hazardous waste sites and emergency operations. This rule is currently scheduled to take effect on March 6, 1990. This chapter will briefly describe this regulation, particularly its medical surveillance requirements.

Understanding and managing the movements of hazardous material shipments through Texas population centers.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

Every day almost a million shipments of hazardous materials move safely and securely along our nations transportation system, via any combination of modes. Only a small fraction of total shipments interrupt their planned journey due to an incident...

Nurses involved in whistleblowing incidents: sequelae for their families.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, Lesley M; Peters, Kath; Weaver, Roslyn; Jackson, Debra

2011-01-01

Nurses involved in whistleblowing often face economic and emotional retaliation, victimization and abuse. Yet for many nurses, one major part of their whistleblowing experience is the negative impact it has on their families. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study pertaining to the effects of whistleblowing on family life from the perspective of the nurses. Using a narrative inquiry approach, fourteen nurses were interviewed who were directly involved in whistleblowing complaints. Data analysis drew out three themes: strained relationships with family members, dislocation of family life, and exposing family to public scrutiny. The harm caused to the nurses involved in a whistleblowing event is not restricted to one party but to all those involved, as the harrowing experience and its consequences are echoed in the family life as well. It is important for organizations to seek strategies that will minimize the harmful effects on nurses' families during whistleblowing events.

Seasonal incidence of lameness and risk factors associated with thin soles, white line disease, ulcers, and sole punctures in dairy cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, A H; Shearer, J K; De Vries, A

2009-07-01

Lameness is a multifactorial condition with many causes. In this study, cow lifetime records were used to quantify the incidence of specific lameness-causing lesions and investigate factors associated with those lesions. Of primary interest were the effects of seasonality and the effects of thin soles (TS). Thin sole-induced toe ulcers (TSTU) occurring adjacent to the white line in the apical portion of the weight-bearing surface were distinguished from white line disease (WLD) occurring in the region of the abaxial heel sole junction. Sole (SU), heel (HU), and toe (TU) ulcers; TS; sole punctures (SP); leg injuries (INJ); and other (OTH) lesions (e.g., infectious diseases, laminitis, unclassified hemorrhage) were also considered. Data were collected from May 2004 through October 2007 and included records for 4,915 cows of which 1,861 had at least one recorded lameness event. Of these, 20% were TSTU, 20% OTH, 16% SU, 13% TS, 10% WLD, 8% HU, 6% INJ, 4% SP, and 2% TU. Annual incidence risk for lameness was 49.1%. Overall incidence rate for lameness was 1.41/1,000 cow-days, and rates for all lesions were highest in the summer. As parity increased, so did incidence rates for TS, SU, WLD, HU, and INJ. For TS, TSTU, and WLD, incidence rates were lowest in early lactation (16 to 60 DIM), whereas for SU, HU, TU, incidence rates were highest in mid lactation (61 to 150 DIM). Cox proportional hazard models for TS, TSTU, WLD, SU, HU, TU, and SP included age and year of first calving and milk production capacity. Prior/concurrent lameness events, season, parity, and stage of lactation were included as time-dependent effects. Prior/concurrent TS increased the hazard for all other lesions, particularly TSTU, and HU. Having any other prior claw lesion also increased the hazard for all lesions. Hazard was highest in summer for all lesions except TU. Stage of lactation was a significant effect in hazard of TSTU, which was lowest in mid lactation (61 to 150 DIM).

Natural and technologic hazardous material releases during and after natural disasters: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Stacy; Balluz, Lina; Malilay, Josephine

2004-04-25

Natural disasters may be powerful and prominent mechanisms of direct and indirect hazardous material (hazmat) releases. Hazardous materials that are released as the result of a technologic malfunction precipitated by a natural event are referred to as natural-technologic or na-tech events. Na-tech events pose unique environmental and human hazards. Disaster-associated hazardous material releases are of concern, given increases in population density and accelerating industrial development in areas subject to natural disasters. These trends increase the probability of catastrophic future disasters and the potential for mass human exposure to hazardous materials released during disasters. This systematic review summarizes direct and indirect disaster-associated releases, as well as environmental contamination and adverse human health effects that have resulted from natural disaster-related hazmat incidents. Thorough examination of historic disaster-related hazmat releases can be used to identify future threats and improve mitigation and prevention efforts.

Sports Related Injuries: Incidence, Management and Prevention

OpenAIRE

Stanger, Michael A.

1982-01-01

The incidence of injury related to various sports is reviewed according to sport, area of injury, number of participants and hours per week spent at the sport. Organized sports accounted for fewer injuries than unsupervised recreational activities like tree climbing, skateboarding and running. The knee is the most commonly injured site. Sensitivity to patients' commitment to their sport is necessary: sometimes instead of rest, they can substitute a less hazardous form of exercise. Principles ...

Long Term Exposure to NO2 and Diabetes Incidence in the Black Women's Health Study

Science.gov (United States)

Coogan, Patricia F.; White, Laura F.; Yu, Jeffrey; Burnett, Richard T.; Marshall, Julian D.; Seto, Edmund; Brook, Robert D.; Palmer, Julie R.; Rosenberg, Lynn; Jerrett, Michael

2016-01-01

While laboratory studies show that air pollutants can potentiate insulin resistance, the epidemiologic evidence regarding the association of air pollution with diabetes incidence is conflicting. The purpose of the present study was to assess the association of the traffic-related nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with the incidence of diabetes in a longitudinal cohort study of African American women. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for diabetes associated with exposure to NO2 among 43,003 participants in the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS). Pollutant levels at participant residential locations were estimated with 1) a land use regression model for participants living in 56 metropolitan areas, and 2) a dispersion model for participants living in 27 of the cities. From 1995-2011, 4387 cases of diabetes occurred. The hazard ratios per interquartile range of NO2 (9.7 ppb), adjusted for age, metropolitan area, education, vigorous exercise, body mass index, smoking, and diet, were 0.96 (95% CI 0.88-1.06) using the land use regression model estimates and 0.94 (95% CI 0.80, 1.10) using the dispersion model estimates. The present results do not support the hypothesis that exposure to NO2 contributes to diabetes incidence in African American women. PMID:27124624

Estimating hurricane hazards using a GIS system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Taramelli

2008-08-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a GIS-based integrated approach to the Multi-Hazard model method, with reference to hurricanes. This approach has three components: data integration, hazard assessment and score calculation to estimate elements at risk such as affected area and affected population. First, spatial data integration issues within a GIS environment, such as geographical scales and data models, are addressed. Particularly, the integration of physical parameters and population data is achieved linking remotely sensed data with a high resolution population distribution in GIS. In order to assess the number of affected people, involving heterogeneous data sources, the selection of spatial analysis units is basic. Second, specific multi-hazard tasks, such as hazard behaviour simulation and elements at risk assessment, are composed in order to understand complex hazard and provide support for decision making. Finally, the paper concludes that the integrated approach herein presented can be used to assist emergency management of hurricane consequences, in theory and in practice.

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; forest structure and fire hazard fact sheet 02: fire hazard

Science.gov (United States)

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

Fire hazard reflects the potential fire behavior and magnitude of effects as a function of fuel conditions. This fact sheet discusses crown fuels, surface fuels, and ground fuels and their contribution and involvement in wildland fire.Other publications in this series...

A methodology for physically based rockfall hazard assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. B. Crosta

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Rockfall hazard assessment is not simple to achieve in practice and sound, physically based assessment methodologies are still missing. The mobility of rockfalls implies a more difficult hazard definition with respect to other slope instabilities with minimal runout. Rockfall hazard assessment involves complex definitions for "occurrence probability" and "intensity". This paper is an attempt to evaluate rockfall hazard using the results of 3-D numerical modelling on a topography described by a DEM. Maps portraying the maximum frequency of passages, velocity and height of blocks at each model cell, are easily combined in a GIS in order to produce physically based rockfall hazard maps. Different methods are suggested and discussed for rockfall hazard mapping at a regional and local scale both along linear features or within exposed areas. An objective approach based on three-dimensional matrixes providing both a positional "Rockfall Hazard Index" and a "Rockfall Hazard Vector" is presented. The opportunity of combining different parameters in the 3-D matrixes has been evaluated to better express the relative increase in hazard. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the hazard index with respect to the included variables and their combinations is preliminarily discussed in order to constrain as objective as possible assessment criteria.

Truck shipment risks for assessing hazardous materials - a new paradigm incorporating safety and security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greenberg, A.; McSweeney, T.; Allen, J.; Lepofsky, M. [Battelle Memorial Inst., Columbus, OH (United States); Abkowitz, M. [Dept. of Civil Engineering, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)

2004-07-01

Recent terrorist events, most notably September 11, 2001, have taught us that transportation risk management must be performed with a different lens to accommodate terrorism scenarios that would have previously been considered unlikely to warrant serious attention. Given these circumstances, a new paradigm is needed for managing the risks associated with highway transport of hazardous materials. In particular, this paradigm must: 1) more explicitly consider security threat and vulnerability, and 2) integrate security considerations into an overall framework for addressing natural and man-made disasters, be they accidental or planned. This paper summarizes the results of a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the purpose of exploring how a paradigm might evolve in which both safety and security risks can be evaluated as a systematic, integrated process. The work was directed at developing a methodology for assessing the impacts of hazardous materials safety and security incident consequences when transported by highway. This included consideration of the manner in which these materials could be involved in initiating events as well as potential outcomes under a variety of release conditions. The methodology is subsequently applied to various classes of hazardous materials to establish an economic profile of the impacts that might be expected if a major release were to occur. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications associated with this effort.

Truck shipment risks for assessing hazardous materials - a new paradigm incorporating safety and security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, A.; McSweeney, T.; Allen, J.; Lepofsky, M.; Abkowitz, M.

2004-01-01

Recent terrorist events, most notably September 11, 2001, have taught us that transportation risk management must be performed with a different lens to accommodate terrorism scenarios that would have previously been considered unlikely to warrant serious attention. Given these circumstances, a new paradigm is needed for managing the risks associated with highway transport of hazardous materials. In particular, this paradigm must: 1) more explicitly consider security threat and vulnerability, and 2) integrate security considerations into an overall framework for addressing natural and man-made disasters, be they accidental or planned. This paper summarizes the results of a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for the purpose of exploring how a paradigm might evolve in which both safety and security risks can be evaluated as a systematic, integrated process. The work was directed at developing a methodology for assessing the impacts of hazardous materials safety and security incident consequences when transported by highway. This included consideration of the manner in which these materials could be involved in initiating events as well as potential outcomes under a variety of release conditions. The methodology is subsequently applied to various classes of hazardous materials to establish an economic profile of the impacts that might be expected if a major release were to occur. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and implications associated with this effort

Religiousness and Levels of Hazardous Alcohol Use: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jankowski, Peter J; Hardy, Sam A; Zamboanga, Byron L; Ham, Lindsay S; Schwartz, Seth J; Kim, Su Yeong; Forthun, Larry F; Bersamin, Melina M; Donovan, Roxanne A; Whitbourne, Susan Krauss; Hurley, Eric A; Cano, Miguel Ángel

2015-10-01

Prior person-centered research has consistently identified a subgroup of highly religious participants that uses significantly less alcohol when compared to the other subgroups. The construct of religious motivation is absent from existing examinations of the nuanced combinations of religiousness dimensions within persons, and alcohol expectancy valuations have yet to be included as outcome variables. Variable-centered approaches have found religious motivation and alcohol expectancy valuations to play a protective role against individuals' hazardous alcohol use. The current study examined latent religiousness profiles and hazardous alcohol use in a large, multisite sample of ethnically diverse college students. The sample consisted of 7412 college students aged 18-25 (M age = 19.77, SD age = 1.61; 75% female; 61% European American). Three latent profiles were derived from measures of religious involvement, salience, and religious motivations: Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness (highest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; lowest level of extrinsic motivation), Moderate Religiousness (intermediate levels of salience, involvement, and motivations) and Extrinsic Religiousness (lowest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; highest level of extrinsic motivation). The Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness profile scored significantly lower on hazardous alcohol use, positive expectancy outcomes, positive expectancy valuations, and negative expectancy valuations, and significantly higher on negative expectancy outcomes, compared to the other two profiles. The Extrinsic and Moderate Religiousness profiles did not differ significantly on positive expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy valuations, or hazardous alcohol use. The results advance existing research by demonstrating that the protective influence of religiousness on college students' hazardous alcohol use may involve high levels on

Hazardous substances in Europe's fresh and marine waters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Collins, Robert; Brack, Werner; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten

Chemicals are an essential part of our daily lives. They are used to produce consumer goods, to protect or restore our health and to boost food production, to name but a few examples — and they are also involved in a growing range of environmental technologies. Europe's chemical and associated...... on their pattern of use and the potential for exposure. Certain types of naturally occurring chemicals, such as metals, can also be hazardous. Emissions of hazardous substances to the environment can occur at every stage of their life cycle, from production, processing, manufacturing and use in downstream...... regarding chemical contamination arising from the exploitation of shale gas has grown recently. Hazardous substances in water affect aquatic life… Hazardous substances are emitted to water bodies both directly and indirectly through a range of diffuse and point source pathways. The presence of hazardous...

Project plan, Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Training Center: Project 95L-EWT-100

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borgeson, M.E.

1994-01-01

The Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training Center will provide for classroom lectures and hands-on practical training in realistic situations for workers and emergency responders who are tasked with handling and cleanup of toxic substances. The primary objective of the HAMMER project is to provide hands-on training and classroom facilities for hazardous material workers and emergency responders. This project will also contribute towards complying with the planning and training provisions of recent legislation. In March 1989 Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations Occupational Safety and Health Administration 1910 Rules and National Fire Protection Association Standard 472 defined professional requirements for responders to hazardous materials incidents. Two general types of training are addressed for hazardous materials: training for hazardous waste site workers and managers, and training for emergency response organizations

Muscular strength and incident hypertension in normotensive and prehypertensive men.

Science.gov (United States)

Maslow, Andréa L; Sui, Xuemei; Colabianchi, Natalie; Hussey, Jim; Blair, Steven N

2010-02-01

The protective effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on hypertension (HTN) are well known; however, the association between muscular strength and incidence of HTN has yet to be examined. This study evaluated the strength-HTN association with and without accounting for CRF. Participants were 4147 men (age = 20-82 yr) in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study for whom an age-specific composite muscular strength score was computed from measures of a one-repetition maximal leg and a one-repetition maximal bench press. CRF was quantified by maximal treadmill exercise test time in minutes. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals of incident HTN events according to exposure categories. During a mean follow-up of 19 yr, there were 503 incident HTN cases. Multivariable-adjusted (excluding CRF) HR of HTN in normotensive men comparing middle- and high-strength thirds to the lowest third were not significant at 1.17 and 0.84, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted (excluding CRF) HR of HTN in baseline prehypertensive men comparing middle- and high-strength thirds to the lowest third were significant at 0.73 and 0.72 (P = 0.01 each), respectively. The association between muscular strength and incidence of HTN in baseline prehypertensive men was no longer significant after control for CRF (P = 0.26). The study indicated that middle and high levels of muscular strength were associated with a reduced risk of HTN in prehypertensive men only. However, this relationship was no longer significant after controlling for CRF.

Night shift work and incident diabetes among U.S. black women

Science.gov (United States)

Vimalananda, Varsha G.; Palmer, Julie R.; Gerlovin, Hanna; Wise, Lauren A.; Rosenzweig, James L.; Rosenberg, Lynn; Narváez, Edward A. Ruiz

2015-01-01

Aims To assess shift work in relation to incident type 2 diabetes among African American women. Methods In the Black Women's Health Study (BWHS), an ongoing prospective cohort study, we followed 28,041 participants for incident diabetes during 2005-2013. They answered questions in 2005 about having worked the night shift. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident diabetes using Cox proportional hazards models. The basic multivariable model included age, time period, family history of diabetes, education, and neighborhood SES. In further models, we controlled for lifestyle factors and body mass index (BMI). Results Over the 8 years of follow-up, there were 1,786 incident diabetes cases. Relative to never having worked the night shift, HRs (95% CI) of diabetes were 1.17 (1.04, 1.31) for 1-2 years of night shift work, 1.23 (1.06, 1.41) for 3-9 years, and 1.42 (1.19, 1.70) for ≥ 10 years (P-trend shift work and type 2 diabetes remained after multivariable adjustment (P-trend = 0.02). The association did not vary by obesity status, but was stronger in women aged shift work were associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The association was only partially explained by lifestyle factors and BMI. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which shift work may affect risk of diabetes is needed in view of the high prevalence of shift work among U.S. workers. PMID:25586362

Lessons learned from external hazards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peinador, Miguel; Zerger, Benoit [European Commisison Joint Research Centre, Petten (Netherlands). Inst. for Energy and Transport; Ramos, Manuel Martin [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Brussels (Belgium). Nuclear Safety and Security Coordination; Wattrelos, Didier [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Maqua, Michael [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Koeln (Germany)

2014-01-15

This paper presents a study performed by the European Clearinghouse of the Joint Research Centre on Operational Experience for nuclear power plants in cooperation with IRSN and GRS covering events reported by nuclear power plants in relation to external hazards. It summarizes the review of 235 event reports from 3 different databases. The events were grouped in 9 categories according to the nature of the external hazard involved, and the specific lessons learned and recommendations that can be derived from each of these categories are presented. Additional 'cross-cutting' recommendations covering several or all the external hazards considered are also discussed. These recommendations can be useful in preventing this type of events from happening again or in limiting their consequences. The study was launched in 2010 and therefore it does not cover the Fukushima event. This paper presents the main findings and recommendations raised by this study. (orig.)

An evaluation of rabies vaccination rates among canines and felines involved in biting incidents within the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Bottoms, K; Trotz-Williams, L; Hutchison, S; MacLeod, J; Dixon, J; Berke, O; Poljak, Z

2014-11-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the rate of animal bite incidents occurring in the human population of a local health department, and to determine the proportion of these canines and felines that were not up to date on their rabies vaccination at the time the incident occurred. Data were obtained from animal bite incidents reported to Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health during 2010 and 2011. Descriptive statistics of 718 eligible reports revealed the average rate of animal biting was 1.55 bites per 1000 residents per year. Approximately 54% of these animals were vaccinated against rabies, 32% were not up to date with their rabies vaccination, and the remaining 14.5% were of unknown status. The unit of analysis was the municipality, and the four outcomes of interest were: (i) number of animal bite incidents per 1000 residents, (ii) number of dog bite incidents per 1000 residents, (iii) proportion of animals involved in bite incidents that were not up to date with their rabies vaccination, and (iv) proportion of dogs that were not up to date. Associations between the outcomes and selected demographic variables were investigated using regression analysis. The number of veterinary clinics per 10,000 residents, and whether the municipality was urban or rural were identified as significant predictors for the number of animal bites per 1000 residents, and the number of dog bites. There were no significant predictors for the proportion of unvaccinated animals or dogs. Spatial clustering and the location of spatial clusters were assessed using the empirical Bayes index and spatial scan test. This analysis identified five municipalities within the health department that have a high rate of biting incidents and a high proportion of animals that were not up to date on their rabies vaccination. Such municipalities are ideal for targeted educational campaigns regarding the importance of vaccination in pets. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Cancer incidence in Holocaust male survivors-An Israeli cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Keinan-Boker, Lital; Goldbourt, Uri

2016-12-01

Previous studies, often using proxy exposure assessment and not controlling for individual risk factors, suggested higher cancer risk in Holocaust survivors. We have used individual-level data from a male cohort of Israeli civil servants recruited in 1963 to investigate cancer incidence in Holocaust survivors, controlling for potential confounders. The analysis included 4,669 Europe-born subjects; 689 exposed = E (immigrated to Israel after 1939 and reported of being in Nazi camps during World War II); 2,307 potentially exposed = PE (immigrated to Israel after 1939 and reported of not being in Nazi camps); and 1,673 non-exposed = NE (immigrated to Israel prior to 1939). Vital status and cancer incidence in the cohort were determined based on national registries. Socioeconomic level, health behaviors and cancer incidence were compared between the groups and Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusting for potential confounders assessed hazard risk ratios for cancer by exposure status. All-cause mortality was studied as a competing risk. In total, 241, 682, and 522 cancer cases were diagnosed in the E, PE, and NE, respectively. Compared with the NE, all-site cancer incidence was higher in the E (HR = 1.13, 95%CI 0.97-1.32) but not in the PE. All-cause mortality competed with all-site invasive cancer incidence in the E group (HR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.02-1.38). Colorectal and lung cancer seemed to be positively though non-significantly associated with the exposure while prostate cancer was not. Male Holocaust survivors may be at a weakly increased risk for all-site, colorectal and lung cancer. The role of age at exposure and residual confounding should be further investigated. © 2016 UICC.

Hazardous waste and environmental trade: China`s issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma Jiang [National Research Center for Science and Technology for Development, Beijing (China)

1996-12-31

By presenting some case studies, this paper analyzes China`s situation with regard to hazardous waste: its environmental trade, treatment, and management. The paper describes China`s experiences with the environmental trade of hazardous waste in both the internal and international market. Regulations for managing the import of waste are discussed, as are China`s major approaches to the trading of hazardous waste both at home and overseas. The major reasons for setting up the Asian-Pacific Regional Training Center for Technology Transfer and Environmental Sound Management of Wastes in China and the activities involved in this effort are also described. 1 tab.

Stroke incidence and mortality trends in US communities, 1987 to 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Koton, Silvia; Schneider, Andrea L C; Rosamond, Wayne D; Shahar, Eyal; Sang, Yingying; Gottesman, Rebecca F; Coresh, Josef

2014-07-16

Prior studies have shown decreases in stroke mortality over time, but data on validated stroke incidence and long-term trends by race are limited. To study trends in stroke incidence and subsequent mortality among black and white adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort from 1987 to 2011. Prospective cohort study of 14,357 participants (282,097 person-years) free of stroke at baseline was facilitated in 4 different US communities. Participants were recruited for the purpose of studying all stroke hospitalizations and deaths and for collection of baseline information on cardiovascular risk factors (via interviews and physical examinations) in 1987-1989. Participants were followed up (via examinations, annual phone interviews, active surveillance of discharges from local hospitals, and linkage with the National Death Index) through December 31, 2011. The study physician reviewers adjudicated all possible strokes and classified them as definite or probable ischemic or hemorrhagic events. Trends in rates of first-ever stroke per 10 years of calendar time were estimated using Poisson regression incidence rate ratios (IRRs), with subsequent mortality analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models and hazard ratios (HRs) overall and by race, sex, and age divided at 65 years. Among 1051 (7%) participants with incident stroke, there were 929 with incident ischemic stroke and 140 with incident hemorrhagic stroke (18 participants had both during the study period). Crude incidence rates were 3.73 (95% CI, 3.51-3.96) per 1000 person-years for total stroke, 3.29 (95% CI, 3.08-3.50) per 1000 person-years for ischemic stroke, and 0.49 (95% CI, 0.41-0.57) per 1000 person-years for hemorrhagic stroke. Stroke incidence decreased over time in white and black participants (age-adjusted IRRs per 10-year period, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.66-0.87]; absolute decrease of 0.93 per 1000 person-years overall). The decrease in age-adjusted incidence was evident in

Low-level environmental metals and metalloids and incident pregnancy loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Buck Louis, Germaine M; Smarr, Melissa M; Sundaram, Rajeshwari; Steuerwald, Amy J; Sapra, Katherine J; Lu, Zhaohui; Parsons, Patrick J

2017-04-01

Environmental exposure to metals and metalloids is associated with pregnancy loss in some but not all studies. We assessed arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead concentrations in 501 couples upon trying for pregnancy and followed them throughout pregnancy to estimate the risk of incident pregnancy loss. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for pregnancy loss after covariate adjustment for each partner modeled individually then we jointly modeled both partners' concentrations. Incidence of pregnancy loss was 28%. In individual partner models, the highest adjusted HRs were observed for female and male blood cadmium (HR=1.08; CI 0.81, 1.44; HR=1.09; 95% CI 0.84, 1.41, respectively). In couple based models, neither partner's blood cadmium concentrations were associated with loss (HR=1.01; 95% CI 0.75, 1.37; HR=0.92; CI 0.68, 1.25, respectively). We observed no evidence of a significant relation between metal(loids) at these environmentally relevant concentrations and pregnancy loss. Published by Elsevier Inc.

New Developments in Natural Hazard Management

Science.gov (United States)

Stötter, J.; Meißl, G.; Weck-Hannemann, H.; Veulliet, E.

2003-04-01

Natural hazard processes such as avalanches, debris flows, rockfalls, slides, slow mass movements and floods inherently threaten areas used for settlements, economic activities or transport in mountain regions like the Alps. In the recent past an increasing demand for new settlement, traffic and other land use areas has arisen, resulting in intensified utilization of land known to be threatened by natural hazard processes. In the same time a decrease of individual responsibility can be observed, leading to a growing call for protection by public authorities. As public financial resources become more limited in these days and the outsourcing of areas of traditional government responsibility increases, there is an urgent need for new, more effective and efficient strategies in natural hazard management, involving all relevant actors. To meet these new demands in dealing with natural hazards, the "alpS - Centre of Natural Hazard Management" was founded in October 2002 in Innsbruck/Austria, supported by the Austrian Government. Central goal of the alpS - Centre is to elaborate the basis for future sustainable safety of the alpine lebensraum. The following objectives will be addressed by an interdisciplinary team: - Systematic compilation and evaluation of the present situation. - Developing a more efficient and effective way of natural hazard management. - Implementation of a paradigm change. - Development of strategies for natural hazard management under changed frame conditions in the future (global change). Strong emphasis is laid on research on the socio-economic aspects of Natural Hazard Management, which have been more or less neglected up to now.

Harvesting rockfall hazard evaluation parameters from Google Earth Street View

Science.gov (United States)

Partsinevelos, Panagiotis; Agioutantis, Zacharias; Tripolitsiotis, Achilles; Steiakakis, Chrysanthos; Mertikas, Stelios

2015-04-01

Rockfall incidents along highways and railways prove extremely dangerous for properties, infrastructures and human lives. Several qualitative metrics such as the Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS) and the Colorado Rockfall Hazard Rating System (CRHRS) have been established to estimate rockfall potential and provide risk maps in order to control and monitor rockfall incidents. The implementation of such metrics for efficient and reliable risk modeling require accurate knowledge of multi-parametric attributes such as the geological, geotechnical, topographic parameters of the study area. The Missouri Rockfall Hazard Rating System (MORH RS) identifies the most potentially problematic areas using digital video logging for the determination of parameters like slope height and angle, face irregularities, etc. This study aims to harvest in a semi-automated approach geometric and qualitative measures through open source platforms that may provide 3-dimensional views of the areas of interest. More specifically, the Street View platform from Google Maps, is hereby used to provide essential information that can be used towards 3-dimensional reconstruction of slopes along highways. The potential of image capturing along a programmable virtual route to provide the input data for photogrammetric processing is also evaluated. Moreover, qualitative characterization of the geological and geotechnical status, based on the Street View images, is performed. These attributes are then integrated to deliver a GIS-based rockfall hazard map. The 3-dimensional models are compared to actual photogrammetric measures in a rockfall prone area in Crete, Greece while in-situ geotechnical characterization is also used to compare and validate the hazard risk. This work is considered as the first step towards the exploitation of open source platforms to improve road safety and the development of an operational system where authorized agencies (i.e., civil protection) will be able to acquire near

Decreasing fertility rate correlates with the chronological increase and geographical variation in incidence of Kawasaki disease in Japan.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiro Nagao

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease (KD is a common cause of acquired paediatric heart disease in developed countries. KD was first identified in the 1960s in Japan, and has been steadily increasing since it was first reported. The aetiology of KD has not been defined, but is assumed to be infection-related. The present study sought to identify the factor(s that mediate the geographical variation and chronological increase of KD in Japan. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Based upon data reported between 1979 and 2010 from all 47 prefectures in Japan, the incidence and mean patient age at the onset of KD were estimated. Using spatial and time-series analyses, incidence and mean age were regressed against climatic/socioeconomic variables. Both incidence and mean age of KD were inversely correlated with the total fertility rate (TFR; i.e., the number of children that would be born to one woman. The extrapolation of a time-series regressive model suggested that KD emerged in the 1960s because of a dramatic decrease in TFR in the 1940s through the 1950s. CONCLUSIONS: Mean patient age is an inverse surrogate for the hazard of contracting the aetiologic agent. Therefore, the observed negative correlation between mean patient age and TFR suggests that a higher TFR is associated with KD transmission. This relationship may be because a higher TFR facilitates sibling-to-sibling transmission. Additionally, the observed inverse correlation between incidence and TFR implies a paradoxical "negative" correlation between the incidence and the hazard of contracting the aetiologic agent. It was hypothesized that a decreasing TFR resulted in a reduced hazard of contracting the agent for KD, thereby increasing KD incidence.

Hazardous constituent source term. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has several facilities that either generate and/or store transuranic (TRU)-waste from weapons program research and production. Much of this waste also contains hazardous waste constituents as regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Toxicity characteristic metals in the waste principally include lead, occurring in leaded rubber gloves and shielding. Other RCRA metals may occur as contaminants in pyrochemical salt, soil, debris, and sludge and solidified liquids, as well as in equipment resulting from decontamination and decommissioning activities. Volatile organic compounds (VOCS) contaminate many waste forms as a residue adsorbed on surfaces or occur in sludge and solidified liquids. Due to the presence of these hazardous constituents, applicable disposal regulations include land disposal restrictions established by Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA). The DOE plans to dispose of TRU-mixed waste from the weapons program in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) by demonstrating no-migration of hazardous constituents. This paper documents the current technical basis for methodologies proposed to develop a post-closure RCRA hazardous constituent source term. For the purposes of demonstrating no-migration, the hazardous constituent source term is defined as the quantities of hazardous constituents that are available for transport after repository closure. Development of the source term is only one of several activities that will be involved in the no-migration demonstration. The demonstration will also include uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of contaminant transport

Identification of potentially hazardous human gene products in GMO risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmans, Hans; Logie, Colin; Van Maanen, Kees; Hermsen, Harm; Meredyth, Michelle; Van Der Vlugt, Cécile

2008-01-01

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), e.g. viral vectors, could threaten the environment if by their release they spread hazardous gene products. Even in contained use, to prevent adverse consequences, viral vectors carrying genes from mammals or humans should be especially scrutinized as to whether gene products that they synthesize could be hazardous in their new context. Examples of such potentially hazardous gene products (PHGPs) are: protein toxins, products of dominant alleles that have a role in hereditary diseases, gene products and sequences involved in genome rearrangements, gene products involved in immunomodulation or with an endocrine function, gene products involved in apoptosis, activated proto-oncogenes. For contained use of a GMO that carries a construct encoding a PHGP, the precautionary principle dictates that safety measures should be applied on a "worst case" basis, until the risks of the specific case have been assessed. The potential hazard of cloned genes can be estimated before empirical data on the actual GMO become available. Preliminary data may be used to focus hazard identification and risk assessment. Both predictive and empirical data may also help to identify what further information is needed to assess the risk of the GMO. A two-step approach, whereby a PHGP is evaluated for its conceptual dangers, then checked by data bank searches, is delineated here.

Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease Events in Men Compared to Women by Menopause Type and Race

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Catherine; Cushman, Mary; Khodneva, Yulia; Lisabeth, Lynda D; Judd, Suzanne; Kleindorfer, Dawn O; Howard, Virginia J; Safford, Monika M

2015-01-01

Background We examined whether type of menopause affects sex differences in coronary heart disease (CHD) events and whether the impact is similar in blacks and whites. Methods and Results Participants were enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort between 2003 and 2007 without CHD at baseline (n=23 086). Cox regression models were used to calculate the hazard of incident nonfatal CHD (definite or probable myocardial infarction) and acute CHD death, adjusting for age, age at last menstrual period menopause (hazard ratio [HR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31, 0.66) and surgical menopause (HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.42, 0.99) had a reduced hazard of nonfatal events, compared to white men. Black women in natural menopause (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.47, 1.03), but not surgical menopause (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.51, 1.29), had a marginally reduced hazard of nonfatal events, compared to black men. Women had lower risk of acute CHD death than men regardless of their menopause type and race. Conclusions Sex differences in the risk of incident CHD events were larger among whites than blacks and varied by type of menopause. Women consistently had a lower risk of incident CHD death than men, but the magnitude of sex differences was greater in whites than blacks for nonfatal events, regardless of menopause type. PMID:26133958

Lessons learned from recent safety related incidents at A Canadian uranium conversion facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaferi, Jafir

2013-01-01

This paper presents the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's (CNSC) regulatory requirements for nuclear fuel facility licensees to report any situation or incident that results or is likely to result in a hazard to the health or safety of any person or the environment and to submit its incident investigation report with cause(s) of the incident and corrective actions taken or planned. In addition, the paper presents two recent safety-related incidents that occurred at a uranium conversion facility in Canada along with their consequences, causes, corrective actions and any lessons learned. The first incident resulted in a release of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) inside the UF6 cylinder filling station and the second one resulted in a spill of uranium tetrafluoride (UF 4 ) slurry inside the UF6 plant. Both incidents had no impact on the workers or the environment. (authors)

The Cedar Project: high incidence of HCV infections in a longitudinal study of young Aboriginal people who use drugs in two Canadian cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spittal Patricia M

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Factors associated with HCV incidence among young Aboriginal people in Canada are still not well understood. We sought to estimate time to HCV infection and the relative hazard of risk factors associated HCV infection among young Aboriginal people who use injection drugs in two Canadian cities. Methods The Cedar Project is a prospective cohort study involving young Aboriginal people in Vancouver and Prince George, British Columbia, who use illicit drugs. Participants’ venous blood samples were drawn and tested for HCV antibodies. Analysis was restricted to participants who use used injection drugs at enrolment or any of follow up visit. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify independent predictors of time to HCV seroconversion. Results In total, 45 out of 148 participants seroconverted over the study period. Incidence of HCV infection was 26.3 per 100 person-years (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 16.3, 46.1 among participants who reported using injection drugs for two years or less, 14.4 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 7.7, 28.9 among participants who had been using injection drugs for between two and five years, and 5.1 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 2.6,10.9 among participants who had been using injection drugs for over five years. Independent associations with HCV seroconversion were involvement in sex work in the last six months (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.42 compared to no involvement, having been using injection drugs for less than two years (AHR: 4.14; 95% CI: 1.91, 8.94 and for between two and five years (AHR: 2.12; 95%CI: 0.94, 4.77 compared to over five years, daily cocaine injection in the last six months (AHR: 2.47; 95% CI: 1.51, 4.05 compared to less than daily, and sharing intravenous needles in the last six months (AHR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.47, 4.49 compared to not sharing. Conclusions This study contributes to the limited body of research addressing HCV infection among

Flood Hazard Management: British and International Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

James, L. Douglas

This proceedings of an international workshop at the Flood Hazard Research Centre (Queensway, Enfield, Middlesex, U.K.) begins by noting how past British research on flood problems concentrated on refining techniques to implement established policy. In contrast, research covered in North American and Australian publications involved normative issues on policy alternatives and administrative implementation. The workshop's participants included 16 widely recognized scientists, whose origins were about equally divided between Britain and overseas; from this group the workshop's organizers expertly drew ideas for refining British urban riverine flood hazard management and for cultivating links among researchers everywhere. Such intellectual exchange should be of keen interest to flood hazard program managers around the world, to students of comparative institutional performance, to those who make policy on protecting people from hazards, and to hydrologists and other geophysicists who must communicate descriptive information for bureaucratic, political, and public decision- making.

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grossman, Robert F.

2005-01-01

present a general description of the present sources on the NTS and at the North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). At the NLVF, parts of Building A-1 were contaminated with tritium by a previous contractor in 1995. The incident involved the release of tritium as HTO. This unusual occurrence led to a very small potential exposure to an offsite person. The HTO emission has continued at lower levels (probably re-emanation from building materials), even after cleanup activities in November and December 1997. A description of the incident and the potential effective dose equivalent (EDE) for offsite exposure are set forth in Appendix A

Hazard Detection Software for Lunar Landing

Science.gov (United States)

Huertas, Andres; Johnson, Andrew E.; Werner, Robert A.; Montgomery, James F.

2011-01-01

The Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Project is developing a system for safe and precise manned lunar landing that involves novel sensors, but also specific algorithms. ALHAT has selected imaging LIDAR (light detection and ranging) as the sensing modality for onboard hazard detection because imaging LIDARs can rapidly generate direct measurements of the lunar surface elevation from high altitude. Then, starting with the LIDAR-based Hazard Detection and Avoidance (HDA) algorithm developed for Mars Landing, JPL has developed a mature set of HDA software for the manned lunar landing problem. Landing hazards exist everywhere on the Moon, and many of the more desirable landing sites are near the most hazardous terrain, so HDA is needed to autonomously and safely land payloads over much of the lunar surface. The HDA requirements used in the ALHAT project are to detect hazards that are 0.3 m tall or higher and slopes that are 5 or greater. Steep slopes, rocks, cliffs, and gullies are all hazards for landing and, by computing the local slope and roughness in an elevation map, all of these hazards can be detected. The algorithm in this innovation is used to measure slope and roughness hazards. In addition to detecting these hazards, the HDA capability also is able to find a safe landing site free of these hazards for a lunar lander with diameter .15 m over most of the lunar surface. This software includes an implementation of the HDA algorithm, software for generating simulated lunar terrain maps for testing, hazard detection performance analysis tools, and associated documentation. The HDA software has been deployed to Langley Research Center and integrated into the POST II Monte Carlo simulation environment. The high-fidelity Monte Carlo simulations determine the required ground spacing between LIDAR samples (ground sample distances) and the noise on the LIDAR range measurement. This simulation has also been used to determine the effect of

The California Hazards Institute

Science.gov (United States)

Rundle, J. B.; Kellogg, L. H.; Turcotte, D. L.

2006-12-01

leaders, managers, stakeholders, policy makers, educators and the public to effectively and comprehensively combat the problems caused by the natural hazards that threaten California. During this first year of operation, UC faculty involved in the CHI will identify the science and technology research priorities of the Institute, followed by the solicitation of participation by other important stakeholders within California. The CHI is founded upon the idea that the hazards associated with events such as earthquakes and floods need not become great disasters such as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and 2005 Hurricane Katrina if these hazards can be anticipated proactively, before they must be dealt with reactively.

A complete electrical hazard classification system and its application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gordon, Lloyd B [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Cartelli, Laura [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

electrical hazards. The new comprehensive electrical hazard classification system uses a combination of voltage, shock current available, fault current available, power, energy, and waveform to classify all forms of electrical hazards. Based on this electrical hazard classification system, many new tools have been developed, including (a) work controls for these hazards, (b) better selection of PPE for R&D work, (c) improved training, and (d) a new Severity Ranking Tool that is used to rank electrical accidents and incidents with various forms of electrical energy.

Reduced incidence of lung cancer in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treated with pirfenidone.

Science.gov (United States)

Miura, Yukiko; Saito, Takefumi; Tanaka, Toru; Takoi, Hiroyuki; Yatagai, Yohei; Inomata, Minoru; Nei, Takahito; Saito, Yoshinobu; Gemma, Akihiko; Azuma, Arata

2018-01-01

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease with a worse prognosis than some types of cancer. In patients with IPF, lung cancer is critical because of the associated high mortality rate from its progression and fatal complications from anticancer treatments. Therefore, preventing lung cancer in patients with IPF is primordial. Pirfenidone is an anti-fibrotic agent that reduces the decline in forced vital capacity. This study aimed to assess the effect of pirfenidone in the development of lung cancer in patients with IPF. Data from 261 patients with IPF with and without pirfenidone were retrospectively reviewed, and the incidence of lung cancer was analyzed. In the pirfenidone group, the incidence of lung cancer was significantly lower than in the non-pirfenidone group (2.4% vs. 22.0%, P < 0.0001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that pirfenidone decreased the risk of lung cancer (hazard ratio, 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.46; P = 0.003), whereas coexisting emphysema increased the incidence of lung cancer (hazard ratio, 3.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.35 to 7.70; P = 0.009). Pirfenidone might correlate with a decreased risk of lung cancer in patients with IPF. However, no definite conclusion can be drawn from this retrospective study, and a multicenter, prospective cohort study is still warranted to confirm the effect of pirfenidone on lung cancer in patients with IPF. Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrating Volcanic Hazard Data in a Systematic Approach to Develop Volcanic Hazard Maps in the Lesser Antilles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan M. Lindsay

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We report on the process of generating the first suite of integrated volcanic hazard zonation maps for the islands of Dominica, Grenada (including Kick ‘em Jenny and Ronde/Caille, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent in the Lesser Antilles. We developed a systematic approach that accommodated the range in prior knowledge of the volcanoes in the region. A first-order hazard assessment for each island was used to develop one or more scenario(s of likely future activity, for which scenario-based hazard maps were generated. For the most-likely scenario on each island we also produced a poster-sized integrated volcanic hazard zonation map, which combined the individual hazardous phenomena depicted in the scenario-based hazard maps into integrated hazard zones. We document the philosophy behind the generation of this suite of maps, and the method by which hazard information was combined to create integrated hazard zonation maps, and illustrate our approach through a case study of St. Vincent. We also outline some of the challenges we faced using this approach, and the lessons we have learned by observing how stakeholders have interacted with the maps over the past ~10 years. Based on our experience, we recommend that future map makers involve stakeholders in the entire map generation process, especially when making design choices such as type of base map, use of colour and gradational boundaries, and indeed what to depict on the map. We also recommend careful consideration of how to evaluate and depict offshore hazard of island volcanoes, and recommend computer-assisted modelling of all phenomena to generate more realistic hazard footprints. Finally, although our systematic approach to integrating individual hazard data into zones generally worked well, we suggest that a better approach might be to treat the integration of hazards on a case-by-case basis to ensure the final product meets map users' needs. We hope that

Hazardous Waste/Mixed Waste Treatment Building Safety Information Document (SID)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatell, L.B.; Woolsey, G.B.

1993-01-01

This Safety Information Document (SID) provides a description and analysis of operations for the Hazardous Waste/Mixed Waste Disposal Facility Treatment Building (the Treatment Building). The Treatment Building has been classified as a moderate hazard facility, and the level of analysis performed and the methodology used are based on that classification. Preliminary design of the Treatment Building has identified the need for two separate buildings for waste treatment processes. The term Treatment Building applies to all these facilities. The evaluation of safety for the Treatment Building is accomplished in part by the identification of hazards associated with the facility and the analysis of the facility's response to postulated events involving those hazards. The events are analyzed in terms of the facility features that minimize the causes of such events, the quantitative determination of the consequences, and the ability of the facility to cope with each event should it occur. The SID presents the methodology, assumptions, and results of the systematic evaluation of hazards associated with operation of the Treatment Building. The SID also addresses the spectrum of postulated credible events, involving those hazards, that could occur. Facility features important to safety are identified and discussed in the SID. The SID identifies hazards and reports the analysis of the spectrum of credible postulated events that can result in the following consequences: Personnel exposure to radiation; Radioactive material release to the environment; Personnel exposure to hazardous chemicals; Hazardous chemical release to the environment; Events leading to an onsite/offsite fatality; and Significant damage to government property. The SID addresses the consequences to the onsite and offsite populations resulting from postulated credible events and the safety features in place to control and mitigate the consequences

Hazardous Waste/Mixed Waste Treatment Building Safety Information Document (SID)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fatell, L.B.; Woolsey, G.B.

1993-04-15

This Safety Information Document (SID) provides a description and analysis of operations for the Hazardous Waste/Mixed Waste Disposal Facility Treatment Building (the Treatment Building). The Treatment Building has been classified as a moderate hazard facility, and the level of analysis performed and the methodology used are based on that classification. Preliminary design of the Treatment Building has identified the need for two separate buildings for waste treatment processes. The term Treatment Building applies to all these facilities. The evaluation of safety for the Treatment Building is accomplished in part by the identification of hazards associated with the facility and the analysis of the facility`s response to postulated events involving those hazards. The events are analyzed in terms of the facility features that minimize the causes of such events, the quantitative determination of the consequences, and the ability of the facility to cope with each event should it occur. The SID presents the methodology, assumptions, and results of the systematic evaluation of hazards associated with operation of the Treatment Building. The SID also addresses the spectrum of postulated credible events, involving those hazards, that could occur. Facility features important to safety are identified and discussed in the SID. The SID identifies hazards and reports the analysis of the spectrum of credible postulated events that can result in the following consequences: Personnel exposure to radiation; Radioactive material release to the environment; Personnel exposure to hazardous chemicals; Hazardous chemical release to the environment; Events leading to an onsite/offsite fatality; and Significant damage to government property. The SID addresses the consequences to the onsite and offsite populations resulting from postulated credible events and the safety features in place to control and mitigate the consequences.

Hazardous waste incinerator permitting in Texas from inception to operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simms, M.D.; McDonnell, R.G. III

1991-01-01

The regulatory permitting process for hazardous waste incinerators i a long and arduous proposition requiring a well-developed overall strategy. In Texas, RCRA permits for the operation of hazardous waste incinerator facilities are issued through the federally delegated Texas Water Commission (TWC). While the TWC has primacy in the issuance of RCRA permits for hazardous waste incinerators, the Texas Air Control Board (TACB) provides a significant portion of the Part B application review and provides much of the permit language. In addition to dealing with regulatory agencies, RCRA permitting provides by significant public involvement. Often the lack of public support becomes a major roadblock for an incinerator project. In order to establish an effective strategy which addresses the concerns of regulatory agencies and the public, it is important to have an understanding of the steps involved in obtaining a permit. A permit applicant seeking to construct a new hazardous waste incinerator can expect to go through a preapplication meeting with government regulators, a site selection process, file an application, respond to calls for additional technical information from both the TACB and the TWC, defend the application in a hearing, have a recommendation from a TWC hearing examiner and, finally, receive a determination from the TWC's Commissioners. Presuming a favorable response from the Commission, the permittee will be granted a trial burn permit and may proceed with the construction, certification and execution of a trial burn at the facility. Subsequent to publication of the trial burn results and approval by the TWC, the permittee will possess an operational hazardous waste incinerator permit. The paper describes the major steps required to receive an operational permit for a hazardous waste incinerator in the State of Texas. Important issues involved in each step will be discussed including insights gained from recent incinerator permitting efforts

Traffic incident management resource management.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

The necessity of a multi-disciplinary approach involving law enforcement, fire and rescue, transportation, towing and recovery, and others has been well-recognized and integrated into incident management operations. This same multidisciplinar...

Estimating a population cumulative incidence under calendar time trends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Stefan N; Overgaard, Morten; Andersen, Per K

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: The risk of a disease or psychiatric disorder is frequently measured by the age-specific cumulative incidence. Cumulative incidence estimates are often derived in cohort studies with individuals recruited over calendar time and with the end of follow-up governed by a specific date...... by calendar time trends, the total sample Kaplan-Meier and Aalen-Johansen estimators do not provide useful estimates of the general risk in the target population. We present some alternatives to this type of analysis. RESULTS: We show how a proportional hazards model may be used to extrapolate disease risk...... estimates if proportionality is a reasonable assumption. If not reasonable, we instead advocate that a more useful description of the disease risk lies in the age-specific cumulative incidence curves across strata given by time of entry or perhaps just the end of follow-up estimates across all strata...

Survey of reportable incidents in nuclear power plants in Germany in the year 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

In 1992, 223 reportable incidents in German nuclear power plant have been reported. There was no radioactivity release exceeding the maximum permissible limits, and there were no hazardous effects on the population or the environment. There was no incident belonging to category S of the official event scale, requiring urgent notification, while there were two incidents requiring immediate notification. All other incidents reported belonged to category N, the lowest on the scale, requiring normal notification. 216 incidents belonged to category 0 of the INES scale, and 7 to INES category 1 (disturbance). The tabulated survey of the report lists the various events and their position on the INES scale. The reportable events have been analysed thoroughly from various viewpoints, but no systematic pattern of weak points could be detected. (orig./HP) [de

Redefining the impact of nutrition on breast cancer incidence: is epigenetics involved?

Science.gov (United States)

Teegarden, Dorothy; Romieu, Isabelle; Lelièvre, Sophie A.

2014-01-01

Breast cancer incidence is rising worldwide with an increase in aggressive neoplasias in young women. Possible factors involved include lifestyle changes, notably diet that is known to make an impact on gene transcription. However, among dietary factors, there is sufficient support for only greater body weight and alcohol consumption whereas numerous studies revealing an impact of specific diets and nutrients on breast cancer risk show conflicting results. Also, little information is available from middle- and low-income countries. The diversity of gene expression profiles found in breast cancers indicates that transcription control is critical for the outcome of the disease. This suggests the need for studies on nutrients that affect epigenetic mechanisms of transcription, such as DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of histones. In the present review, a new examination of the relationship between diet and breast cancer based on transcription control is proposed in light of epidemiological, animal and clinical studies. The mechanisms underlying the impact of diets on breast cancer development and factors that impede reaching clear conclusions are discussed. Understanding the interaction between nutrition and epigenetics (gene expression control via chromatin structure) is critical in light of the influence of diet during early stages of mammary gland development on breast cancer risk, suggesting a persistent effect on gene expression as shown by the influence of certain nutrients on DNA methylation. Successful development of breast cancer prevention strategies will require appropriate models, identification of biological markers for rapid assessment of preventive interventions, and coordinated worldwide research to discern the effects of diet. PMID:22853843

Radiological Cs-137 accidents/incidents in Estonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinisso, Mark

1997-01-01

Two radiological accidents/incidents in Estonia are reported. The first -21 October 1994, three brothers entered the Tammiku repository and stole a radioactive Cs-137 source and received dangerous doses of radiation. The other incident (early 1995) involved an abandoned source - a discarded metal cylinder containing Cs-137. Chronologies and factual data are considered for both events. Concise descriptions of the incidents, a medical overview of the fate of injured people and lessons learned are presented

Radiological Cs-137 accidents/incidents in Estonia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinisso, Mark [Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tallin (Estonia)

1997-12-31

Two radiological accidents/incidents in Estonia are reported. The first -21 October 1994, three brothers entered the Tammiku repository and stole a radioactive Cs-137 source and received dangerous doses of radiation. The other incident (early 1995) involved an abandoned source - a discarded metal cylinder containing Cs-137. Chronologies and factual data are considered for both events. Concise descriptions of the incidents, a medical overview of the fate of injured people and lessons learned are presented

30 CFR 56.9310 - Chute hazards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-SURFACE METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Loading, Hauling, and Dumping Safety... hangups shall be experienced and familiar with the task, know the hazards involved, and use the proper...

30 CFR 57.9310 - Chute hazards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Loading, Hauling, and Dumping... free chute hangups shall be experienced and familiar with the task, know the hazards involved, and use...

Hazard Prevention Regarding Occupational Accidents Involving Blue-Collar Foreign Workers: A Perspective of Taiwanese Manpower Agencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Huan-Cheng; Wang, Mei-Chin; Liao, Hung-Chang; Cheng, Shu-Fang; Wang, Ya-Huei

2016-07-13

Since 1989, blue-collar foreign workers have been permitted to work in Taiwanese industries. Most blue-collar foreign workers apply for jobs in Taiwan through blue-collar foreign workers' agencies. Because blue-collar foreign workers are not familiar with the language and culture in Taiwan, in occupational accident education and hazard prevention, the agencies play an important role in the coordination and translation between employees and blue-collar foreign workers. The purpose of this study is to establish the agencies' role in the occupational accidents education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. This study uses a qualitative method-grounded theory-to collect, code, and analyze the data in order to understand the agencies' role in occupational accident education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. The results show that the duty of agencies in occupational accident education and hazard prevention includes selecting appropriate blue-collar foreign workers, communicating between employees and blue-collar foreign workers, collecting occupational safety and health information, assisting in the training of occupational safety and health, and helping blue-collar foreign workers adapt to their lives in Taiwan. Finally, this study suggests seven important points and discusses the implementation process necessary to improve governmental policies. The government and employees should pay attention to the education/training of occupational safety and health for blue-collar foreign workers to eliminate unsafe behavior in order to protect the lives of blue-collar foreign workers.

Hazard Prevention Regarding Occupational Accidents Involving Blue-Collar Foreign Workers: A Perspective of Taiwanese Manpower Agencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huan-Cheng Chang

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Since 1989, blue-collar foreign workers have been permitted to work in Taiwanese industries. Most blue-collar foreign workers apply for jobs in Taiwan through blue-collar foreign workers’ agencies. Because blue-collar foreign workers are not familiar with the language and culture in Taiwan, in occupational accident education and hazard prevention, the agencies play an important role in the coordination and translation between employees and blue-collar foreign workers. The purpose of this study is to establish the agencies’ role in the occupational accidents education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. This study uses a qualitative method—grounded theory—to collect, code, and analyze the data in order to understand the agencies’ role in occupational accident education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. The results show that the duty of agencies in occupational accident education and hazard prevention includes selecting appropriate blue-collar foreign workers, communicating between employees and blue-collar foreign workers, collecting occupational safety and health information, assisting in the training of occupational safety and health, and helping blue-collar foreign workers adapt to their lives in Taiwan. Finally, this study suggests seven important points and discusses the implementation process necessary to improve governmental policies. The government and employees should pay attention to the education/training of occupational safety and health for blue-collar foreign workers to eliminate unsafe behavior in order to protect the lives of blue-collar foreign workers.

Human Q fever incidence is associated to spatiotemporal environmental conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.P.G. Van Leuken

2016-12-01

We conclude that environmental conditions are correlated to human Q fever incidence rate. Similar research with data from other outbreaks would be needed to more firmly establish our findings. This could lead to better estimations of the public health risk of a C. burnetii outbreak, and to more detailed and accurate hazard maps that could be used for spatial planning of livestock operations.

a study of the slope of cox proportional hazard and weibull models

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Adejumo & Ahmadu

known and the hazard function is completely specified except for the values of the ... through the air when people who have an active TB infection, cough, sneeze ... The increase of. TB incidence is highest in Africa and Asia, areas with the highest ... further complicating treatment by increasing the length and cost of therapy.

Incident Atrial Fibrillation and Disability-Free Survival in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Erin R; Siscovick, David S; Sitlani, Colleen M; Dublin, Sascha; Mitchell, Pamela H; Odden, Michelle C; Hirsch, Calvin H; Thielke, Stephen; Heckbert, Susan R

2016-04-01

To assess the associations between incident atrial fibrillation (AF) and disability-free survival and risk of disability. Prospective cohort study. Cardiovascular Health Study. Individuals aged 65 and older and enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare followed between 1991 and 2009 (MN = 4,046). Individuals with prevalent AF, activity of daily living (ADL) disability, or a history of stroke or heart failure at baseline were excluded. Incident AF was identified according to annual study electrocardiogram, hospital discharge diagnosis, or Medicare claims. Disability-free survival was defined as survival free of ADL disability (any difficulty or inability in bathing, dressing, eating, using the toilet, walking around the home, or getting out of a bed or chair). ADLs were assessed at annual study visits or in a telephone interview. Association between incident AF and disability-free survival or risk of disability was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Over an average of 7.0 years of follow-up, 660 individuals (16.3%) developed incident AF, and 3,112 (77%) became disabled or died. Incident AF was associated with shorter disability-free survival (hazard ratio (HR) for death or ADL disability = 1.71, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.55-1.90) and a higher risk of ADL disability (HR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.18-1.58) than in individuals with no history of AF. This association persisted after adjustment for interim stroke and heart failure. These results suggest that AF is a risk factor for shorter functional longevity in older adults, independent of other risk factors and comorbid conditions. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Sustainable System for Residual Hazards Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kevin M. Kostelnik; James H. Clarke; Jerry L. Harbour

2004-01-01

Hazardous, radioactive and other toxic substances have routinely been generated and subsequently disposed of in the shallow subsurface throughout the world. Many of today's waste management techniques do not eliminate the problem, but rather only concentrate or contain the hazardous contaminants. Residual hazards result from the presence of hazardous and/or contaminated material that remains on-site following active operations or the completion of remedial actions. Residual hazards pose continued risk to humans and the environment and represent a significant and chronic problem that require continuous long-term management (i.e. >1000 years). To protect human health and safeguard the natural environment, a sustainable system is required for the proper management of residual hazards. A sustainable system for the management of residual hazards will require the integration of engineered, institutional and land-use controls to isolate residual contaminants and thus minimize the associated hazards. Engineered controls are physical modifications to the natural setting and ecosystem, including the site, facility, and/or the residual materials themselves, in order to reduce or eliminate the potential for exposure to contaminants of concern (COCs). Institutional controls are processes, instruments, and mechanisms designed to influence human behavior and activity. System failure can involve hazardous material escaping from the confinement because of system degradation (i.e., chronic or acute degradation) or by external intrusion of the biosphere into the contaminated material because of the loss of institutional control. An ongoing analysis of contemporary and historic sites suggests that the significance of the loss of institutional controls is a critical pathway because decisions made during the operations/remedial action phase, as well as decisions made throughout the residual hazards management period, are key to the long-term success of the prescribed system. In fact

Associations of Conventional Echocardiographic Measures with Incident Heart Failure and Mortality: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubin, Ruth F; Deo, Rajat; Bansal, Nisha; Anderson, Amanda H; Yang, Peter; Go, Alan S; Keane, Martin; Townsend, Ray; Porter, Anna; Budoff, Matthew; Malik, Shaista; He, Jiang; Rahman, Mahboob; Wright, Jackson; Cappola, Thomas; Kallem, Radhakrishna; Roy, Jason; Sha, Daohang; Shlipak, Michael G

2017-01-06

Heart failure is the most frequent cardiac complication of CKD. Left ventricular hypertrophy is common and develops early in CKD, but studies have not adequately evaluated the association of left ventricular mass index with heart failure incidence among men and women with CKD. We evaluated echocardiograms of 2567 participants without self-reported heart failure enrolled in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study. Two-dimensional echocardiograms were performed at the year 1 study visit and interpreted at a central core laboratory. Left ventricular mass index was calculated using the linear method, indexed to height 2.7 , and analyzed using sex-specific quartiles. The primary outcomes of incident heart failure and all-cause mortality were adjudicated over a median of 6.6 (interquartile range, 5.7-7.6) years. Among 2567 participants, 45% were women, and 54% were nonwhite race; mean (SD) age was 59±11 years old, and mean eGFR was 44±17 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 . During a median follow-up period of 6.6 years, 262 participants developed heart failure, and 470 participants died. Compared with participants in the first quartile of left ventricular mass index, those in the highest quartile had higher rates of incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 3.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.96 to 8.02) and mortality (hazard ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.22 to 2.85), even after adjustment for B-type natriuretic peptide, troponin T, mineral metabolism markers, and other cardiovascular disease risk factors. Those in the lowest quartile of ejection fraction had higher rates of incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 3.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.94 to 4.67) but similar mortality rates (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.57) compared with those in the highest quartile. Diastolic dysfunction was not significantly associated with heart failure or death. Among persons with CKD and without history of cardiovascular disease, left ventricular mass index is

Associations of Conventional Echocardiographic Measures with Incident Heart Failure and Mortality: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort

Science.gov (United States)

Deo, Rajat; Bansal, Nisha; Anderson, Amanda H.; Yang, Peter; Go, Alan S.; Keane, Martin; Townsend, Ray; Porter, Anna; Budoff, Matthew; Malik, Shaista; He, Jiang; Rahman, Mahboob; Wright, Jackson; Cappola, Thomas; Kallem, Radhakrishna; Roy, Jason; Sha, Daohang; Shlipak, Michael G.

2017-01-01

Background and objectives Heart failure is the most frequent cardiac complication of CKD. Left ventricular hypertrophy is common and develops early in CKD, but studies have not adequately evaluated the association of left ventricular mass index with heart failure incidence among men and women with CKD. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We evaluated echocardiograms of 2567 participants without self–reported heart failure enrolled in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study. Two-dimensional echocardiograms were performed at the year 1 study visit and interpreted at a central core laboratory. Left ventricular mass index was calculated using the linear method, indexed to height2.7, and analyzed using sex-specific quartiles. The primary outcomes of incident heart failure and all-cause mortality were adjudicated over a median of 6.6 (interquartile range, 5.7–7.6) years. Results Among 2567 participants, 45% were women, and 54% were nonwhite race; mean (SD) age was 59±11 years old, and mean eGFR was 44±17 ml/min per 1.73 m2. During a median follow-up period of 6.6 years, 262 participants developed heart failure, and 470 participants died. Compared with participants in the first quartile of left ventricular mass index, those in the highest quartile had higher rates of incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 3.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.96 to 8.02) and mortality (hazard ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.22 to 2.85), even after adjustment for B–type natriuretic peptide, troponin T, mineral metabolism markers, and other cardiovascular disease risk factors. Those in the lowest quartile of ejection fraction had higher rates of incident heart failure (hazard ratio, 3.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.94 to 4.67) but similar mortality rates (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.57) compared with those in the highest quartile. Diastolic dysfunction was not significantly associated with heart failure or death. Conclusions Among persons

New Multi-HAzard and MulTi-RIsk Assessment MethodS for Europe (MATRIX): A research program towards mitigating multiple hazards and risks in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, K. M.; Zschau, J.; Gasparini, P.; Modaressi, H.; Matrix Consortium

2011-12-01

Scientists, engineers, civil protection and disaster managers typically treat natural hazards and risks individually. This leads to the situation where the frequent causal relationships between the different hazards and risks, e.g., earthquakes and volcanos, or floods and landslides, are ignored. Such an oversight may potentially lead to inefficient mitigation planning. As part of their efforts to confront this issue, the European Union, under its FP7 program, is supporting the New Multi-HAzard and MulTi-RIsK Assessment MethodS for Europe or MATRIX project. The focus of MATRIX is on natural hazards, in particular earthquakes, landslides, volcanos, wild fires, storms and fluvial and coastal flooding. MATRIX will endeavour to develop methods and tools to tackle multi-type natural hazards and risks within a common framework, focusing on methodologies that are suited to the European context. The work will involve an assessment of current single-type hazard and risk assessment methodologies, including a comparison and quantification of uncertainties and harmonization of single-type methods, examining the consequence of cascade effects within a multi-hazard environment, time-dependent vulnerability, decision making and support for multi-hazard mitigation and adaption, and a series of test cases. Three test sites are being used to assess the methods developed within the project (Naples, Cologne, and the French West Indies), as well as a "virtual city" based on a comprehensive IT platform that will allow scenarios not represented by the test cases to be examined. In addition, a comprehensive dissemination program that will involve national platforms for disaster management, as well as various outreach activities, will be undertaken. The MATRIX consortium consists of ten research institutions (nine European and one Canadian), an end-user (i.e., one of the European national platforms for disaster reduction) and a partner from industry.

Post-Cataract Surgery Optic Neuropathy: Prevalence, Incidence, Temporal Relationship, and Fellow Eye Involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Moradi, Ahmadreza; Kanagalingam, Sivashakthi; Diener-West, Marie; Miller, Neil R

2017-03-01

To reassess the prevalence and incidence of post-cataract surgery optic neuropathy (PCSON) in the modern era. Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Single-center tertiary care practice. All patients with a diagnosis of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) seen in the Wilmer Eye Network system between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014 were included. Inclusion was based on the following: (1) a history of an acute unilateral decrease in vision, (2) a visual field defect consistent with NAION, (3) a relative afferent pupillary defect, (4) observed optic disc swelling, and (5) no other etiology being found. The prevalence and incidence of PCSON and the temporal association between surgery and onset of PCSON. The secondary outcome was the risk of PCSON in the fellow eye of patients with prior unilateral spontaneous NAION. One hundred eighty-eight patients had developed NAION during the study period. Of these, 18 (9.6%) had undergone cataract surgery (CS) during the year prior to developing NAION. There was no significant temporal pattern associated with the distribution of NAION cases (P = .28). The incidence of PCSON in patients who had noncomplex CS was 10.9 cases per 100 000 (95% CI, 1.3, 39.4). Our data indicate that both the prevalence and incidence of NAION after modern CS are comparable to those of the general population and that there is no significant temporal relationship between modern CS and the subsequent development of NAION in the operated eye. Thus, although this study has inherent biases owing to its retrospective nature, concern regarding an increased risk of PCSON in the fellow eye in patients who have experienced it or spontaneous NAION in 1 eye may be unwarranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and incident functional disability in elderly Japanese: The Tsurugaya Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Kentaro; Kaiho, Yu; Tomata, Yasutake; Narita, Mamoru; Tanji, Fumiya; Sugiyama, Kemmyo; Sugawara, Yumi; Tsuji, Ichiro

2017-04-01

To test the hypothesis that elderly persons who feel ikigai (a sense of life worth living) have a lower risk of incident functional disability than those who do not. Recent studies have suggested that ikigai impacts on mortality. However, its impact upon disability is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between ikigai and incident functional disability among elderly persons. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 830 Japanese elderly persons aged ≥70 years as a comprehensive geriatric assessment in 2003. Information on ikigai was collected by self-reported questionnaire. Data on functional disability were retrieved from the public Long-term Care Insurance database in which participants were followed up for 11 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incidence of functional disability were calculated for three groups delineated according to the presence of ikigai (“no”, “uncertain” or “yes”) using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The 11-year incidence of functional disability was 53.3% (442 cases). As compared with the “no” group, the multiple-adjusted HR (95% CI) of incident functional disability was 0.61 (0.36–1.02) for the “uncertain” group and 0.50 (0.30–0.84) for the “yes” group. A stronger degree of ikigai is significantly associated with a lower risk of incident functional disability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Classification,Hazards and Countermeasures of Agricultural Environmental Pollution Emergencies

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Xiaoming; CHUAI; Haixia; ZHOU; Jianping; ZHAO; Shubo; CHENG; Jiang; YU

2013-01-01

Agricultural environmental pollution emergencies have become a hot research topic because of the high incidence and influence depth.This paper introduces classification and features of agricultural environmental pollution emergencies:by pollutant type,it falls into organic pollution emergencies and inorganic pollution emergencies;by the approach of entering agricultural environment,it falls into water resource agricultural environmental pollution emergencies and non-water resource agricultural environmental pollution emergencies.Hazards of agricultural environmental pollution emergencies are analyzed from 4 perspectives:personal security,indirect loss,ecological environment and social stability.In view of the hazards,countermeasures are given to deal with the pollution emergencies as(i)establishing a risk evaluation mechanism for agricultural environment;(ii)enhancing the capacity of handling agricultural environmental pollution emergencies;(iii)introducing new management concepts for environmental emergencies,and cultivating keen emergency management consciousness.

Associations between Neighborhood Walkability and Incident and Ongoing Asthma in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Elinor; Dell, Sharon D; Moineddin, Rahim; To, Teresa

2018-06-01

Childhood asthma has shown variable associations with children's physical activity. Neighborhood walkability captures community features that promote walking and is protective against some chronic conditions, such as obesity and diabetes. We evaluated associations between home neighborhood walkability and incident and ongoing childhood asthma. In this population-based cohort study, we used prospectively collected administrative healthcare data for the Province of Ontario housed at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. We followed an administrative data cohort of 326,383 Toronto children born between 1997 and 2003, inclusive, until ages 8-15 years. Home neighborhood walkability quintile was measured using a validated walkability index with four dimensions: population density, dwelling density, access to retail and services, and street connectivity. Incident asthma was defined by time of entry into the validated Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System database, which requires two outpatient visits for asthma within two consecutive years or any hospitalization for asthma and follows children with asthma longitudinally starting at any age. Associations between walkability and incident asthma were examined using Cox proportional hazards models. Associations between ongoing asthma and walkability in each year of life were examined using generalized linear mixed models. Twenty-one percent of children (n = 69,628) developed incident asthma and were followed longitudinally in the Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System database. Low birth home neighborhood walkability was associated with an increased incidence of asthma (hazard ratio, 1.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.14). Among children with asthma, low walkability in a given year of a child`s life was associated with greater odds of ongoing asthma in the same year (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-1.14). Children living in neighborhoods with low walkability were at increased

Increased incidence of cancer observed in HIV/hepatitis C virus-coinfected patients versus HIV-monoinfected.

Science.gov (United States)

Meijide, Héctor; Pértega, Sonia; Rodríguez-Osorio, Iria; Castro-Iglesias, Ángeles; Baliñas, Josefa; Rodríguez-Martínez, Guillermo; Mena, Álvaro; Poveda, Eva

2017-05-15

Cancer is a growing problem in persons living with HIV infection (PLWH) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection could play an additional role in carcinogenesis. Herein, all cancers in an HIV-mono and HIV/HCV-coinfected cohort were evaluated and compared to identify any differences between these two populations. A retrospective cohort study was conducted including all cancers in PLWH between 1993 and 2014. Cancers were classified in two groups: AIDS-defining cancer (ADC) and non-AIDS-defining cancer (NADC). Cancer incidence rates were calculated and compared with that observed in the Spanish general population (GLOBOCAN, 2012), computing the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs). A competing risk approach was used to estimate the probability of cancer after HIV diagnosis. Cumulative incidence in HIV-monoinfected and HIV/HCV-coinfected patients was also compared using multivariable analysis. A total of 185 patients (117 HIV-monoinfected and 68 HIV/HCV) developed cancer in the 26 580 patient-years cohort, with an incidence rate of 696 cancers per 100 000 person-years, higher than in the general population (SIR = 3.8). The incidence rate of NADC in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients was 415.0 (SIR = 3.4), significantly higher than in monoinfected (377.3; SIR = 1.8). After adjustments, HIV/HCV-coinfected patients had a higher cumulative incidence of NADC than HIV-monoinfected (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.80), even when excluding hepatocellular carcinomas (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.26). PLWH have a higher incidence of NADC than the general population and HCV-coinfection is associated with a higher incidence of NADC. These data justify the need for prevention strategies in these two populations and the importance of eradicating HCV.

Resilience to Interacting multi-natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuo, Lu; Han, Dawei

2016-04-01

temporal changes in hazards and vulnerability during successive hazards; 2) hazard monitoring, forecasting and early warning systems have not fully utilised the domain knowledge of physical processes and the statistical information of the observations; 3) uncertainties have not been well recognised in the current risk management practice, and ignorance of uncertainties could lead to major threat to the society and poor consideration with inefficient or unsustainable preferences of options; 4) there is increasing recognition that the so called 'natural' disasters are not just the consequences of nature-related processes alone, but are attributable to various social, economic, historical, political and cultural causes. However, despite this recognition, the current hazard and risk assessments are fragmented with a weakness in holistically combining quantitative and qualitative information from a variety of sources; 5) successful disaster risk management must be relevant and useful to all stakeholders involved. Efforts should enable the essential common purpose, collective learning and entrepreneurial collaborations that underpin effective and efficient resilience. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the systems thinking framework and decision support system tools in adequate scenario assessment and resilience development from a harmonised and transdisciplinary perspective. It is important that the aforementioned issues should be tackled with a joint effort from a multidisciplinary team in social science, natural science, engineering and systems.

Flood Hazard Assessment for the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, K.F.

2000-01-01

A method was developed to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curves for certain Savannah River Site (SRS) facilities. This paper presents the method used to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curve for F-Area due to runoff from the Upper Three Runs basin. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 420.1, Facility Safety, outlines the requirements for Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) mitigation for new and existing DOE facilities. The NPH considered in this paper is flooding. The facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curve defines as a function of water elevation the annual probability of occurrence or the return period in years. Based on facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curves and the nature of facility operations (e.g., involving hazardous or radioactive materials), facility managers can design permanent or temporary devices to prevent the propagation of flood on site, and develop emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the consequences of floods. A method was developed to determine the probabilistic flood hazard curves for SRS facilities. The flood hazard curves for the SRS F-Area due to flooding in the Upper Three Runs basin are presented in this paper

Uranium storage bed accident hazards evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Shmayda, W.T.

1989-01-01

To properly assess hazards and risks associated with the use of uranium beds as tritium storage devices in fusion reactor systems, it is necessary to understand the consequences occurring in the event of an accident. Accidents involving uranium beds are postulated, and the possible results are considered. A research program to more fully and accurately understand those results has been initiated involving the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Ontario Hydro. The plan and objectives of that program are presented. 11 refs., 1 tab

Uranium storage bed accident hazards evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longhurst, G.R.; Shmayda, W.T.

1989-10-01

To properly assess hazards and risks associated with the use of uranium beds as tritium storage devices in fusion reactor systems, it is necessary to understand the consequences occurring in the event of an accident. Accidents involving uranium beds are postulated, and the possible results are considered. A research program to more fully and accurately understand those results has been initiated involving the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Ontario Hydro. The plan and objectives of that program are presented. 11 refs., 1 tab

Daytime napping and increased risk of incident respiratory diseases: symptom, marker, or risk factor?

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, Yue; Wainwright, Nick W J; Cappuccio, Francesco P; Surtees, Paul G; Hayat, Shabina; Luben, Robert; Brayne, Carol; Khaw, Kay-Tee

2016-07-01

We have identified a strong association between daytime napping and increased mortality risk from respiratory diseases, but little is known about the relationship between daytime napping and respiratory morbidity. Data were drawn from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Norfolk cohort. Participants reported napping habits during 1998-2000 and were followed up for respiratory disease hospital admissions until March 2009. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association between daytime napping and respiratory disease incidence risk. The study sample included 10,978 men and women with a mean age of 61.9 years, and a total of 946 incident respiratory disease cases were recorded. After adjustment for age, sex, social class, education, marital status, employment status, nightshift work, body mass index, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, self-reported general health, hypnotic drug use, habitual sleep duration, and preexisting health conditions, daytime napping was associated with an increase in the overall respiratory disease incidence risk (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15, 1.52 for napping respiratory diseases, especially for the risk of chronic lower respiratory diseases (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.96 for napping respiratory disease incidence risk. Further studies are required to confirm these findings and help understand potential mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Technical Review of Law Enforcement Standards and Guides Relative to Incident Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stenner, Robert D.; Salter, R.; Stanton, J. R.; Fisher, D.

2009-03-24

In an effort to locate potential law enforcement-related standards that support incident management, a team from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) contacted representatives from the National Institute of Standards-Office of Law Enforcement Standards (NIST-OLES), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service, ASTM International committees that have a law enforcement focus, and a variety of individuals from local and regional law enforcement organizations. Discussions were held with various state and local law enforcement organizations. The NIJ has published several specific equipment-related law enforcement standards that were included in the review, but it appears that law enforcement program and process-type standards are developed principally by organizations that operate at the state and local level. Input is provided from state regulations and codes and from external non-government organizations (NGOs) that provide national standards. The standards that are adopted from external organizations or developed independently by state authorities are available for use by local law enforcement agencies on a voluntary basis. The extent to which they are used depends on the respective jurisdictions involved. In some instances, use of state and local disseminated standards is mandatory, but in most cases, use is voluntary. Usually, the extent to which these standards are used appears to depend on whether or not jurisdictions receive certification from a “governing” entity due to their use and compliance with the standards. In some cases, these certification-based standards are used in principal but without certification or other compliance monitoring. In general, these standards appear to be routinely used for qualification, selection for employment, and training. In these standards, the term “Peace Officer” is frequently used to refer to law enforcement personnel. This technical review of national law

The non-technical skills used by anaesthetic technicians in critical incidents reported to the Australian Incident Monitoring System between 2002 and 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Rutherford, J S; Flin, R; Irwin, A

2015-07-01

The outcome of critical incidents in the operating theatre has been shown to be influenced by the behaviour of anaesthetic technicians (ATs) assisting anaesthetists, but the specific non-technical skills involved have not been described. We performed a review of critical incidents (n=1433) reported to the Australian Incident Monitoring System between 2002 and 2008 to identify which non-technical skills were used by ATs. The reports were assessed if they mentioned anaesthetic assistance or had the boxes ticked to identify "inadequate assistance" or "absent supervision or assistance". A total of 90 critical incidents involving ATs were retrieved, 69 of which described their use of non-technical skills. In 20 reports, the ATs ameliorated the critical incident, whilst in 46 they exacerbated the critical incident, and three cases had both positive and negative non-technical skills described. Situation awareness was identified in 39 reports, task management in 23, teamwork in 21 and decision-making in two, but there were no descriptions of issues related to leadership, stress or fatigue management. Situation awareness, task management and teamwork appear to be important non-technical skills for ATs in the development or management of critical incidents in the operating theatre. This analysis has been used to support the development of a non-technical skills taxonomy for anaesthetic assistants.

Emergency preparedness hazards assessment for selected 100 Area Bechtel Hanford, Inc. facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-07-01

The emergency preparedness hazards assessment for Bechtel Hanford Inc. (BHI) facilities in the 100 Areas of the Hanford Site. The purpose of a hazards assessment is to identify the hazardous material at each facility, identify the conditions that could release the hazardous material, and calculate the consequences of the releases. The hazards assessment is the technical basis for the facility emergency plans and procedures. There are many other buildings and past- practice burial grounds, trenches, cribs, etc., in the 100 Areas that may contain hazardous materials. Undisturbed buried waste sites that are not near the Columbia River are outside the scope of emergency preparedness hazards assessments because there is no mechanism for acute release to the air or ground water. The sites near the Columbia River are considered in a separate flood hazards assessment. This hazards assessment includes only the near-term soil remediation projects that involve intrusive activities

Ethnic Disparities in Ischemic Stroke, Intracerebral Hemorrhage, and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Incidence in The Netherlands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agyemang, Charles; van Oeffelen, Aloysia A M; Nørredam, Marie Louise

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Data on the incidence of stroke subtypes among ethnic minority groups are limited. We assessed ethnic differences in the incidence of stroke subtypes in the Netherlands. METHODS: A Dutch nationwide register-based cohort study (n=7 423 174) was conducted between 1998 and 2010....... We studied the following stroke subtypes: ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate incidence differences between first-generation ethnic minorities and the Dutch majority population (ethnic Dutch). RESULTS: Compared.......16-0.72), and subarachnoid hemorrhage (0.42; 0.20-0.88 and 0.34; 0.17-0.68) compared with ethnic Dutch counterparts. The results varied by stroke subtype and sex for the other minority groups. For example, Turkish women had a reduced incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage, whereas Turkish men had an increased incidence...

Health care worker decompression sickness: incidence, risk and mitigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Richard

2017-01-01

Inadvertent exposure to radiation, chemical agents and biological factors are well recognized hazards associated with the health care delivery system. Less well appreciated yet no less harmful is risk of decompression sickness in those who accompany patients as inside attendants (IAs) during provision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Unlike the above hazards where avoidance is practiced, IA exposure to decompression sickness risk is unavoidable. While overall incidence is low, when calculated as number of cases over number of exposures or potential for a case during any given exposure, employee cumulative risk, defined here as number of cases over number of IAs, or risk that an IA may suffer a case, is not. Commonly, this unique occupational environmental injury responds favorably to therapeutic recompression and a period of recuperation. There are, however, permanent and career-ending consequences, and at least two nurses have succumbed to their decompression insults. The intent of this paper is to heighten awareness of hyperbaric attendant decompression sickness. It will serve as a review of reported cases and reconcile incidence against largely ignored individual worker risk. Mitigation strategies are summarized and an approach to more precisely identify risk factors that might prompt development of consensus screening standards is proposed. Copyright© Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Transportation of Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanchard, A.

2000-02-28

This report documents the Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment (EPHA) for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials (THM) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS). This hazards assessment is intended to identify and analyze those transportation hazards significant enough to warrant consideration in the SRS Emergency Management Program.

Transportation of Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, A.

2000-01-01

This report documents the Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment (EPHA) for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials (THM) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS). This hazards assessment is intended to identify and analyze those transportation hazards significant enough to warrant consideration in the SRS Emergency Management Program

Transportation of hazardous materials emergency preparedness hazards assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, A.

2000-01-01

This report documents the Emergency Preparedness Hazards Assessment (EPHA) for the Transportation of Hazardous Materials (THM) at the Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS). This hazards assessment is intended to identify and analyze those transportation hazards significant enough to warrant consideration in the SRS Emergency Management Program

Hazards of radiation exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solomon, S.B.

1982-01-01

Radiation induced carcinogenesis and mutagenesis form the main risks to health from exposure to low levels of radiation. There is scant data on somatic and genetic risks at environmental and occupational levels of radiation exposure. The available data on radiation induced carcinogenesis and mutagenesis are for high doses and high dose rates of radiation. Risk assessments for low level radiation are obtained using these data, assuming a linear dose-response relationship. During uranium mining the chief source of radiation hazard is inhalation of radon daughters. The correlation between radon daughter exposure and the increased incidence of lung cancer has been well documented. For radiation exposures at and below occupational limits, the associated risk of radiation induced cancers and genetic abnormalities is small and should not lead to a detectable increase over naturally occurring rates

Involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) versus elective nodal irradiation (ENI) for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis of incidence of elective nodal failure (ENF).

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ruijian; Yu, Liang; Lin, Sixiang; Wang, Lina; Dong, Xin; Yu, Lingxia; Li, Weiyi; Li, Baosheng

2016-09-21

The use of involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) has generated concern about the increasing incidence of elective nodal failure (ENF) in contrast to elective nodal irradiation (ENI). This meta-analysis aimed to provide more reliable and up-to-date evidence on the incidence of ENF between IFRT and ENI. We searched three databases for eligible studies where locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients received IFRT or ENI. Outcome of interest was the incidence of ENF. The fixed-effects model was used to pool outcomes across the studies. There were 3 RCTs and 3 cohort studies included with low risk of bias. There was no significant difference in incidence of ENF between IFRT and ENI either among RCTs (RR = 1.38, 95 % CI: 0.59-3.25, p = 0.46) or among cohort studies (RR = 0.99, 95 % CI: 0.46-2.10, p = 0.97). There was also no significant difference in incidence of ENF between IFRT and ENI when RCTs and cohort studies were combined (RR = 1.15, 95 % CI: 0.65-2.01, p = 0.64). I 2 of test for heterogeneity was 0 %. This meta-analysis provides more reliable and stable evidence that there is no significant difference in incidence of ENF between IFRT and ENI.

Low bone mineral density and risk of incident fracture in HIV-infected adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Battalora, Linda; Buchacz, Kate; Armon, Carl; Overton, Edgar T; Hammer, John; Patel, Pragna; Chmiel, Joan S; Wood, Kathy; Bush, Timothy J; Spear, John R; Brooks, John T; Young, Benjamin

2016-01-01

Prevalence rates of low bone mineral density (BMD) and bone fractures are higher among HIV-infected adults compared with the general United States (US) population, but the relationship between BMD and incident fractures in HIV-infected persons has not been well described. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) results of the femoral neck of the hip and clinical data were obtained prospectively during 2004-2012 from participants in two HIV cohort studies. Low BMD was defined by a T-score in the interval >-2.5 to fractures, adjusted for sociodemographics, other risk factors and covariables, using multivariable proportional hazards regression. Among 1,006 participants analysed (median age 43 years [IQR 36-49], 83% male, 67% non-Hispanic white, median CD4(+) T-cell count 461 cells/mm(3) [IQR 311-658]), 36% (n=358) had osteopenia and 4% (n=37) osteoporosis; 67 had a prior fracture documented. During 4,068 person-years of observation after DXA scanning, 85 incident fractures occurred, predominantly rib/sternum (n=18), hand (n=14), foot (n=13) and wrist (n=11). In multivariable analyses, osteoporosis (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 4.02, 95% CI 2.02, 8.01) and current/prior tobacco use (aHR 1.59, 95% CI 1.02, 2.50) were associated with incident fracture. In this large sample of HIV-infected adults in the US, low baseline BMD was significantly associated with elevated risk of incident fracture. There is potential value of DXA screening in this population.

Flood hazard assessment for the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, K.F.

2000-01-01

A method was developed to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curves for certain Savannah River Site (SRS) facilities. This paper presents the method used to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curve for F-Area due to runoff from the Upper Three Runs basin. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 420.1, Facility Safety, outlines the requirements for Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) mitigation for new and existing DOE facilities. The NPH considered in this paper is flooding. The facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curve defines as a function of water elevation the annual probability of occurrence or the return period in years. Based on facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curves and the nature of facility operations (e.g., involving hazardous or radioactive materials), facility managers can design permanent or temporary devices to prevent the propagation of flood on site, and develop emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the consequences of floods. The flood hazard curves for the SRS F-Area due to flooding in the Upper Three Runs basin are presented in this paper

Flood Hazard Assessment for the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, K.F.

1999-01-01

'A method was developed to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curves for certain Savannah River Site (SRS) facilities. This paper presents the method used to determine the probabilistic flood elevation curve for F-Area due to runoff from the Upper Three Runs basin. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 420.1, Facility Safety, outlines the requirements for Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) mitigation for new and existing DOE facilities. The NPH considered in this paper is flooding. The facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curve defines as a function of water elevation the annual probability of occurrence or the return period in years. Based on facility-specific probabilistic flood hazard curves and the nature of facility operations (e.g., involving hazardous or radioactive materials), facility managers can design permanent or temporary devices to prevent the propagation of flood on site, and develop emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the consequences of floods.'

Packaging and transportation manual. Chapter on the packaging and transportation of hazardous and radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-03-01

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the requirements that Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and contractors must follow when they package and ship hazardous and radioactive waste. This chapter is applied to on-site, intra-Laboratory, and off-site transportation of hazardous and radioactive waste. The chapter contains sections on definitions, responsibilities, written procedures, authorized packaging, quality assurance, documentation for waste shipments, loading and tiedown of waste shipments, on-site routing, packaging and transportation assessment and oversight program, nonconformance reporting, training of personnel, emergency response information, and incident and occurrence reporting. Appendices provide additional detail, references, and guidance on packaging for hazardous and radioactive waste, and guidance for the on-site transport of these wastes

Packaging and transportation manual. Chapter on the packaging and transportation of hazardous and radioactive waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the requirements that Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and contractors must follow when they package and ship hazardous and radioactive waste. This chapter is applied to on-site, intra-Laboratory, and off-site transportation of hazardous and radioactive waste. The chapter contains sections on definitions, responsibilities, written procedures, authorized packaging, quality assurance, documentation for waste shipments, loading and tiedown of waste shipments, on-site routing, packaging and transportation assessment and oversight program, nonconformance reporting, training of personnel, emergency response information, and incident and occurrence reporting. Appendices provide additional detail, references, and guidance on packaging for hazardous and radioactive waste, and guidance for the on-site transport of these wastes.

Hazard and operability study of Heavy Water Plant, Manuguru

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nayak, S K; Khilnaney, V K [Heavy Water Board, Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai (India)

1994-06-01

The chemical process industry faces the tough challenge of achieving design productivity while maintaining high standards of safety. This task is particularly difficult than handling hazardous chemicals. Hazard and operability study (HazOp) is a technique which involves systematic and thorough study by a multidisciplinary team. This technique provides a means to analyse the design and modes of operations of a plant systematically so as to identify the potential occurrence of hazardous events and operational problems. HazOp is based on the premise that a hazard is not realised if the process is operated within its design intent. This paper gives an overall view of the HazOp study carried out at Heavy Water Plant, Manuguru. Some selected recommendations from this study are highlighted. (author). 2 refs., 5 figs.

Hazard function theory for nonstationary natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Read, L.; Vogel, R. M.

2015-12-01

Studies from the natural hazards literature indicate that many natural processes, including wind speeds, landslides, wildfires, precipitation, streamflow and earthquakes, show evidence of nonstationary behavior such as trends in magnitudes through time. Traditional probabilistic analysis of natural hazards based on partial duration series (PDS) generally assumes stationarity in the magnitudes and arrivals of events, i.e. that the probability of exceedance is constant through time. Given evidence of trends and the consequent expected growth in devastating impacts from natural hazards across the world, new methods are needed to characterize their probabilistic behavior. The field of hazard function analysis (HFA) is ideally suited to this problem because its primary goal is to describe changes in the exceedance probability of an event over time. HFA is widely used in medicine, manufacturing, actuarial statistics, reliability engineering, economics, and elsewhere. HFA provides a rich theory to relate the natural hazard event series (x) with its failure time series (t), enabling computation of corresponding average return periods and reliabilities associated with nonstationary event series. This work investigates the suitability of HFA to characterize nonstationary natural hazards whose PDS magnitudes are assumed to follow the widely applied Poisson-GP model. We derive a 2-parameter Generalized Pareto hazard model and demonstrate how metrics such as reliability and average return period are impacted by nonstationarity and discuss the implications for planning and design. Our theoretical analysis linking hazard event series x, with corresponding failure time series t, should have application to a wide class of natural hazards.

Hazard function theory for nonstationary natural hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Laura K.; Vogel, Richard M.

2016-04-01

Impact from natural hazards is a shared global problem that causes tremendous loss of life and property, economic cost, and damage to the environment. Increasingly, many natural processes show evidence of nonstationary behavior including wind speeds, landslides, wildfires, precipitation, streamflow, sea levels, and earthquakes. Traditional probabilistic analysis of natural hazards based on peaks over threshold (POT) generally assumes stationarity in the magnitudes and arrivals of events, i.e., that the probability of exceedance of some critical event is constant through time. Given increasing evidence of trends in natural hazards, new methods are needed to characterize their probabilistic behavior. The well-developed field of hazard function analysis (HFA) is ideally suited to this problem because its primary goal is to describe changes in the exceedance probability of an event over time. HFA is widely used in medicine, manufacturing, actuarial statistics, reliability engineering, economics, and elsewhere. HFA provides a rich theory to relate the natural hazard event series (X) with its failure time series (T), enabling computation of corresponding average return periods, risk, and reliabilities associated with nonstationary event series. This work investigates the suitability of HFA to characterize nonstationary natural hazards whose POT magnitudes are assumed to follow the widely applied generalized Pareto model. We derive the hazard function for this case and demonstrate how metrics such as reliability and average return period are impacted by nonstationarity and discuss the implications for planning and design. Our theoretical analysis linking hazard random variable X with corresponding failure time series T should have application to a wide class of natural hazards with opportunities for future extensions.

Dissociative Tendencies and Traffic Incidents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valle, Virginia

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the relationship between dissociative experiences and road traffic incidents (crashes and traffic tickets in drivers (n=295 from Mar del Plata (Argentina city. A self-report questionnaire was applied to assess traffic crash involvement and sociodemographic variables. Dissociative tendencies were assessed by a modified version of the DES scale. To examine differences in DES scores tests of the difference of means were applied. Drivers who reported to be previously involved in traffic incidents obtained higher puntuations in the dissociative experiences scale than drivers who did not report such events. This result is observed for the total scale and for the three sub-scales (absorption, amnesia and depersonalization. However, differences appeared mainly for minor damage collisions. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of dissociative tendencies as a risk factor in road traffic safety.

Health and Safety Procedures Manual for hazardous waste sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thate, J.E.

1992-09-01

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Chemical Assessments Team (ORNL/CAT) has developed this Health and Safety Procedures Manual for the guidance, instruction, and protection of ORNL/CAT personnel expected to be involved in hazardous waste site assessments and remedial actions. This manual addresses general and site-specific concerns for protecting personnel, the general public, and the environment from any possible hazardous exposures. The components of this manual include: medical surveillance, guidance for determination and monitoring of hazards, personnel and training requirements, protective clothing and equipment requirements, procedures for controlling work functions, procedures for handling emergency response situations, decontamination procedures for personnel and equipment, associated legal requirements, and safe drilling practices.

Radioactive material (RAM) accident/incident data analysis program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emerson, E.L.; McClure, J.D.

1985-03-01

This report describes the development of the Radioactive Material Transportation Accident/Incident Data Base (RAM-AIDB), which contains information on the occurrences of transportation accidents and incidents, for radioactive materials (RAM) that are involved in the process of transportation, loading and unloading operation, or temporary storage. These transportation operations are in support of the nuclear fuel cycle for electrical energy generation. This study analyzes in some detail basic accident/incident statistical data, RAM packaging accident response data, and the health effects associated with RAM transport accidents/incidents. This report presents a summary of US RAM transport accident/incident experience for the period 1971 through December 1981. In addition, a sample annual summary of accident/incident experience is presented for the calendar year 1981

Non-Native Language Use and Risk of Incident Dementia in the Elderly

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Amy E.; Hall, Charles B.; Katz, Mindy J.; Lipton, Richard B.

2012-01-01

Cognitive reserve is invoked to explain the protective effects of education and cognitively-stimulating activities against all-cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For non-native English speakers (n-NES), speaking English may be a cognitive activity associated with lower dementia risk. We hypothesized that n-NES have lower risk of incident dementia/AD and that educational level might modify this relationship. Participants took part in the Einstein Aging Study (Bronx, NY), a longitudinal study of aging and dementia. All (n = 1779) spoke fluent English and self-reported birthplace and whether English was their first language. n-NES additionally reported mother tongue, age of English acquisition, and current percentile-use of a non-English language. Nested Cox proportional hazards models progressively adjusted for gender, race, education, and immigrant and marital status estimated hazard ratios (HR) for incident dementia/AD as a function of n-NES status. 390 (22%) participants were n-NES. 126 incident dementia cases occurred during 4174 person-years of follow-up (median 1.44; range 0–16); 101 individuals met criteria for probable/possible AD. There was no statistically-significant association between n-NES status and incident dementia in the fully-adjusted model (HR 1.26; 95% CI 0.76–2.09; p = 0.36). Results were similar for AD. Stratification of education into three groups revealed increased risk of dementia for n-NES with ≥16 years of education (HR 3.97; 95% CI 1.62–9.75; p = 0.003). We conclude that n-NES status does not appear to have an independent protective effect against incident dementia/AD, and that n-NES status may contribute to risk of dementia in an education-dependent manner. PMID:22232011

Hazards assessment for the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knudsen, J.K.; Calley, M.B.

1994-04-01

This report documents the hazards assessment for the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility (HWSF) located at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. The hazards assessment was performed to ensure that this facility complies with DOE and company requirements pertaining to emergency planning and preparedness for operational emergencies. The hazards assessment identifies and analyzes hazards that are significant enough to warrant consideration in a facility's operational emergency management program. The area surrounding HWSF, the buildings and structures at HWSF, and the processes used at HWSF are described in this report. All nonradiological hazardous materials at the HWSF were identified (radiological hazardous materials are not stored at HWSF) and screened against threshold quantities according to DOE Order 5500.3A guidance. Two of the identified hazardous materials exceeded their specified threshold quantity. This report discusses the potential release scenarios and consequences associated with an accidental release for each of the two identified hazardous materials, lead and mercury. Emergency considerations, such as emergency planning zones, emergency classes, protective actions, and emergency action levels, are also discussed based on the analysis of potential consequences. Evaluation of the potential consequences indicated that the highest emergency class for operational emergencies at the HWSF would be a Site Area Emergency

JOINT INVOLVEMENT IN SYPHILIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. I. Zlobina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Joint involvement in syphilis has been considered as casuistry in recent years. At the same time, the high incidence of primary syphilis and the notified cases of late neurosyphilis may suggest that joint involvement in this disease is by no means always verified. Traditionally there are two forms of syphilitic arthritis: primary synovial (involving the articular membranes and sac and primary bone (involving the articular bones and cartilages ones. The paper describes the authors' clinical case of the primary bone form of articular syphilis in a 34-year-old man. 

Robotics and artificial intelligence for hazardous environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spelt, P.F.

1993-01-01

In our technological society, hazardous materials including toxic chemicals, flammable, explosive, and radioactive substances, and biological agents, are used and handled routinely. Each year, many workers who handle these substances are accidently contaminated, in some cases resulting in injury, death, or chronic disabilities. If these hazardous materials could be handled remotely, either with a teleoperated robot (operated by a worker in a safe location) or by an autonomous robot, then human suffering and economic costs of accidental exposures could be dramatically reduced. At present, it is still difficult for commercial robotic technology to completely replace humans involved in performing complex work tasks in hazardous environments. The robotics efforts at the Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research represent a significant effort at contributing to the advancement of robotics for use in hazardous environments. While this effort is very broad-based, ranging from dextrous manipulation to mobility and integrated sensing, the technical portion of this paper will focus on machine learning and the high-level decision making needed for autonomous robotics

Automated hazard analysis of digital control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garrett, Chris J.; Apostolakis, George E.

2002-01-01

Digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems can provide important benefits in many safety-critical applications, but they can also introduce potential new failure modes that can affect safety. Unlike electro-mechanical systems, whose failure modes are fairly well understood and which can often be built to fail in a particular way, software errors are very unpredictable. There is virtually no nontrivial software that will function as expected under all conditions. Consequently, there is a great deal of concern about whether there is a sufficient basis on which to resolve questions about safety. In this paper, an approach for validating the safety requirements of digital I and C systems is developed which uses the Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology to conduct automated hazard analyses. The prime implicants of these analyses can be used to identify unknown system hazards, prioritize the disposition of known system hazards, and guide lower-level design decisions to either eliminate or mitigate known hazards. In a case study involving a space-based reactor control system, the method succeeded in identifying an unknown failure mechanism

Rainfall-triggered landslides, anthropogenic hazards, and mitigation strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. C. Larsen

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Rainfall-triggered landslides are part of a natural process of hillslope erosion that can result in catastrophic loss of life and extensive property damage in mountainous, densely populated areas. As global population expansion on or near steep hillslopes continues, the human and economic costs associated with landslides will increase. Landslide hazard mitigation strategies generally involve hazard assessment mapping, warning systems, control structures, and regional landslide planning and policy development. To be sustainable, hazard mitigation requires that management of natural resources is closely connected to local economic and social interests. A successful strategy is dependent on a combination of multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering approaches, and the political will to take action at the local community to national scale.

Can Survival Bias Explain the Age Attenuation of Racial Inequalities in Stroke Incidence?: A Simulation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayeda, Elizabeth Rose; Banack, Hailey R; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten; Zeki Al Hazzouri, Adina; Marden, Jessica R; Whitmer, Rachel A; Glymour, M Maria

2018-07-01

In middle age, stroke incidence is higher among black than white Americans. For unknown reasons, this inequality decreases and reverses with age. We conducted simulations to evaluate whether selective survival could account for observed age patterning of black-white stroke inequalities. We simulated birth cohorts of 20,000 blacks and 20,000 whites with survival distributions based on US life tables for the 1919-1921 birth cohort. We generated stroke incidence rates for ages 45-94 years using Reasons for Geographic and Racial Disparities in Stroke (REGARDS) study rates for whites and setting the effect of black race on stroke to incidence rate difference (IRD) = 20/10,000 person-years at all ages, the inequality observed at younger ages in REGARDS. We compared observed age-specific stroke incidence across scenarios, varying effects of U, representing unobserved factors influencing mortality and stroke risk. Despite a constant adverse effect of black race on stroke risk, the observed black-white inequality in stroke incidence attenuated at older age. When the hazard ratio for U on stroke was 1.5 for both blacks and whites, but U only directly influenced mortality for blacks (hazard ratio for U on mortality =1.5 for blacks; 1.0 for whites), stroke incidence rates in late life were lower among blacks (average observed IRD = -43/10,000 person-years at ages 85-94 years versus causal IRD = 20/10,000 person-years) and mirrored patterns observed in REGARDS. A relatively moderate unmeasured common cause of stroke and survival could fully account for observed age attenuation of racial inequalities in stroke.

Transportation training: Focusing on movement of hazardous substances and wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, E.; Moreland, W.M.

1988-01-01

Over the past 25 years extensive federal legislation involving the handling and transport of hazardous materials/waste has been passed that has resulted in numerous overlapping regulations administered and enforced by different federal agencies. The handling and transport of hazardous materials/waste involves a significant number of workers who are subject to a varying degree of risk should an accident occur during handling or transport. Effective transportation training can help workers address these risks and mitigate them, and at the same time enable ORNL to comply with the federal regulations concerning the transport of hazardous materials/waste. This presentation will outline how the Environmental and Health Protection Division's Technical Resources and Training Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working with transportation and waste disposal personnel, are developing and implementing a comprehensive transportation safety training program to meet the needs of our workers while satisfying appropriate federal regulations. 8 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

Incidence of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer in women living with HIV in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorsteinsson, Kristina; Ladelund, Steen; Jensen-Fangel, Søren

2014-01-01

and hazard ratios (HRs) for time from inclusion to first cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)/ICC and time from first normal cervical cytology to first CIN/ICC were estimated. Sensitivity analyses were performed to include prior screening outcome, screening intensity and treatment of CIN......INTRODUCTION: Women living with HIV (WLWH) are reportedly at increased risk of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). WLWH in Denmark attend the National ICC screening program less often than women in the general population. We aimed to estimate the incidence of cervical dysplasia and ICC in WLWH...... with normal baseline cytology, incidences of CIN1+ and CIN2+ were higher in WLWH. However, incidences were comparable between WLWH and controls adherent to the National ICC screening program. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, WLWH develop more cervical disease than controls. However, incidences of CIN are comparable...

Maximising workforce involvement in HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) case development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vine, Mark D. (DNV Energy Middle East); Ingvarson, Johan [DNV Energy, Oslo (Norway)

2008-07-01

The development of HSE Cases demonstrating that HSE and particularly major accident hazard risks are being managed to an acceptable level is a requirement posed on many Oil and Gas facilities by regulators and stakeholders. In order to develop a demonstration case rather than a description and to ensure a truly live document, GASCO, one of the world's largest gas processing companies, turned to DNV to develop HSE Cases for all their facilities. The DNV approach included the use of Hazard and Effects Management Process (HEMP) and the development of a customised intranet solution to ensure a continuously living process. HEMP is a systematic method of identifying hazards, assessing risk, putting controls in place to guard against those risks and defining recovery measures should an incident happen. With GASCO, HEMP was implemented through workshops involving operation workforce from senior managers to supervisory level. A powerful and popular output of HEMP is the Bow Tie diagram which is used to graphically display HSE Critical Elements and the HSE Critical Activities and Tasks (i.e. operational systems) that support them. To ensure a living process, a dedicated GASCO intranet solution was developed where all users can easily access and contribute to the electronic HSE Case without any geographical constraints. The electronic case widens the user base and creates awareness among the workforce. The added value of the HEMP and intranet solution approach is that it focuses on capitalizing on knowledge and expertise present with those operating the facilities using a 'Cradle to the Grave' approach. It is essential to maximize the interface with the workforce in order to develop and maintain a comprehensive HSE Case. (author)

Female breast cancer incidence and survival in Utah according to religious preference, 1985-1999.

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Ray M; Folsom, Jeffrey A

2005-05-18

Female breast cancer incidence rates in Utah are among the lowest in the U.S. The influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) religion on these rates, as well as on disease-specific survival, will be explored for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer in Utah from 1985 through 1999. Population-based records for incident female breast cancer patients were linked with membership records from the LDS Church to determine religious affiliation and, for LDS Church members, level of religiosity. Incidence rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population using the direct method. Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare survival among religiously active LDS, less religiously active LDS, and non-LDS with simultaneous adjustment for prognostic factors. Age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates were consistently lower for LDS than non-LDS in Utah from 1985 through 1999. Rates were lower among LDS compared with non-LDS across the age span. In 1995-99, the age-adjusted incidence rates were 107.6 (95% CI: 103.9 - 111.3) for LDS women and 130.5 (123.2 - 137.9) for non-LDS women. If non-LDS women in Utah had the same breast cancer risk profile as LDS women, an estimated 214 (4.8%) fewer malignant breast cancer cases would have occurred during 1995-99. With religiously active LDS serving as the reference group, the adjusted death hazard ratio for religiously less active LDS was 1.09 (0.94 - 1.27) and for non-LDS was 0.86 (0.75 - 0.98). In Utah, LDS lifestyle is associated with lower incidence rates of female breast cancer. However, LDS experience poorer survivability from breast cancer than their non-LDS counterparts. Parity and breastfeeding, while protective factors against breast cancer, may contribute to poorer prognosis of female breast cancer in LDS women.

The role of community participation in the control of bird hazards at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... of measures to prevent bird hazards from occurring. One of the most important methods of bird hazard control involves participation of local communities around the airport. This paper illustrates the different ways in which the airport works with the community to control bird collisions with aircraft at Entebbe International ...

Hazard interactions and interaction networks (cascades) within multi-hazard methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Joel C.; Malamud, Bruce D.

2016-08-01

This paper combines research and commentary to reinforce the importance of integrating hazard interactions and interaction networks (cascades) into multi-hazard methodologies. We present a synthesis of the differences between multi-layer single-hazard approaches and multi-hazard approaches that integrate such interactions. This synthesis suggests that ignoring interactions between important environmental and anthropogenic processes could distort management priorities, increase vulnerability to other spatially relevant hazards or underestimate disaster risk. In this paper we proceed to present an enhanced multi-hazard framework through the following steps: (i) description and definition of three groups (natural hazards, anthropogenic processes and technological hazards/disasters) as relevant components of a multi-hazard environment, (ii) outlining of three types of interaction relationship (triggering, increased probability, and catalysis/impedance), and (iii) assessment of the importance of networks of interactions (cascades) through case study examples (based on the literature, field observations and semi-structured interviews). We further propose two visualisation frameworks to represent these networks of interactions: hazard interaction matrices and hazard/process flow diagrams. Our approach reinforces the importance of integrating interactions between different aspects of the Earth system, together with human activity, into enhanced multi-hazard methodologies. Multi-hazard approaches support the holistic assessment of hazard potential and consequently disaster risk. We conclude by describing three ways by which understanding networks of interactions contributes to the theoretical and practical understanding of hazards, disaster risk reduction and Earth system management. Understanding interactions and interaction networks helps us to better (i) model the observed reality of disaster events, (ii) constrain potential changes in physical and social vulnerability

Mass-Fatality Incident Preparedness Among Faith-Based Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Qi; Merrill, Jacqueline A; Gershon, Robyn R

2017-12-01

Introduction Members of faith-based organizations (FBOs) are in a unique position to provide support and services to their local communities during disasters. Because of their close community ties and well-established trust, they can play an especially critical role in helping communities heal in the aftermath of a mass-fatality incident (MFI). Faith-based organizations are considered an important disaster resource and partner under the National Response Plan (NRP) and National Response Framework; however, their level of preparedness and response capabilities with respect to MFIs has never been evaluated. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to develop appropriate measures of preparedness for this sector; (2) to assess MFI preparedness among United States FBOs; and (3) to identify key factors associated with MFI preparedness. Problem New metrics for MFI preparedness, comprised of three domains (organizational capabilities, operational capabilities, and resource sharing partnerships), were developed and tested in a national convenience sample of FBO members. Data were collected using an online anonymous survey that was distributed through two major, national faith-based associations and social media during a 6-week period in 2014. Descriptive, bivariate, and correlational analyses were conducted. One hundred twenty-four respondents completed the online survey. More than one-half of the FBOs had responded to MFIs in the previous five years. Only 20% of respondents thought that roughly three-quarters of FBO clergy would be able to respond to MFIs, with or without hazardous contamination. A higher proportion (45%) thought that most FBO clergy would be willing to respond, but only 37% thought they would be willing if hazardous contamination was involved. Almost all respondents reported that their FBO was capable of providing emotional care and grief counseling in response to MFIs. Resource sharing partnerships were typically in place with other voluntary

77 FR 17394 - Hazardous Materials: Approval and Communication Requirements for the Safe Transportation of Air...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-26

... seat-belt pretensioner devices to a capacity not greater than fifty (50) percent of the drum's total... transported; transportation operations conducted under a special permit; the potential for broad application... utilized by 31 grantees with no known safety problems. A review of the Hazardous Materials Incident Data...

Temporal Changes in Community Resilience to Drought Hazard

Science.gov (United States)

Mihunov, V.

2017-12-01

The threat of droughts and their associated impacts on the landscape and human communities have long been recognized. While considerable research on the climatological aspect of droughts has been conducted, studies on the resilience of human communities to the effects of drought remain limited. Understanding how different communities respond to and recover from the drought hazard, i.e. their community resilience, should inform the development of better strategies to cope with the hazard. This research assesses community resilience to drought hazard in South-Central U.S. and captures the temporal changes of community resilience in the region facing the climate change. First, the study applies the Resilience Inference Measurement (RIM) framework using the existing drought incidence, crop damage, socio-economic and food-water-energy nexus variables, which allows to assign county-level resilience scores in the study region and derive variables contributing to the resilience. Second, it captures the temporal changes in community resilience by using the model extracted from the RIM study and socio-economic data from several consecutive time periods. The resilience measurement study should help understand the complex process underlying communities' response to the drought impacts. The results identify gaps in resilience planning and help the improvement of the community resilience to the droughts of increasing frequency and intensity.

Impact of immunosuppression on incidence, aetiology and outcome of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, Anne-Sophie; Martin-Loeches, Ignacio; Povoa, Pedro; Salluh, Jorge; Rodriguez, Alejandro; Thille, Arnaud W; Diaz Santos, Emilio; Vedes, Elisa; Lobo, Suzana Margareth; Mégarbane, Bruno; Molero Silvero, Esperanza; Coelho, Luis; Argaud, Laurent; Sanchez Iniesta, Rafael; Labreuche, Julien; Rouzé, Anahita; Nseir, Saad

2018-03-01

The aim of this planned analysis of the prospective multinational TAVeM database was to determine the incidence, aetiology and impact on outcome of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTI) in immunocompromised patients.All patients receiving mechanical ventilation for >48 h were included. Immunocompromised patients (n=663) were compared with non-immunocompromised patients (n=2297).The incidence of VA-LRTI was significantly lower among immunocompromised than among non-immunocompromised patients (16.6% versus 24.2%; sub-hazard ratio 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.80; p<0.0001). Similar results were found regarding ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (7.3% versus 11.6%; sub-hazard ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.45-0.84; p=0.002) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (9.3% versus 12.7%; sub-hazard ratio 0.72, 95% CI 0.54-0.95; p=0.019). Among patients with VA-LRTI, the rates of multidrug-resistant bacteria (72% versus 59%; p=0.011) and intensive care unit mortality were significantly higher among immunocompromised than among non-immunocompromised patients (54% versus 30%; OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.78-4.02; p<0.0001). In patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, mortality rates were higher among immunocompromised than among non-immunocompromised patients (64% versus 34%; p<0.001).Incidence of VA-LRTI was significantly lower among immunocompromised patients, but it was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate. Multidrug-resistant pathogens were more frequently found in immunocompromised patients with VA-LRTI. Copyright ©ERS 2018.

Association of Proteinuria and Incident Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Intact and Reduced Kidney Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Amber O; Eddeen, Anan Bader; Ducharme, Robin; Garg, Amit X; Harel, Ziv; McCallum, Megan K; Perl, Jeffrey; Wald, Ron; Zimmerman, Deborah; Sood, Manish M

2017-07-06

Early evidence suggests proteinuria is independently associated with incident atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to investigate whether the association of proteinuria with incident AF is altered by kidney function. Retrospective cohort study using administrative healthcare databases in Ontario, Canada (2002-2015). A total of 736 666 patients aged ≥40 years not receiving dialysis and with no previous history of AF were included. Proteinuria was defined using the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) and kidney function by the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The primary outcome was time to AF. Cox proportional models were used to determine the hazard ratio for AF censored for death, dialysis, kidney transplant, or end of follow-up. Fine and Grey models were used to determine the subdistribution hazard ratio for AF, with death as a competing event. Median follow-up was 6 years and 44 809 patients developed AF. In adjusted models, ACR and eGFR were associated with AF ( P kidney function (ACR × eGFR interaction, P kidney function (adjusted hazard ratios, 4.5 [95% CI, 4.0-5.1] and 2.6 [95% CI, 2.4-2.8], respectively; referent ACR 0 and eGFR 120). Results were similar in competing risk analyses. Proteinuria increases the risk of incident AF markedly in patients with intact kidney function compared with those with decreased kidney function. Screening and preventative strategies should consider proteinuria as an independent risk factor for AF. © 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

Retrospective review of adverse incidents involving passengers seated in wheeled mobility devices while traveling in large accessible transit vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Karen L; Bertocci, Gina

2010-04-01

Characterize wheeled mobility device (WhMD) adverse incidents on large accessible transit vehicles (LATVs) based on vehicle motion, WhMD activity during incident, incident scenario and injury. Retrospective records review. WhMD passengers traveling on LATVs while remaining seated in their. Adverse incidents characterized based on vehicle motion, WhMD activity during incident, and incident scenario. Injury characterized based on outcome, medical attention sought, vehicle activity, WhMD activity and incident scenario. 115 WhMD-related incident reports for years 2000-2005 were analyzed. Most incidents occurred when the LATV was stopped (73.9%), during ingress/egress (42.6%), and at the securement station (33.9%) when the LATV was moving. The combination of WhMD tipping and passenger falling (43.4%) occurred most frequently, and was 1.8 times more likely to occur during ingress/egress than at the securement station. One-third (33.6%) of all incidents resulted in injury, and injuries were equally distributed between ingress/egress (43.6%) and at the securement station (43.6%). WhMD users have a greater chance of incurring injury during ingress/egress than during transit. Research is needed to objectively assess real world transportation experiences of WhMD passengers, and to assess the adequacy of existing federal legislation/guidelines for accessible ramps used in public transportation. Copyright 2009 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching Coastal Hazard, Risk, and Environmental Justice

Science.gov (United States)

Orr, C. H.; Manduca, C. A.; Blockstein, D.; Davis, F.; McDaris, J. R.

2015-12-01

Geoscience literacy and expertise play a role in all societal issues that involve the Earth. Issues that range from environmental degradation and natural hazards to creating sustainable economic systems or livable cities. Human health and resilience also involves the Earth. Environmental hazard issues have dimensions and consequences that have connections to environmental justice and disproportionate impacts on people based on their ethnicity, gender, cultural and socioeconomic conditions. Often these dimensions are hidden or unexplored in common approaches to teaching about hazards. However, they can provide importance context and meaning to students who would not otherwise see themselves in STEM disciplines. Teaching geoscience in a framework of societal issues may be an important mechanism for building science and sustainability capacity in future graduates. In May 2015, the NSF STEP center InTeGrate held a workshop in New Orleans, LA on teaching about Coastal Hazards, Risk and Environmental Justice. This was an opportunity to bring together people who use these topics as a powerful topic for transdisciplinary learning that connects science to local communities. This workshop was tailored for faculty members from minority-serving institutions and other colleges and universities that serve populations that are under-represented in the geosciences and related fields. The workshop outcome was a set of strategies for accomplishing this work, including participants' experience teaching with local cases, making connections to communities, and building partnerships with employers to understand workforce needs related to interdisciplinary thinking, sustainability science and risk. The participants articulated both the great need and opportunity for educators to help learners to explore these dimensions with their students as well as the challenge of learning to teach across disciplines and using controversial topics.

Comprehensive resurvey program to prevent radiological incidents at a national laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lipton, W.V.; Hunckler, C.A.

1978-01-01

A comprehensive resurvey program in a general purpose research building at Argonne National Laboratory is being implemented. The program was designed to prevent radiological incidents by increasing the awareness of Health Physics personnel of radiological hazards, initiating corrective actions, and providing information for improving routine survey schedules, and for establishing manpower requirements. The following aspects of the program are described: scheduling, surveys, records, follow-up, and statistics

Hazardous-waste analysis plan for LLNL operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, R.S.

1982-02-12

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is involved in many facets of research ranging from nuclear weapons research to advanced Biomedical studies. Approximately 80% of all programs at LLNL generate hazardous waste in one form or another. Aside from producing waste from industrial type operations (oils, solvents, bottom sludges, etc.) many unique and toxic wastes are generated such as phosgene, dioxin (TCDD), radioactive wastes and high explosives. One key to any successful waste management program must address the following: proper identification of the waste, safe handling procedures and proper storage containers and areas. This section of the Waste Management Plan will address methodologies used for the Analysis of Hazardous Waste. In addition to the wastes defined in 40 CFR 261, LLNL and Site 300 also generate radioactive waste not specifically covered by RCRA. However, for completeness, the Waste Analysis Plan will address all hazardous waste.

Hazardous-waste analysis plan for LLNL operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, R.S.

1982-01-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is involved in many facets of research ranging from nuclear weapons research to advanced Biomedical studies. Approximately 80% of all programs at LLNL generate hazardous waste in one form or another. Aside from producing waste from industrial type operations (oils, solvents, bottom sludges, etc.) many unique and toxic wastes are generated such as phosgene, dioxin (TCDD), radioactive wastes and high explosives. One key to any successful waste management program must address the following: proper identification of the waste, safe handling procedures and proper storage containers and areas. This section of the Waste Management Plan will address methodologies used for the Analysis of Hazardous Waste. In addition to the wastes defined in 40 CFR 261, LLNL and Site 300 also generate radioactive waste not specifically covered by RCRA. However, for completeness, the Waste Analysis Plan will address all hazardous waste

Trends in the incidence of dementia: design and methods in the Alzheimer Cohorts Consortium.

Science.gov (United States)

Chibnik, Lori B; Wolters, Frank J; Bäckman, Kristoffer; Beiser, Alexa; Berr, Claudine; Bis, Joshua C; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bos, Daniel; Brayne, Carol; Dartigues, Jean-Francois; Darweesh, Sirwan K L; Debette, Stephanie; Davis-Plourde, Kendra L; Dufouil, Carole; Fornage, Myriam; Grasset, Leslie; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Hadjichrysanthou, Christoforos; Helmer, Catherine; Ikram, M Arfan; Ikram, M Kamran; Kern, Silke; Kuller, Lewis H; Launer, Lenore; Lopez, Oscar L; Matthews, Fiona; Meirelles, Osorio; Mosley, Thomas; Ower, Alison; Psaty, Bruce M; Satizabal, Claudia L; Seshadri, Sudha; Skoog, Ingmar; Stephan, Blossom C M; Tzourio, Christophe; Waziry, Reem; Wong, Mei Mei; Zettergren, Anna; Hofman, Albert

2017-10-01

Several studies have reported a decline in incidence of dementia which may have large implications for the projected burden of disease, and provide important guidance to preventive efforts. However, reports are conflicting or inconclusive with regard to the impact of gender and education with underlying causes of a presumed declining trend remaining largely unidentified. The Alzheimer Cohorts Consortium aggregates data from nine international population-based cohorts to determine changes in the incidence of dementia since 1990. We will employ Poisson regression models to calculate incidence rates in each cohort and Cox proportional hazard regression to compare 5-year cumulative hazards across study-specific epochs. Finally, we will meta-analyse changes per decade across cohorts, and repeat all analysis stratified by sex, education and APOE genotype. In all cohorts combined, there are data on almost 69,000 people at risk of dementia with the range of follow-up years between 2 and 27. The average age at baseline is similar across cohorts ranging between 72 and 77. Uniting a wide range of disease-specific and methodological expertise in research teams, the first analyses within the Alzheimer Cohorts Consortium are underway to tackle outstanding challenges in the assessment of time-trends in dementia occurrence.

Lung cancer incidence and survival among HIV-infected and uninfected women and men.

Science.gov (United States)

Hessol, Nancy A; Martínez-Maza, Otoniel; Levine, Alexandra M; Morris, Alison; Margolick, Joseph B; Cohen, Mardge H; Jacobson, Lisa P; Seaberg, Eric C

2015-06-19

To determine the lung cancer incidence and survival time among HIV-infected and uninfected women and men. Two longitudinal studies of HIV infection in the United States. Data from 2549 women in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) and 4274 men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), all with a history of cigarette smoking, were analyzed. Lung cancer incidence rates and incidence rate ratios were calculated using Poisson regression analyses. Survival time was assessed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional-hazard analyses. Thirty-seven women and 23 men developed lung cancer (46 HIV-infected and 14 HIV-uninfected) during study follow-up. In multivariable analyses, the factors that were found to be independently associated with a higher lung cancer incidence rate ratios were older age, less education, 10 or more pack-years of smoking, and a prior diagnosis of AIDS pneumonia (vs. HIV-uninfected women). In an adjusted Cox model that allowed different hazard functions for each cohort, a history of injection drug use was associated with shorter survival, and a lung cancer diagnosis after 2001 was associated with longer survival. In an adjusted Cox model restricted to HIV-infected participants, nadir CD4 lymphocyte cell count less than 200 was associated with shorter survival time. Our data suggest that pulmonary damage and inflammation associated with HIV infection may be causative for the increased risk of lung cancer. Encouraging and assisting younger HIV-infected smokers to quit and to sustain cessation of smoking is imperative to reduce the lung cancer burden in this population.

Untangling the Relationship Between Antiretroviral Therapy Use and Incident Pregnancy: A Marginal Structural Model Analysis Using Data From 47,313 HIV-Positive Women in East Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Elul, Batya; Wools-Kaloustian, Kara K; Wu, Yingfeng; Musick, Beverly S; Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, Harriet; Nash, Denis; Ayaya, Samuel; Bukusi, Elizabeth; Okong, Pius; Otieno, Juliana; Wabwire, Deo; Kambugu, Andrew; Yiannoutsos, Constantin T

2016-07-01

Scale-up of triple-drug antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Africa has transformed the context of childbearing for HIV-positive women and may impact pregnancy incidence in HIV programs. Using observational data from 47,313 HIV-positive women enrolled at 26 HIV clinics in Kenya and Uganda between 2001 and 2009, we calculated the crude cumulative incidence of pregnancy for the pre-ART and on-ART periods. The causal effect of ART use on incident pregnancy was assessed using inverse probability weighted marginal structural models, and the relationship was further explored in multivariable Cox models. Crude cumulative pregnancy incidence at 1 year after enrollment/ART initiation was 4.0% and 3.9% during the pre-ART and on-ART periods, respectively. In marginal structural models, ART use was not significantly associated with incident pregnancy [hazard ratio = 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.99 to 1.12]. Similarly, in Cox models, there was no significant relationship between ART use and incident pregnancy (cause-specific hazard ratio: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.91 to 1.05), but effect modification was observed. Specifically, women who were pregnant at enrollment and on ART had an increased risk of incident pregnancy compared to those not pregnant at enrollment and not on ART (cause-specific hazard ratio: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.23). In this large cohort, ART initiation was not associated with incident pregnancy in the general population of women enrolling in HIV care but rather only among those pregnant at enrollment. This finding further highlights the importance of scaling up access to lifelong treatment for pregnant women.

Incidence and Predictors of Hand–Arm Musculoskeletal Complaints among Vibration-exposed African Cassava and Corn Millers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukuke Hendrick Mbutshu

2014-09-01

Conclusion: This study revealed a relatively high incidence of musculoskeletal complaints among African cassava and corn millers. The use of anti-vibration protective equipment and the regulation of this hazardous occupation may reduce the burden of musculoskeletal disorders in millers.

Incident command linkup: the vital key for CBRN response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, D.

2009-01-01

The most vital element for responding emergency personnel to a CBRN attack is the incident command linkup and dissemination of information. Incident Command, the basic foundation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), is the first thing that must be effectively established when a response is required in any emergency. When initial evaluation of the scene determines that the incident involves CBRN, specialized resources from a wide array of assets must be activated quickly to mitigate the hazards. In this paper, we examine the information that the Incident Commander must be prepared to convey to those specialized assets responding. We will also look at what questions those specialized resources may ask while en route and upon arrival. Another key element that will be discussed is the placement of those resources in the hierarchy of the National Incident Management System. The information that the Incident Commander (IC) must be prepared to convey to those specialized assets responding is crucial for an efficient response and effective deployment. What questions might those specialized CBRN resources ask while en route and upon arrival? At a bare minimum, the four basic questions of who is in charge of the incident, where is the incident located, what transpired to trigger a response, and when did the incident occur must be answered. These questions should be answered while en route to the scene so that the Commander of the responding CBRN unit can formulate a plan on the move and prepare his response accordingly. While in transit, the CBRN responders should maintain contact with a representative of the Incident Command at the scene so that the latest information is available. Discussions should include anticipated logistical requirements such as personal protective equipment (PPE), decon requirements, communications protocols, and medical care issues. The CBRN Commander will need to know if the site is secure, has it been cleared of explosive hazards

The Incidence of Malignant Tumors in Environmentally Disadvantaged Regions of Kazakhstan

Science.gov (United States)

Mamyrbayev, Arstan; Djarkenov, Timur; Dosbayev, Askar; Dusembayeva, Nailya; Shpakov, Anatolyi; Umarova, Gulmira; Drobchenko, Yelena; Kunurkulzhayev, Temirgali; Zhaylybaev, Mukhtar; Isayeva, Gulnar

2016-12-01

Objective: To explore the prevalence of malignant tumors in the adult population through 2003-2014 in parts of the Aral Sea region: a zone of ecological disaster, a zone of ecological crisis and a zone of precritical conditions. Methods: The long-time average annual levels of cancer morbidity stratified by zones of the Aral Sea region and trends of long-time average annual incidence indicators of malignant tumors were identified. Leading cancer localizations in the adult population was established and associations between cancer incidence and environmental pollution were analyzed. In addition, associations between individual risk factors and cancer incidence in the adult population was established. Correlations between a hazard index and the cancer incidence in the adult population were calculated. Results: In all three Aral Sea regions, as well as in Zhanaarkinskii district, leading cancer in adult population was esophageal, stomach, tracheal, lung, hepatobiliary, and breast. Long-time average annual levels of cancer morbidity in adult population living in the Aral sea region is 1.5 times higher comparing to the control region. In particular, long-time average annual levels of cancer morbidity in adult population living in the zone of ecological disaster was 57.2% higher, in the zone of ecological crisis - 61.9% higher, and in the zone of precritical condition – 16.8% higher. Long-time average annual levels in the adult population of the Aral Sea region significantly exceeded control levels for brain and central nervous system cancer, cancer of bone and articular cartilage, and thyroid cancer. Conclusion: It has was established that the total cancer morbidity depended on the total hazard index associated with the inhalation of nickel and the combined cadmium intake (r=0.8). Creative Commons Attribution License

Coronary heart disease incidence among non-Western immigrants compared to Danish-born people

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bo, Anne; Zinckernagel, Line; Krasnik, Allan

2014-01-01

 = 229,918). First-time CHD incidence was identified from 1 January 1993–31 December 2007. Incidence ratios for 11 immigrant groups were estimated using Cox regression analysis. Results: Immigrants from Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, the Former Yugoslavia......Background: Increasing global migration has made immigrants’ health an important topic worldwide. We examined the effect of country of birth, migrant status (refugee/family-reunified) and income on coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence. Design: This was a historical prospective register......, and the Middle East and North Africa had significantly higher incidences of CHD (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–1.75 to HR = 2.86; 95% CI: 2.01–4.08) compared with Danish-born people. Immigrants from Somalia, South and Middle America, Sub-Saharan Africa and women from East Asia...

An error taxonomy system for analysis of haemodialysis incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Xiuzhu; Itoh, Kenji; Suzuki, Satoshi

2014-12-01

This paper describes the development of a haemodialysis error taxonomy system for analysing incidents and predicting the safety status of a dialysis organisation. The error taxonomy system was developed by adapting an error taxonomy system which assumed no specific specialty to haemodialysis situations. Its application was conducted with 1,909 incident reports collected from two dialysis facilities in Japan. Over 70% of haemodialysis incidents were reported as problems or complications related to dialyser, circuit, medication and setting of dialysis condition. Approximately 70% of errors took place immediately before and after the four hours of haemodialysis therapy. Error types most frequently made in the dialysis unit were omission and qualitative errors. Failures or complications classified to staff human factors, communication, task and organisational factors were found in most dialysis incidents. Device/equipment/materials, medicine and clinical documents were most likely to be involved in errors. Haemodialysis nurses were involved in more incidents related to medicine and documents, whereas dialysis technologists made more errors with device/equipment/materials. This error taxonomy system is able to investigate incidents and adverse events occurring in the dialysis setting but is also able to estimate safety-related status of an organisation, such as reporting culture. © 2014 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

Sex disparities in acute myocardial infarction incidence: do ethnic minority groups differ from the majority population?

Science.gov (United States)

van Oeffelen, Aloysia A M; Vaartjes, Ilonca; Stronks, Karien; Bots, Michiel L; Agyemang, Charles

2015-02-01

The incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in men exceeds that in women. The extent of this sex disparity varies widely between countries. Variations may also exist between ethnic minority groups and the majority population, but scientific evidence is lacking. A nationwide register-based cohort study was conducted (n = 7,601,785) between 1997 and 2007. Cox Proportional Hazard Models were used to estimate sex disparities in AMI incidence within the Dutch majority population and within ethnic minority groups, stratified by age (30-54, 55-64, ≥65 years). AMI incidence was higher in men than in women in all groups under study. Compared with the majority population (hazard ratio (HR): 2.23; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.21-2.25), sex disparities were similar among minorities originating from the immediate surrounding countries (Belgium, Germany), whereas they were greater in most other minority groups. Most pronounced results were found among minorities from Morocco (HR: 3.48; 95% CI: 2.48-4.88), South Asia (HR: 3.92; 95% CI: 2.45-6.26) and Turkey (HR: 3.98; 95% CI: 3.51-4.51). Sex disparity differences were predominantly evident in those below 55 years of age, and were mainly provoked by a higher AMI incidence in ethnic minority men compared with men belonging to the Dutch majority population. Sex disparities in AMI incidence clearly varied between ethnic minorities and the Dutch majority population. Health prevention strategies may first target at a reduction of AMI incidence in young ethnic minority men, especially those originating from Turkey and South Asia. Furthermore, an increase in AMI incidence in their female counterparts should be prevented. © The European Society of Cardiology 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Syphilis Predicts HIV Incidence Among Men and Transgender Women Who Have Sex With Men in a Preexposure Prophylaxis Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Marc M.; Mayer, Kenneth H.; Glidden, David V.; Liu, Albert Y.; McMahan, Vanessa M.; Guanira, Juan V.; Chariyalertsak, Suwat; Fernandez, Telmo; Grant, Robert M.; Bekker, Linda-Gail; Buchbinder, Susan; Casapia, Martin; Chariyalertsak, Suwat; Guanira, Juan; Kallas, Esper; Lama, Javier; Mayer, Kenneth; Montoya, Orlando; Schechter, Mauro; Veloso, Valdiléa

2014-01-01

Background. Syphilis infection may potentiate transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We sought to determine the extent to which HIV acquisition was associated with syphilis infection within an HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial and whether emtricitabine/tenofovir (FTC/TDF) modified that association. Methods. The Preexposure Prophylaxis Initiative (iPrEx) study randomly assigned 2499 HIV-seronegative men and transgender women who have sex with men (MSM) to receive oral daily FTC/TDF or placebo. Syphilis prevalence at screening and incidence during follow-up were measured. Hazard ratios for the effect of incident syphilis on HIV acquisition were calculated. The effect of FTC/TDF on incident syphilis and HIV acquisition was assessed. Results. Of 2499 individuals, 360 (14.4%) had a positive rapid plasma reagin test at screening; 333 (92.5%) had a positive confirmatory test, which did not differ between the arms (FTC/TDF vs placebo, P = .81). The overall syphilis incidence during the trial was 7.3 cases per 100 person-years. There was no difference in syphilis incidence between the study arms (7.8 cases per 100 person-years for FTC/TDF vs 6.8 cases per 100 person-years for placebo, P = .304). HIV incidence varied by incident syphilis (2.8 cases per 100 person-years for no syphilis vs 8.0 cases per 100 person-years for incident syphilis), reflecting a hazard ratio of 2.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.6–4.4; P < .001). There was no evidence for interaction between randomization to the FTC/TDF arm and incident syphilis on HIV incidence. Conclusions. In HIV-seronegative MSM, syphilis infection was associated with HIV acquisition in this PrEP trial; a syphilis diagnosis should prompt providers to offer PrEP unless otherwise contraindicated. PMID:24928295

The association between serum uric acid and the incidence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Rotterdam Study.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Schaft, Niels; Brahimaj, Adela; Wen, Ke-Xin; Franco, Oscar H; Dehghan, Abbas

2017-01-01

Limited evidence is available about the association between serum uric acid and sub-stages of the spectrum from normoglycaemia to type 2 diabetes mellitus. We aimed to investigate the association between serum uric acid and risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Eligible participants of the Rotterdam Study (n = 8,367) were classified into mutually exclusive subgroups of normoglycaemia (n = 7,030) and prediabetes (n = 1,337) at baseline. These subgroups were followed up for incident prediabetes (n = 1,071) and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 407), respectively. We used Cox proportional hazard models to determine hazard ratios (HRs) for incident prediabetes among individuals with normoglycaemia and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus among individuals with prediabetes. The mean duration of follow-up was 7.5 years for incident prediabetes and 7.2 years for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus. A standard deviation increment in serum uric acid was significantly associated with incident prediabetes among individuals with normoglycaemia (HR 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01; 1.18), but not with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus among individuals with prediabetes (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.94; 1.21). Exclusion of individuals who used diuretics or individuals with hypertension did not change our results. Serum uric acid was significantly associated with incident prediabetes among normoglycaemic women (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02; 1.25) but not among normoglycaemic men (HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.96; 1.21). In contrast, serum uric acid was significantly associated with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus among prediabetic men (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.01; 1.48) but not among prediabetic women (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.84; 1.19). Our findings agree with the notion that serum uric acid is more closely related to early-phase mechanisms in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus than late-phase mechanisms.

Ethical Dilemmas of Turkish Counsellors: A Critical Incidents Study

Science.gov (United States)

Sivis-Cetinkaya, Rahsan

2015-01-01

Ethical dilemmas from a national purposive sample of Turkish counsellors (N = 172) were collected using critical incidents technique. Content analysis was performed with open coding guided by the classification of American Counseling Association code of ethics. Incidents regarding confidentiality and privacy (56.4%), with 37.1% involving incidents…

Employment and risk of injection drug use initiation among street involved youth in Canadian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Lindsey; DeBeck, Kora; Feng, Cindy; Kerr, Thomas; Wood, Evan

2014-09-01

Youth unemployment has been associated with labour market and health disparities. However, employment as a determinant of high-risk health behaviour among marginalized young people has not been well described. We sought to assess a potential relationship between employment status and initiation of intravenous drug use among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. We followed injecting naïve youth in the At-Risk Youth Study, a cohort of street-involved youth aged 14-26 in Vancouver, Canada, and employed Cox regression analyses to examine whether employment was associated with injection initiation. Among 422 injecting naïve youth recruited between September 2005 and November 2011, 77 participants transitioned from non-injection to injection drug use, for an incidence density of 10.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.0-12.6) per 100 person years. Results demonstrating that employment was inversely associated with injection initiation (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.33-0.85) were robust to adjustment for a range of potential confounders. A lack of employment among street-involved youth was associated with the initiation of injection drug use, a practice that predisposes individuals to serious long-term health consequences. Future research should examine if reducing barriers to labour market involvement among street-involved youth prevents transitions into high-risk drug use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrating GIS with AHP and Fuzzy Logic to generate hand, foot and mouth disease hazard zonation (HFMD-HZ) model in Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

Samphutthanon, R.; Tripathi, N. K.; Ninsawat, S.; Duboz, R.

2014-12-01

The main objective of this research was the development of an HFMD hazard zonation (HFMD-HZ) model by applying AHP and Fuzzy Logic AHP methodologies for weighting each spatial factor such as disease incidence, socio-economic and physical factors. The outputs of AHP and FAHP were input into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) process for spatial analysis. 14 criteria were selected for analysis as important factors: disease incidence over 10 years from 2003 to 2012, population density, road density, land use and physical features. The results showed a consistency ratio (CR) value for these main criteria of 0.075427 for AHP, the CR for FAHP results was 0.092436. As both remained below the threshold of 0.1, the CR value were acceptable. After linking to actual geospatial data (disease incidence 2013) through spatial analysis by GIS for validation, the results of the FAHP approach were found to match more accurately than those of the AHP approach. The zones with the highest hazard of HFMD outbreaks were located in two main areas in central Muang Chiang Mai district including suburbs and Muang Chiang Rai district including the vicinity. The produced hazardous maps may be useful for organizing HFMD protection plans.

Acromegaly incidence, prevalence, complications and long-term prognosis: a nationwide cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dal, Jakob; Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla; Andersen, Marianne

2016-01-01

sampled from the general population as a comparison cohort. Cox regression and hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used. RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis (48.7 years (CI: 95%: 47.2-50.1)) and annual incidence rate (3.8 cases/10(6) persons (95% CI: 3.6-4.1)) among the 405 cases...... (HR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6-2.6)). The complication risk was also increased before the diagnosis of acromegaly. Overall mortality risk was elevated (HR: 1.3 (95% CI: 1.0-1.7)) but uninfluenced by treatment modality. CONCLUSION: (i) The incidence rate and age at diagnosis of acromegaly have been stable over...

A generic hazardous waste management training program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, R.J.; Karnofsky, B.

1988-01-01

The main purpose of this training program element is to familiarize personnel involved in hazardous waste management with the goals of RCRA and how they are to be achieved. These goals include: to protect health and the environment; to conserve valuable material and energy resources; to prohibit future open dumping on the land; to assure that hazardous waste management practices are conducted in a manner which protects human health and the environment; to insure that hazardous waste is properly managed thereby reducing the need for corrective actions in the future; to establish a national policy to reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous waste, wherever feasible. Another objective of this progam element is to present a brief overview of the RCRA regulations and how they are implemented/enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and each of the fifty states. This element also discusses where the RCRA regulations are published and how they are updated. In addition it details who is responsible for compliance with the regulations. Finally, this part of the training program provides an overview of the activities and materials that are regulated. 1 ref

DOE underground storage tank waste remediation chemical processing hazards. Part I: Technology dictionary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeMuth, S.F.

1996-10-01

This document has been prepared to aid in the development of Regulating guidelines for the Privatization of Hanford underground storage tank waste remediation. The document has been prepared it two parts to facilitate their preparation. Part II is the primary focus of this effort in that it describes the technical basis for established and potential chemical processing hazards associated with Underground Storage Tank (UST) nuclear waste remediation across the DOE complex. The established hazards involve those at Sites for which Safety Analysis Reviews (SARs) have already been prepared. Potential hazards are those involving technologies currently being developed for future applications. Part I of this document outlines the scope of Part II by briefly describing the established and potential technologies. In addition to providing the scope, Part I can be used as a technical introduction and bibliography for Regulatory personnel new to the UST waste remediation, and in particular Privatization effort. Part II of this document is not intended to provide examples of a SAR Hazards Analysis, but rather provide an intelligence gathering source for Regulatory personnel who must eventually evaluate the Privatization SAR Hazards Analysis

Decline in Weight and Incident Mild Cognitive Impairment: Mayo Clinic Study of Aging

Science.gov (United States)

Alhurani, Rabe E.; Vassilaki, Maria; Aakre, Jeremiah; Mielke, Michelle M.; Kremers, Walter K.; Machulda, Mary M.; Geda, Yonas E.; Knopman, David S.; Peterson, Ronald C.; Roberts, Rosebud O.

2016-01-01

IMPORTANCE Unintentional weight loss has been associated with risk of dementia. Since mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal stage for dementia, we sought to evaluate whether changes in weight and body mass index (BMI) may predict incident MCI. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of change in weight and BMI with risk of MCI. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A population-based, prospective study of participants aged 70 years and older from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Maximum weight and height in midlife (aged 40 to 65 years old) were retrospectively ascertained from the medical records of participants using a medical records linkage system. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES Participants were evaluated for cognitive outcomes of normal cognition, MCI, or dementia at baseline and prospectively assessed for incident events at each 15-month evaluation. The association of rate of change in weight and body mass index with risk of MCI was investigated using proportional hazards models. RESULTS Over a mean follow-up of 4.4 years, 524 of 1895 cognitively normal participants developed incident MCI. The mean (standard deviation) rate of weight change per decade from midlife to study entry was greater for individuals who developed incident MCI vs. those who remained cognitively normal (−2.0 (5.1) vs. −1.2 (4.9) kg; p = 0.006). A greater decline in weight per decade was associated with an increased risk of incident MCI (hazard ratio [HR] 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 [1.02, 1.06], p weight loss of 5 kg/decade corresponds to a 24% increase in risk of MCI (HR=1.24). Higher decline in BMI per decade was also associated with incident MCI (HR, 1.08, 95% CI = [1.03, 1.13], p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE These findings suggest that declining weight from midlife to late-life is a marker for MCI and may help identify persons at increased risk for MCI. PMID:26831542

Impact of fear of falling and fall history on disability incidence among older adults: Prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Makino, Keitaro; Makizako, Hyuma; Doi, Takehiko; Tsutsumimoto, Kota; Hotta, Ryo; Nakakubo, Sho; Suzuki, Takao; Shimada, Hiroyuki

2018-04-01

Fear of falling (FOF) is a major health problem for older adults, present not just in fallers, but also nonfallers. This study examined the impact of FOF and fall history on disability incidence among community-dwelling older adults from a prospective cohort study. A total of 5104 older adults living in community settings participated in baseline assessment and were followed up for about 4 years (median 52 mo, range 49-55 mo). At baseline, participants were assessed the presence of FOF and their fall history, and divided into 4 groups: Fall (-) FOF (-), Fall (+) FOF (-), Fall (-) FOF (+), and Fall (+) FOF (+). Disability incidence was defined as national long-term care insurance certification for personal support or care. During the follow-up period, 429 participants (9.9%) were newly certified as having a disability and needing personal support for long-term care insurance. Fall (-) FOF (+) group and Fall (+) FOF (+) group showed a significantly higher risk of disability incidence than Fall (-) FOF (-) group even after adjusting for covariates (Fall (-) FOF (+): hazard ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.62, Fall (+) FOF (+): hazard ratio 1.44, 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.98). Fear of falling could be a simple and useful predictor of disability incidence in community-dwelling older adults. Identifying and decreasing fall risk factors may prevent fall-related injuries, but excessive FOF may be associated with increased risk of disability incidence. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decline in Literacy and Incident AD Dementia Among Community-Dwelling Older Persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lei; Wilson, Robert S; Han, S Duke; Leurgans, Sue; Bennett, David A; Boyle, Patricia A

2017-06-01

To quantify longitudinal change in financial and health literacy and examine the associations of declining literacy with incident Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Data came from 799 participants of an ongoing cohort study. Literacy was measured using a battery of 32 questions. Clinical diagnoses were made annually following uniform structured procedures. The associations of declining literacy with incident AD dementia and MCI were tested using a joint model for longitudinal and time-to-event data. We observed an overall decline in total literacy score over up to 6 years of follow-up ( p literacy was associated with higher risks for incident AD dementia (hazard ratio = 4.526, 95% confidence interval = [2.993, 6.843], p literacy among community-dwelling older persons predicts adverse cognitive outcomes and serves as an early indicator of impending dementia.

Laser exposure incidents: pilot ocular health and aviation safety issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawara, Van B; Wood, Kathryn J; Montgomery, Ron W

2008-09-01

A database of aviation reports involving laser illumination of flight crewmembers has been established and maintained at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. A review of recent laser illumination reports was initiated to investigate the significance of these events. Reports that involved laser exposures of civilian aircraft in the United States were analyzed for the 13-month period (January 1, 2004, through January 31, 2005). There were 90 reported instances of laser illumination during the study period. A total of 53 reports involved laser exposure of commercial aircraft. Lasers illuminated the cockpit in 41 (46%) of the incidents. Of those, 13 (32%) incidents resulted in a visual impairment or distraction to a pilot, including 1 incident that reportedly resulted in an ocular injury. Nearly 96% of these reports occurred in the last 3 months of the study period. There were no aviation accidents in which laser light illumination was found to be a contributing factor. Operational problems have resulted from laser illumination incidents in the national airspace system. Eye care practitioners, to provide effective consultations to their pilot patients, should be familiar with the problems that can occur with laser exposure.

Flood Hazard Mapping by Applying Fuzzy TOPSIS Method

Science.gov (United States)

Han, K. Y.; Lee, J. Y.; Keum, H.; Kim, B. J.; Kim, T. H.

2017-12-01

There are lots of technical methods to integrate various factors for flood hazard mapping. The purpose of this study is to suggest the methodology of integrated flood hazard mapping using MCDM(Multi Criteria Decision Making). MCDM problems involve a set of alternatives that are evaluated on the basis of conflicting and incommensurate criteria. In this study, to apply MCDM to assessing flood risk, maximum flood depth, maximum velocity, and maximum travel time are considered as criterion, and each applied elements are considered as alternatives. The scheme to find the efficient alternative closest to a ideal value is appropriate way to assess flood risk of a lot of element units(alternatives) based on various flood indices. Therefore, TOPSIS which is most commonly used MCDM scheme is adopted to create flood hazard map. The indices for flood hazard mapping(maximum flood depth, maximum velocity, and maximum travel time) have uncertainty concerning simulation results due to various values according to flood scenario and topographical condition. These kind of ambiguity of indices can cause uncertainty of flood hazard map. To consider ambiguity and uncertainty of criterion, fuzzy logic is introduced which is able to handle ambiguous expression. In this paper, we made Flood Hazard Map according to levee breach overflow using the Fuzzy TOPSIS Technique. We confirmed the areas where the highest grade of hazard was recorded through the drawn-up integrated flood hazard map, and then produced flood hazard map can be compared them with those indicated in the existing flood risk maps. Also, we expect that if we can apply the flood hazard map methodology suggested in this paper even to manufacturing the current flood risk maps, we will be able to make a new flood hazard map to even consider the priorities for hazard areas, including more varied and important information than ever before. Keywords : Flood hazard map; levee break analysis; 2D analysis; MCDM; Fuzzy TOPSIS

Rural and urban distribution of trauma incidents in Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, J J; McConnell, N J; Orman, J A; Egan, G; Jansen, J O

2013-02-01

Trauma systems reduce mortality and improve functional outcomes from injury. Regional trauma networks have been established in several European regions to address longstanding deficiencies in trauma care. A perception of the geography and population distribution as challenging has delayed the introduction of a trauma system in Scotland. The characteristics of trauma incidents attended by the Scottish Ambulance Service were analysed, to gain a better understanding of the geospatial characteristics of trauma in Scotland. Data on trauma incidents collected by the Scottish Ambulance Service between November 2008 and October 2010 were obtained. Incident location was analysed by health board region, rurality and social deprivation. The results are presented as number of patients, average annual incidence rates and relative risks. Of the 141,668 incidents identified, 72·1 per cent occurred in urban regions. The risk of being involved in an incident was similar across the most populous regions, and decreased slightly with increasing rurality. Social deprivation was associated with greater numbers and risk. A total of 53·1 per cent of patients were taken to a large general hospital, and 38·6 per cent to a teaching hospital; the distribution was similar for the subset of incidents involving patients with physiological derangements. The majority of trauma incidents in Scotland occur in urban and deprived areas. A regionalized system of trauma care appears plausible, although the precise configuration of such a system requires further study. Copyright © 2012 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk for Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yvonne C; Agnew-Blais, Jessica; Malspeis, Susan; Keyes, Katherine; Costenbader, Karen; Kubzansky, Laura D; Roberts, Andrea L; Koenen, Karestan C; Karlson, Elizabeth W

2016-03-01

To examine the association between symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk in a prospective cohort and to characterize the role of smoking in this relationship. A subset (n = 54,224) of the Nurses' Health Study II, a prospective cohort of female nurses, completed the Brief Trauma Questionnaire and a screen for PTSD symptoms. Participants were categorized based on trauma exposure and number of PTSD symptoms. Incident RA cases (n = 239) from 1989 to 2011 were identified. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) between PTSD symptoms and incident RA. To identify the impact of smoking, secondary and subgroup analyses were performed. In all analyses, PTSD and smoking were lagged 2 years before the development of RA. Compared to no history of trauma/PTSD symptoms, the HR for ≥4 PTSD symptoms and incident RA was 1.76 (95% CI 1.16-2.67) in models adjusted for age, race, and socioeconomic status. The risk for RA increased with an increasing number of PTSD symptoms (P = 0.01). When smoking was added to the model, the HR for RA remained elevated (HR 1.60 [95% CI 1.05-2.43]). In a subgroup analysis, excluding women who smoked before PTSD onset, results were unchanged (HR 1.68 [95% CI 1.04-2.70]). This study suggests that women with high PTSD symptomatology have an elevated risk for RA, independent of smoking, adding to emerging evidence that stress is an important determinant of physical health. © 2016, American College of Rheumatology.

Communicating risk: news media reportage of a significant nuclear contamination incident in the UK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, G.P.; Macgill, S.M.

1988-02-01

The way the mass media reported a controversial discharge incident at British Nuclear Fuel's reprocessing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria in November 1983 is discussed. Apart from the Windscale fire in 1957 this was the most serious radiation incident at any nuclear installation in the United Kingdom. The aim of the study was to use that incident to develop a more complete understanding of the way information about risk is communicated through the news media. Two issues, in particular, are assessed. First, the accuracy of the reports of events and how factual, technical or scientific aspects of risk are portrayed through the news media. Secondly, risk evaluation is studied: what value judgements are made, what sentiments of alarm, danger and hazard are presented. (author)

Biological effects and hazards of radiation exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boas, J.F.; Solomon, S.B.

1990-01-01

Radiation induced carcinogenesis and mutagenesis form the main risk to health from exposure to low levels of radiation. This risk effects can be at least qualitatively understood by considering the effects of radiation on cell DNA. Whilst exposure to high levels of radiation results in a number of identifiable effects, exposure to low levels of radiation may result in effects which only manifest themselves after many years. Risk estimates for low levels of radiation have been derived on the basis of a number of assumptions. In the case of uranium mine workers a major hazard arises from the inhalation of radon daughters. Whilst the correlation between radon daughter exposure and lung cancer incidence is well established, the numerical value of the risk factor is the subject of controversy. ICRP 50 gives a value of 10 cases per 10 6 person-years at risk per WLM (range 5-15 x 10 -6 PYR -1 WLM -1 ). The effect of smoking on lung cancer incidence rates amongst miners is also controversial. Nevertheless, smoking by miners should be discouraged

Long-term exposure to ambient ultrafine particles and respiratory disease incidence in in Toronto, Canada: a cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Weichenthal, Scott; Bai, Li; Hatzopoulou, Marianne; Van Ryswyk, Keith; Kwong, Jeffrey C; Jerrett, Michael; van Donkelaar, Aaron; Martin, Randall V; Burnett, Richard T; Lu, Hong; Chen, Hong

2017-06-19

Little is known about the long-term health effects of ambient ultrafine particles (respiratory disease incidence. In this study, we examined the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient UFPs and the incidence of lung cancer, adult-onset asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our study cohort included approximately 1.1 million adults who resided in Toronto, Canada and who were followed for disease incidence between 1996 and 2012. UFP exposures were assigned to residential locations using a land use regression model. Random-effect Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) describing the association between ambient UFPs and respiratory disease incidence adjusting for ambient fine particulate air pollution (PM 2.5 ), NO 2 , and other individual/neighbourhood-level covariates. In total, 74,543 incident cases of COPD, 87,141 cases of asthma, and 12,908 cases of lung cancer were observed during follow-up period. In single pollutant models, each interquartile increase in ambient UFPs was associated with incident COPD (HR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.09) but not asthma (HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.01) or lung cancer (HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.97, 1.03). Additional adjustment for NO 2 attenuated the association between UFPs and COPD and the HR was no longer elevated (HR = 1.01, 95% CI: 0.98, 1.03). PM 2.5 and NO 2 were each associated with increased incidence of all three outcomes but risk estimates for lung cancer were sensitive to indirect adjustment for smoking and body mass index. In general, we did not observe clear evidence of positive associations between long-term exposure to ambient UFPs and respiratory disease incidence independent of other air pollutants. Further replication is required as few studies have evaluated these relationships.

EG and G long-range hazardous waste program plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-02-01

The purpose of this document is to develop and implement a program for safe, economic management of hazardous and radioactive mixed waste generated, transported, treated, stored, or disposed of by EG and G Idaho operated facilities. The initial part of this program involves identification and characterization of EG and G-generated hazardous and radioactive mixed waste, and activities for corrective action, including handling, packaging, and shipping of these wastes off site for treatment, storage, and/or disposal, or for interim remedial action. The documentation necessary for all areas of the plan is carefully defined, so as to ensure compliance, at every step, with the requisite orders and guidelines. A second part of this program calls for assessment, and possible development and implementation of a treatment, storage, and disposal (T/S/D) program for special hazardous and radioactive mixed wastes which cannot practically, economically, and safely be disposed of at off-site facilities. This segment of the plan addresses obtaining permits for the existing Waste Experimental Reduction Facility (WERF) incinerator and for the construction of an adjacent hazardous waste solidification facility and a storage area. The permitting and construction of a special hazardous waste treatment and storage facility is also explored. The report investigates permitting the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility (HWSF) as a permanent storage facility

Elevated serum ferritin concentration is associated with incident type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Chinese population: A prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ling; Li, Yufeng; Zhang, Fang; Zhang, Simin; Zhou, Xianghai; Ji, Linong

2018-03-08

We aimed to evaluate the association between serum ferritin levels and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus risk in a Chinese population. This cohort study assessed 2225 Chinese individuals aged 25-75 years. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed using the 1999 World Health Organization definition with a median follow-up period of 20 months. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident diabetes when serum ferritin concentrations increased by one standard deviation. During the follow-up period, 112 cases (62 men and 50 women) of type 2 diabetes mellitus were identified. Baseline serum ferritin levels were higher in the diabetes than the non-diabetes group. After adjusting for age, body mass index, waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine transaminase and triglyceride levels, family history of diabetes mellitus, pork meat consumption, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, education, and annual household income, the hazard ratios for incident diabetes corresponding to one standard deviation increase in serum ferritin levels were 1.17 (95% CI 1.03, 1.34), 1.20 (95% CI 1.003, 1.43), and 1.03 (95% CI 0.82, 1.31) for the total population, men, and women, respectively. High serum ferritin levels were associated with a higher risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus independent of traditional risk factors in the total population and men. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Periodontitis and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: a prospective cohort study

OpenAIRE

Winning, Lewis; Patterson, Christopher C; Neville, Charlotte E; Kee, Frank; Linden, Gerard J

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To investigate periodontitis as a risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a group of men aged 58-72 years.METHODS: 1331 dentate, diabetes-free males in Northern Ireland underwent a detailed periodontal examination during 2001-2003. Follow-up was by bi-annual questionnaire and for those reporting diabetes their general medical practitioner was contacted to validate diabetes type, treatment and diagnosis date. Cox's proportional hazard models were used to estimat...

Perceived safety of transporting hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reese, R.T.; Shepherd, E.W.

1981-01-01

A framework for relating the variables involved in the public perception of hazardous materials transportation was presented. The framework consisted of a conditional mathematical equation in which perceived safety was described by six basic terms (technical feasibility, political palatability, social responsibility, utility assessment, media interpretation, and familiarity as a function of time). The resulting framework provides the technologist with an initial formulation to better understand public perception

Change in Serum Bilirubin Level as a Predictor of Incident Metabolic Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, You-Bin; Lee, Seung-Eun; Jun, Ji Eun; Jee, Jae Hwan; Bae, Ji Cheol; Jin, Sang-Man; Kim, Jae Hyeon

2016-01-01

Serum bilirubin level was negatively associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in previous cross-sectional studies. However, bilirubin variance preceding the development of MetS has yet to be investigated. We aimed to determine the effect of change in bilirubin concentration on the risk of incident MetS in healthy Korean adults. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study of subjects who had undergone at least four yearly health check-ups between 2006 and 2012. Of 24,185 total individuals who received annual check-ups, 11,613 non-MetS participants with a baseline bilirubin level not exceeding 34.2 μmol/l were enrolled. We evaluated the association between percent change in bilirubin and risk of incident MetS. During 55,407 person-years of follow-up, 2,439 cases of incident MetS developed (21.0%). Baseline serum bilirubin level clearly showed no association with the development of MetS in men but an independent significant inverse association in women which attenuated (hence may be mediated) by elevated homeostatic model assessment index 2 for insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). However, increased risk for incident MetS was observed in higher percent change in bilirubin quartiles, with hazard ratios of 2.415 (95% CI 2.094-2.785) in men and 2.156 (95% CI 1.738-2.675) in women in the fourth quartile, compared to the lowest quartile, after adjusting for age, smoking status, medication history, alanine aminotransferase, uric acid, estimated glomerular filtration rate, fasting glucose, baseline diabetes mellitus prevalence, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and body mass index. The hazard ratios per one standard deviation increase in percent change in bilirubin as a continuous variable were 1.277 (95% CI 1.229-1.326) in men and 1.366 (95% CI 1.288-1.447) in women. Increases in serum bilirubin concentration were positively associated with a higher risk of incident MetS. Serum bilirubin increment might be a sensitive marker for the development

Hazards and hazard combinations relevant for the safety of nuclear power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Kurt; Brinkman, Hans; Raimond, Emmanuel

2017-04-01

The potential of the contemporaneous impact of different, yet causally related, hazardous events and event cascades on nuclear power plants is a major contributor to the overall risk of nuclear installations. In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, which was caused by a combination of severe ground shaking by an earthquake, an earthquake-triggered tsunami and the disruption of the plants from the electrical grid by a seismically induced landslide, hazard combinations and hazard cascades moved into the focus of nuclear safety research. We therefore developed an exhaustive list of external hazards and hazard combinations which pose potential threats to nuclear installations in the framework of the European project ASAMPSAE (Advanced Safety Assessment: Extended PSA). The project gathers 31 partners from Europe, North Amerika and Japan. The list comprises of exhaustive lists of natural hazards, external man-made hazards, and a cross-correlation matrix of these hazards. The hazard list is regarded comprehensive by including all types of hazards that were previously cited in documents by IAEA, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA), and others. 73 natural hazards and 24 man-made external hazards are included. Natural hazards are grouped into seismotectonic hazards, flooding and hydrological hazards, extreme values of meteorological phenomena, rare meteorological phenomena, biological hazards / infestation, geological hazards, and forest fire / wild fire. The list of external man-made hazards includes industry accidents, military accidents, transportation accidents, pipeline accidents and other man-made external events. The large number of different hazards results in the extremely large number of 5.151 theoretically possible hazard combinations (not considering hazard cascades). In principle all of these combinations are possible to occur by random coincidence except for 82 hazard combinations that - depending on the time scale - are mutually

Fire hazard analysis of the radioactive mixed waste trenchs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, K.M.

1995-01-01

This Fire Hazards Analysis (FHA) is intended to assess comprehensively the risk from fire associated with the disposal of low level radioactive mixed waste in trenches within the lined landfills, provided by Project W-025, designated Trench 31 and 34 of the Burial Ground 218-W-5. Elements within the FHA make recommendations for minimizing risk to workers, the public, and the environment from fire during the course of the operation's activity. Transient flammables and combustibles present that support the operation's activity are considered and included in the analysis. The graded FHA contains the following elements: description of construction, protection of essential safety class equipment, fire protection features, description of fire hazards, life safety considerations, critical process equipment, high value property, damage potential--maximum credible fire loss (MCFL) and maximum possible fire loss (MPFL), fire department/brigade response, recovery potential, potential for a toxic, biological and/or radiation incident due to a fire, emergency planning, security considerations related to fire protection, natural hazards (earthquake, flood, wind) impact on fire safety, and exposure fire potential, including the potential for fire spread between fire areas. Recommendations for limiting risk are made in the text of this report and printed in bold type. All recommendations are repeated in a list in Section 18.0

Sex Trading Among Hazardously Drinking Jailed Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Schonbrun, Yael Chatav; Johnson, Jennifer; Anderson, Bradley J; Stein, Michael D

For women involved in sex trading, both alcohol problems and passage through the criminal justice system are highly prevalent. This study is the first to conduct a focused examination of factors associated with sex trading among hazardously drinking, pretrial, jailed women. Cocaine use, social support for alcohol abstinence, and more days incarcerated in the 90 days leading up to the index incarceration were significantly associated with sex trading involvement among alcoholic women. Helping incarcerated alcoholic women reduce cocaine use and improve sober support networks during and following an incarceration may minimize sex trading after release.

Managing hazardous activities and substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgenroth, V.H.

1994-01-01

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide background information on the process, principles and policies being employed in OECD Member Countries for managing hazardous activities (non-nuclear) and products involving chemicals (non-radioactive). In addition, the author highlights certain areas in the risk management process where certain assumptions and conclusions may be of particular relevance to the goal of a review, reconsideration and restatement of the strategy of geological disposal of radioactive wastes. (O.L.)

Trait anger but not anxiety predicts incident type 2 diabetes: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Sherley; Shah, Nina G; Diez Roux, Ana; Hill-Briggs, Felicia; Seeman, Teresa; Szklo, Moyses; Schreiner, Pamela J; Golden, Sherita Hill

2015-10-01

Prior studies have shown a bidirectional association between depression and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, the prospective associations of anger and anxiety with T2DM have not been established. We hypothesized that trait anger and anxiety would predict incident T2DM, independently of depressive symptoms. In the Multi-ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), we prospectively examined the association of trait anger and trait anxiety (assessed via the Spielberger Trait Anger and Anxiety Scales, respectively) with incident T2DM over 11.4 years in 5598 White, Black, Hispanic, and Chinese participants (53.2% women, mean age 61.6 years) at baseline without prevalent T2DM or cardiovascular disease. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate the hazard ratios (HR) of incident T2DM by previously defined anger category (low, moderate, high), and anxiety quartile, as there were no previously defined categories. High total trait anger was associated with incident T2DM (HR 1.50; 95% CI 1.08-2.07) relative to low total trait anger. The association was attenuated following adjustment for waist circumference (HR 1.32; 95% CI 0.94-1.86). Higher anger reaction was also associated with incident T2DM (HR=1.07; 95% CI 1.03-1.11) that remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders/explanatory factors. In contrast, trait anxiety did not predict incident T2DM. High total trait anger and anger reaction are potential modifiable risk factors for T2DM. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms of the anger-diabetes relationship and to develop preventive interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hazardous Waste

Science.gov (United States)

... chemicals can still harm human health and the environment. When you throw these substances away, they become hazardous waste. Some hazardous wastes come from products in our homes. Our garbage can include such hazardous wastes as old batteries, bug spray cans and paint thinner. U.S. residents ...

Sirolimus use and cancer incidence among US kidney transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanik, E L; Gustafson, S K; Kasiske, B L; Israni, A K; Snyder, J J; Hess, G P; Engels, E A; Segev, D L

2015-01-01

Sirolimus has anti-carcinogenic properties and can be included in maintenance immunosuppressive therapy following kidney transplantation. We investigated sirolimus effects on cancer incidence among kidney recipients. The US transplant registry was linked with 15 population-based cancer registries and national pharmacy claims. Recipients contributed sirolimus-exposed time when sirolimus claims were filled, and unexposed time when other immunosuppressant claims were filled without sirolimus. Cox regression was used to estimate associations with overall and specific cancer incidence, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancers (not captured in cancer registries). We included 32,604 kidney transplants (5687 sirolimus-exposed). Overall, cancer incidence was suggestively lower during sirolimus use (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.70-1.11). Prostate cancer incidence was higher during sirolimus use (HR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.15-3.02). Incidence of other cancers was similar or lower with sirolimus use, with a 26% decrease overall (HR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57-0.96, excluding prostate cancer). Results were similar after adjustment for demographic and clinical characteristics. This modest association does not provide strong evidence that sirolimus prevents posttransplant cancer, but it may be advantageous among kidney recipients with high cancer risk. Increased prostate cancer diagnoses may result from sirolimus effects on screen detection. © Copyright 2014 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Natural Hazards, Poverty Traps versus Economic Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Netti, Dr.

2012-04-01

Governments, even in developed countries, devote too scarce resources to coping (ex-ante) with natural hazards; as a consequence of this short-sightedness, (ex-post) direct and indirect effects of catastrophic events deeply compromise the economic growth. Protective measures against natural hazards mean complex choices involving the opinions of multidisciplinary groups of experts in the fields of ecology, civic and geotechnical engineering, geology, meteorology, law and economics. Moreover, tools and choices affect different stakeholders: politicians, producers, consumers, taxpayers and voters. Complementarity between informed rationality and democracy need to be recognized and guaranteed as too often the perceptions of the majority of the stakeholders involved about natural hazards are not consistent with any objective information about the catastrophic event. The interaction between strict budget constraints, extremely high degrees of uncertainty, risk-aversion and credit rationing, trade-off between democracy and rationality, are the main causes of potential 'poverty traps'. First of all we believe that the 'reconstruction output' to be included in GDP as an ex-post effect of a natural hazard is a forced investment much more effective in crowding-out other consumption and investment and less effective for growth than investments aiming at increasing, ex-ante, the resiliency of the economy. Keynes' 'Animal Spirits' are embedded in positive expectation for future gains especially if not concentrated in reconstruction procurement sectors but spread across different sectors of the economy. The increased demand for reconstruction goods and services may act in both directions depending on the phase of the business cycles in which the economy is. Risk premiums for risk-averter investors increase in consequence of a natural hazard event; this restrict budget constraints and strengthen credit rationing. A mere replacement effect of the destroyed capital by a more

Potential biological hazard of importance for HACCP plans in fresh fish processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baltić Milan Ž.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP system is scientifically based and focused on problem prevention in order to assure the produced food products are safe to consume. Prerequisite programs such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices, GHP (Good Hygienic Practices are an essential foundation for the development and implementation of successful HACCP plans. One of the preliminary tasks in the development of HACCP plan is to conduct a hazard analysis. The process of conducting a hazard analysis involves two stages. The first is hazard identification and the second stage is the HACCP team decision which potential hazards must be addressed in the HACCP plan. By definition, the HACCP concept covers all types of potential food safety hazards: biological, chemical and physical, whether they are naturally occurring in the food, contributed by the environment or generated by a mistake in the manufacturing process. In raw fish processing, potential significant biological hazards which are reasonably likely to cause illness of humans are parasites (Trematodae, Nematodae, Cestodae, bacteria (Salmonella, E. coli, Vibrio parahemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinum, Staphyloccocus aureus, viruses (Norwalk virus, Entero virusesi, Hepatitis A, Rotovirus and bio-toxins. Upon completion of hazard analysis, any measure(s that are used to control the hazard(s should be described.

Coping with a community stressor: a proposed hazardous waste disposal facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bachrach, K.M.

1983-01-01

This study examined a number of factors believed to influence community involvement. Residents of a rural community near Phoenix, Arizona, where a hazardous waste facility had been proposed to built, were interviewed at home in August 1982. Most residents were chosen at random (n = 70) while a smaller number (n = 29) were selected because of known involvement in activities regarding the hazardous waste facility. Residents who perceived the facility as a threat to their health, safety, and general well-being employed a number of coping strategies. Strategies to change or alter the source of stress, problem-focused coping, were associated with greater community involvement. Strategies to regulate one's emotional response to stress, emotion-focused coping, were associated with less community involvement. Increased self-efficacy and sense of community led to increased community involvement. Both measures indirectly influenced community involvement through different modes of coping. Self-efficacy was negatively related to emotion-focused coping while sense of community was positively related to problem-focused coping. Increased demoralization was associated with decreased self-efficacy, increased emotion-focused coping, and decreased community involvement. The results suggest that the psychologically most fragile residents are underrepresented in community activities, and that the use of high levels of emotion-focused coping may have been maladaptive.

Cerebral Microbleeds and the Risk of Incident Ischemic Stroke in CADASIL (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy).

Science.gov (United States)

Puy, Laurent; De Guio, François; Godin, Ophélia; Duering, Marco; Dichgans, Martin; Chabriat, Hugues; Jouvent, Eric

2017-10-01

Cerebral microbleeds are associated with an increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. Recent data suggest that microbleeds may also predict the risk of incident ischemic stroke. However, these results were observed in elderly individuals undertaking various medications and for whom causes of microbleeds and ischemic stroke may differ. We aimed to test the relationship between the presence of microbleeds and incident stroke in CADASIL (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy With Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy)-a severe monogenic small vessel disease known to be responsible for both highly prevalent microbleeds and a high incidence of ischemic stroke in young patients. We assessed microbleeds on baseline MRI in all 378 patients from the Paris-Munich cohort study. Incident ischemic strokes were recorded during 54 months. Survival analyses were used to test the relationship between microbleeds and incident ischemic stroke. Three hundred sixty-nine patients (mean age, 51.4±11.4 years) were followed-up during a median time of 39 months (interquartile range, 19 months). The risk of incident ischemic stroke was higher in patients with microbleeds than in patients without (35.8% versus 19.6%, hazard ratio, 1.87; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-3.01; P =0.009). These results persisted after adjustment for history of ischemic stroke, age, sex, vascular risk factors, and antiplatelet agents use (hazard ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-3.26; P =0.02). The presence of microbleeds is an independent risk marker of incident ischemic stroke in CADASIL, emphasizing the need to carefully interpret MRI data. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Association Between Leukocyte Telomere Length and the Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staerk, Laila; Wang, Biqi; Lunetta, Kathryn L

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Advancing age is a prominent risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). Shorter telomere length is a biomarker of biological aging, but the link between shorter telomere length and increased risk of AF remains unclear. We examined the association between shorter leukocyte telomere length...... at baseline was 6.95±0.57 kb. During 15.1±4.2 years mean follow-up, 184 participants (64 women) developed AF. Chronological age was associated with increased risk of AF (hazard ratio per 10-year increase, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.71-2.72). There was no significant association between LTL and incident...... evidence for a significant association between LTL and risk of incident AF....

Security incidents on the Internet, 1989--1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howard, J.D.

1995-12-31

This paper presents an analysis of trends in Internet security based on an investigation of 4,299 Internet security-related incidents reported to the CERT{reg_sign} Coordination Center (CERT{reg_sign}/CC) from 1989 through 1995. Prior to this research, knowledge of actual Internet security incidents was limited and primarily anecdotal. This research: (1) developed a taxonomy to classify Internet attacks and incidents, (2) organized, classified, and analyzed CERT{reg_sign}/CC incident records, (3) summarized the relative frequency of the use of tools and vulnerabilities, success in achieving access, and results of attacks, (4) estimated total Internet incident activity, (5) developed recommendations for Internet users and suppliers, and (6) developed recommendations for future research. With the exception of denial-of-service attacks, security incidents were found to be increasing at a rate less than Internet growth. Estimates showed that most, if not all, severe incidents were reported to the CERT{reg_sign}/CC, and that more than one out of three above average incidents (in terms of duration and number of sites) were reported. Estimates also indicated that a typical Internet site was involved in, at most, around one incident (of any kind) per year, and a typical Internet host in, at most, around one incident in 45 years. The probability of unauthorized privileged access was around an order of magnitude less likely. As a result, simple and reasonable security precautions should be sufficient for most Internet users.

Night shift work and incidence of diabetes in the Danish Nurse Cohort

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne B.; Stayner, Leslie; Hansen, Johnni

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Night shift work has been associated with poor sleep, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, which are recognised risk factor for diabetes. However, only a few studies have examined the effect of shift work on diabetes risk. Here, we study the association between shift work and incidence...... for incidence of diabetes until 2013. Nurses reported whether they worked night, evening, rotating or day shifts. We analysed the association between working time and diabetes incidence using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for diabetes risk factors, separately with and without adjustment for body...... mass index (BMI) which might be an intermediate variable. RESULTS: Of 19 873 nurses who worked and were diabetes-free at recruitment, 837 (4.4%) developed diabetes during 15 years of follow-up. The majority of nurses (62.4%) worked day shifts, 21.8% rotating shift, 10.1% evening and 5.5% night shifts...

SU-E-P-07: Retrospective Analysis of Incident Reports at a Radiology Department: Feedback From Incident Reporting System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kakinohana, Y; Toita, T; Heianna, J; Murayama, S [School of medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa (Japan)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To provide an overview of reported incidents that occurred in a radiology department and to describe the most common causal source of incidents. Methods: Incident reports from the radiology department at the University of the Ryukyus Hospital between 2008 and 2013 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. The incident report form contains the following items, causal factors of the incident and desirable corrective actions to prevent recurrence of similar incidents. These items allow the institution to investigate/analyze root causes of the incidents and suggest measures to be taken to prevent further, similar incidents. The ‘causal factors of the incident’ item comprises multiple selections from among 24 selections and includes some synonymous selections. In this study, this item was re-categorized into four causal source types: (i) carelessness, (ii) lack of skill or knowledge, (iii) deficiencies in communication, and (iv) external factors. Results: There were a total of 7490 incident reports over the study period and 276 (3.7%) were identified as originating from the radiology department. The most frequent causal source type was carelessness (62%). The other three types showed similar frequencies (10–14%). The staff members involved in incidents indicate three predominant desirable corrective actions to prevent or decrease the recurrence of similar incidents. These are ‘improvement in communication’ (24%), ‘staff training/education’ (19%), and ‘daily medical procedures’ (22%), and the most frequent was ‘improvement in communication’. Even though the most frequent causal factor was related to carelessness, the most desirable corrective action indicated by the staff members was related to communication. Conclusion: Our finding suggests that the most immediate causes are strongly related to carelessness. However, the most likely underlying causes of incidents would be related to deficiencies in effective communication. At our

Incidence and predictors of suicide attempts in DSM-IV major depressive disorder: a five-year prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Holma, K Mikael; Melartin, Tarja K; Haukka, Jari; Holma, Irina A K; Sokero, T Petteri; Isometsä, Erkki T

2010-07-01

Prospective long-term studies of risk factors for suicide attempts among patients with major depressive disorder have not investigated the course of illness and state at the time of the act. Therefore, the importance of state factors, particularly time spent in risk states, for overall risk remains unknown. In the Vantaa Depression Study, a longitudinal 5-year evaluation of psychiatric patients with major depressive disorder, prospective information on 249 patients (92.6%) was available. Time spent in depressive states and the timing of suicide attempts were investigated with life charts. During the follow-up assessment period, there were 106 suicide attempts per 1,018 patient-years. The incidence rate per 1,000 patient-years during major depressive episodes was 21-fold (N=332 [95% confidence interval [CI]=258.6-419.2]), and it was fourfold during partial remission (N=62 [95% CI=34.6-92.4]) compared with full remission (N=16 [95% CI=11.2-40.2]). In the Cox proportional hazards model, suicide attempts were predicted by the months spent in a major depressive episode (hazard ratio=7.74 [95% CI=3.40-17.6]) or in partial remission (hazard ratio=4.20 [95% CI=1.71-10.3]), history of suicide attempts (hazard ratio=4.39 [95% CI=1.78-10.8]), age (hazard ratio=0.94 [95% CI=0.91-0.98]), lack of a partner (hazard ratio=2.33 [95% CI=0.97-5.56]), and low perceived social support (hazard ratio=3.57 [95% CI=1.09-11.1]). The adjusted population attributable fraction of the time spent depressed for suicide attempts was 78%. Among patients with major depressive disorder, incidence of suicide attempts varies markedly depending on the level of depression, being highest during major depressive episodes. Although previous attempts and poor social support also indicate risk, the time spent depressed is likely the major factor determining overall long-term risk.

Relation of Pericardial Fat, Intrathoracic Fat, and Abdominal Visceral Fat with Incident Atrial Fibrillation (From the Framingham Heart Study)

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jane J.; Yin, Xiaoyan; Hoffmann, Udo; Fox, Caroline S.; Benjamin, Emelia J.

2016-01-01

Obesity is associated with increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF). Different fat depots may have differential associations with cardiac pathology. We examined the longitudinal associations between pericardial, intrathoracic, and visceral fat with incident AF. We studied Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Third Generation Cohorts who participated in the multi-detector computed tomography sub-study examination 1. We constructed multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models for risk of incident AF. Body mass index (BMI) was included in the multivariable-adjusted model as a secondary adjustment. We included 2,135 participants (53.3% women; mean age 58.8 years). During a median follow-up of 9.7 years, we identified 162 cases of incident AF. Across the increasing tertiles of pericardial fat volume, age- and sex-adjusted incident AF rate per 1000 person-years of follow-up were 8.4, 7.5, and 10.2. Based on an age- and sex-adjusted model, greater pericardial fat [hazard ratio (HR) 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.34] and intrathoracic fat (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.06-1.45) were associated with increased risk of incident AF. The HRs (95% CI) for incident AF were 1.13 (0.99-1.30) for pericardial fat, 1.19 (1.01-1.40) for intrathoracic fat, and 1.09 (0.93-1.28) for abdominal visceral fat after multivariable adjustment. After additional adjustment of BMI, none of the associations remained significant (all p>0.05). Our findings suggest that cardiac ectopic fat depots may share common risk factors with AF, which may have led to a lack of independence in the association between pericardial fat with incident AF. PMID:27666172

Incidence of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer in women living with HIV in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorsteinsson, K; Ladelund, Steen; Jensen-Fangel, S

2016-01-01

, which contains nationwide records of all pathology specimens. The cumulative incidence and hazard ratios (HRs) for time from inclusion to first cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)/ICC and time from first normal cervical cytology result to first CIN/ICC were estimated. Sensitivity analyses were......OBJECTIVES: Women living with HIV (WLWH) are reportedly at increased risk of invasive cervical cancer (ICC). A recent publication found that WLWH in Denmark attend the national ICC screening programme less often than women in the general population. We aimed to estimate the incidence of cervical...... in both groups were adherent to the national ICC screening programme and had a normal baseline cytology, incidences of CIN and ICC were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, WLWH developed more cervical disease than controls. Yet, in WLWH and controls adherent to the national ICC screening programme...

Vitrification of hazardous and radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bickford, D.F.; Schumacher, R.

1995-01-01

Vitrification offers many attractive waste stabilization options. Versatility of waste compositions, as well as the inherent durability of a glass waste form, have made vitrification the treatment of choice for high-level radioactive wastes. Adapting the technology to other hazardous and radioactive waste streams will provide an environmentally acceptable solution to many of the waste challenges that face the public today. This document reviews various types and technologies involved in vitrification

Fate and monitoring of hazardous substances in temporary rivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ademollo, N.; Capri, S.; Froebrich, J.; Patrolecco, L.; Polesello, S.; Puddu, A.; Rusconi, M.; Valsecchi, S.

2011-01-01

Under climate-change conditions, temporary rivers will be the dominant surface-water bodies of the Mediterranean region. In order to manage this kind of water body appropriately, it is necessary to understand the chemical and ecological processes that involve hazardous substances in these

Identification of Potential Hazard using Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, R. M.; Syahputri, K.; Rizkya, I.; Siregar, I.

2017-03-01

This research was conducted in the paper production’s company. These Paper products will be used as a cigarette paper. Along in the production’s process, Company provides the machines and equipment that operated by workers. During the operations, all workers may potentially injured. It known as a potential hazard. Hazard identification and risk assessment is one part of a safety and health program in the stage of risk management. This is very important as part of efforts to prevent occupational injuries and diseases resulting from work. This research is experiencing a problem that is not the identification of potential hazards and risks that would be faced by workers during the running production process. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential hazards by using hazard identification and risk assessment methods. Risk assessment is done using severity criteria and the probability of an accident. According to the research there are 23 potential hazard that occurs with varying severity and probability. Then made the determination Risk Assessment Code (RAC) for each potential hazard, and gained 3 extreme risks, 10 high risks, 6 medium risks and 3 low risks. We have successfully identified potential hazard using RAC.

Cancer incidence among Danish Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists.

Science.gov (United States)

Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Hansen, Helle Ploug; Hoff, Andreas; Ross, Lone; Johansen, Christoffer

2012-12-01

American Seventh-day Adventists have been reported to have lower cancer mortality and incidence than the general population. Adventists do not consume tobacco, alcohol or pork, and many adhere to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle. Baptists discourage excessive use of alcohol and tobacco. In this study, we investigated whether the incidence of cancer in a large cohort of Danish Adventists and Baptists was different compared to the general Danish population. We followed 11,580 Danish Adventists and Baptists in the nationwide Danish Cancer Registry, which contains information on cases of cancer for 1943-2008. Cancer incidence in the cohort was compared with that in the general Danish population as standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and within-cohort comparisons were made with a Cox model. Lower cancer incidences were observed for both Seventh-day Adventist men (SIR, 66; 95% CI, 60-72) and women (85; 80-91). The same result was observed for Baptists although not as low. The differences were most pronounced for smoking-related cancers such as those of the buccal cavity and lung (SIR, 20; 13-30 for Seventh-day Adventist men and 33; 22-49 for Seventh-day Adventist women). The incidences of other lifestyle-related cancers, such as of stomach, rectum, liver and cervix, were also decreased. In general, the SIRs were lower for men than for women, and Adventists had lower hazard rates than Baptists. Our findings point to the benefits of compliance with public health recommendations and indicate that lifestyle changes in the population might change the cancer risks of individuals. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergency planning for industrial hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gow, H.B.F.; Kay, R.W.

1988-01-01

The European Communities have produced a Directive on the Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities which sets out standards for the control and mitigation of the hazards presented by sites and storages which contain significant quantities of dangerous substances. An essential element of these controls is the provision of effective on-and off-site emergency plans. This conference explores the considerable research effort which is going on throughout the world in the improvement of systems for emergency planning. Attention was also drawn to areas where difficulties still exist, for example in predicting the consequences of an accident, the complexities of communication problems and the difficulties arising from involvement of the public. The proceedings are in six parts which deal with organizations implementing emergency planning: on- and off-site emergency planning and design; techniques for emergency plans; expenses and auditing of emergency plans; lessons learnt from the emergency management of major accidents; information to the public to and during emergencies. (author)

Effects of sex on the incidence and prognosis of spinal meningiomas: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results study.

Science.gov (United States)

Westwick, Harrison J; Shamji, Mohammed F

2015-09-01

Most spinal meningiomas are intradural lesions in the thoracic spine that present with both local pain and myelopathy. By using the large prospective Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, the authors studied the incidence of spinal meningiomas and examined demographic and treatment factors predictive of death. Using SEER*Stat software, the authors queried the SEER database for cases of spinal meningioma between 2000 and 2010. From the results, tumor incidence and demographic statistics were computed; incidence was analyzed as a function of tumor location, pathology, age, sex, and malignancy code. Survival was analyzed by using a Cox proportional hazards ratio in SPSS for age, sex, marital status, primary site, size quartile, treatment modality, and malignancy code. In this analysis, significance was set at a p value of 0.05. The 1709 spinal meningiomas reported in the SEER database represented 30.7% of all primary intradural spinal tumors and 7.9% of all meningiomas. These meningiomas occurred at an age-adjusted incidence of 0.193 (95% CI 0.183-0.202) per 100,000 population and were closely related to sex (337 [19.7%] male patients and 1372 [80.3%] female patients). The Cox hazard function for mortality in males was higher (2.4 [95% CI1.7-3.5]) and statistically significant, despite the lower lesion incidence in males. All-cause survival was lowest in patients older than 80 years. Primary site and treatment modality were not significant predictors of mortality. Spinal meningiomas represent a significant fraction of all primary intradural spinal tumors and of all meningiomas. The results of this study establish the association of lesion incidence and survival with sex, with a less frequent incidence in but greater mortality among males.

Review, analysis and report on the radiological consequences resulting from accidents and incidents involving radioactive materials during transport in the period 1975-1986 by and within member states of the european communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lombard, J.; Ringot, C.; Tomachevsky, E.; Hughes, J.S.; Shaw, K.B.

1990-01-01

Radioactive materials are routinely transported throughout the European Communities, by all modes of transport. These shipments occur in accordance with comprehensive regulations and the vast majority of these shipments are made without incident. Occasionally however accidents and other incidents have occurred at various stages of transport operations and the purpose of this study was to examine the available information on events that occurred within the Communities during the years 1975 to 1986. The information was gathered from Member States' Competent Authorities and other organisations, using a questionnaire. Most of the detailed information came from the two countries carrying out the study, the UK and France. The information gathered covered many different types of event involving a wide range of materials: it is concluded that under-reporting is a major source of uncertainty in the results. Therefore, it is emphasised that care should be used in comparisons between the results for different types of transport operations, since accidents and incidents involving certain types of transport are more fully reported than others. Consequently, the authors stress the need for improved reporting and recording procedures. No evidence was found of any major health consequences resulting from the accidents and incidents studied. However, there were instances of high doses having been received by workers, mainly as a result of inadequate preparation of packages prior to despatch. These events point to the need to maintain high standards of quality assurance at all stages of transport operations

Occupational hazards and safety measures amongst the paint factory workers in lagos, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Awodele, Olufunsho; Popoola, Temidayo D; Ogbudu, Bawo S; Akinyede, Akin; Coker, Herbert A B; Akintonwa, Alade

2014-06-01

The manufacture of paint involves a variety of processes that present with medical hazards. Safety initiatives are hence introduced to limit hazard exposures and promote workplace safety. This aim of this study is to assess the use of available control measures/initiatives in selected paint factories in Lagos West Senatorial District, Nigeria. A total of 400 randomly selected paint factory workers were involved in the study. A well-structured World Health Organization standard questionnaire was designed and distributed to the workers to elicit information on awareness to occupational hazards, use of personal protective devices, and commonly experienced adverse symptoms. Urine samples were obtained from 50 workers randomly selected from these 400 participants, and the concentrations of the heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium) were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results show that 72.5% of the respondents are aware of the hazards associated with their jobs; 30% have had formal training on hazards and safety measures; 40% do not use personal protective devices, and 90% of the respondents reported symptoms relating to hazard exposure. There was a statistically significant (p metal concentrations in the urine samples obtained from paint factory workers as compared with nonfactory workers. The need to develop effective frameworks that will initiate the integration and ensure implementation of safety regulations in paint factories is evident. Where these exist, there is a need to promote adherence to these practice guidelines.

Homemade chemical bomb incidents - 15 states, 2003-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-21

Homemade chemical bombs (HCBs) are made from commonly found chemicals. The volume of news reports of HCB explosions suggests they are not uncommon. To determine the number of events involving HCBs in the United States and describe the factors associated with them, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) analyzed data from its surveillance system that tracks spills and leaks of hazardous substances. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, during 2003-2011, a total of 134 events involving HCBs were reported from 15 states. Among those events, 21 (16%) resulted in adverse health effects (i.e., respiratory symptoms, burns, and skin irritation) for 53 persons. The majority (35 [66%]) of these persons were youths.HCBs are hazardous and especially dangerous if detonated in public areas. Increasing awareness of HCBs and their dangers (particularly during summer months) among first-responders, parents, school staff members and others who work with youths might help reduce injuries associated with HCBs.

[Multicentre study of infection incidence in knee prosthesis].

Science.gov (United States)

Jaén, F; Sanz-Gallardo, M I; Arrazola, M P; García de Codes, A; de Juanes, A; Resines, C

2012-01-01

To determine the incidence of surgical site infection in knee prosthesis surgical procedure for a follow-up period of one year in twelve hospitals in Madrid region. A prospective study was carried out from January to December 2009 using a national surveillance system called Indicadores Clínicos de Mejora Continua de Calidad. Primary and revision knee joint replacements in patients operated on in the previous year were included. Criteria used to define surgical site infection and patient risk index categories were those established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance. The incidence rates were worked out crude and adjusted by hazard ratio. 2,088 knee prosthesis procedures were analyzed. The overall incidence of surgical site infection was 2.1%. Sixty-five percent of the infections were organ/space. Sixty percent of the infections were identified in the early postoperative period. Of all surgical site infections, 41.9% were microbiologically confirmed. Antibiotic prophylaxis was implemented correctly in 63.3% of the cases. The most important cause of inappropriate prophylaxis was an unsuitable duration in 85.7% of the cases. The presurgical preparation was carried out correctly in 50.3% of surgical operations. The incidence of knee arthroplasty infection was twice as high as in the National Healthcare Safety Network and similar to national rates. In this study, the incidence of infection was within the range of infection rates in other published European studies. Surveillance and control strategies of health care for associated infections allow us to assess trends and the impact of preventive measures. Copyright © 2011 SECOT. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Incidence and predictors of tuberculosis among HIV-infected adults after initiation of antiretroviral therapy in Nigeria, 2004-2012.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ishani Pathmanathan

Full Text Available Nigeria had the most AIDS-related deaths worldwide in 2014 (170,000, and 46% were associated with tuberculosis (TB. Although treatment of people living with HIV (PLHIV with antiretroviral therapy (ART reduces TB-associated morbidity and mortality, incident TB can occur while on ART. We estimated incidence and characterized factors associated with TB after ART initiation in Nigeria.We analyzed retrospective cohort data from a nationally representative sample of adult patients on ART. Data were abstracted from 3,496 patient records, and analyses were weighted and controlled for a complex survey design. We performed domain analyses on patients without documented TB disease and used a Cox proportional hazard model to assess factors associated with TB incidence after ART.At ART initiation, 3,350 patients (95.8% were not receiving TB treatment. TB incidence after ART initiation was 0.57 per 100 person-years, and significantly higher for patients with CD4<50/μL (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4-12.7 compared with CD4≥200/μL. Patients with suspected but untreated TB at ART initiation and those with a history of prior TB were more likely to develop incident TB (AHR: 12.2, 95% CI: 4.5-33.5 and AHR: 17.6, 95% CI: 3.5-87.9, respectively.Incidence of TB among PLHIV after ART initiation was low, and predicted by advanced HIV, prior TB, and suspected but untreated TB. Study results suggest a need for improved TB screening and diagnosis, particularly among high-risk PLHIV initiating ART, and reinforce the benefit of early ART and other TB prevention efforts.

Development of a systematic methodology to select hazard analysis techniques for nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Reis, Sergio Carneiro dos; Costa, Antonio Carlos Lopes da [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)]. E-mails: vasconv@cdtn.br; reissc@cdtn.br; aclc@cdtn.br; Jordao, Elizabete [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica]. E-mail: bete@feq.unicamp.br

2008-07-01

In order to comply with licensing requirements of regulatory bodies risk assessments of nuclear facilities should be carried out. In Brazil, such assessments are part of the Safety Analysis Reports, required by CNEN (Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission), and of the Risk Analysis Studies, required by the competent environmental bodies. A risk assessment generally includes the identification of the hazards and accident sequences that can occur, as well as the estimation of the frequencies and effects of these unwanted events on the plant, people, and environment. The hazard identification and analysis are also particularly important when implementing an Integrated Safety, Health, and Environment Management System following ISO 14001, BS 8800 and OHSAS 18001 standards. Among the myriad of tools that help the process of hazard analysis can be highlighted: CCA (Cause- Consequence Analysis); CL (Checklist Analysis); ETA (Event Tree Analysis); FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis); FMECA (Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study); HRA (Human Reliability Analysis); Pareto Analysis; PHA (Preliminary Hazard Analysis); RR (Relative Ranking); SR (Safety Review); WI (What-If); and WI/CL (What-If/Checklist Analysis). The choice of a particular technique or a combination of techniques depends on many factors like motivation of the analysis, available data, complexity of the process being analyzed, expertise available on hazard analysis, and initial perception of the involved risks. This paper presents a systematic methodology to select the most suitable set of tools to conduct the hazard analysis, taking into account the mentioned involved factors. Considering that non-reactor nuclear facilities are, to a large extent, chemical processing plants, the developed approach can also be applied to analysis of chemical and petrochemical plants. The selected hazard analysis techniques can support cost

Development of a systematic methodology to select hazard analysis techniques for nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Reis, Sergio Carneiro dos; Costa, Antonio Carlos Lopes da; Jordao, Elizabete

2008-01-01

In order to comply with licensing requirements of regulatory bodies risk assessments of nuclear facilities should be carried out. In Brazil, such assessments are part of the Safety Analysis Reports, required by CNEN (Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission), and of the Risk Analysis Studies, required by the competent environmental bodies. A risk assessment generally includes the identification of the hazards and accident sequences that can occur, as well as the estimation of the frequencies and effects of these unwanted events on the plant, people, and environment. The hazard identification and analysis are also particularly important when implementing an Integrated Safety, Health, and Environment Management System following ISO 14001, BS 8800 and OHSAS 18001 standards. Among the myriad of tools that help the process of hazard analysis can be highlighted: CCA (Cause- Consequence Analysis); CL (Checklist Analysis); ETA (Event Tree Analysis); FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis); FMECA (Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study); HRA (Human Reliability Analysis); Pareto Analysis; PHA (Preliminary Hazard Analysis); RR (Relative Ranking); SR (Safety Review); WI (What-If); and WI/CL (What-If/Checklist Analysis). The choice of a particular technique or a combination of techniques depends on many factors like motivation of the analysis, available data, complexity of the process being analyzed, expertise available on hazard analysis, and initial perception of the involved risks. This paper presents a systematic methodology to select the most suitable set of tools to conduct the hazard analysis, taking into account the mentioned involved factors. Considering that non-reactor nuclear facilities are, to a large extent, chemical processing plants, the developed approach can also be applied to analysis of chemical and petrochemical plants. The selected hazard analysis techniques can support cost

Serum bilirubin concentrations and incident coronary heart disease risk among patients with type 2 diabetes: the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Wu, Xiaofen; Li, Yaru; Han, Xu; Hu, Hua; Wang, Fei; Yu, Caizheng; Li, Xiulou; Yang, Kun; Yuan, Jing; Yao, Ping; Miao, Xiaoping; Wei, Sheng; Wang, Youjie; Chen, Weihong; Liang, Yuan; Guo, Huan; Yang, Handong; Wu, Tangchun; Zhang, Xiaomin; He, Meian

2017-03-01

Elevated serum bilirubin levels are associated with decreased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in cross-sectional studies among diabetic patients, but prospective evidence is limited. We investigated the relationship of serum bilirubin levels with incident CHD risk among type 2 diabetes patients. In a prospective study of 2918 type 2 diabetes embedded in the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort, serum total bilirubin (TBil), direct bilirubin (DBil), and indirect bilirubin (IBil) were measured at baseline. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between serum bilirubin levels and CHD risk. A total of 440 CHD cases were identified during 12,017 person-years of follow-up. Compared with extreme quartiles, the adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval of incident CHD were 0.74 (0.56-0.99) with P trend = 0.08 in IBil, while in TBil and DBil, the bilirubin-CHD associations were not significant. Moreover, serum TBil and IBil levels were interacted with drinking status on the risk of incident CHD (P interaction = 0.021 and 0.037, respectively), and the associations were evident in ever drinkers. In drinkers, when serum TBil or IBil concentrations increased 1 μmol/L, the CHD risk both decreased 6% (95% CIs 0.89-0.99 and 0.87-1.00, respectively). Serum IBil levels were marginally related to decreased incident CHD risk among type 2 diabetes. Drinking could potentially enhance the associations of serum TBil and DBil levels with incident CHD risk.

Analysis of a radiation incident with intraoral dental radiological equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malone, J.F.

1996-01-01

A case is described involving a serious incident with dental radiological equipment, containing many lessons that may be applied to the preparation of other cases. The description includes an account of the incident, the circumstances surrounding it, the dosimetry, risk estimates and the medical consequences of the incident. In addition, some aspects of the associated legal proceedings are reviewed and assessed. As a result of the incident described, a number of conclusions are drawn with respect to important practices in ensuring the safety of installations and the value of evidence brought forward by expert witnesses. (author)

Qualitative analysis of factors leading to clinical incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Matthew D; Birch, Julian D; Renshaw, Mark; Ottewill, Melanie

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the common themes leading or contributing to clinical incidents in a UK teaching hospital. A root-cause analysis was conducted on patient safety incidents. Commonly occurring root causes and contributing factors were collected and correlated with incident timing and severity. In total, 65 root-cause analyses were reviewed, highlighting 202 factors implicated in the clinical incidents and 69 categories were identified. The 14 most commonly occurring causes (encountered in four incidents or more) were examined as a key-root or contributory cause. Incident timing was also analysed; common factors were encountered more frequently during out-hours--occurring as contributory rather than a key-root cause. In total, 14 commonly occurring factors were identified to direct interventions that could prevent many clinical incidents. From these, an "Organisational Safety Checklist" was developed to involve departmental level clinicians to monitor practice. This study demonstrates that comprehensively investigating incidents highlights common factors that can be addressed at a local level. Resilience against clinical incidents is low during out-of-hours periods, where factors such as lower staffing levels and poor service provision allows problems to escalate and become clinical incidents, which adds to the literature regarding out-of-hours care provision and should prove useful to those organising hospital services at departmental and management levels.

Quality assurance for packaging of radioactive and hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustafson, L.D.

1986-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has required for many years that quality assurance programs be established and implemented for the packaging of radioactive and hazardous materials. This paper identifies various requirement principles and related actions involved in establishing effective quality assurance for packaging of radioactive and hazardous materials. A primary purpose of these quality assurance program activities is to provide assurance that the packaging and transportation of hazardous materials, which includes radioactive and fissile materials, are in conformance with appropriate governmental regulations. Applicable regulations include those issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). DOE Order 5700.6A establishes that quality assurance requirements are to be applied in accordance with national consensus standards where suitable ones are available. In the nuclear area, ANSI/ASME NQA-1 is the preferred standard

Process for reclaiming tungsten from a hazardous waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheithauer, R.A.; MacInnis, M.B.; Miller, M.J.; Vanderpool, C.D.

1984-01-01

A process is disclosed wherein tungsten is recovered from hazardous waste material containing said tungsten, arsenic, and other impurities which can consist of magnesium, phosphorus, and silicon and the resulting waste is treated to render it nonhazardous according to EPA standards for arsenic. Said process involves digesting said hazardous waste material in an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, adjusting the pH of the resulting solution to about 11.0 to about 13.0 with NaOH to precipitate essentially all of the magnesium and silicon species, filtering the digestion mix to remove the solids from said resulting solution which contains about 80 to about 100% of said tungsten and essentially none of said magnesium and said silicon, slurrying the hazardous solids in hot water, and adding to the slurry a ferric salt solution to precipitate ferric hydroxide, filtering this mixture to give a solid which passes the EPA standard test for solids with respect to arsenic

Consideration of In-Growth of Radionuclides for Facility Hazard Categorization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mr. Robert E. Miller

2007-01-01

This paper addresses issues associated with the effects of daughter product in-growth on the hazard categorization of facilities in accordance with DOE-STD-1027-92, 'Hazard Categorization and Accident Analysis Techniques for Compliance with DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports'. There is a list of issues that occur when performing facility hazard categorizations at DOE facilities. The first issue is when radionuclides are concentrated outside of their natural decay schemes, and the resulting daughter products exceed the hazard category three threshold quantity values (HC3 TQVs) while their parents do not. The second issue is if a parent nuclide is evaluated for the inhalation pathway, and the daughter product is evaluated using a different pathway and methodology. The third issue is when the parent and daughter are evaluated using the same pathway for exposure, but the daughter is significantly more radiotoxic than the parent. Lastly, when the TQVs were derived for hazard categorization, the methodology used involved a 24 hour exposure period during which, for the sake of simplicity, no consideration was given to decay and the subsequent in-growth of daughter products. Facility hazard categorization is a snapshot in time and does not provide an accurate inventory for long term operations and/or storage

Analysis of the selected optical parameters of filters protecting against hazardous infrared radiation

OpenAIRE

Gralewicz, Grzegorz; Owczarek, Grzegorz

2016-01-01

The paper analyses the selected optical parameters of protective optic filters used for protection of the eyes against hazardous radiation within the visible (VIS) and near infrared (NIR) spectrum range. The indexes characterizing transmission and reflection of optic radiation incident on the filter are compared. As it follows from the completed analysis, the newly developed interference filters provide more effective blocking of infrared radiation in comparison with the currently used protec...

Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Incidence Among Women Participating in an HIV Prevention Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Akello, Carolyne A; Bunge, Katherine E; Nakabiito, Clemensia; Mirembe, Brenda G; Fowler, Mary Glenn; Mishra, Anupam; Marrazzo, Jeanne; Chirenje, Zvavahera M; Celum, Connie; Balkus, Jennifer E

2017-06-01

Recent HIV prevention trials required use of effective contraceptive methods to fulfill eligibility for enrollment. We compared pregnancy rates in a subset of participants enrolled in the Microbicide Trials Network protocol (MTN-003), a randomized trial of chemoprophylaxis to prevent HIV acquisition among women aged 18-45 years who initiated depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) or combined oral contraceptives (COCs) at enrollment, relative to those already using DMPA or COCs. Data were analyzed from MTN-003 participants from Uganda. Before enrollment, information on contraceptive type and initiation date was obtained. Urine pregnancy tests were performed at monthly follow-up visits. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare pregnancy incidence among new users (initiated ≤60 days before enrollment) and established users (initiated >60 days before enrollment). Of 322 women enrolled, 296 were COC or DMPA users, 82 (28%) were new users, and 214 (72%) were established users. Pregnancy incidence was higher among new contraceptive users compared to established users (20.70% vs. 10.55%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.66; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.93-2.96). Among DMPA users, pregnancy incidence was 10.20% in new users versus 3.48% in established users (HR = 2.56; 95% CI 0.86-7.65). Among new COC users, pregnancy incidence was 42.67% in new users versus 23.67% in established COC users (adjusted HR = 1.74; 95% CI 0.87-3.48). New contraceptive users, regardless of method, at the Uganda MTN-003 site had an increased pregnancy risk compared to established users, which may be due to contraceptive initiation primarily for trial eligibility. New users may benefit from intensive contraceptive counseling and additional contraceptive options, including longer acting reversible contraceptives.

Long-term Exposure to Particulate Matter Constituents and the Incidence of Coronary Events in 11 European Cohorts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wolf, Kathrin; Stafoggia, Massimo; Cesaroni, Giulia

2015-01-01

with incident coronary events. METHODS: Eleven cohorts from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Italy participated in this analysis. 5,157 incident coronary events were identified within 100,166 persons followed on average for 11.5 years. Long-term residential concentrations of PM PM 2.5 μm...... (PM2.5), and a priori selected constituents (copper, iron, nickel, potassium, silicon, sulfur, vanadium, and zinc) were estimated with land-use regression models. We used Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for a common set of confounders to estimate cohort-specific component effects...... with and without including PM mass, and random effects meta-analyses to pool cohort-specific results. RESULTS: A 100 ng/m³ increase in PM10 K and a 50 ng/m³ increase in PM2.5 K were associated with a 6% (hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval: 1.06 [1.01, 1.12]) and 18% (1.18 [1.06, 1.32]) increase in coronary...

Assessment of mixed hazardous and radioactive waste sites at Hanford

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, T.J.; Cramer, K.H.; Lamar, D.A.; Sherwood, D.R.; Stenner, R.D.; Schulze, W.B.

1987-10-01

The US Department of Energy and Pacific Northwest Laboratory recently completed a preliminary assessment of 685 inactive hazardous waste sites located on the Hanford Site. The preliminary assessment involved collecting historical data and individual site information, conducting site inspections, and establishing an environmental impact priority, using the Hazard Ranking System, for each of these 685 sites. This preliminary assessment was the first step in the remediation process required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. This paper presents the results of that preliminary assessment. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Female breast cancer incidence and survival in Utah according to religious preference, 1985–1999

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Ray M; Folsom, Jeffrey A

2005-01-01

Background Female breast cancer incidence rates in Utah are among the lowest in the U.S. The influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) religion on these rates, as well as on disease-specific survival, will be explored for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer in Utah from 1985 through 1999. Methods Population-based records for incident female breast cancer patients were linked with membership records from the LDS Church to determine religious affiliation and, for LDS Church members, level of religiosity. Incidence rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population using the direct method. Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare survival among religiously active LDS, less religiously active LDS, and non-LDS with simultaneous adjustment for prognostic factors. Results Age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates were consistently lower for LDS than non-LDS in Utah from 1985 through 1999. Rates were lower among LDS compared with non-LDS across the age span. In 1995–99, the age-adjusted incidence rates were 107.6 (95% CI: 103.9 – 111.3) for LDS women and 130.5 (123.2 – 137.9) for non-LDS women. If non-LDS women in Utah had the same breast cancer risk profile as LDS women, an estimated 214 (4.8%) fewer malignant breast cancer cases would have occurred during 1995–99. With religiously active LDS serving as the reference group, the adjusted death hazard ratio for religiously less active LDS was 1.09 (0.94 – 1.27) and for non-LDS was 0.86 (0.75 – 0.98). Conclusion In Utah, LDS lifestyle is associated with lower incidence rates of female breast cancer. However, LDS experience poorer survivability from breast cancer than their non-LDS counterparts. Parity and breastfeeding, while protective factors against breast cancer, may contribute to poorer prognosis of female breast cancer in LDS women. PMID:15904509

Conceptual Development of a National Volcanic Hazard Model for New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Stirling, Mark; Bebbington, Mark; Brenna, Marco; Cronin, Shane; Christophersen, Annemarie; Deligne, Natalia; Hurst, Tony; Jolly, Art; Jolly, Gill; Kennedy, Ben; Kereszturi, Gabor; Lindsay, Jan; Neall, Vince; Procter, Jonathan; Rhoades, David; Scott, Brad; Shane, Phil; Smith, Ian; Smith, Richard; Wang, Ting; White, James D. L.; Wilson, Colin J. N.; Wilson, Tom

2017-06-01

We provide a synthesis of a workshop held in February 2016 to define the goals, challenges and next steps for developing a national probabilistic volcanic hazard model for New Zealand. The workshop involved volcanologists, statisticians, and hazards scientists from GNS Science, Massey University, University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Auckland, and University of Canterbury. We also outline key activities that will develop the model components, define procedures for periodic update of the model, and effectively articulate the model to end-users and stakeholders. The development of a National Volcanic Hazard Model is a formidable task that will require long-term stability in terms of team effort, collaboration and resources. Development of the model in stages or editions that are modular will make the process a manageable one that progressively incorporates additional volcanic hazards over time, and additional functionalities (e.g. short-term forecasting). The first edition is likely to be limited to updating and incorporating existing ashfall hazard models, with the other hazards associated with lahar, pyroclastic density currents, lava flow, ballistics, debris avalanche, and gases/aerosols being considered in subsequent updates.

Conceptual Development of a National Volcanic Hazard Model for New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Stirling

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We provide a synthesis of a workshop held in February 2016 to define the goals, challenges and next steps for developing a national probabilistic volcanic hazard model for New Zealand. The workshop involved volcanologists, statisticians, and hazards scientists from GNS Science, Massey University, University of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Auckland, and University of Canterbury. We also outline key activities that will develop the model components, define procedures for periodic update of the model, and effectively articulate the model to end-users and stakeholders. The development of a National Volcanic Hazard Model is a formidable task that will require long-term stability in terms of team effort, collaboration, and resources. Development of the model in stages or editions that are modular will make the process a manageable one that progressively incorporates additional volcanic hazards over time, and additional functionalities (e.g., short-term forecasting. The first edition is likely to be limited to updating and incorporating existing ashfall hazard models, with the other hazards associated with lahar, pyroclastic density currents, lava flow, ballistics, debris avalanche, and gases/aerosols being considered in subsequent updates.

Assessment of chemical loadings to Newark Bay, New Jersey from petroleum and hazardous chemical accidents occurring from 1986 to 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunster, D.G.; Bonnevie, N.L.; Gillis, C.A.; Wenning, R.J.

1993-01-01

Newark Bay, New Jersey, is particularly vulnerable to ecological damage from accidental petroleum and chemical spills due to the enclosed nature of the bay and the large volume of chemical and petroleum commerce within the region. A review of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy's database of hazardous chemical spills in New Jersey waterways was conducted to determine the frequency and volume of chemical and petroleum spills in Newark Bay and its major tributaries. Accidents reported from 1986 to 1991 were extracted from the database and summarized. The compilation of records indicated that 1400 incidents, resulting in the release of more than 18 million gallons of hazardous materials to the estuary had been reported to state officials. The bulk of the chemicals released to the aquatic environment were petroleum products, specifically No. 2 Fuel Oil (4,636,512 gallons) and No. 6 Fuel Oil (12,600,683 gallons). The majority of the reported incidents occurred in the Arthur Kill and its tributaries. The results indicate that accidental discharge of petroleum and other hazardous chemicals to Newark Bay represents a significant ongoing source of chemical pollution

Oxygen deficiency at CERN: Hazards, risks & mitigation measures

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Compressed and liquified gases are used at many places at CERN. If they are introduced to the atmosphere, they can present an oxygen deficiency hazard (ODH) and lead to reduced abilities, unconsciousness or even death. The CERN method for ODH risk assessments is done on a case-by-case basis as each situation is unique. It is crucial to make sure the personnel can evacuate safely in case of an ODH situation. My talk will explain human reactions to reduced oxygen levels and I will give some practical examples on how one can assess and control the hazards from a possible oxygen deficient atmosphere. Some real accidents involving oxygen deficiency will also be mentioned.

Cancer incidence study in Mesa County, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouimette, D.R.; Ferguson, S.W.; Zoglo, D.; Murphy, S.; Alley, S.; Bahler, S.

1983-01-01

In November of 1982 the Colorado Department of Health completed an epidemiologic investigation of leukemia, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the lung, stomach, pancreas and colon in Mesa County, Colorado for the years 1970 to 1979. This investigation was performed in response to a concern that the presence of uranium mill tailings in some Mesa County homes presents a potential cancer hazard. The results of the investigation show that the incidence of multiple myeloma, colon, stomach and pancreatic cancer are not above expected rates. The incidence of leukemia is not above expected rates for the entire study period, 1970 to 1979. The incidence of lung cancer appears elevated when compared to the The Third National Cancer Survey data for Colorado but lower than expected when compared to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results data. To further examine the leukemia and lung cancer incidence findings, a case/control study was conducted. The controls consisted of colon, stomach and pancreatic cancer cases. The results of the leukemia case/control analysis show no association with the radiation exposure variables: occupational radiation exposure; uranium mining exposure; having ever lived in a type A home (uranium tailings home); and radiation therapy. The lung cancer case/control analysis shows a significant association with only the radiation exposure variable, uranium mining history, indicating cases were more likely to have been uranium miners than were controls. As with leukemia, the study found no association between lung cancer and living in a uranium mill tailings home. The relatively low radiation exposures typical of type A homes and the small number of persons exposed make it very difficult to establish, by epidemiologic methods, that a risk exists

Diesel particles - a health hazard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ege, C.

2004-08-15

To all appearances, small particles belong to the pollutants presenting the biggest health hazards. Particles come especially from diesel-powered vehicles. According to researchers, particles cause thousands of early deaths each year in the big cities in Denmark alone, and up to 1,250 of these deaths could be prevented by fitting particle filters on diesel-powered vehicles. That is more than deaths caused by traffic accidents. Especially the elderly are affected. In addition, the small particles seem to aggravate asthma incidences, including the many children with asthma. What makes the small particles so very dangerous is that they can enter the smallest of vessels of the lungs. There is a solution within sight to this grave health hazard. The solution is called particle filters, but they will not come automatically. It requires initiatives in the form of legislation, green taxes and subsidies. The EU is introducing stricter regulations regarding particle emission from heavy vehicles from 2006, though only for new vehicles. It will therefore take many years to abate the problem this way. In the present pamphlet, the Danish Ecological Council offers a number of specific proposals on how to further the introduction of filters on diesel vehicles. The Danish government has taken a small step in the right direction by establishing a subsidy scheme for particle filters. Yet the amount allocated is too small and, because it is not followed up by setting taxes on polluting vehicles, it will have little effect. (au)

Association of opioid agonist therapy with lower incidence of hepatitis C virus infection in young adult injection drug users.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsui, Judith I; Evans, Jennifer L; Lum, Paula J; Hahn, Judith A; Page, Kimberly

2014-12-01

Injection drug use is the primary mode of transmission for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Prior studies suggest opioid agonist therapy may reduce the incidence of HCV infection among injection drug users; however, little is known about the effects of this therapy in younger users. To evaluate whether opioid agonist therapy was associated with a lower incidence of HCV infection in a cohort of young adult injection drug users. Observational cohort study conducted from January 3, 2000, through August 21, 2013, with quarterly interviews and blood sampling. We recruited young adult (younger than 30 years) injection drug users who were negative for anti-HCV antibody and/or HCV RNA. Substance use treatment within the past 3 months, including non-opioid agonist forms of treatment, opioid agonist (methadone hydrochloride or buprenorphine hydrochloride) detoxification or maintenance therapy, or no treatment. Incident HCV infection documented with a new positive result for HCV RNA and/or HCV antibodies. Cumulative incidence rates (95% CI) of HCV infection were calculated assuming a Poisson distribution. Cox proportional hazards regression models were fit adjusting for age, sex, race, years of injection drug use, homelessness, and incarceration. Baseline characteristics of the sample (n = 552) included median age of 23 (interquartile range, 20-26) years; 31.9% female; 73.1% white; 39.7% who did not graduate from high school; and 69.2% who were homeless. During the observation period of 680 person-years, 171 incident cases of HCV infection occurred (incidence rate, 25.1 [95% CI, 21.6-29.2] per 100 person-years). The rate ratio was significantly lower for participants who reported recent maintenance opioid agonist therapy (0.31 [95% CI, 0.14-0.65]; P = .001) but not for those who reported recent non-opioid agonist forms of treatment (0.63 [95% CI, 0.37-1.08]; P = .09) or opioid agonist detoxification (1.45 [95% CI, 0.80-2.69]; P = .23). After adjustment for

Working towards a clearer and more helpful hazard map: investigating the influence of hazard map design on hazard communication

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, M. A.; Lindsay, J. M.; Gaillard, J.

2015-12-01

Globally, geological hazards are communicated using maps. In traditional hazard mapping practice, scientists analyse data about a hazard, and then display the results on a map for stakeholder and public use. However, this one-way, top-down approach to hazard communication is not necessarily effective or reliable. The messages which people take away will be dependent on the way in which they read, interpret, and understand the map, a facet of hazard communication which has been relatively unexplored. Decades of cartographic studies suggest that variables in the visual representation of data on maps, such as colour and symbology, can have a powerful effect on how people understand map content. In practice, however, there is little guidance or consistency in how hazard information is expressed and represented on maps. Accordingly, decisions are often made based on subjective preference, rather than research-backed principles. Here we present the results of a study in which we explore how hazard map design features can influence hazard map interpretation, and we propose a number of considerations for hazard map design. A series of hazard maps were generated, with each one showing the same probabilistic volcanic ashfall dataset, but using different verbal and visual variables (e.g., different colour schemes, data classifications, probabilistic formats). Following a short pilot study, these maps were used in an online survey of 110 stakeholders and scientists in New Zealand. Participants answered 30 open-ended and multiple choice questions about ashfall hazard based on the different maps. Results suggest that hazard map design can have a significant influence on the messages readers take away. For example, diverging colour schemes were associated with concepts of "risk" and decision-making more than sequential schemes, and participants made more precise estimates of hazard with isarithmic data classifications compared to binned or gradational shading. Based on such

Recommendations concerning Tennessee's hazardous waste management policies by a task force representing generators, environmentalists, and other key constituencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colglazier, E.W.; English, M.R.

1987-01-01

Four recommendations are proposed. 1) A Governor's Roundtable on Hazardous and Solid Wastes should be established to ensure that Tennessee have sound policies and plans for waste management, adequate waste treatment and disposal capacity, and the means to meet the October, 1989 deadline for certification of hazardous waste capacity. 2) Opportunities for early public information and participation in Tennessee's RCRA permitting process should be improved. 3) A Superfund Public Involvement Task Force should be appointed by the Commissioner of Health and Environment to find ways to ensure that a community affected by a Tennessee Superfund site has early and adequate opportunities for information and involvement. 4) Communications about hazardous waste issues should be improved by the appointment of a hazardous waste information officer, the establishment of a Speakers Bureau, the funding of the UT Center for Industrial Services' Hazardous Waste Extension Program, establishment of a crisis situation network of consultants for communities, and exploration of the possibility of Amnesty Days for household hazardous waste and for small-quantity generators waste

Analysis of Hazards Associated with a Process Involving Uranium Metal and Uranium Hydride Powders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bullock, J.S.

2000-05-01

An analysis of the reaction chemistry and operational factors associated with processing uranium and uranium hydride powders is presented, focusing on a specific operation in the Development Division which was subjected to the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) process. Primary emphasis is on the thermodynamic factors leading to pyrophoricity in common atmospheres. The discussion covers feed powders, cold-pressed and hot-pressed materials, and stray material resulting from the operations. The sensitivity of the various forms of material to pyrophoricity in common atmospheres is discussed. Operational recommendations for performing the work described are given.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CRITICAL FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN HAZARDOUS WASTE INCINERATION

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a laboratory-scale program investigating several fundamental issues involved in hazardous waste incineration. The key experiment for each study was the measurement of waste destruction behavior in a sub-scale turbulent spray flame. (1) Atomization Qual...

PM2.5 and Diabetes and Hypertension Incidence in the Black Women's Health Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Coogan, Patricia F; White, Laura F; Yu, Jeffrey; Burnett, Richard T; Seto, Edmund; Brook, Robert D; Palmer, Julie R; Rosenberg, Lynn; Jerrett, Michael

2016-03-01

Clinical studies have shown that exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can increase insulin resistance and blood pressure. The epidemiologic evidence for an association of PM2.5 exposure with the incidence of type 2 diabetes or hypertension is inconsistent. Even a modest association would have great public health importance given the ubiquity of exposure and high prevalence of the conditions. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident type 2 diabetes and hypertension associated with exposure to PM2.5 in a large cohort of African American women living in 56 metropolitan areas across the US, using data from the Black Women's Health Study. Pollutant levels were estimated at all residential locations over follow-up with a hybrid model incorporating land use regression and Bayesian Maximum Entropy techniques. During 1995 to 2011, 4,387 cases of diabetes and 9,570 cases of hypertension occurred. In models controlling for age, questionnaire cycle, and metro area, there were positive associations with diabetes (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.24) and hypertension (HR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.12) per interquartile range of PM2.5 (2.9 μg/m). Multivariable HRs, however, were 0.99 (95% CI = 0.90, 1.09) for diabetes and 0.99 (95% CI = 0.93, 1.06) for hypertension. Our results provide little support for an association of PM2.5 with diabetes or hypertension incidence.

Hazard Analysis Database Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

GAULT, G.W.

1999-10-13

The Hazard Analysis Database was developed in conjunction with the hazard analysis activities conducted in accordance with DOE-STD-3009-94, Preparation Guide for US Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Facility Safety Analysis Reports, for the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The FSAR is part of the approved TWRS Authorization Basis (AB). This document describes, identifies, and defines the contents and structure of the TWRS FSAR Hazard Analysis Database and documents the configuration control changes made to the database. The TWRS Hazard Analysis Database contains the collection of information generated during the initial hazard evaluations and the subsequent hazard and accident analysis activities. The database supports the preparation of Chapters 3,4, and 5 of the TWRS FSAR and the USQ process and consists of two major, interrelated data sets: (1) Hazard Evaluation Database--Data from the results of the hazard evaluations; and (2) Hazard Topography Database--Data from the system familiarization and hazard identification.

Over Time, Do Anthropometric Measures Still Predict Diabetes Incidence in Chinese Han Nationality Population from Chengdu Community?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To examine whether anthropometric measures could predict diabetes incidence in a Chinese population during a 15-year follow-up. Design and Methods. The data were collected in 1992 and then again in 2007 from the same group of 687 individuals. Waist circumference, body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and waist to height ratio were collected based on a standard protocol. To assess the effects of baseline anthropometric measures on the new onset of diabetes, Cox's proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios of them, and the discriminatory power of anthropometric measures for diabetes was assessed by the area under the receiver operating curve (AROC. Results. Seventy-four individuals were diagnosed with diabetes during a 15-year follow-up period (incidence: 10.8%. These anthropometric measures also predicted future diabetes during a long follow-up (. At 7-8 years, the AROC of central obesity measures (WC, WHpR, WHtR were higher than that of general obesity measures (BMI (. But, there were no significant differences among the four anthropometric measurements at 15 years. Conclusions. These anthropometric measures could still predict diabetes with a long time follow-up. However, the validity of anthropometric measures to predict incident diabetes may change with time.

Solar cell angle of incidence corrections

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, Dale R.; Mueller, Robert L.

1995-01-01

Literature on solar array angle of incidence corrections was found to be sparse and contained no tabular data for support. This lack along with recent data on 27 GaAs/Ge 4 cm by 4 cm cells initiated the analysis presented in this paper. The literature cites seven possible contributors to angle of incidence effects: cosine, optical front surface, edge, shadowing, UV degradation, particulate soiling, and background color. Only the first three are covered in this paper due to lack of sufficient data. The cosine correction is commonly used but is not sufficient when the incident angle is large. Fresnel reflection calculations require knowledge of the index of refraction of the coverglass front surface. The absolute index of refraction for the coverglass front surface was not known nor was it measured due to lack of funds. However, a value for the index of refraction was obtained by examining how the prediction errors varied with different assumed indices and selecting the best fit to the set of measured values. Corrections using front surface Fresnel reflection along with the cosine correction give very good predictive results when compared to measured data, except there is a definite trend away from predicted values at the larger incident angles. This trend could be related to edge effects and is illustrated by a use of a box plot of the errors and by plotting the deviation of the mean against incidence angle. The trend is for larger deviations at larger incidence angles and there may be a fourth order effect involved in the trend. A chi-squared test was used to determine if the measurement errors were normally distributed. At 10 degrees the chi-squared test failed, probably due to the very small numbers involved or a bias from the measurement procedure. All other angles showed a good fit to the normal distribution with increasing goodness-of-fit as the angles increased which reinforces the very small numbers hypothesis. The contributed data only went to 65 degrees

An Overview of GIS-Based Modeling and Assessment of Mining-Induced Hazards: Soil, Water, and Forest.

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, Jangwon; Kim, Sung-Min; Yi, Huiuk; Choi, Yosoon

2017-11-27

In this study, current geographic information system (GIS)-based methods and their application for the modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards were reviewed. Various types of mining-induced hazard, including soil contamination, soil erosion, water pollution, and deforestation were considered in the discussion of the strength and role of GIS as a viable problem-solving tool in relation to mining-induced hazards. The various types of mining-induced hazard were classified into two or three subtopics according to the steps involved in the reclamation procedure, or elements of the hazard of interest. Because GIS is appropriated for the handling of geospatial data in relation to mining-induced hazards, the application and feasibility of exploiting GIS-based modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards within the mining industry could be expanded further.

An Overview of GIS-Based Modeling and Assessment of Mining-Induced Hazards: Soil, Water, and Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sung-Min; Yi, Huiuk; Choi, Yosoon

2017-01-01

In this study, current geographic information system (GIS)-based methods and their application for the modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards were reviewed. Various types of mining-induced hazard, including soil contamination, soil erosion, water pollution, and deforestation were considered in the discussion of the strength and role of GIS as a viable problem-solving tool in relation to mining-induced hazards. The various types of mining-induced hazard were classified into two or three subtopics according to the steps involved in the reclamation procedure, or elements of the hazard of interest. Because GIS is appropriated for the handling of geospatial data in relation to mining-induced hazards, the application and feasibility of exploiting GIS-based modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards within the mining industry could be expanded further. PMID:29186922

An Overview of GIS-Based Modeling and Assessment of Mining-Induced Hazards: Soil, Water, and Forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jangwon Suh

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, current geographic information system (GIS-based methods and their application for the modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards were reviewed. Various types of mining-induced hazard, including soil contamination, soil erosion, water pollution, and deforestation were considered in the discussion of the strength and role of GIS as a viable problem-solving tool in relation to mining-induced hazards. The various types of mining-induced hazard were classified into two or three subtopics according to the steps involved in the reclamation procedure, or elements of the hazard of interest. Because GIS is appropriated for the handling of geospatial data in relation to mining-induced hazards, the application and feasibility of exploiting GIS-based modeling and assessment of mining-induced hazards within the mining industry could be expanded further.

Weight Cycling and Cancer Incidence in a Large Prospective US Cohort

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Victoria L.; Jacobs, Eric J.; Patel, Alpa V.; Sun, Juzhong; McCullough, Marjorie L.; Campbell, Peter T.; Gapstur, Susan M.

2015-01-01

Weight cycling, which consists of repeated cycles of intentional weight loss and regain, is common among individuals who try to lose weight. Some evidence suggests that weight cycling may affect biological processes that could contribute to carcinogenesis, but whether it is associated with cancer risk is unclear. Using 62,792 men and 69,520 women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort in 1992, we examined the association between weight cycling and cancer incidence. Weight cycles were defined by using baseline questions that asked the number of times ≥10 pounds (4.54 kg) was purposely lost and later regained. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for all cancer and 15 individual cancers were estimated by using Cox proportional hazards regression. During up to 17 years of follow-up, 15,333 men and 9,984 women developed cancer. Weight cycling was not associated with overall risk of cancer in men (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.83, 1.11 for ≥20 cycles vs. no weight cycles) or women (hazard ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.86, 1.08) in models that adjusted for body mass index and other covariates. Weight cycling was also not associated with any individual cancer investigated. These results suggest that weight cycling, independent of body weight, is unlikely to influence subsequent cancer risk. PMID:26209523

Reduced colon cancer incidence and mortality in postmenopausal women treated with an oral bisphosphonate-Danish National Register Based Cohort Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pazianas, M; Abrahamsen, B; Eiken, Pia Agnete

2012-01-01

whether alendronate acts as chemopreventive. INTRODUCTION: When bisphosphonates are given by mouth, around 99% remains non-absorbed in the intestine. Based on their biochemical actions, we predicted that oral bisphosphonates might prevent colon cancers. METHODS: This is a Danish national register...... incidence and post-diagnosis survival in patients taking oral alendronate for osteoporosis. RESULTS: Cox proportional hazards analysis of death due to colon cancer showed lower risk in alendronate users, crude hazard ratio (HR) 0.69 (95% CI 0.59-0.81) with an adjusted HR of 0.62 (95% CI 0......In this Danish national register-based cohort study, we examined the effects of alendronate on the development of colon cancers and survival. The incidence of colon cancer and mortality rate, once colon cancer had been diagnosed, were lower in patients treated with alendronate, posing the question...

Association of tobacco habits, including bidi smoking, with overall and site-specific cancer incidence: results from the Mumbai cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Pednekar, Mangesh S.; Gupta, Prakash C.; Yeole, Balkrishna B.; Hébert, James R.

2013-01-01

Objective Bidis are hand-rolled cigarettes commonly smoked in South Asia and are marketed to Western populations as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes. This study examined the association between bidis and other forms of tobacco use and cancer incidence in an urban developing country population. Methods Using data from the large, well-characterized Mumbai cohort study, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed from Cox proportional hazards regression models in order to compare the relative effect of various forms of tobacco use on cancer incidence. Results During 649,228 person-years of follow-up 1,267 incident cancers occurred in 87,222 male cohort members. Incident oral cancer in bidi smokers (HR = 3.55; 95% CI = 2.40,5.24) was 42% higher than in cigarette smokers (HR = 2.50;95% CI = 1.65,3.78). For all respiratory and intrathoracic organs combined, the increase was 69% (HR = 5.54; 95% CI = 3.46,8.87 vs. HR = 3.28; 95% CI = 1.99,5.39); for lung and larynx, the increases were 35 and 112%, respectively. Smokeless tobacco use was associated with cancers of the lip, oral cavity, pharynx, digestive, respiratory, and intrathoracic organs. Conclusions Despite marketing claims to the contrary, we found that smokeless tobacco use and bidi smoking are at least as harmful as cigarette smoking for all incident cancers and are associated with increased risk of oral and respiratory/intrathoracic cancers. PMID:21431915

Handbook of hazardous waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metry, A.A.

1980-01-01

The contents of this work are arranged so as to give the reader a detailed understanding of the elements of hazardous waste management. Generalized management concepts are covered in Chapters 1 through 5 which are entitled: Introduction, Regulations Affecting Hazardous Waste Management, Comprehensive Hazardous Waste Management, Control of Hazardous Waste Transportation, and Emergency Hazardous Waste Management. Chapters 6 through 11 deal with treatment concepts and are entitled: General Considerations for Hazardous Waste Management Facilities, Physical Treatment of Hazardous Wastes, Chemical Treatment of Hazardous Wastes, Biological Treatment of Hazardous Wastes, Incineration of Hazardous Wastes, and Hazardous Waste Management of Selected Industries. Chapters 12 through 15 are devoted to ultimate disposal concepts and are entitled: Land Disposal Facilities, Ocean Dumping of Hazardous Wastes, Disposal of Extremely Hazardous Wastes, and Generalized Criteria for Hazardous Waste Management Facilities

The Target Industries: Profiles of Five Hazardous Occupations.

Science.gov (United States)

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, DC.

To contribute to a fuller understanding and awareness of the hazards involved in industries as well as to call attention to steps being taken to solve safety problems, this pamphlet surveys five industries cited among those having the highest rates of job-related injuries in the country. Industries include: (1) Roofing and Sheet Metal, (2)…

Proposed classification scale for radiological incidents and accidents; Elaboration d'une echelle de classement des incidents et accidents radiologiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-04-15

The scale proposed in this report is intended to facilitate communication concerning the severity of incidents and accidents involving the exposure of human beings to ionising radiations. Like the INES, it comprises eight levels of severity and uses the same terms (accident, incident, anomaly, serious and major) for keeping the public and the media informed. In a radiological protection context, the severity of an event is considered as being directly proportional to the risk run by an individual (the probability of developing fatal or non-fatal health effects) following exposure to ionising radiation in an incident or accident situation. However for society, other factors have to be taken into account to determine severity. The severity scale proposed is therefore based on assessment of the individual radiological risk. A severity level corresponding to exposure of a member of the public in an incident or accident situation is determined on the basis of risk assessment concepts and methods derived from international consensus on dose/effect relationships for both stochastic and deterministic effects. The severity of all the possible exposure situations - worker exposure, collective exposure, potential exposure - is determined using a system of weighting in relation to situations involving members of the public. In the case of this scale, to indicate the severity of an event, it is proposed to make use of the most penalizing level of severity, comparing: - the severity associated with the probability of occurrence of deterministic effects and the severity associated with the probability of occurrence of stochastic effects, when the event gives rise to both types of risk; - the severity for members of the public and the severity for exposed workers, when both categories of individuals are involved; - the severity on the proposed radiological protection scale and that obtained using the INES, when radiological protection and nuclear safety aspects are associated with

Seismic hazard map of the western hemisphere

Science.gov (United States)

Shedlock, K.M.; Tanner, J.G.

1999-01-01

Vulnerability to natural disasters increases with urbanization and development of associated support systems (reservoirs, power plants, etc.). Catastrophic earthquakes account for 60% of worldwide casualties associated with natural disasters. Economic damage from earthquakes is increasing, even in technologically advanced countries with some level of seismic zonation, as shown by the 1989 Loma Prieta, CA ($6 billion), 1994 Northridge, CA ($ 25 billion), and 1995 Kobe, Japan (> $ 100 billion) earthquakes. The growth of megacities in seismically active regions around the world often includes the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures, due to an insufficient knowledge of existing seismic hazard. Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. National, state, and local governments, decision makers, engineers, planners, emergency response organizations, builders, universities, and the general public require seismic hazard estimates for land use planning, improved building design and construction (including adoption of building construction codes), emergency response preparedness plans, economic forecasts, housing and employment decisions, and many more types of risk mitigation. The seismic hazard map of the Americas is the concatenation of various national and regional maps, involving a suite of approaches. The combined maps and documentation provide a useful global seismic hazard framework and serve as a resource for any national or regional agency for further detailed studies applicable to their needs. This seismic hazard map depicts Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years for the western hemisphere. PGA, a short-period ground motion parameter that is proportional to force, is the most commonly mapped ground motion parameter because current building codes that include seismic provisions specify the

Seismic hazard map of the western hemisphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. G. Tanner

1999-06-01

Full Text Available Vulnerability to natural disasters increases with urbanization and development of associated support systems (reservoirs, power plants, etc.. Catastrophic earthquakes account for 60% of worldwide casualties associated with natural disasters. Economic damage from earthquakes is increasing, even in technologically advanced countries with some level of seismic zonation, as shown by the 1989 Loma Prieta, CA ($ 6 billion, 1994 Northridge, CA ($ 25 billion, and 1995 Kobe, Japan (> $ 100 billion earthquakes. The growth of megacities in seismically active regions around the world often includes the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures, due to an insufficient knowledge of existing seismic hazard. Minimization of the loss of life, property damage, and social and economic disruption due to earthquakes depends on reliable estimates of seismic hazard. National, state, and local governments, decision makers, engineers, planners, emergency response organizations, builders, universities, and the general public require seismic hazard estimates for land use planning, improved building design and construction (including adoption of building construction codes, emergency response preparedness plans, economic forecasts, housing and employment decisions, and many more types of risk mitigation. The seismic hazard map of the Americas is the concatenation of various national and regional maps, involving a suite of approaches. The combined maps and documentation provide a useful global seismic hazard framework and serve as a resource for any national or regional agency for further detailed studies applicable to their needs. This seismic hazard map depicts Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA with a 10% chance of exceedance in 50 years for the western hemisphere. PGA, a short-period ground motion parameter that is proportional to force, is the most commonly mapped ground motion parameter because current building codes that include seismic provisions

Avoiding radioactive accidents in Israel 1996-1997: summary of incidents occurred

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keren, M.; Neeman, E.; Rosental, J.J.; Brenner, S. [Tel Aviv Univ. (Israel). Medical School

1997-12-31

Radiation Safety Division of the Ministry of the Environment is responsible for radiation protection of the Israeli public and environment from radiation hazards. Notification, justification, registration and ALARA principles are important requirements to get license to use radioactive materials or instrumentation. Some incidents investigated from January 96 to the end of June 97 by the Chief National Radiation Safety Officer (CNRSO) of the division are reported 1 tab,; e-mail: envirad at post.tau.ac.il; env{sub r}ad.netvision.net.il

Plasma urate, cancer incidence, and all-cause mortality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kobylecki, Camilla J.; Afzal, Shoaib; Nordestgaard, Børge G.

2017-01-01

and risk of cancer and all-cause mortality were calculated using Cox regression, Fine and Gray competing-risks regression, and instrumental variable analyses. Results: During a median follow-up time of 3.9 years for cancer and 4.9 years for all-cause mortality, 3243 individuals received a diagnosis...... of cancer and 3978 died. Observationally, 50% higher plasma urate was associated with multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios of 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05-1.18) for cancer incidence and 1.07 (1.01-1.13) for all-cause mortality. Each A-allele of the SLC2A9 rs7442295 was associated with 9% higher plasma urate...

Neutrino radiation hazards: A paper tiger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cossairt, J.D.; Grossman, N.L.; Marshall, E.T.

1996-09-01

Neutrinos are present in the natural environment due to terrestrial, solar, and cosmic sources and are also produced at accelerators both incidentally and intentionally as part of physics research programs. Progress in fundamental physics research has led to the creation of beams of neutrinos of ever-increasing intensity and/or energy. The large size and cost associated with these beams attracts, and indeed requires, public interest, support, and some understanding of the 'exotic' particles produced, including the neutrinos. Furthermore, the very word neutrino ('little neutral one', as coined by Enrico Fermi) can lead to public concern due to confusion with 'neutron', a word widely associated with radiological hazards. Adding to such possible concerns is a recent assertion, widely publicized, that neutrinos from astronomical events may have led to the extinction of some biological species. Presented here are methods for conservatively estimating the dose equivalent due to neutrinos as well as an assessment of the possible role of neutrinos in biological extinction processes. It is found that neutrinos produced by the sun and modern particle accelerators produce inconsequential dose equivalent rates. Examining recent calculations concerning neutrinos incident upon the earth due to stellar collapse, it is concluded that it is highly unlikely that these neutrinos caused the mass extinctions of species found in the paleontological record. Neutrino radiation hazards are, then, truly a 'paper tiger'. 14 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

10 CFR 1.46 - Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response. 1.46... Headquarters Program Offices § 1.46 Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response. The Office of Nuclear... evaluation and assessment of technical issues involving security at nuclear facilities, and is the agency...

Developing high-risk scenarios and countermeasure ideas for mitigation of hazardous materials incidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, E.R. Sr.

1991-01-01

Kansas State University (KSU) conducted a comprehensive study of the development of a set of prioritized, extreme-risk scenarios, the development of a set of feasible, practical and implementable protective systems, and a report to summarize guidelines on the use of these protective systems to mitigate potential, extreme-risk situations that could occur during the transport of hazardous materials (Hazmat) on our highway system. This paper covers the methodology used to compete the first tow objectives with use of a state's panel. The research study was limited to materials (such as LNG, propane, gasoline, etc.) spilled within the highway system. It focused on potential risks which would result in severe, long-term, permanent, irreparable or catastrophic consequences, and existing technology and state-of-the-art knowledge for development of protective systems to mitigate these consequences. The protective systems within the scope of this study were systems constructed or physically incorporated into the highway system or modifications thereto

Egyptian Environmental Activities and Regulations for Management of Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Zarka, M.

1999-01-01

A substantial use of hazardous substances is essential to meet the social and economic goals of the community in Egypt. Agrochemicals are being used extensively to increase crop yield. The outdated agrochemicals and their empty containers represent a serious environmental problem. Industrial development in different sectors in Egypt obligates handling of huge amounts of hazardous substances and hazardous wastes. The inappropriate handling of such hazardous substances creates several health and environmental problems. Egypt faces many challenges to control safe handling of such substances and wastes. Several regulations are governing handling of hazardous substances in Egypt. The unified Environmental Law 4 for the year 1994 includes a full chapter on the Management of Hazardous Substances and Hazardous Wastes. National and international activities have been taken to manage hazardous substances and hazardous wastes in an environmental sound manner

Risk of amphetamine use disorder and mortality among incident users of prescribed stimulant medications in the Veterans Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Westover, Arthur N; Nakonezny, Paul A; Halm, Ethan A; Adinoff, Bryon

2018-05-01

Non-medical use of prescribed stimulant medications is a growing concern. This study's aims were to ascertain the demographics of stimulant medication users compared with non-users, examine temporal trends of stimulant medication use and estimate risk factors for development of amphetamine use disorder (AUD) and mortality among new users of stimulant medications. Cox proportional hazards regression in a retrospective cohort adjusted by baseline covariates. United States, national administrative database of the Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care system. Adult incident users of stimulant medications (n = 78 829) from fiscal years (FY) 2001 to 2012. Primary outcomes were time-to-event: (1) occurrence of AUD diagnosis and (2) death. Baseline covariates included demographic information, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indications for stimulant use, substance use disorders (SUD) and depression. Stimulant users compared with non-users were younger, more likely to be non-Hispanic white and female. Incident stimulant medication users increased threefold from FY2001-FY2012 and eightfold among adults aged 18-44 years. Nearly one in 10 incident users in FY2012 had a comorbid baseline SUD. Off-label use was common-nearly three of every five incident users in FY2012. Comorbid SUDs among incident stimulant medication users were risk factors for occurrence of AUD during follow-up, with adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) estimates ranging from 1.54 to 2.83 (Ps users in the Veterans Affairs health-care system, measured from fiscal years 2001 to 2012, comorbid substance use disorders were common and were risk factors for development of an amphetamine use disorder (AUD). Increased mortality risk among incident users of stimulant medications was observed among both those who developed an AUD later and those whose use was defined as off-label. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

DOE natural phenomenal hazards design and evaluation criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, R.C.; Nelson, T.A.; Short, S.A.; Kennedy, R.P.; Chander, H.; Hill, J.R.; Kimball, J.K.

1994-10-01

It is the policy of the Department of Energy (DOE) to design, construct, and operate DOE facilities so that workers, the general public, and the environment are protected from the impacts of natural phenomena hazards (NPH). Furthermore, DOE has established explicit goals of acceptable risk for NPH performance. As a result, natural phenomena hazard (earthquake, extreme wind, and flood) design and evaluation criteria for DOE facilities have been developed based on target probabilistic performance goals. These criteria include selection of design/evaluation NPH input from probabilistic hazard curves combined with commonly practiced deterministic response evaluation methods and acceptance criteria with controlled levels of conservatism. For earthquake considerations, conservatism is intentionally introduced in specification of material strengths and capacities, in the allowance of limited inelastic behavior, and by a seismic scale factor. Criteria have been developed following a graded approach for several performance goals ranging from that appropriate for normal-use facilities to that appropriate for facilities involving hazardous or critical operations. Performance goals are comprised of qualitative expressions of acceptable behavior and of target quantitative probabilities that acceptable limits of behavior are maintained. The criteria are simple procedures but have a rigorous basis. This paper addresses DOE seismic design and evaluation criteria

Topical antibiotics as a major contextual hazard toward bacteremia within selective digestive decontamination studies: a meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurley, James C

2014-12-31

Among methods for preventing pneumonia and possibly also bacteremia in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, Selective Digestive Decontamination (SDD) appears most effective within randomized concurrent controlled trials (RCCT's) although more recent trials have been cluster randomized. However, of the SDD components, whether protocolized parenteral antibiotic prophylaxis (PPAP) is required, and whether the topical antibiotic actually presents a contextual hazard, remain unresolved. The objective here is to compare the bacteremia rates and patterns of isolates in SDD-RCCT's versus the broader evidence base. Bacteremia incidence proportion data were extracted from component (control and intervention) groups decanted from studies investigating antibiotic (SDD) or non-antibiotic methods of VAP prevention and summarized using random effects meta-analysis of study and group level data. A reference category of groups derived from purely observational studies without any prevention method under study provided a benchmark incidence. Within SDD RCCTs, the mean bacteremia incidence among concurrent component groups not exposed to PPAP (27 control; 17.1%; 13.1-22.1% and 12 intervention groups; 16.2%; 9.1-27.3%) is double that of the benchmark bacteremia incidence derived from 39 benchmark groups (8.3; 6.8-10.2%) and also 20 control groups from studies of non-antibiotic methods (7.1%; 4.8 - 10.5). There is a selective increase in coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) but not in Pseudomonas aeruginosa among bacteremia isolates within control groups of SDD-RCCT's versus benchmark groups with data available. The topical antibiotic component of SDD presents a major contextual hazard toward bacteremia against which the PPAP component partially mitigates.

Hazard classification methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brereton, S.J.

1996-01-01

This document outlines the hazard classification methodology used to determine the hazard classification of the NIF LTAB, OAB, and the support facilities on the basis of radionuclides and chemicals. The hazard classification determines the safety analysis requirements for a facility

Insomnia and the risk of incident heart failure: a population study.

Science.gov (United States)

Laugsand, Lars E; Strand, Linn B; Platou, Carl; Vatten, Lars J; Janszky, Imre

2014-06-01

Insomnia is highly prevalent among heart failure patients, but only a few small studies have investigated insomnia symptoms and risk of heart failure. We aimed to assess the prospective association between self-reported insomnia symptoms and the risk of incident heart failure in a large Norwegian cohort. Baseline data on insomnia symptoms, including difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep and having non-restorative sleep, socio-demographic variables, and health status, including established cardiovascular risk factors, were collected from 54 279 men and women 20-89 years of age who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health study (HUNT) between 1995 and 1997 and were free from known heart failure at baseline. The cohort was followed for incident heart failure from baseline through 2008. We used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the association of baseline insomnia symptoms with the risk of heart failure. A total of 1412 cases of heart failure occurred during a mean follow-up of 11.3 years (SD = 2.9 years), either identified at hospitals or by the National Cause of Death Registry. There was a dose-dependent association between the number of insomnia symptoms and risk of heart failure. The multi-adjusted hazard ratios were 0.96 (0.57-1.61), 1.35 (0.72-2.50), and 4.53 (1.99-10.31) for people with one, two, and three insomnia symptoms, compared with people with none of the symptoms (P for trend 0.021). Insomnia is associated with an increased risk of incident heart failure. If our results are confirmed by others and causation is proved, evaluation of insomnia symptoms might have consequences for cardiovascular prevention. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2013. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Error-Based Accidents and Security Incidents in Nuclear Materials Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pond, Daniel J.; Greitzer, Frank L.

2005-01-01

Hazard and risk assessments, along with human error analysis and mitigation techniques, have long been mainstays of effective safety programs. These tools have revealed that worker errors contributing to or resulting in accidents are often the consequence of ineffective system conditions, process features, or individual employee characteristics. At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), security, safety, human error, and organizational analysts determined that the system-induced human errors that make accidents more likely also are contributing to security incidents. A similar set of system conditions has been found to underlie deliberate, non-malevolent deviations from proper security practices - termed breaches - that also can result in a security incident. In fiscal-year (FY) 2002, LANL's Security Division therefore established the ESTHER (Enhanced Security Through Human Error Reduction) program to identify and reduce the influence of the factors that underlie employee errors and breaches and, in turn, security incidents. Recognizing the potential benefits of this program and approach, in FY2004 the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Security Policy (DOE-SO) funded an expansion of ESTHER implementation to the causal assessment and reporting of security incidents at other DOE sites. This presentation will focus on three applications of error/breach assessment and mitigation techniques. One use is proactive, accomplished through the elimination of contributors to error, whereas two are reactive, implemented in response to accidents or security incidents as well as to near misses, to prevent recurrence. The human performance and safety bases of these techniques will be detailed. Associated tools - including computer-based assessment training and web-based incident reporting modules developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - will be discussed

Depression and incident diabetic foot ulcers: a prospective cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Lisa H.; Rutter, Carolyn M.; Katon, Wayne J.; Reiber, Gayle E.; Ciechanowski, Paul; Heckbert, Susan R.; Lin, Elizabeth H.B.; Ludman, Evette J.; Oliver, Malia M.; Young, Bessie A.; Von Korff, Michael

2010-01-01

Objective To test whether depression is associated with an increased risk of incident diabetic foot ulcers. Methods The Pathways Epidemiologic Study is a population-based prospective cohort study of 4839 patients with diabetes in 2000–2007. The present analysis included 3474 adults with type 2 diabetes and no prior diabetic foot ulcers or amputations. Mean follow-up was 4.1 years. Major and minor depression assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were the exposures of interest. The outcome of interest was incident diabetic foot ulcers. We computed the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI for incident diabetic foot ulcers, comparing patients with major and minor depression to those without depression and adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, medical comorbidity, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), diabetes duration, insulin use, number of diabetes complications, body mass index, smoking status, and foot self-care. Sensitivity analyses also adjusted for peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease as defined by diagnosis codes. Results Compared to patients without depression, patients with major depression by PHQ-9 had a two-fold increase in the risk of incident diabetic foot ulcers (adjusted HR 2.00, 95% CI: 1.24, 3.25). There was no statistically significant association between minor depression by PHQ-9 and incident diabetic foot ulcers (adjusted HR 1.37, 95% CI: 0.77, 2.44). Conclusion Major depression by PHQ-9 is associated with a two-fold higher risk of incident diabetic foot ulcers. Future studies of this association should include better measures of peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease, which are possible confounders and/or mediators. PMID:20670730

Serum calcium and incident diabetes: an observational study and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sing, C W; Cheng, V K F; Ho, D K C; Kung, A W C; Cheung, B M Y; Wong, I C K; Tan, K C B; Salas-Salvadó, J; Becerra-Tomas, N; Cheung, C L

2016-05-01

The study aimed to prospectively evaluate if serum calcium is related to diabetes incidence in Hong Kong Chinese. The results showed that serum calcium has a significant association with increased risk of diabetes. The result of meta-analysis reinforced our findings. This study aimed to evaluate the association of serum calcium, including serum total calcium and albumin-corrected calcium, with incident diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 6096 participants aged 20 or above and free of diabetes at baseline. Serum calcium was measured at baseline. Incident diabetes was determined from several electronic databases. We also searched relevant databases for studies on serum calcium and incident diabetes and conducted a meta-analysis using fixed-effect modeling. During 59,130.9 person-years of follow-up, 631 participants developed diabetes. Serum total calcium and albumin-corrected calcium were associated with incident diabetes in the unadjusted model. After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, the association remained significant only for serum total calcium (hazard ratio (HR), 1.32 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.70), highest vs. lowest quartile). In a meta-analysis of four studies including the current study, both serum total calcium (pooled risk ratio (RR), 1.38 (95 % CI, 1.15-1.65); I (2) = 5 %, comparing extreme quantiles) and albumin-corrected calcium (pooled RR, 1.29 (95 % CI, 1.03-1.61); I (2) = 0 %, comparing extreme quantiles) were associated with incident diabetes. Penalized regression splines showed that the association of incident diabetes with serum total calcium and albumin-correlated calcium was non-linear and linear, respectively. Elevated serum calcium concentration is associated with incident diabetes. The mechanism underlying this association warrants further investigation.

Surveillance of hazardous substances releases due to system interruptions, 2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Orr, Maureen F; Ruckart, Perri Zeitz

2007-04-11

The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system collected information on 9014 acute hazardous substance releases in 15 participating states in 2002. There were 3749 fixed-facility manufacturing events, of which 2100 involved "interruptions" to normal processing and 1649 "comparisons" that did not involve interruption. Equipment failure (69%) or intentional acts (20%) were the main root factor. Many events occurred in October and November in three states (Texas, Louisiana, and New Jersey), in three manufacturing industries (industrial and miscellaneous chemicals; petroleum refining; and plastics, synthetics, and resins). In interruption events, the substance categories most often released were mixtures, other inorganic substances, and volatile organic compounds and those most often causing injury were acids, chlorine, bases, and ammonia. Comparison events resulted in more acutely injured persons (408 versus 59) and more evacuees (11,318 versus 335) than interruption events and therefore may receive more public health attention. Because of the large number of interruption events, targeted prevention activities, including management of change procedures, lessons-learned implementation, process hazards analysis, and appropriate protection for workers could be economically advantageous and improve environmental quality. Efforts should focus on the identified areas of greater occurrence. The relationship of weather and equipment failure with interruption events needs further investigation.

Coffee Consumption and the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer in Women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groessl, E. J.; Allison, M. A.; Ho, S. B.; Groessl, E. J.; Allison, M. A.; Ho, S. B.; Larson, J. C.; Snetslaar, L. G.; Lane, D. S.; Tharp, K. M.; Stefanick, M. L.

2016-01-01

Higher coffee consumption has been associated with decreased incidence of colorectal cancer. Our objective was to examine the relationship of coffee intake to colorectal cancer incidence in a large observational cohort of postmenopausal US women. Methods. Data were collected for the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study providing a follow-up period of 12.9 years. The mean age of our sample ( N = 83,778 women) was 63.5 years. Daily coffee intake was grouped into 3 categories: None, moderate (>0-<4 cups), and high (4+ cups). Proportional hazards modeling was used to evaluate the relationship between coffee intake and colorectal cancer. Results. There were 1,282 (1.53%) new cases of colorectal cancer during follow-up. Compared to nondrinkers, moderate and high coffee drinkers had an increased incidence of colorectal cancer in multivariate analysis (HR 1.15, 1.02-1.29; HR 1.14, 0.93-1.38). Moderate drip brew coffee intake (HR 1.20, 1.05-1.36) and high non drip brew coffee intake (HR 1.43, 1.01-2.02) were associated with increased odds. Conclusion. Our results suggesting increased incidence of colorectal cancer associated with higher coffee consumption contradict recent meta-analyses but agree with a number of other studies showing that coffee increases risk or has no effect. Brew method results are novel and warrant further research.

Environmental Protection for Hazardous Materials Incidents. Volume 1. Hazardous Materials Incident Management System

Science.gov (United States)

1990-11-01

financial resources. A comprehensive program tailored to meet the fire depart- ment’s needs did not exist; therefore, this identified need was used to... instituitions , health care facilities, child care facilities, correctional facilities, offices, commercial establishments, manutacturirg/industrial/research...Tables B.2, and A.4) should be available. Due to financial or other constraints, it may be necessary to maintain a minimum inventory of CPC and yet

Analysis of Chlorine Gas Incident Simulation and Dispersion Within a Complex and Populated Urban Area Via Computation Fluid Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eslam Kashi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In some instances, it is inevitable that large amounts of potentially hazardous chemicals like chlorine gas are stored and used in facilities in densely populated areas. In such cases, all safety issues must be carefully considered. To reach this goal, it is important to have accurate information concerning chlorine gas behaviors and how it is dispersed in dense urban areas. Furthermore, maintaining adequate air movement and the ability to purge ambient from potential toxic and dangerous chemicals like chlorine gas could be helpful. These are among the most important actions to be taken toward the improvement of safety in a big metropolis like Tehran. This paper investigates and analyzes chlorine gas leakage scenarios, including its dispersion and natural air ventilation  effects on how it might be geographically spread in a city, using computational  fluid dynamic (CFD. Simulations of possible hazardous events and solutions for preventing or reducing their probability are presented to gain a better insight into the incidents. These investigations are done by considering hypothetical scenarios which consist of chlorine gas leakages from pipelines or storage tanks under different conditions. These CFD simulation results are used to investigate and analyze chlorine gas behaviors, dispersion, distribution, accumulation, and other possible hazards by means of a simplified CAD model of an urban area near a water-treatment facility. Possible hazards as well as some prevention and post incident solutions are also suggested.

Incident factor as a learning aspect to enhance safety culture in the experimental fuel element installation of PTBN - BATAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heri Hardiyanti; Agus Sartono; Bambang Herutomo; AS Latief

2013-01-01

The safety of a nuclear facility depends not only on the fulfillment of all technical requirements, but also on the role of non-technical aspects. The primary causation of incidents or accidents in a nuclear facility is human error which is non-technical. Therefore, in order to enhance safety, efforts from the technical aspects are as important as efforts to deal with the human factor which can be done through the application of safety culture in the facility. Incidents that took place in the Experimental Fuel Element Installation (EFEI) of PTBN - BATAN from 2011 to 2012 were caused by aging instruments and human error. In order to prevent accidents and to enhance safety, non-technical efforts that were done in the EFEI were, interalia, the obligations on all personnel to attend the pre-lab briefing, to prepare a work proposal, to compose a HIRADC (hazard identification, risk assessment, and determining control) document, to utilize self protection devices, to perform a routine maintenance, and to practice safe behavior. All personnel were involved in all those efforts. Safety is the first priority and can always be improved in the facility. A strong commitment of and cooperation between the top management and the staff are needed. (author)

Trimming the UCERF2 hazard logic tree

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Keith A.; Field, Edward H.; Milner, Kevin

2012-01-01

The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast 2 (UCERF2) is a fully time‐dependent earthquake rupture forecast developed with sponsorship of the California Earthquake Authority (Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities [WGCEP], 2007; Field et al., 2009). UCERF2 contains 480 logic‐tree branches reflecting choices among nine modeling uncertainties in the earthquake rate model shown in Figure 1. For seismic hazard analysis, it is also necessary to choose a ground‐motion‐prediction equation (GMPE) and set its parameters. Choosing among four next‐generation attenuation (NGA) relationships results in a total of 1920 hazard calculations per site. The present work is motivated by a desire to reduce the computational effort involved in a hazard analysis without understating uncertainty. We set out to assess which branching points of the UCERF2 logic tree contribute most to overall uncertainty, and which might be safely ignored (set to only one branch) without significantly biasing results or affecting some useful measure of uncertainty. The trimmed logic tree will have all of the original choices from the branching points that contribute significantly to uncertainty, but only one arbitrarily selected choice from the branching points that do not.

Proposed classification scale for radiological incidents and accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-04-01

The scale proposed in this report is intended to facilitate communication concerning the severity of incidents and accidents involving the exposure of human beings to ionising radiations. Like the INES, it comprises eight levels of severity and uses the same terms (accident, incident, anomaly, serious and major) for keeping the public and the media informed. In a radiological protection context, the severity of an event is considered as being directly proportional to the risk run by an individual (the probability of developing fatal or non-fatal health effects) following exposure to ionising radiation in an incident or accident situation. However for society, other factors have to be taken into account to determine severity. The severity scale proposed is therefore based on assessment of the individual radiological risk. A severity level corresponding to exposure of a member of the public in an incident or accident situation is determined on the basis of risk assessment concepts and methods derived from international consensus on dose/effect relationships for both stochastic and deterministic effects. The severity of all the possible exposure situations - worker exposure, collective exposure, potential exposure - is determined using a system of weighting in relation to situations involving members of the public. In the case of this scale, to indicate the severity of an event, it is proposed to make use of the most penalizing level of severity, comparing: - the severity associated with the probability of occurrence of deterministic effects and the severity associated with the probability of occurrence of stochastic effects, when the event gives rise to both types of risk; - the severity for members of the public and the severity for exposed workers, when both categories of individuals are involved; - the severity on the proposed radiological protection scale and that obtained using the INES, when radiological protection and nuclear safety aspects are associated with

IRID: specifications for the Ionising Radiations Incident Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, G.O.; Croft, J.R.; Williams, M.K.; McHugh, J.O.

1996-01-01

Technologies that make use of ionising radiations are widespread. They provide many benefits but, as with other technologies, the use of ionising radiations carries with it the potential for incidents and accidents. Their severity can vary from the trivial to the fatal and may involve substantial economic penalties. In order to minimise the number of incidents and their consequences it is important that there is a mechanism to learn the lessons from those that do occur. To help pursue this objective the National Radiological Protection Board, the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency have established a national Ionising Radiations Incident Database (IRID) to cover radiation incidents in industry, medicine, research and teaching. This publication details the specifications for IRID and its methods of operation. All information in the database will be unattributable and names of persons or organisations will not be included. It is a personal computer based system with 24 fields to categorise an incident, including a text field that will provide a description of the incident giving the causes, consequences, follow-up actions and lessons to be learned. These descriptions will be used in subsequent publications to provide feedback to the users. (UK)

Public issues in hazardous waste management in the Republic of Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klika, M.C.

1995-01-01

Public acceptance of sites for radioactive and other hazardous waste disposal facilities represents one of most important factors in decision making on definite sites of these facilities. The Republic of Croatia, as a newly independent state, faces the problem of public involvement in site selection of radioactive/hazardous waste disposal facility very seriously, specially having in mind that in the past, in former Yugoslavia almost all decisions had been made without participation of the public. Because of that it is very important now to gain confidence of the public and to enable its active role in decision making. Operation of the APO-Hazardous Waste Management Agency as a state agency which has been established firstly for management of radioactive waste, and later widening its competencies also to other types of hazardous wastes and relations to the public, is going to be presented in the paper. Description of some basic elements related to public participation in site selection of radioactive waste repository in Croatia will be also done

Use of External Beam Radiotherapy Is Associated With Reduced Incidence of Second Primary Head and Neck Cancer: A SEER Database Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rusthoven, Kyle; Chen Changhu; Raben, David; Kavanagh, Brian

2008-01-01

Purpose: Patients with head and neck cancer have a significant risk of developing a second primary cancer of the head and neck. We hypothesized that treatment with external beam radiotherapy (RT) might reduce this risk, because RT can eradicate occult foci of second head and neck cancer (HNCA). Methods and Materials: The data of patients with Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Historic Stage A localized squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, larynx, and pharynx were queried using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. For patients treated with or without RT, the incidence of second HNCA was determined and compared using the log-rank method. Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed for each site, evaluating the influence of covariates on the risk of second HNCA. Results: Between 1973 and 1997, 27,985 patients were entered with localized HNCA. Of these patients, 44% had received RT and 56% had not. The 15-year incidence of second HNCA was 7.7% with RT vs. 10.5% without RT (hazard ratio 0.71, p <0.0001). The effect of RT was more profound in patients diagnosed between 1988 and 1997 (hazard ratio 0.53, p <0.0001) and those with pharynx primaries (hazard ratio 0.47, p <0.0001). On multivariate analysis, RT was associated with a reduced risk of second HNCA for pharynx (p <0.0001) and larynx (p = 0.04) tumors. For oral cavity primaries, RT was associated with an increased risk of second HNCA in patients treated before 1988 (p <0.001), but had no influence on patients treated between 1988 and 1997 (p = 0.91). Conclusion: For localized HNCA, RT is associated with a reduced incidence of second HNCA. These observations are consistent with the eradication of microscopic foci of second HNCA with external beam RT

Modification of radiation-induced murine thymic lymphoma incidence by curcumin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dange, P.S.; Yadav, H.D.; Kumar, Vimalesh; Bhilwade, H.N.; Pandey, B.N.; Sarma, H.D.

2017-01-01

Curcumin is a known antioxidant, preventing radiation damage including carcinogenesis. However, concentration and feeding schedule of curcumin in modification of radiation induced thymic lymphoma incidence in vivo model has not been studied. We report here modification of incidence of γ-radiation-induced thymic lymphoma in mice fed with different doses of curcumin (0.05 to 1 %) in diet. Results: Female Swiss mice (6-8 weeks) fed with normal diet and exposed to 3 Gy whole body "6"0Co γ-irradiation (WBI) showed 85 % incidence of thymic lymphoma (TL) at 120 days post-irradiation. A concentration of 1 % curcumin was found the most effective in TL incidence prevention than other fed concentrations. The TL incidence was remarkably reduced when curcumin was fed to the mice before than after the radiation exposure. These results suggest modification of TL incidence by curcumin in irradiated mice involving DNA damage and apoptotic death mechanisms

Tourism hazard potentials in Mount Merapi: how to deal with the risk

Science.gov (United States)

Muthiah, J.; Muntasib, E. K. S. H.; Meilani, R.

2018-05-01

Mount Merapi as one of the most popular natural tourism destination in Indonesia, indicated as disaster prone area. Hazard management is required to ensure visitors safety. Hazard identification and mapping are prerequisite in developing proper hazard management recommendation. This study aimed to map hazard potentials’ geographical positions obtained with geographical positioning system and to identify the hazard management being implemented. Data collection was carried out in Mei – June 2017 through observation and interview. Hiking trail and Lava tour area was selected as the study site, since the sites are the main areas for tourism activities in Mount Merapi. The type of hazards found in the area included lava, tephra, eruption cloud, ash, earthquake, land slide, extreme weather, slope and loose rock. Early warning system had been developed in this area, however the mechanism to regulate tourism activities still had to be improved. Local tourism entrepreneurs should be involved in the network of early warning system stakeholders to ensure tourist safety, and their capacity should be improved in order to be able to perform the measures needed for handling accident and disaster occurrences. Interpretive media explaining hazard potentials may be used to improve visitors’ awareness and ability to cope with the risk.

Top five industries resulting in injuries from acute chemical incidents—Hazardous Substance Emergency Events Surveillance, nine states, 1999-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Ayana R; Wu, Jennifer

2015-04-10

Because industries using and/or producing chemicals are located in close proximity to populated areas, U.S. residents are at risk for unintentional chemical exposures. 1999-2008. The Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system was operated by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry during January 1991-September 2009 to collect data that would enable researchers to describe the public health consequences of chemical releases and to develop activities aimed at reducing the harm from such releases. This report summarizes data for the top five industries resulting in injuries from an acute chemical incident (lasting truck transportation, educational services, chemical manufacturing, utilities, and food manufacturing) accounted for approximately one third of all incidents in which persons were injured as a result of unintentional release of chemicals; the same five industries were responsible for approximately one third of all persons injured as a result of such releases. Acute chemical incidents in these five industries resulted in serious public health implications including the need for evacuations, morbidity, and mortality. PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: Targeting chemical incident prevention and preparedness activities towards these five industries provides an efficient use of resources for reducing chemical exposures. A variety of methods can be used to minimize chemical releases in industries. One example is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's hierarchy of controls model, which focuses on controlling exposures to occupational hazards. The hierarchy includes elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and use of personal protective equipment.

Afghanistan Multi-Risk Assessment to Natural Hazards

Science.gov (United States)

Diermanse, Ferdinand; Daniell, James; Pollino, Maurizio; Glover, James; Bouwer, Laurens; de Bel, Mark; Schaefer, Andreas; Puglisi, Claudio; Winsemius, Hessel; Burzel, Andreas; Ammann, Walter; Aliparast, Mojtaba; Jongman, Brenden; Ranghieri, Federica; Fallesen, Ditte

2017-04-01

separately for each peril. Several models were implemented used to simulate the relevant processes involved. These models were fed by global and local climate data and geological data like elevation, slope, land use, soil characteristics etc. Exposure is a measure of the assets and population at risk. An extensive data collection and processing effort was carried out to derive nation-wide exposure data. Vulnerability is a measure of potential exposure losses if a hazardous event occurs. Vulnerability analyses were carried out separately for each peril, because of differences in impact characteristics. Damage functions were derived from asset characteristics and/or experiences from (international) literature. The main project output consists of tables and (GIS-) maps of hazard, exposure and risk. Tables present results at the nation-wide level (admin0), province level (admin1) and district level (admin2). Hazard maps are provided for various return periods, including 10, 20, 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 years. All maps are stored in a Web-based GIS-platform. This platform contains four separate directories with [1] generic data (catchment boundaries, rivers etc), [2] hazard maps, [3] exposure maps and [4] risk maps for each of the considered perils.

Risk management of onsite transportation of hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, O.S.; Field, J.G.

1992-10-01

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site has recently undergone a significant change in its mission. The focus of site-wide operations has been shifted from production to environmental restoration. As a result, there is a significant increase in quantities of the radioactive wastes and other hazardous materials to be packaged and transported onsite. In response to the elevated transportation activities, the operations and engineering contractor for the Hanford Site, Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), is proposing an integrated risk assessment methodology and risk management strategy to further enhance the safe operations of the onsite packaging and transportation activities involving radioactive and other hazardous materials. This paper summarizes Westinghouse Hanford's proposed risk assessment and risk management methodology for onsite transportation of hazardous materials. The proposed Westinghouse Hanford risk assessment and management methodology for onsite packaging and transportation has three integral parts: risk assessment, risk acceptance criteria, and risk minimization process. The purposes are to ensure that the risk for each ongoing transportation activity is acceptable, and to further reduce the overall risk for current and future onsite transportation activities

Risk methodologies for offsite hazardous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kot, C.A.; Eichler, T.V.; Wiedermann, A.H.

1983-01-01

A number of suggestions have been advanced in recent years concerning the risks posed to nuclear power plants by offsite hazardous materials relative to (1) the regulatory approach including considerations of minimum and safe standoff distances, exclusion distances, site acceptance ceilings and floors, screening distances and screening probabilities, plant design, etc., and (2) the analysis and evaluation procedures such as material screening criteria, plant vulnerability, standarized physical models, etc. An evaluation of current analyses and approaches indicates that this complex problem, variety of approaches, and safety concerns may be better accommodated by developing criteria and treatments along the lines of a so-called conditional risk approach. Specifically, the probability (P) of some ultimate consequence (C) occurring from an accident (A) involving hazardous materials is given as P(C) = P(C/A) x P(A). Assuming that the plant to accident site standoff distance is the fundamental independent variable of the risk methodology, certain conditional risk designations and conditions can be made and are presented

Civil nuclear: which hazards?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This document briefly indicates and describes the various hazards of exposure to radioactivity in relationship with the different stages of exploitation of nuclear energy: mining, exploitation, fuel reprocessing and waste management. It briefly presents and describes the scenarios associated with major risks in the exploitation phase: core fusion (description, possible origins, consequences in terms of possible releases), formation of hydrogen (chemical reaction, risk of explosion with releases, failure modes for the containment enclosure). It proposes a brief overview of consequences for mankind and for the environment due to irradiation and contamination. A brief assessment of major nuclear accidents is given, with an indication of their severity INES classification (Kyshtym, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima). It evokes incidents which occurred in France, and outlines the main challenges and stakes in terms of risk prevention, of plant control, of nuclear material and waste management, of public information, and of struggle against nuclear weapon proliferation. Actors and their roles are indicated: operator (EDF in France), control authority (ASN), actors in charge of waste management (ANDRA), research and information institutions (CEA, IRSN, CRIIRAD), international scientific bodies (UNSCEAR)

Periurbanisation and natural hazards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delphine Loison

2009-03-01

Full Text Available In mountainous areas in recent decades urbanisation has expanded to areas where low ground adjoins mountainsides that are unstable in a number of respects. Periurbanisation in mountain basins with unstable sides poses specific problems that local players have to address. The Lavanchon basin (southeast of Grenoble, which is subject to very rapid urban growth combined with particularly dynamic mountainsides, is representative of the way activity is being brought into closer contact with potential hazards. A diachronic study of changes in land use between 1956 and 2001 shows how valley infrastructures at the bottom of mountainsides have become increasingly dense. In this context, a survey was carried out among a number of residents in the Lavanchon basin in an attempt to evaluate the degree of awareness that the population has of the natural hazards to which it is exposed. The results show that slightly more than half of the population surveyed was aware of the problem of natural hazards being present in the area, with most inhabitants being more concerned about industrial and pollution hazards. New residents were unaware of or were unwilling to accept the reality of hazards. The low incidence of significant natural events, the effectiveness of the protective structures built, the absence of information provided by the public authorities and the division of the basin between several management bodies appear to have engendered a feeling of safety from natural phenomena. The geographical distribution of appreciation of the hazard clearly shows a distinction between those inhabitants living on the low ground and those at the bottom of the mountainsides, and this corresponds fairly closely with the historical and current location of the main potentially hazardous events that have occurred.Dans les territoires de montagne, les dernières décennies ont vu l’expansion de l’urbanisation vers les zones de contact entre la plaine et les versants, lieux

The Critical Incident Interview and Ethnoracial Identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Montalvo, Frank F.

1999-01-01

Describes the critical-incident interview, a cross-cultural training technique that helps social work students assess clients' ethnic- and racial-identity development. Uses examples from student interviews to present the steps involved in teaching the technique. Includes guidelines for selecting and interviewing informants, and gives three scales…

Determination of incident angle in radioisotope-excited EDXRF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Somogyi, A.; Pazsit, A. (Lajos Kossuth Univ., Debrecen (Hungary). Isotope Lab.)

Three different methods were used for the determination of the effective incident angle related to EDXRF when radioisotope annular sources are involved: weighted averaging, Compton peak method and minimization of the difference between the certificated and measured concentrations of six international standard samples. By measuring the Compton peak energies of various analytical reagent grade elements and compounds, it was found that the incoherent peak energy depends on the mean atomic number of the matrix, so the effective incident angle is also matrix dependent. (Author).

Determination of incident angle in radioisotope-excited EDXRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Somogyi, A.; Pazsit, A.

1993-01-01

Three different methods were used for the determination of the effective incident angle related to EDXRF when radioisotope annular sources are involved: weighted averaging, Compton peak method and minimization of the difference between the certificated and measured concentrations of six international standard samples. By measuring the Compton peak energies of various analytical reagent grade elements and compounds, it was found that the incoherent peak energy depends on the mean atomic number of the matrix, so the effective incident angle is also matrix dependent. (Author)

Incidence of Concussion in Youth Ice Hockey Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Kontos, Anthony P; Elbin, R J; Sufrinko, Alicia; Dakan, Scott; Bookwalter, Kylie; Price, Ali; Meehan, William P; Collins, Michael W

2016-02-01

Ice hockey is a fast-paced collision sport that entails both intentional (ie, body checking) and incidental contact that may involve the head. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of concussions in relation to games/practices and age among competition-level youth ice hockey players (ages 12-18 years). Participants included 397 youth ice hockey players from Western Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and Birmingham, Alabama, during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 youth ice hockey seasons. Incidence rates (IRs) and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of concussion were calculated for games/practices and age groups. A total of 23 369 (12 784 practice/10 585 game) athletic exposures (AEs) involving 37 medically diagnosed concussions occurred. More than 40% of concussions involved illegal contact. The combined IR for games and practices was 1.58 concussions per 1000 AEs. The IRR was 2.86 times (95% confidence interval 0.68-4.42) higher during games (2.49 per 1000 AEs) than practices (1.04 per 1000 AEs). The overall IR for concussion in youth ice hockey was comparable to those reported in other youth collision sports. The game-to-practice IRR was lower than previously reported in ice hockey and other youth sports, although more concussions per exposure occurred in games compared with practices. Younger players had a higher rate of concussions than older players. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A Survey of the Hazards to Electrical Power Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Gary

2015-01-01

This paper presents the preliminary results of a survey of severe accidents and the lessons learned that are important to the design of electrical power systems. This survey of historical accidents since 1952 identified 19 known incidents in which significant fuel melt occurred within a reactor core. In each of these incidents unexpected events or event sequences played an important role. In all cases the event sequences resulted in bypass of two or more levels of defense in depth. This study offers clear lessons for electrical power robustness: 1) Robust design must be based upon a clear understanding of what can go wrong, and 2) Robust design will reduce, but cannot eliminate, the potential for failure of electrical power systems. In order to better understand 'what is the worst that can happen' known hazards are reviewed to identify the challenges that they can present to electrical power systems. Recognizing that unexpected events cannot always be prevented the paper discusses the need for methods to restore plant power sources or provide for alternate power supplies when the plant power sources fail. (authors)

''Hazardous'' terminology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powers, J.

1991-01-01

A number of terms (e.g., ''hazardous chemicals,'' ''hazardous materials,'' ''hazardous waste,'' and similar nomenclature) refer to substances that are subject to regulation under one or more federal environmental laws. State laws and regulations also provide additional, similar, or identical terminology that may be confused with the federally defined terms. Many of these terms appear synonymous, and it easy to use them interchangeably. However, in a regulatory context, inappropriate use of narrowly defined terms can lead to confusion about the substances referred to, the statutory provisions that apply, and the regulatory requirements for compliance under the applicable federal statutes. This information Brief provides regulatory definitions, a brief discussion of compliance requirements, and references for the precise terminology that should be used when referring to ''hazardous'' substances regulated under federal environmental laws. A companion CERCLA Information Brief (EH-231-004/0191) addresses ''toxic'' nomenclature

Hazard Analysis Database Report

CERN Document Server

Grams, W H

2000-01-01

The Hazard Analysis Database was developed in conjunction with the hazard analysis activities conducted in accordance with DOE-STD-3009-94, Preparation Guide for U S . Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Facility Safety Analysis Reports, for HNF-SD-WM-SAR-067, Tank Farms Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The FSAR is part of the approved Authorization Basis (AB) for the River Protection Project (RPP). This document describes, identifies, and defines the contents and structure of the Tank Farms FSAR Hazard Analysis Database and documents the configuration control changes made to the database. The Hazard Analysis Database contains the collection of information generated during the initial hazard evaluations and the subsequent hazard and accident analysis activities. The Hazard Analysis Database supports the preparation of Chapters 3 ,4 , and 5 of the Tank Farms FSAR and the Unreviewed Safety Question (USQ) process and consists of two major, interrelated data sets: (1) Hazard Analysis Database: Data from t...

Incidence and risk factors for central venous access port-related infection in Chinese cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ting-Yao; Lee, Kuan-Der; Chen, Ping-Tsung; Chen, Min-Chi; Chen, Yi-Yang; Huang, Cih-En; Kuan, Feng-Che; Chen, Chih-Cheng; Lu, Chang Hsien

2015-11-01

Cytotoxic chemotherapy via central venous access ports is an important part of the standard treatment for most cancers, but it is accompanied with the risk of infections. This study aimed to analyze the incidence and risk factors for central venous access port-related infection (CPI) among Chinese patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. Between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2005 a total of 1391 cancer patients with 1449 totally implantable central venous access ports were evaluated. The log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model were used for the analyses of risk factors. The overall CPI incidence rate was 0.21 per 1000 catheter-days. Hematological malignancies and head and neck cancer were associated with an increased risk of CPI (hazard ratio 4.00 and 4.11, respectively, both p risk of infection than for patients in a nonadjuvant setting (p ports. Implementation of an insertion bundle for the prevention of central line-associated bloodstream infections is warranted, especially for those patients with hematological and head and neck cancers, as well as for patients receiving chemotherapy in the metastatic settings. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Incidence and characteristics of chemical burns.

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Dong-Hee; Lee, Sang-Gil; Kim, Hwan-Cheol

2017-05-01

Chemical burns can lead to serious health outcomes. Previous studies about chemical burns have been performed based on burn center data so these studies have provided limited information about the incidence of chemical burns at the national level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of chemical burns using nationwide databases. A cohort representing the Korean population, which was established using a national health insurance database, and a nationwide workers' compensation database were used to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of chemical burns. Characteristics of the affected body region, depth of burns, industry, task, and causative agents were analyzed from two databases. The incidence of chemical burns was calculated according to employment status. The most common regions involving chemical burns with hospital visits were the skin followed by the eyes. For skin lesions, the hands and wrists were the most commonly affected regions. Second degree burns were the most common in terms of depth of skin lesions. The hospital visit incidence was 1.96 per 10,000 person-year in the general population. The compensated chemical burns incidence was 0.17 per 10,000 person-year. Employees and the self-employed showed a significantly increased risk of chemical burns undergoing hospital visits compared to their dependents. Chemical burns on the skin and eyes are almost equally prevalent. The working environment was associated with increased risk of chemical burns. Our results may aid in estimating the size of the problem and prioritizing prevention of chemical burns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Managing hazards in place: The risks of residual risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Silbergeld, Ellen K

2017-10-01

Managing hazards in place (MHP) is a policy instrument in environmental health that allows less than complete removal, abatement, or remediation of environmental hazards. The practice of minimizing exposure to hazards rather than removing them is widely recognized as part of the toolbox of environmental protection for human and ecosystem health. The concept of managing hazards in place is embedded in several environmental statutes and regulations in the US notably the waste management regulations, as well as in the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. While this commentary focuses largely on applications of MHP in the US, this policy is also utilized by agencies in many other countries for managing hazardous waste sites, lead in housing and drinking water systems, and environmental contamination of rivers and estuaries. The rationale for this concept is not difficult to understand: MHP policies can reduce the costs of meeting environmental goals; it can provide opportunities for access to resources that have been contaminated by past actions such as waste disposal, and it can enhance land and property values as well as tax revenues all of which are important to home owners and communities. The concerns related to this concept are also not difficult to understand: an incompletely abated or contained hazard may present future exposure risks to humans and environmental biota. Further, the compromise implicit in MHP is the assurance of indefinite oversight and monitoring to detect any releases. To that extent, MHP involves both sociology as well as toxicology and the exposure sciences. Because of the prevalence of managing hazards in place, this commentary suggests that evaluation of its performance is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Immunological monitoring of the personnel at radiation hazardous facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiselev, S.M.; Sokolnikov, M.E.; Lyss, L.V.; Ilyina, N.I.

2017-01-01

The study of possible mechanisms resulting in changes in the immune system after exposure to ionizing radiation is an area that has not been thoroughly evaluated during recent years. This article presents an overview of immunological monitoring studies of personnel from the radiation-hazardous factories that took place over the past 20 years in Russia. The methodology of these studies is based on: (1) the preclinical evaluation of immune status of workers whose occupation involves potential exposure to ionizing radiation; (2) selecting at risk groups according to the nature of immune deficiency manifestation; and (3) studying the changes of immune status of employees with regard to the potential effects of radiation exposure. The principal aim of these studies is accumulation of new data on the impact of radiation exposure on the human immune system and search for the relationship between the clinical manifestations of immune disorders and laboratory parameters of immunity to improve the monitoring system of the health status of the professional workers involved in radiation-hazardous industrial environments and the population living close to these facilities. (authors)

ThinkHazard!: an open-source, global tool for understanding hazard information

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, Stuart; Jongman, Brenden; Simpson, Alanna; Nunez, Ariel; Deparday, Vivien; Saito, Keiko; Murnane, Richard; Balog, Simone

2016-04-01

Rapid and simple access to added-value natural hazard and disaster risk information is a key issue for various stakeholders of the development and disaster risk management (DRM) domains. Accessing available data often requires specialist knowledge of heterogeneous data, which are often highly technical and can be difficult for non-specialists in DRM to find and exploit. Thus, availability, accessibility and processing of these information sources are crucial issues, and an important reason why many development projects suffer significant impacts from natural hazards. The World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is currently developing a new open-source tool to address this knowledge gap: ThinkHazard! The main aim of the ThinkHazard! project is to develop an analytical tool dedicated to facilitating improvements in knowledge and understanding of natural hazards among non-specialists in DRM. It also aims at providing users with relevant guidance and information on handling the threats posed by the natural hazards present in a chosen location. Furthermore, all aspects of this tool will be open and transparent, in order to give users enough information to understand its operational principles. In this presentation, we will explain the technical approach behind the tool, which translates state-of-the-art probabilistic natural hazard data into understandable hazard classifications and practical recommendations. We will also demonstrate the functionality of the tool, and discuss limitations from a scientific as well as an operational perspective.

Medication incidents reported to an online incident reporting system.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Alrwisan, Adel

2011-01-15

AIMS: Approximately 20% of deaths from adverse events are related to medication incidents, costing the NHS an additional £500 million annually. Less than 5% of adverse events are reported. This study aims to assess the reporting rate of medication incidents in NHS facilities in the north east of Scotland, and to describe the types and outcomes of reported incidents among different services. Furthermore, we wished to quantify the proportion of reported incidents according to the reporters\\' profession. METHODS: A retrospective description was made of medication incidents reported to an online reporting system (DATIX) over a 46-month-period (July 2005 to April 2009). Reports originated from acute and community hospitals, mental health, and primary care facilities. RESULTS: Over the study period there were 2,666 incidents reported with a mean monthly reporting rate of 78.2\\/month (SD±16.9). 6.1% of all incidents resulted in harm, with insulin being the most commonly implicated medication. Nearly three-quarters (74.2%, n=1,978) of total incidents originated from acute hospitals. Administration incidents were implicated in the majority of the reported medication incidents (59%), followed by prescribing (10.8%) and dispensing (9.9%), while the nondescript "other medication incidents" accounted for 20.3% of total incidents. The majority of reports were made by nursing and midwifery staff (80%), with medical and dental professionals reporting the lowest number of incidents (n=56, 2%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of medication incidents in this study were reported by nursing and midwifery staff, and were due to administration incidents. There is a clear need to elucidate the reasons for the limited contribution of the medical and dental professionals to reporting medication incidents.

Factors associated with the incidence of pressure ulcer during hospital stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Matozinhos, Fernanda Penido; Velasquez-Melendez, Gustavo; Tiensoli, Sabrina Daros; Moreira, Alexandra Dias; Gomes, Flávia Sampaio Latini

2017-05-25

Estimating the incidence rate of pressure ulcers and verifying factors associated with this occurrence in a cohort of hospitalized patients. This is a cohort study in which the considered outcome was the time until pressure ulcer occurrence. Estimated effect of the variables on the cumulative incidence ratio of the outcome was performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Variable selection occurred via the Logrank hypothesis test. The sample consisted of 442 adults, with 25 incidents of pressure ulcers. Patients with high scores on the Braden scale presented a higher risk of pressure ulcer incidence when compared to those classified into the low score category. These results reinforce the importance of using the Braden Scale to assist in identifying patients more likely to develop pressure ulcers. Estimar a taxa de incidência de úlcera por pressão e verificar fatores associados a essa ocorrência em uma coorte de pacientes hospitalizados. Trata-se de estudo de coorte no qual o desfecho foi a ocorrência da úlcera por pressão. A estimativa do efeito das variáveis para a proporção de incidência acumulada do desfecho foi realizada utilizando o modelo de riscos proporcionais de Cox. A seleção das variáveis ocorreu por meio do teste de hipóteses Logrank. A amostra foi composta de 442 adultos, com 25 casos incidentes de úlcera por pressão. Pacientes com altos escores na escala de Braden apresentaram maior risco de incidência de úlcera por pressão quando comparados com aqueles classificados na categoria de baixo escore. Os resultados reforçam a importância do uso da Escala de Braden para auxiliar na identificação dos pacientes com maior probabilidade de desenvolver úlcera por pressão.

Insights into earthquake hazard map performance from shaking history simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, S.; Vanneste, K.; Camelbeeck, T.; Vleminckx, B.

2017-12-01

Why recent large earthquakes caused shaking stronger than predicted by earthquake hazard maps is under debate. This issue has two parts. Verification involves how well maps implement probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) ("have we built the map right?"). Validation asks how well maps forecast shaking ("have we built the right map?"). We explore how well a map can ideally perform by simulating an area's shaking history and comparing "observed" shaking to that predicted by a map generated for the same parameters. The simulations yield shaking distributions whose mean is consistent with the map, but individual shaking histories show large scatter. Infrequent large earthquakes cause shaking much stronger than mapped, as observed. Hence, PSHA seems internally consistent and can be regarded as verified. Validation is harder because an earthquake history can yield shaking higher or lower than that predicted while being consistent with the hazard map. The scatter decreases for longer observation times because the largest earthquakes and resulting shaking are increasingly likely to have occurred. For the same reason, scatter is much less for the more active plate boundary than for a continental interior. For a continental interior, where the mapped hazard is low, even an M4 event produces exceedances at some sites. Larger earthquakes produce exceedances at more sites. Thus many exceedances result from small earthquakes, but infrequent large ones may cause very large exceedances. However, for a plate boundary, an M6 event produces exceedance at only a few sites, and an M7 produces them in a larger, but still relatively small, portion of the study area. As reality gives only one history, and a real map involves assumptions about more complicated source geometries and occurrence rates, which are unlikely to be exactly correct and thus will contribute additional scatter, it is hard to assess whether misfit between actual shaking and a map — notably higher

Incidence and risk factors of occupational blood exposure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nelsing, S; Nielsen, T L; Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik

1997-01-01

Occupational blood exposures involves a risk of transmission of serious infections. We performed a nation-wide survey, to describe the incidence and risk factors of percutaneous (PCE) and mucocutaneous (MCE) blood exposures among hospital employed doctors in Denmark. Of 9,374 questionnaires, 6......). Only 35% adhered to the basic principles of universal precautions (UP) and non-compliance was associated with a considerably increased risk of both MCE and PCE, especially in non-surgical specialties. In conclusion, we found an unacceptably high incidence of occupational blood exposures among Danish...

Water Induced Hazard Mapping in Nepal: A Case Study of East Rapti River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, N.

2010-12-01

This paper presents illustration on typical water induced hazard mapping of East Rapti River Basin under the DWIDP, GON. The basin covers an area of 2398 sq km. The methodology includes making of base map of water induced disaster in the basin. Landslide hazard maps were prepared by SINMAP approach. Debris flow hazard maps were prepared by considering geology, slope, and saturation. Flood hazard maps were prepared by using two approaches: HEC-RAS and Satellite Imagery Interpretation. The composite water-induced hazard maps were produced by compiling the hazards rendered by landslide, debris flow, and flood. The monsoon average rainfall in the basin is 1907 mm whereas maximum 24 hours precipitation is 456.8 mm. The peak discharge of the Rapati River in the year of 1993 at station was 1220 cu m/sec. This discharge nearly corresponds to the discharge of 100-year return period. The landslides, floods, and debris flows triggered by the heavy rain of July 1993 claimed 265 lives, affected 148516 people, and damaged 1500 houses in the basin. The field investigation and integrated GIS interpretation showed that the very high and high landslide hazard zones collectively cover 38.38% and debris flow hazard zone constitutes 6.58%. High flood hazard zone occupies 4.28% area of the watershed. Mitigation measures are recommendated according to Integrated Watershed Management Approach under which the non-structural and structural measures are proposed. The non-structural measures includes: disaster management training, formulation of evacuation system (arrangement of information plan about disaster), agriculture management practices, protection of water sources, slope protections and removal of excessive bed load from the river channel. Similarly, structural measures such as dike, spur, rehabilitation of existing preventive measures and river training at some locations are recommendated. The major factors that have contributed to induce high incidences of various types of mass

Guidance on accidents involving radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

This annex contains advice to Health Authorities on their response to accidents involving radioactivity. The guidance is in six parts:-(1) planning the response required to nuclear accidents overseas, (2) planning the response required to UK nuclear accidents a) emergency plans for nuclear installations b) nuclear powered satellites, (3) the handling of casualties contaminated with radioactive substances, (4) background information for dealing with queries from the public in the event of an accident, (5) the national arrangements for incident involving radioactivity (NAIR), (6) administrative arrangements. (author)

Multi-Hazard Interactions in Guatemala

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Joel; Malamud, Bruce D.

2017-04-01

In this paper, we combine physical and social science approaches to develop a multi-scale regional framework for natural hazard interactions in Guatemala. The identification and characterisation of natural hazard interactions is an important input for comprehensive multi-hazard approaches to disaster risk reduction at a regional level. We use five transdisciplinary evidence sources to organise and populate our framework: (i) internationally-accessible literature; (ii) civil protection bulletins; (iii) field observations; (iv) stakeholder interviews (hazard and civil protection professionals); and (v) stakeholder workshop results. These five evidence sources are synthesised to determine an appropriate natural hazard classification scheme for Guatemala (6 hazard groups, 19 hazard types, and 37 hazard sub-types). For a national spatial extent (Guatemala), we construct and populate a "21×21" hazard interaction matrix, identifying 49 possible interactions between 21 hazard types. For a sub-national spatial extent (Southern Highlands, Guatemala), we construct and populate a "33×33" hazard interaction matrix, identifying 112 possible interactions between 33 hazard sub-types. Evidence sources are also used to constrain anthropogenic processes that could trigger natural hazards in Guatemala, and characterise possible networks of natural hazard interactions (cascades). The outcomes of this approach are among the most comprehensive interaction frameworks for national and sub-national spatial scales in the published literature. These can be used to support disaster risk reduction and civil protection professionals in better understanding natural hazards and potential disasters at a regional scale.

Cancer incidence in people living with HIV/AIDS in Israel, 1981-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Zohar, Mor; Micha, Barchana

2015-09-01

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) improved the survival of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and decreased HIV-related morbidities. This study assesses the cancer incidence of all adult PLWHA in Israel by transmission routes before and after 1996. This cohort study was based on cross-matching the National HIV/AIDS and Cancer Registries of all HIV/AIDS and cancer cases reported from 1981 to 2010 with the National civil census. PLWHA were followed-up until cancer diagnosis, death, leaving Israel, or 2010, whichever occurred first. Cancer incidence was adjusted for age, and compared with the National incidence. Of all 5,154 PLWHA followed-up for 36,296 person-years, 362 (7.0%) developed cancer (997.4 cases per 100,000 person-years). Higher hazard ratios to develop cancer were demonstrated among older PLWHA, Jewish people, and intravenous drug users. Cancer incidence among PLWHA was higher in the pre-ART period than after 1997 (1,232.0 and 846.7 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively). The incidence of AIDS-defining cancers was higher than non-AIDS-defining malignancies, and higher in the pre-ART than the post-ART period (777.0 and 467.2 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively), while the incidence of non-AIDS-defining cancers showed the opposite trend (376.5 and 455.0 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively). The incidence of AIDS-defining and non-AIDS-defining cancers declined between the pre-ART and the post-ART period by 2.0 to 3.4 times. PLWHA had higher rates of malignancies than the general population. In conclusion, cancer incidence among PLWHA was associated with age, and declined after ART introduction; yet it was higher than that of the general population. PLWHA may benefit from age-related cancer screening, increased adherence to ART, and reduction of environmental oncogenes.

Arsenic Exposure, Arsenic Metabolism, and Incident Diabetes in the Strong Heart Study

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Barbara V.; Umans, Jason G.; Gribble, Matthew O.; Best, Lyle G.; Francesconi, Kevin A.; Goessler, Walter; Lee, Elisa; Guallar, Eliseo; Navas-Acien, Ana

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE Little is known about arsenic metabolism in diabetes development. We investigated the prospective associations of low-moderate arsenic exposure and arsenic metabolism with diabetes incidence in the Strong Heart Study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 1,694 diabetes-free participants aged 45–75 years were recruited in 1989–1991 and followed through 1998–1999. We used the proportions of urine inorganic arsenic (iAs), monomethylarsonate (MMA), and dimethylarsinate (DMA) over their sum (expressed as iAs%, MMA%, and DMA%) as the biomarkers of arsenic metabolism. Diabetes was defined as fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, 2-h glucose ≥200 mg/dL, self-reported diabetes history, or self-reported use of antidiabetic medications. RESULTS Over 11,263.2 person-years of follow-up, 396 participants developed diabetes. Using the leave-one-out approach to model the dynamics of arsenic metabolism, we found that lower MMA% was associated with higher diabetes incidence. The hazard ratios (95% CI) of diabetes incidence for a 5% increase in MMA% were 0.77 (0.63–0.93) and 0.82 (0.73–0.92) when iAs% and DMA%, respectively, were left out of the model. DMA% was associated with higher diabetes incidence only when MMA% decreased (left out of the model) but not when iAs% decreased. iAs% was also associated with higher diabetes incidence when MMA% decreased. The association between MMA% and diabetes incidence was similar by age, sex, study site, obesity, and urine iAs concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Arsenic metabolism, particularly lower MMA%, was prospectively associated with increased incidence of diabetes. Research is needed to evaluate whether arsenic metabolism is related to diabetes incidence per se or through its close connections with one-carbon metabolism. PMID:25583752

Incidence and factors associated with diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients at arbaminch general hospital, gamo gofa Zone (longitudinal follow up data analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yilma Chisha

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Currently, 93 million people are estimated as living with diabetic retinopathy (DR worldwide. The incidence, retinopathy-free survival time and associated factors of DR in developed countries have been well documented; but in Ethiopia, national data on incidence and associated factors of DR are lacking. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine incidence and factors associated with the development of DR among diabetic patients at Arbaminch General Hospital, Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: Longitudinal follow-up data analysis with record review of 400 diabetic patients was conducted at Arbaminch General Hospital. Among 400 diabetic patients, 270 diabetic patients with baseline information and without a history of hypertension at baseline were included in this study. Whereas, pregnancy induced diabetes and patients with retinopathy at baseline were excluded from this study. Consecutive sampling technique was applied to select study participants. Data of cohorts were extracted from medical record using pre-tested structured extraction checklist. Data cleaning, coding, categorising, merging and analysis carried out by STATA version 12. Descriptive statistics was done and summarised accordingly. Bivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was done to select potential candidates for the full model atP ≤ 0.25 and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was made to estimate the independent effect of predictors on the incidence of DR. Model diagnostic tests were performed and final model fitness was checked by Cox and Snell residuals; finally, statistical significance was tested atP 12 years. Adjusted analysis showed that the hazard of developing DR was statistically and positively associated with baseline age, baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP level and fasting blood glucose (FBG level. Conclusion: In the current study, the incidence of DR was high. Since baseline age, baseline SBP level and

Quantitative evaluation of the hazards involved in transferring foreign cells and tissues to immunologically suppressed or deficient subjects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bekkum, D.W. van

1971-04-01

It has already been pointed out in a preceding chapter that a successful take of allogenic bone marrow in primates inevitably entails a most severe early or acute form of secondary disease caused by a violent immunological reaction of the immune competent cells of the graft directed against the host. In mice and rats such an acute graft versus host disease is not seen following grafting of allogenic bone marrow, but only if substantial numbers of spleen or lymph node cells are transferred. Apparently, primate bone marrow is exceptionally aggressive compared to rodent bone marrow and it is not possible to prevent this reaction by decreasing the number of infused bone marrow cells without simultaneously eliminating the restorative effect of the graft. There are many reasons for assuming that the property to elicit a graft versus host reaction resides exclusively in the lymphoid cell series. These cells are normally to be found not only in the bone marrow and the lymphatic organs but also in the peripheral blood and in other tissues. Since surprisingly small numbers of lymphoid cells have been shown to cause graft versus host disease in completely non-reactive recipients, a calculation of the risks involved in transfusing sizable amounts of fresh blood or leukocyte concentrates to human recipients appears to be opportune. Moreover, the current attempts to restore immunological function in agammaglobulinaemic patients by implantations of allogenic foetal thymus tissue and by infusion of foetal liver and bone marrow cell suspensions (Dooren et al., 1968; Hong et al., 1968) require a critical analysis of the risks involved. Finally, the rapidly advancing clinical transplantation of organs - all of which contain scattered lymphoid cells - seems to necessitate a re-evaluation of this potential hazard in the light of the present knowledge of the induction of graft versus host disease. Most of our factual information concerning graft versus host reactions comes from

Standard practice for design and use of safety alert system for hazardous work locations in the coatings and lining industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1984-01-01

This practice covers a safety alert system for hazardous work locations and materials for the coatings and lining application industry. This practice is designed for multi-employer work sites. Limitations--This practice does not identify specific hazardous materials or work locations but provides a means for rating each. This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment

Project management plan, Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Training Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)