WorldWideScience

Sample records for species-specific wildlifevehicle accidents

  1. US 93 north wildlife-vehicle collision and wildlife crossing monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Human safety: Wildlife-vehicle collisions : Habitat connectivity: Wildlife use crossing structures : Cost-benefit analyses : Contract research : WTI-MSU and CSKT : Students and other partners at MSU and UofM

  2. Reducing the threat of wildlife-vehicle collisions during peak tourism periods using a Roadside Animal Detection System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Molly K; Smith, Daniel J; Noss, Reed F

    2017-12-01

    Roadside Animal Detection Systems (RADS) aim to reduce the frequency of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Unlike fencing and wildlife passages, RADS do not attempt to keep animals off the road; rather, they attempt to modify driver behavior by detecting animals near the road and warning drivers with flashing signs. A RADS was installed in Big Cypress National Park (Florida, USA) in 2012 in response to an increased number of Florida panther mortalities. To assess driver response, we measured the speed of individual cars on the road when the RADS was active (flashing) and inactive (not flashing) during the tourist season (November-March) and the off-season (April-October), which vary dramatically in traffic volume. We also used track beds and camera traps to assess whether roadside activity of large mammal species varied between seasons. In the tourist season, the activation of the RADS caused a significant reduction in vehicle speed. However, this effect was not observed in the off-season. Track and camera data showed that the tourist season coincided with peak periods of activity for several large mammals of conservation interest. Drivers in the tourist season generally drove faster than those in the off-season, so a reduction in speed in response to the RADS is more beneficial in the tourist season. Because traffic volume and roadside activity of several species of conservation interest both peak during the tourist season, our study indicates that the RADS has the potential to reduce the number of accidents during this period of heightened risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Review of specific radiological accident considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elder, J.

    1984-01-01

    Specific points of guidance provided in the forthcoming document A Guide to Radiological Accident Considerations for Siting and Design of Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities are discussed. Of these, the following are considered of particular interest to analysts of hypothetical accidents: onsite dose limits; population dose, public health effects, and environmental contamination as accident consequences which should be addressed; risk analysis; natural phenomena as accident initiators; recommended dose models; multiple organ equivalent dose; and recommended methods and parameters for source terms and release amount calculations. Comments are being invited on this document, which is undergoing rewrite after the first stage of peer review

  4. Specific features of RBMK severe accidents progression and approach to the accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasilevskij, V.P.; Nikitin, Yu.M.; Petrov, A.A.; Potapov, A.A.; Cherkashov, Yu.M.

    2001-01-01

    Fundamental construction features of the LWGR facilities (absence of common external containment shell, disintegrated circulation circuit and multichannel reactor core, positive vapor reactivity coefficient, high mass of thermally capacious graphite moderator) predetermining development of assumed heavy non-projected accidents and handling them are treated. Rating the categories of the reactor core damages for non-projected accidents and accident types producing specific grope of damages is given. Passing standard non-projected accidents, possible methods of attack accident consequences, as well as methods of calculated analysis of non-projected accidents are demonstrated [ru

  5. Spatiotemporal Analysis for Wildlife-Vehicle Based on Accident Statistics of the County Straubing-Bogen in Lower Bavaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagany, R.; Dorner, W.

    2016-06-01

    During the last years the numbers of wildlife-vehicle-collisions (WVC) in Bavaria increased considerably. Despite the statistical registration of WVC and preventive measures at areas of risk along the roads, the number of such accidents could not be contained. Using geospatial analysis on WVC data of the last five years for county Straubing-Bogen, Bavaria, a small-scale methodology was found to analyse the risk of WVC along the roads in the investigated area. Various indicators were examined, which may be related to WVC. The risk depends on the time of the day and year which shows correlations in turn to the traffic density and wildlife population. Additionally the location of the collision depends on the species and on different environmental parameters. Accidents seem to correlate with the land use left and right of the street. Land use data and current vegetation were derived from remote sensing data, providing information of the general land use, also considering the vegetation period. For this a number of hot spots was selected to identify potential dependencies between land use, vegetation and season. First results from these hotspots show, that WVCs do not only depend on land use, but may show a correlation with the vegetation period. With regard to agriculture and seasonal as well as annual changes this indicates that warnings will fail due to their static character in contrast to the dynamic situation of land use and resulting risk for WVCs. This shows that there is a demand for remote sensing data with a high spatial and temporal resolution as well as a methodology to derive WVC warnings considering land use and vegetation. With remote sensing data, it could become possible to classify land use and calculate risk levels for WVC. Additional parameters, derived from remote sensed data that could be considered are relief and crops as well as other parameters such as ponds, natural and infrastructural barriers that could be related to animal behaviour and

  6. Site Specific Analyses of a Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2003-01-01

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

  7. A Comparison of Data Sets Varying in Spatial Accuracy Used to Predict the Occurrence of Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunson, Kari E.; Clevenger, Anthony P.; Ford, Adam T.; Bissonette, John A.; Hardy, Amanda

    2009-08-01

    Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) pose a significant safety and conservation concern in areas where high-traffic roads are situated adjacent to wildlife habitat. Improving transportation safety, accurately planning highway mitigation, and identifying key habitat linkage areas may all depend on the quality of WVC data collection. Two common approaches to describe the location of WVCs are spatially accurate data derived from global positioning systems (GPS) or vehicle odometer measurements and less accurate road-marker data derived from reference points (e.g., mile-markers or landmarks) along the roadside. In addition, there are two common variable types used to predict WVC locations: (1) field-derived, site-specific measurements and (2) geographic information system (GIS)-derived information. It is unclear whether these different approaches produce similar results when attempting to identify and explain the location of WVCs. Our first objective was to determine and compare the spatial error found in road-marker data (in our case the closest mile-marker) and landmark-referenced data. Our second objective was to evaluate the performance of models explaining high- and low-probability WVC locations, using congruent, spatially accurate (GIS-derived explanatory variables. Our WVC data sets were comprised of ungulate collisions and were located along five major roads in the central Canadian Rocky Mountains. We found that spatial error (mean ± SD) was higher for WVC data referenced to nearby landmarks (516 ± 808 m) than for data referenced to the closest mile-marker data (401 ± 219 m). The top-performing model using the spatially accurate WVC locations contained all explanatory variable types, whereas GIS-derived variables were only influential in the best road-marker model and the spatially accurate reduced model. Our study showed that spatial error and sample size, using road-marker data for ungulate species, are important to consider for model output interpretation

  8. Plant specific severe accident management - the implementation phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prior, R.

    1999-01-01

    Many plants are in the process of developing on-site guidance for technical staff to respond to a severe accident situation severe accident management guidance (SAMG). Once the guidance is developed, the SAMG must be implemented at the plant site, and this involves addressing a number of additional aspects. In this paper, approaches to this implementation phase are reviewed, including review and verification of plant specific SAMG, organizational aspects and integration with the emergency plan, training of SAMG users, validation and self-assessment and SAMG maintenance. Examples draw on experience from assisting numerous plants to implement symptom based severe accident management guidelines based on the Westinghouse Owners Group approach, in Westinghouse, non-Westinghouse and VVER plant types. It is hoped that it will be of use to those plant operators about to perform these activities.(author)

  9. On-line measurement of gaseous iodine species during a PWR severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haykal, I.; Doizi, D. [CEA, DEN, Departement de Physico-chimie, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, (France); Perrin, A. [CNRS-University of Paris Est and Paris 7, Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systemes Atmospheriques, 94010 Creteil, (France); Vincent, B. [University of Burgundy, Laboratoire de physique, CNRS UMR 5027, 9, Avenue Alain Savary, BP 47870, F-21078 Dijon Cedex, (France); Manceron, L. [Synchrotron SOLEIL, L' Orme des Merisiers, St-Aubin BP48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, (France); Mejean, G. [University of Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique-CNRS UMR 5588, 38402 Saint Martin d' Heres, (France); Ducros, G. [CEA Cadarache, CEA, DEN, Departement d' Etudes des Combustibles, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance cedex, (France)

    2015-07-01

    A long-range remote sensing of severe accidents in nuclear power plants can be obtained by monitoring the online emission of volatile fission products such as xenon, krypton, caesium and iodine. The nuclear accident in Fukushima was ranked at level 7 of the International Nuclear Event Scale by the NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) according to the importance of the radionuclide release and the off-site impact. Among volatile fission products, iodine species are of high concern, since they can be released under aerosols as well as gaseous forms. Four years after the Fukushima accident, the aerosol/gaseous partition is still not clear. Since the iodine gaseous forms are less efficiently trapped by the Filtered Containment Venting Systems than aerosol forms, it is of crucial importance to monitor them on-line during a nuclear accident, in order to improve the source term assessment in such a situation. Therefore, we propose to detect and quantify these iodine gaseous forms by the use of highly sensitive optical methods. (authors)

  10. Mitigation of release of volatile iodine species during severe reactor accidents - a novel reliable process of safety technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guentay, S.; Bruchertseifer, H.

    2010-01-01

    In severe accidents, a significant risk for public health may be generated as a result of release of the gaseous iodine species into the environment through the containment leaks or containment venting filter systems with low retention efficiency. The elemental iodine and volatile organic iodides are the main gaseous iodine species in the containment. Potential release of large quantities of gaseous elemental iodine from the reactor coolant system or its radiolytic generation in the containment sump constitute the key source of gaseous elemental iodine in containment atmosphere. Iodine paint reactions as well as the reaction of iodine with organic residuals in sump water are the main mechanisms for the generation of high volatile organic iodides in the containment. Although very much desired, significant research activities conducted in 70's unfortunately did not create any technically feasible solution to mitigate iodine release into the environment under prevailing conditions. Development of a process leading to a fast, comprehensive and reliable retention of volatile iodine species in aqueous solution with an aim to implement for the severe accident management applications has been subject of a research project in the recent years at Paul Scherrer Institut. The process developed utilizes simultaneous use of two customary technical chemical additives in an aqueous solution. The results of the experimental program have demonstrated a fast and reliable destruction of high volatile organic iodine species and fast reduction of elemental iodine into iodide ions in aqueous solutions and an efficient mitigation of the re-formation of gaseous iodine from iodide ions. Investigations covered a broad range of anticipated severe accident conditions in the containment. The project additionally focused on possible application of the process to existing containment venting filter systems, specifically as a passive add-on for back-fitting. This paper describes the process

  11. Release fractions for Rocky Flats specific accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weiss, R.C.

    1992-01-01

    As Rocky Flats and other DOE facilities begin the transition process towards decommissioning, the nature of the scenarios to be studied in safety analysis will change. Whereas the previous emphasis in safety accidents related to production, now the emphasis is shifting to accidents related tc decommissioning and waste management. Accident scenarios of concern at Rocky Flats now include situations of a different nature and different scale than are represented by most of the existing experimental accident data. This presentation will discuss approaches at sign to use for applying the existing body of release fraction data to this new emphasis. Mention will also be made of ongoing efforts to produce new data and improve the understanding of physical mechanisms involved

  12. Optimization guidance to post-accident intervention: a specific case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia-Ramirez, J.E.; Reyes-Sanchez, M.A.

    1996-01-01

    ICRP recommends the application of the system of protection to intervention situations, i.e. those in which exposure pathways are already present; e.g the public exposure following an accident. This implies that intervention must be justified and optimized, being the optimization the process of deciding the nature of protective action in order to obtain the maximum net benefit. This paper provides an example of one optimization model to guide a decision making process in a specific case of post-accident intervention. The involved scenario postulates the contamination of big quantities of reinforcing steel bars used in construction industry, and a lot of them present in the structure of several dwellings. Inhabitants of these dwellings must be protected and the proposed action is to demolish those homes exceeding some intervention criterion. The objective of this study is to reach such intervention level trough an optimization process economically focused. (author)

  13. Prognostic significance of specific injury patterns in casualties of traffic-related accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calosevic, Srdjan; Lovric, Zvonimir

    2015-11-01

    Fatal triad and ipsilateral dyad are patterns of pedestrian injuries related to significant mortality in traffic-related accidents. The aim of this research was to investigate the correlation between specific injury patterns and fatal outcome in other participants of traffic-related accidents. This was a retrospective study of traffic-related accidents in the broader area of the city of Osijek in a five-year period from 1995 to 1999. Autopsy results from the Institute of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek were analysed of individuals who died after their accident. The total severity of injuries was measured using the ISS. Logistic regression analysis was used for assessing the correlation between specific injury patterns and an early outcome from the severe injury. There were 213 individuals included in the study: 72 pedestrians and 141 other participants (drivers, assistant drivers, passengers, cyclists and motorcyclists). A total of129 individuals died on the spot and 84 died in the hospital during the first 48h. Femoral and pelvic fracture, fatal triad and both variants of ipsilateral dyad were related to higher ISS values. Ipsilateral fracture of upper and lower extremities (ipsilateral dyad 1) was associated with a 4.59 times higher risk of an immediate fatal outcome in the total sample. In pedestrians, the risk was 5.99 higher, and in other participants, the risk was 4.11 times higher. Specific skeletal injuries and injury patterns are a significant indicator for total injury severity and related poor prognosis for all participants of traffic-related injuries, not only for pedestrians. In this study, the ipsilateral fracture of upper and lower extremity was related to the largest total severity of injuries and the poorest prognosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Use of species-specific PCR for the identification of 10 sea cucumber species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jing; Zeng, Ling

    2014-11-01

    We developed a species-specific PCR method to identify species among dehydrated products of 10 sea cucumber species. Ten reverse species-specific primers designed from the 16S rRNA gene, in combination with one forward universal primer, generated PCR fragments of ca. 270 bp length for each species. The specificity of the PCR assay was tested with DNA of samples of 21 sea cucumber species. Amplification was observed in specific species only. The species-specific PCR method we developed was successfully applied to authenticate species of commercial products of dehydrated sea cucumber, and was proven to be a useful, rapid, and low-cost technique to identify the origin of the sea cucumber product.

  15. Wildlife-vehicle collisions in Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve, Canary Islands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tejera, Gustavo; Rodríguez, Beneharo; Armas, Carlos; Rodríguez, Airam

    2018-01-01

    Insular wildlife is more prone to extinction than their mainland relatives. Thus, a basic understanding of non-natural mortality sources is the first step in the development of conservation management plans. The Canary Islands are an important tourist destination due to their unique climate and rich scenery and biodiversity. During the last few decades, there has been significant development of urban areas and busy road networks. However, there have been no studies describing the effects of road mortality on wildlife in this archipelago. We describe the temporal and spatial patterns of wildlife roadkill in Lanzarote (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), using counts from cars for an entire annual cycle. A total of 666 roadkills were recorded (monthly average of 0.09 birds/km and 0.14 mammals/km) comprising at least 37 species including native birds and introduced mammals. Seasonal abundance, richness and diversity of roadkills showed a high peak during summer months for both mammals and birds. GLMs indicated that accidents (including birds and mammals) have a higher probability of occurrence close to houses and on roads with high speed limits. When analysed separately, mammal kills occurred in sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and in areas surrounded by exotic bushes, while bird roadkills appeared in road sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and low traffic volume. Our findings highlight that roads are a potential threat to native birds in the eastern Canary Islands. Detailed studies on the local population dynamics of highly affected species, such as the Houbara Bustard, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Barn Owl or Southern Shrike, are urgently needed to determine whether these levels of road mortality are sustainable.

  16. A route-specific system for risk assessment of radioactive materials transportation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, J.E.; Sandquist, G.M.; Slaughter, D.M.

    1995-01-01

    A low-cost, powerful geographic information system (GIS) that operates on a personal computer was integrated into a software system to provide route specific assessment of the risks associated with the atmospheric release of radioactive and hazardous materials in transportation accidents. The highway transportation risk assessment (HITRA) software system described here combines a commercially available GIS (TransCAD) with appropriate models and data files for route- and accident-specific factors, such as meteorology, dispersion, demography, and health effects to permit detailed analysis of transportation risk assessment. The HITRA system allows a user to interactively select a highway or railroad route from a GIS database of major US transportation routes. A route-specific risk assessment is then performed to estimate downwind release concentrations and the resulting potential health effects imposed on the exposed population under local environmental and temporal conditions. The integration of GIS technology with current risk assessment methodology permits detailed analysis coupled with enhanced user interaction. Furthermore, HITRA provides flexibility and documentation for route planning, updating and improving the databases required for evaluating specific transportation routes, changing meteorological and environmental conditions, and local demographics

  17. Potential effects of climate change on the risk of accidents with poisonous species of the genus Tityus (Scorpiones, Buthidae) in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Pablo Ariel; Andrade, Mayane Alves; Bidau, Claudio Juan

    2018-06-01

    The temporal pattern of co-occurrence of human beings and venomous species (scorpions, spiders, snakes) is changing. Thus, the temporal pattern of areas with risk of accidents with such species tends to become dynamic in time. We analyze the areas of occurrence of species of Tityus in Argentina and assess the impact of global climate change on their area of distribution by the construction of risk maps. Using data of occurrence of the species and climatic variables, we constructed models of species distribution (SMDs) under current and future climatic conditions. We also created maps that allow the detection of temporal shifts in the distribution patterns of each Tityus species. Finally, we developed risk maps for the analyzed species. Our results predict that climate change will have an impact on the distribution of Tityus species which will clearly expand to more southern latitudes, with the exception of T. argentinus. T. bahiensis, widely distributed in Brazil, showed a considerable increase of its potential area (ca. 37%) with future climate change. The species T. confluens and T. trivittatus that cause the highest number of accidents in Argentina are expected to show significant changes of their distributions in future scenarios. The former fact is worrying because Buenos Aires province is the more densely populated district in Argentina thus iable to become the most affected by T. trivittatus. These alterations of distributional patterns can lead to amplify the accident risk zones of venomous species, becoming an important subject of concern for public health policies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Volumes of radionuclide into the basins of water while the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station and a specifics of radiation situation development in the post-accidents periods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Standritchuk, O.Z.; Maksin, V.I.; Goncharuk, V.V.

    1996-01-01

    There was stated total content of radionuclide pollution, rejected to the environment in consequence of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, specifics of qualitative and quantitative change which supposes the division of post-accident period into five conventional post-accident periods. There were given the data about the levels of main fragmentation radionuclide activity in river water, atmospheric precipitation and sewage of the objects of sanitary treatment in May 1986. According to these data there were estimated the volumes of radioactive pollution rejection to the Kiev basins of water (1.56 centre dot 10 10 Ku, that is equal to 144,57 kg of radionuclides or 3,67 % of their mass in reactor) and their going into the Dnieper river. There was shown an interconnection of all season state of water basins which are near to Chernobyl nuclear power station, with specific development of radiation situation in them after the accident. There was proposed a probated variant of improvement of the traditional technology of drinking water preparation from the open water source within 1-2 post-accident periods

  19. 90Sr specific activity of teeth of abandoned cattle after the Fukushima accident - teeth as an indicator of environmental pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koarai, Kazuma; Kino, Yasushi; Takahashi, Atsushi; Suzuki, Toshihiko; Shimizu, Yoshinaka; Chiba, Mirei; Osaka, Ken; Sasaki, Keiichi; Urushihara, Yusuke; Fukuda, Tomokazu; Isogai, Emiko; Yamashiro, Hideaki; Oka, Toshitaka; Sekine, Tsutomu; Fukumoto, Manabu; Shinoda, Hisashi

    2018-03-01

    90 Sr specific activity in the teeth of young cattle that were abandoned in Kawauchi village and Okuma town located in the former evacuation areas of the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident were measured. Additionally, specific activity in contaminated surface soils sampled from the same area was measured. (1) All cattle teeth examined were contaminated with 90 Sr. The specific activity, however, varied depending on the developmental stage of the teeth during the FNPP accident; teeth that had started development before the accident exhibited comparatively lower values, while teeth developed mainly after the accident showed higher values. (2) Values of 90 Sr-specific activity in teeth formed after the FNPP accident were higher than those of the bulk soil but similar to those in the exchangeable fraction (water and CH 3 COONH 4 soluble fractions) of the soil. The findings suggest that 90 Sr was incorporated into the teeth during the process of development, and that 90 Sr in the soluble and/or leachable fractions of the soil might migrate into teeth and contribute to the amount of 90 Sr in the teeth. Thus, the concentration of 90 Sr in teeth formed after the FNPP accident might reflect the extent of 90 Sr pollution in the environment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Interspecific introgression and changes in population structure in a flatfish species complex after the Prestige accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crego-Prieto, V.; Danancher, D.; Campo, D.; Perez, J.; Garcia-Vazquez, E.; Roca, A.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Impact of Prestige oil spill was studied on two sympatric megrim fish populations. • Samples before and nine years after the accident were genetically analyzed. • A large proportion of post-F1 interspecific hybrids was found in the polluted area. • Both species’ population structure was altered by introgression of foreign alleles. • The spillage likely promoted a hybrid zone for Lepidorhombus in the areas affected. -- Abstract: Oil spills cause aggressive impacts on marine ecosystems affecting immense areas and the species inhabiting them. If wastes are not cleaned up properly, the remnants may affect local populations for a long time. This work focuses on the long-term impacts of the Prestige spillage that occurred off Galician coast (Spain) in November 2002. Model species were two sympatric flatfish, the megrims Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis and Lepidorhombus boscii. Samples obtained before and nine years after the Prestige accident from affected and unaffected areas were genotyped for six hypervariable nuclear markers and for the mitochondrial D-loop sequence. The results revealed a high proportion of post-F1 interspecific hybrids in the area affected, and also increased intraspecific population differentiation likely due to such localized introgression of foreign genes. These changes suggest the appearance of a hybrid zone following the accident and emphasize the need of paying special attention to potential evolutionary impacts of oil spills

  1. Is Drosophila-microbe association species-specific or region specific? A study undertaken involving six Indian Drosophila species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singhal, Kopal; Khanna, Radhika; Mohanty, Sujata

    2017-06-01

    The present work aims to identify the microbial diversity associated with six Indian Drosophila species using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology and to discover the nature of their distribution across species and eco-geographic regions. Whole fly gDNA of six Drosophila species were used to generate sequences in an Illumina platform using NGS technology. De novo based assembled raw reads were blasted against the NR database of NCBI using BLASTn for identification of their bacterial loads. We have tried to include Drosophila species from different taxonomical groups and subgroups and from three different eco-climatic regions India; four species belong to Central India, while the rest two, D. melanogaster and D. ananassae, belong to West and South India to determine both their species-wise and region-wide distribution. We detected the presence of 33 bacterial genera across all six study species, predominated by the class Proteobacteria. Amongst all, D. melanogaster was found to be the most diverse by carrying around 85% of the bacterial diversity. Our findings infer both species-specific and environment-specific nature of the bacterial species inhabiting the Drosophila host. Though the present results are consistent with most of the earlier studies, they also remain incoherent with some. The present study outcome on the host-bacteria association and their species specific adaptation may provide some insight to understand the host-microbial interactions and the phenotypic implications of microbes on the host physiology. The knowledge gained may be importantly applied into the recent insect and pest population control strategy going to implement through gut microflora in India and abroad.

  2. Accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1989-01-01

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

  3. Severe accident analysis methodology in support of accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boesmans, B.; Auglaire, M.; Snoeck, J.

    1997-01-01

    The author addresses the implementation at BELGATOM of a generic severe accident analysis methodology, which is intended to support strategic decisions and to provide quantitative information in support of severe accident management. The analysis methodology is based on a combination of severe accident code calculations, generic phenomenological information (experimental evidence from various test facilities regarding issues beyond present code capabilities) and detailed plant-specific technical information

  4. NPP Krsko Severe Accident Management Guidelines Implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2002-01-01

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

  5. Severe accidents: in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    A ''severe'' nuclear accident refers to a reactor accident that could exceed reactor design specifications to such a degree as to prevent cooling of the reactor's core by normal means. This report summarizes the work of a NEA Senior Group of Experts who have studied the potential response of existing light-water reactors to severe accidents and have found that current designs of reactors are far more capable of coping with severe accidents than design specifications would suggest. The report emphasises the specific knowledge and means that can be used for diagnosing a severe accident and for managing its progression in order to prevent or mitigate its consequences

  6. Radiocesium in migratory bird species in northern Ireland following the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pearce, J.

    1995-01-01

    Radioactive fallout arising form the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl on 26 April 1986 reached Northern Ireland in early May and was deposited in rain. However, the subsequent contamination of food supplies in Northern Ireland were well below national and international levels at which any action would be considered necessary and presented no risks to health. In addition to the direct contamination of food supplies with radionuclides in the form of fallout following the Chernobyl incident another potential source of radioactive contamination entering the human food chain was through the arrival of migratory species of game birds. Each autumn and winter many thousands of birds migrate to Northern Ireland from Northern and Eastern Europe and some of these could have been contaminated as a result of being directly affected by the fallout from Chernobyl. The purpose of this work was to examine the extend of radionuclide contamination in such species and a number of samples were obtained for analyses during the autumn/winter periods in 1986/87 and 1987/88. The results obtained are outlined below. 5 refs., 3 tabs

  7. Learning lessons from Natech accidents - the eNATECH accident database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krausmann, Elisabeth; Girgin, Serkan

    2016-04-01

    equipment vulnerability models linking the natural-hazard severity to the observed damage almost impossible. As a consequence, the European Commission has set up the eNATECH database for the systematic collection of Natech accident data and near misses. The database exhibits the more sophisticated accident representation required to capture the characteristics of Natech events and is publicly accessible at http://enatech.jrc.ec.europa.eu. This presentation outlines the general lessons-learning process, introduces the eNATECH database and its specific structure, and discusses natural-hazard specific lessons learned and features common to Natech accidents triggered by different natural hazards.

  8. Are temperate canopy spiders tree-species specific?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mupepele, Anne-Christine; Müller, Tobias; Dittrich, Marcus; Floren, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Arboreal spiders in deciduous and coniferous trees were investigated on their distribution and diversity. Insecticidal knock-down was used to comprehensively sample spiders from 175 trees from 2001 to 2003 in the Białowieża forest and three remote forests in Poland. We identified 140 species from 9273 adult spiders. Spider communities were distinguished between deciduous and coniferous trees. The richest fauna was collected from Quercus where beta diversity was also highest. A tree-species-specific pattern was clearly observed for Alnus, Carpinus, Picea and Pinus trees and also for those tree species that were fogged in only four or three replicates, namely Betula and Populus. This hitherto unrecognised association was mainly due to the community composition of common species identified in a Dufrene-Legendre indicator species analysis. It was not caused by spatial or temporal autocorrelation. Explaining tree-species specificity for generalist predators like spiders is difficult and has to involve physical and ecological tree parameters like linkage with the abundance of prey species. However, neither did we find a consistent correlation of prey group abundances with spiders nor could differences in spider guild composition explain the observed pattern. Our results hint towards the importance of deterministic mechanisms structuring communities of generalist canopy spiders although the casual relationship is not yet understood.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2003-01-01

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

  10. Frequency of Specific Categories of Aviation Accidents and Incidents During 2001-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Joni K.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the types of accidents or incidents that are most important to the aviation safety risk. All accidents and incidents from 2001-2010 were assigned occurrence categories based on the taxonomy developed by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team/International Civil Aviation Organization (CAST/ICAO) Common Taxonomy Team (CICTT). The most frequently recorded categories were selected within each of five metrics: total accidents, fatal accidents, total injuries, fatal injuries and total incidents. This analysis was done separately for events within Part 121, Scheduled Part 135, Non-Scheduled Part 135 and Part 91. Combining those five sets of categories resulted in groups of between seven and eleven occurrence categories, depending on the flight operation. These groups represent 65-85% of all accidents and 68-81% of incidents.

  11. Application of the MOLE in post-nuclear accident characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, S.J.; Alvarez, J.L.

    1981-01-01

    Following a nuclear accident there is a need to determine the chemical composition of materials in liquid, solid and gaseous form, the crystalline structure of solids, the size and chemical composition of particles, and the chemical characterization of contaminants on surfaces. This analytical information is required to reconstruct the accident scenario, to select decontamination methods, and to determine future safety requirements. The MOLE (Molecular Optical Laser Examiner) is a Raman microprobe system which has proven to be a valuable analytical tool in providing this type of chemical information. It can determine the chemical species of polyatomic molecules and ions having characteristic Raman spectra. As little as 1 picogram of a component or a 1 μm particle can be analyzed. The imaging system can also provide mapping of selected components on a surface. A system description, sample handling techniques, and applications are presented. Specific applications to the Three Mile Island-Unit 2 accident are also addressed

  12. Radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poplavskij, K.K.; Smorodintseva, G.I.

    1978-01-01

    On the basis of a critical analysis of the available data on causes and consequences of radiation accidents (RA), a classification of RA by severity (five groups of accidents) according to biomedical consequences and categories of exposed personnel is proposed. A RA is defined and its main characteristics are described. Methods of RA prevention are proposed, as is a plan of specific measures to deal with RA in accordance with the proposed classification

  13. Accidents - Chernobyl accident; Accidents - accident de Tchernobyl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

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

  14. Accidents in perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gittus, J.H.

    1989-01-01

    The nuclear industry perspective and the public perspective on big nuclear accidents and leukaemia near nuclear sites are discussed. The industry perspective is that big accidents are so unlikely as to be virtually impossible and that leukaemia is not specifically associated with nuclear installations. Clusters of cancer with statistical significance occur in major cities. The public perspective is coloured by a prejudice and myth: the fear of radiation. The big nuclear accident is seen therefore as much more unacceptable than any other big accident. Risks associated with Sizewell-B nuclear station and the liquid gas depot at Canvey Island are discussed. The facts and figures are presented as tables and graphs. Given conflicting interpretations of the leukaemia problem the public inclines towards the more pessimistic view. (author)

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakajima, Ken

    2003-01-01

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

  16. Derivation of Accident-Specific Material-at-Risk Equivalency Factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jason P. Andrus; Dr. Chad L. Pope

    2012-05-01

    A novel method for calculating material at risk (MAR) dose equivalency developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) now allows for increased utilization of dose equivalency for facility MAR control. This method involves near-real time accounting for the use of accident and material specific release and transport. It utilizes all information from the committed effective dose equation and the five factor source term equation to derive dose equivalency factors which can be used to establish an overall facility or process MAR limit. The equivalency factors allow different nuclide spectrums to be compared for their respective dose consequences by relating them to a specific quantity of an identified reference nuclide. The ability to compare spectrums to a reference limit ensures that MAR limits are in fact bounding instead of attempting to establish a representative or bounding spectrum which may lead to unintended or unanalyzed configurations. This methodology is then coupled with a near real time material tracking system which allows for accurate and timely material composition information and corresponding MAR equivalency values. The development of this approach was driven by the complex nature of processing operations in some INL facilities. This type of approach is ideally suited for facilities and processes where the composition of the MAR and possible release mechanisms change frequently but in well defined fashions and in a batch-type nature.

  17. Jose Cabrera NPP severe accident management activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanco, J.; Almeida, P.; Saiz, J.; Sastre, J.L.; Delgado, R.

    1998-01-01

    To prepare a common acting plan with respect to Severe Accident Management, in 1994 was founded the severe accident management ''ad-hoc'' working group from the Spanish Westinghouse PWR Nuclear Power Plant Owners Group. In this group actively collaborated the Jose Cabrera NPP Training Centre and the Department of Nuclear Engineering of UNION FENOSA. From this moment, Jose Cabrera NPP began the planning of its specific Severe Accident Management Program, which main point are Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG). To elaborate this guidelines, the Spanish translation of Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG) Severe Accident Management Guidelines were considered the reference documents. The implementation of this Guidelines to Jose Cabrera NPP started on January 1997. Once the specific guidelines have been implemented to the plant, training activities for the personnel involved in severe accident issues will be developed. To prepare the training exercises MAAP4 code will be used, and with this intention, a specific Jose Cabrera NPP MAAP-GRAAPH screen has been developed. Furthermore, a wide selection of MAAP input files for the simulation of different scenarios and accidental events is available. (Author)

  18. Human Factors in Cabin Accident Investigations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chute, Rebecca D.; Rosekind, Mark R. (Technical Monitor)

    1996-01-01

    Human factors has become an integral part of the accident investigation protocol. However, much of the investigative process remains focussed on the flight deck, airframe, and power plant systems. As a consequence, little data has been collected regarding the human factors issues within and involving the cabin during an accident. Therefore, the possibility exists that contributing factors that lie within that domain may be overlooked. The FAA Office of Accident Investigation is sponsoring a two-day workshop on cabin safety accident investigation. This course, within the workshop, will be of two hours duration and will explore relevant areas of human factors research. Specifically, the three areas of discussion are: Information transfer and resource management, fatigue and other physical stressors, and the human/machine interface. Integration of these areas will be accomplished by providing a suggested checklist of specific cabin-related human factors questions for investigators to probe following an accident.

  19. Cernavoda CANDU severe accident evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negut, G.; Marin, A.

    1997-01-01

    The papers present the activities dedicated to Romania Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant first CANDU Unit severe accident evaluation. This activity is part of more general PSA assessment activities. CANDU specific safety features are calandria moderator and calandria vault water capabilities to remove the residual heat in the case of severe accidents, when the conventional heat sinks are no more available. Severe accidents evaluation, that is a deterministic thermal hydraulic analysis, assesses the accidents progression and gives the milestones when important events take place. This kind of assessment is important to evaluate to recovery time for the reactor operators that can lead to the accident mitigation. The Cernavoda CANDU unit is modeled for the of all heat sinks accident and results compared with the AECL CANDU 600 assessment. (orig.)

  20. Identification of species- and tissue-specific proteins using proteomic strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernukha, I. M.; Vostrikova, N. L.; Kovalev, L. I.; Shishkin, S. S.; Kovaleva, M. A.; Manukhin, Y. S.

    2017-09-01

    Proteomic technologies have proven to be very effective for detecting biochemical changes in meat products, such as changes in tissue- and species-specific proteins. In the tissues of cattle, pig, horse and camel M. longissimus dorsi both tissue- and species specific proteins were detected using two dimensional electrophoresis. Species-specific isoforms of several muscle proteins were also identified. The identified and described proteins of cattle, pig, horse and camel skeletal muscles (including mass spectra of the tryptic peptides) were added to the national free access database “Muscle organ proteomics”. This research has enabled the development of new highly sensitive technologies for meat product quality control against food fraud.

  1. Severe accident management program at Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borondo, L.; Serrano, C.; Fiol, M.J.; Sanchez, A.

    2000-01-01

    Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant (GE BWR/6) has implemented its specific Severe Accident Management Program within this year 2000. New organization and guides have been developed to successfully undertake the management of a severe accident. In particular, the Technical Support Center will count on a new ''Severe Accident Management Team'' (SAMT) which will be in charge of the Severe Accident Guides (SAG) when Control Room Crew reaches the Emergency Operation Procedures (EOP) step that requires containment flooding. Specific tools and training have also been developed to help the SAMT to mitigate the accident. (author)

  2. Species-Specific Mechanisms of Neuron Subtype Specification Reveal Evolutionary Plasticity of Amniote Brain Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadashi Nomura

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Highly ordered brain architectures in vertebrates consist of multiple neuron subtypes with specific neuronal connections. However, the origin of and evolutionary changes in neuron specification mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that regulatory mechanisms of neuron subtype specification are divergent in developing amniote brains. In the mammalian neocortex, the transcription factors (TFs Ctip2 and Satb2 are differentially expressed in layer-specific neurons. In contrast, these TFs are co-localized in reptilian and avian dorsal pallial neurons. Multi-potential progenitors that produce distinct neuronal subtypes commonly exist in the reptilian and avian dorsal pallium, whereas a cis-regulatory element of avian Ctip2 exhibits attenuated transcription suppressive activity. Furthermore, the neuronal subtypes distinguished by these TFs are not tightly associated with conserved neuronal connections among amniotes. Our findings reveal the evolutionary plasticity of regulatory gene functions that contribute to species differences in neuronal heterogeneity and connectivity in developing amniote brains. : Neuronal heterogeneity is essential for assembling intricate neuronal circuits. Nomura et al. find that species-specific transcriptional mechanisms underlie diversities of excitatory neuron subtypes in mammalian and non-mammalian brains. Species differences in neuronal subtypes and connections suggest functional plasticity of regulatory genes for neuronal specification during amniote brain evolution. Keywords: Ctip2, Satb2, multi-potential progenitors, transcriptional regulation, neuronal connectivity

  3. Computational identification of strain-, species- and genus-specific proteins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiagarajan Rathi

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The identification of unique proteins at different taxonomic levels has both scientific and practical value. Strain-, species- and genus-specific proteins can provide insight into the criteria that define an organism and its relationship with close relatives. Such proteins can also serve as taxon-specific diagnostic targets. Description A pipeline using a combination of computational and manual analyses of BLAST results was developed to identify strain-, species-, and genus-specific proteins and to catalog the closest sequenced relative for each protein in a proteome. Proteins encoded by a given strain are preliminarily considered to be unique if BLAST, using a comprehensive protein database, fails to retrieve (with an e-value better than 0.001 any protein not encoded by the query strain, species or genus (for strain-, species- and genus-specific proteins respectively, or if BLAST, using the best hit as the query (reverse BLAST, does not retrieve the initial query protein. Results are manually inspected for homology if the initial query is retrieved in the reverse BLAST but is not the best hit. Sequences unlikely to retrieve homologs using the default BLOSUM62 matrix (usually short sequences are re-tested using the PAM30 matrix, thereby increasing the number of retrieved homologs and increasing the stringency of the search for unique proteins. The above protocol was used to examine several food- and water-borne pathogens. We find that the reverse BLAST step filters out about 22% of proteins with homologs that would otherwise be considered unique at the genus and species levels. Analysis of the annotations of unique proteins reveals that many are remnants of prophage proteins, or may be involved in virulence. The data generated from this study can be accessed and further evaluated from the CUPID (Core and Unique Protein Identification system web site (updated semi-annually at http://pir.georgetown.edu/cupid. Conclusion CUPID

  4. Modelling the chemical behaviour of tellurium species in the reactor pressure vessel and the reactor cooling system under severe accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso, A.; Gonzalez, C.

    1991-07-01

    This state of the art report contains information on the behaviour of tellurium and its compounds in the reactor pressure vessel and the reactor coolant system under light water reactor severe accident conditions. To characterise tellurium behaviour, it is necessary the previous knowledge of the species of tellurium released from the core, and simultaneity of its release with that of other materials which can alter the transport, for instance, control rod and structural materials. Release and transport experiments have been reviewed along with the models implemented in the codes which are used in the international community: TRAPMELT, RAFT, VICTORIA and SOPHIE. From the experiments, it can be concluded that other species different to Te 2 , such as tin telluride and cesium telluride, may be released from the fuel. That is why they must be considered in the transport phenomena. There is also experimental evidence of the strong interaction of Te 2 with Inconel 600 and stainless steel of the pipe walls and structures, however this strong interaction is in competition with the interaction of tellurium with aerosols, which under severe accident conditions may represent an area greater than that of the primary system. It is for the absence of significant tellurium species in the transport models, and also for the interaction of tellurium with aerosols, for which some codes show the greatest deficiencies

  5. Species specificity in major urinary proteins by parallel evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darren W Logan

    Full Text Available Species-specific chemosignals, pheromones, regulate social behaviors such as aggression, mating, pup-suckling, territory establishment, and dominance. The identity of these cues remains mostly undetermined and few mammalian pheromones have been identified. Genetically-encoded pheromones are expected to exhibit several different mechanisms for coding 1 diversity, to enable the signaling of multiple behaviors, 2 dynamic regulation, to indicate age and dominance, and 3 species-specificity. Recently, the major urinary proteins (Mups have been shown to function themselves as genetically-encoded pheromones to regulate species-specific behavior. Mups are multiple highly related proteins expressed in combinatorial patterns that differ between individuals, gender, and age; which are sufficient to fulfill the first two criteria. We have now characterized and fully annotated the mouse Mup gene content in detail. This has enabled us to further analyze the extent of Mup coding diversity and determine their potential to encode species-specific cues.Our results show that the mouse Mup gene cluster is composed of two subgroups: an older, more divergent class of genes and pseudogenes, and a second class with high sequence identity formed by recent sequential duplications of a single gene/pseudogene pair. Previous work suggests that truncated Mup pseudogenes may encode a family of functional hexapeptides with the potential for pheromone activity. Sequence comparison, however, reveals that they have limited coding potential. Similar analyses of nine other completed genomes find Mup gene expansions in divergent lineages, including those of rat, horse and grey mouse lemur, occurring independently from a single ancestral Mup present in other placental mammals. Our findings illustrate that increasing genomic complexity of the Mup gene family is not evolutionarily isolated, but is instead a recurring mechanism of generating coding diversity consistent with a species-specific

  6. SAMEX: A severe accident management support expert

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soo-Yong; Ahn, Kwang-Il

    2010-01-01

    A decision support system for use in a severe accident management following an incident at a nuclear power plant is being developed which is aided by a severe accident risk database module and a severe accident management simulation module. The severe accident management support expert (SAMEX) system can provide the various types of diagnostic and predictive assistance based on the real-time plant specific safety parameters. It consists of four major modules as sub-systems: (a) severe accident risk data base module (SARDB), (b) risk-informed severe accident risk data base management module (RI-SARD), (c) severe accident management simulation module (SAMS), and (d) on-line severe accident management guidance module (on-line SAMG). The modules are integrated into a code package that executes within a WINDOWS XP operating environment, using extensive user friendly graphics control. In Korea, the integrated approach of the decision support system is being carried out under the nuclear R and D program planned by the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST). An objective of the project is to develop the support system which can show a theoretical possibility. If the system is feasible, the project team will recommend the radiation protection technical support center of a national regulatory body to implement a plant specific system, which is applicable to a real accident, for the purpose of immediate and various diagnosis based on the given plant status information and of prediction of an expected accident progression under a severe accident situation.

  7. MDEP Design-Specific Common Position CP-APR1400WG-01. Common position addressing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-05-01

    The MDEP APR1400 Working Group (APR1400WG) members consist of members from Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. A main objectives of MDEP is to encourage convergence of code, standard and safety goals with exploring the opportunities for harmonization of regulatory practice and cooperation on safety review of APR-1400 specific designs. This common position addressing is aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experience on safety improvement related to lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident or Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues amongst APR-1400 WG member states to achieve the MEDP goal. Because not all of these Regulators have completed the regulatory review of their APR1400 applications yet, this paper identifies common preliminary approaches to address potential safety improvements for APR1400 plants, as well as common general expectations for new nuclear power plants, as related to lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident or Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues. While some asymmetry exists among those of three Regulators in terms of design, regulatory practice and licensing milestone sharing information and common understanding on post-Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident enhancement would be promote resilient design for countering beyond design extreme external event like Fukushima Daiichi NPP nuclear disaster. This common position paper aims at identifying characteristics of post-Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident enhancements putting in place by each country and setting common position to achieve balanced and harmonized APR-1400 design. After the safety reviews of the APR1400 design applications that are currently in review are completed, the regulators will update this paper to reflect their safety conclusions regarding the APR1400 design and how the design could be enhanced to address Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues. The common preliminary approaches are organised into

  8. Accident management information needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, D.J.; Ward, L.W.; Nelson, W.R.; Meyer, O.R.

    1990-04-01

    In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Accident Management Research Program, a methodology has been developed for identifying the plant information needs necessary for personnel involved in the management of an accident to diagnose that an accident is in progress, select and implement strategies to prevent or mitigate the accident, and monitor the effectiveness of these strategies. This report describes the methodology and presents an application of this methodology to a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) with a large dry containment. A risk-important severe accident sequence for a PWR is used to examine the capability of the existing measurements to supply the necessary information. The method includes an assessment of the effects of the sequence on the measurement availability including the effects of environmental conditions. The information needs and capabilities identified using this approach are also intended to form the basis for more comprehensive information needs assessment performed during the analyses and development of specific strategies for use in accident management prevention and mitigation. 3 refs., 16 figs., 7 tabs

  9. Accident management information needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanson, D.J.; Ward, L.W.; Nelson, W.R.; Meyer, O.R. (EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (USA))

    1990-04-01

    In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Accident Management Research Program, a methodology has been developed for identifying the plant information needs necessary for personnel involved in the management of an accident to diagnose that an accident is in progress, select and implement strategies to prevent or mitigate the accident, and monitor the effectiveness of these strategies. This report describes the methodology and presents an application of this methodology to a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) with a large dry containment. A risk-important severe accident sequence for a PWR is used to examine the capability of the existing measurements to supply the necessary information. The method includes an assessment of the effects of the sequence on the measurement availability including the effects of environmental conditions. The information needs and capabilities identified using this approach are also intended to form the basis for more comprehensive information needs assessment performed during the analyses and development of specific strategies for use in accident management prevention and mitigation. 3 refs., 16 figs., 7 tabs.

  10. Simultaneous discrimination of species and strains in Lactobacillus rhamnosus using species-specific PCR combined with multiplex mini-sequencing technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chien-Hsun; Chang, Mu-Tzu; Huang, Lina; Chu, Wen-Shen

    2015-12-01

    This study described the use of species-specific PCR in combination with SNaPshot mini-sequencing to achieve species identification and strain differentiation in Lactobacillus rhamnosus. To develop species-specific PCR and strain subtyping primers, the dnaJ gene was used as a target, and its corresponding sequences were analyzed both in Lb. rhamnosus and in a subset of its phylogenetically closest species. The results indicated that the species-specific primer pair was indeed specific for Lb. rhamnosus, and the mini-sequencing assay was able to unambiguously distinguish Lb. rhamnosus strains into different haplotypes. In conclusion, we have successfully developed a rapid, accurate and cost-effective assay for inter- and intraspecies discrimination of Lb. rhamnosus, which can be applied to achieve efficient quality control of probiotic products. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Development of the severe accident risk information database management system SARD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Kwang Il; Kim, Dong Ha

    2003-01-01

    The main purpose of this report is to introduce essential features and functions of a severe accident risk information management system, SARD (Severe Accident Risk Database Management System) version 1.0, which has been developed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and database management and data retrieval procedures through the system. The present database management system has powerful capabilities that can store automatically and manage systematically the plant-specific severe accident analysis results for core damage sequences leading to severe accidents, and search intelligently the related severe accident risk information. For that purpose, the present database system mainly takes into account the plant-specific severe accident sequences obtained from the Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessments (PSAs), base case analysis results for various severe accident sequences (such as code responses and summary for key-event timings), and related sensitivity analysis results for key input parameters/models employed in the severe accident codes. Accordingly, the present database system can be effectively applied in supporting the Level 2 PSA of similar plants, for fast prediction and intelligent retrieval of the required severe accident risk information for the specific plant whose information was previously stored in the database system, and development of plant-specific severe accident management strategies

  12. Development of the severe accident risk information database management system SARD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Kwang Il; Kim, Dong Ha

    2003-01-01

    The main purpose of this report is to introduce essential features and functions of a severe accident risk information management system, SARD (Severe Accident Risk Database Management System) version 1.0, which has been developed in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and database management and data retrieval procedures through the system. The present database management system has powerful capabilities that can store automatically and manage systematically the plant-specific severe accident analysis results for core damage sequences leading to severe accidents, and search intelligently the related severe accident risk information. For that purpose, the present database system mainly takes into account the plant-specific severe accident sequences obtained from the Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessments (PSAs), base case analysis results for various severe accident sequences (such as code responses and summary for key-event timings), and related sensitivity analysis results for key input parameters/models employed in the severe accident codes. Accordingly, the present database system can be effectively applied in supporting the Level 2 PSA of similar plants, for fast prediction and intelligent retrieval of the required severe accident risk information for the specific plant whose information was previously stored in the database system, and development of plant-specific severe accident management strategies.

  13. Accident management: What is it and how do you do it?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, Robert E.; Hammersley, Robert J.

    2004-01-01

    Accident management is the composite of those actions that would prevent, stop and/or mitigate a severe accident in a nuclear power plant. Since they act to prevent core damage, the Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) are an integral part of accident management. Each of the Owners Groups have developed EOPs that are well thought out for instructing the operator to respond to accident conditions which could threaten the core. However, for those very low probability events in which the core could be uncovered and damaged, accident management actions arise from a logical evaluation of possible actions (strategies) for recovering from the accident state and protecting the public health and safety. To understand the character of accident management it is first necessary to define: 1. What is threatened as a result of the accident? 2. Fundamentally, what needs to be protected? 3. What is known during an accident? 4. What have we learned from the TMI-2 accident? 5. What have we learned from the plant specific IPEs? Once these subjects are reviewed on a utility specific and plant specific basis, accident management actions become relatively straightforward and likely can be effectively addressed using the total capability available in a given design. This paper discusses these five questions in a global manner with the aim being to aid plant specific implementation. (author)

  14. The main regularities of 137Cs accumulation by medicinal plants after nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orlov, A.A.; Krasnov, V.P.; Get'manchuk, A.I.

    2004-01-01

    The main regularities of 137 Cs accumulation by medicinal plants after nuclear accidents have been analyzed. Tendencies in study of this problem have been underlined on literary data. The mean values of transfer factor of 137 Cs from soil to medicinal row in different habitat types have been elucidated for Ukrainian Polessye. It was found that species with the wide ecological amplitude were characterized by the highest intensity of 137 Cs accumulation in forest habitats in comparison with non-forest ones. For some species of medicinal plants multiyear dynamics of 137 Cs specific activity has been shown on stationary experimental plots. (author)

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albrecht, H.; Malinauskas, A.P.

    1978-01-01

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

  16. Accidents - Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

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

  17. Species-specific nested PCR as a diagnostic tool for Brucella ovis infection in rams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.F. Costa

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate a species-specific nested PCR based on a previously described species-specific PCR for detection of B. ovis in semen and urine samples of experimentally infected rams. The performance of the species-specific nested PCR was compared with the results of a genus-specific PCR. Fourteen rams were experimentally infected with the Brucella ovis REO 198 strain and samples of semen and urine were collected every week up to 180 days post infection. Out of 83 semen samples collected, 42 (50.6% were positive for the species-specific nested PCR, and 23 (27.7% were positive for the genus-specific PCR. Out of 75 urine samples, 49 (65.3% were positive for the species-specific nested PCR, whereas 11 (14.6% were genus-specific PCR positive. Species-specific nested PCR was significantly more sensitive (P<0.001 than the genus-specific PCR in semen and urine from experimentally infected rams. In conclusion, the species-specific nested PCR developed in this study may be used as a diagnostic tool for the detection of B. ovis in semen and urine samples from suspected rams.

  18. A modular structure to accident identification using neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duque Estrada, Cassius Rodrigo

    2005-01-01

    This work uses the accident identification method based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) as basic blocks of a modular structure, allowing the inclusion of new accidents to be identified without modifying the ANN already trained. This structure comprises several modules for accident identification and one module for analysis. Each identification module follows the structure of the basic block. The identification modules are responsible for the recognition of an accident belonging to the specific set of events for which it were trained. The analysis module processes the output from the identification module to determine the system response. In order to test this structure it was proposed a transient identification problem comprising fifty accidents distributed in five identification modules. The results have demonstrated that the accident identification method used as basic block of a modular structure allows the inclusion of new sets of accidents, or variations of a same accident, without modifying the ANN already trained. For this, it is enough to include into the system an specific module for this new set of accidents. (author)

  19. Radionuclides contamination of fungi after accident on the Chernobyl NPP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zarubina, Nataliia E.; Zarubin, Oleg L. [Institute for Nuclear Research of National Academy of Sciense, 03680, pr-t Nauki, 47, Kiev (Ukraine)

    2014-07-01

    Accumulation of radionuclides by the higher fungi (macromycetes) after the accident on the Chernobyl atomic power plant in 1986 has been studied. Researches were spent in territory of the Chernobyl alienation zone and the Kiev region. Our research has shown that macromycetes accumulate almost all types of radionuclides originating from the accident ({sup 131}I, {sup 140}Ba /{sup 140}La, {sup 103}Ru, {sup 106}Ru, {sup 141}Ce, {sup 144}Ce, {sup 95}Nb, {sup 95}Zr, {sup 137}Cs and {sup 134}Cs). They accumulate the long-living {sup 90}Sr in much smaller (to 3 - 4 orders) quantities than {sup 137}Cs. We have established existence of two stages in accumulation of {sup 137}Cs by higher fungi after the accident on the Chernobyl NPP: the first stage resides in the growth of the concentration, the second - in gradual decrease of levels of specific activity of this radionuclide. Despite reduction of {sup 137}Cs specific activity level, the content of this radionuclide at testing areas of the 5-km zone around the Chernobyl NPP reaches 1,100,000 Bq/kg of fresh weight in 2013. We investigated dynamics of accumulation of Cs-137 in higher fungi of different ecological groups. One of the major factors that influence levels of accumulation of {sup 137}Cs by fungi is their nutritional type (ecological group). Fungi that belong to ecological groups of saprotrophes and xylotrophes accumulate this radionuclide in much smaller quantities than symbio-trophic fungi. As a result of the conducted research it has been established that symbio-trophic fungi store more {sup 137}Cs than any other biological objects in forest ecosystems. Among the symbio-trophic fungi species, species showing the highest level of {sup 137}Cs contamination vary in different periods of time after the deposition. It is connected with variability of quantities of these radio nuclides accessible for absorption at the depth of localization of the main part of mycelium of each species in a soil profile. Soil contamination

  20. Species-specific associations between overstory and understory tree species in a semideciduous tropical forest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flaviana Maluf Souza

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the occurrence of associations between overstory and understory tree species in a semideciduous tropical forest. We identified and measured all trees of nine canopy species with diameter at breast height ≥4.8 cm in a 10.24 ha plot and recorded all individuals beneath their canopies ("understory individuals" within the same diameter class. The total density of understory individuals did not significantly differ under different overstory species. One overstory species (Ceiba speciosa showed higher understory species richness compared with five other species. There was a strong positive association between three overstory species (Esenbeckia leiocarpa, Savia dictyocarpa, and C. speciosa and the density of seven understory species (Balfourodendron riedelianum, Chrysophyllum gonocarpum, E. leiocarpa, Holocalyx balansae, Machaerium stipitatum, Rhaminidium elaeocarpum, and S. dictyocarpa. These results probably reflect the outcome of a complex set of interactions including facilitation and competition, and further studies are necessary to better understand the magnitude and type of the effects of individual overstory species on understory species. The occurrence of species-specific associations shown here reinforces the importance of non-random processes in structuring plant communities and suggest that the influence of overstory species on understory species in high-diversity forests may be more significant than previously thought.

  1. Report on the radiological accident in Goiania, Goias, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alves, R.N.

    1988-01-01

    The report describes the radiological accident occured in Goiania, Brazil, in september 1987. The following aspects concerning the accident are presented in specific chapters: 1- evaluation of the accident and the first aids, 2- attendance to the victims of Goiania radiological accident, 3- decontamination, 4- radioactive wastes arising from the accident, 5- working personnel and technical cooperation, 6- equipments and 7- radiation protection: limits and recommendations [pt

  2. Regulatory approach to accident management in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoegberg, L.

    1989-01-01

    The Swedish accident management program includes the following components: definition of overall safety and radiation protection objectives for the program; definition of appropriate accident management strategies to reach these objectives, based on plant-specific severe accident analysis; development and installation of appropriate accident management systems and associated management procedure; definition of roles and resposibilities for plant staff involved in accident management and implementation of appropriate training programs. The discussion of these components tries to highlight the basic technical concepts and approaches and the underlying safety philosophy rather than going into design details. 5 figs., 7 refs

  3. A database system for the management of severe accident risk information, SARD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, K. I.; Kim, D. H.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to introduce main features and functions of a PC Windows-based database management system, SARD, which has been developed at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for automatic management and search of the severe accident risk information. Main functions of the present database system are implemented by three closely related, but distinctive modules: (1) fixing of an initial environment for data storage and retrieval, (2) automatic loading and management of accident information, and (3) automatic search and retrieval of accident information. For this, the present database system manipulates various form of the plant-specific severe accident risk information, such as dominant severe accident sequences identified from the plant-specific Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and accident sequence-specific information obtained from the representative severe accident codes (e.g., base case and sensitivity analysis results, and summary for key plant responses). The present database system makes it possible to implement fast prediction and intelligent retrieval of the required severe accident risk information for various accident sequences, and in turn it can be used for the support of the Level 2 PSA of similar plants and for the development of plant-specific severe accident management strategies

  4. A database system for the management of severe accident risk information, SARD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, K. I.; Kim, D. H. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2003-10-01

    The purpose of this paper is to introduce main features and functions of a PC Windows-based database management system, SARD, which has been developed at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute for automatic management and search of the severe accident risk information. Main functions of the present database system are implemented by three closely related, but distinctive modules: (1) fixing of an initial environment for data storage and retrieval, (2) automatic loading and management of accident information, and (3) automatic search and retrieval of accident information. For this, the present database system manipulates various form of the plant-specific severe accident risk information, such as dominant severe accident sequences identified from the plant-specific Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and accident sequence-specific information obtained from the representative severe accident codes (e.g., base case and sensitivity analysis results, and summary for key plant responses). The present database system makes it possible to implement fast prediction and intelligent retrieval of the required severe accident risk information for various accident sequences, and in turn it can be used for the support of the Level 2 PSA of similar plants and for the development of plant-specific severe accident management strategies.

  5. Light water reactor severe accident seminar. Seminar presentation manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The topics covered in this manual on LWR severe accidents were: Evolution of Source Term Definition and Analysis, Current Position on Severe Accident Phenomena, Current Position on Fission Product Behavior, Overview of Software Models Used in Severe Accident Analysis, Overview of Plant Specific Source Terms and Their Impact on Risk, Current Applications of Severe Accident Analysis, and Future plans

  6. Light water reactor severe accident seminar. Seminar presentation manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    The topics covered in this manual on LWR severe accidents were: Evolution of Source Term Definition and Analysis, Current Position on Severe Accident Phenomena, Current Position on Fission Product Behavior, Overview of Software Models Used in Severe Accident Analysis, Overview of Plant Specific Source Terms and Their Impact on Risk, Current Applications of Severe Accident Analysis, and Future plans.

  7. Detection and Characterization of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species in Biological Systems by Monitoring Species-Specific Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Micael; Zielonka, Jacek; Karoui, Hakim; Sikora, Adam; Michalski, Radosław; Podsiadły, Radosław; Lopez, Marcos; Vasquez-Vivar, Jeannette; Kalyanaraman, Balaraman; Ouari, Olivier

    2018-05-20

    Since the discovery of the superoxide dismutase enzyme, the generation and fate of short-lived oxidizing, nitrosating, nitrating, and halogenating species in biological systems has been of great interest. Despite the significance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in numerous diseases and intracellular signaling, the rigorous detection of ROS and RNS has remained a challenge. Recent Advances: Chemical characterization of the reactions of selected ROS and RNS with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin traps and fluorescent probes led to the establishment of species-specific products, which can be used for specific detection of several forms of ROS and RNS in cell-free systems and in cultured cells in vitro and in animals in vivo. Profiling oxidation products from the ROS and RNS probes provides a rigorous method for detection of those species in biological systems. Formation and detection of species-specific products from the probes enables accurate characterization of the oxidative environment in cells. Measurement of the total signal (fluorescence, chemiluminescence, etc.) intensity does not allow for identification of the ROS/RNS formed. It is critical to identify the products formed by using chromatographic or other rigorous techniques. Product analyses should be accompanied by monitoring of the intracellular probe level, another factor controlling the yield of the product(s) formed. More work is required to characterize the chemical reactivity of the ROS/RNS probes, and to develop new probes/detection approaches enabling real-time, selective monitoring of the specific products formed from the probes. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 1416-1432.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2015-01-01

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

  9. Species-specific ant brain manipulation by a specialized fungal parasite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bekker, Charissa; Quevillon, Lauren E; Smith, Philip B; Fleming, Kimberly R; Ghosh, Debashis; Patterson, Andrew D; Hughes, David P

    2014-08-29

    A compelling demonstration of adaptation by natural selection is the ability of parasites to manipulate host behavior. One dramatic example involves fungal species from the genus Ophiocordyceps that control their ant hosts by inducing a biting behavior. Intensive sampling across the globe of ants that died after being manipulated by Ophiocordyceps suggests that this phenomenon is highly species-specific. We advance our understanding of this system by reconstructing host manipulation by Ophiocordyceps parasites under controlled laboratory conditions and combining this with field observations of infection rates and a metabolomics survey. We report on a newly discovered species of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato from North America that we use to address the species-specificity of Ophiocordyceps-induced manipulation of ant behavior. We show that the fungus can kill all ant species tested, but only manipulates the behavior of those it infects in nature. To investigate if this could be explained at the molecular level, we used ex vivo culturing assays to measure the metabolites that are secreted by the fungus to mediate fungus-ant tissue interactions. We show the fungus reacts heterogeneously to brains of different ant species by secreting a different array of metabolites. By determining which ion peaks are significantly enriched when the fungus is grown alongside brains of its naturally occurring host, we discovered candidate compounds that could be involved in behavioral manipulation by O. unilateralis s.l.. Two of these candidates are known to be involved in neurological diseases and cancer. The integrative work presented here shows that ant brain manipulation by O. unilateralis s.l. is species-specific seemingly because the fungus produces a specific array of compounds as a reaction to the presence of the host brain it has evolved to manipulate. These studies have resulted in the discovery of candidate compounds involved in establishing behavioral manipulation

  10. Accident knowledge and emergency management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rasmussen, B; Groenberg, C D

    1997-03-01

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

  11. Accident knowledge and emergency management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasmussen, B.; Groenberg, C.D.

    1997-03-01

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

  12. Computer Based Road Accident Reconstruction Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milan Batista

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Since road accident analyses and reconstructions are increasinglybased on specific computer software for simulationof vehicle d1iving dynamics and collision dynamics, and forsimulation of a set of trial runs from which the model that bestdescribes a real event can be selected, the paper presents anoverview of some computer software and methods available toaccident reconstruction experts. Besides being time-saving,when properly used such computer software can provide moreauthentic and more trustworthy accident reconstruction, thereforepractical experiences while using computer software toolsfor road accident reconstruction obtained in the TransportSafety Laboratory at the Faculty for Maritime Studies andTransport of the University of Ljubljana are presented and discussed.This paper addresses also software technology for extractingmaximum information from the accident photo-documentationto support accident reconstruction based on the simulationsoftware, as well as the field work of reconstruction expertsor police on the road accident scene defined by this technology.

  13. Modelling of melting and solidification transport phenomena during hypothetical NPP severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarler, B.

    1992-01-01

    A physical and mathematical framework to deal with the transport phenomena occuring during melting and solidification of the hypothetical NPP severe accidents is presented. It concentrates on the transient temperature, velocity, and species concentration distributions during such events. The framework is based on the Mixture Continuum Formulation of the components and phases, cast in the boundary-domain integral shape structured by the fundamental solution of the Laplace equation. The formulation could cope with various solid-liquid sub-systems through the inclusion of the specific closure relations. The deduced system of boundary-domain integral equations for conservation of mass, energy, momentum, and species could be solved by the boundary element discrete approximative method. (author) [sl

  14. Evaluation of severe accident risks: Quantification of major input parameters: MAACS [MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System] input

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprung, J.L.; Jow, H-N; Rollstin, J.A.; Helton, J.C.

    1990-12-01

    Estimation of offsite accident consequences is the customary final step in a probabilistic assessment of the risks of severe nuclear reactor accidents. Recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reassessed the risks of severe accidents at five US power reactors (NUREG-1150). Offsite accident consequences for NUREG-1150 source terms were estimated using the MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System (MACCS). Before these calculations were performed, most MACCS input parameters were reviewed, and for each parameter reviewed, a best-estimate value was recommended. This report presents the results of these reviews. Specifically, recommended values and the basis for their selection are presented for MACCS atmospheric and biospheric transport, emergency response, food pathway, and economic input parameters. Dose conversion factors and health effect parameters are not reviewed in this report. 134 refs., 15 figs., 110 tabs

  15. Accident management for severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1988-01-01

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

  16. Identification of hare meat by a species-specific marker of mitochondrial origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Cristina G; Melo, Vitor S; Amaral, Joana S; Estevinho, Letícia; Oliveira, M Beatriz P P; Mafra, Isabel

    2012-03-01

    Meat species identification in food has gained increasing interest in recent years due to public health, economic and legal concerns. Following the consumer trend towards high quality products, game meat has earned much attention. The aim of the present work was to develop a DNA-based technique able to identify hare meat. Mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was used to design species-specific primers for hare detection. The new primers proved to be highly specific to Lepus species, allowing the detection of 0.01% of hare meat in pork meat by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A real-time PCR assay with the new intercalating EvaGreen dye was further proposed as a specific and fast tool for hare identification with increased sensitivity (1pg) compared to end-point PCR (10pg). It can be concluded that the proposed new primers can be used by both species-specific end-point PCR or real-time PCR to accurately authenticate hare meat. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. SEVERE ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT STATUS AT Loviisa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kymalainen, O.; Tuomisto, H.

    1997-01-01

    Some of the specific design features of IVO's Loviisa Plant, most notably the ice-condenser containment, strongly affect the plant response in a hypothetical core melt accident. They have together with the relatively stringent Finnish regulatory requirements forced IVO to develop a tailor made severe accident management strategy for Loviisa. The low design pressure of the ice-condenser containment complicates the design of the hydrogen management system. On the other hand, the ice-condensers and the water available from them are facilitating factors regarding in-vessel retention of corium by external cooling of reactor pressure vessel. This paper summarizes the Finnish severe accident requirements, IVO's approach to severe accidents, and its application to the Loviisa Plant

  18. Chernobylsk NPP accident and its medical effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gus'kova, A.K.

    2000-01-01

    Medical effects of the Chernobyl accident for various groups of people engaged in liquidation of the accident aftereffects and residents of the regions affected are assessed. Specific medical and social recommendations for each of the five groups of patients are made. Special attention is paid to the health of children who were exposed to external radiation in combination with intake of iodine isotopes. Extremely unfavourable influence of the mass media on the health of people involved in the Chernobyl accident is painted out. The necessity of adequate rehabilitation measures for various categories of patients involved in a large-scale accident is emphasized [ru

  19. Chapter 6: Accidents; Capitulo 6: Acidentes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2014-06-01

    The chapter 6 talks about the accidents with radiators all over the world, specifically, the Stimos, in Italy, 1975, San Salvador, in El Salvador, 1989, Soreq, in Israel, 1990, Nesvizh, in Byelorussian, 1991, in Illinois, US, 1965, in Maryland, US, 1991, Hanoi, Vietnam, 1992, Fleurus, in Belgium, 2006. Comments on the accidents and mainly the learned lessons.

  20. The implementation of the IAEA accident response plan in Yugoslav practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orlic, M.; Pavlovic, R.; Markovic, S.; Pavlovic, S.

    1996-01-01

    One of the important lessons from the Chernobyl accident is the necessity of existence of operational national emergency response plan. Summarizing consequences and experiences after Chernobyl accident, expert groups from IAEA, ICRP and other international scientific organizations, have been extensively worked on reviewing old ones, and preparing new radiation protection and nuclear safety principals and codes. One of the important issue is national emergency response plan for radiological accident. The nuclear accident response plan in Yugoslavia is presented in this paper. It is essentially based on IAEA model national response plan for radiological accident. This model has to be adjusted to the specificity of member states. The optimum society organization for emergency management in the case of accidents in ionizing radiation sources practices is suggested in this paper. Specific characteriztics of Yugoslav state organization relating to accident response are emphasised. (author)

  1. 32 CFR 636.12 - Traffic accident investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

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

  2. Psychological aspects of accident prevention in mines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lukestikova, M

    1981-04-01

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

  3. Molten Corium-Concrete Interaction Behavior Analyses for Severe Accident Management in CANDU Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Y.; Kim, D. H.; Song, Y. M.

    2014-01-01

    After the last few severe accidents, the importance of accident management in nuclear power plants has increased. Many countries, including the United States (US) and Canada, have focused on understanding severe accidents in order to identify ways to further improve the safety of nuclear plants. It has been recognized that severe accident analyses of nuclear power plants will be beneficial in understanding plant-specific vulnerabilities during severe accidents. The objectives of this paper are to describe the molten corium behavior to identify a plant response with various concrete specific components. Accident analyses techniques using ISSAC can be useful tools for MCCI behavior in severe accident mitigation

  4. Severe accident management at South Africa's Koeberg plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prior, R.P.; Wolvaardt, F.P.; Holderbaum, D.F.; Lutz, R.J.; Taylor, J.J.; Hodgson, C.D.

    1997-01-01

    Between the middle of 1993 and the end of 1995, Westinghouse and Eskom implemented plant specific Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs) at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant in South Africa. Prior to this project, Koeberg, like many plants, had emergency operating procedures which contain guidance for plant personnel to perform preventive accident management measures in event of an accident. There was, however, no structured guidance on recovery from an event which progresses past core damage -mitigative accident management. The SAMGs meet this need. In this paper, the Westinghouse approach to severe accident management is outlined, and the Koeberg implementation project described. A few key issues which arose during implementation are discussed, including plant instrumentation, flooding of the reactor pit, organisation and training of the Technical Support Centre staff, and impact of SAMG on risk. The means by which both generic and plant-specific SAMG have been validated is also summarised. In the next few years, many LWR owners will be implementing SAMG. In the U.S. all plants are in the process of developing SAMG. The Koeberg project is believed to be the first plant specific implementation of the WOG SAMG worldwide, and this paper has hopefully provided insights into some of the implementation issues for those about to undertake similar projects. (author)

  5. Molecular detection and species-specific identification of medically important Aspergillus species by real-time PCR in experimental invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Thomas J; Wissel, Mark C; Grantham, Kevin J; Petraitiene, Ruta; Petraitis, Vidmantas; Kasai, Miki; Francesconi, Andrea; Cotton, Margaret P; Hughes, Johanna E; Greene, Lora; Bacher, John D; Manna, Pradip; Salomoni, Martin; Kleiboeker, Steven B; Reddy, Sushruth K

    2011-12-01

    Diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) remains a major challenge to clinical microbiology laboratories. We developed rapid and sensitive quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays for genus- and species-specific identification of Aspergillus infections by use of TaqMan technology. In order to validate these assays and understand their potential diagnostic utility, we then performed a blinded study of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid specimens from well-characterized models of IPA with the four medically important species. A set of real-time qPCR primers and probes was developed by utilizing unique ITS1 regions for genus- and species-specific detection of the four most common medically important Aspergillus species (Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, and A. terreus). Pan-Aspergillus and species-specific qPCRs with BAL fluid were more sensitive than culture for detection of IPA caused by A. fumigatus in untreated (P < 0.0007) and treated (P ≤ 0.008) animals, respectively. For infections caused by A. terreus and A. niger, culture and PCR amplification from BAL fluid yielded similar sensitivities for untreated and treated animals. Pan-Aspergillus PCR was more sensitive than culture for detection of A. flavus in treated animals (P = 0.002). BAL fluid pan-Aspergillus and species-specific PCRs were comparable in sensitivity to BAL fluid galactomannan (GM) assay. The copy numbers from the qPCR assays correlated with quantitative cultures to determine the pulmonary residual fungal burdens in lung tissue. Pan-Aspergillus and species-specific qPCR assays may improve the rapid and accurate identification of IPA in immunocompromised patients.

  6. Jerky driving--An indicator of accident proneness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagdadi, Omar; Várhelyi, András

    2011-07-01

    This study uses continuously logged driving data from 166 private cars to derive the level of jerks caused by the drivers during everyday driving. The number of critical jerks found in the data is analysed and compared with the self-reported accident involvement of the drivers. The results show that the expected number of accidents for a driver increases with the number of critical jerks caused by the driver. Jerk analyses make it possible to identify safety critical driving behaviour or "accident prone" drivers. They also facilitate the development of safety measures such as active safety systems or advanced driver assistance systems, ADAS, which could be adapted for specific groups of drivers or specific risky driving behaviour. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Species-specific challenges in dog cloning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, G A; Oh, H J; Park, J E; Kim, M J; Park, E J; Jo, Y K; Jang, G; Kim, M K; Kim, H J; Lee, B C

    2012-12-01

    Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is now an established procedure used in cloning of several species. SCNT in dogs involves multiple steps including the removal of the nuclear material, injection of a donor cell, fusion, activation of the reconstructed oocytes and finally transfer to a synchronized female recipient. There are therefore many factors that contribute to cloning efficiency. By performing a retrospective analysis of 2005-2012 published papers regarding dog cloning, we define the optimum procedure and summarize the specific feature for dog cloning. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  8. The handling of radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-01-01

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

  9. Secondary school accident reporting in one education authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2002-01-01

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

  10. Standardization of a two-step real-time polymerase chain reaction based method for species-specific detection of medically important Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, P; Pandey, P; Harishankar, A; Chandy, M; Bhattacharya, S; Chakrabarti, A

    2017-01-01

    Standardization of Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) poses two technical challenges (a) standardization of DNA extraction, (b) optimization of PCR against various medically important Aspergillus species. Many cases of aspergillosis go undiagnosed because of relative insensitivity of conventional diagnostic methods such as microscopy, culture or antigen detection. The present study is an attempt to standardize real-time PCR assay for rapid sensitive and specific detection of Aspergillus DNA in EDTA whole blood. Three nucleic acid extraction protocols were compared and a two-step real-time PCR assay was developed and validated following the recommendations of the European Aspergillus PCR Initiative in our setup. In the first PCR step (pan-Aspergillus PCR), the target was 28S rDNA gene, whereas in the second step, species specific PCR the targets were beta-tubulin (for Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus), gene and calmodulin gene (for Aspergillus niger). Species specific identification of four medically important Aspergillus species, namely, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger and A. terreus were achieved by this PCR. Specificity of the PCR was tested against 34 different DNA source including bacteria, virus, yeast, other Aspergillus sp., other fungal species and for human DNA and had no false-positive reactions. The analytical sensitivity of the PCR was found to be 102 CFU/ml. The present protocol of two-step real-time PCR assays for genus- and species-specific identification for commonly isolated species in whole blood for diagnosis of invasive Aspergillus infections offers a rapid, sensitive and specific assay option and requires clinical validation at multiple centers.

  11. IRSN-Ancli seminar on the post-accident context

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Didier, Damien; Leroyer, Veronique; Gariel, Jean-Christophe; Meier, Christine; Petitfrere, Michael; Meraux-Netillard, Isabelle; Lerouxel, Roland; Gandouen, Gael; Boutin, Dominique; Charre, Jean-Pierre; Noe, Maite; Quenneville, Celine; Farandeau, Sebastien; Mouchet, Chantal; Pineau, Coralie; Rollinger, Francois; GARIEL, Jean-Christophe; Ando, Ryoko; Nishida, Shoshi; Miazaki, Makoto; Hayano, Ryugo; Lheureux, Yves; Lochard, Jacques; Boilley, David; Godet, Jean-Luc

    2014-10-01

    The first session addressed the context of post-accident management: main challenges of radiation protection in case of nuclear accident, management of energy situations (specific intervention plans of nuclear plants), elements of doctrine for the post-accident management of an accident. The second session addressed the preparedness of territories to post-accident management: preparation to post-accident management in the Montbeliard district, emergency and post-accidental situation (preparedness at the district scale, example of Loiret), and return on experience from the post-accident exercise in Cattenom. The third session addressed the action undertaken by the ANCCLI and IRSN for the awareness of post-accidental problematic (experiments in Saclay, Marcoule, Gravelines and Golfech, lessons learned from the pilot phase and perspectives). The last session addressed the post-accidental management of the Fukushima accident: approach of the IRSN to learn lessons from the dialogue initiative in Fukushima, round table on challenges on the long term of post-accidental management, Japanese witnesses

  12. Genus and species-specific IgG and IgM antibodies pulmonary tuberculosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butt, T.; Abbassi, S.A.; Ahmad, R.N.; Mahmood, A.; Karamat, K.A; Malik, H.S.; Anwar, M.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate three different enzyme immunoassays for serological diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and to compare their diagnostic accuracy in different combinations. Subjects and Methods: Sera from patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis (n=94) with sputum positive for acid fast bacilli (AFB) and sera from control group of healthy individuals (n=90) with sputum negative for AFB were tested by Pathozyme-Myco G EIA, Pathozyme-TB Complex Plus EIA and Pathozyme Myco M EIA kits for the genus-specific IgG and IgM, and the species-specific IgG antibodies against antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Results: The detection of IgG against genus-specific antigens by Pathozyme-Myco G had a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 93%, of IgG against species-specific antigens by Pathozyme- TB Complex Plus had a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 97% and of IgM against genus-specific antigens by Pathozyme Myco M had a sensitivity of 67% and specificity of 98%. When the results of these immunoassays were evaluated in combination, their sensitivity improved. Combination of genus-specific IgM and species-specific IgG yielded best results with a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 93%. Conclusion: The sensitivity of serological diagnosis of tuberculosis is low, but it can be increased by utilizing a combination of several antigens. (author)

  13. Review of severe accidents and the results of accident consequence assessment in different energy systems (Contract research)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuki, Yoshio; Muramatsu, Ken

    2008-05-01

    The cases of severe accidents and the consequence assessments in different energy systems, Coal, Oil, Gas, Hydro and Nuclear, were collected, and then they were further analyzed. In this report, the information on the accidents in various energy systems were collected from the sources of the Paul Scherrer Institute (hereinafter, 'PSI') and the International Atomic Energy Agency (hereinafter, 'IAEA'). The information on the severe accidents of nuclear power plants were collected from the report of the US Presidential Commission on Catastrophic Nuclear Accidents and several relevant reports issued in the countries of the European Union, together with the reports of the PSI and the IAEA. To analyze the collected information, several parameters, which are numbers of fatalities, injuries, evacuees and the costs of the damages, were chosen to characterize those accidents in different energy systems. And then, upon the comparison of these characteristics of different accidents, the impacts of the accidents in nuclear and other energy systems were compared. Upon the results of the analysis, it is pointed out that the cost caused by the Chernobyl Accident, the severe accident in nuclear energy, tends to be higher than in the other energy systems. On the other hand, from the aspects of fatalities and injuries, it is not confirmed that the damages of the Chernobyl Accident are larger than in the other energy systems. However, it is also recognized, as the specific characteristics of the severe nuclear accident, that the impacts of the accident spread in a wider area, and stay for a longer period, in comparison with the ones in the other energy systems. (author)

  14. Vaporization of structural materials in severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorenz, R.A.

    1982-01-01

    Vaporized structural materials form the bulk of aerosol particles that can transport fission products in severe LWR accidents. As part of the Severe Accident Sequence Analysis (SASA) program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a model has been developed based on a mass transport coefficient to describe the transport of materials from the surface of a molten pool. In many accident scenarios, the coefficient can be calculated from existing correlations for mass transfer by natural convection. Data from SASCHA fuel melting tests (Karlsruhe, Germany) show that the partial pressures of many of the melt components (Fe, Cr, Co, Mn, Sn) required for the model can be calculated from the vapor pressures of the pure species and Raoult's law. These calculations indicate much lower aerosol concentrations than reported in previous studies

  15. Development of a Species-specific PCR Assay for Three Xanthomonas Species, Causing Bulb and Flower Diseases, Based on Their Genome Sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang-Gi Back

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we developed a species-specific PCR assay for rapid and accurate detection of three Xanthomonas species, X. axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola (XAP, X. hyacinthi (XH and X. campestris pv. zantedeschiae (XCZ, based on their draft genome sequences. XAP, XH and XCZ genomes consist of single chromosomes that contain 5,221, 4,395 and 7,986 protein coding genes, respectively. Species-specific primers were designed from variable regions of the draft genome sequence data and assessed by a PCR-based detection method. These primers were also tested for specificity against 17 allied Xanthomonas species as well as against the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. Three primer sets were found to be very specific and no amplification product was obtained with the host DNA and the microbial community of the host surface. In addition, a detection limit of 1 pg/μl per PCR reaction was detected when these primer sets were used to amplify corresponding bacterial DNAs. Therefore, these primer sets and the developed species-specific PCR assay represent a valuable, sensitive, and rapid diagnostic tool that can be used to detect three specific pathogens at early stages of infection and may help control diseases.

  16. A multivariate tobit analysis of highway accident-injury-severity rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastasopoulos, Panagiotis Ch; Shankar, Venky N; Haddock, John E; Mannering, Fred L

    2012-03-01

    Relatively recent research has illustrated the potential that tobit regression has in studying factors that affect vehicle accident rates (accidents per distance traveled) on specific roadway segments. Tobit regression has been used because accident rates on specific roadway segments are continuous data that are left-censored at zero (they are censored because accidents may not be observed on all roadway segments during the period over which data are collected). This censoring may arise from a number of sources, one of which being the possibility that less severe crashes may be under-reported and thus may be less likely to appear in crash databases. Traditional tobit-regression analyses have dealt with the overall accident rate (all crashes regardless of injury severity), so the issue of censoring by the severity of crashes has not been addressed. However, a tobit-regression approach that considers accident rates by injury-severity level, such as the rate of no-injury, possible injury and injury accidents per distance traveled (as opposed to all accidents regardless of injury-severity), can potentially provide new insights, and address the possibility that censoring may vary by crash-injury severity. Using five-year data from highways in Washington State, this paper estimates a multivariate tobit model of accident-injury-severity rates that addresses the possibility of differential censoring across injury-severity levels, while also accounting for the possible contemporaneous error correlation resulting from commonly shared unobserved characteristics across roadway segments. The empirical results show that the multivariate tobit model outperforms its univariate counterpart, is practically equivalent to the multivariate negative binomial model, and has the potential to provide a fuller understanding of the factors determining accident-injury-severity rates on specific roadway segments. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Prevention and mitigation of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weisshaeupl, H.

    1996-01-01

    For the European Pressurized water Reactor (EPR), jointly developed by French and German industry, great emphasis is laid to gain further improvement in prevention of severe accidents based on the accumulative experience and proven technology of the French and German PWR reactors. In this evolutionary development, a balanced and comprehensive approach in respect to implement new passive features has been chosen. Improvements in each step of the defense in depth concept lead to a further decrease in the probability of occurrence of a severe accident with partial or even gross melting of the core. The different phenomenons that occur during such an hypothetical accident must be taken into account during the conception of specific measurements necessary to mitigate accident consequences. To cope with the consequences of a severe accident with core melt down means to deal with different phenomena which may threaten the integrity of the containment or may lead to an enhanced fission product release into the environment: high pressure reactor pressure vessel failure; energetic molten fuel coolant interaction; direct containment heating, molten core concrete interaction; hydrogen combustion; long term pressure and temperature increase in the containment. The EPR approach follows the recommendations from the DFD (Deutsch-Franzosischer Direktionsausschuss), jointly prepared by the French and German safety authorities. The EPR concept consist to prevent or eliminate as far as possible scenarios which are connected with high loads (high pressure failure of the reactor pressure vessel, or global hydrogen detonation etc..) by dedicated design provisions, and to deal with the consequences of severe accident scenarios which are not ruled out by specific safety measures. The measures comprise: the primary system depressurization; the control of hydrogen; the stabilisation and cooling of the melted core; the containment heat removal. They are completed by specific characteristics

  18. Occupational Accidents with Agricultural Machinery in Austria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogler, Robert; Quendler, Elisabeth; Boxberger, Josef

    2016-01-01

    The number of recognized accidents with fatalities during agricultural and forestry work, despite better technology and coordinated prevention and trainings, is still very high in Austria. The accident scenarios in which people are injured are very different on farms. The common causes of accidents in agriculture and forestry are the loss of control of machine, means of transport or handling equipment, hand-held tool, and object or animal, followed by slipping, stumbling and falling, breakage, bursting, splitting, slipping, fall, and collapse of material agent. In the literature, a number of studies of general (machine- and animal-related accidents) and specific (machine-related accidents) agricultural and forestry accident situations can be found that refer to different databases. From the database Data of the Austrian Workers Compensation Board (AUVA) about occupational accidents with different agricultural machinery over the period 2008-2010 in Austria, main characteristics of the accident, the victim, and the employer as well as variables on causes and circumstances by frequency and contexts of parameters were statistically analyzed by employing the chi-square test and odds ratio. The aim of the study was to determine the information content and quality of the European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW) variables to evaluate safety gaps and risks as well as the accidental man-machine interaction.

  19. Postulated accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ullrich, W.

    1980-01-01

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

  20. Development of a species-specific coproantigen ELISA for human Taenia solium taeniasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guezala, Maria-Claudia; Rodriguez, Silvia; Zamora, Humberto; Garcia, Hector H; Gonzalez, Armando E; Tembo, Alice; Allan, James C; Craig, Philip S

    2009-09-01

    Taenia solium causes human neurocysticercosis and is endemic in underdeveloped countries where backyard pig keeping is common. Microscopic fecal diagnostic methods for human T. solium taeniasis are not very sensitive, and Taenia saginata and Taenia solium eggs are indistinguishable under the light microscope. Coproantigen (CoAg) ELISA methods are very sensitive, but currently only genus (Taenia) specific. This paper describes the development of a highly species-specific coproantigen ELISA test to detect T. solium intestinal taeniasis. Sensitivity was maintained using a capture antibody of rabbit IgG against T. solium adult whole worm somatic extract, whereas species specificity was achieved by utilization of an enzyme-conjugated rabbit IgG against T. solium adult excretory-secretory (ES) antigen. A known panel of positive and negative human fecal samples was tested with this hybrid sandwich ELISA. The ELISA test gave 100% specificity and 96.4% sensitivity for T. solium tapeworm carriers (N = 28), with a J index of 0.96. This simple ELISA incorporating anti-adult somatic and anti-adult ES antibodies provides the first potentially species-specific coproantigen test for human T. solium taeniasis.

  1. [Accident cause masculinity?--Gender-related issues of accident victims between prevention and coping in Kaiserreich and Weimarer Republik].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoll-Jung, Sebastian

    2015-01-01

    Occupational accidents in industrial workplaces are a specific health problem for man. Therefore it seems adequate to use masculinities as a category of research in this field. For the Kaiserreich and the Weimarer Republik it shows that male workers relating to their danger awareness and behavior, prevention, accident causes and coping strategies are settled in an area of conflict between a hard workplace environment and the family. On the basis of health practices of the accident victims it appears that there are different forms of labor masculinities. They have an important influence on all levels of an occupational accident from the endangerment to the success of the treatment. Through a critical use of the category academic void can be shown and alternative explanatory models can be offered.

  2. Key Parameters for Operator Diagnosis of BWR Plant Condition during a Severe Accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clayton, Dwight A [ORNL; Poore III, Willis P [ORNL

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this research is to examine the key information needed from nuclear power plant instrumentation to guide severe accident management and mitigation for boiling water reactor (BWR) designs (specifically, a BWR/4-Mark I), estimate environmental conditions that the instrumentation will experience during a severe accident, and identify potential gaps in existing instrumentation that may require further research and development. This report notes the key parameters that instrumentation needs to measure to help operators respond to severe accidents. A follow-up report will assess severe accident environmental conditions as estimated by severe accident simulation model analysis for a specific US BWR/4-Mark I plant for those instrumentation systems considered most important for accident management purposes.

  3. Halal authenticity of gelatin using species-specific PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabani, Hessam; Mehdizadeh, Mehrangiz; Mousavi, Seyed Mohammad; Dezfouli, Ehsan Ansari; Solgi, Tara; Khodaverdi, Mahdi; Rabiei, Maryam; Rastegar, Hossein; Alebouyeh, Mahmoud

    2015-10-01

    Consumption of food products derived from porcine sources is strictly prohibited in Islam. Gelatin, mostly derived from bovine and porcine sources, has many applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. To ensure that food products comply with halal regulations, development of valid and reliable analytical methods is very much required. In this study, a species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using conserved regions of mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome b gene) was performed to evaluate the halal authenticity of gelatin. After isolation of DNA from gelatin powders with known origin, conventional PCR using species-specific primers was carried out on the extracted DNA. The amplified expected PCR products of 212 and 271 bp were observed for porcine and bovine gelatin, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was tested on binary gelatin mixtures containing 0.1%, 1%, 10%, and 100% (w/w) of porcine gelatin within bovine gelatin and vice versa. Although most of the DNA is degraded due to the severe processing steps of gelatin production, the minimum level of 0.1% w/w of both porcine and bovine gelatin was detected. Moreover, eight food products labeled as containing bovine gelatin and eight capsule shells were subjected to PCR examination. The results showed that all samples contained bovine gelatin, and the absence of porcine gelatin was verified. This method of species authenticity is very useful to verify whether gelatin and gelatin-containing food products are derived from halal ingredients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Radionuclides in macro algae at Monaco following the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holm, E.; Ballestra, S.; Lopez, J.J.; Bulos, A.; Whitehead, N.E.; Barci-Funel, G.; Ardisson, G.

    1994-01-01

    Samples of macro algae, Codmium tomentosum (green), Corallina mediterranea (red), Sphaerococcus coronopifolius (red) and Dictyota dichotoma (brown), were collected off Monaco during 1984 and 1988 and analysed for gamma-emitting radionuclides and transuranium elements. Due to the Chernobyl accident, increased radioactivity in the atmosphere at Monaco was recorded on 30 April 1986 with maximal activity concentrations on 2-3 May. The maximal activity concentrations in sea water occurred on 5-6 May and in the algae on 11 May. The decrease of activity concentrations can be described after May 11 as a single exponential relationship, where elimination rates for different radionuclides and different species specific to the environment can be calculated. The elimination rates thus observed correspond to mean residence times between 70 and 370 days corrected for physical decay. The concentration factors were also estimated and the highest values were found for 131 I, 129 Te m , and 110 Ag m and lowest for radiocesium and 140 Ba. The red algae Sphaerococcus coronopifoius showed generally higher concentration factors than green and brown algae. Regarding transuranium elements, a theoretical contribution from the Chernobyl accident can be made but only 242 Cm was detected in the algae above previous levels before the accident, due to the relatively small fallout of transuranics. (author) 23 refs.; 9 figs.; 4 tabs

  5. The effect of system modeling on the Fukushima accident evolution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herranz, L.E.; Fontanet, J.; López, C.; Fernández, E.

    2015-07-01

    The Fukushima accident is becoming both a unique opportunity and a huge challenge for severe accident analysis. The OECD-BSAF project has articulated a good part of the modeling efforts conducted so far. Inside this project, CIEMAT has conducted forensic analyses of the Fukushima accident in units 1 through 3 with MELCOR 2.1 and it has postulated a set of accident scenarios consistent with data. Beyond specific results, sensitivity analyses on safety systems performance and prevailing boundary conditions have highlighted the need of conducting uncertainty analyses when modeling NPPs severe accident scenarios. (Author)

  6. Panel discussion: Which severe accident chemistry topics most deserve further research?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergeron, K.D.

    1988-01-01

    A severe accident would involve so many species and chemical environments within the plant that detailed description of all the chemical reactions and chemistry-related processes is currently not practical or even possible. Thus it is necessary to select for consideration those phenomena which might be most important. The panel will discuss which severe accident chemistry topics most deserve further research

  7. Accident risks in the energy sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgherr, P.

    2005-01-01

    This article discusses the accident rate of natural gas installations, which are quoted by the author to be lowest of all fossil fuels. The statistics on accidents and their consequences are looked at for the whole natural gas supply chain. The results of a study commissioned by the Swiss Gas and Water Professionals Association (SVGW) are presented and discussed. Statistics for the European Union and Eastern Europe are looked at and analysed. The study's methodological basis is described and the criteria used for the definition of an accident considered to be 'serious' are listed. The results of comparisons made of various energy chains are presented and discussed. Graphics are presented of frequency of occurrence and seriousness of damage for various forms of energy as well as for maximum possible consequences of accidents. Specific analyses for the natural gas chain are presented

  8. [Drugs and occupational accident].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bratzke, H; Albers, C

    1996-02-01

    In a case of a fatal occupational accident (construction worker, fall from roof, urine test positive for cocaine and THC, e.g. cannabis) the question arised to what extent those drug-related occupational accidents occur. In the literature only few cases, mainly dealing with cannabis influence, have been reported, however, a higher number is suspected. Cocaine and other stimulating drugs (amphetamine) are more often used to increase physical fitness. By direct or indirect interference with vigilance these compounds may provoke accidents. Due to the lack of a legal basis proving of the influence of drugs at the working place is still very limited, although highly sensitive chemical-toxicological assay procedures are available to detect even the chronic abuse (in hair). In the general conditions of accident insurances a compensation is excluded when alcohol is involved, but drugs are not mentioned. It is indeed difficult to establish a concentration limit for drugs like that existing for alcohol (1.1%). In each case the assay of the drug involved and exact knowledge of its specific effects is in an essential prerequisite to prove the causal relationship.

  9. Estimating Janka hardness from specific gravity for tropical and temperate species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael C. Wiemann; David W. Green

    2007-01-01

    Using mean values for basic (green) specific gravity and Janka side hardness for individual species obtained from the world literature, regression equations were developed to predict side hardness from specific gravity. Statistical and graphical methods showed that the hardness–specific gravity relationship is the same for tropical and temperate hardwoods, but that the...

  10. The development of severe accident analysis technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Heuy Dong; Cho, Sung Won; Kim, Sang Baek; Park, Jong Hwa; Lee, Kyu Jung; Park, Lae Joon; Hu, Hoh; Hong, Sung Wan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1993-07-01

    The objective of the development of severe accident analysis technology is to understand the severe accident phenomena such as core melt progression and to provide a reliable analytical tool to assess severe accidents in a nuclear power plant. Furthermore, establishment of the accident management strategies for the prevention/mitigation of severe accidents is also the purpose of this research. The study may be categorized into three areas. For the first area, two specific issues were reviewed to identify the further research direction, that is the natural circulation in the reactor coolant system and the fuel-coolant interaction as an in-vessel and an ex-vessel phenomenological study. For the second area, the MELCOR and the CONTAIN codes have been upgraded, and a validation calculation of the MELCOR has been performed for the PHEBUS-B9+ experiment. Finally, the experimental program has been established for the in-vessel and the ex-vessel severe accident phenomena with the in-pile test loop in KMRR and the integral containment test facilities, respectively. (Author).

  11. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species in bulk milk: Prevalence, distribution, and associated subgroup- and species-specific risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Visscher, A; Piepers, S; Haesebrouck, F; Supré, K; De Vliegher, S

    2017-01-01

    Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) have become the main pathogens causing bovine mastitis in recent years. A huge variation in species distribution among herds has been observed in several studies, emphasizing the need to identify subgroup- and species-specific herd-level factors to improve our understanding of the differences in ecological and epidemiological nature between species. The use of bulk milk samples enables the inclusion of a large(r) number of herds needed to identify herd-level risk factors and increases the likelihood of recovering enough isolates per species needed for conducting subgroup- and, eventually, species-specific analyses at the same time. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and distribution of CNS species in bulk milk samples and to identify associated subgroup- and species-specific herd-level factors. Ninety percent of all bulk milk samples yielded CNS. Staphylococcus equorum was the predominant species, followed by Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. A seasonal effect was observed for several CNS species. Bulk milk samples from herds with a loose-pack or a tiestall housing system were more likely to yield CNS species compared with herds with a freestall barn, except for S. epidermidis, Staphylococcus simulans, and Staphylococcus cohnii. In September, herds in which udders were clipped had lower odds of yielding Staphylococcus chromogenes, S. simulans, and Staphylococcus xylosus, the CNS species assumed to be most relevant for udder health, in their bulk milk than herds in which udder clipping was not practiced. Bulk milk of herds participating in a monthly veterinary udder health-monitoring program was more likely to yield these 3 CNS species. Herds always receiving their milk quality premium or predisinfecting teats before attachment of the milking cluster had lower odds of having S. equorum in their bulk milk. Herds not using a single dry cotton or paper towel for each cow during premilking udder

  12. Organ- and species-specific accumulation of metals in two land snail species (Gastropoda, Pulmonata)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boshoff, Magdalena, E-mail: magdalena.boshoff@ua.ac.be [University of Antwerp, Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Jordaens, Kurt [Royal Museum for Central Africa (JEMU), Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren (Belgium); University of Antwerp, Evolutionary Ecology Group, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Backeljau, Thierry [University of Antwerp, Evolutionary Ecology Group, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (JEMU), Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels (Belgium); Lettens, Suzanna [Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Kliniekstraat 25, B-1070 Brussels (Belgium); Tack, Filip [Ghent University, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Applied Ecochemistry, Coupure Links 265, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Vandecasteele, Bart [Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Burg van Gansberghelaan 109, B-9820 Merelbeke (Belgium); De Jonge, Maarten; Bervoets, Lieven [University of Antwerp, Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp (Belgium)

    2013-04-01

    In order to evaluate the usefulness of terrestrial gastropods as bioindicators there is a need for studies that simultaneously compare (1) concentrations of metals in reference and polluted plots, (2) species within the same polluted habitat, (3) metal accumulation patterns in different organs and (4) metal accumulation patterns in relation to soil physicochemical properties. This study aims to assess metal accumulation patterns in two land snail species. Instead of analyzing an organism as a whole, investigating the partitioning of metals in different organs can provide information on the actual toxicological relevant fractions. Therefore, concentrations of Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn were examined in five different organs of Cepaea nemoralis, as well as in the foot and the body of Succinea putris. Snails were sampled at four polluted dredged sediment disposal localities and three adjacent less polluted reference plots situated along waterways in Flanders, Belgium. Due to the small size and problematic dissection of S. putris only the concentrations in the foot of both species could be compared. For this reason only, C. nemoralis can be described as a better bioindicator species that allows a far more detailed analysis of organ metal accumulation. This study showed that organs other than the digestive gland may be involved in the immobilization and detoxification of metals. Furthermore, pH, soil fractionation (clay %, silt %, sand %) and organic matter, correlate with metal accumulation in organs. However, most often the soil metal concentrations did not correlate with the concentrations found in snail organs. Metal concentrations in organs of both species (1) differed among polluted plots but rarely between polluted and reference plots within a locality, (2) were organ-specific (digestive gland > foot > albumen gland = spermoviduct = ovotestis), (3) were species-specific and (4) depended on the metal type (high Cd and Cu concentrations were observed in the

  13. Do alcohol excise taxes affect traffic accidents? Evidence from Estonia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saar, Indrek

    2015-01-01

    This article examines the association between alcohol excise tax rates and alcohol-related traffic accidents in Estonia. Monthly time series of traffic accidents involving drunken motor vehicle drivers from 1998 through 2013 were regressed on real average alcohol excise tax rates while controlling for changes in economic conditions and the traffic environment. Specifically, regression models with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) errors were estimated in order to deal with serial correlation in residuals. Counterfactual models were also estimated in order to check the robustness of the results, using the level of non-alcohol-related traffic accidents as a dependent variable. A statistically significant (P traffic accidents was disclosed under alternative model specifications. For instance, the regression model with ARIMA (0, 1, 1)(0, 1, 1) errors revealed that a 1-unit increase in the tax rate is associated with a 1.6% decrease in the level of accidents per 100,000 population involving drunk motor vehicle drivers. No similar association was found in the cases of counterfactual models for non-alcohol-related traffic accidents. This article indicates that the level of alcohol-related traffic accidents in Estonia has been affected by changes in real average alcohol excise taxes during the period 1998-2013. Therefore, in addition to other measures, the use of alcohol taxation is warranted as a policy instrument in tackling alcohol-related traffic accidents.

  14. Data base of accident and agricultural statistics for transportation risk assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saricks, C.L.; Williams, R.G.; Hopf, M.R.

    1989-11-01

    A state-level data base of accident and agricultural statistics has been developed to support risk assessment for transportation of spent nuclear fuels and high-level radioactive wastes. This data base will enhance the modeling capabilities for more route-specific analyses of potential risks associated with transportation of these wastes to a disposal site. The data base and methodology used to develop state-specific accident and agricultural data bases are described, and summaries of accident and agricultural statistics are provided. 27 refs., 9 tabs.

  15. Data base of accident and agricultural statistics for transportation risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saricks, C.L.; Williams, R.G.; Hopf, M.R.

    1989-11-01

    A state-level data base of accident and agricultural statistics has been developed to support risk assessment for transportation of spent nuclear fuels and high-level radioactive wastes. This data base will enhance the modeling capabilities for more route-specific analyses of potential risks associated with transportation of these wastes to a disposal site. The data base and methodology used to develop state-specific accident and agricultural data bases are described, and summaries of accident and agricultural statistics are provided. 27 refs., 9 tabs

  16. Species specificity for HBsAg binding protein endonexin II

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    deBruin, WCC; Leenders, WPJ; Moshage, H; vanHaelst, UJGM

    Background/Aims: Hepatitis B virus displays a distinct species and tissue tropism, Previously we have demonstrated that a human liver plasma membrane protein,vith a molecular weight of approximately 34 kiloDalton specifically binds to HBsAg. This protein was identified as endonexin II, a Ca2+

  17. Modification of MELCOR for severe accident analysis of candidate accident tolerant cladding materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Merrill, Brad J., E-mail: brad.merrill@inl.gov; Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M., E-mail: shannon.bragg-sitton@inl.gov; Humrickhouse, Paul W., E-mail: paul.humrickhouse@inl.gov

    2017-04-15

    Highlights: • Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) systems are currently under development for LWRs. • Many performance analysis tools are specifically developed for UO{sub 2}–Zr alloy fuel. • Modifications were made to the MELCOR code for candidate ATF cladding. • Preliminary analysis results for SiC and FeCrAl cladding concepts are presented. - Abstract: A number of materials are currently under development as candidate accident tolerant fuel and cladding for application in the current fleet of commercial light water reactors (LWRs). The safe, reliable and economic operation of the nation’s nuclear power reactor fleet has always been a top priority for the nuclear industry. Continual improvement of technology, including advanced materials and nuclear fuels, remains central to the industry’s success. Enhancing the accident tolerance of light water reactors became a topic of serious discussion following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting tsunami, and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex. The overall goal for the development of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) systems for LWRs is to identify alternative fuel system technologies to further enhance the safety, competitiveness, and economics of commercial nuclear power. Designed for use in the current fleet of commercial LWRs, or in reactor concepts with design certifications (GEN-III+), to achieve their goal enhanced ATF must endure loss of active cooling in the reactor core for a considerably longer period of time than the current fuel system, while maintaining or improving performance during normal operation. Many available nuclear fuel performance analysis tools are specifically developed for the current UO{sub 2}–Zirconium alloy fuel system. The MELCOR severe-accident analysis code, under development at the Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico (SNL-NM) for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), is one of these tools. This paper describes modifications

  18. Accident management insights after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2014-01-01

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

  19. Analysis of reactivity accidents in PWR'S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camous, F.; Chesnel, A.

    1989-12-01

    This note describes the French strategy which has consisted, firstly, in examining all the accidents presented in the PWR unit safety reports in order to determine for each parameter the impact on accident consequences of varying the parameter considered, secondly in analyzing the provisions taken into account to restrict variation of this parameter to within an acceptable range and thirdly, in checking that the reliability of these provisions is compatible with the potential consequences of transgression of the authorized limits. Taking into consideration violations of technical operating specifications and/or non-observance of operating procedures, equipment failures, and partial or total unavailability of safety systems, these studies have shown that fuel mechanical strength limits can be reached but that the probability of occurrence of the corresponding events places them in the residual risk field and that it must, in fact, be remembered that there is a wide margin between the design basis accidents and accidents resulting in fuel destruction. However, during the coming year, we still have to analyze scenarios dealing with cumulated events or incidents leading to a reactivity accident. This program will be mainly concerned with the impact of the cases examined relating to dilution incidents under normal operating conditions or accident operating conditions

  20. Analyses of severe accident scenarios in RBMK-1500

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2006-01-01

    Even though research of severe accidents in light water reactors is performed around the world for several decades many questions remain. Research is mostly performed for vessel-type reactors. RBMK is a channel type light water reactor, which differs from the vessel-type reactors in several aspects. These differences impose some specifics in the accident phenomena and processes that occur during severe accidents. Severe accident research for RBMK reactors is taking first steps and very little information is available in the open literature. The existing severe accident analysis codes are developed for vessel-type reactors and their application to the analysis of accidents in RBMK is not straightforward. This paper presents the results of an analysis of large loss-of-coolant accident scenarios with loss of coolant injection to the core of RBMK-1500. The analysis performed considers processes in the reactor core, in the reactor cooling system and in the confinement until the fuel melting started. This paper does not aim to answer all the questions regarding severe accidents in RBMK but rather to start a discussion, identify the expected timing of the key phenomena. (orig.)

  1. NASA Medical Response to Human Spacecraft Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patlach, Robert

    2011-01-01

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

  2. A review of accidents, prevention and mitigation options related to hazardous gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fthenakis, V.M.

    1993-05-01

    Statistics on industrial accidents are incomplete due to lack of specific criteria on what constitutes a release or accident. In this country, most major industrial accidents were related to explosions and fires of flammable materials, not to releases of chemicals into the environment. The EPA in a study of 6,928 accidental releases of toxic chemicals revealed that accidents at stationary facilities accounted for 75% of the total number of releases, and transportation accidents for the other 25%. About 7% of all reported accidents (468 cases) resulted in 138 deaths and 4,717 injuries ranging from temporary respiratory problems to critical injuries. In-plant accidents accounted for 65% of the casualties. The most efficient strategy to reduce hazards is to choose technologies which do not require the use of large quantities of hazardous gases. For new technologies this approach can be implemented early in development, before large financial resources and efforts are committed to specific options. Once specific materials and options have been selected, strategies to prevent accident initiating events need to be evaluated and implemented. The next step is to implement safety options which suppress a hazard when an accident initiating event occurs. Releases can be prevented or reduced with fail-safe equipment and valves, adequate warning systems and controls to reduce and interrupt gas leakage. If an accident occurs and safety systems fail to contain a hazardous gas release, then engineering control systems will be relied on to reduce/minimize environmental releases. As a final defensive barrier, the prevention of human exposure is needed if a hazardous gas is released, in spite of previous strategies. Prevention of consequences forms the final defensive barrier. Medical facilities close by that can accommodate victims of the worst accident can reduce the consequences of personnel exposure to hazardous gases

  3. Foliar phenolic compounds of ten wild species of Verbenacea as antioxidants and specific chemomarkers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. A. Ávila-Reyes

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The family Verbenaceae hosts important species used in traditional medicine of many countries. The taxonomic controversies concerning the specific delimitation of several of its species make it difficult to guarantee the botanical origin of herbal preparations based on species of this family. To contribute to the development of both specific chemomarkers and a quality control tool to authenticate the botanical origin of herbal preparations of Verbenacea species, we determined the foliar HPLC-DAD phenolic profiles and the antioxidant properties of 10 wild species of this family occurring in Mexico. The contents of phenols and flavonoids varied significantly among species. Priva mexicana showed the highest levels of total phenolics (53.4 mg g-1 dry tissue and Verbena carolina had the highest levels of flavonoids (17.89 mg g-1 dry tissue. Relevant antioxidant properties revealed by antiradical and reducing power were found for the analyzed species. These properties varied significantly in a species-dependent manner. The phenolic compounds accumulated were flavones and phenolic acids. Flavones were the only type of flavonoids found. The results of a cluster analysis showed that the compounds were accumulated in species-specific profiles. The phenolic profiles are proposed as valuable chemomarkers that can become a useful tool for the quality control concerning the botanical origin of herbal medicinal preparations based on the species analyzed. In addition, phenolic profiles could contribute importantly to solve the taxonomic controversies concerning species delimitation in the family Verbenaceae.

  4. Endogenous retroviruses function as species-specific enhancer elements in the placenta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuong, Edward B; Rumi, M A Karim; Soares, Michael J; Baker, Julie C

    2013-03-01

    The mammalian placenta is remarkably distinct between species, suggesting a history of rapid evolutionary diversification. To gain insight into the molecular drivers of placental evolution, we compared biochemically predicted enhancers in mouse and rat trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) and found that species-specific enhancers are highly enriched for endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) on a genome-wide level. One of these ERV families, RLTR13D5, contributes hundreds of mouse-specific histone H3 lysine 4 monomethylation (H3K4me1)- and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac)-defined enhancers that functionally bind Cdx2, Eomes and Elf5-core factors that define the TSC regulatory network. Furthermore, we show that RLTR13D5 is capable of driving gene expression in rat placental cells. Analysis in other tissues shows that species-specific ERV enhancer activity is generally restricted to hypomethylated tissues, suggesting that tissues permissive for ERV activity gain access to an otherwise silenced source of regulatory variation. Overall, our results implicate ERV enhancer co-option as a mechanism underlying the extensive evolutionary diversification of placental development.

  5. Severe accident simulation at Olkiuoto

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tirkkonen, H.; Saarenpaeae, T. [Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO), Olkiluoto (Finland); Cliff Po, L.C. [Micro-Simulation Technology, Montville, NJ (United States)

    1995-09-01

    A personal computer-based simulator was developed for the Olkiluoto nuclear plant in Finland for training in severe accident management. The generic software PCTRAN was expanded to model the plant-specific features of the ABB Atom designed BWR including its containment over-pressure protection and filtered vent systems. Scenarios including core heat-up, hydrogen generation, core melt and vessel penetration were developed in this work. Radiation leakage paths and dose rate distribution are presented graphically for operator use in diagnosis and mitigation of accidents. Operating on an graphically for operator use in diagnosis and mitigation of accidents. Operating on an 486 DX2-66, PCTRAN-TVO achieves a speed about 15 times faster than real-time. A convenient and user-friendly graphic interface allows full interactive control. In this paper a review of the component models and verification runs are presented.

  6. Unavoidable Accident

    OpenAIRE

    Grady, Mark F.

    2009-01-01

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

  7. The impact of major transformations of a production process on age-related accident risks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blank, V L; Laflamme, L; Diderichsen, Finn

    1996-01-01

    This paper describes a study of whether accident risks were equally distributed across age categories among a population of mining workers whose work activities were suspected to be age-impaired. The impairment factors in focus are the transformation of production technology during the 80s...... and consequent changes in job content. It was hypothesized that the combined effect of these factors might lead accident risks, both non-specific (aggregated) and specific (by kind), to increase with age. Accident risk ratios (ARRs), however, proved to be higher for younger workers than older ones, in both...... the non-specific and the specific cases. However, two accident patterns (specific risks) also show relatively high ARRs among workers in their 40s (and even 30s), results that might be explained by particular exposures and/or age-related performance problems. The findings suggest that technological...

  8. Alternative evacuation strategies for nuclear power accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammond, Gregory D.; Bier, Vicki M.

    2015-01-01

    In the U.S., current protective-action strategies to safeguard the public following a nuclear power accident have remained largely unchanged since their implementation in the early 1980s. In the past thirty years, new technologies have been introduced, allowing faster computations, better modeling of predicted radiological consequences, and improved accident mapping using geographic information systems (GIS). Utilizing these new technologies, we evaluate the efficacy of alternative strategies, called adaptive protective action zones (APAZs), that use site-specific and event-specific data to dynamically determine evacuation boundaries with simple heuristics in order to better inform protective action decisions (rather than relying on pre-event regulatory bright lines). Several candidate APAZs were developed and then compared to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s keyhole evacuation strategy (and full evacuation of the emergency planning zone). Two of the APAZs were better on average than existing NRC strategies at reducing either the radiological exposure, the population evacuated, or both. These APAZs are especially effective for larger radioactive plumes and at high population sites; one of them is better at reducing radiation exposure, while the other is better at reducing the size of the population evacuated. - Highlights: • Developed framework to compare nuclear power accident evacuation strategies. • Evacuation strategies were compared on basis of radiological and evacuation risk. • Current strategies are adequate for smaller scale nuclear power accidents. • New strategies reduced radiation exposure and evacuation size for larger accidents

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

    OpenAIRE

    Casal Fàbrega, Joaquim; Darbra Roman, Rosa Maria

    2010-01-01

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

  10. Sex and caste-specific variation in compound eye morphology of five honeybee species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Streinzer

    Full Text Available Ranging from dwarfs to giants, the species of honeybees show remarkable differences in body size that have placed evolutionary constrains on the size of sensory organs and the brain. Colonies comprise three adult phenotypes, drones and two female castes, the reproductive queen and sterile workers. The phenotypes differ with respect to tasks and thus selection pressures which additionally constrain the shape of sensory systems. In a first step to explore the variability and interaction between species size-limitations and sex and caste-specific selection pressures in sensory and neural structures in honeybees, we compared eye size, ommatidia number and distribution of facet lens diameters in drones, queens and workers of five species (Apis andreniformis, A. florea, A. dorsata, A. mellifera, A. cerana. In these species, male and female eyes show a consistent sex-specific organization with respect to eye size and regional specialization of facet diameters. Drones possess distinctly enlarged eyes with large dorsal facets. Aside from these general patterns, we found signs of unique adaptations in eyes of A. florea and A. dorsata drones. In both species, drone eyes are disproportionately enlarged. In A. dorsata the increased eye size results from enlarged facets, a likely adaptation to crepuscular mating flights. In contrast, the relative enlargement of A. florea drone eyes results from an increase in ommatidia number, suggesting strong selection for high spatial resolution. Comparison of eye morphology and published mating flight times indicates a correlation between overall light sensitivity and species-specific mating flight times. The correlation suggests an important role of ambient light intensities in the regulation of species-specific mating flight times and the evolution of the visual system. Our study further deepens insights into visual adaptations within the genus Apis and opens up future perspectives for research to better understand the

  11. Frequency of work zone accidents on construction projects : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-08-01

    The overall objective of this research was to study work zone accidents in New York State, with particular attention to the : occurrence and mitigation of rear-end vehicle accidents. The specific objectives were to: : - Recommend changes to the NYSDO...

  12. Lifestyle and accidents among young drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregersen, N P; Berg, H Y

    1994-06-01

    This study covers the lifestyle component of the problems related to young drivers' accident risk. The purpose of the study is to measure the relationship between lifestyle and accident risk, and to identify specific high-risk and low-risk groups. Lifestyle is measured through a questionnaire, where 20-year-olds describe themselves and how often they deal with a large number of different activities, like sports, music, movies, reading, cars and driving, political engagement, etc. They also report their involvement in traffic accidents. With a principal component analysis followed by a cluster analysis, lifestyle profiles are defined. These profiles are finally correlated to accidents, which makes it possible to define high-risk and low-risk groups. The cluster analysis defined 15 clusters including four high-risk groups with an average overrisk of 150% and two low-risk groups with an average underrisk of 75%. The results are discussed from two perspectives. The first is the importance of theoretical understanding of the contribution of lifestyle factors to young drivers' high accident risk. The second is how the findings could be used in practical road safety measures, like education, campaigns, etc.

  13. Stress in accident and post-accident management at Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girard, P.; Dubreuil, G.H.

    1996-01-01

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

  14. Improvement of Severe Accident Analysis Computer Code and Development of Accident Management Guidance for Heavy Water Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soo Yong; Kim, Ko Ryu; Kim, Dong Ha; Kim, See Darl; Song, Yong Mann; Choi, Young; Jin, Young Ho

    2005-03-01

    The objective of the project is to develop a generic severe accident management guidance(SAMG) applicable to Korean PHWR and the objective of this 3 year continued phase is to construct a base of the generic SAMG. Another objective is to improve a domestic computer code, ISAAC (Integrated Severe Accident Analysis code for CANDU), which still has many deficiencies to be improved in order to apply for the SAMG development. The scope and contents performed in this Phase-2 are as follows: The characteristics of major design and operation for the domestic Wolsong NPP are analyzed from the severe accident aspects. On the basis, preliminary strategies for SAM of PHWR are selected. The information needed for SAM and the methods to get that information are analyzed. Both the individual strategies applicable for accident mitigation under PHWR severe accident conditions and the technical background for those strategies are developed. A new version of ISAAC 2.0 has been developed after analyzing and modifying the existing models of ISAAC 1.0. The general SAMG applicable for PHWRs confirms severe accident management techniques for emergencies, provides the base technique to develop the plant specific SAMG by utility company and finally contributes to the public safety enhancement as a NPP safety assuring step. The ISAAC code will be used inevitably for the PSA, living PSA, severe accident analysis, SAM program development and operator training in PHWR

  15. Improvement of Severe Accident Analysis Computer Code and Development of Accident Management Guidance for Heavy Water Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Soo Yong; Kim, Ko Ryu; Kim, Dong Ha; Kim, See Darl; Song, Yong Mann; Choi, Young; Jin, Young Ho

    2005-03-15

    The objective of the project is to develop a generic severe accident management guidance(SAMG) applicable to Korean PHWR and the objective of this 3 year continued phase is to construct a base of the generic SAMG. Another objective is to improve a domestic computer code, ISAAC (Integrated Severe Accident Analysis code for CANDU), which still has many deficiencies to be improved in order to apply for the SAMG development. The scope and contents performed in this Phase-2 are as follows: The characteristics of major design and operation for the domestic Wolsong NPP are analyzed from the severe accident aspects. On the basis, preliminary strategies for SAM of PHWR are selected. The information needed for SAM and the methods to get that information are analyzed. Both the individual strategies applicable for accident mitigation under PHWR severe accident conditions and the technical background for those strategies are developed. A new version of ISAAC 2.0 has been developed after analyzing and modifying the existing models of ISAAC 1.0. The general SAMG applicable for PHWRs confirms severe accident management techniques for emergencies, provides the base technique to develop the plant specific SAMG by utility company and finally contributes to the public safety enhancement as a NPP safety assuring step. The ISAAC code will be used inevitably for the PSA, living PSA, severe accident analysis, SAM program development and operator training in PHWR.

  16. Summary and conclusions of the specialist meeting on severe accident management programme development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    The CSNI Specialist meeting on severe accident management programme development was held in Rome and about seventy experts from thirteen countries attended the meeting. A total of 27 papers were presented in four sessions, covering specific aspects of accident management programme development. It purposely focused on the programmatic aspects of accident management rather than on some of the more complex technical issues associated with accident management strategies. Some of the major observations and conclusions from the meeting are that severe accident management is the ultimate part of the defense in depth concept within the plant. It is function and success oriented, not event oriented, as the aim is to prevent or minimize consequences of severe accidents. There is no guarantee it will always be successful but experts agree that it can reduce the risks significantly. It has to be exercised and the importance of emergency drills has been underlined. The basic structure and major elements of accident management programmes appear to be similar among OECD member countries. Dealing with significant phenomenological uncertainties in establishing accident management programmes continues to be an important issue, especially in confirming the appropriateness of specific accident management strategies

  17. [Severe parachuting accident. Analysis of 122 cases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krauss, U; Mischkowsky, T

    1993-06-01

    Based on a population of 122 severely injured patients the causes of paragliding accidents and the patterns of injury are analyzed. A questionnaire is used to establish a sport-specific profile for the paragliding pilot. The lower limbs (55.7%) and the lower parts of the spine (45.9%) are the most frequently injured parts of the body. There is a high risk of multiple injuries after a single accident because of the tremendous axial power. The standard of equipment is good in over 90% of the cases. Insufficient training and failure to take account of geographical and meteorological conditions are the main determinants of accidents sustained by paragliders, most of whom are young. Nevertheless, 80% of our patients want to continue paragliding. Finally some advice is given on how to prevent paragliding accidents and injuries.

  18. The nature of reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Domaratzki, Z.; Campbell, F.R.; Atchison, R.J.

    1981-01-01

    Reactor accidents are events which result in the release of radioactive material from a nuclear power plant due to the failure of one or more critical components of that plant. The failures, depending on their number and type, can result in releases whose consequences range from negligible to catastrophic. By way of examples, this paper describes four specific accidents which cover this range of consequence: failure of a reactor control system, loss of coolant, loss of coolant with impaired containment, and reactor core meltdown. For each a possible sequence of events and an estimate of the expected frequency are presented

  19. The role of nuclear reactor containment in severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-04-01

    The containment is a structural envelope which completely surrounds the nuclear reactor system and is designed to confine the radioactive releases in case of an accident. This report summarises the work of an NEA Senior Group of Experts who have studied the potential role of containment in accidents exceeding design specifications (so-called severe accidents). Some possibilities for enhancing the ability of plants to reduce the risk of significant off-site consequences by appropriate management of the acident have been examined

  20. Molecular structures and thermodynamic properties of monohydrated gaseous iodine compounds: Modelling for severe accident simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudolská, Mária; Cantrel, Laurent; Budzák, Šimon; Černušák, Ivan

    2014-03-01

    Monohydrated complexes of iodine species (I, I2, HI, and HOI) have been studied by correlated ab initio calculations. The standard enthalpies of formation, Gibbs free energy and the temperature dependence of the heat capacities at constant pressure were calculated. The values obtained have been implemented in ASTEC nuclear accident simulation software to check the thermodynamic stability of hydrated iodine compounds in the reactor coolant system and in the nuclear containment building of a pressurised water reactor during a severe accident. It can be concluded that iodine complexes are thermodynamically unstable by means of positive Gibbs free energies and would be represented by trace level concentrations in severe accident conditions; thus it is well justified to only consider pure iodine species and not hydrated forms.

  1. Accident Assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tripputi, Ivo; Lund, Ingemar

    2002-01-01

    There is a general feeling that decommissioning is an activity involving limited risks, compared to NPP operation, and in particular risks involving the general public. This is technically confirmed by licensing analysis and evaluations, where, once the spent fuel has been removed from the plant, the radioactivity inventory available to be released to the environment is very limited. Decommissioning activities performed so far in the world have also confirmed the first assumptions and no specific issue has been identified, in this field, to justify a completely new approach. Commercial interests in international harmonization, which could drive an in-depth discussion about the bases of this approach, are weak at the moment. However, there are several reasons why a discussion in an international framework about the Safety Case for decommissioning (and, in particular, about Accident Assessment) may be considered necessary and important, and why it may show some specific and peculiar aspects. An effort for a comprehensive and systematic D and D accident safety assessment of the decommissioning process is justified. It is necessary also to explore in a holistic way the aspects of industrial safety, and develop tools for the decision-making process optimization. The expected results are the implementation of appropriate and optimized protective measures in any event and of adequate on/off-site emergency plans for optimal public and workers protection. The experience from other decommissioning projects and large-scale industrial activities is essential to balance provisions and an Operating Experience review process (specific for decommissioning) should help to focus on real issues

  2. SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE OFFENSE OF LEAVING THE PLACE OF THE ACCIDENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alin-Sorin NICOLESCU

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The legislator has adopted the respective texts of law to the new social realities once with the repeal of the criminal segment of GEO no. 195/2002 relating to the circulation on public roads, republished and the introduction of this one in the content of the New Criminal Code. The offence of leaving the place of the accident, actually found in the content of the provisions of art. 338 of Criminal Code is one of the eight offences against the safety on public roads. Knowing important modifications, the legal text may appear relatively ambiguous if we refer to the old indictment, meaning that certain factual situations remained outside the criminal law. We will analyse in this regard the obligations that arise to the driver in case of a traffic accident, bringing into question even the decriminalization of the prohibition of the consumption of alcohol after the road event. Furthermore, we will treat even aspects related to the causes of special no imputation that, on a closer analysis, can create problems of interpretation. Through the phrase “it does not constitute the offence of leaving the place of the accident when only material damages occurred after the accident”, the legislator has chosen to indict this offence even if the victim has evaluable lesions within 1-2 days of medical care, on condition that for the same fact, in the old regulation, 10 days were required or it was an oversight of the legislator that it is to be resolved at some point?

  3. Phylogenetic constrains on mycorrhizal specificity in eight Dendrobium (Orchidaceae) species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Xiaoke; Ma, Xueting; Men, Jinxin; Chen, Yanhong; Guo, Shunxing

    2017-05-01

    Plant phylogeny constrains orchid mycorrhizal (OrM) fungal community composition in some orchids. Here, we investigated the structures of the OrM fungal communities of eight Dendrobium species in one niche to determine whether similarities in the OrM fungal communities correlated with the phylogeny of the host plants and whether the Dendrobium-OrM fungal interactions are phylogenetically conserved. A phylogeny based on DNA data was constructed for the eight coexisting Dendrobium species, and the OrM fungal communities were characterized by their roots. There were 31 different fungal lineages associated with the eight Dendrobium species. In total, 82.98% of the identified associations belonging to Tulasnellaceae, and a smaller proportion involved members of the unknown Basidiomycota (9.67%). Community analyses revealed that phylogenetically related Dendrobium tended to interact with a similar set of Tulasnellaceae fungi. The interactions between Dendrobium and Tulasnellaceae fungi were significantly influenced by the phylogenetic relationships among the Dendrobium species. Our results provide evidence that the mycorrhizal specificity in the eight coexisting Dendrobium species was phylogenetically conserved.

  4. Comparative intra-and inter-specific sexual organ reciprocity in four distylous Primula species in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hai-Dong; Ren, Zong-Xin; Zhou, Wei; Bernhardt, Peter; Zhao, Yan-Hui; Wu, Zhi-Kun; Li, De-Zhu; Wang, Hong

    2018-04-23

    Distyly is a mechanism promoting cross-pollination within a balanced polymorphism. Numerous studies show that the degree of inter-morph sexual organ reciprocity (SOR) within species relates to its pollen-mediated gene flow. Similarly, a lower inter-specific SOR should promote inter-specific isolation when congeners are sympatric, co-blooming, and share pollinators. In this comparative study, we address the significance of SOR at both intra- and inter-specific levels. Seventeen allopatric and eight sympatric populations representing four Primula species (P. anisodora, P. beesiana, P. bulleyana and P. poissonii) native to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains were measured for eight floral traits in both long- and short-styled morphs. GLMM and spatial overlap methods were used to compare intra- and inter-specific SOR. While floral morphology differed among four Primula species. SOR within species was generally higher than between species, but species pairs P. poissonii / P. anisodora and P. beesiana / P. bulleyana, the SOR was high at both intra- and inter-specific levels. We didn't detect a significant variation in intra-specific SOR or inter-specific SOR when compare allopatric vs. sympatric populations for all species studied. As intra-specific SOR increased, disassortative mating may be promoted. As inter-specific SOR decreased, inter-specific isolation between co-flowering species pairs also may increase. Hybridization between congeners occurred when inter-specific SOR increased in sympatric populations was confirmed in two species pairs, P. poissonii / P. anisodora and P. beesiana / P. bulleyana. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  5. Self-reported accidents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Katrine Meltofte; Andersen, Camilla Sloth

    2016-01-01

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

  6. Greek PDO saffron authentication studies using species specific molecular markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosmali, I; Ordoudi, S A; Tsimidou, M Z; Madesis, P

    2017-10-01

    Saffron, the spice produced from the red stigmas of the flower of Crocus sativus L. is a frequent target of fraud and mislabeling practices that cannot be fully traced using the ISO 3632 trade standard specifications and test methods. A molecular approach is proposed herein as a promising branding strategy for the authentication of highly esteemed saffron brands such as the Greek Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) "Krokos Kozanis". Specific ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat) markers were used to assess for the first time, the within species variability of several populations of C. sativus L. from the cultivation area of "Krokos Kozanis" as well as the potential differences with the band pattern produced by other Crocus species. Then, species-specific markers were developed taking advantage of an advanced molecular technique such as the HRM analysis coupled with universal DNA barcoding regions (trnL) (Bar-HRM) and applied to saffron admixtures with some of the most common plant adulterants (Calendula officinalis, Carthamus tinctorius, Gardenia jasminoides, Zea mays and Curcuma longa). The sensitivity of the procedure was tested for turmeric as a case study whereas HPLC-fluorescence determination of secondary metabolites was also employed for comparison. The overall results indicated that the Bar-HRM approach is quite effective in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Its effectiveness regarding the detection of turmeric was comparable to that of a conventional HPLC method (0.5% vs 1.0%, w/w). Yet, the proposed DNA-based method is much faster, cost-effective and can be used even by non-geneticists, in any laboratory having access to an HRM-capable real-time PCR instrumentation. It can be, thus, regarded as a strong analytical tool in saffron authentication studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Revised accident source terms for light-water reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soffer, L. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

    1995-02-01

    This paper presents revised accident source terms for light-water reactors incorporating the severe accident research insights gained in this area over the last 15 years. Current LWR reactor accident source terms used for licensing date from 1962 and are contained in Regulatory Guides 1.3 and 1.4. These specify that 100% of the core inventory of noble gases and 25% of the iodine fission products are assumed to be instantaneously available for release from the containment. The chemical form of the iodine fission products is also assumed to be predominantly elemental iodine. These assumptions have strongly affected present nuclear air cleaning requirements by emphasizing rapid actuation of spray systems and filtration systems optimized to retain elemental iodine. A proposed revision of reactor accident source terms and some im implications for nuclear air cleaning requirements was presented at the 22nd DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning Conference. A draft report was issued by the NRC for comment in July 1992. Extensive comments were received, with the most significant comments involving (a) release fractions for both volatile and non-volatile species in the early in-vessel release phase, (b) gap release fractions of the noble gases, iodine and cesium, and (c) the timing and duration for the release phases. The final source term report is expected to be issued in late 1994. Although the revised source terms are intended primarily for future plants, current nuclear power plants may request use of revised accident source term insights as well in licensing. This paper emphasizes additional information obtained since the 22nd Conference, including studies on fission product removal mechanisms, results obtained from improved severe accident code calculations and resolution of major comments, and their impact upon the revised accident source terms. Revised accident source terms for both BWRS and PWRS are presented.

  8. Influenza virus and endothelial cells: a species specific relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsty Renfree Short

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Influenza A virus infection is an important cause of respiratory disease in humans. The original reservoirs of influenza A virus are wild waterfowl and shorebirds, where virus infection causes limited, if any, disease. Both in humans and in wild waterbirds, epithelial cells are the main target of infection. However, influenza virus can spread from wild bird species to terrestrial poultry. Here, the virus can evolve into highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI. Part of this evolution involves increased viral tropism for endothelial cells. HPAI virus infections not only cause severe disease in chickens and other terrestrial poultry species but can also spread to humans and back to wild bird populations. Here, we review the role of the endothelium in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection in wild birds, terrestrial poultry and humans with a particular focus on HPAI viruses. We demonstrate that whilst the endothelium is an important target of virus infection in terrestrial poultry and some wild bird species, in humans the endothelium is more important in controlling the local inflammatory milieu. Thus, the endothelium plays an important, but species-specific, role in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection.

  9. Behaviour of molten reactor fuels under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xavier Swamikannu, A.; Mathews, C.K.

    1980-01-01

    The behaviour of molten reactor fuels under accident conditions has received considerable importance in recent times. The chemical processes that occur in the molten state among the fuel, the clad components and the concrete of the containment building under the conditions of a core melt down accident in oxide fuelled reactors have been reviewed with the purpose of identifying areas of developmental work required to be performed to assess and minimize the consequences of such an accident. This includes the computation and estimation of vapour pressure of various gaseous species over the fuel, the clad and the coolant, providing of sacrificial materials in the concrete in order to protect the containment building in order to prevent release of radioactive gases into the atmosphere and understanding the distribution and chemical state of fission products in the molten fuel in order to provide for the effective removal of their decay heats. (auth.)

  10. Analysis of accidents at the LPR (Radiochemical Processes Laboratory)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaufmann, F.; Boutet, L.I.

    1987-01-01

    Accidents are defined as not planned events that may result in the emission of significative quantities of radioactive materials to the environment. The pilot plant has been specifically designed to prevent this type of accidents but there still exists the possibility that one or more accidents can be produced during the plant life. In a first phase, the emission of radionuclides to the environment were evaluated for 13 credible accidents. In a second phase, by means of the calculation program SEDA, specially adapted to this purpose, the critical doses of critical group were calculated for each accident. Due to the small capacity of the pilot plant and the long cooling period of treated fuel, it is concluded that the radiological consequences for the external environment are of very small magnitude. In this way, without need of developing complex fault- or event-trees, it is shown that any of the accidents falls into the non acceptable zone of Farmer diagram. (Author)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khakzad, Nima; Khan, Faisal; Amyotte, Paul

    2015-07-01

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

  12. [Rehabilitation after occupational accidents in professional dancers: advice with due regard to dance specific aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanke, E M; Quarcoo, D; Uibel, S; Groneberg, D A

    2012-08-01

    The highly specialized occupation of professional dancers is a combination of sport and artistic expression. The exertion is only possible with a fully operative body. Although professional dancers may be compared with elite athletes and acute injuries frequently happen, dancers do not seem to be granted an appropriate therapy after accidents as compared with athletes. Although even minor injuries may potentially endanger the career of a professional dancer, physiotherapeutic or physical treatment methods are applied in every tenth case only. Alternative and holistic concepts such as Pilates or dance-specific re-integration that proved successful in professional dancers, are used in even fewer instances. The aim of this study is to develop a rehabilitation concept for professional dancers focusing on dance-medicine aspects. It has been taken into account that the best physical outcomes are reflected in an optimized, holistic, dance-specific therapy and rehabilitation. Intensifying and exploiting dance-specific methods of treatment can not only reduce costs in the end but can even contribute to reducing the duration of rehabilitation after injuries of dancers. Preconditions for realization of the rehabilitative model are a high qualification of all persons working in the rehabilitative field as well as a marked willingness to cooperate in the various dance fields. Both gender-specific and dance-style particularities are to be taken into account to ensure a successful rehabilitation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  13. Application of forensic image analysis in accident investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verolme, Ellen; Mieremet, Arjan

    2017-09-01

    Forensic investigations are primarily meant to obtain objective answers that can be used for criminal prosecution. Accident analyses are usually performed to learn from incidents and to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. Although the primary goal may be different, the steps in which information is gathered, interpreted and weighed are similar in both types of investigations, implying that forensic techniques can be of use in accident investigations as well. The use in accident investigations usually means that more information can be obtained from the available information than when used in criminal investigations, since the latter require a higher evidence level. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability of forensic techniques for accident investigations by presenting a number of cases from one specific field of expertise: image analysis. With the rapid spread of digital devices and new media, a wealth of image material and other digital information has become available for accident investigators. We show that much information can be distilled from footage by using forensic image analysis techniques. These applications show that image analysis provides information that is crucial for obtaining the sequence of events and the two- and three-dimensional geometry of an accident. Since accident investigation focuses primarily on learning from accidents and prevention of future accidents, and less on the blame that is crucial for criminal investigations, the field of application of these forensic tools may be broader than would be the case in purely legal sense. This is an important notion for future accident investigations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2010-11-15

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

  15. Instrumentation for the follow-up of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz Sanchez, A.; Nino Perote, R.

    2000-01-01

    During severe accidents, it is foreseeable that the instrumentation installed in a plant is subjected to conditions which are more hostile than those for which the instrumentation was designed and qualified. Moreover, new, specific instrumentation is required to monitor variables which have not been considered until now, and to control systems which lessen the consequences of severe accidents. Both existing instrumentation used to monitor critical functions in design basis accident conditions and additional instrumentation which provides the information necessary to control and mitigate the consequences of severe accidents, have to be designed to withstand such conditions, especially in terms of measurements range, functional characteristics and qualification to withstand pressure and temperature loads resulting from steam explosion, hydrogen combustion/explosion and high levels of radiation over long periods of time. (Author)

  16. Causation of severe and fatal accidents in the manufacturing sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrillo-Castrillo, Jesús A; Rubio-Romero, Juan C; Onieva, Luis

    2013-01-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to identify the most frequent causes of accidents in the manufacturing sector in Andalusia, Spain, to help safety practitioners in the task of prioritizing preventive actions. Official accident investigation reports are analyzed. A causation pattern is identified with the proportion of causes of each of the different possible groups of causes. We found evidence of a differential causation between slight and nonslight accidents. We have also found significant differences in accident causation depending on the mechanism of the accident. These results can be used to prioritize preventive actions to combat the most likely causes of each accident mechanism. We have also done research on the associations of certain latent causes with specific active (immediate) causes. These relationships show how organizational and safety management can contribute to the prevention of active failures.

  17. Accident information needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1992-01-01

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

  18. Accident information needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    1992-12-31

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

  19. Accident information needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    1992-01-01

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

  20. Non-coding changes cause sex-specific wing size differences between closely related species of Nasonia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Loehlin, David W.; Oliveira, Deodoro C. S. G.; Edwards, Rachel; Giebel, Jonathan D.; Clark, Michael E.; Cattani, M. Victoria; van de Zande, Louis; Verhulst, Eveline C.; Beukeboom, Leo W.; Munoz-Torres, Monica; Werren, John H.

    The genetic basis of morphological differences among species is still poorly understood. We investigated the genetic basis of sex-specific differences in wing size between two closely related species of Nasonia by positional cloning a major male-specific locus, wing-size1 (ws1). Male wing size

  1. US nuclear industry approach to severe accident management guidance development and implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Modeen, D.; Walsh, L.; Oehlberg, R.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the US nuclear industry activities, occurring under the auspices of Nuclear Management and Resources Council (NUMARC), to define, develop and implement enhancements to utility accident management capabilities. This effort consists of three major parts: (1) Development of a practical framework for evaluation of plant-specific accident management capabilities and the subsequent implementation of selected enhancements. (2) Development of specific technical guidance that address arresting core damage if it begins, either in-vessel or ex-vessel, and maintaining containment integrity. Preventing inadequate core cooling or minimizing the consequences of offsite releases, while considered to be candidate areas for accident management enhancements, have been the subject of intense previous study and development. (3) Plant-specific implementation of accident management enhancements in three areas: (a) personnel resources (organization, training, communications); (b) systems and equipment (restoration and repair, instrumentation, use of alternatives); and (c) information resources (procedures and guidance, technical information, process information)

  2. Identification of salivary Lactobacillus rhamnosus species by DNA profiling and a specific probe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, B; Groisillier, A; Badet, C; Dorignac, G; Lonvaud-Funel, A

    2001-03-01

    The Lactobacillus genus has been shown to be associated with the dental carious process, but little is known about the species related to the decay, although Lactobacillus rhamnosus is suspected to be the most implicated species. Conventional identification methods based on biochemical criteria lead to ambiguous results, since the Lactobacillus species found in saliva are phenotypically close. To clarify the role of this genus in the evolution of carious disease, this work aimed to find a rapid and reliable method for identifying the L. rhamnosus species. Methods based on hybridization with DNA probes and DNA amplification by PCR were used. The dominant salivary Lactobacillus species (reference strains from the ATCC) were selected for this purpose as well as some wild strains isolated from children's saliva. DNA profiling using semirandom polymorphic DNA amplification (semi-RAPD) generated specific patterns for L. rhamnosus ATCC 7469. The profiles of all L. rhamnosus strains tested were similar and could be grouped; these strains shared four common fragments. Wild strains first identified with classic methods shared common patterns with the L. rhamnosus species and could be reclassified. One fragment of the profile was purified, cloned, used as a probe and found to be specific to the L. rhamnosus species. These results may help to localize this species within its ecological niche and to elucidate the progression of the carious process.

  3. Identifying traffic accident black spots with Poisson-Tweedie models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Debrabant, Birgit; Halekoh, Ulrich; Bonat, Wagner Hugo

    2018-01-01

    This paper aims at the identification of black spots for traffic accidents, i.e. locations with accident counts beyond what is usual for similar locations, using spatially and temporally aggregated hospital records from Funen, Denmark. Specifically, we apply an autoregressive Poisson-Tweedie model...... considered calendar years and calculated by simulations a probability of p=0.03 for these to be chance findings. Altogether, our results recommend these sites for further investigation and suggest that our simple approach could play a role in future area based traffic accident prevention planning....

  4. Facial trauma among victims of terrestrial transport accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  5. Severe Accidents in the Energy Sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirschberg, S; Spiekerman, G; Dones, R

    1998-11-01

    A comprehensive database on severe accidents, with main emphasis on the ones associated with the energy sector, has been established by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Fossil energy carriers, nuclear power and hydro power are covered in ENSAD (Energy related Severe Accident Database), and the scope of work includes all stages of the analysed energy chains, i.e. exploration, extraction, transports, processing, storage and waste disposal. The database has been developed using a wide variety of sources. As opposed to the previous studies the ambition of the present work has been, whenever feasible, to cover a relatively broad spectrum of damage categories of interest. This includes apart from fatalities also serious injuries, evacuations, land or water contamination, and economic losses. Currently, ENSAD covers 13,914 accidents, of which 4290 are energy related, and 1943 are considered as severe accidents. Significant effort has been directed towards the examination of the relevance of the worldwide accident records to the Swiss specific conditions, particularly in the context of nuclear and hydro power. For example, a detailed investigation of large dam failures and their consequences was carried out. Generally, while Swiss specific aspects are emphasised, the major part of the collected and analysed data, as well as the insights gained, are considered to be of general interest. In particular, three sets of the aggregated results are provided based on world wide occurrence, on OECD countries, and on non OECD countries, respectively. Significant differences exist between the aggregated, normalised damage rates assessed for the various energy carriers: On the world wide basis, the broader picture obtained by coverage of full energy chains leads to aggregated immediate fatality rates being much higher for the fossil fuels than what one would expect if power plants only were considered. The highest rates apply to LPG, followed by hydro, oil, coal, natural gas and

  6. Severe Accidents in the Energy Sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirschberg, S.; Spiekerman, G.; Dones, R.

    1998-11-01

    A comprehensive database on severe accidents, with main emphasis on the ones associated with the energy sector, has been established by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Fossil energy carriers, nuclear power and hydro power are covered in ENSAD (Energy related Severe Accident Database), and the scope of work includes all stages of the analysed energy chains, i.e. exploration, extraction, transports, processing, storage and waste disposal. The database has been developed using a wide variety of sources. As opposed to the previous studies the ambition of the present work has been, whenever feasible, to cover a relatively broad spectrum of damage categories of interest. This includes apart from fatalities also serious injuries, evacuations, land or water contamination, and economic losses. Currently, ENSAD covers 13,914 accidents, of which 4290 are energy related, and 1943 are considered as severe accidents. Significant effort has been directed towards the examination of the relevance of the worldwide accident records to the Swiss specific conditions, particularly in the context of nuclear and hydro power. For example, a detailed investigation of large dam failures and their consequences was carried out. Generally, while Swiss specific aspects are emphasised, the major part of the collected and analysed data, as well as the insights gained, are considered to be of general interest. In particular, three sets of the aggregated results are provided based on world wide occurrence, on OECD countries, and on non OECD countries, respectively. Significant differences exist between the aggregated, normalised damage rates assessed for the various energy carriers: On the world wide basis, the broader picture obtained by coverage of full energy chains leads to aggregated immediate fatality rates being much higher for the fossil fuels than what one would expect if power plants only were considered. The highest rates apply to LPG, followed by hydro, oil, coal, natural gas and

  7. Do host species evolve a specific response to slave-making ants?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delattre Olivier

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Social parasitism is an important selective pressure for social insect species. It is particularly the case for the hosts of dulotic (so called slave-making ants, which pillage the brood of host colonies to increase the worker force of their own colony. Such raids can have an important impact on the fitness of the host nest. An arms race which can lead to geographic variation in host defenses is thus expected between hosts and parasites. In this study we tested whether the presence of a social parasite (the dulotic ant Myrmoxenus ravouxi within an ant community correlated with a specific behavioral defense strategy of local host or non-host populations of Temnothorax ants. Social recognition often leads to more or less pronounced agonistic interactions between non-nestmates ants. Here, we monitored agonistic behaviors to assess whether ants discriminate social parasites from other ants. It is now well-known that ants essentially rely on cuticular hydrocarbons to discriminate nestmates from aliens. If host species have evolved a specific recognition mechanism for their parasite, we hypothesize that the differences in behavioral responses would not be fully explained simply by quantitative dissimilarity in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, but should also involve a qualitative response due to the detection of particular compounds. We scaled the behavioral results according to the quantitative chemical distance between host and parasite colonies to test this hypothesis. Results Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles were distinct between species, but host species did not show a clearly higher aggression rate towards the parasite than toward non-parasite intruders, unless the degree of response was scaled by the chemical distance between intruders and recipient colonies. By doing so, we show that workers of the host and of a non-host species in the parasitized site displayed more agonistic behaviors (bites and ejections towards parasite

  8. Species specific anaesthetics for fish anaesthesia and euthanasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Readman, Gareth D; Owen, Stewart F; Knowles, Toby G; Murrell, Joanna C

    2017-08-02

    There is a need to ensure that the care and welfare for fish maintained in the laboratory are to the highest standards. This extends to the use of anaesthetics for both scientific study, humane killing and euthanasia at end of life. An anaesthetic should not induce negative behaviours and fish should not seek to avoid the anaesthetic. Surprisingly little information is available to facilitate a humane choice of anaesthetic agent for fish despite over 100 years of use and the millions of fish currently held in thousands of laboratories worldwide. Using a chemotaxic choice chamber we found different species specific behavioural responses among four closely related fish species commonly held in the laboratory, exposed to three widely used anaesthetic agents. As previously found for zebrafish (Danio rerio), the use of MS-222 and benzocaine also appears to induce avoidance behaviours in medaka (Oryzias latipes); but etomidate could provide an alternative choice. Carp (Cyprinus carpio), although closely related to zebrafish showed avoidance behaviours to etomidate, but not benzocaine or MS-222; and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) showed no avoidance to the three agents tested. We were unable to ascertain avoidance responses in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and suggest different test paradigms are required for that species.

  9. Level 2 PSA methodology and severe accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The objective of the work was to review current Level 2-PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) methodologies and practices and to investigate how Level 2-PSA can support severe accident management programmes, i.e. the development, implementation, training and optimisation of accident management strategies and measures. For the most part, the presented material reflects the state in 1996. Current Level 2 PSA results and methodologies are reviewed and evaluated with respect to plant type specific and generic insights. Approaches and practices for using PSA results in the regulatory context and for supporting severe accident management programmes by input from level 2 PSAs are examined. The work is based on information contained in: PSA procedure guides, PSA review guides and regulatory guides for the use of PSA results in risk informed decision making; plant specific PSAs and PSA related literature exemplifying specific procedures, methods, analytical models, relevant input data and important results, use of computer codes and results of code calculations. The PSAs are evaluated with respect to results and insights. In the conclusion section, the present state of risk informed decision making, in particular in the level 2 domain, is described and substantiated by relevant examples

  10. Dynamic variation in sapwood specific conductivity in six woody species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jean-Christophe Domec; Frederick C. Meinzer; Barbara Lachenbruch; Johann Housset

    2008-01-01

    Our goals were to quantify how non-embolism inducing pressure gradients influence trunk sapwood specific conductivity (ks) and to compare the impacts of constant and varying pressure gradients on ks with KCl and H20 as the perfusion solutions. We studied six woody species (three conifers and three...

  11. Overview of severe accident research at KAERI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, H.D.; Kim, S.B.; Hong, S.W.; Kim, D.H.

    2000-01-01

    The severe accident research program at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, within the framework of governmental 10 year long-term nuclear R and D program, aims at the development of assessment techniques and accident management strategies for the prevention and mitigation of potential risk. The research program includes experimental efforts, development of phenomena specific models and development of an integrated computer code. The results of research program is intended to be utilized for the design of the advanced light water reactor and development of accident management strategies for the operating reactors. The main focused areas of recent investigation at KAERI are experiments on in-vessel core debris retention (SONATA-IV) and fuel coolant interaction (TROI) along with the development of models and integrated computer code (MIDAS). (author)

  12. The radioecological consequences of the Kyshtym and Chernobyl radiation accidents for forest ecosystems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tikhomirov, F.A.; Shcheglov, A.I.

    1991-01-01

    Following the Urals and Chernobyl accidents 60 to 90% of the radioactive fallout was retained by the above-ground part of forest stands. In the Urals the period for semi-removal of contamination from crowns ranged from 6 to 8 months, compared to around one month in the Chernobyl region - due to different seasonal conditions during the fallout period. The bulk of the dose burden in woody plants' critical organs built up over one to six months. The minimum lethal dose for pine tree needles in the Urals was around 50 Gy, and 25 Gy for the apical meristem; the corresponding figures for Chernobyl were 100 Gy and 25-30 Gy. At lower doses we observed morphological disturbances, reduced growth and suppressed reproductive capability in pines. The resistance to radioactive contamination of deciduous forest was 10-20 times greater than that of conifers. We studied the irradiation doses of the different groups of organisms living in the various forest storeys, and the effects of irradiation (changes in species composition, prevalence and productivity) in communities of herbaceous plants and soil invertebrates. Specific examples are given to highlight the secondary changes in these communities stemming from radiation damage in species sensitive to radioactive contamination. We studied the dynamics of dispersion and migration of the long-lived radionuclides 90 Sr and 137 Cs in the various components of the biogeocenoses and in the network of geochemically interconnected forest landscapes, and their content in forestry produce. Some six to ten years after the deposition of radioactive fallout in forest ecosystems the radionuclides were more or less evenly spread throughout the soil-woody plant system. Thus, overall 90 Sr content in the arboreal storey amounts to 1-2% in coniferous forests, and 5-10% in deciduous forests (Urals accident), while the corresponding figures for 137 Cs (Chernobyl accident) are 2 to 3 times higher. (author)

  13. Applying probabilistic methods for assessments and calculations for accident prevention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1984-01-01

    The guidelines for the prevention of accidents require plant design-specific and radioecological calculations to be made in order to show that maximum acceptable expsoure values will not be exceeded in case of an accident. For this purpose, main parameters affecting the accident scenario have to be determined by probabilistic methods. This offers the advantage that parameters can be quantified on the basis of unambigious and realistic criteria, and final results can be defined in terms of conservativity. (DG) [de

  14. Using MARS to assist in managing a severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raines, J.C.; Hammersley, R.J.; Henry, R.E.

    2004-01-01

    During an accident, information about the current and possible future states of the plant provides guidance for accident managers in evaluating which actions should be taken. However, depending upon the nature of the accident and the stress levels imposed on the plant staff responding to the accident the current and future plant assessments may be very difficult or nearly impossible to perform without supplemental training and/or appropriate tools. The MAAP Accident Response System (MARS) has been developed as a calculational aid to assist the responsible accident management individuals. Specifically MARS provides additional insights on the current and possible future states of the plant during an accident including the influence of operator actions. In addition to serving as a calculational aid, the MARS software can be an effective means for providing supplemental training. The MARS software uses engineering calculations to perform an integral assessment of the plant status including a consistency assessment of the available instrumentation. In addition, it uses the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP) to provide near term predictions of the plant response if corrective actions are taken. This paper will discuss the types of information that are beneficial to the accident manager and how MARS addresses each. The MARS calculational functions include: instrumentation, validation and simulation, projected operator response based on the EOPs, as well as estimated timing and magnitude of in-plant and off-site radiation dose releases. Each of these items is influential in the management of a severe accident. (author)

  15. Aircraft accident analysis for emergency planning and safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicolosi, S.L.; Jordan, H.; Foti, D.; Mancuso, J.

    1996-01-01

    Potential aircraft accidents involving facilities at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (Site) are evaluated to assess their safety significance. This study addresses the probability and facility penetrability of aircraft accidents at the Site. The types of aircraft (large, small, etc.) that may credibly impact the Site determine the types of facilities that may be breached. The methodology used in this analysis follows elements of the draft Department of Energy Standard ''Accident Analysis for Aircraft Crash into Hazardous Facilities'' (July 1995). Key elements used are: the four-factor frequency equation for aircraft accidents; the distance criteria for consideration of airports, airways, and jet routes; the consideration of different types of aircraft; and the Modified National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) formula for projectile penetration, perforation, and minimum resistant thickness. The potential aircraft accident frequency for each type of aircraft applicable to the Site is estimated using a four-factor formula described in the draft Standard. The accident frequency is the product of the annual number of operations, probability of an accident, probability density function, and area. The annual number of operations is developed from site-specific and state-wide data

  16. Species-specific detection and quantification of common barnacle larvae from the Japanese coast using quantitative real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endo, Noriyuki; Sato, Kana; Matsumura, Kiyotaka; Yoshimura, Erina; Odaka, Yukiko; Nogata, Yasuyuki

    2010-11-01

    Species-specific detection and quantification methods for barnacle larvae using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were developed. Species-specific primers for qPCR were designed for 13 barnacle species in the mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA gene region. Primer specificity was examined by PCR using template DNA extracted from each of the 13 barnacle species, other unidentified barnacle species, and field collected zooplankton samples. The resulting PCR products comprised single bands following agarose gel electrophoresis when the templates corresponded to primers. The amplifications were highly species-specific even for the field plankton samples. The field plankton samples were subjected to qPCR assay. The calculated DNA contents for each barnacle species were closely correlated with the number of larvae measured by microscopic examination. The method could be applied to quantify barnacle larvae in natural plankton samples.

  17. [Motorcycle couriers: characteristics of traffic accidents in southern Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Dorotéia Fátima Pelissari de Paula; Mathias, Thais Aidar de Freitas; da Silva, Daniela Wosiack; de Andrade, Selma Maffei

    2011-09-01

    This study aimed at understanding characteristics of traffic accidents with motorcycle couriers in the cities of Londrina and Maringá, in the State of Paraná (Brazil). A total of 327 couriers who reported, in 2005/2006, motorcycle accident in the previous 12 months took part in the study (147 in Londrina and 180 in Maringá). Of all the interviewed, 39.6% reported more than one traffic accident. The accidents were perceived as serious by 21.4% of them and 56.3% reported knowing a convalescing courier due to a traffic accident. Most injuries (82.9%) occurred during work hours. Significant differences were observed between the cities concerning climatic conditions (p=0.013), time of the day (p=0.002), pre-hospital care (p=0.032) and hospital admission (paccidents highlight the susceptibility of motorcycle couriers to these events and the need for strategies and specific prevention policies.

  18. Key Characteristics of Combined Accident including TLOFW accident for PSA Modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2015-05-15

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Kiyoharu.

    1995-05-01

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

  20. Radioactivity measurement for emergency or post-accident situations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Champion, D.

    2010-01-01

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

  1. The radiological accident at the irradiation facility in Nesvizh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    More than 40 years of experience in radiation processing has shown that such technology is generally used safely, and steady improvement in the design of facilities and careful selection and training of operators have contributed to this good safety record. However, some cases of circumvention of safety systems have been registered and it is documented that the consequences of radiological accidents at industrial radiation facilities can be extremely serious. The causes of accidents may have some points in common, but at the same time may be highly specific. A detailed study of these common and specific features seems to be of great importance for further improvements in safety systems. One such event occurred on 26 October 1991 at an industrial sterilization facility in Nesvizh, Belarus, when the operator entered the irradiation chamber and was severely exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. The significant feature of this case was related to the medical management. It should be underlined that some circumstances of the accident only came to light during the post-accident review made by the IAEA. To document the causes and consequences of the accident and to define the lessons learned are of help to those people with responsibility for the safety of such facilities and to those medical authorities who might be involved in the management of a radiation event. 16 refs, figs, tabs, photographs

  2. Species-specific separation of lake plankton reveals divergent food assimilation patterns in rotifers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burian, Alfred; Kainz, Martin J; Schagerl, Michael; Yasindi, Andrew

    2014-06-01

    1. The analysis of functional groups with a resolution to the individual species level is a basic requirement to better understand complex interactions in aquatic food webs. Species-specific stable isotope analyses are currently applied to analyse the trophic role of large zooplankton or fish species, but technical constraints complicate their application to smaller-sized plankton. 2. We investigated rotifer food assimilation during a short-term microzooplankton bloom in the East African soda lake Nakuru by developing a method for species-specific sampling of rotifers. 3. The two dominant rotifers, Brachionus plicatilis and Brachionus dimidiatus , were separated to single-species samples (purity >95%) and significantly differed in their isotopic values (4.1‰ in δ 13 C and 1.5‰ in δ 15 N). Bayesian mixing models indicated that isotopic differences were caused by different assimilation of filamentous cyanobacteria and particles plicatilis (48%), whereas it was hardly ingested by B. dimidiatus . Overall, A . fusiformis was, relative to its biomass, assimilated to small extents, demonstrating a high grazing resistance of this species. 5. In combination with high population densities, these results demonstrate a strong potential of rotifer blooms to shape phytoplankton communities and are the first in situ demonstration of a quantitatively important direct trophic link between rotifers and filamentous cyanobacteria.

  3. Severe accident phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1995-02-01

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

  4. Levels of specificity of Xylaria species associated with fungus-growing termites: a phylogenetic approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Visser, Andre; Ros, V I D; De Beer, Z. W.

    2009-01-01

    of the ascomycete genus Xylaria appear and rapidly cover the fungus garden. This raises the question whether certain Xylaria species are specialised in occupying termite nests or whether they are just occasional visitors. We tested Xylaria specificity at four levels: (1) fungus-growing termites, (2) termite genera...... of the ITS region revealed 16 operational taxonomic units of Xylaria, indicating high levels of Xylaria species richness. Not much of this variation was explained by termite genus, species, or colony; thus, at level 2-4 the specificity is low. Analysis of the large subunit rDNA region, showed that all...... termite-associated Xylaria belong to a single clade, together with only three of the 26 non-termite-associated strains. Termite-associated Xylaria thus show specificity for fungus-growing termites (level 1). We did not find evidence for geographic or temporal structuring in these Xylaria phylogenies...

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naito, Keiji

    2003-09-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-10-01

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

  7. Environmental aftermath of the radiation accident at Tomsk-7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porfiriev, B.N.

    1996-01-01

    An analysis is presented of the environmental effects of the most serious radiation accident recorded after Chernobyl, which occurred in the formerly secret town of Tomsk-7 in Siberia, Russia, on 6, April 1993. Fortunately, it appears not to have become a major industrial crisis or disaster. The causes of the accident are described. It is argued that a mixture of both objective and subjective prerequisites, including specific human, organizational, and technological factors, were responsible for the explosion or directly facilitated it. The Tomsk-7 accident's ecological, medical, social, and psychological consequences are discussed. 33 refs., 1 figs., 1 tab

  8. Accidents in industrial radiography in Brazil from 2005 to 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu

    2011-01-01

    Analysis of accidents occurring in industrial radiography in Brazil from 2005 until 2010 led to the study of the main characteristics of the events, their risks and dangers. This study outlines the main doubts on the subject, through a simplified analysis of the contents of high dose reports sent to CNEN by the companies that provide services for industrial radiography and from examining the growing number of radioactive sources for industrial radiography in Brazil, over this period. We classified the recorded events, as incidents, accidents, negligence, sabotage, and others, and studied their main consequences. We concluded that from 76 accidents that occurred during that period - 25 were real accidents, 13 minor accidents and 22 were inadvertent incidents. We found that the rate of growth in the number of sources is much greater than the rate of growth of accidents, with a ratio of 7.57 between them. The continuation of this study over some years, will allow the construction of a pyramid of accidents like the one developed by the Insurance Company of North America, specifically for industrial radiography to forecast the number of incidents and accidents that lead to serious or fatal injury. (author)

  9. A PC based multi-CPU severe accident simulation trainer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, M.W.; Bienarz, P.P.; Sartmadjiev, A.D.

    2004-01-01

    MELSIM Severe Accident Simulation Trainer is a personal computer based system being developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Risk Management Associates, Inc. for the purpose of training the operators of nuclear power stations. It also serves for evaluating accident management strategies as well as assessing complex interfaces between emergency operating procedures and accident management guidelines. The system is being developed for the Soviet designed WWER-440/Model 213 reactor and it is plant specific. The Bohunice V2 power station in the Slovak Republic has been selected for trial operation of the system. The trainer utilizes several CPUs working simultaneously on different areas of simulation. Detailed plant operation displays are provided on colour monitor mimic screens which show changing plant conditions in approximate real-time. Up to 28 000 curves can be plotted on a separate monitor as the MELSIM program proceeds. These plots proceed concurrently with the program, and time specific segments can be recalled for review. A benchmarking (limited in scope) against well validated thermal-hydraulic codes and selected plant accident data (WWER-440/213 Rovno NPP, Ukraine) has been initiated. Preliminary results are presented and discussed. (author)

  10. Species-specific optical genosensors for the detection of mycotoxigenic Fusarium fungi in food samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peltomaa, Riikka; Vaghini, Silvia; Patiño, Belén; Benito-Peña, Elena; Moreno-Bondi, María C.

    2016-01-01

    Plant-pathogenic Fusarium species, Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium proliferatum, are the major producers of fumonisins which are one of the most common mycotoxins found in maize. Herein, we report the development of specific and sensitive genosensors for detecting these two closely related Fusarium species in food samples. The sensors are based on species-specific capture and detection probes, which bind to the intergenic spacer region of rDNA (IGS). Oligonucleotide functionalized magnetic microbeads are used to capture the target DNA which is then detected using biotinylated detection probes and a streptavidin-coupled label. The developed genosensors had detection limits of 1.8 pM and 3.0 pM for F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides, respectively, using synthetic DNA targets. Furthermore, the biosensors were used to analyze natural fungal contamination of commercial maize samples. After amplification of the genomic DNA the sensors detected the presence of the fungi, in accordance with previous results obtained with PCR. No cross-reactivity between F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum, or other fungi species tested, was observed. The developed biosensors can provide a valuable tool to evaluate the potential for mycotoxin contamination in conditions where detection of mycotoxins directly is challenging. - Highlights: • Optical genosensors detect fumonisin producing Fusarium species in maize samples. • Oligonucleotide probes designed on the intergenic spacer region of rDNA can distinguish between closely related species. • Sandwich hybridization assay with magnetic microbeads allows species-specific detection of Fusarium spp. directly from PCR.

  11. Species-specific optical genosensors for the detection of mycotoxigenic Fusarium fungi in food samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peltomaa, Riikka; Vaghini, Silvia [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 28040 (Spain); Patiño, Belén [Department of Microbiology III, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 28040 (Spain); Benito-Peña, Elena, E-mail: elenabp@ucm.es [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 28040 (Spain); Moreno-Bondi, María C., E-mail: mcmbondi@ucm.es [Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Complutense University, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Madrid 28040 (Spain)

    2016-09-07

    Plant-pathogenic Fusarium species, Fusarium verticillioides and Fusarium proliferatum, are the major producers of fumonisins which are one of the most common mycotoxins found in maize. Herein, we report the development of specific and sensitive genosensors for detecting these two closely related Fusarium species in food samples. The sensors are based on species-specific capture and detection probes, which bind to the intergenic spacer region of rDNA (IGS). Oligonucleotide functionalized magnetic microbeads are used to capture the target DNA which is then detected using biotinylated detection probes and a streptavidin-coupled label. The developed genosensors had detection limits of 1.8 pM and 3.0 pM for F. proliferatum and F. verticillioides, respectively, using synthetic DNA targets. Furthermore, the biosensors were used to analyze natural fungal contamination of commercial maize samples. After amplification of the genomic DNA the sensors detected the presence of the fungi, in accordance with previous results obtained with PCR. No cross-reactivity between F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum, or other fungi species tested, was observed. The developed biosensors can provide a valuable tool to evaluate the potential for mycotoxin contamination in conditions where detection of mycotoxins directly is challenging. - Highlights: • Optical genosensors detect fumonisin producing Fusarium species in maize samples. • Oligonucleotide probes designed on the intergenic spacer region of rDNA can distinguish between closely related species. • Sandwich hybridization assay with magnetic microbeads allows species-specific detection of Fusarium spp. directly from PCR.

  12. Paralysis from sport and diving accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, H; Gerner, H J

    2001-01-01

    To examine the causes of sport-related spinal cord injuries that developed into paraplegia or tetraplegia, and to compare data from different sports with previous studies in the same geographical region. A retrospective epidemiological study and comparison with previous studies. The Orthopedic Department, specializing in the treatment and rehabilitation of paralyzed patients, at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Between 1985 and 1997, 1,016 cases of traumatic spinal cord injury presented at the Orthopedic Department at the University of Heidelberg: 6.8% were caused by sport and 7.7% by diving accidents. Sport-related spinal cord injuries with paralysis. A total of 1.016 cases of traumatic spinal cord injury were reviewed. Of these, 14.5% were caused by sport accidents (n = 69) or diving accidents (n = 78). Age of patients ranged from 9 to 52 years. 83% were male. 77% of the patients developed tetraplegia, and 23%, paraplegia. 16 of the sport accidents resulted from downhill skiing, 9 resulted from horseback riding, 7 from modern air sports, 6 from gymnastics, 5 from trampolining, and 26 from other sports. Previous analyses had revealed that paraplegia had mainly occurred from gymnastics, trampolining, or high diving accidents. More recently, however, the number of serious spinal injuries caused by risk-filled sports such as hang gliding and paragliding has significantly increased (p = 0.095), as it has for horseback riding and skiing. Examinations have shown that all patients who were involved in diving accidents developed tetraplegia. An analysis of injury from specific sports is still under way. Analysis of accidents resulting in damage to the spinal cord in respect to different sports shows that sports that have become popular during the last 10 years show an increasing risk of injury. Modern air sports hold the most injuries. Injury-preventing strategies also are presented.

  13. Characteristics of initial deposition and behavior of radiocesium in forest ecosystems of different locations and species affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komatsu, Masabumi; Kaneko, Shinji; Ohashi, Shinta; Kuroda, Katsushi; Sano, Tetsuya; Ikeda, Shigeto; Saito, Satoshi; Kiyono, Yoshiyuki; Tonosaki, Mario; Miura, Satoru; Akama, Akio; Kajimoto, Takuya; Takahashi, Masamichi

    2016-01-01

    After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, information about stand-level spatial patterns of radiocesium initially deposited in the surrounding forests was essential for predicting the future dynamics of radiocesium and suggesting a management plan for contaminated forests. In the first summer (approximately 6 months after the accident), we separately estimated the amounts of radiocesium ("1"3"4Cs and "1"3"7Cs; Bq m"−"2) in the major components (trees, organic layers, and soils) in forests of three sites with different contamination levels. For a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest studied at each of the three sites, the radiocesium concentration greatly differed among the components, with the needle and organic layer having the highest concentrations. For these cedar forests, the proportion of the "1"3"7Cs stock in the aboveground tree biomass varied from 22% to 44% of the total "1"3"7Cs stock; it was 44% in highly contaminated sites (7.0 × 10"5 Bq m"−"2) but reduced to 22% in less contaminated sites (1.1 × 10"4 Bq m"−"2). In the intermediate contaminated site (5.0–5.8 × 10"4 Bq m"−"2), 34% of radiocesium was observed in the aboveground tree biomass of the Japanese cedar stand. However, this proportion was considerably smaller (18–19%) in the nearby mixed forests of the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) and deciduous broad-leaved trees. Non-negligible amounts of "1"3"4Cs and "1"3"7Cs were detected in both the sapwood and heartwood of all the studied tree species. This finding suggested that the uptake or translocation of radiocesium had already started within 6 months after the accident. The belowground compartments were mostly present in the organic layer and the uppermost (0–5 cm deep) mineral soil layer at all the study sites. We discussed the initial transfer process of radiocesium deposited in the forest and inferred that the type of initial deposition (i.e., dry versus wet radiocesium deposition

  14. Reconfigurable mobile manipulation for accident response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Robert J.; Morse, William D.; Shirey, David L.; Cdebaca, DanielL M.; Hoffman, John P. Jr.; Lucy, William E.

    2000-01-01

    The need for a telerobotic vehicle with hazard sensing and integral manipulation capabilities has been identified for use in transportation accidents where nuclear weapons are involved. The Accident Response Mobile Manipulation System (ARMMS) platform has been developed to provide remote dexterous manipulation and hazard sensing for the Accident Response Group (ARG) at Sandia National Laboratories. The ARMMS' mobility platform is a military HMMWV [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle] that is teleoperated over RF or Fiber Optic communication channels. ARMMS is equipped with two high strength Schilling Titan II manipulators and a suite of hazardous gas and radiation sensors. Recently, a modular telerobotic control architecture call SMART (Sandia Modular Architecture for Robotic and Teleoperation) has been applied to ARMMS. SMART enables input devices and many system behaviors to be rapidly configured in the field for specific mission needs. This paper summarizes current SMART developments applied to ARMMS

  15. Development of system of computer codes for severe accident analysis and its applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jang, H S; Jeon, M H; Cho, N J. and others [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1992-01-15

    The objectives of this study is to develop a system of computer codes for postulated severe accident analyses in nuclear power plants. This system of codes is necessary to conduct Individual Plant Examination for domestic nuclear power plants. As a result of this study, one can conduct severe accident assessments more easily, and can extract the plant-specific vulnerabilities for severe accidents and at the same time the ideas for enhancing overall accident-resistance. Severe accident can be mitigated by the proper accident management strategies. Some operator action for mitigation can lead to more disastrous result and thus uncertain severe accident phenomena must be well recognized. There must be further research for development of severe accident management strategies utilizing existing plant resources as well as new design concepts.

  16. Development of system of computer codes for severe accident analysis and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, H. S.; Jeon, M. H.; Cho, N. J. and others

    1992-01-01

    The objectives of this study is to develop a system of computer codes for postulated severe accident analyses in nuclear power plants. This system of codes is necessary to conduct Individual Plant Examination for domestic nuclear power plants. As a result of this study, one can conduct severe accident assessments more easily, and can extract the plant-specific vulnerabilities for severe accidents and at the same time the ideas for enhancing overall accident-resistance. Severe accident can be mitigated by the proper accident management strategies. Some operator action for mitigation can lead to more disastrous result and thus uncertain severe accident phenomena must be well recognized. There must be further research for development of severe accident management strategies utilizing existing plant resources as well as new design concepts

  17. Nesting behaviour influences species-specific gas exchange across avian eggshells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portugal, Steven J; Maurer, Golo; Thomas, Gavin H; Hauber, Mark E; Grim, Tomáš; Cassey, Phillip

    2014-09-15

    Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (G(H2O)) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell G(H2O) and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in G(H2O) has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a diverse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between G(H2O) and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher G(H2O) than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher G(H2O) than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the G(H2O) are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher G(H2O) to overcome this constraint and still

  18. Species- and sex-specific connectivity effects of habitat fragmentation in a suite of woodland birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amos, Nevil; Harrisson, Katherine A; Radford, James Q; White, Matt; Newell, Graeme; Mac Nally, Ralph; Sunnucks, Paul; Pavlova, Alexandra

    2014-06-01

    Loss of functional connectivity following habitat loss and fragmentation could drive species declines. A comprehensive understanding of fragmentation effects on functional connectivity of an ecological assemblage requires investigation of multiple species with different mobilities, at different spatial scales, for each sex, and in different landscapes. Based on published data on mobility and ecological responses to fragmentation of 10 woodland-dependent birds, and using simulation studies, we predicted that (1) fragmentation would impede dispersal and gene flow of eight "decliners" (species that disappear from suitable patches when landscape-level tree cover falls below species-specific thresholds), but not of two "tolerant" species (whose occurrence in suitable habitat patches is independent of landscape tree cover); and that fragmentation effects would be stronger (2) in the least mobile species, (3) in the more philopatric sex, and (4) in the more fragmented region. We tested these predictions by evaluating spatially explicit isolation-by-landscape-resistance models of gene flow in fragmented landscapes across a 50 x 170 km study area in central Victoria, Australia, using individual and population genetic distances. To account for sex-biased dispersal and potential scale- and configuration-specific effects, we fitted models specific to sex and geographic zones. As predicted, four of the least mobile decliners showed evidence of reduced genetic connectivity. The responses were strongly sex specific, but in opposite directions in the two most sedentary species. Both tolerant species and (unexpectedly) four of the more mobile decliners showed no reduction in gene flow. This is unlikely to be due to time lags because more mobile species develop genetic signatures of fragmentation faster than do less mobile ones. Weaker genetic effects were observed in the geographic zone with more aggregated vegetation, consistent with gene flow being unimpeded by landscape

  19. U.S. nuclear industry approach to severe accident management guidance, development and implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Modeen, D.; Walsh, L.; Oehlberg, R.

    1991-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the US nuclear industry activities, occurring under the auspices of Nuclear Management and Resources Council (NUMARC), to define, develop and implement enhancements to utility accident management capabilities. This effort consists of three major parts: (1) Development of a practical framework for evaluation of plant-specific accident management capabilities and the subsequent implementation of selected enhancements. (2) Development of specific technical guidance that address arresting core damage if it begins, either in-vessel or ex-vessel, and maintaining containment integrity. Preventing inadequate core cooling or minimizing the consequences of offsite releases, while considered to be candidate areas for accident management enhancements, have been the subject of intense previous study and development. (3) Plant-specific implementation of accident management enhancements in three areas: (a) personnel resources (organization, training, communications); (b) systems and equipment (restoration and repair, instrumentation, use of alternatives); and (c) information resources (procedures and guidance, technical information, process information)

  20. Prevention of pedestrian accidents.

    OpenAIRE

    Kendrick, D

    1993-01-01

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

  1. Nonstructural Protein L* Species Specificity Supports a Mouse Origin for Vilyuisk Human Encephalitis Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drappier, Melissa; Opperdoes, Fred R; Michiels, Thomas

    2017-07-15

    Vilyuisk human encephalitis virus (VHEV) is a picornavirus related to Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV). VHEV was isolated from human material passaged in mice. Whether this VHEV is of human or mouse origin is therefore unclear. We took advantage of the species-specific activity of the nonstructural L* protein of theiloviruses to track the origin of TMEV isolates. TMEV L* inhibits RNase L, the effector enzyme of the interferon pathway. By using coimmunoprecipitation and functional RNase L assays, the species specificity of RNase L antagonism was tested for L* from mouse (DA) and rat (RTV-1) TMEV strains as well as for VHEV. Coimmunoprecipitation and functional assay data confirmed the species specificity of L* activity and showed that L* from rat strain RTV-1 inhibited rat but not mouse or human RNase L. Next, we showed that the VHEV L* protein was phylogenetically related to L* of mouse viruses and that it failed to inhibit human RNase L but readily antagonized mouse RNase L, unambiguously showing the mouse origin of VHEV. IMPORTANCE Defining the natural host of a virus can be a thorny issue, especially when the virus was isolated only once or when the isolation story is complex. The species Theilovirus includes Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), infecting mice and rats, and Saffold virus (SAFV), infecting humans. One TMEV strain, Vilyuisk human encephalitis virus (VHEV), however, was isolated from mice that were inoculated with cerebrospinal fluid of a patient presenting with chronic encephalitis. It is therefore unclear whether VHEV was derived from the human sample or from the inoculated mouse. The L* protein encoded by TMEV inhibits RNase L, a cellular enzyme involved in innate immunity, in a species-specific manner. Using binding and functional assays, we show that this species specificity even allows discrimination between TMEV strains of mouse and of rat origins. The VHEV L* protein clearly inhibited mouse but not human RNase L

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

    Data.gov (United States)

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

  3. The characterisation of vapour-phase alkali metal-tellurium-oxygen species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomme, R.A.; Ogden, J.S.; Bowsher, B.R.

    1986-10-01

    Detailed assessments of hypothetical severe accidents in light water reactors require the identification of the chemical forms of the radionuclides in order to determine their transport characteristics. Caesium and tellurium are important volatile fission products in accident scenarios. This report describes detailed studies to characterise the chemical species that vaporise from heated mixtures of various alkali metal-tellurium-oxygen systems. The molecular species were characterised by a combination of quadrupole mass spectrometry and matrix isolation-infrared spectroscopy undertaken in conjunction with experiments involving oxygen-18 substitution. The resulting spectra were interpreted in terms of a vapour-phase molecule with the stoichiometry M 2 TeO 3 (M = K,Rb,Cs) for M/Te molecular ratios of ∼ 2, and polymeric species for ratios < 2. This work has demonstrated the stability of caesium tellurite. The formation of this relatively low-volatility, water-soluble species could significantly modify the transport and release of caesium and tellurium. The data presented in this report should allow more comprehensive thermodynamic calculations to be undertaken that assist in the quantification of fission product behaviour during severe reactor accidents. (author)

  4. Compensation for damages in case of a nuclear accident; L'indemnisation des prejudices en cas d'accident nucleaire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leger, M. [CEA Saclay, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France)

    2011-01-15

    This article presents the system of compensation for damages in case of a nuclear accident. This system of civil liability for nuclear damage, as a specific regime, departs on several points from the common rules of civil liability, in order to provide an adequate and equitable compensation for the damages suffered by the victims of nuclear accidents. The French system of civil liability for nuclear damage results from two International Conventions integrated in French law (Paris convention 1960 and Brussels convention 1963) and the French law of 1968, October 30 on civil liability in the area of nuclear energy. These texts define the conditions under which a nuclear operator could be held liable in case of a nuclear accident. The protocols to amend the Paris and Brussels Conventions of 2004, not yet come into force, are also presented. They ensure that increased resources are available to compensate a greater number of victims of a nuclear accident. (author)

  5. Major Differences in Rates of Occupational Accidents between Different nationalities of Seafarers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henrik Lyngbeck; Laursen, Lise Hedegaard; Frydberg, Morten

    2008-01-01

    . Differences in approach to safety and risk taking between South East Asian and European seafarers should be identified and positives attitudes included in accident preventing programmes. Main messages Seafarers from South East Asia, mainly the Philippines, seem to have a genuine lower risk of occupational...... sources on occurrence of accidents were used and to identify specific causes of excess accident rates among certain nationalities. METHODS: Occupational accidents aboard Danish merchant ships during one year were identified from four different sources. These included accidents reported to the maritime...... including only more serious accidents, IRR for South East Asians rose to 0.36 (0.26-0.48). DISCUSSION: This study indicates that seafarers from South East Asia, mainly the Philippines, may have a genuine lower risk of occupational accidents in comparison with seafarers from Western and Eastern Europe...

  6. Prediction accident triangle in maintenance of underground mine facilities using Poisson distribution analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khuluqi, M. H.; Prapdito, R. R.; Sambodo, F. P.

    2018-04-01

    In Indonesia, mining is categorized as a hazardous industry. In recent years, a dramatic increase of mining equipment and technological complexities had resulted in higher maintenance expectations that accompanied by the changes in the working conditions, especially on safety. Ensuring safety during the process of conducting maintenance works in underground mine is important as an integral part of accident prevention programs. Accident triangle has provided a support to safety practitioner to draw a road map in preventing accidents. Poisson distribution is appropriate for the analysis of accidents at a specific site in a given time period. Based on the analysis of accident statistics in the underground mine maintenance of PT. Freeport Indonesia from 2011 through 2016, it is found that 12 minor accidents for 1 major accident and 66 equipment damages for 1 major accident as a new value of accident triangle. The result can be used for the future need for improving the accident prevention programs.

  7. Accident analysis and DOE criteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graf, J.M.; Elder, J.C.

    1982-01-01

    In analyzing the radiological consequences of major accidents at DOE facilities one finds that many facilities fall so far below the limits of DOE Order 6430 that compliance is easily demonstrated by simple analysis. For those cases where the amount of radioactive material and the dispersive energy available are enough for accident consequences to approach the limits, the models and assumptions used become critical. In some cases the models themselves are the difference between meeting the criteria or not meeting them. Further, in one case, we found that not only did the selection of models determine compliance but the selection of applicable criteria from different chapters of Order 6430 also made the difference. DOE has recognized the problem of different criteria in different chapters applying to one facility, and has proceeded to make changes for the sake of consistency. We have proposed to outline the specific steps needed in an accident analysis and suggest appropriate models, parameters, and assumptions. As a result we feed DOE siting and design criteria will be more fairly and consistently applied

  8. Development of a system of computer codes for severe accident analyses and its applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Soon Hong; Cheon, Moon Heon; Cho, Nam jin; No, Hui Cheon; Chang, Hyeon Seop; Moon, Sang Kee; Park, Seok Jeong; Chung, Jee Hwan [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1991-12-15

    The objectives of this study is to develop a system of computer codes for postulated severe accident analyses in Nuclear Power Plants. This system of codes is necessary to conduct individual plant examination for domestic nuclear power plants. As a result of this study, one can conduct severe accident assessments more easily, and can extract the plant-specific vulnerabilities for severe accidents and at the same time the ideas for enhancing overall accident resistance. The scope and contents of this study are as follows : development of a system of computer codes for severe accident analyses, development of severe accident management strategy.

  9. Development of a system of computer codes for severe accident analyses and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Soon Hong; Cheon, Moon Heon; Cho, Nam jin; No, Hui Cheon; Chang, Hyeon Seop; Moon, Sang Kee; Park, Seok Jeong; Chung, Jee Hwan

    1991-12-01

    The objectives of this study is to develop a system of computer codes for postulated severe accident analyses in Nuclear Power Plants. This system of codes is necessary to conduct individual plant examination for domestic nuclear power plants. As a result of this study, one can conduct severe accident assessments more easily, and can extract the plant-specific vulnerabilities for severe accidents and at the same time the ideas for enhancing overall accident resistance. The scope and contents of this study are as follows : development of a system of computer codes for severe accident analyses, development of severe accident management strategy

  10. Chemistry of fission product iodine under nuclear reactor accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinauskas, A.P.; Bell, J.T.

    1986-01-01

    The radioisotopes of iodine are generally acknowledged to be the species whose release into the biosphere as a result of a nuclear reactor accident is of the greatest concern. In the course of its release, the fission product is subjected to differing chemical environments; these can alter the physicochemical form of the fission product and thus modify the manner and extent to which release occurs. Both the chemical environments which are characteristic of reactor accidents and their effect in determining physical and chemical form of fission product iodine have been studied extensively, and are reviewed in this report. 76 refs

  11. Severe accident testing of electrical penetration assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clauss, D.B.

    1989-11-01

    This report describes the results of tests conducted on three different designs of full-size electrical penetration assemblies (EPAs) that are used in the containment buildings of nuclear power plants. The objective of the tests was to evaluate the behavior of the EPAs under simulated severe accident conditions using steam at elevated temperature and pressure. Leakage, temperature, and cable insulation resistance were monitored throughout the tests. Nuclear-qualified EPAs were produced from D. G. O'Brien, Westinghouse, and Conax. Severe-accident-sequence analysis was used to generate the severe accident conditions (SAC) for a large dry pressurized-water reactor (PWR), a boiling-water reactor (BWR) Mark I drywell, and a BWR Mark III wetwell. Based on a survey conducted by Sandia, each EPA was matched with the severe accident conditions for a specific reactor type. This included the type of containment that a particular EPA design was used in most frequently. Thus, the D. G. O'Brien EPA was chosen for the PWR SAC test, the Westinghouse was chosen for the Mark III test, and the Conax was chosen for the Mark I test. The EPAs were radiation and thermal aged to simulate the effects of a 40-year service life and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) before the SAC tests were conducted. The design, test preparations, conduct of the severe accident test, experimental results, posttest observations, and conclusions about the integrity and electrical performance of each EPA tested in this program are described in this report. In general, the leak integrity of the EPAs tested in this program was not compromised by severe accident loads. However, there was significant degradation in the insulation resistance of the cables, which could affect the electrical performance of equipment and devices inside containment at some point during the progression of a severe accident. 10 refs., 165 figs., 16 tabs

  12. 49 CFR 837.3 - Published reports, material contained in the public accident investigation dockets, and accident...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

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

  13. Comparative Assessment Of Natural Gas Accident Risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgherr, P.; Hirschberg, S.

    2005-01-01

    The study utilizes a hierarchical approach including (1) comparative analyses of different energy chains, (2) specific evaluations for the natural gas chain, and (3) a detailed overview of the German situation, based on an extensive data set provided by Deutsche Vereinigung des Gas- und Wasserfaches (DVGW). According to SVGW-expertise DVGW-data can be regarded as fully representative for Swiss conditions due to very similar technologies, management, regulations and safety culture, but has a substantially stronger statistical basis because the German gas grid is about 30 times larger compared to Switzerland. Specifically, the following tasks were carried out by PSI to accomplish the objectives of this project: (1) Consolidation of existing ENSAD data, (2) identification and evaluation of additional sources, (3) comparative assessment of accident risks, and (4) detailed evaluations of specific issues and technical aspects for severe and smaller accidents in the natural gas chain that are relevant under Swiss conditions. (author)

  14. Behavioral Relevance of Species-Specific Vasotocin Anatomy in Gregarious Finches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aubrey M Kelly

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Despite substantial species differences in the vasotocin/vasopressin (VT/VP circuitry of the medial bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTm and lateral septum (LS; a primary projection target of BSTm VT/VP cells, functional consequences of this variation are poorly known. Previous experiments in the highly gregarious zebra finch (Estrildidae: Taeniopygia guttata demonstrate that BSTm VT neurons promote gregariousness in a male-specific manner and reduce anxiety in both sexes. However, in contrast to the zebra finch, the less gregarious Angolan blue waxbill (Estrildidae: Uraeginthus angolensis exhibits fewer VT-immunoreactive cells in the BSTm as well as differences in receptor distribution across the LS subnuclei, suggesting that knockdown of VT production in the BSTm would produce behavioral effects in Angolan blue waxbills that are distinct from zebra finches. Thus, we here quantified social contact, gregariousness (i.e. preference for the larger of two groups, and anxiety-like behavior following bilateral antisense knockdown of VT production in the BSTm of male and female Angolan blue waxbills. We find that BSTm VT neurons promote social contact, but not gregariousness (as in male zebra finches, and that antisense effects on social contact are significantly stronger in male waxbills than in females. Knockdown of BSTm VT production has no effect on anxiety-like behavior. These data provide novel evidence that species differences in the VT/VP circuitry arising in the BSTm are accompanied by species-specific effects on affiliation behaviors.

  15. Selectivity, specificity, and sensitivity in the photoionization of sputtered species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruen, D.M.; Calaway, W.F.; Pellin, M.J.; Young, C.E.; Spiegel, D.R.; Clayton, R.N.; Davis, A.M.; Blum, J.D.

    1990-01-01

    To deal with the problem of non- or near-resonant ionization, one needs to achieve the highest selectively for photoionization of the species of interest relative to isobarically overlapping species by choosing a specific photoionization scheme tailoring are that is could not have near-overlap with known atomic or molecular energy levels of isobaric species, and that it should lead to saturation of the resonance transitions at the lowest possible laser power levels so as to minimize two- and three-photon nonresonant photoionization processes. Experience has shown that, even when these two conditions are met as closely as possible, non- or near-resonant ionization can still occur, perhaps because of the existence of hitherto unobserved energy levels, photodissociation of sputtered molecules, or other effects. It is becoming clear that maximizing detection sensitivity for a particular species requires one to pay careful attention to the selection of an optimal photoionization scheme. It is the purpose of the present paper to illustrate this point with several examples and to help point the way to still further improvements in detection sensitivity by non- or near-resonant. ionization through detailed exploration of alternative photoionization schemes

  16. Wood Specific Gravity Variations and Biomass of Central African Tree Species: The Simple Choice of the Outer Wood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-François Bastin

    Full Text Available Wood specific gravity is a key element in tropical forest ecology. It integrates many aspects of tree mechanical properties and functioning and is an important predictor of tree biomass. Wood specific gravity varies widely among and within species and also within individual trees. Notably, contrasted patterns of radial variation of wood specific gravity have been demonstrated and related to regeneration guilds (light demanding vs. shade-bearing. However, although being repeatedly invoked as a potential source of error when estimating the biomass of trees, both intraspecific and radial variations remain little studied. In this study we characterized detailed pith-to-bark wood specific gravity profiles among contrasted species prominently contributing to the biomass of the forest, i.e., the dominant species, and we quantified the consequences of such variations on the biomass.Radial profiles of wood density at 8% moisture content were compiled for 14 dominant species in the Democratic Republic of Congo, adapting a unique 3D X-ray scanning technique at very high spatial resolution on core samples. Mean wood density estimates were validated by water displacement measurements. Wood density profiles were converted to wood specific gravity and linear mixed models were used to decompose the radial variance. Potential errors in biomass estimation were assessed by comparing the biomass estimated from the wood specific gravity measured from pith-to-bark profiles, from global repositories, and from partial information (outer wood or inner wood.Wood specific gravity profiles from pith-to-bark presented positive, neutral and negative trends. Positive trends mainly characterized light-demanding species, increasing up to 1.8 g.cm-3 per meter for Piptadeniastrum africanum, and negative trends characterized shade-bearing species, decreasing up to 1 g.cm-3 per meter for Strombosia pustulata. The linear mixed model showed the greater part of wood specific gravity

  17. Wood Specific Gravity Variations and Biomass of Central African Tree Species: The Simple Choice of the Outer Wood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastin, Jean-François; Fayolle, Adeline; Tarelkin, Yegor; Van den Bulcke, Jan; de Haulleville, Thales; Mortier, Frederic; Beeckman, Hans; Van Acker, Joris; Serckx, Adeline; Bogaert, Jan; De Cannière, Charles

    2015-01-01

    Wood specific gravity is a key element in tropical forest ecology. It integrates many aspects of tree mechanical properties and functioning and is an important predictor of tree biomass. Wood specific gravity varies widely among and within species and also within individual trees. Notably, contrasted patterns of radial variation of wood specific gravity have been demonstrated and related to regeneration guilds (light demanding vs. shade-bearing). However, although being repeatedly invoked as a potential source of error when estimating the biomass of trees, both intraspecific and radial variations remain little studied. In this study we characterized detailed pith-to-bark wood specific gravity profiles among contrasted species prominently contributing to the biomass of the forest, i.e., the dominant species, and we quantified the consequences of such variations on the biomass. Radial profiles of wood density at 8% moisture content were compiled for 14 dominant species in the Democratic Republic of Congo, adapting a unique 3D X-ray scanning technique at very high spatial resolution on core samples. Mean wood density estimates were validated by water displacement measurements. Wood density profiles were converted to wood specific gravity and linear mixed models were used to decompose the radial variance. Potential errors in biomass estimation were assessed by comparing the biomass estimated from the wood specific gravity measured from pith-to-bark profiles, from global repositories, and from partial information (outer wood or inner wood). Wood specific gravity profiles from pith-to-bark presented positive, neutral and negative trends. Positive trends mainly characterized light-demanding species, increasing up to 1.8 g.cm-3 per meter for Piptadeniastrum africanum, and negative trends characterized shade-bearing species, decreasing up to 1 g.cm-3 per meter for Strombosia pustulata. The linear mixed model showed the greater part of wood specific gravity variance was

  18. PWR pressure vessel integrity during overcooling accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheverton, R.D.

    1981-01-01

    Pressurized water reactors are susceptible to certain types of hypothetical accidents that under some circumstances, including operation of the reactor beyond a critical time in its life, could result in failure of the pressure vessel as a result of propagation of crack-like defects in the vessel wall. The accidents of concern are those that result in thermal shock to the vessel while the vessel is subjected to internal pressure. Such accidents, referred to as pressurized thermal shock or overcooling accidents (OCA), include a steamline break, small-break LOCA, turbine trip followed by stuck-open bypass valves, the 1978 Rancho Seco and the TMI accidents and many other postulated and actual accidents. The source of cold water for the thermal shock is either emergency core coolant or the normal primary-system coolant. ORNL performed fracture-mechanics calculations for a steamline break in 1978 and for a turbine-trip case in 1980 and concluded on the basis of the results that many more such calculations would be required. To meet the expected demand in a realistic way a computer code, OCA-I, was developed that accepts primary-system temperature and pressure transients as input and then performs one-dimensional thermal and stress analyses for the wall and a corresponding fracture-mechanics analysis for a long axial flaw. The code is briefly described, and its use in both generic and specific plant analyses is discussed

  19. Anthropotechnological analysis of industrial accidents in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binder, M. C.; de Almeida, I. M.; Monteau, M.

    1999-01-01

    The Brazilian Ministry of Labour has been attempting to modify the norms used to analyse industrial accidents in the country. For this purpose, in 1994 it tried to make compulsory use of the causal tree approach to accident analysis, an approach developed in France during the 1970s, without having previously determined whether it is suitable for use under the industrial safety conditions that prevail in most Brazilian firms. In addition, opposition from Brazilian employers has blocked the proposed changes to the norms. The present study employed anthropotechnology to analyse experimental application of the causal tree method to work-related accidents in industrial firms in the region of Botucatu, São Paulo. Three work-related accidents were examined in three industrial firms representative of local, national and multinational companies. On the basis of the accidents analysed in this study, the rationale for the use of the causal tree method in Brazil can be summarized for each type of firm as follows: the method is redundant if there is a predominance of the type of risk whose elimination or neutralization requires adoption of conventional industrial safety measures (firm representative of local enterprises); the method is worth while if the company's specific technical risks have already largely been eliminated (firm representative of national enterprises); and the method is particularly appropriate if the firm has a good safety record and the causes of accidents are primarily related to industrial organization and management (multinational enterprise). PMID:10680249

  20. Radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saenger, E.L.

    1986-01-01

    It is essential that emergency physicians understand ways to manage patients contaminated by radioactive materials and/or exposed to external radiation sources. Contamination accidents require careful surveys to identify the metabolic pathway of the radionuclides to guide prognosis and treatment. The level of treatment required will depend on careful surveys and meticulous decontamination. There is no specific therapy for the acute radiation syndrome. Prophylactic antibodies are desirable. For severely exposed patients treatment is similar to the supportive care given to patients undergoing organ transplantation. For high-dose extremity injury, no methods have been developed to reverse the fibrosing endarteritis that eventually leads to tissue death so frequently found with this type of injury. Although the Three Mile Island episode of March 1979 created tremendous public concern, there were no radiation injuries. The contamination outside the reactor building and the release of radioiodine were negligible. The accidental fuel element meltdown at Chernobyl, USSR, resulted in many cases of acute radiation syndrome. More than 100,000 people were exposed to high levels of radioactive fallout. The general principles outlined here are applicable to accidents of that degree of severity

  1. Program for rapid dose assessment in criticality accident, RADAPAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Fumiaki

    2006-09-01

    In a criticality accident, a person near fissile material can receive extremely high dose which can cause acute health effect. For such a case, medical treatment should be carried out for the exposed person, according to severity of the exposure. Then, radiation dose should be rapidly assessed soon after an outbreak of an accident. Dose assessment based upon the quantity of induced 24 Na in human body through neutron exposure is expected as one of useful dosimetry techniques in a criticality accident. A dose assessment program, called RADAPAS (RApid Dose Assessment Program from Activated Sodium in Criticality Accidents), was therefore developed to assess rapidly radiation dose to exposed persons from activity of induced 24 Na. RADAPAS consists of two parts; one is a database part and the other is a part for execution of dose calculation. The database contains data compendiums of energy spectra and dose conversion coefficients from specific activity of 24 Na induced in human body, which had been derived in a previous analysis using Monte Carlo calculation code. Information for criticality configuration or characteristics of radiation in the accident field is to be interactively given with interface displays in the dose calculation. RADAPAS can rapidly derive radiation dose to the exposed person from the given information and measured 24 Na specific activity by using the conversion coefficient in database. This report describes data for dose conversions and dose calculation in RADAPAS and explains how to use the program. (author)

  2. Accident Diagnosis and Prognosis Aide (ADPA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunter, A.D.; Touchton, R.A.

    1987-01-01

    This presentation provides a demonstration of a prototypical expert system developed by Technology Applications, Inc. (TAI) under a contract with the Department of Energy as a part of their Small Business Innovation Research Program. The Accident Diagnosis and Prognosis Aide (ADPA) Demonstration Prototype is a working scale model of a real-time expert system which: Diagnoses an accident situation (as well as a number of underlying failures, events, and conditions deduced along the way). Calculates the change in the likelihood of core damage as a function of the events and failures diagnosed. Dynamically generates a recovery procedure tailored to the specific plant state at hand

  3. Forest Transpiration: Resolving Species-Specific Root Water Uptake Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blume, T.; Heidbuechel, I.; Simard, S.; Guntner, A.; Weiler, M.; Stewart, R. D.

    2016-12-01

    Transpiration and its spatio-temporal variability are still not fully understood, despite their importance for the global water cycle. This is in part due to our inability to measure transpiration comprehensively. Transpiration is usually either estimated with empirical equations based on climatic variables and crop factors, by measuring sap velocities, estimating sap wood area and scaling up to the forest stand based on a number of assumptions or by measuring the integral signal across a footprint with eddy flux towers. All these methods are focused on the cumulated loss of water to the atmosphere and do not provide information on where this water is coming from. In this study, spatio-temporal variability of root water uptake was investigated in a forest in the northeastern German lowlands. The soils are sandy and the depth of the unsaturated zone ranges from 1 to 30 m. We estimated root water uptake from different soil depths, from 0.1 m down to 2 m, based on diurnal fluctuations in soil moisture content during rain-free days. The 15 field sites cover different topographic positions and forest stands: 4 pure stands of both mature and young beech and pine and 9 mixed stands. The resulting daily data set of root water uptake shows that the forest stands differ in total amounts as well as in uptake depth distributions. Temporal dynamics of signal strength within the profile suggest a locally shifting spatial distribution of uptake that changes with water availability. The relationship of these depth-resolved uptake rates to overall soil water availability varies considerably between tree species. Using the physically-based soil hydrological model HYDRUS we investigated to what extent the observed patterns in uptake can be related to soil physical relationships alone and where tree species-specific aspects come into play. We furthermore used the model to test assumptions and estimate uncertainties of this soil moisture based estimation of plant water uptake. The

  4. Species-specific isotopic fractionation of mercury during methylation by bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez-Gonzalez, P.; Epov, V.N.; Bridou, R.; Tessier, E.; Monperrus, M.; Guyoneaud, R.; Amouroux, D.

    2009-01-01

    Full text: The environmental reactivity of Hg is extremely dependent on its chemical form. In fact, Hg bioaccumulation is due to the greater trophic transfer efficiency of methylmercury which is formed as a result of biotic or abiotic transformations caused by specific redox gradients and bacterial activity. The study of stable isotope biogeochemistry of Hg may provide a powerful tool to track and understand its cycle and pathways in the environment. This work presents the measurement of species-specific Hg isotopic composition by GC-MCICPMS during Hg methylation experiments using cultures of pure bacterial strains incubated with Hg (II) standard NIST 3133. (author)

  5. Species-specific identification from incomplete sampling: applying DNA barcodes to monitoring invasive solanum plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Fan, Xiaohong; Zhu, Shuifang; Zhao, Hong; Fu, Lianzhong

    2013-01-01

    Comprehensive sampling is crucial to DNA barcoding, but it is rarely performed because materials are usually unavailable. In practice, only a few rather than all species of a genus are required to be identified. Thus identification of a given species using a limited sample is of great importance in current application of DNA barcodes. Here, we selected 70 individuals representing 48 species from each major lineage of Solanum, one of the most species-rich genera of seed plants, to explore whether DNA barcodes can provide reliable specific-species discrimination in the context of incomplete sampling. Chloroplast genes ndhF and trnS-trnG and the nuclear gene waxy, the commonly used markers in Solanum phylogeny, were selected as the supplementary barcodes. The tree-building and modified barcode gap methods were employed to assess species resolution. The results showed that four Solanum species of quarantine concern could be successfully identified through the two-step barcoding sampling strategy. In addition, discrepancies between nuclear and cpDNA barcodes in some samples demonstrated the ability to discriminate hybrid species, and highlights the necessity of using barcode regions with different modes of inheritance. We conclude that efficient phylogenetic markers are good candidates as the supplementary barcodes in a given taxonomic group. Critically, we hypothesized that a specific-species could be identified from a phylogenetic framework using incomplete sampling-through this, DNA barcoding will greatly benefit the current fields of its application.

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1993-12-01

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

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    1993-12-15

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

  8. Accident management information needs for a BWR with a MARK I containment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chien, D.N.; Hanson, D.J. (EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (USA))

    1991-05-01

    In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Accident Management Research Program, information needs during severe accidents have been evaluated for Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with MARK 1 containments. This evaluation was performed using a methodology that identifies plant information needs necessary for personnel to: (a) diagnose that an accident is in progress, (b) select and implement strategies to prevent or mitigate the accident, and (c) monitor the effectiveness of these strategies. The information needs and capabilities identified are intended to form a basis for more comprehensive information needs assessments. The assessments will be performed during the analysis and development of specific strategies, which will be used in accident management prevention and mitigation. 3 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

  9. Accident management information needs for a BWR with a MARK I containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chien, D.N.; Hanson, D.J.

    1991-05-01

    In support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Accident Management Research Program, information needs during severe accidents have been evaluated for Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) with MARK 1 containments. This evaluation was performed using a methodology that identifies plant information needs necessary for personnel to: (a) diagnose that an accident is in progress, (b) select and implement strategies to prevent or mitigate the accident, and (c) monitor the effectiveness of these strategies. The information needs and capabilities identified are intended to form a basis for more comprehensive information needs assessments. The assessments will be performed during the analysis and development of specific strategies, which will be used in accident management prevention and mitigation. 3 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  10. Ecological Specialization of Two Photobiont-Specific Maritime Cyanolichen Species of the Genus Lichina.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rüdiger Ortiz-Álvarez

    Full Text Available All fungi in the class Lichinomycetes are lichen-forming and exclusively associate with cyanobacteria. Two closely related maritime species of the genus Lichina (L. confinis and L. pygmaea show similar distribution ranges in the Northeast Atlantic, commonly co-occurring at the same rocky shores but occupying different littoral zones. By means of 16S rRNA and phycocyanin operon markers we studied a the phylogenetic relationships of cyanobionts associated with these species, b the match of divergence times between both symbionts, and c whether Lichina species differ in photobiont association and in how geography and ecology affect selectivity. The cyanobionts studied are closely related to both marine and freshwater strains of the genus Rivularia. We found evidence of a high specificity to particular cyanobiont lineages in both species: Lichina pygmaea and L. confinis incorporate specific lineages of Rivularia that do not overlap at the haplotype nor the OTU levels. Dating divergences of the fungal and cyanobacterial partners revealed an asynchronous origin of both lineages. Within each fungal species, selectivity varied across the studied area, influenced by environmental conditions (both atmospheric and marine, although patterns were highly correlated between both lichen taxa. Ecological speciation due to the differential association of photobionts to each littoral zone is suspected to have occurred in marine Lichina.

  11. [Accidents and injuries at work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Standke, W

    2014-06-01

    In the case of an accident at work, the person concerned is insured by law according to the guidelines of the Sozialgesetzbuch VII as far as the injuries have been caused by this accident. The most important source of information on the incident in question is the accident report that has to be sent to the responsible institution for statutory accident insurance and prevention by the employer, if the accident of the injured person is fatal or leads to an incapacity to work for more than 3 days (= reportable accident). Data concerning accidents like these are sent to the Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV) as part of a random sample survey by the institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention and are analyzed statistically. Thus the key issues of accidents can be established and used for effective prevention. Although the success of effective accident prevention is undisputed, there were still 919,025 occupational accidents in 2011, with clear gender-related differences. Most occupational accidents involve the upper and lower extremities. Accidents are analyzed comprehensively and the results are published and made available to all interested parties in an effort to improve public awareness of possible accidents. Apart from reportable accidents, data on the new occupational accident pensions are also gathered and analyzed statistically. Thus, additional information is gained on accidents with extremely serious consequences and partly permanent injuries for the accident victims.

  12. Our reflections and lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuoka, Takeshi; Sawada, Takashi; Yagawa, Genki

    2017-01-01

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

  13. Workflow interruptions, cognitive failure and near-accidents in health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfering, Achim; Grebner, Simone; Ebener, Corinne

    2015-01-01

    Errors are frequent in health care. A specific model was tested that affirms failure in cognitive action regulation to mediate the influence of nurses' workflow interruptions and safety conscientiousness on near-accidents in health care. One hundred and sixty-five nurses from seven Swiss hospitals participated in a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modelling confirmed the hypothesised mediation model. Cognitive failure in action regulation significantly mediated the influence of workflow interruptions on near-accidents (p accidents via cognitive failure in action regulation was also significant (p accidents; moreover, cognitive failure mediated the association between compliance and near-accidents (p < .05). Contrary to expectations, compliance with safety regulations was not related to workflow interruptions. Workflow interruptions caused by colleagues, patients and organisational constraints are likely to trigger errors in nursing. Work redesign is recommended to reduce cognitive failure and improve safety of nurses and patients.

  14. Statistical modelling of the frequency and severity of road accidents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Janstrup, Kira Hyldekær

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

  15. SESAME: a software tool for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources and its application to the accident in Chile in December 2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huet, C; Lemosquet, A; Clairand, I; Rioual, J B; Franck, D; de Carlan, L; Aubineau-Lanièce, I; Bottollier-Depois, J F

    2009-01-01

    Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. This dose distribution can be assessed by physical dosimetric reconstruction methods. Physical dosimetric reconstruction can be achieved using experimental or numerical techniques. This article presents the laboratory-developed SESAME--Simulation of External Source Accident with MEdical images--tool specific to dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents through numerical simulations which combine voxel geometry and the radiation-material interaction MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code. The experimental validation of the tool using a photon field and its application to a radiological accident in Chile in December 2005 are also described.

  16. LC-MS/MS Identification of Species-Specific Muscle Peptides in Processed Animal Proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchis, Daniela; Altomare, Alessandra; Gili, Marilena; Ostorero, Federica; Khadjavi, Amina; Corona, Cristiano; Ru, Giuseppe; Cappelletti, Benedetta; Gianelli, Silvia; Amadeo, Francesca; Rumio, Cristiano; Carini, Marina; Aldini, Giancarlo; Casalone, Cristina

    2017-12-06

    An innovative analytical strategy has been applied to identify signature peptides able to distinguish among processed animal proteins (PAPs) derived from bovine, pig, fish, and milk products. Proteomics was first used to elucidate the proteome of each source. Starting from the identified proteins and using a funnel based approach, a set of abundant and well characterized peptides with suitable physical-chemical properties (signature peptides) and specific for each source was selected. An on-target LC-ESI-MS/MS method (MRM mode) was set up using standard peptides and was then applied to selectively identify the PAP source and also to distinguish proteins from bovine carcass and milk proteins. We believe that the method described meets the request of the European Commission which has developed a strategy for gradually lifting the "total ban" toward "species to species ban", therefore requiring official methods for species-specific discrimination in feed.

  17. Biomass accident investigations – missed opportunities for learning and accident prevention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hedlund, Frank Huess

    2017-01-01

    The past decade has seen a major increase in the production of energy from biomass. The growth has been mirrored in an increase of serious biomass related accidents involving fires, gas explosions, combustible dust explosions and the release of toxic gasses. There are indications that the number...... of bioenergy related accidents is growing faster than the energy production. This paper argues that biomass accidents, if properly investigated and lessons shared widely, provide ample opportunities for improving general hazard awareness and safety performance of the biomass industry. The paper examines...... selected serious accidents involving biogas and wood pellets in Denmark and argues that such opportunities for learning were missed because accident investigations were superficial, follow-up incomplete and information sharing absent. In one particularly distressing case, a facility saw a repeat accident...

  18. CANDU severe accident management guidance update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, L.; Popov, N.; Gilbert, L.; Weed, J.

    2014-01-01

    The CANDU Owners Group (COG) developed a set of generic and initial station-specific Severe Accident Management Guidance (SAMG) documents to mitigate the consequences to the public in the event of a severe accident. The generic portion of the COG SAMG was completed in 2006; the overall project including the station-specific phase was completed in April 2007. Over the years, the CANDU industry and utilities have continuously increased the knowledge base for SAMG and have incorporated various engineered features based on the knowledge obtained. As a result of the event that occurred at the Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) established the CNSC Fukushima Task Force. The results of the task force were documented in INFO-0828, CNSC Staff Action Plan on the CNSC Fukushima Task Force Recommendations. Among the recommendation documented in INFO-828 were Fukushima Action Items (FAIs) directed towards the CANDU utilities in Canada; a portion of which are related to SAMG documentation updates and directed at enhancing SAM response. A COG joint project was established to support the closure of the CNSC FAIs and to revise the current CANDU documentation accordingly. This paper provides a high level summary of the COG project scope and results. It also demonstrates that the CANDU SAMG programs in Canada provide robust protection and mitigation of severe accidents. (author)

  19. CANDU severe accident management guidance update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, L., E-mail: lisa.m.jones@opg.com [Ontario Power Generation, Pickering, ON (Canada); Popov, N., E-mail: nik.popov@rogers.com [Candu Owners Group, Toronto, ON (Canada); Gilbert, L., E-mail: lovell.gilbert@brucepower.com [Bruce Power, Tiverton, ON (Canada); Weed, J., E-mail: jeff.weed@candu.gov [Candu Owners Group, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2014-07-01

    The CANDU Owners Group (COG) developed a set of generic and initial station-specific Severe Accident Management Guidance (SAMG) documents to mitigate the consequences to the public in the event of a severe accident. The generic portion of the COG SAMG was completed in 2006; the overall project including the station-specific phase was completed in April 2007. Over the years, the CANDU industry and utilities have continuously increased the knowledge base for SAMG and have incorporated various engineered features based on the knowledge obtained. As a result of the event that occurred at the Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) established the CNSC Fukushima Task Force. The results of the task force were documented in INFO-0828, CNSC Staff Action Plan on the CNSC Fukushima Task Force Recommendations. Among the recommendation documented in INFO-828 were Fukushima Action Items (FAIs) directed towards the CANDU utilities in Canada; a portion of which are related to SAMG documentation updates and directed at enhancing SAM response. A COG joint project was established to support the closure of the CNSC FAIs and to revise the current CANDU documentation accordingly. This paper provides a high level summary of the COG project scope and results. It also demonstrates that the CANDU SAMG programs in Canada provide robust protection and mitigation of severe accidents. (author)

  20. Desktop Severe Accident Graphic Simulator Module for CANDU6 : PSAIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. Y.; Song, Y. M.

    2015-01-01

    The ISAAC ((Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code for CANDU Plant) code is a system level computer code capable of performing integral analyses of potential severe accident progressions in nuclear power plants, whose main purpose is to support a Level 2 probabilistic safety assessment or severe accident management strategy developments. The code has the capability to predict a severe accident progression by modeling the CANDU6- specific systems and the expected physical phenomena based on the current understanding of the unique accident progressions. The code models the sequence of accident progressions from a core heatup, pressure tube/calandria tube rupture after an uncovery from inside and outside, a relocation of the damaged fuel to the bottom of the calandria, debris behavior in the calandria, corium quenching after a debris relocation from the calandria to the calandria vault and an erosion of the calandria vault concrete floor, a hydrogen burn, and a reactor building failure. Along with the thermal hydraulics, the fission product behavior is also considered in the primary system as well as in the reactor building

  1. How to Reduce Those Costly School Bus Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmer, Ernest

    1985-01-01

    The deterrent to school bus accidents is preparedness. Training programs for drivers and mechanics, equipment specifications, and a community support base are some of the ways to prevent tragedy. (MLF)

  2. Radioactive impacts on nekton species in the Northwest Pacific and humans more than one year after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Men, Wu; Deng, Fangfang; He, Jianhua; Yu, Wen; Wang, Fenfen; Li, Yiliang; Lin, Feng; Lin, Jing; Lin, Longshan; Zhang, Yusheng; Yu, Xingguang

    2017-10-01

    This study investigated the radioactive impacts on 10 nekton species in the Northwest Pacific more than one year after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident (FNA) from the two perspectives of contamination and harm. Squids were especially used for the spatial and temporal comparisons to demonstrate the impacts from the FNA. The radiation doses to nekton species and humans were assessed to link this radioactivity contamination to possible harm. The total dose rates to nektons were lower than the ERICA ecosystem screening benchmark of 10μGy/h. Further dose-contribution analysis showed that the internal doses from the naturally occurring nuclide 210 Po were the main dose contributor. The dose rates from 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 90 Sr and 110m Ag were approximately three or four orders of magnitude lower than those from naturally occurring radionuclides. The 210 Po-derived dose was also the main contributor of the total human dose from immersion in the seawater and the ingestion of nekton species. The human doses from anthropogenic radionuclides were ~ 100 to ~ 10,000 times lower than the doses from naturally occurring radionuclides. A morbidity assessment was performed based on the Linear No Threshold assumptions of exposure and showed 7 additional cancer cases per 100,000,000 similarly exposed people. Taken together, there is no need for concern regarding the radioactive harm in the open ocean area of the Northwest Pacific. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Improving cluster-based methods for investigating potential for insect pest species establishment: region-specific risk factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J. Watts

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Existing cluster-based methods for investigating insect species assemblages or profiles of a region to indicate the risk of new insect pest invasion have a major limitation in that they assign the same species risk factors to each region in a cluster. Clearly regions assigned to the same cluster have different degrees of similarity with respect to their species profile or assemblage. This study addresses this concern by applying weighting factors to the cluster elements used to calculate regional risk factors, thereby producing region-specific risk factors. Using a database of the global distribution of crop insect pest species, we found that we were able to produce highly differentiated region-specific risk factors for insect pests. We did this by weighting cluster elements by their Euclidean distance from the target region. Using this approach meant that risk weightings were derived that were more realistic, as they were specific to the pest profile or species assemblage of each region. This weighting method provides an improved tool for estimating the potential invasion risk posed by exotic species given that they have an opportunity to establish in a target region.

  4. [Risk assessment expanded accident insurance for children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sittaro, N A

    1998-08-01

    Disability is a well known and tragic event for children. While adults are an established group for specific disability insurance cover, children were often neglected in the past. Although parents, organizations and paediatricans are aware of the risk, children specific incidence rates for disability are hardly available. The only sufficient source for some statistical data are the accident statistics because they represent a substantial group of specific cause related disability for children. Incidence rates for disease related chronic severe impairment or disability in children are either derived by single disease research or actuarial calculation of the German Social Disability Registration. Based on this statistical background, an extended accident insurance for children was introduced in Germany covering both accidents and disabling diseases. The key limitation for all variations of this insurance are exclusion clauses for congential diseases and mental disorders. This insurance requires a new approach in underwriting of the health risks. Because of the substantial number of impaired children, a simple decline of substandard cases are unacceptable. The early experience or medical underwriting shows predominantly health impairments of the following types: allergies, bronchial asthma, ectopic eczema (neurodermitis), disorders of speech and articulation, vision disorders and mental impairments. The suggested solution for underwriting of substandard risks is the predetermination of the possible future maximum degree of disability. The need for underwriting guidelines is supported by the market impact of the new disability cover with thousands of insurance policies issued in the first month after introduction.

  5. Detection and analysis of accident black spots with even small accident figures.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oppe, S.

    1982-01-01

    Accident black spots are usually defined as road locations with high accident potentials. In order to detect such hazardous locations we have to know the probability of an accident for a traffic situation of some kind, or the mean number of accidents for some unit of time. In almost all procedures

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  7. Underreporting of maritime accidents to vessel accident databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassel, Martin; Asbjørnslett, Bjørn Egil; Hole, Lars Petter

    2011-11-01

    Underreporting of maritime accidents is a problem not only for authorities trying to improve maritime safety through legislation, but also to risk management companies and other entities using maritime casualty statistics in risk and accident analysis. This study collected and compared casualty data from 01.01.2005 to 31.12.2009, from IHS Fairplay and the maritime authorities from a set of nations. The data was compared to find common records, and estimation of the true number of occurred accidents was performed using conditional probability given positive dependency between data sources, several variations of the capture-recapture method, calculation of best case scenario assuming perfect reporting, and scaling up a subset of casualty information from a marine insurance statistics database. The estimated upper limit reporting performance for the selected flag states ranged from 14% to 74%, while the corresponding estimated coverage of IHS Fairplay ranges from 4% to 62%. On average the study results document that the number of unreported accidents makes up roughly 50% of all occurred accidents. Even in a best case scenario, only a few flag states come close to perfect reporting (94%). The considerable scope of underreporting uncovered in the study, indicates that users of statistical vessel accident data should assume a certain degree of underreporting, and adjust their analyses accordingly. Whether to use correction factors, a safety margin, or rely on expert judgment, should be decided on a case by case basis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Vapor generation – atomic spectrometric techniques. Expanding frontiers through specific-species preconcentration. A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gil, Raúl A.; Pacheco, Pablo H.; Cerutti, Soledad; Martinez, Luis D.

    2015-01-01

    This article reviews 120 articles found in SCOPUS and specific Journal cites corresponding to the terms ‘preconcentration’; ‘speciation’; ‘vapor generation techniques’ and ‘atomic spectrometry techniques’ in the last 5 years. - Highlights: • Recent advances in vapor generation and atomic spectrometry were reviewed. • Species-specific preconcentration strategies after and before VG were discussed. • New preconcentration and speciation analysis were evaluated within this framework. - Abstract: We review recent progress in preconcentration strategies associated to vapor generation techniques coupled to atomic spectrometric (VGT-AS) for specific chemical species detection. This discussion focuses on the central role of different preconcentration approaches, both before and after VG process. The former was based on the classical solid phase and liquid–liquid extraction procedures which, aided by automation and miniaturization strategies, have strengthened the role of VGT-AS in several research fields including environmental, clinical, and others. We then examine some of the new vapor trapping strategies (atom-trapping, hydride trapping, cryotrapping) that entail improvements in selectivity through interference elimination, but also they allow reaching ultra-low detection limits for a large number of chemical species generated in conventional VG systems, including complete separation of several species of the same element. This review covers more than 100 bibliographic references from 2009 up to date, found in SCOPUS database and in individual searches in specific journals. We finally conclude by giving some outlook on future directions of this field

  9. Vapor generation – atomic spectrometric techniques. Expanding frontiers through specific-species preconcentration. A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gil, Raúl A.; Pacheco, Pablo H.; Cerutti, Soledad [Área de Química Analítica, Facultad de Química Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ciudad de San Luis 5700 (Argentina); Instituto de Química de San Luis, INQUISAL, Centro Científico-Tecnológico de San Luis (CCT-San Luis), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ciudad de San Luis 5700 (Argentina); Martinez, Luis D., E-mail: ldm@unsl.edu.ar [Área de Química Analítica, Facultad de Química Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ciudad de San Luis 5700 (Argentina); Instituto de Química de San Luis, INQUISAL, Centro Científico-Tecnológico de San Luis (CCT-San Luis), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Universidad Nacional de San Luis, Ciudad de San Luis 5700 (Argentina)

    2015-05-22

    This article reviews 120 articles found in SCOPUS and specific Journal cites corresponding to the terms ‘preconcentration’; ‘speciation’; ‘vapor generation techniques’ and ‘atomic spectrometry techniques’ in the last 5 years. - Highlights: • Recent advances in vapor generation and atomic spectrometry were reviewed. • Species-specific preconcentration strategies after and before VG were discussed. • New preconcentration and speciation analysis were evaluated within this framework. - Abstract: We review recent progress in preconcentration strategies associated to vapor generation techniques coupled to atomic spectrometric (VGT-AS) for specific chemical species detection. This discussion focuses on the central role of different preconcentration approaches, both before and after VG process. The former was based on the classical solid phase and liquid–liquid extraction procedures which, aided by automation and miniaturization strategies, have strengthened the role of VGT-AS in several research fields including environmental, clinical, and others. We then examine some of the new vapor trapping strategies (atom-trapping, hydride trapping, cryotrapping) that entail improvements in selectivity through interference elimination, but also they allow reaching ultra-low detection limits for a large number of chemical species generated in conventional VG systems, including complete separation of several species of the same element. This review covers more than 100 bibliographic references from 2009 up to date, found in SCOPUS database and in individual searches in specific journals. We finally conclude by giving some outlook on future directions of this field.

  10. [Research on accidents in a tire-producing plant].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mete, R; Sabatucci, A

    1989-09-30

    In the autumn of 1987 the U.S.L. health service (prevention, hygiene and occupational safety section) began a study about the accidents in a firm manufacturing tyres, placed in its own area. The retrospective enquiry starts from the analysis of typology, diffusion and seriousness of occupational accidents. The firm's accident register has been analyzed and integrated with other necessary information provided by the firm, by I.N.A.I.L. and by the air force metereological service. The study has been carried out on data concerning the following years: 1984-1985-1986. The accidents considered, implied absence from work and were divided as follows: for absence up till 3 days (in franchise), and more than 3 days (indemnified), applying the average value calculated on one year of the three analyzed. Every accident has been analyzed per year, month, day, hour of event. According to the classes: circumstances, kind of lesion, site of lesion, period of absence from work. The indices of: frequency, seriousness, incidence, mean duration have been calculated. The average monthly values of temperature: max and min. of the area and to the average monthly amount of processed elastomer (rate of production). The statistics we obtained, justified the study and showed the operative solution. The aspect of sanitary education and the general psychological aspect regarding the accident have been considered. Moreover the general operative solutions for the firm and specific ones for every department and for every position have been shown and faced up to. In this way, according to the risks that have emerged from the enquiries on previous accidents and thanks to direct inspection. it was possible to prevent accidents.

  11. OXA-258 from Achromobacter ruhlandii: a Species Specific Marker

    OpenAIRE

    Papalia, Mariana Andrea; Almuzara, Marisa; Cejas, Daniela; Traglia, German Matias; Ramirez, Maria Soledad; Galanternik, Laura; Vay, Carlos Alberto; Gutkind, Gabriel Osvaldo; Radice, Marcela Alejandra

    2015-01-01

    A new blaOXA-258 gene is described as species specific taxonomic marker for Achromobacter ruhlandii isolates (all recovered from cystic fibrosis patients). Even if the OXA-258 differs from OXA-114 variants, isolates could be misidentified as A. xiloxosidans by the amplification of an inner fragment from the OXA coding gene. A robust Identification of A. ruhlandii can be achieved by sequencing this single OXA gene as well as a more laborious recently proposed MLST scheme Fil: Papalia, Maria...

  12. Investigation into information flow during the accident at Three Mile Island

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

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

  13. [The role of "competent physician" for prevention of accidents at work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramistella, E; Bergamaschi, A; Mosconi, G; Rossi, O; Sallese, D

    2008-01-01

    Using at best the professional and legal tools at his/her disposal, the "competent physician" can have a relevant role in reducing accidents in the workplace. In assessing the worker's suitability to specific tasks, the competent physician checks the presence of pathologies or functional impairments of organs or apparatuses that can be an additional risk for the occurrence of accidents at work. The activity aimed to preventing accidents at work translates also in taking part in the planning and implementation of information activities and workers' training within the company. The various risk factors inherent in the workplace and so-called "human factors" can interact in a negative way to the point of becoming a cause of accidents. The human variables of accident risk at the industrial, occupational and even individual level, may be numerous. In this paper we shall review these important aspects and attempt to clarify the role that can be played by the competent physician in the prevention of accidents at work.

  14. Simulation of operator's actions during severe accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viktorov, A.

    2015-01-01

    Implementing accident management counter measures or actions to mitigate consequences of a severe accident is essential to reduce radiological risks to the public and environment. Station-specific severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs) have been developed and implemented at all Canadian nuclear power plants. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident certain enhancements were introduced to the SAMG, namely consideration of multi-units accidents, events involving spent fuel pools, incorporation of capability offered by the portable emergency mitigating equipment, and so on. To evaluate the adequacy and usability of the SAMGs, CNSC staff initiated a number of activities including a desktop review of SAMG documentation, evaluation of SAMG implementation through exercises and interviews with station staff, and independent verification of SAMG action effectiveness. This paper focuses on the verification of SAMG actions through analytical simulations. The objectives of the work are two-folds: (a) to understand the effectiveness of SAMG-specified mitigation actions in addressing the safety challenges and (b) to check for potential negative effects of the action. Some sensitivity calculations were performed to help understanding of the impact from actions that rely on the partially effective equipment or limited material resources. The severe accident computer code MAAP4-CANDU is used as a tool in this verification. This paper will describe the methodology used in the verification of SAMG actions and some results obtained from simulations. (author)

  15. Safety analysis results for cryostat ingress accidents in ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merrill, B.J.; Cadwallader, L.C.; Petti, D.A.

    1996-01-01

    Accidents involving the ingress of air or water into the cryostat of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) tokamak design have been analyzed with a modified version of the MELCOR code for the ITER Non-site Specific Safety Report (NSSR-1). The air ingress accident is the result of a postulated breach of the cryostat boundary into an adjoining room. MELCOR results for this accident demonstrate that the condensed air mass and increased heat loads are not a magnet safety concern, but that the partial vacuum in the adjoining room must be accommodated in the building design. The water ingress accident is the result of a postulated magnet arc that results in melting of a Primary Heat Transport System (PHTS) coolant pipe, discharging PHTS water and PHTS water activated corrosion products and HTO into the cryostat. MELCOR results for this accident demonstrate that the condensed water mass and increased heat loads are not a magnet safety concern, that the cryostat pressure remains below design limits, and that the corrosion product and HTO releases are well within the ITER release limits

  16. Radiological emergency: road map for radiation accident victim transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, V.S.G.; Alcantara, Y.P.; Lima, C.M.A.; Silva, F. C. A. da

    2017-01-01

    During a radiological or nuclear emergency, a number of necessary actions are taken, both within the radiation protection of individuals and the environment, involving many institutions and highly specialized personnel. Among them it is possible to emphasize the air transportation of radiation accident victims.The procedures and measures for the safe transport of these radiation accident victims are generally the responsibility of the armed forces, specifically the Aeronautics, with the action denominated 'Aeromedical Military Evacuation of Radiation Accident Victims'. The experience with the Radiological Accident of Goiânia demonstrated the importance of adequate preparation and response during a radiological emergency and the need for procedures and measures with regard to the transport of radiation victims are clearly defined and clearly presented for the effectiveness of the actions. This work presents the necessary actions for the transport of radiation accident victim during a radiological emergency, through the road map technique, which has been widely used in scientific technical area to facilitate understanding and show the way to be followed to reach the proposed objectives

  17. Severe Accidents: French Regulatory Practice for Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colin, M.

    1997-01-01

    In the framework of a continuous and iterative process, the French Safety Authority asks the utility EDF to implement equipment and procedure modifications on the operating reactors, in order to cope with the most likely Severe Accident sequences. As a result of Probabilistic Safety Assessments published in 1990, important equipment and procedure modifications are being implemented on the French PWRs to improve the safety in shutdown states. The implementation of another set of modifications against some reactivity accident sequences is also in progress. More recently, the Safety Authority expressed specific Severe Accident requirements in terms of instrumentation, equipment qualification, high pressure core melt accidents and hydrogen risk prevention. In that respect, EDF was asked to implement hydrogen recombiners on its reactors. On the other hand, the French Safety authority is involved with its German counterpart in the assessment process of the European Pressurized Water Reactor Project. In consistency with the common recommendations of the Safety Authorities involved, Severe Accident provisions for this reactor are being taken into account at the design stage

  18. Accident analysis of HANARO fuel test loop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, J. Y.; Chi, D. Y

    1998-03-01

    Steady state fuel test loop will be equipped in HANARO to obtain the development and betterment of advanced fuel and materials through the irradiation tests. The HANARO fuel test loop was designed to match the CANDU and PWR fuel operating conditions. The accident analysis was performed by RELAP5/MOD3 code based on FTL system designs and determined the detail engineering specification of in-pile test section and out-pile systems. The accident analysis results of FTL system could be used for the fuel and materials designer to plan the irradiation testing programs. (author). 23 refs., 20 tabs., 178 figs.

  19. Transportation accident response of a high-capacity truck cask for spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Connell, W.J.; Glaser, R.E.; Johnson, G.L.; Perfect, S.A.; McGuinn, E.J.; Lake, W.H.

    1995-11-01

    Two of the primary goals of this study were (i) to check the structural and thermal performance of the GA-4 cask in a broad range of accidents and (ii) to carry out a severe-accidents analysis as had been addressed in the Modal Study but now using a specific recent cask design and using current-generation computer models and capabilities. At the same time, it was desired to compare the accident performance of the Ga-4 cask to that of the generic truck cask analyzed in the Modal Study. The same range of impact and fire accidents developed in the Modal Study was adopted for this study. The accident-description data base of the Modal Study categorizes accidents into types of collisions with mobile or fixed objects, non-collision accidents, and fires. The mechanical modes of damage may be via crushing, impact, or puncture. The fire occurrences in the Modal Study data are based on truck accident statistics. The fire types are taken to be pool fires of petroleum products from fuel tanks and/or cargoes

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

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2016-05-15

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

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sdouz, Gert

    2006-01-01

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

  2. Modelling road accidents: An approach using structural time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junus, Noor Wahida Md; Ismail, Mohd Tahir

    2014-09-01

    In this paper, the trend of road accidents in Malaysia for the years 2001 until 2012 was modelled using a structural time series approach. The structural time series model was identified using a stepwise method, and the residuals for each model were tested. The best-fitted model was chosen based on the smallest Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and prediction error variance. In order to check the quality of the model, a data validation procedure was performed by predicting the monthly number of road accidents for the year 2012. Results indicate that the best specification of the structural time series model to represent road accidents is the local level with a seasonal model.

  3. SEVERE ACCIDENT ISSUES RAISED BY THE FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT AND IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED

    OpenAIRE

    SONG, JIN HO; KIM, TAE WOON

    2014-01-01

    This paper revisits the Fukushima accident to draw lessons in the aspect of nuclear safety considering the fact that the Fukushima accident resulted in core damage for three nuclear power plants simultaneously and that there is a high possibility of a failure of the integrity of reactor vessel and primary containment vessel. A brief review on the accident progression at Fukushima nuclear power plants is discussed to highlight the nature and characteristic of the event. As the severe accide...

  4. Helicopter emergency medical services response to equestrian accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyon, Richard M; Macauley, Ben; Richardson, Sarah; de Coverly, Richard; Russell, Malcolm

    2015-04-01

    Horse riding is a common leisure activity associated with a significant rate of injury. Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) may be called to equestrian accidents. Accurate HEMS tasking is important to ensure appropriate use of this valuable medical resource. We sought to review HEMS response to equestrian accidents and identify factors associated with the need for HEMS intervention or transport of the patient to a major trauma centre. Retrospective case review of all missions flown by Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust over a 1-year period (1 July 2011 to 1 July 2012). All missions were screened for accidents involving a horse. Call details, patient demographics, suspected injuries, clinical interventions and patient disposition were all analysed. In the 12-month data collection period there were 47 equestrian accidents, representing ∼3% of the total annual missions. Of the 42 cases HEMS attended, one patient was pronounced life extinct at the scene. In 15 (36%) cases the patient was airlifted to hospital. In four (10%) cases, the patient underwent prehospital anaesthesia. There were no specific predictors of HEMS intervention. Admission to a major trauma centre was associated with the rider not wearing a helmet, a fall onto their head or the horse falling onto the rider. Equestrian accidents represent a significant proportion of HEMS missions. The majority of patients injured in equestrian accidents do not require HEMS intervention, however, a small proportion have life-threatening injuries, requiring immediate critical intervention. Further research is warranted, particularly regarding HEMS dispatch, to further improve accuracy of tasking to equestrian accidents.

  5. Development of Parameter Network for Accident Management Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pak, Sukyoung; Ahemd, Rizwan; Heo, Gyunyoung [Kyung Hee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jung Taek; Park, Soo Yong; Ahn, Kwang Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-10-15

    When a severe accident happens, it is hard to obtain the necessary information to understand of internal status because of the failure or damage of instrumentation and control systems. We learned the lessons from Fukushima accident that internal instrumentation system should be secured and must have ability to react in serious conditions. While there might be a number of methods to reinforce the integrity of instrumentation systems, we focused on the use of redundant behavior of plant parameters without additional hardware installation. Specifically, the objective of this study is to estimate the replaced value which is able to identify internal status by using set of available signals when it is impossible to use instrumentation information in a severe accident, which is the continuation of the paper which was submitted at the last KNS meeting. The concept of the VPN was suggested to improve the quality of parameters particularly to be logged during severe accidents in NPPs using a software based approach, and quantize the importance of each parameter for further maintenance. In the future, we will continue to perform the same analysis to other accident scenarios and extend the spectrum of initial conditions so that we are able to get more sets of VPNs and ANN models to predict the behavior of accident scenarios. The suggested method has the uncertainty underlain in the analysis code for severe accidents. However, In case of failure to the safety critical instrumentation, the information from the VPN would be available to carry out safety management operation.

  6. Comparative radiation impact on biota and man in the area affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fesenko, S.V.; Alexakhin, R.M.; Geras'kin, S.A.; Sanzharova, N.I.; Spirin, Ye.V.; Spiridonov, S.I.; Gontarenko, I.A.; Strand, P.

    2005-01-01

    A methodological approach for a comparative assessment of ionising radiation effects on man and non-human species, based on the use of Radiation Impact Factor (RIF) - ratios of actual exposure doses to biota species and man to critical dose is described. As such doses, radiation safety standards limiting radiation exposure of man and doses at which radiobiological effects in non-human species were not observed after the Chernobyl accident, were employed. For the study area within the 30 km ChNPP zone dose burdens to 10 reference biota groups and the population (with and without evacuation) and the corresponding RIFs were calculated. It has been found that in 1986 (early period after the accident) the emergency radiation standards for man do not guarantee adequate protection of the environment, some species of which could be affected more than man. In 1991 RIFs for man were considerably (by factor of 20.0-1.1 x 10 5 ) higher compared with those for selected non-human species. Thus, for the long term after the accident radiation safety standards for man are shown to ensure radiation safety for biota as well

  7. Comparative radiation impact on biota and man in the area affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fesenko, S.V. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation) and International Atomic Energy Agency, Agency' s Laboratories, Seibersdorf A-2444 (Austria)]. E-mail: s.fesenko@iaea.org; Alexakhin, R.M. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Geras' kin, S.A. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Sanzharova, N.I. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Spirin, Ye.V. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Spiridonov, S.I. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Gontarenko, I.A. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Agroecology, Kievskoe shosse, Kaluga region, Obninsk 249020 (Russian Federation); Strand, P. [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, Oesteras (Norway)

    2005-07-01

    A methodological approach for a comparative assessment of ionising radiation effects on man and non-human species, based on the use of Radiation Impact Factor (RIF) - ratios of actual exposure doses to biota species and man to critical dose is described. As such doses, radiation safety standards limiting radiation exposure of man and doses at which radiobiological effects in non-human species were not observed after the Chernobyl accident, were employed. For the study area within the 30 km ChNPP zone dose burdens to 10 reference biota groups and the population (with and without evacuation) and the corresponding RIFs were calculated. It has been found that in 1986 (early period after the accident) the emergency radiation standards for man do not guarantee adequate protection of the environment, some species of which could be affected more than man. In 1991 RIFs for man were considerably (by factor of 20.0-1.1 x 10{sup 5}) higher compared with those for selected non-human species. Thus, for the long term after the accident radiation safety standards for man are shown to ensure radiation safety for biota as well.

  8. Nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    On 27 May 1986 the Norwegian government appointed an inter-ministerial committee of senior officials to prepare a report on experiences in connection with the Chernobyl accident. The present second part of the committee's report describes proposals for measures to prevent and deal with similar accidents in the future. The committee's evaluations and proposals are grouped into four main sections: Safety and risk at nuclear power plants; the Norwegian contingency organization for dealing with nuclear accidents; compensation issues; and international cooperation

  9. Development of a multiplex assay for genus- and species-specific detection of Phytophthora based on differences in mitochondrial gene order.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilodeau, Guillaume J; Martin, Frank N; Coffey, Michael D; Blomquist, Cheryl L

    2014-07-01

    A molecular diagnostic assay for Phytophthora spp. that is specific, sensitive, has both genus- and species-specific detection capabilities multiplexed, and can be used to systematically develop markers for detection of a wide range of species would facilitate research and regulatory efforts. To address this need, a marker system was developed based on the high copy sequences of the mitochondrial DNA utilizing gene orders that were highly conserved in the genus Phytophthora but different in the related genus Pythium and plants to reduce the importance of highly controlled annealing temperatures for specificity. An amplification primer pair designed from conserved regions of the atp9 and nad9 genes produced an amplicon of ≈340 bp specific for the Phytophthora spp. tested. The TaqMan probe for the genus-specific Phytophthora test was designed from a conserved portion of the atp9 gene whereas variable intergenic spacer sequences were used for designing the species-specific TaqMan probes. Specific probes were developed for 13 species and the P. citricola species complex. In silico analysis suggests that species-specific probes could be developed for at least 70 additional described and provisional species; the use of locked nucleic acids in TaqMan probes should expand this list. A second locus spanning three tRNAs (trnM-trnP-trnM) was also evaluated for genus-specific detection capabilities. At 206 bp, it was not as useful for systematic development of a broad range of species-specific probes as the larger 340-bp amplicon. All markers were validated against a test panel that included 87 Phytophthora spp., 14 provisional Phytophthora spp., 29 Pythium spp., 1 Phytopythium sp., and 39 plant species. Species-specific probes were validated further against a range of geographically diverse isolates to ensure uniformity of detection at an intraspecific level, as well as with other species having high levels of sequence similarity to ensure specificity. Both diagnostic

  10. Specific primer design of mitochondrial 12S rRNA for species identification in raw meats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cahyadi, M.; Puruhita; Barido, F. H.; Hertanto, B. S.

    2018-01-01

    Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular technique that widely used in agriculture area including species identification in animal-based products for halalness and food safety reasons. Amplification of DNA using PCR needs a primer pair (forward and reverse primers) to isolate specific DNA fragment in the genome. This objective of this study was to design specific primer from mitochondrial 12S rRNA region for species identification in raw beef, pork and chicken meat. Three published sequences, HQ184045, JN601075, and KT626857, were downloaded from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. Furthermore, those reference sequences were used to design specific primer for bovine, pig, and chicken species using primer3 v.0.4.0. A total of 15 primer pairs were picked up from primer3 software. Of these, an universal forward primer and three reverse primers which are specific for bovine, pig, and chicken species were selected to be optimized using multiplex-PCR technique. The selected primers were namely UNIF (5’-ACC GCG GTC ATA CGA TTA AC-3’), SPR (5’-AGT GCG TCG GCT ATT GTA GG-3’), BBR (5’-GAA TTG GCA AGG GTT GGT AA-3’), and AR (5’-CGG TAT GTA CGT GCC TCA GA-3’). In addition, the PCR products were visualized using 2% agarose gels under the UV light and sequenced to be aligned with reference sequences using Clustal Omega. The result showed that those primers were specifically amplified mitochondrial 12S rRNA regions from bovine, pig, and chicken using PCR. It was indicated by the existence of 155, 357, and 611 bp of DNA bands for bovine, pig, and chicken species, respectively. Moreover, sequence analysis revealed that our sequences were identically similar with reference sequences. It can be concluded that mitochondrial 12S rRNA may be used as a genetic marker for species identification in meat products.

  11. Risk assessment for long-term post-accident sequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellia-Hervy, A.; Ducamp, F.

    1987-11-01

    Probabilistic risk analysis, currently conducted by the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) for the French replicate series of 900 MWe power plants, has identified accident sequences requiring long-term operation of some systems after the initiating event. They have been named long-term sequences. Quantification of probabilities of such sequences cannot rely exclusively on equipment failure-on-demand data: it must also take into account operating failures, the probability of which increase with time. Specific studies have therefore been conducted for a number of plant systems actuated during these long-term sequences. This has required: - Definition of the most realistic equipment utilization strategies based on existing emergency procedures for 900 MWe French plants. - Evaluation of the potential to repair failed equipment, given accessibility, repair time, and specific radiation conditions for the given sequence. - Definition of the event bringing the long-term sequence to an end. - Establishment of an appropriate quantification method, capable of taking into account the evolution of assumptions concerning equipment utilization strategies or repair conditions over time. The accident sequence quantification method based on realistic scenarios has been used in the risk assessment of the initiating event loss of reactor coolant accident occurring at power and at shutdown. Compared with the results obtained from conventional methods, this method redistributes the relative weight of accident sequences and also demonstrates that the long term can be a significant contribution to the probability of core melt

  12. Nuclear accident dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    The film presents statistical data on criticality accidents. It outlines past IAEA activities on criticality accident dosimetry and the technical documents that resulted from this work. The film furthermore illustrates an international comparison study on nuclear accident dosimetry conducted at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, United Kingdom

  13. Nuclear accident dosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1983-12-31

    The film presents statistical data on criticality accidents. It outlines past IAEA activities on criticality accident dosimetry and the technical documents that resulted from this work. The film furthermore illustrates an international comparison study on nuclear accident dosimetry conducted at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell, United Kingdom

  14. Planning for large-scale accidents: learning from the Three Mile Island accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, D.W.

    1981-01-01

    Decision-making issues raised at the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania are explored. The organizations involved, their interconnections, and decisions are described. The underlying issues bearing on allocation of effort to pre-accident planning and actual accident responses are also noted. Finally, a framework from this effort is used for guiding the planning of operations for future accidents. (author)

  15. Radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nenot, J.C.

    1996-01-01

    Analysis of radiation accidents over a 50 year period shows that simple cases, where the initiating events were immediately recognised, the source identified and under control, the medical input confined to current handling, were exceptional. In many cases, the accidents were only diagnosed when some injuries presented by the victims suggested the radiological nature of the cause. After large-scale accidents, the situation becomes more complicated, either because of management or medical problems, or both. The review of selected accidents which resulted in severe consequences shows that most of them could have been avoided; lack of regulations, contempt for rules, human failure and insufficient training have been identified as frequent initiating parameters. In addition, the situation was worsened because of unpreparedness, insufficient planning, unadapted resources, and underestimation of psychosociological aspects. (author)

  16. 1945-1985-40 years of Nuclear Industry: an overview of important radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, A.R. de.

    1986-08-01

    Approximately 180 radiation accidents which occurred in the world during the period 1945-1985 are summarized. The necessity of the availability of a database specifically oriented toward researchers interested in studying the different radiation accidents reported is emphasized. (M.A.C.) [pt

  17. Descriptive and analytical epidemiology of accidents in five categories of sport aviation aircraft

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Doorn, R.R.A.; de Voogt, A.J.

    2011-01-01

    The present study reports and compares causes of, and factors contributing to, 2,118 documented accidents of sport aviation represented by diverse aircraft types including balloons and blimps, gliders, gyroplanes, and ultralights. For the 26-year period, accidents were aircraft-specific regarding

  18. Identification of the operating crew's information needs for accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, W.R.; Hanson, D.J.; Ward, L.W.; Solberg, D.E.

    1988-01-01

    While it would be very difficult to predetermine all of the actions required to mitigate the consequences of every potential severe accident for a nuclear power plant, development of additional guidance and training could improve the likelihood that the operating crew would implement effective sever-accident management measures. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting an Accident Management Research Program that emphasizes the application of severe-accident research results to enhance the capability of the plant operating crew to effectively manage severe accidents. One element of this program includes identification of the information needed by the operating crew in severe-accident situations. This paper discusses a method developed for identifying these information needs and its application. The methodology has been applied to a generic reactor design representing a PWR with a large dry containment. The information needs were identified by systematically determining what information is needed to assess the health of the critical functions, identify the presence of challenges, select strategies, and assess the effectiveness of these strategies. This method allows the systematic identification of information needs for a broad range of severe-accident scenarios and can be validated by exercising the functional models for any specific event sequence

  19. Extension of emergency operating procedures for severe accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiang, S.C.

    1992-01-01

    To enhance the capability of reactor operators to cope with the hypothetical severe accident its the key issue for utilities. Taiwan Power Company has started the enhancement programs on extension of emergency operating procedures (EOPs). It includes the review of existing LOPs based on the conclusions and recommendations of probabilistic risk assessment studies to confirm the operator actions. Then the plant specific analysis for accident management strategy will be performed and the existing EOPs will be updated accordingly

  20. Implications for accident management of adding water to a degrading reactor core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuan, P.; Hanson, D.J.; Pafford, D.J.; Quick, K.S.; Witt, R.J.

    1994-02-01

    This report evaluates both the positive and negative consequences of adding water to a degraded reactor core during a severe accident. The evaluation discusses the earliest possible stage at which an accident can be terminated and how plant personnel can best respond to undesired results. Specifically discussed are (a) the potential for plant personnel to add water for a range of severe accidents, (b) the time available for plant personnel to act, (c) possible plant responses to water added during the various stages of core degradation, (d) plant instrumentation available to understand the core condition and (e) the expected response of the instrumentation during the various stages of severe accidents

  1. Implications for accident management of adding water to a degrading reactor core

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuan, P.; Hanson, D.J.; Pafford, D.J.; Quick, K.S.; Witt, R.J. [EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    1994-02-01

    This report evaluates both the positive and negative consequences of adding water to a degraded reactor core during a severe accident. The evaluation discusses the earliest possible stage at which an accident can be terminated and how plant personnel can best respond to undesired results. Specifically discussed are (a) the potential for plant personnel to add water for a range of severe accidents, (b) the time available for plant personnel to act, (c) possible plant responses to water added during the various stages of core degradation, (d) plant instrumentation available to understand the core condition and (e) the expected response of the instrumentation during the various stages of severe accidents.

  2. Species-specific escape of Plasmodium sporozoites from oocysts of avian, rodent, and human malarial parasites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orfano, Alessandra S; Nacif-Pimenta, Rafael; Duarte, Ana P M; Villegas, Luis M; Rodrigues, Nilton B; Pinto, Luciana C; Campos, Keillen M M; Pinilla, Yudi T; Chaves, Bárbara; Barbosa Guerra, Maria G V; Monteiro, Wuelton M; Smith, Ryan C; Molina-Cruz, Alvaro; Lacerda, Marcus V G; Secundino, Nágila F C; Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo; Barillas-Mury, Carolina; Pimenta, Paulo F P

    2016-08-02

    Malaria is transmitted when an infected mosquito delivers Plasmodium sporozoites into a vertebrate host. There are many species of Plasmodium and, in general, the infection is host-specific. For example, Plasmodium gallinaceum is an avian parasite, while Plasmodium berghei infects mice. These two parasites have been extensively used as experimental models of malaria transmission. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the most important agents of human malaria, a life-threatening disease of global importance. To complete their life cycle, Plasmodium parasites must traverse the mosquito midgut and form an oocyst that will divide continuously. Mature oocysts release thousands of sporozoites into the mosquito haemolymph that must reach the salivary gland to infect a new vertebrate host. The current understanding of the biology of oocyst formation and sporozoite release is mostly based on experimental infections with P. berghei, and the conclusions are generalized to other Plasmodium species that infect humans without further morphological analyses. Here, it is described the microanatomy of sporozoite escape from oocysts of four Plasmodium species: the two laboratory models, P. gallinaceum and P. berghei, and the two main species that cause malaria in humans, P. vivax and P. falciparum. It was found that sporozoites have species-specific mechanisms of escape from the oocyst. The two model species of Plasmodium had a common mechanism, in which the oocyst wall breaks down before sporozoites emerge. In contrast, P. vivax and P. falciparum sporozoites show a dynamic escape mechanism from the oocyst via polarized propulsion. This study demonstrated that Plasmodium species do not share a common mechanism of sporozoite escape, as previously thought, but show complex and species-specific mechanisms. In addition, the knowledge of this phenomenon in human Plasmodium can facilitate transmission-blocking studies and not those ones only based on the murine and avian models.

  3. Managing severe reactor accidents. A review and evaluation of our knowledge on reactor accidents and accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gustavsson, Veine

    2002-11-01

    The report gives a review of the results from the last years research on severe reactor accidents, and an opinion on the possibilities to refine the present strategies for accident management in Swedish and Finnish BWRs. The following aspect of reactor accidents are the major themes of the study: 1. Early pressure relief from hydrogen production; 2. Recriticality in re-flooded, degraded core; 3. Melt-through; 4. Steam explosion after melt-through; 5. Coolability of the melt after after melt-through; 6. Hydrogen fire in the reactor containment; 7. Leaking containment; 8. Hydrogen fire in the reactor building; 9. Long-time developments after a severe accident; 10. Accidents during shutdown for overhaul; 11. Information need for remedial actions. Possibilities for improving the strategies in each of these areas are discussed. The review shows that our knowledge is sufficient in the areas 1, 2, 4, 6, 8. For the other areas, more research is needed

  4. Database on aircraft accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

    2012-09-01

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

  5. Persistent organochlorines in 13 shark species from offshore and coastal waters of Korea: Species-specific accumulation and contributing factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hyun-Kyung; Jeong, Yunsun; Lee, Sunggyu; Jeong, Woochang; Choy, Eun-Jung; Kang, Chang-Keun; Lee, Won-Chan; Kim, Sang-Jo; Moon, Hyo-Bang

    2015-05-01

    Data on persistent organochlorines (OCs) in sharks are scarce. Concentrations of OCs such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in the muscle tissue of 13 shark species (n=105) collected from offshore (Indian and Pacific Oceans) and coastal waters of Korea, to investigate species-specific accumulation of OCs and to assess the potential health risks associated with consumption of shark meat. Overall OC concentrations were highly variable not only among species but also within the same species of shark. The concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, chlordanes, hexachlorobenzene, and heptachlor in all shark species ranged from shark in our study were relatively lower than those reported in other studies. Aggressive shark species and species inhabiting the Indian Ocean had the highest levels of OCs. Inter-species differences in the concentrations and accumulation profiles of OCs among shark species could be explained by differences in feeding habit and sampling locations. Several confounding factors such as growth velocity, trophic position, and regional contamination status may affect the bioaccumulation of OCs in sharks. Hazard ratios of non-cancer risk for all the OCs were below one, whereas the hazard ratios of lifetime cancer risks of PCBs and DDTs exceeded one, implying potential carcinogenic effects in the general population in Korea. This is the first report to document the occurrence of OCs in sharks from Korea. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Studded and unstudded winter tires in fatal road accidents in Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malmivuo, Mikko; Luoma, Juha; Porthin, Markus

    2017-07-04

    The aim of the study was to compare the safety effects of studded and unstudded winter tires based on fatal road accidents. The data included 958 road accidents involving a passenger car or van that occurred in Finland from November to March between 1997 and 2012. Comparing the proportions of winter tire type in accidents and in general traffic showed that the overall effect of tire type on the number of accidents was not significant, although studded tires reduced fatal accidents by 10-15%. Compared to unstudded tires, studded tires reduced accidents significantly only on bald ice in 2005-2012. Drivers using unstudded tires were more experienced and their profession was more frequently related to driving. In addition, the vehicle age was lower for vehicles with unstudded tires. On the other hand, the state of repair was less pertinent for unstudded than for studded tires. These confounding factors offset their effects to some degree. The risk of fatal road accidents in winter between studded and unstudded tires does not differ significantly. However, the accident risk has recently been substantially higher on bald ice for unstudded than for studded tires. The magnitude of this risk difference is difficult to determine without specific information on exposure by road surface.

  7. Analysis of severe accidents in pressurized heavy water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-06-01

    Certain very low probability plant states that are beyond design basis accident conditions and which may arise owing to multiple failures of safety systems leading to significant core degradation may jeopardize the integrity of many or all the barriers to the release of radioactive material. Such event sequences are called severe accidents. It is required in the IAEA Safety Requirements publication on Safety of the Nuclear Power Plants: Design, that consideration be given to severe accident sequences, using a combination of engineering judgement and probabilistic methods, to determine those sequences for which reasonably practicable preventive or mitigatory measures can be identified. Acceptable measures need not involve the application of conservative engineering practices used in setting and evaluating design basis accidents, but rather should be based on realistic or best estimate assumptions, methods and analytical criteria. Recently, the IAEA developed a Safety Report on Approaches and Tools for Severe Accident Analysis. This publication provides a description of factors important to severe accident analysis, an overview of severe accident phenomena and the current status in their modelling, categorization of available computer codes, and differences in approaches for various applications of severe accident analysis. The report covers both the in- and ex-vessel phases of severe accidents. The publication is consistent with the IAEA Safety Report on Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants and can be considered as a complementary report specifically devoted to the analysis of severe accidents. Although the report does not explicitly differentiate among various reactor types, it has been written essentially on the basis of available knowledge and databases developed for light water reactors. Therefore its application is mostly oriented towards PWRs and BWRs and, to a more limited extent, they can be only used as preliminary guidance for other types of reactors

  8. Preventing accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-08-01

    As the most effective strategy for improving safety is to prevent accidents from occurring at all, the Volpe Center applies a broad range of research techniques and capabilities to determine causes and consequences of accidents and to identify, asses...

  9. Compensation for damages in case of a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leger, M.

    2011-01-01

    This article presents the system of compensation for damages in case of a nuclear accident. This system of civil liability for nuclear damage, as a specific regime, departs on several points from the common rules of civil liability, in order to provide an adequate and equitable compensation for the damages suffered by the victims of nuclear accidents. The French system of civil liability for nuclear damage results from two International Conventions integrated in French law (Paris convention 1960 and Brussels convention 1963) and the French law of 1968, October 30 on civil liability in the area of nuclear energy. These texts define the conditions under which a nuclear operator could be held liable in case of a nuclear accident. The protocols to amend the Paris and Brussels Conventions of 2004, not yet come into force, are also presented. They ensure that increased resources are available to compensate a greater number of victims of a nuclear accident. (author)

  10. Study of evacuation times based on recent accident history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, G.S.; Neuhauser, K.S.

    1995-01-01

    A key parameter in the calculation of accident dose-risks by the RADTRAN 4 code is the time assigned for evacuation of the affected area surrounding the accident. Currently, in the interest of assured conservatism, this time is set at 24 hrs. Casual anecdotal evidence has indicated that this value is overly conservative and results in assignment of overly conservative estimates of accident dose-risk. Therefore, a survey of recent truck accidents involving various hazardous materials which required evacuation of surrounding populations reported in various news media was undertaken. Accounts of pertinent scenarios were gleaned from databases citing newspapers and other periodicals, and the local authorities involved in each were contacted to get details of the evacuation including time required. This paper presents the data obtained in the study and the resultant mean evacuation time plus limits and factors influencing specific results together with conclusions regarding the appropriate value to be used in the RADTRAN 4 code

  11. An operational centre for managing major chemical industrial accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiranoudis, C T; Kourniotis, S P; Christolis, M; Markatos, N C; Zografos, K G; Giannouli, I M; Androutsopoulos, K N; Ziomas, I; Kosmidis, E; Simeonidis, P; Poupkou, N

    2002-01-28

    The most important characteristic of major chemical accidents, from a societal perspective, is their tendency to produce off-site effects. The extent and severity of the accident may significantly affect the population and the environment of the adjacent areas. Following an accident event, effort should be made to limit such effects. Management decisions should be based on rational and quantitative information based on the site specific circumstances and the possible consequences. To produce such information we have developed an operational centre for managing large-scale industrial accidents. Its architecture involves an integrated framework of geographical information system (GIS) and RDBMS technology systems equipped with interactive communication capabilities. The operational centre was developed for Windows 98 platforms, for the region of Thriasion Pedion of West Attica, where the concentration of industrial activity and storage of toxic chemical is immense within areas of high population density. An appropriate case study is given in order to illuminate the use and necessity of the operational centre.

  12. Consequence analysis of core damage states following severe accidents for the CANDU reactor design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahba, N.N.; Kim, Y.T.; Lie, S.G.

    1997-01-01

    The analytical methodology used to evaluate severe accident sequences is described. The relevant thermal-mechanical phenomena and the mathematical approach used in calculating the timing of the accident progression and source term estimate are summarized. The postulated sever accidents analyzed, in general, mainly differ in the timing to reach and progress through each defined c ore damage state . This paper presents the methodology and results of the timing and steam discharge calculations as well as source term estimate out of containment for accident sequences classified as potentially leading to core disassembly following a small break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario as a specific example. (author)

  13. Species-specific chitin-binding module 18 expansion in the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramyan, John; Stajich, Jason E

    2012-01-01

    Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, which is considered one of the driving forces behind the worldwide decline in populations of amphibians. As a member of the phylum Chytridiomycota, B. dendrobatidis has diverged significantly to emerge as the only pathogen of adult vertebrates. Such shifts in lifestyle are generally accompanied by various degrees of genomic modifications, yet neither its mode of pathogenicity nor any factors associated with it have ever been identified. Presented here is the identification and characterization of a unique expansion of the carbohydrate-binding module family 18 (CBM18), specific to B. dendrobatidis. CBM (chitin-binding module) expansions have been likened to the evolution of pathogenicity in a variety of fungus species, making this expanded group a prime candidate for the identification of potential pathogenicity factors. Furthermore, the CBM18 expansions are confined to three categories of genes, each having been previously implicated in host-pathogen interactions. These correlations highlight this specific domain expansion as a potential key player in the mode of pathogenicity in this unique fungus. The expansion of CBM18 in B. dendrobatidis is exceptional in its size and diversity compared to other pathogenic species of fungi, making this genomic feature unique in an evolutionary context as well as in pathogenicity. Amphibian populations are declining worldwide at an unprecedented rate. Although various factors are thought to contribute to this phenomenon, chytridiomycosis has been identified as one of the leading causes. This deadly fungal disease is cause by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a chytrid fungus species unique in its pathogenicity and, furthermore, its specificity to amphibians. Despite more than two decades of research, the biology of this fungus species and its deadly interaction with amphibians had been notoriously difficult to unravel. Due to the alarming rate of worldwide

  14. MELCOR assessment of sequential severe accident mitigation actions under SGTR accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2017-01-01

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

  15. Teat apex colonization with coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species before parturition: Distribution and species-specific risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Visscher, A; Piepers, S; Haesebrouck, F; De Vliegher, S

    2016-02-01

    Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the main cause of bovine intramammary infections and are also abundantly present in extramammary habitats such as teat apices. Teat apex colonization (TAC) with CNS has already been explored in lactating dairy cows at the species level, whereas this is not true for dry cows and end-term heifers. Therefore, the aim of this observational study was to describe CNS TAC in nonlactating dairy cows and end-term heifers in Flemish dairy herds and to identify associated risk factors at the herd, cow, and quarter level. All CNS were molecularly identified to the species level using transfer RNA intergenic spacer PCR (tDNA-PCR) and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, allowing for species-specific statistical analyses using multivariable, multilevel logistic regression. Staphylococcus devriesei, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Staphylococcus equorum were the most frequently isolated species. Staphylococcus chromogenes was the sole species colonizing teat apices of cows and heifers in all herds, whereas large between-herd differences were observed for the other species. Teat apices of red and white Holstein Friesians, of quarters dried off without an internal teat sealer, and swabbed in months with lower precipitation and higher ambient temperature were significantly more likely to be colonized by S. devriesei. Slightly dirty teat apices and teat apices swabbed in months with lower precipitation had higher odds of being colonized by S. chromogenes, whereas teat apices sampled in months with lower precipitation and higher ambient temperature were more likely to be colonized by S. haemolyticus. Dirty teat apices and teat apices swabbed in months with lower ambient temperature in combination with low precipitation had higher odds of being colonized by S. equorum. Diverse factors explaining CNS TAC, yet mostly related to humidity, ambient temperature, and hygiene, substantiate differences in epidemiological

  16. Human error as the root cause of severe accidents at nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovács Zoltán; Rýdzi, Stanislav

    2017-01-01

    A root cause is a factor inducing an undesirable event. It is feasible for root causes to be eliminated through technological process improvements. Human error was the root cause of all severe accidents at nuclear power plants. The TMI accident was caused by a series of human errors. The Chernobyl disaster occurred after a badly performed test of the turbogenerator at a reactor with design deficiencies, and in addition, the operators ignored the safety principles and disabled the safety systems. At Fukushima the tsunami risk was underestimated and the project failed to consider the specific issues of the site. The paper describes the severe accidents and points out the human errors that caused them. Also, provisions that might have eliminated those severe accidents are suggested. The fact that each severe accident occurred on a different type of reactor is relevant – no severe accident ever occurred twice at the same reactor type. The lessons learnt from the severe accidents and the safety measures implemented on reactor units all over the world seem to be effective. (orig.)

  17. Visualization of Traffic Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jie; Shen, Yuzhong; Khattak, Asad

    2010-01-01

    Traffic accidents have tremendous impact on society. Annually approximately 6.4 million vehicle accidents are reported by police in the US and nearly half of them result in catastrophic injuries. Visualizations of traffic accidents using geographic information systems (GIS) greatly facilitate handling and analysis of traffic accidents in many aspects. Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Inc. is the world leader in GIS research and development. ArcGIS, a software package developed by ESRI, has the capabilities to display events associated with a road network, such as accident locations, and pavement quality. But when event locations related to a road network are processed, the existing algorithm used by ArcGIS does not utilize all the information related to the routes of the road network and produces erroneous visualization results of event locations. This software bug causes serious problems for applications in which accurate location information is critical for emergency responses, such as traffic accidents. This paper aims to address this problem and proposes an improved method that utilizes all relevant information of traffic accidents, namely, route number, direction, and mile post, and extracts correct event locations for accurate traffic accident visualization and analysis. The proposed method generates a new shape file for traffic accidents and displays them on top of the existing road network in ArcGIS. Visualization of traffic accidents along Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  18. The role of chemistry in nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, C.E.; Johnson, I.

    1986-01-01

    An accurate description of the chemical state of fission products is required for quick response in assessing the impact of nuclide release during a nuclear accident. The chemical state of the fission products is certain to change in response to their local environment. More specifically, fission products released from fuel will change their composition on contact with high-temperature steam, and these changes will determine their behavior with regard to either transport, deposition, aerosol formation, or reaction with structural components. The local oxygen potential is a key parameter in establishing the chemical state of the fission products and their release and transport mechanisms. Knowledge of the relationship of this parameter and thermal hydraulics is needed for prediction of fission product behavior in degraded core accidents. The behavior of key fission products in various stages of an accident, based on experimental results and appropriate calculations founded on fundamental thermodynamic information, will be discussed

  19. A systems approach to the management of radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richter, L.L.; Berk, H.W.; Teates, C.D.; Larkham, N.E.; Friesen, E.J.; Edlich, R.F.

    1980-01-01

    Management of radiation accident patients should have a multidisciplinary approach that includes all health professionals as well as members of public safety agencies. Emergency plans for radiation accidents include detection of the ionizing radiation, patient evacuation, resuscitation, and decontamination. The resuscitated patient should be transported to a radiation control area located outside but adjacent to the emergency department. Ideally this area is accessed through an entrance separate from that used for the main flow of daily emergency department patients. The hospital staff, provided with protective clothing, dosimeters, and preprinted guidelines, continues the resuscitation and definitive care of the patient. This system approach to the management of radiation accidents may be tailored to meet the specific needs of other emergency medical systems

  20. [Hospital information system performance for road traffic accidents analysis in a hospital recruitment based area].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jannot, A-S; Fauconnier, J

    2013-06-01

    Road traffic accidents in France are mainly analyzed through reports completed by the security forces (police and gendarmerie). But the hospital information systems can also identify road traffic accidents via specific documentary codes of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether hospital stays consecutive to road traffic accident were truly identified by these documentary codes in a facility that collects data routinely and to study the consistency of results from hospital information systems and from security forces during the 2002-2008 period. We retrieved all patients for whom a documentary code for road traffic accident was entered in 2002-2008. We manually checked the concordance of documentary code for road traffic accident and trauma origin in 350 patient files. The number of accidents in the Grenoble area was then inferred by combining with hospitalization regional data and compared to the number of persons injured by traffic accidents declared by the security force. These hospital information systems successfully report road traffic accidents with 96% sensitivity (95%CI: [92%, 100%]) and 97% specificity (95%CI: [95%, 99%]). The decrease in road traffic accidents observed was significantly less than that observed was significantly lower than that observed in the data from the security force (45% for security force data against 27% for hospital data). Overall, this study shows that hospital information systems are a powerful tool for studying road traffic accidents morbidity in hospital and are complementary to security force data. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Pyrosequencing reveals highly diverse and species-specific microbial communities in sponges from the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Onon

    2010-11-18

    Marine sponges are associated with a remarkable array of microorganisms. Using a tag pyrosequencing technology, this study was the first to investigate in depth the microbial communities associated with three Red Sea sponges, Hyrtios erectus, Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria. We revealed highly diverse sponge-associated bacterial communities with up to 1000 microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and richness estimates of up to 2000 species. Altogether, 26 bacterial phyla were detected from the Red Sea sponges, 11 of which were absent from the surrounding sea water and 4 were recorded in sponges for the first time. Up to 100 OTUs with richness estimates of up to 300 archaeal species were revealed from a single sponge species. This is by far the highest archaeal diversity ever recorded for sponges. A non-negligible proportion of unclassified reads was observed in sponges. Our results demonstrated that the sponge-associated microbial communities remained highly consistent in the same sponge species from different locations, although they varied at different degrees among different sponge species. A significant proportion of the tag sequences from the sponges could be assigned to one of the sponge-specific clusters previously defined. In addition, the sponge-associated microbial communities were consistently divergent from those present in the surrounding sea water. Our results suggest that the Red Sea sponges possess highly sponge-specific or even sponge-species-specific microbial communities that are resistant to environmental disturbance, and much of their microbial diversity remains to be explored. © 2011 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved.

  2. Supervisor's accident investigation handbook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-02-01

    This pamphlet was prepared by the Environmental Health and Safety Department (EH and S) of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) to provide LBL supervisors with a handy reference to LBL's accident investigation program. The publication supplements the Accident and Emergencies section of LBL's Regulations and Procedures Manual, Pub. 201. The present guide discusses only accidents that are to be investigated by the supervisor. These accidents are classified as Type C by the Department of Energy (DOE) and include most occupational injuries and illnesses, government motor-vehicle accidents, and property damages of less than $50,000

  3. Factors associated with the severity of construction accidents: The case of South Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jantanee Dumrak

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available While the causes of accidents in the construction industry have been extensively studied, severity remains an understudied area. In order to provide more evidence for the currently limited number of empirical investigations on severity, this study analysed 24,764 construction accidents reported during 2002-11 in South Australia. A conceptual model developed through literature uses personal characteristics such as age, experience, gender and language. It also employs work-related factors such as size of organization, project size and location, mechanism of accident and body location of the injury. These were shown to discriminate why some accidents result in only a minor severity while others are fatal. Factors such as time of accident, day of the week and season were not strongly associated with accident severity. When the factors affecting severity of an accident are well understood, preventive measures could be developed specifically to those factors that are at high risk.

  4. Patterns of specificity and diversity in species of Paraorygmatobothrium Ruhnke, 1994 (Cestoda: Phyllobothriidae) in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, with the description of four new species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutmore, Scott C; Bennett, Michael B; Miller, Terrence L; Cribb, Thomas H

    2017-11-01

    A survey of tapeworms of galeomorph sharks from Moreton Bay (Queensland, Australia) identified a complex of species of Paraorygmatobothrium Ruhnke, 1994 infecting 11 carcharhiniform and two orectolobiform species. Combined morphological and multi-locus molecular analyses (based on the 28S nuclear ribosomal RNA and partial mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 genes) revealed the presence of 12 species of Paraorygmatobothrium; four species (Paraorygmatobothrium christopheri n. sp., P. harti n. sp., P. sinclairtaylori n. sp. and P. ullmanni n. sp.) are considered to be new to science and are formally described, four represent known species, and four lack sufficient morphological data to allow definitive identification. In contrast to previous records for the genus, four of the species found in this study exhibited low host specificity [P. orectolobi (Butler, 1987) Ruhnke, 2011, P. sinclairtaylori, P. ullmanni and Paraorygmatobothrium sp. 3], three stenoxenic species were each found in two closely-related sharks (P. orectolobi, P. ullmanni and Paraorygmatobothrium sp. 3) and one euryxenic species was found in five species from two shark families (P. sinclairtaylori). One species was found to exhibit mild morphologically plasticity (P. orectolobi), with size range being associated with different shark species. Conversely, collections of almost morphologically indistinguishable specimens from single shark species were found to represent multiple species of Paraorygmatobothrium. The findings of this study indicate that the description of species of this genus on the basis of morphological data alone is problematic and that the inclusion of multi-locus molecular data is essential for future work on Paraorygmatobothrium. Host specificity, morphology and phylogenetic relatedness of species of Paraorygmatobothrium are explored.

  5. Cost per severe accident as an index for severe accident consequence assessment and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Kampanart; Ishiwatari, Yuki; Takahara, Shogo

    2014-01-01

    The Fukushima Accident emphasizes the need to integrate the assessments of health effects, economic impacts, social impacts and environmental impacts, in order to perform a comprehensive consequence assessment of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. “Cost per severe accident” is introduced as an index for that purpose. The calculation methodology, including the consequence analysis using level 3 probabilistic risk assessment code OSCAAR and the calculation method of the cost per severe accident, is proposed. This methodology was applied to a virtual 1,100 MWe boiling water reactor. The breakdown of the cost per severe accident was provided. The radiation effect cost, the relocation cost and the decontamination cost were the three largest components. Sensitivity analyses were carried out, and parameters sensitive to cost per severe accident were specified. The cost per severe accident was compared with the amount of source terms, to demonstrate the performance of the cost per severe accident as an index to evaluate severe accident consequences. The ways to use the cost per severe accident for optimization of radiation protection countermeasures and for estimation of the effects of accident management strategies are discussed as its applications. - Highlights: • Cost per severe accident is used for severe accident consequence assessment. • Assessments of health, economic, social and environmental impacts are included. • Radiation effect, relocation and decontamination costs are important cost components. • Cost per severe accident can be used to optimize radiation protection measures. • Effects of accident management can be estimated using the cost per severe accident

  6. Analysis of small break loss of coolant accident for Chinese CPR1000

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ju Youl [FNC Technology Co., Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Cilier, Anthonie [North-West University, Mahikeng (South Africa); Poc, Li-chi Cliff [Micro-Simulation Technology, Montville (United States)

    2016-05-15

    This research analyses the small break loss of coolant accident (LOCA) on a Chinese CPR1000 type reactor. LOCA accident is used as benchmark for the PCTRAN/CPR1000 code by comparing the effects and results to the Manshaan FSAR accident analysis. LOCA is a design basis accident in which a guillotine break is postulated to occur in one of the cold legs of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). Consequently, the primary system pressure would drop and almost all the reactor coolant would be discharged into the reactor containment. The drop in pressure would activate the reactor protection system and the reactor would trip. The simulation of a 3-inch small break loss of coolant accident using the PCTRAN/CPR1000 has revealed this code's effectiveness as well as weaknesses in specific simulation applications. The code has the ability to run at 16 times real time and produce very accurate results. The results are consistently producing the same trends as licensed codes used in Safety Assessment Reports. It is however able to produce these results in a fraction of the time and also provides a whole plant simulation coupling the various thermal, hydraulic, chemical and neutronic systems together with a plant specific control system.

  7. Radioactive particulate release associated with the DOT specification 6M container under hypothetical accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, J.M.; Raney, P.J.

    1986-02-01

    A testing program was conducted to determine the leakage of depleted uranium dioxide powder (DUO) from the inner containment components of the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) specification 6M container under hypothetical accident conditions. Depleted uranium dioxide was selected as a surrogate for plutonium oxide because of the similarities in the powder characteristics, density and particle size, and because of the special handling and special facilities required for plutonium oxide. The DUO was packaged inside food pack cans in three different configurations inside the 2R vessel of the 6M container. The amount of DUO powder leakage ranged from none detectable ( -7 g) to a high of 1 x 10 -3 g. The combination of gravity, vibration and pressure produced the highest leakage of DUO. Containers that had hermetic seals (leak rates -4 atm cc/min) did not leak any detectable amount ( -7 g) of DUO under the test conditions. Impact forces had no effect on the leakage of particles with the packaging configurations used. 23 refs., 24 figs., 3 tabs

  8. Calculation of health risks from spent-nuclear-fuel transportation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, S.Y.; Yuan, Y.C.

    1987-01-01

    Models developed to analyze potential radiological health risks from various accident scenarios during transportation of spent nuclear fuels are described. The models are designed both for detailed route-specific risk analyses and for use in conducting overall risk analyses for route selection and related decision-making activities. The radiological risks calculated include individual dose commitments, collective dose commitments, and long-term (100-year) environmental dose commitments to a population following release of radioactivity. To facilitate route-specific analysis, a state-level database was developed and incorporated into the model. Route-specific analysis is demonstrated by the calculation of radiological risks resulting from various accident scenarios, as postulated by the recent US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Modal Study, for four representative states selected from various regions of the United States. 10 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

  9. Accidents of Electrical and Mechanical Works for Public Sector Projects in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Francis K W; Chan, Albert P C; Wong, Andy K D; Hon, Carol K H; Choi, Tracy N Y

    2018-03-10

    A study on electrical and mechanical (E&M) works-related accidents for public sector projects provided the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the causes of accidents by analyzing the circumstances of all E&M works accidents. The research aims to examine accidents of E&M works which happened in public sector projects. A total of 421 E&M works-related accidents in the "Public Works Programme Construction Site Safety and Environmental Statistics" (PCSES) system were extracted for analysis. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted to classify the E&M accidents into different groups. The results identified three E&M accidents groups: (1) electricians with over 15 years of experience were prone to 'fall of person from height'; (2) electricians with zero to five years of experience were prone to 'slip, trip or fall on same level'; (3) air-conditioning workers with zero to five years of experience were prone to multiple types of accidents. Practical measures were recommended for each specific cluster group to avoid recurrence of similar accidents. The accident analysis would be vital for industry practitioners to enhance the safety performance of public sector projects. This study contributes to filling the knowledge gap of how and why E&M accidents occur and promulgating preventive measures for E&M accidents which have been under researched.

  10. Accidents of Electrical and Mechanical Works for Public Sector Projects in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis K. W. Wong

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available A study on electrical and mechanical (E&M works-related accidents for public sector projects provided the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the causes of accidents by analyzing the circumstances of all E&M works accidents. The research aims to examine accidents of E&M works which happened in public sector projects. A total of 421 E&M works-related accidents in the “Public Works Programme Construction Site Safety and Environmental Statistics” (PCSES system were extracted for analysis. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted to classify the E&M accidents into different groups. The results identified three E&M accidents groups: (1 electricians with over 15 years of experience were prone to ‘fall of person from height’; (2 electricians with zero to five years of experience were prone to ‘slip, trip or fall on same level’; (3 air-conditioning workers with zero to five years of experience were prone to multiple types of accidents. Practical measures were recommended for each specific cluster group to avoid recurrence of similar accidents. The accident analysis would be vital for industry practitioners to enhance the safety performance of public sector projects. This study contributes to filling the knowledge gap of how and why E&M accidents occur and promulgating preventive measures for E&M accidents which have been under researched.

  11. Accidents of Electrical and Mechanical Works for Public Sector Projects in Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Francis K. W.; Chan, Albert P. C.; Wong, Andy K. D.; Choi, Tracy N. Y.

    2018-01-01

    A study on electrical and mechanical (E&M) works-related accidents for public sector projects provided the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the causes of accidents by analyzing the circumstances of all E&M works accidents. The research aims to examine accidents of E&M works which happened in public sector projects. A total of 421 E&M works-related accidents in the “Public Works Programme Construction Site Safety and Environmental Statistics” (PCSES) system were extracted for analysis. Two-step cluster analysis was conducted to classify the E&M accidents into different groups. The results identified three E&M accidents groups: (1) electricians with over 15 years of experience were prone to ‘fall of person from height’; (2) electricians with zero to five years of experience were prone to ‘slip, trip or fall on same level’; (3) air-conditioning workers with zero to five years of experience were prone to multiple types of accidents. Practical measures were recommended for each specific cluster group to avoid recurrence of similar accidents. The accident analysis would be vital for industry practitioners to enhance the safety performance of public sector projects. This study contributes to filling the knowledge gap of how and why E&M accidents occur and promulgating preventive measures for E&M accidents which have been under researched. PMID:29534429

  12. Specific versus non-specific immune responses in an invertebrate species evidenced by a comparative de novo sequencing study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emeline Deleury

    Full Text Available Our present understanding of the functioning and evolutionary history of invertebrate innate immunity derives mostly from studies on a few model species belonging to ecdysozoa. In particular, the characterization of signaling pathways dedicated to specific responses towards fungi and Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria in Drosophila melanogaster challenged our original view of a non-specific immunity in invertebrates. However, much remains to be elucidated from lophotrochozoan species. To investigate the global specificity of the immune response in the fresh-water snail Biomphalaria glabrata, we used massive Illumina sequencing of 5'-end cDNAs to compare expression profiles after challenge by Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria or after a yeast challenge. 5'-end cDNA sequencing of the libraries yielded over 12 millions high quality reads. To link these short reads to expressed genes, we prepared a reference transcriptomic database through automatic assembly and annotation of the 758,510 redundant sequences (ESTs, mRNAs of B. glabrata available in public databases. Computational analysis of Illumina reads followed by multivariate analyses allowed identification of 1685 candidate transcripts differentially expressed after an immune challenge, with a two fold ratio between transcripts showing a challenge-specific expression versus a lower or non-specific differential expression. Differential expression has been validated using quantitative PCR for a subset of randomly selected candidates. Predicted functions of annotated candidates (approx. 700 unisequences belonged to a large extend to similar functional categories or protein types. This work significantly expands upon previous gene discovery and expression studies on B. glabrata and suggests that responses to various pathogens may involve similar immune processes or signaling pathways but different genes belonging to multigenic families. These results raise the question of the importance

  13. Application of the accident management information needs methodology to a severe accident sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ward, L.W.; Hanson, D.J.; Nelson, W.R.; Solberg, D.E.

    1989-01-01

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting an accident management research program that emphasizes the use of severe accident research to enhance the ability of plant operating personnel to effectively manage severe accidents. Hence, it is necessary to ensure that the plant instrumentation and information systems adequately provide this information to the operating staff during accident conditions. A methodology to identify and assess the information needs of the operating staff of a nuclear power plant during a severe accident has been developed. The methodology identifies (a) the information needs of the plant personnel during a wide range of accident conditions, (b) the existing plant measurements capable of supplying these information needs and minor additions to instrument and display systems that would enhance management capabilities, (c) measurement capabilities and limitations during severe accident conditions, and (d) areas in which the information systems could mislead plant personnel

  14. Application of the accident management information needs methodology to a severe accident sequence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, L.W.; Hanson, D.J.; Nelson, W.R. (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Falls (USA)); Solberg, D.E. (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (USA))

    1989-11-01

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting an accident management research program that emphasizes the use of severe accident research to enhance the ability of plant operating personnel to effectively manage severe accidents. Hence, it is necessary to ensure that the plant instrumentation and information systems adequately provide this information to the operating staff during accident conditions. A methodology to identify and assess the information needs of the operating staff of a nuclear power plant during a severe accident has been developed. The methodology identifies (a) the information needs of the plant personnel during a wide range of accident conditions, (b) the existing plant measurements capable of supplying these information needs and minor additions to instrument and display systems that would enhance management capabilities, (c) measurement capabilities and limitations during severe accident conditions, and (d) areas in which the information systems could mislead plant personnel.

  15. Monte Carlo simulation of single accident airport risk profile

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-01-01

    A computer simulation model was developed for estimating the potential economic impacts of a carbon fiber release upon facilities within an 80 kilometer radius of a major airport. The model simulated the possible range of release conditions and the resulting dispersion of the carbon fibers. Each iteration of the model generated a specific release scenario, which would cause a specific amount of dollar loss to the surrounding community. By repeated iterations, a risk profile was generated, showing the probability distribution of losses from one accident. Using accident probability estimates, the risks profile for annual losses was derived. The mechanics are described of the simulation model, the required input data, and the risk profiles generated for the 26 large hub airports.

  16. Analysis of Hydrogen Control Strategy Using Igniter during Severe Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sung Bok; Kim, Hyeong Taek; Lee, Keo Hyoung

    2008-01-01

    The Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs) for the operating pressurized water reactor (PWR) have been completed within 2006. Among the SAMG strategies, mitigation-07 is the most important strategy for managing a severe accident of a PWR in order to reduce containment hydrogen. The fastest way to reduce the containment hydrogen concentration is to intentionally ignite the hydrogen. For this strategy, igniters exist in Optimized Power Reactor 1000 (OPR 1000) to burn hydrogen for a severe accident. For using the igniters during a severe accident, the adverse effects such as the explosion of the hydrogen mixture should be considered for containment integrity. However, an applicable discrimination method to activate the igniters does not exist, so that the hydrogen control strategy using the igniters cannot be chosen during a severe accident. Thus, this study focused on suggesting an applicable discrimination method to carry out the strategy of using the igniters. In this study, the specific plant used for this analysis is Ulchin Unit 5 and 6, OPR 1000 plant, in Korea

  17. [A large-scale accident in Alpine terrain].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wildner, M; Paal, P

    2015-02-01

    Due to the geographical conditions, large-scale accidents amounting to mass casualty incidents (MCI) in Alpine terrain regularly present rescue teams with huge challenges. Using an example incident, specific conditions and typical problems associated with such a situation are presented. The first rescue team members to arrive have the elementary tasks of qualified triage and communication to the control room, which is required to dispatch the necessary additional support. Only with a clear "concept", to which all have to adhere, can the subsequent chaos phase be limited. In this respect, a time factor confounded by adverse weather conditions or darkness represents enormous pressure. Additional hazards are frostbite and hypothermia. If priorities can be established in terms of urgency, then treatment and procedure algorithms have proven successful. For evacuation of causalities, a helicopter should be strived for. Due to the low density of hospitals in Alpine regions, it is often necessary to distribute the patients over a wide area. Rescue operations in Alpine terrain have to be performed according to the particular conditions and require rescue teams to have specific knowledge and expertise. The possibility of a large-scale accident should be considered when planning events. With respect to optimization of rescue measures, regular training and exercises are rational, as is the analysis of previous large-scale Alpine accidents.

  18. Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clare, David S; Spencer, Matthew; Robinson, Leonie A; Frid, Christopher L J

    2016-01-01

    Biological assemblages are constantly undergoing change, with species being introduced, extirpated and experiencing shifts in their densities. Theory and experimentation suggest that the impacts of such change on ecosystem functioning should be predictable based on the biological traits of the species involved. However, interspecific interactions could alter how species affect functioning, with the strength and sign of interactions potentially depending on environmental context (e.g. homogenous vs. heterogeneous conditions) and the function considered. Here, we assessed how concurrent changes to the densities of two common marine benthic invertebrates, Corophium volutator and Hediste diversicolor, affected the ecological functions of organic matter consumption and benthic-pelagic nutrient flux. Complementary experiments were conducted within homogenous laboratory microcosms and naturally heterogeneous field plots. When the densities of the species were increased within microcosms, interspecific interactions enhanced effects on organic matter consumption and reduced effects on nutrient flux. Trait-based predictions of how each species would affect functioning were only consistently supported when the density of the other species was low. In field plots, increasing the density of either species had a positive effect on organic matter consumption (with no significant interspecific interactions) but no effect on nutrient flux. Our results indicate that species-specific effects on ecosystem functioning can be altered by interspecific interactions, which can be either facilitative (positive) or antagonistic (negative) depending on the function considered. The impacts of biodiversity change may therefore not be predictable based solely on the biological traits of the species involved. Possible explanations for why interactions were detected in microcosms but not in the field are discussed.

  19. Species-Specific Effects on Ecosystem Functioning Can Be Altered by Interspecific Interactions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David S Clare

    Full Text Available Biological assemblages are constantly undergoing change, with species being introduced, extirpated and experiencing shifts in their densities. Theory and experimentation suggest that the impacts of such change on ecosystem functioning should be predictable based on the biological traits of the species involved. However, interspecific interactions could alter how species affect functioning, with the strength and sign of interactions potentially depending on environmental context (e.g. homogenous vs. heterogeneous conditions and the function considered. Here, we assessed how concurrent changes to the densities of two common marine benthic invertebrates, Corophium volutator and Hediste diversicolor, affected the ecological functions of organic matter consumption and benthic-pelagic nutrient flux. Complementary experiments were conducted within homogenous laboratory microcosms and naturally heterogeneous field plots. When the densities of the species were increased within microcosms, interspecific interactions enhanced effects on organic matter consumption and reduced effects on nutrient flux. Trait-based predictions of how each species would affect functioning were only consistently supported when the density of the other species was low. In field plots, increasing the density of either species had a positive effect on organic matter consumption (with no significant interspecific interactions but no effect on nutrient flux. Our results indicate that species-specific effects on ecosystem functioning can be altered by interspecific interactions, which can be either facilitative (positive or antagonistic (negative depending on the function considered. The impacts of biodiversity change may therefore not be predictable based solely on the biological traits of the species involved. Possible explanations for why interactions were detected in microcosms but not in the field are discussed.

  20. Normal accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perrow, C.

    1989-01-01

    The author has chosen numerous concrete examples to illustrate the hazardousness inherent in high-risk technologies. Starting with the TMI reactor accident in 1979, he shows that it is not only the nuclear energy sector that bears the risk of 'normal accidents', but also quite a number of other technologies and industrial sectors, or research fields. The author refers to the petrochemical industry, shipping, air traffic, large dams, mining activities, and genetic engineering, showing that due to the complexity of the systems and their manifold, rapidly interacting processes, accidents happen that cannot be thoroughly calculated, and hence are unavoidable. (orig./HP) [de

  1. Development of Draft Regulatory Guide on Accident Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants with New Safety Design Features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bang, Young Seok; Woo, Sweng Woong; Hwang, Tae Suk [KINS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Sim, Suk K; Hwang, Min Jeong [Environment and Energy Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The present paper discusses the development process of the draft version of regulatory guide (DRG) on accident analysis of the NPP having the NSFD and its result. Based on the consideration on the lesson learned from the previous licensing review, a draft regulatory guide (DRG) on accident analysis for NPP with new safety design features (NSDF) was developed. New safety design features (NSDF) have been introduced to the new constructing nuclear power plants (NPP) since the early 2000 and the issuance of construction permit of SKN Units 3 and 4. Typical examples of the new safety features includes Fluidic Device (FD) within Safety Injection Tanks (SIT), Passive Auxiliary Feedwater System (PAFS), ECCS Core Barrel Duct (ECBD) which were adopted in APR1400 design and/or APR+ design to improve the safety margin of the plants for the postulated accidents of interest. Also several studies of new concept of the safety system such as Hybrid ECCS design have been reported. General and/or specific guideline of accident analysis considering the NSDF has been requested. Realistic evaluation of the impact of NSDF on accident with uncertainty and separated accident analysis accounting the NSDF impact were specified in the DRG. Per the developmental process, identification of key issues, demonstration of the DRG with specific accident with specific NSDF, and improvement of DGR for the key issues and their resolution will be conducted.

  2. Accident analysis. A review of the various accidents classifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin Martin, L.; Figueras, J.M.

    1982-01-01

    The objective of the accident analysis, in relation with the safety evaluation, environmental impact and emergency planning, should be to identify the total risk to the population and workers from potential accidents in the facility, analizing it over full spectrum of severity. (auth.)

  3. An analysis of severe air transport accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClure, J.D.; Luna, R.E.

    1989-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to analyze the severity of aircraft accidents that may involve the air transport of radioactive materials (RAM). One of the basic aims of this paper is to provide a numerical description of the severity of aircraft transport accidents so that the accident severity can be compared with the accident performance standards that are specified in IAEA Safety Series 6, the international packaging standards for the safe movement of RAM. The existing packaging regulations in most countries embrace the packaging standards developed by the IAEA. Historically, the packaging standards for Type B packages have been independent of the transport mode. That is, if the shipment occurs in a certified packaging, then the shipment can take place by any transport mode. In 1975, a legislative action occurred in the US Congress which led to the development of a package designed specifically for the air transport of plutonium. Changes were subsequently made to the US packaging regulations in 10CFR71 to incorporate the plutonium air transport performance standards. These standards were used to certify the air transport package for plutonium which is commonly referred to as PAT-1 (US NRC). The PAT-1 was certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in September 1978

  4. French policy for managing the post-accident phase of a nuclear accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallay, F; Godet, J L; Niel, J C

    2015-06-01

    In 2005, at the request of the French Government, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) established a Steering Committee for the Management of the Post-Accident Phase of a Nuclear Accident or a Radiological Emergency, with the objective of establishing a policy framework. Under the supervision of ASN, this Committee, involving several tens of experts from different backgrounds (e.g. relevant ministerial offices, expert agencies, local information commissions around nuclear installations, non-governmental organisations, elected officials, licensees, and international experts), developed a number of recommendations over a 7-year period. First published in November 2012, these recommendations cover the immediate post-emergency situation, and the transition and longer-term periods of the post-accident phase in the case of medium-scale nuclear accidents causing short-term radioactive release (less than 24 h) that might occur at French nuclear facilities. They also apply to actions to be undertaken in the event of accidents during the transportation of radioactive materials. These recommendations are an important first step in preparation for the management of a post-accident situation in France in the case of a nuclear accident. © The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2014.

  5. Accident progression event tree analysis for postulated severe accidents at N Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyss, G.D.; Camp, A.L.; Miller, L.A.; Dingman, S.E.; Kunsman, D.M.; Medford, G.T.

    1990-06-01

    A Level II/III probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has been performed for N Reactor, a Department of Energy (DOE) production reactor located on the Hanford reservation in Washington. The accident progression analysis documented in this report determines how core damage accidents identified in the Level I PRA progress from fuel damage to confinement response and potential releases the environment. The objectives of the study are to generate accident progression data for the Level II/III PRA source term model and to identify changes that could improve plant response under accident conditions. The scope of the analysis is comprehensive, excluding only sabotage and operator errors of commission. State-of-the-art methodology is employed based largely on the methods developed by Sandia for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of the NUREG-1150 study. The accident progression model allows complex interactions and dependencies between systems to be explicitly considered. Latin Hypecube sampling was used to assess the phenomenological and systemic uncertainties associated with the primary and confinement system responses to the core damage accident. The results of the analysis show that the N Reactor confinement concept provides significant radiological protection for most of the accident progression pathways studied

  6. Quantification of different Eubacterium spp. in human fecal samples with species-specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwiertz, A; Le Blay, G; Blaut, M

    2000-01-01

    Species-specific 16S rRNA-targeted, Cy3 (indocarbocyanine)-labeled oligonucleotide probes were designed and validated to quantify different Eubacterium species in human fecal samples. Probes were directed at Eubacterium barkeri, E. biforme, E. contortum, E. cylindroides (two probes), E. dolichum, E. hadrum, E. lentum, E. limosum, E. moniliforme, and E. ventriosum. The specificity of the probes was tested with the type strains and a range of common intestinal bacteria. With one exception, none of the probes showed cross-hybridization under stringent conditions. The species-specific probes were applied to fecal samples obtained from 12 healthy volunteers. E. biforme, E. cylindroides, E. hadrum, E. lentum, and E. ventriosum could be determined. All other Eubacterium species for which probes had been designed were under the detection limit of 10(7) cells g (dry weight) of feces(-1). The cell counts obtained are essentially in accordance with the literature data, which are based on colony counts. This shows that whole-cell in situ hybridization with species-specific probes is a valuable tool for the enumeration of Eubacterium species in feces.

  7. Use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) for generating specific DNA probes for oxyuroid species (Nematoda).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jobet, E; Bougnoux, M E; Morand, S; Rivault, C; Cloarec, A; Hugot, J P

    1998-03-01

    Random amplified DNA markers (RAPD; Williams et al., 1990) were used to obtained specific RAPD fragments characterising different species of oxyuroids. We tested six species of worms parasitizing vertebrates or invertebrates: Passalurus ambiguus Rudolphi, 1819, parasite of Leporids; Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802) Seurat, 1916, a parasite of rodents; Blatticola blattae (Graeffe, 1860) Chitwood, 1932 parasite of the cockroach Blattella germanica; Hammerschmidtiella diesingi (Hammerschmidt, 1838) Chitwood, 1932 and Thelastoma bulhoesi (Magalhaes, 1990) Travassos, 1929, parasites of the cockroach Periplaneta americana, and an undescribed parasite species of a passalid insect from New Caledonia. Among 15 oligonucleotides tested, nine produced several specific bands allowing the interspecific discrimination.

  8. Post-Chernobyl accident radioactivity measurements in the Comunidad Autonoma de Valencia, Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, J; Ballesteros, L; Serradell, V

    1992-03-01

    Increased atmospheric radioactivity after the accident in Chernobyl was first detected on air filters. Measurements were begun in Valencia on May 2, 1986, with the maximum activity being observed around May 3-4, 1986. As a consequence of this accident, annual campaigns of measurements on migrating birds (several species of aquatic birds and song-thrushes) were started. The data corresponding to the campaign immediately after the accident (1986/87) show a generalized contamination (approximately 50% of the measured specimens). Significant levels of 134Cs, 137Cs and 110Agm were found. It is important to note that 110Agm is only present in Aythya ferina. In the successive campaigns in 1988/89 and 1989/91 few samples were found to be contaminated and only 137Cs was identified. Strontium-90 was measured and identified in some specimens, mainly in their bones.

  9. Probability of spent fuel transportation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClure, J.D.

    1981-07-01

    The transported volume of spent fuel, incident/accident experience and accident environment probabilities were reviewed in order to provide an estimate of spent fuel accident probabilities. In particular, the accident review assessed the accident experience for large casks of the type that could transport spent (irradiated) nuclear fuel. This review determined that since 1971, the beginning of official US Department of Transportation record keeping for accidents/incidents, there has been one spent fuel transportation accident. This information, coupled with estimated annual shipping volumes for spent fuel, indicated an estimated annual probability of a spent fuel transport accident of 5 x 10 -7 spent fuel accidents per mile. This is consistent with ordinary truck accident rates. A comparison of accident environments and regulatory test environments suggests that the probability of truck accidents exceeding regulatory test for impact is approximately 10 -9 /mile

  10. Realistic minimum accident source terms - Evaluation, application, and risk acceptance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelo, P. L.

    2009-01-01

    The evaluation, application, and risk acceptance for realistic minimum accident source terms can represent a complex and arduous undertaking. This effort poses a very high impact to design, construction cost, operations and maintenance, and integrated safety over the expected facility lifetime. At the 2005 Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) Meeting in Knoxville Tenn., two papers were presented mat summarized the Y-12 effort that reduced the number of criticality accident alarm system (CAAS) detectors originally designed for the new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF) from 258 to an eventual as-built number of 60. Part of that effort relied on determining a realistic minimum accident source term specific to the facility. Since that time, the rationale for an alternate minimum accident has been strengthened by an evaluation process that incorporates realism. A recent update to the HEUMF CAAS technical basis highlights the concepts presented here. (authors)

  11. Application of the accident management information needs methodology to a severe accident sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ward, L.W.; Hanson, D.J.; Nelson, W.R.; Solberg, D.E.

    1989-01-01

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting an Accident Management Research Program that emphasizes the application of severe accident research results to enhance the capability of plant operating personnel to effectively manage severe accidents. A methodology to identify and assess the information needs of the operating staff of a nuclear power plant during a severe accident has been developed as part of the research program designed to resolve this issue. The methodology identifies the information needs of the plant personnel during a wide range of accident conditions, the existing plant measurements capable of supplying these information needs and what, if any minor additions to instrument and display systems would enhance the capability to manage accidents, known limitations on the capability of these measurements to function properly under the conditions that will be present during a wide range of severe accidents, and areas in which the information systems could mislead plant personnel. This paper presents an application of this methodology to a severe accident sequence to demonstrate its use in identifying the information which is available for management of the event. The methodology has been applied to a severe accident sequence in a Pressurized Water Reactor with a large dry containment. An examination of the capability of the existing measurements was then performed to determine whether the information needs can be supplied

  12. Identification and evaluation of accident sequences in nuclear power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amendola, A.; Capobianchi, S.; Mancini, G.; Olivi, L.; Volta, G.; Reina, G.

    1981-01-01

    Probabilistic analysis techniques are being more and more used for the evaluation of accident progression in nuclear power plants, especially after the issue of the Reactor Safety Study (Report WASH-1400). This study and subsequent discussions have indicated the necessity of better investigating some major items, namely: adequate data base for the probabilistic evaluations; completeness of the analysis with respect both to accident initiation and behaviour; adequate treatment of uncertainties on the physical and operational parameters governing the accident behaviour. Furthermore, recent occurrences have stressed the importance of the operational aspects of reactor safety, such as plant-specific identification of possible occurrences, their prompt recognition, on-line prediction of subsequent developments and actions to be taken. The paper reviews the contributions in progress at JRC-Ispra to all these aspects, and specifically reports on the following: (1) The set-up of a European Reliability Data System for the acquisition and organisation of operational data of LWRs in the European Community. (2) The development of more complete and realistic models of systems. This work includes multistate static models of components and systems with a view to automatic fault-tree construction and dynamic models for accident sequence identification. The dynamic modelling approach ESCS (Event Sequence and Consequences Spectrum), shown in detail with an example, represents a step forward with respect to event-tree technique and opens new possibilities in dealing with human factors and on-line diagnosis problems. (3) The development of RSM (Response Surface Methodology) for the analysis of uncertainty propagations in consequence and in probability of accident chains. (author)

  13. Emergency planning and preparedness for a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahe, E.P.

    1985-01-01

    Based on current regulations, FEMA approves each site-specific plan of state and local governments for each power reactor site after 1) formal review offsite preparedness, 2) holding a public meeting at which the preparedness status has been reviewed, and 3) a satisfactory joint exercise has been conducted with both utility and local participation. Annually, each state, within any position of the 10-mile emergency planning zone, must conduct a joint exercise with the utility to demonstrate its preparedness for a nuclear accident. While it is unlikely that these extreme measures will be needed as a result of an accident at a nuclear power station, the fact that these plans have been well thought out and implemented have already proven their benefit to society. The preparedness for a nuclear accident can be of great advantage in other types of emergencies. For example, on December 11, 1982, a non-nuclear chemical storage tank exploded at a Union Carbide plant in Louisiana shortly after midnight. More than 20,000 people were evacuated from their homes. They were evacuated under the emergency response plan formulated for use in the event of a nuclear accident at the nearby Waterford Nuclear plants. Clearly, this illustrates how a plan conceived for one purpose is appropriate to handle other types of accidents that occur in a modern industrial society

  14. Consequence of potential accidents in heavy water plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Croitoru, C.; Lazar, R.E.; Preda, I.A.; Dumitrescu, M.

    1998-01-01

    Heavy water plants realize the primary isotopic concentrations of water using H 2 O-H 2 S chemical exchange and they are chemical plants. As these plants are handling and spreading large quantities of hydrogen sulphide (high toxic, corrosive, flammable and explosive as) maintained in the process at relative high temperatures and pressures, it is required an assessing of risks associated with the potential accidents. The H 2 S released in atmosphere as a result of an accident will have negative consequences to property, population and environment. This paper presents a model of consequences quantitative assessment and its outcome for the most dangerous accident in heavy water plants. Several states of the art risk based methods were modified and linked together to form a proper model for this analyse. Five basic steps to identify the risks involved in operating the plants are followed: hazard identification, accident sequence development, H 2 S emissions calculus, dispersion analyses and consequences determination. A brief description of each step and some information of analysis results are provided. The accident proportions, the atmospheric conditions and the population density in the respective area were accounted for consequences calculus. The specific results of the consequences analysis allow to develop the plant's operating safety requirements so that the risk remain at an acceptable level. (authors)

  15. Accident Risks In The Energy Sector: Comparative Evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirschberg, S.; Burgherr, P.

    2005-01-01

    Severe accidents are considered one of the most controversial issues in current comparative studies of the environmental and health impact of energy systems. The present work focuses on severe accident scenarios relating to fossil energy chains (coal, oil and gas), nuclear power and hydro-power. The scope of the study is not limited to the power production (conversion) step of these energy chains, but, wherever applicable, also includes full energy chains. With the exception of the nuclear chain, the focus of the present work is on the evaluation of the historical experience of accidents. The basis for this evaluation is the comprehensive database ENSAD (Energy-Related Severe Accident Database), which has been established at PSI. For hypothetical nuclear accidents, a probabilistic technique has also been employed. The broader picture, derived from examination of full energy chains, leads, on a world-wide basis, to the conclusion that immediate fatality rates are much higher for the fossil chains than expected if only power plants are considered. Generally, immediate fatality rates are significantly higher for non-OECD countries than for OECD countries, and, in the case of hydro and nuclear, the difference is rather dramatic. In addition to aggregated values, frequency-consequence curves are also provided, since they not only reflect implicitly a ranking based on aggregated values, but also include such information as the observed, or predicted, chain-specific maximum extent of damages. Finally, damage and external costs of severe accidents for the different energy chains have been estimated, based on the unit cost values for the various consequence types. (author)

  16. Reactor Safety Gap Evaluation of Accident Tolerant Components and Severe Accident Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farmer, Mitchell T.; Bunt, R.; Corradini, M.; Ellison, Paul B.; Francis, M.; Gabor, John D.; Gauntt, R.; Henry, C.; Linthicum, R.; Luangdilok, W.; Lutz, R.; Paik, C.; Plys, M.; Rabiti, Cristian; Rempe, J.; Robb, K.; Wachowiak, R.

    2015-01-01

    The overall objective of this study was to conduct a technology gap evaluation on accident tolerant components and severe accident analysis methodologies with the goal of identifying any data and/or knowledge gaps that may exist, given the current state of light water reactor (LWR) severe accident research, and additionally augmented by insights obtained from the Fukushima accident. The ultimate benefit of this activity is that the results can be used to refine the Department of Energy's (DOE) Reactor Safety Technology (RST) research and development (R&D) program plan to address key knowledge gaps in severe accident phenomena and analyses that affect reactor safety and that are not currently being addressed by the industry or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

  17. Reactor Safety Gap Evaluation of Accident Tolerant Components and Severe Accident Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farmer, Mitchell T. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bunt, R. [Southern Nuclear, Atlanta, GA (United States); Corradini, M. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Ellison, Paul B. [GE Power and Water, Duluth, GA (United States); Francis, M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Gabor, John D. [Erin Engineering, Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Gauntt, R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Henry, C. [Fauske and Associates, Burr Ridge, IL (United States); Linthicum, R. [Exelon Corp., Chicago, IL (United States); Luangdilok, W. [Fauske and Associates, Burr Ridge, IL (United States); Lutz, R. [PWR Owners Group (PWROG); Paik, C. [Fauske and Associates, Burr Ridge, IL (United States); Plys, M. [Fauske and Associates, Burr Ridge, IL (United States); Rabiti, Cristian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rempe, J. [Rempe and Associates LLC, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Robb, K. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Wachowiak, R. [Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Knovville, TN (United States)

    2015-01-31

    The overall objective of this study was to conduct a technology gap evaluation on accident tolerant components and severe accident analysis methodologies with the goal of identifying any data and/or knowledge gaps that may exist, given the current state of light water reactor (LWR) severe accident research, and additionally augmented by insights obtained from the Fukushima accident. The ultimate benefit of this activity is that the results can be used to refine the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Reactor Safety Technology (RST) research and development (R&D) program plan to address key knowledge gaps in severe accident phenomena and analyses that affect reactor safety and that are not currently being addressed by the industry or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

  18. Validation of severe accident management guidance for the wolsong plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. Y.; Jin, Y. H.; Kim, S. D.; Song, Y. M.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: Full text: The severe accident management(SAM) guidance has been developed for the Wolsong nuclear power plants in Korea. The Wolsong plants are 700MWe CANDU-type reactors with heavy water as the primary coolant, natural uranium-fueled pressurized, horizontal tubes, surrounded by heavy water moderator inside a horizontal calandria vessel. The guidance includes six individual accident management strategies: (1) injection into primary heat transport system (2) injection into calandria vessel (3) injection into calandria vault (4) reduction of fission product release (5) control of reactor building condition (6) reduction of reactor building hydrogen. The paper provides the approaches to validate the SAM guidance. The validation includes the evaluation of:(l) effectiveness of accident management strategies, (2) performance of mitigation systems or components, (3) calculation aids, (4) strategy control diagram, and (5) interface with emergency operation procedure and with radiation emergency plan. Several severe accident sequences with high probability is selected from the plant specific level 2 probabilistic safety analysis results for the validation of SAM guidance. Afterward, thermal hydraulic and severe accident phenomenological analyses is performed using ISAAC(Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code for CANDU Plant) computer program. Furthermore, the experiences obtained from a table-top-drill is also discussed

  19. Persistence of airline accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barros, Carlos Pestana; Faria, Joao Ricardo; Gil-Alana, Luis Alberiko

    2010-10-01

    This paper expands on air travel accident research by examining the relationship between air travel accidents and airline traffic or volume in the period from 1927-2006. The theoretical model is based on a representative airline company that aims to maximise its profits, and it utilises a fractional integration approach in order to determine whether there is a persistent pattern over time with respect to air accidents and air traffic. Furthermore, the paper analyses how airline accidents are related to traffic using a fractional cointegration approach. It finds that airline accidents are persistent and that a (non-stationary) fractional cointegration relationship exists between total airline accidents and airline passengers, airline miles and airline revenues, with shocks that affect the long-run equilibrium disappearing in the very long term. Moreover, this relation is negative, which might be due to the fact that air travel is becoming safer and there is greater competition in the airline industry. Policy implications are derived for countering accident events, based on competition and regulation. © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2010.

  20. Severe accident management guidelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uhle, Jennifer

    2014-01-01

    The events at Fukushima Daiichi have highlighted the importance of Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMGs). As the world has learned from the catastrophe and countries are considering changes to their nuclear regulatory programs, the content of SAMGs and their regulatory control are being evaluated. This presentation highlights several factors that are being addressed in the United States as rulemaking is underway pertaining to SAMGs. The question of how to be prepared for the unexpected is discussed with specific insights gleaned from Fukushima. (author)

  1. Agricultural implications of the Fukushima nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakanishi, Tomoko M.; Tanoi, Keitaro

    2013-01-01

    Since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March 2011, contamination of places and foods has been a matter of concern. Unfortunately, agricultural producers have few sources of information and have had to rely on the lessons from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 or on information obtained from the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, as of this writing, data on the specific consequences of the Fukushima accident on Japanese agriculture remain limited. More than 80% of the land that suffered from the accident was related to agriculture or was in forests and meadows. The in fluence of the accident on agriculture was the most difficult to study because the activity in nature had to be dealt with. For example, when contaminated rice is harvested, scientists working on rice plants and soils and the study of watercourses or mountains have to collaborate to analyze or determine the vehicle by which the radioactivity accumulated and through which it spread in nature. At the request of agriculturists in Fukushima, we at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at The University of Tokyo have been urgently collecting reliable data on the contamination of soil, plants, milk, and crops. Based on our data, we would like to comment on or propose an effective way of resuming agricultural activity. Because obtaining research results based on in situ experiments is time-consuming, we have been periodically holding research report meetings at our university every 3-4 months for lay people, showing them how the contamination situation has changed or what type of effect can be estimated. Although our research is still ongoing, we would like to summarize in this book our observations made during the one and a half years after the accident. (author)

  2. PREVENTION OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jovica Jovanovic

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Medical services, physicians and nurses play an essential role in the plant safety program through primary treatment of injured workers and by helping to identify workplace hazards. The physician and nurse should participate in the worksite investigations to identify specific hazard or stresses potentially causing the occupational accidents and injuries and in planning the subsequent hazard control program. Physicians and nurses must work closely and cooperatively with supervisors to ensure the prompt reporting and treatment of all work related health and safety problems. Occupational accidents, work related injuries and fatalities result from multiple causes, affect different segments of the working population, and occur in a myriad of occupations and industrial settings. Multiple factors and risks contribute to traumatic injuries, such as hazardous exposures, workplace and process design, work organization and environment, economics, and other social factors. With such a diversity of theories, it will not be difficult to understand that there does not exist one single theory that is considered right or correct and is universally accepted. These theories are nonetheless necessary, but not sufficient, for developing a frame of reference for understanding accident occurrences. Prevention strategies are also varied, and multiple strategies may be applicable to many settings, including engineering controls, protective equipment and technologies, management commitment to and investment in safety, regulatory controls, and education and training. Research needs are thus broad, and the development and application of interventions involve many disciplines and organizations.

  3. Review of nuclear reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Connelly, J.W.; Storr, G.J.

    1989-01-01

    Two types of severe reactor accidents - loss of coolant or coolant flow and transient overpower (TOP) accidents - are described and compared. Accidents in research reactors are discussed. The 1961 SL1 accident in the US is used as an illustration as it incorporates the three features usually combined in a severe accident - a design flaw or flaws in the system, a circumvention of safety circuits or procedures, and gross operator error. The SL1 reactor, the reactivity accident and the following fuel-coolant interaction and steam explosion are reviewed. 3 figs

  4. Historical aspects of radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mettler, F.A. Jr.; Ricks, R.C.

    1990-01-01

    Radiation accidents are extremely rare events; however, the last two years have witnessed the largest radiation accidents in both the eastern and western hemispheres. It is the purpose of this chapter to review how radiation accidents are categorized, examine the temporal changes in frequency and severity, give illustrative examples of several types of radiation accidents, and finally, to describe the various registries for radiation accidents

  5. A systematic identification of species-specific protein succinylation sites using joint element features information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan MM

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Md Mehedi Hasan,1 Mst Shamima Khatun,2 Md Nurul Haque Mollah,2 Cao Yong,3 Dianjing Guo1 1School of Life Sciences and the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territory, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China; 2Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh; 3Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Lysine succinylation, an important type of protein posttranslational modification, plays significant roles in many cellular processes. Accurate identification of succinylation sites can facilitate our understanding about the molecular mechanism and potential roles of lysine succinylation. However, even in well-studied systems, a majority of the succinylation sites remain undetected because the traditional experimental approaches to succinylation site identification are often costly, time-consuming, and laborious. In silico approach, on the other hand, is potentially an alternative strategy to predict succinylation substrates. In this paper, a novel computational predictor SuccinSite2.0 was developed for predicting generic and species-specific protein succinylation sites. This predictor takes the composition of profile-based amino acid and orthogonal binary features, which were used to train a random forest classifier. We demonstrated that the proposed SuccinSite2.0 predictor outperformed other currently existing implementations on a complementarily independent dataset. Furthermore, the important features that make visible contributions to species-specific and cross-species-specific prediction of protein succinylation site were analyzed. The proposed predictor is anticipated to be a useful computational resource for lysine succinylation site prediction. The integrated species-specific online tool of SuccinSite2.0 is publicly

  6. Perspectives on phenomenology and simulation of severe accident in light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugimoto, Jun

    2014-01-01

    Severe accident phenomena in light water reactors (LWRs) are generally characterized by their physically and chemically complex processes involved with high temperature core melt, multi-component and multi-phase flows, transport of radioactive materials and sometimes highly non-equilibrium state. Severe accident phenomenology is usually categorized into four phases; (1) fuel degradation, (2) in-vessel phenomena, (3) ex-vessel phenomena and (4) fission product release and transport. Among these, ex-vessel phenomena consist of five subcategories; 1) direct containment heating, 2) fuel coolant interaction (steam explosion), 3) molten core concrete interaction, 4) hydrogen behaviour and control and 5) containment failure/leakage. In the field of simulation of severe accident, severe accident analytical codes have been developed in the United States, EU and Japan, such as MAAP, MELCOR, ASTEC, THALES and SAMPSON. Many different kinds of analytical codes for the specific severe accident phenomena have also been developed worldwide. After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, review of severe accident research issues has been conducted and several issues are reconsidered, such as effects of BWR core degradation behaviors, sea water injection, pool scrubbing under rapid depressurization, containment failure/leakage and re-criticality. Some new experimental and analytical efforts have been started after the Fukushima accident. The present paper describes the perspectives on phenomenology and simulation of severe accident in LWRs, with the emphasis of insights obtained in the review of Fukushima accident. (author)

  7. Inter- and intra-specific differences in serum proteins of different species and subspecies of zebras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stratil, A; Cízová, D; Gábrisová, E; Pokorný, R

    1992-11-01

    1. Serum proteins of Equus grevyi, E. zebra hartmannae, E. burchelli boehmi, E. b. chapmanni and E. b. antiquorum were studied using starch-gel electrophoresis, 1-D polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, inhibitions of trypsin and chymotrypsin, immunoblotting, and specific staining for esterase. 2. Clear species-specific patterns were observed in albumin, transferrin, and for E. grevyi in protease inhibitor-1. Specific esterase was detected only in E. z. hartmannae. 3. Protein polymorphism was found in all studied species: E. grevyi--transferrin; E. z. hartmannae--protease inhibitor-1; E. b. boehmi--albumin, GC, transferrin, protease inhibitor-1, protease inhibitor-T; E. b. chapmanni--albumin, GC, transferrin, protease inhibitor-1; E. b. antiquorum--GC, transferrin, protease inhibitor-1. 4. Phenotype patterns of the polymorphic proteins were indicative of simple codominant inheritance. Further studies of polymorphism of protease inhibitor-2 and variability of protease inhibitor-X are needed. 5. alpha 1B glycoprotein in all zebra species was monomorphic. 6. The main transferrin components and alpha 1B glycoprotein of zebra (E. b. boehmi) were characterized for terminal sialic acid content.

  8. Sisifo-gas a computerised system to support severe accident training and management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, A.; Buedo, J.L.; Borondo, L.; Lopez, N.

    2001-01-01

    Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) will have to be prepared to face the management of severe accidents, through the development of Severe Accident Guides and sophisticated systems of calculation, as a supporting to the decision-making. SISIFO-GAS is a flexible computerized tool, both for the supporting to accident management and for education and training in severe accident. It is an interactive system, a visual and an easily handle one, and needs no specific knowledge in MAAP code to make complicate simulations in conditions of severe accident. The system is configured and adjusted to work in a BWR/6 technology plant with Mark III Containment, as it is Cofrentes NPP. But it is easily portable to every other kind of reactor, having the level 2 PSA (probabilistic safety analysis) of the plant to be able to establish the categories of the source term and the most important sequences in the progression of the accident. The graphic interface allows following in a very intuitive and formative way the evolution and the most relevant events in the accident, in the both system's way of work, training and management. (authors)

  9. Another 60Co hot cell accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steidley, K.D.; Zeik, G.S.; Ouellette, R.

    1979-01-01

    An accident at a commercial irradiation facility is described. Because of inadequate safety arrangements a worker entered the irradiation cell while the 500,000 Ci 60 Co source was exposed. The duration of the exposure was established by re-enactment of the worker's movements, and dose rates at various locations at the accident site were measured. From the results a total absorbed dose of 210 rad to the surface of the victim was calculated. This and results of chromosomal aberration studies (200 rad) and the worker's film badge reading (126 rad) lead to the assignment of a nominal 200 rad absorbed dose. The worker was taken to two local hospital emergency departments, both of which examined and discharged him. Eventually he was admitted to a medical centre with experience of radiation effects. His symptoms and treatment during his 7 week stay in hospital are described and his blood counts vs time are shown graphically. As a result of the unsatisfactory response of the emergency departments the NRC has modified its licensing procedures to include specific arrangements with a local hospital. It is stressed that accident dosage estimates should always be supplied to the patient or his personal physician. (author)

  10. Enhancing AP1000 reactor accident management capabilities for long term accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Pingting; Liu Mengying; Duan Chengjie; Liao Yehong

    2015-01-01

    Passive safety actions are considered as main measures under severe accident in AP1000 power plant. However, risk is still existed. According to PSA, several probable scenarios for AP1000 nuclear power plant are analyzed in this paper with MAAP the severe accident analysis code. According to the analysis results, several deficiencies of AP1000 severe accident management are found. The long term cooling and containment depressurization capability for AP1000 power plant appear to be most important factors under such accidents. Then, several temporary strategies for AP1000 power plant are suggested, including PCCWST temporary water supply strategy after 72h, temporary injection strategy for IRWST, hydrogen relief action in fuel building, which would improve the safety of AP1000 power plant. At last, assessments of effectiveness for these strategies are performed, and the results are compared with analysis without these strategies. The comparisons showed that correct actions of these strategies would effectively prevent the accident process of AP1000 power plant. (author)

  11. Functional interrogation of Plasmodium genus metabolism identifies species- and stage-specific differences in nutrient essentiality and drug targeting

    KAUST Repository

    Abdel-Haleem, Alyaa M.; Hefzi, Hooman; Mineta, Katsuhiko; Gao, Xin; Gojobori, Takashi; Palsson, Bernhard O.; Lewis, Nathan E.; Jamshidi, Neema

    2018-01-01

    and predicted potential targets that could affect several life cycle stages. The species-specific models further highlight differences between experimental animal models and the human-infecting species. Comparisons between human- and rodent-infecting species

  12. Tools to support important technical decisions during accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tenschert, J.; Bergiers, C.

    2008-01-01

    To handle design basis and beyond design basis accidents with intact reactor core, Nuclear Power Plants are using Emergency Operating Procedures (EOP) that they may have developed based on the generic Westinghouse Emergency Response Guidelines. Even though the EOPs are very directive, some questions are left to external support, i.e. to a team of persons constituting the so-called Technical Support Center (TSC). The Pressurized Water Reactor Owner Group (PWROG, previously Westinghouse Owner Group, WOG) has developed a TSC manual to support this group in their decision making process. Because of the specific and particular design of the Beznau NPP (KKB) Safety Systems, development of a plant-specific TSC manual required a lot of additions compared to the generic material. This plant-specific TSC manual is a helpful tool for the Site Emergency Director (SED) of the KKB to better evaluate issues and potential concerns arising while executing the EOPs. The majority of considered issues are relevant for beyond design basis accidents and external events. (orig.)

  13. The Chernobyl accident consequences; Consequences de l'accident de Tchernobyl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-04-01

    Five teen years later, Tchernobyl remains the symbol of the greater industrial nuclear accident. To take stock on this accident, this paper proposes a chronology of the events and presents the opinion of many international and national organizations. It provides also web sites references concerning the environmental and sanitary consequences of the Tchernobyl accident, the economic actions and propositions for the nuclear safety improvement in the East Europe. (A.L.B.)

  14. In silico site-directed mutagenesis informs species-specific predictions of chemical susceptibility derived from the Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility (SeqAPASS) tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility (SeqAPASS) tool was developed to address needs for rapid, cost effective methods of species extrapolation of chemical susceptibility. Specifically, the SeqAPASS tool compares the primary sequence (Level 1), functiona...

  15. Specific IgE to fish extracts does not predict allergy to specific species within an adult fish allergic population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulkes, Karlijn Jg; Klemans, Rob Jb; Knigge, Lidy; de Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Bruijnzeel-Koomen, Carla Afm; Marknell deWitt, Asa; Lidholm, Jonas; Knulst, André C

    2014-01-01

    Fish is an important cause of food allergy. Studies on fish allergy are scarce and in most cases limited to serological evaluation. Our objective was to study patterns of self-reported allergy and tolerance to different commonly consumed fish species and its correlation to IgE sensitization to the same species. Thirty-eight adult fish allergic patients completed a questionnaire regarding atopy, age of onset and symptoms to 13 commonly consumed fish species in the Netherlands (pangasius, cod, herring, eel, hake, pollock, mackerel, tilapia, salmon, sardine, tuna, plaice and swordfish). Specific IgE to these fish extracts were analyzed by ImmunoCAP. Median age of onset of fish allergy was 8.5 years. Severe reactions were reported by the majority of patients (n = 20 (53%) respiratory and of these 20 patients, 6 also had cardiovascular symptoms). After diagnosis, 66% of the patients had eliminated all fish from their diet. Allergy to all species ever tried was reported by 59%. In relation to species ever tried, cod (84%) and herring (79%) were the most frequently reported culprit species while hake (57%) and swordfish (55%) were the least frequent. A positive sIgE (value ≥ 0.35 kUA/L) to the culprit species ranged between 50% (swordfish) and 100% (hake). In tolerant patients, a negative sIgE (value allergy or tolerance was 82% and 25%, respectively. Sensitization to cod parvalbumin (Gad c 1) was present in 77% of all patients. Serological cross-reactivity between fish species is frequent, but in a significant proportion of patients, clinical relevance appears to be limited to only certain species. A well-taken history or food challenge is required for discrimination between allergy to the different fish species.

  16. NIF: Impacts of chemical accidents and comparison of chemical/radiological accident approaches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazaro, M.A.; Policastro, A.J.; Rhodes, M.

    1996-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to construct and operate the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The goals of the NIF are to (1) achieve fusion ignition in the laboratory for the first time by using inertial confinement fusion (ICF) technology based on an advanced-design neodymium glass solid-state laser, and (2) conduct high-energy-density experiments in support of national security and civilian applications. The primary focus of this paper is worker-public health and safety issues associated with postulated chemical accidents during the operation of NIF. The key findings from the accident analysis will be presented. Although NIF chemical accidents will be emphasized, the important differences between chemical and radiological accident analysis approaches and the metrics for reporting results will be highlighted. These differences are common EIS facility and transportation accident assessments

  17. Use of mosses and lichens for regional mapping of 137Cs fallout from the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinnes, E.; Njaastad, O.

    1992-01-01

    The lichens Hypogymnia physodles and Cladonia stellaris and the moss Hylocomium splendens were studied for potential use af biomonitors of the regional distribution of 137 Cs fallout in Norway from the Chernobyl accident. While Hylocomium splendens and Cladonia stellaris showed reasonable mutual agreement, the activities recorded in the epiphytic species Hypogymnia physodes were not consistent with those of the other species, and depended strongly on whether sampling was carried out on conifers or birch. The geographical distribution of 137 Cs in the two former species was in satisfactory agreement with depostion figures obtained from analysis of surface soil, considering the heterogeneous depostion pattern of Chernobyl radioactivity. Both Hylocomium splendens and Cladonia stellaris appear well suited for regional mapping of 137 Cs fallout from nuclear accidents. Regional heavy metal deposition surveys employing Hylocomium splendens might be extended to include radionuclides if desirable. (au) (21 refs.)

  18. Investigation on accident management measures for VVER-1000 reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    2009-01-01

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

  19. Risk assessment of severe accident-induced steam generator tube rupture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-03-01

    This report describes the basis, results, and related risk implications of an analysis performed by an ad hoc working group of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assess the containment bypass potential attributable to steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) induced by severe accident conditions. The SGTR Severe Accident Working Group, comprised of staff members from the NRC's Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), undertook the analysis beginning in December 1995 to support a proposed steam generator integrity rule. The work drew upon previous risk and thermal-hydraulic analyses of core damage sequences, with a focus on the Surry plant as a representative example. This analysis yielded new results, however, derived by predicting thermal-hydraulic conditions of selected severe accident scenarios using the SCDAP/RELAP5 computer code, flawed tube failure modeling, and tube failure probability estimates. These results, in terms of containment bypass probability, form the basis for the findings presented in this report. The representative calculation using Surry plant data indicates that some existing plants could be vulnerable to containment bypass resulting from tube failure during severe accidents. To specifically identify the population of plants that may pose a significant bypass risk would require more definitive analysis considering uncertainties in some assumptions and plant- and design-specific variables. 46 refs., 62 figs., 37 tabs

  20. A System Supporting the Analysis of Motorway Traffic Accidents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Anghinolfi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a business intelligence tool for monitoring traffic accidents on motorways and supporting decisions relevant to road safety. The system manages information on road characteristics, traffic accidents and traffic volumes and produces reports for monitoring the evolution of key performance indicators for road safety, supporting decisions on actions for risk mitigation and safety improvements for road users. The paper illustrates the different types of analyses performed by the system. Pattern based analysis is used to evaluate safety performance indicators for the road sections matching defined patterns. Two different road segmentation algorithms, used to identify the most critical road sections according to various severity indicators, are presented and discussed. Differential analysis compares the value of selected severity indicators before and after the implementation of an intervention on a road. Finally, a graphical user interface allows the accident locations to be visualized and accidents with specific characteristics to be highlighted. The system was evaluated on the data collected between 2009 and 2011 for the A15 motorway in Italy, connecting Parma to La Spezia.

  1. Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang Hyun Gook; Yoon, Ho Joon

    2016-01-01

    In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results

  2. Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    2016-05-15

    In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results.

  3. Radiation protection experience in Yugoslavia from the Vinca accident to nowadays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ninkovic, M.M

    2000-01-01

    This Paper is the expression of the author opinion about development of radiation protection in Yugoslavia from its beginning forty years ago, which might affect its status in the foreseeable future at the first decades of the 21st century. It focuses on key events in this field starting from the Vinca Accident, which happened in the October 1958, to nowadays. Shortly reviewed some of key events are: Vinca Accident; Foundation of the Radiation Protection Laboratory in the Vinca Institute; International Vinca Dosimetry Experiment; First National Symposium and foundation of the Yugoslav Radiation Protection Association; International Intercomparison Experiment on Nuclear Accident Dosimetry and, International Summer Schools and Symposium on Radiation Protection organized in Yugoslavia. Finally, some specific experimental data obtained during and after Chernobyl Accident up to nowadays in radiation protection action in Yugoslavia are presented also. (author)

  4. Fine-scale genetic analysis of species-specific female preference in Drosophila simulans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laturney, M; Moehring, A J

    2012-09-01

    Behavioural differences are thought to be the first components to contribute to species isolation, yet the precise genetic basis of behavioural isolation remains poorly understood. Here, we used a combination of behaviour assays and genetic mapping to provide the first refined map locating candidate genes for interspecific female preference isolating Drosophila simulans from D. melanogaster. First, we tested whether two genes identified as affecting D. melanogaster female intraspecific mate choice also affect interspecific mate choice; neither of these genes was found to contribute to species-specific female preference. Next, we used deficiency mapping to locate genes on the right arm of the third chromosome for species-specific female preference and identified five small significant regions that contain candidate genes contributing to behavioural isolation. All five regions were located in areas that would have low interspecific recombination, which mirrors the results of other behavioural isolation studies that used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, but without the potential concern of bias towards regions of low recombination that QTL mapping may have. As this model system may be refined to the individual gene level using the same methodology, this initial map we provide may potentially serve as a ready template for the identification and characterization of the first behavioural isolation genes. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2012 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  5. Predictive factors for cerebrovascular accidents after thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariscalco, Giovanni; Piffaretti, Gabriele; Tozzi, Matteo; Bacuzzi, Alessandro; Carrafiello, Giampaolo; Sala, Andrea; Castelli, Patrizio

    2009-12-01

    Cerebrovascular accidents are devastating and worrisome complications after thoracic endovascular aortic repair. The aim of this study was to determine cerebrovascular accident predictors after thoracic endovascular aortic repair. Between January 2001 and June 2008, 76 patients treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair were prospectively enrolled. The study cohort included 61 men; mean age was 65.4 +/- 16.8 years. All patients underwent a specific neurologic assessment on an hourly basis postoperatively to detect neurologic deficits. Cerebrovascular accidents were diagnosed on the basis of physical examination, tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging, or autopsy. Cerebrovascular accidents occurred in 8 (10.5%) patients, including 4 transient ischemic attack and 4 major strokes. Four cases were observed within the first 24-hours. Multivariable analysis revealed that anatomic incompleteness of the Willis circle (odds ratio [OR] 17.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.10 to 140.66), as well as the presence of coronary artery disease (OR 6.86, 95 CI% 1.18 to 40.05), were independently associated with postoperative cerebrovascular accident development. Overall hospital mortality was 9.2%, with no significant difference for patients hit by cerebrovascular accidents (25.0% vs 7.3%, p = 0.102). Preexisting coronary artery disease, reflecting a severe diseased aorta and anomalies of Willis circle are independent cerebrovascular accident predictors after thoracic endovascular aortic repair procedures. A careful evaluation of the arch vessels and cerebral vascularization should be mandatory for patients suitable for thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

  6. Methodology for accident analyses of fusion breeder blankets and its application to helium-cooled pebble bed blanket

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panayotov, Dobromir; Grief, Andrew; Merrill, Brad J.; Humrickhouse, Paul; Trow, Martin; Dillistone, Michael; Murgatroyd, Julian T.; Owen, Simon; Poitevin, Yves; Peers, Karen; Lyons, Alex; Heaton, Adam; Scott, Richard

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Test Blanket Systems (TBS) DEMO breeding blankets (BB) safety demonstration. • Comprehensive methodology for fusion breeding blanket accident analysis that addresses the specificity of the breeding blanket designs, materials, and phenomena. • Development of accident analysis specifications (AAS) via the use of phenomena identification and ranking tables (PIRT). • PIRT application to identify required physical models for BB accidents analysis, code assessment and selection. • Development of MELCOR and RELAP5 codes TBS models. • Qualification of the models via comparison with finite element calculations, code-tocode comparisons, and sensitivity studies. - Abstract: ‘Fusion for Energy’ (F4E) is designing, developing, and implementing the European Helium-Cooled Lead-Lithium (HCLL) and Helium-Cooled Pebble-Bed (HCPB) Test Blanket Systems (TBSs) for ITER (Nuclear Facility INB-174). Safety demonstration is an essential element for the integration of these TBSs into ITER and accident analysis is one of its critical components. A systematic approach to accident analysis has been developed under the F4E contract on TBS safety analyses. F4E technical requirements, together with Amec Foster Wheeler and INL efforts, have resulted in a comprehensive methodology for fusion breeding blanket accident analysis that addresses the specificity of the breeding blanket designs, materials, and phenomena while remaining consistent with the approach already applied to ITER accident analyses. The methodology phases are illustrated in the paper by its application to the EU HCPB TBS using both MELCOR and RELAP5 codes.

  7. Methodology for accident analyses of fusion breeder blankets and its application to helium-cooled pebble bed blanket

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panayotov, Dobromir, E-mail: dobromir.panayotov@f4e.europa.eu [Fusion for Energy (F4E), Josep Pla, 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral B3, Barcelona E-08019 (Spain); Grief, Andrew [Amec Foster Wheeler, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford WA16 8QZ, Cheshire (United Kingdom); Merrill, Brad J.; Humrickhouse, Paul [Idaho National Laboratory, PO Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Trow, Martin; Dillistone, Michael; Murgatroyd, Julian T.; Owen, Simon [Amec Foster Wheeler, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford WA16 8QZ, Cheshire (United Kingdom); Poitevin, Yves [Fusion for Energy (F4E), Josep Pla, 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral B3, Barcelona E-08019 (Spain); Peers, Karen; Lyons, Alex; Heaton, Adam; Scott, Richard [Amec Foster Wheeler, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford WA16 8QZ, Cheshire (United Kingdom)

    2016-11-01

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Test Blanket Systems (TBS) DEMO breeding blankets (BB) safety demonstration. • Comprehensive methodology for fusion breeding blanket accident analysis that addresses the specificity of the breeding blanket designs, materials, and phenomena. • Development of accident analysis specifications (AAS) via the use of phenomena identification and ranking tables (PIRT). • PIRT application to identify required physical models for BB accidents analysis, code assessment and selection. • Development of MELCOR and RELAP5 codes TBS models. • Qualification of the models via comparison with finite element calculations, code-tocode comparisons, and sensitivity studies. - Abstract: ‘Fusion for Energy’ (F4E) is designing, developing, and implementing the European Helium-Cooled Lead-Lithium (HCLL) and Helium-Cooled Pebble-Bed (HCPB) Test Blanket Systems (TBSs) for ITER (Nuclear Facility INB-174). Safety demonstration is an essential element for the integration of these TBSs into ITER and accident analysis is one of its critical components. A systematic approach to accident analysis has been developed under the F4E contract on TBS safety analyses. F4E technical requirements, together with Amec Foster Wheeler and INL efforts, have resulted in a comprehensive methodology for fusion breeding blanket accident analysis that addresses the specificity of the breeding blanket designs, materials, and phenomena while remaining consistent with the approach already applied to ITER accident analyses. The methodology phases are illustrated in the paper by its application to the EU HCPB TBS using both MELCOR and RELAP5 codes.

  8. Mitigation of Hydrogen Hazards in Severe Accidents in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-07-01

    Consideration of severe accidents in nuclear power plants is an essential component of the defence in depth approach in nuclear safety. Severe accidents have very low probabilities of occurring, but may have significant consequences resulting from the degradation of nuclear fuel. The generation of hydrogen and the risk of hydrogen combustion, as well as other phenomena leading to overpressurization of the reactor containment in case of severe accidents, represent complex safety issues in relation to accident management. The combustion of hydrogen, produced primarily as a result of heated zirconium metal reacting with steam, can create short term overpressure or detonation forces that may exceed the strength of the containment structure. An understanding of these phenomena is crucial for planning and implementing effective accident management measures. Analysis of all the issues relating to hydrogen risk is an important step for any measure that is aimed at the prevention or mitigation of hydrogen combustion in reactor containments. The main objective of this publication is to contribute to the implementation of IAEA Safety Standards, in particular, two IAEA Safety Requirements: Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design and Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation. These Requirements publications discuss computational analysis of severe accidents and accident management programmes in nuclear power plants. Specifically with regard to the risk posed by hydrogen in nuclear power reactors, computational analysis of severe accidents considers hydrogen sources, hydrogen distribution, hydrogen combustion and control and mitigation measures for hydrogen, while accident management programmes are aimed at mitigating hydrogen hazards in reactor containments.

  9. Management of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, M.W.

    1987-01-01

    The definition and the multidimensionality aspects of accident management have been reviewed. The suggested elements in the development of a programme for severe accident management have been identified and discussed. The strategies concentrate on the two tiered approaches. Operative management utilizes the plant's equipment and operators capabilities. The recovery managment concevtrates on preserving the containment, or delaying its failure, inhibiting the release, and on strategies once there has been a release. The inspiration for this paper was an excellent overview report on perspectives on managing severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants and extending plant operating procedures into the severe accident regime; and by the most recent publication of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) considering the question of risk reduction and source term reduction through accident prevention, management and mitigation. The latter document concludes that 'active development of accident management measures by plant personnel can lead to very large reductions in source terms and risk', and goes further in considering and formulating the key issue: 'The most fruitful path to follow in reducing risk even further is through the planning of accident management.' (author)

  10. Management of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, M.W.

    1988-01-01

    The definition and the multidimensionality aspects of accident management have been reviewed. The suggested elements in the development of a programme for severe accident management have been identified and discussed. The strategies concentrate on the two tiered approaches. Operative management utilizes the plant's equipment and operators capabilities. The recovery management concentrates on preserving the containment, or delaying its failure, inhibiting the release, and on strategies once there has been a release. The inspiration for this paper was an excellent overview report on perspectives on managing severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants and extending plant operating procedures into the severe accident regime; and by the most recent publication of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) considering the question of risk reduction and source term reduction through accident prevention, management and mitigation. The latter document concludes that active development of accident management measures by plant personnel can lead to very large reductions in source terms and risk, and goes further in considering and formulating the key issue: The most fruitful path to follow in reducing risk even further is through the planning of accident management

  11. Phytoplankton IF-FISH: Species-specific labeling of cellular proteins by immunofluorescence (IF) with simultaneous species identification by fluorescence immunohybridization (FISH).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meek, Megan E; Van Dolah, Frances M

    2016-05-01

    Phytoplankton rarely occur as unialgal populations. Therefore, to study species-specific protein expression, indicative of physiological status in natural populations, methods are needed that will both assay for a protein of interest and identify the species expressing it. Here we describe a protocol for IF-FISH, a dual labeling procedure using immunofluorescence (IF) labeling of a protein of interest followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to identify the species expressing that protein. The protocol was developed to monitor expression of the cell cycle marker proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the red tide dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, using a large subunit (LSU) rRNA probe to identify K. brevis in a mixed population of morphologically similar Karenia species. We present this protocol as proof of concept that IF-FISH can be successfully applied to phytoplankton cells. This method is widely applicable for the analysis of single-cell protein expression of any protein of interest within phytoplankton communities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Assessment of accident energetics in LMFBR core-disruptive accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fauske, H.K.

    1977-01-01

    An assessment of accident energetics in LMFBR core-disruptive accidents is given with emphasis on the generic issues of energetic recriticality and energetic fuel-coolant interaction events. Application of a few general behavior principles to the oxide-fueled system suggests that such events are highly unlikely following a postulated core meltdown event

  13. Fan Cooler Operation in Kori 1 for Mitigating Severe Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suh, Nam Duk; Park, Jae Hong

    2005-01-01

    The Korea Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) issued the 'Policy on Severe Accident of Nuclear Power Plants' in August 2001. According to the policy it was required for the licensee to develop a plant specific severe accident management guideline (SAMG) and to implement it. Thus the utility has made an implementation plan to develop SAMGs for operating plants. The SAMG for Kori unit 1 was submitted to the government on January 2004. Since then, the government trusted KINS to review the submitted SAMG in view of its feasibility and effectiveness. The first principle of the developed SAMG is to use only the available facilities as it is without introducing any system change. Because Kori-1 has no mitigative facility against combustible gases during severe accident, it relies heavily both on spray and on fan cooler systems to control the containment condition. Thus one of the issues raised during the review is to know whether the fan coolers which are designed for DBA LOCA can be effective in mitigating the severe accident conditions. This paper presents an analysis result of fan cooler operation in controlling the containment condition during severe accident of Kori 1

  14. Database on aircraft accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishio, Masahide; Koriyama, Tamio

    2013-11-01

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

  15. Network-level accident-mapping: Distance based pattern matching using artificial neural network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deka, Lipika; Quddus, Mohammed

    2014-04-01

    The objective of an accident-mapping algorithm is to snap traffic accidents onto the correct road segments. Assigning accidents onto the correct segments facilitate to robustly carry out some key analyses in accident research including the identification of accident hot-spots, network-level risk mapping and segment-level accident risk modelling. Existing risk mapping algorithms have some severe limitations: (i) they are not easily 'transferable' as the algorithms are specific to given accident datasets; (ii) they do not perform well in all road-network environments such as in areas of dense road network; and (iii) the methods used do not perform well in addressing inaccuracies inherent in and type of road environment. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new accident mapping algorithm based on the common variables observed in most accident databases (e.g. road name and type, direction of vehicle movement before the accident and recorded accident location). The challenges here are to: (i) develop a method that takes into account uncertainties inherent to the recorded traffic accident data and the underlying digital road network data, (ii) accurately determine the type and proportion of inaccuracies, and (iii) develop a robust algorithm that can be adapted for any accident set and road network of varying complexity. In order to overcome these challenges, a distance based pattern-matching approach is used to identify the correct road segment. This is based on vectors containing feature values that are common in the accident data and the network data. Since each feature does not contribute equally towards the identification of the correct road segments, an ANN approach using the single-layer perceptron is used to assist in "learning" the relative importance of each feature in the distance calculation and hence the correct link identification. The performance of the developed algorithm was evaluated based on a reference accident dataset from the UK confirming that

  16. New view on the age-specificity of pig Cryptosporidium by species-specific primers for distinguishing Cryptosporidium suis and Cryptosporidium pig genotype II

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jeníková, M.; Němejc, K.; Sak, Bohumil; Květoňová, Dana; Kváč, Martin

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 176, 2/3 (2011), 120-125 ISSN 0304-4017 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP523/07/P117 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : Cryptosporidium suis * Cryptosporidium pig genotype II * Mixed infection * Age-specificity * Species-specific primers Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 2.579, year: 2011

  17. Role of BWR secondary containments in severe accident mitigation: issues and insights from recent analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greene, S.R.

    1988-01-01

    All commercial boiling water reactor (BWR) plants in the US employ primary containments of the pressure suppression design. These primary containments are surrounded and enclosed by a secondary containment consisting of a reactor building and refueling bay (MK I and MK II designs), a shield building, auxiliary building and fuel building (MK III), or an auxiliary building and enclosure building (Grand Gulf style MK III). Although secondary containment designs are highly plant specific, their purpose is to minimize the ground level release of radioactive material for a spectrum of traditional design basis accidents. While not designed for severe accident mitigation, these secondary containments might also reduce the radiological consequences of severe accidents. This issue is receiving increasing attention due to concerns that BWR MK I primary containment integrity would be lost should a significant mass of molten debris escape the reactor vessel during a severe accident. This paper presents a brief overview of domestic BWR secondary containment designs and highlights plant-specific features that could influence secondary containment severe accident survivability and accident mitigation effectiveness. Current issues surrounding secondary containment performance are discussed, and insights gained from recent ORNL secondary containment studies of Browns Ferry, Peach Bottom, and Shoreham are presented. Areas of significant uncertainty are identified and recommendations for future research are presented

  18. Radiation, accidents, society

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    This book is meant to be used as a reference book for information officers at the event of a nuclear accident. The main part is edited in alphabetical order to facilitate use under stress. The book gives a short review of the health risks of radiation, and descriptions of accidents that have occured. The index words that have been chosen for the main part of the book have been selected due to experiences in connection with incidents and accidents. (L.E.)

  19. Systematic development of Phytophthora species-specific mitochondrial diagnostic markers for economically important members of the genus

    Science.gov (United States)

    The genus Phytophthora contains many invasive species to the USA that have the potential to cause significant damage to agriculture and native ecosystems. A genus and species-specific diagnostic assay was previously reported based on mitochondrial gene order differences that allowed for the systemat...

  20. Occupational Accidents And Preventive Measures

    CERN Document Server

    Fassnacht, V

    2006-01-01

    This report presents the 2005 statistics concerning occupational accidents involving members of the CERN personnel and contractors' personnel. It sets out the accident frequency and severity rates and provides a breakdown of accidents by cause and injury. It also contains a summary analysis of the most serious accidents and the associated recommendations.

  1. Safety regulations regarding to accident monitoring and accident sampling at Russian NPPs with VVER type reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharafutdinov, Rachet; Lankin, Michail; Kharitonova, Nataliya

    2014-01-01

    The paper describes a tendency by development of regulatory document requirements related to accident monitoring and accident sampling at Russia's NPPs. Lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident pointed at the importance and necessary to carry out an additional safety check at Russia's nuclear power plants in the preparedness for management of severe accidents at NPPs. Planned measures for improvement of severe accidents management include development and implementation of the accident instrumentation systems, providing, monitoring, management and storage of information in a severe accident conditions. The draft of Safety Guidelines <accident monitoring system of nuclear power plants with VVER reactors' prepared by Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SEC NRS) established the main criteria for accident monitoring instrumentation that can monitor relevant plant parameters in the reactor and inside containment during and after a severe accident in nuclear power plants. Development of these safety guidelines is in line with the recommendations of IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety in response to the Fukushima Daiichi event and recommendations of the IAEA Nuclear Energy series Report <<Accident Monitoring Systems for Nuclear Power Plants' (Draft V 2.7). The paper presents the principles, which are used as the basis for selection of plant parameters for accident monitoring and for establishing of accident monitoring instrumentation. The recommendations to the accident sampling system capable to obtain the representative reactor coolant and containment air and fluid samples that support accurate analytical results for the parameters of interest are considered. The radiological and chemistry parameters to be monitored for primary coolant and sump and for containment air are specified. (author)

  2. COMPARISON OF A GENUS-SPECIFIC CONVENTIONAL PCR AND A SPECIES-SPECIFIC NESTED-PCR FOR MALARIA DIAGNOSIS USING FTA COLLECTED SAMPLES FROM KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Harthi, Saeed A

    2015-12-01

    Molecular tools are increasingly accepted as the most sensitive and reliable techniques for malaria diagnosis and epidemiological surveys. Also, collection of finger prick blood spots onto filter papers is the most simple and affordable method for samples preservation and posterior molecular analysis, especially in rural endemic regions where malaria remains a major health problem. Two malaria molecular diagnostic tests, a Plasmodium genus-specific conventional PCR and a Plasmodium species-specific Nested PCR, were evaluated using DNA templates prepared from Whatman-FTA cards' dry blood spots using both, Methanol-fixation/Heat-extraction and FTA commercial purification kit. A total of 121 blood samples were collected from six Saudi south-western endemic districts both, as thick and thin films for routine microscopic screening and onto FTA cards for molecular studies. Out of the 121 samples, 75 were P. falciparum positive by at least one technique. No other species of Plasmodium were detected. P. falciparum parasites were identified in 69/75 (92%) samples by microscopic screening in health care centers. P. genus-specific PCR was able to amplify P. falciparum DNA in 41/75 (55%) and 59/75 (79%) samples using Methanol-fixation/Heat-extraction and FTA purification kit, respectively. P. species-specific Nested PCR revealed 68/75 (91%) and 75/75 (100%) positive samples using DNA templates were isolated by Methanol-fixation/Heat- extraction and FTA purification methods, respectively. The species-specific Nested PCR applied to Whatman-FTA preserved and processed blood samples represents the best alternative to classical microscopy for malaria diagnosis, particularly in epidemiological screening.

  3. Radiation effects on the species-specific cell sorting-out of the cellular slime molds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satow, Takashi

    1976-01-01

    The effects of gamma-rays irradiation on the development and the species-specific cell sorting-out of the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum, were investigated. The interphase amoebae of the organism showed extremely resistant to 60 Co gamma-rays. The percentage of non-stained cells estimated by dye staining method was more than 90% at the dose of 270 kR. The amoebae irradiated at 270 kR performed the development similar in the most respects to that of the un-irradiated amoebae except that a little portion of the fruiting bodies were abnormal and that the appearance of aggregates and slugs delayed 3 hrs. The ability of the species-specific cell sorting-out was not affected by gamma-rays irradiation at 270 kR. (auth.)

  4. Functional interrogation of Plasmodium genus metabolism identifies species- and stage-specific differences in nutrient essentiality and drug targeting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alyaa M Abdel-Haleem

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Several antimalarial drugs exist, but differences between life cycle stages among malaria species pose challenges for developing more effective therapies. To understand the diversity among stages and species, we reconstructed genome-scale metabolic models (GeMMs of metabolism for five life cycle stages and five species of Plasmodium spanning the blood, transmission, and mosquito stages. The stage-specific models of Plasmodium falciparum uncovered stage-dependent changes in central carbon metabolism and predicted potential targets that could affect several life cycle stages. The species-specific models further highlight differences between experimental animal models and the human-infecting species. Comparisons between human- and rodent-infecting species revealed differences in thiamine (vitamin B1, choline, and pantothenate (vitamin B5 metabolism. Thus, we show that genome-scale analysis of multiple stages and species of Plasmodium can prioritize potential drug targets that could be both anti-malarials and transmission blocking agents, in addition to guiding translation from non-human experimental disease models.

  5. Functional interrogation of Plasmodium genus metabolism identifies species- and stage-specific differences in nutrient essentiality and drug targeting

    KAUST Repository

    Abdel-Haleem, Alyaa M.

    2018-01-04

    Several antimalarial drugs exist, but differences between life cycle stages among malaria species pose challenges for developing more effective therapies. To understand the diversity among stages and species, we reconstructed genome-scale models (GEMs) of metabolism for five life cycle stages and five species of Plasmodium spanning the blood, transmission, and mosquito stages. The stage-specific models of Plasmodium falciparum uncovered stage-dependent changes in central carbon metabolism and predicted potential targets that could affect several life cycle stages. The species-specific models further highlight differences between experimental animal models and the human-infecting species. Comparisons between human- and rodent-infecting species revealed differences in thiamine (vitamin B1), choline, and pantothenate (vitamin B5) metabolism. Thus, we show that genome-scale analysis of multiple stages and species of Plasmodium can prioritize potential drug targets that could be both anti-malarials and transmission blocking agents, in addition to guiding translation from non-human experimental disease models.

  6. Effect of alternative aging and accident simulations on polymer properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bustard, L.D.; Chenion, J.; Carlin, F.; Alba, C.; Gaussens, G.; LeMeur, M.

    1985-05-01

    The influence of accident irradiation, steam, and chemical spray exposures on the behavior of twenty-three age-preconditioned polymer sample sets (twenty-one different materials) has been investigated. The test program varied the following conditions: (1) Accident simulations of irradiation and thermodynamic (steam and chemical spray) conditions were performed both sequentially and simultaneously. (2) Accident thermodynamic (steam and chemical spray) exposures were performed both with and without air present during the exposures. (3) Sequential accident irradiations were performed both at 28 0 C and 70 0 C. (4) Age preconditioning was performed both sequentially and simultaneously. (5) Sequential aging irradiations were performed both at 27 0 C and 70 0 C. (6) Sequential aging exposures were performed using two sequences: (1) thermal followed by irradiation and (2) irradiation followed by thermal. We report both general trends applicable to a majority of the tested materials as well as specific results for each polymer. Our data base consists of ultimate tensile properties at the completion of the accident exposure for three XLPO and XLPE, five EPR and EPDM, two CSPE (HYPALON), one CPE, one VAMAC, one polydiallylphtalate, and one PPS material. We also report bend test results at completion of the accident exposures for two TEFZEL materials and permanent set after compression results for three EPR, one VAMAC, one BUNA N, one SILICONE, and one VITON material

  7. Nuclear accidents and epidemiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    A consultation on epidemiology related to the Chernobyl accident was held in Copenhagen in May 1987 as a basis for concerted action. This was followed by a joint IAEA/WHO workshop in Vienna, which reviewed appropriate methodologies for possible long-term effects of radiation following nuclear accidents. The reports of these two meetings are included in this volume, and cover the subjects: 1) Epidemiology related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. 2) Appropriate methodologies for studying possible long-term effects of radiation on individuals exposed in a nuclear accident. Figs and tabs

  8. Reactivity insertion accident analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreira, J.M.L.; Nakata, H.; Yorihaz, H.

    1990-04-01

    The correct prediction of postulated accidents is the fundamental requirement for the reactor licensing procedures. Accident sequences and severity of their consequences depend upon the analysis which rely on analytical tools which must be validated against known experimental results. Present work presents a systematic approach to analyse and estimate the reactivity insertion accident sequences. The methodology is based on the CINETHICA code which solves the point-kinetics/thermohydraulic coupled equations with weighted temperature feedback. Comparison against SPERT experimental results shows good agreement for the step insertion accidents. (author) [pt

  9. REAC/TS radiation accident registry. Update of accidents in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ricks, R.C.; Berger, M.E.; Holloway, E.C.; Goans, R.E.

    2000-01-01

    Serious injury due to ionizing radiation is a rare occurrence. From 1944 to the present, 243 US accidents meeting dose criteria for classification as serious are documented in the REAC/TS Registry. Thirty individuals have lost their lives in radiation accidents in the United States. The Registry is part of the overall REAC/TS program providing 24-hour direct or consultative assistance regarding medical and heath physics problems associated with radiation accidents in local, national, and international incidents. The REAC/TS Registry serves as a repository of medically important information documenting the consequences of these accidents. Registry data are gathered from various sources. These include reports from the World Heath Organization (WHO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC), state radiological health departments, medical/health physics literature, personal communication, the Internet, and most frequently, from calls for medical assistance to REAC/TS, as part of our 24-hour medical assistance program. The REAC/TS Registry for documentation of radiation accidents serves several useful purposes: 1) weaknesses in design, safety practices, training or control can be identified, and trends noted; 2) information regarding the medical consequences of injuries and the efficacy of treatment protocols is available to the treating physician; and 3) Registry case studies serve as valuable teaching tools. This presentation will review and summarize data on the US radiation accidents including their classification by device, accident circumstances, and frequency by respective states. Data regarding accidents with fatal outcomes will be reviewed. The inclusion of Registry data in the IAEA's International Reporting System of Radiation Events (RADEV) will also be discussed. (author)

  10. Effects of personality on risky driving behavior and accident involvement for Chinese drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jiaoyan; Du, Feng; Qu, Weina; Gong, Zhun; Sun, Xianghong

    2013-01-01

    Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury-related fatalities in China and pose the most serious threat to driving safety. Driver personality is considered as an effective predictor for risky driving behavior and accident liability. Previous studies have focused on the relationship between personality and risky driving behavior, but only a few of them have explored the effects of personality variables on accident involvement. In addition, few studies have examined the effects of personality on Chinese drivers' risky driving and accident involvement. The present study aimed to examine the effects of personality variables on Chinese drivers' unsafe driving behaviors and accident involvement. Two hundred and twenty-four Chinese drivers aged 20 to 50 were required to complete questionnaires assessing their personality traits (anger, sensation-seeking, altruism, and normlessness), risky driving behaviors (aggressive violations, ordinary violations), and accident involvement (all accidents, serious accidents, at-fault accidents). Multivariate regression analyses, adjusting for gender, age, and overall mileage, were conducted to identify the personality traits related to risky driving behaviors and accident involvement. Participants' personality traits were found to be significantly correlated with both risky driving behavior and accident involvement. Specifically, the traits of anger and normlessness were effective predictors for aggressive violations. The traits of anger, sensation-seeking, normlessness, and altruism were effective predictors for ordinary violations. Moreover, altruism and normlessness were significant predictors for the total number of accidents participants had during the past 3 years. Consistent with previous studies, the present study revealed that personality traits play an important role in predicting Chinese drivers' risky driving behaviors. In addition, Chinese drivers' personality characteristics were also associated with accident

  11. Accident Sequence Precursor Analysis for SGTR by Using Dynamic PSA Approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Han Sul; Heo, Gyun Young; Kim, Tae Wan

    2016-01-01

    In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. Based on the results of a sampling analysis and data from the conventional PSA model, the CDF caused by Sequence no. 26 can be realistically estimated. For a TLOFW accident with LOCA, second accident timings were categorized according to plant condition. Indicators were selected as branch point using the flow chart and tables, and a corresponding sequence tree model was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Jafari Mansoorian

    2016-02-01

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

  13. Development of posture-specific computational phantoms using motion capture technology and application to radiation dose-reconstruction for the 1999 Tokai-Mura nuclear criticality accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vazquez, Justin A; Caracappa, Peter F; Xu, X George

    2014-01-01

    The majority of existing computational phantoms are designed to represent workers in typical standing anatomical postures with fixed arm and leg positions. However, workers found in accident-related scenarios often assume varied postures. This paper describes the development and application of two phantoms with adjusted postures specified by data acquired from a motion capture system to simulate unique human postures found in a 1999 criticality accident that took place at a JCO facility in Tokai-Mura, Japan. In the course of this accident, two workers were fatally exposed to extremely high levels of radiation. Implementation of the emergent techniques discussed produced more accurate and more detailed dose estimates for the two workers than were reported in previous studies. A total-body dose of 6.43 and 26.38 Gy was estimated for the two workers, who assumed a crouching and a standing posture, respectively. Additionally, organ-specific dose estimates were determined, including a 7.93 Gy dose to the thyroid and 6.11 Gy dose to the stomach for the crouching worker and a 41.71 Gy dose to the liver and a 37.26 Gy dose to the stomach for the standing worker. Implications for the medical prognosis of the workers are discussed, and the results of this study were found to correlate better with the patient outcome than previous estimates, suggesting potential future applications of such methods for improved epidemiological studies involving next-generation computational phantom tools. (paper)

  14. The effectiveness of using pictures in teaching young children about burn injury accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hsueh-Fen; Lin, Fang-Suey; Chang, Chien-Ju

    2015-11-01

    This study utilized the "story grammar" approach (Stein and Glenn, 1979) to analyze the within-corpus differences in recounting of sixty 6- and 7-year-old children, specifically whether illustrations (5-factor accident sequence) were or were not resorted to as a means to assist their narration of a home accident in which a child received a burn injury from hot soup. Our investigation revealed that the message presentation strategy "combining oral and pictures" better helped young children to memorize the story content (sequence of events leading to the burn injury) than "oral only." Specifically, the content of "the dangerous objects that caused the injury", "the unsafe actions that people involved took", and "how the people involved felt about the severity of the accident" differed significantly between the two groups. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  15. [Diving accidents. Emergency treatment of serious diving accidents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schröder, S; Lier, H; Wiese, S

    2004-11-01

    Decompression injuries are potentially life-threatening incidents mainly due to a rapid decline in ambient pressure. Decompression illness (DCI) results from the presence of gas bubbles in the blood and tissue. DCI may be classified as decompression sickness (DCS) generated from the liberation of gas bubbles following an oversaturation of tissues with inert gas and arterial gas embolism (AGE) mainly due to pulmonary barotrauma. People working under hyperbaric pressure, e.g. in a caisson for general construction under water, and scuba divers are exposed to certain risks. Diving accidents can be fatal and are often characterized by organ dysfunction, especially neurological deficits. They have become comparatively rare among professional divers and workers. However, since recreational scuba diving is gaining more and more popularity there is an increasing likelihood of severe diving accidents. Thus, emergency staff working close to areas with a high scuba diving activity, e.g. lakes or rivers, may be called more frequently to a scuba diving accident. The correct and professional emergency treatment on site, especially the immediate and continuous administration of normobaric oxygen, is decisive for the outcome of the accident victim. The definitive treatment includes rapid recompression with hyperbaric oxygen. The value of adjunctive medication, however, remains controversial.

  16. Criticality accident:

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canavese, Susana I.

    2000-01-01

    A criticality accident occurred at 10:35 on September 30, 1999. It occurred in a precipitation tank in a Conversion Test Building at the JCO Tokai Works site in Tokaimura (Tokai Village) in the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan. STA provisionally rated this accident a 4 on the seven-level, logarithmic International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). The September 30, 1999 criticality accident at the JCO Tokai Works Site in Tokaimura, Japan in described in preliminary, technical detail. Information is based on preliminary presentations to technical groups by Japanese scientists and spokespersons, translations by technical and non-technical persons of technical web postings by various nuclear authorities, and English-language non-technical reports from various news media and nuclear-interest groups. (author)

  17. Organisational factors of occupational accidents with movement disturbance (OAMD) and prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leclercq, Sylvie

    2014-01-01

    Workplace design and upkeep, or human factors, are frequently advanced for explaining so-called Occupational Slip, Trip and Fall Accidents (OSTFAs). Despite scientific progress, these accidents, and more broadly Occupational Accidents with Movement Disturbance (OAMDs), are also commonly considered to be "simple". This paper aims to stimulate changes in such perceptions by focusing on organisational factors that often combine with other accident factors to cause movement disturbance and injury in work situations. These factors frequently lead to arbitration between production and safety, which involves implementation of controls by workers. These controls can lead to greater worker exposure to OAMD risk. We propose a model that focuses on such controls to account specifically for the need to confront production and safety logics within a company and to enhance the potential for appropriate prevention action. These are then integrated into the set of controls highlighted by work organisation model developed by the NIOSH.

  18. Road Accidents and Road Fatalities in Denmark from 1968 to 2004

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Orozova-Bekkevold, Ivanka; Hels, Tove; Bernhoft, Inger Marie

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe the road accidents and road fatalities in Denmark in the period 1968-2004. Only accidents registered by the police were used. Crude and gender & age specific fatality rates (counts per 1,000,000 inhabitants) were estimated for all road users...... and for bicyclists. The accident and fatality rates have decreased by around 70% from 1968 to 2004, while the motorisation rate has increased by approximately 90%. The sharpest decrease in the fatality rate was observed among the youngest (below 18 years old) and the older (above 64) road users. Gender related...... and actions targeted to improve road safety have indeed led to a significant reduction in injury accidents and fatalities. Further research and more detailed data, especially on traffic volume and individual exposure are necessary in order to investigate properly a causal relation between the number...

  19. Are the sea foods on our table safe after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enriquez, E.B.; Palad, L.J.H.; Encabo, R.R.; Cruz, P.T.F.; Garcia, T.Y.

    2015-01-01

    The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident that occurred in March 2011 raised immediate public concern on the safety of marine organisms caught in the Philippine waters. This is because of Japan’s proximity to the Philippine archipelago and the threat of contamination reaching our shores became a major issue. Immediately after the accident, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) established an extensive marine monitoring program to assess any possible effect of one of the worst nuclear accidents that occurred in recent time. This study is under the framework of the project entitled “Radiological Impact Assessment of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident in the Philippine Marine Environment”. Species of fish, mollusks and crustaceans were analyzed for anthropogenic radionuclides cesium-134 (Cs-134) and Cesium-137 (Cs-137) Using a high purify Germanium (HPGe) detector from ORTEC Inc. Major fishing grounds and coastal areas in the west and eastern seaboards as well as in the north and south were selected as sources of biota samples. Commonly eaten and popular species of fish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines, etc were purchased from local markets in the area; processed and analyzed by gamma spectrometry. The results showed that the average Cs-137 activity concentration in fish samples (n=103) was found to be 0.74 ± 0.28 Becquerel/kilogram wet. The Cs-137 concentrations in mollusks (n=12) and crustaceans (n=4) were all below the Lowest Limit of Detection (LLD). Cs-134 was not detected in any of the samples analyzed. The low concentration of the radionuclides studied showed that, thus far, the Fukushima NPP accident has no Impact to the Philippines marine environment. (author)

  20. Identification of the operating crew's information needs for accident management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, W.R.; Hanson, D.J.; Ward, L.W.; Solberg, D.E.

    1988-01-01

    While it would be very difficult to predetermine all of the actions required to mitigate the consequences of every potential severe accident for a nuclear power plant, development of additional guidance and training could improve the likelihood that the operating crew would implement effective sever-accident management measures. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting an Accident Management Research Program that emphasizes the application of severe-accident research results to enhance the capability of the plant operating crew to effectively manage severe accidents. One element of this program includes identification of the information needed by the operating crew in severe-accident situations. This paper discusses a method developed for identifying these information needs and its application. The methodology has been applied to a generic reactor design representing a PWR with a large dry containment. The information needs were identified by systematically determining what information is needed to assess the health of the critical functions, identify the presence of challenges, select strategies, and assess the effectiveness of these strategies. This method allows the systematic identification of information needs for a broad range of severe-accident scenarios and can be validated by exercising the functional models for any specific event sequence.

  1. Species-specific control of external superoxide levels by the coral holobiont during a natural bleaching event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Julia M.; Hansel, Colleen M.; Apprill, Amy; Brighi, Caterina; Zhang, Tong; Weber, Laura; McNally, Sean; Xun, Liping

    2016-12-01

    The reactive oxygen species superoxide (O2.-) is both beneficial and detrimental to life. Within corals, superoxide may contribute to pathogen resistance but also bleaching, the loss of essential algal symbionts. Yet, the role of superoxide in coral health and physiology is not completely understood owing to a lack of direct in situ observations. By conducting field measurements of superoxide produced by corals during a bleaching event, we show substantial species-specific variation in external superoxide levels, which reflect the balance of production and degradation processes. Extracellular superoxide concentrations are independent of light, algal symbiont abundance and bleaching status, but depend on coral species and bacterial community composition. Furthermore, coral-derived superoxide concentrations ranged from levels below bulk seawater up to ~120 nM, some of the highest superoxide concentrations observed in marine systems. Overall, these results unveil the ability of corals and/or their microbiomes to regulate superoxide in their immediate surroundings, which suggests species-specific roles of superoxide in coral health and physiology.

  2. The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on (137)Cs accumulation in higher fungi after the accident at Chernobyl NPP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarubina, N

    2016-09-01

    Levels of soil contamination with (137)Cs, the belonging of fungi to a certain ecological group, the localization depth of the main part of mycelium in soil are the primary factors influencing the value of (137)Cs specific activity in higher fungi after the accident at Chernobyl NPP. It has been found that the value of (137)Cs specific activity in fungi of one species could vary by more than 10 times during a vegetation period. A correlation between the changes of (137)Cs content in fungi during the vegetation period and the amount of precipitates during various periods preceding the collection of samples has not been determined. An assumption has been proposed stating dependence between peculiarities of mycelium growth during the vegetation period and the changes of (137)Cs specific activity in fungi. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Development of severe accident evaluation technology (level 2 PSA) for sodium-cooled fast reactors. (5) Identification of dominant factors in ex-vessel accident sequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohno, Shuji; Seino, Hiroshi; Miyahara, Shinya

    2009-01-01

    The evaluation of accident progression outside of a reactor vessel (ex-vessel) and subsequent transfer behavior of radioactive materials is of great importance from the viewpoint of Level 2 PSA. Hence typical ex-vessel accident sequences in the JAEA Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor are qualitatively discussed in this paper and dominant behaviors or factors in the sequences are investigated through parametric calculations using the CONTAIN/LMR code. Scenarios to be focused on are, 1) sodium vapor leakage from the reactor vessel and 2) sodium-concrete reaction, which are both to be considered in the accident category of LOHRS (loss of heat removal system) and might be followed by an early containment failure due to the thermal effect of sodium combustion and hydrogen burning respectively. The calculated results clarify that the sodium vapor leak rate and the scale of sodium-concrete reaction are the important factors to dominate the ex-vessel accident progression. In addition to the understandings of the dominant factors, the analyzed results also provide the specific information such as pressure loading value to the containment and the timing of pressurization, which is indispensable as technical base in Level 2 PSA for developing event trees and for quantifying the accident consequences. (author)

  4. Radiocesium concentrations in the bark, sapwood and heartwood of three tree species collected at Fukushima forests half a year after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Katsushi; Kagawa, Akira; Tonosaki, Mario

    2013-08-01

    Radiocesium ((134)Cs and (137)Cs) distribution in tree stems of Japanese cedar (aged 40-56 y), red pine (42 y), and oak (42 y) grown in Fukushima Prefecture were investigated approximately half a year after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident. Japanese cedar, red pine, and oak were selected from five sites, one site, and one site, respectively. Three trees at each site were felled, and bark, sapwood (the outer layer of wood in the stem), and heartwood (the inner layer of wood in the stem) separately collected to study radiocesium concentrations measured by gamma-ray spectrometry. The radiocesium deposition densities at the five sites were within the range of 16-1020 kBq m(-2). The radiocesium was distributed in bark, sapwood, and heartwood in three tree species, indicating that very rapid translocation of radiocesium into the wood. The concentration of radiocesium in oak (deciduous angiosperm) bark was higher than that in the bark of Japanese cedar and red pine (evergreen gymnosperms). Both sapwood and heartwood contained radiocesium, and the values were much lower than that in the bark samples. The results suggest that radiocesium contamination half a year after the accident was mainly attributable to the direct radioactive deposition. The radiocesium concentrations in the Japanese cedar samples taken from five sites rose with the density of radiocesium accumulation on the ground surface. To predict the future dynamics of radiocesium in tree stems, the present results taken half a year after the accident are important, and continuous study of radiocesium in tree stems is necessary. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Detection of all Chlamydophila and Chlamydia spp. of veterinary interest using species-specific real-time PCR assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pantchev, Alexandra; Sting, Reinhard; Bauerfeind, Rolf; Tyczka, Judith; Sachse, Konrad

    2010-12-01

    The aim of the present study was to analyse the occurrence of chlamydiae in several mammalian host species. Clinical samples that previously tested positive in a Chlamydiaceae-specific real-time PCR were retested using six species-specific real-time PCR assays to identify the chlamydial species involved. Chlamydophila (Cp.) abortus was the agent most frequently found in cattle, sheep, horses, goats, and pigs. Detection in cattle of Cp. psittaci (11% of samples) and Chlamydia (C.) suis (9%), as well as Cp. psittaci in a goat sample was somewhat unexpected. DNA of two different chlamydiae was identified in 56 (12.7%) of 440 samples tested. Cp. felis was the predominant species found in cats, while in guinea pigs and rabbits only Cp. caviae was detected. Interestingly, the latter two pathogens were also identified in samples from dogs. The data show that mixed chlamydial infections are not rare and suggest an extended host range of individual species. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Accidents, disasters and crisis: contribution of epidemiology in the nuclear field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verger, P.; Bard, D.; Hubert, P.

    1995-01-01

    The experience of the Chernobyl accident has shown the necessity of being prepared for epidemiological assessment of the health consequences of a nuclear or a radiological accident. We discuss the contribution of epidemiology in such situations, in addition to the existing tools designed to assess or manage radiological risks. From a decisional point of view, three issues are distinguished: the protection of the different population groups against ionizing radiations, the achievement of health care and the communication with the public and media. We discuss the input of epidemiological tools in both perspectives. Epidemiology may also contribute to the analysis of health events that may be observed after an accident, i.e. to assess whether these events are not statistical artifacts, whether they are an effect of the exposure to ionizing radiations or a non specific consequence of any accident. Finally, epidemiological studies should be carried out to improve our knowledge on ionizing radiations effects with a special consideration given to the dose-effect relationships. Examples of past nuclear accidents are used to discuss these issues. The last part of this paper is focused on different research issues that should be developed for preparing epidemiological plans for nuclear accidents. (Author). 48 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wedagama D.M.P.

    2010-01-01

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

  8. Prevention of criticality accidents in a fuel cycle plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gatti, A.M.; Canavese, S.I.; Capadona, N.M.

    1990-01-01

    This work reports the basic considerations on criticality accidents applied to an uranium dioxide fuel cycle production plant. The different fabrication stages are briefly described, with the identification of the neutronically isolated areas. Once the areas have been defined, an evaluation is made, setting up the control parameters to be used in each of them and their variation ranges; normal operation limitations based on experimental data or validating calculations, applied specifically to 5% enriched uranium, are established. Afterwards, defined parameters deviations are analyzed due to incidental conditions in order to prevent criticality accidents under normal conditions and maintenance operations. (Author) [es

  9. Modelling Accident Tolerant Fuel Concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hales, Jason Dean [Idaho National Laboratory; Gamble, Kyle Allan Lawrence [Idaho National Laboratory

    2016-05-01

    The catastrophic events that occurred at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011 have led to widespread interest in research of alternative fuels and claddings that are proposed to be accident tolerant. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) through its Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has funded an Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) High Impact Problem (HIP). The ATF HIP is a three-year project to perform research on two accident tolerant concepts. The final outcome of the ATF HIP will be an in-depth report to the DOE Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) giving a recommendation on whether either of the two concepts should be included in their lead test assembly scheduled for placement into a commercial reactor in 2022. The two ATF concepts under investigation in the HIP are uranium silicide fuel and iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloy cladding. Utilizing the expertise of three national laboratory participants (Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory), a comprehensive multiscale approach to modeling is being used that includes atomistic modeling, molecular dynamics, rate theory, phase-field, and fuel performance simulations. Model development and fuel performance analysis are critical since a full suite of experimental studies will not be complete before AFC must prioritize concepts for focused development. In this paper, we present simulations of the two proposed accident tolerance fuel systems: U3Si2 fuel with Zircaloy-4 cladding, and UO2 fuel with FeCrAl cladding. Sensitivity analyses are completed using Sandia National Laboratories’ Dakota software to determine which input parameters (e.g., fuel specific heat) have the greatest influence on the output metrics of interest (e.g., fuel centerline temperature). We also outline the multiscale modelling approach being employed. Considerable additional work is required prior to preparing the recommendation report for the Advanced

  10. Big nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, W.; Billingon, D.E.; Cameron, R.F.; Curl, S.J.

    1983-09-01

    Much of the debate on the safety of nuclear power focuses on the large number of fatalities that could, in theory, be caused by extremely unlikely but just imaginable reactor accidents. This, along with the nuclear industry's inappropriate use of vocabulary during public debate, has given the general public a distorted impression of the risks of nuclear power. The paper reviews the way in which the probability and consequences of big nuclear accidents have been presented in the past and makes recommendations for the future, including the presentation of the long-term consequences of such accidents in terms of 'loss of life expectancy', 'increased chance of fatal cancer' and 'equivalent pattern of compulsory cigarette smoking'. The paper presents mathematical arguments, which show the derivation and validity of the proposed methods of presenting the consequences of imaginable big nuclear accidents. (author)

  11. Example of severe accident management guidelines validation and verification using full scope simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krajnc, B.; Basic, I.; Spiler, J.

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG) is to provide guidelines to mitigate and control beyond design bases accidents. These guidelines are to be used by the technical support center that is established at the plant within one hour after the beginning of the accident as a technical support for the main control room operators. Since some of the accidents can progress very fast there are also two guidelines provided for the main control room operators. The first one is to be used if the core damage occurs and the TSC is not established yet and the second one after technical support center become operational. After SG replacement and power uprate in year 2000, NPP Krsko developed Rev.1 of these procedures, which have been validated and verified during one-week effort. Plant specific simulator capable of simulating severe accidents was extensively used.(author)

  12. Glyphosate-Induced Specific and Widespread Perturbations in the Metabolome of Soil Pseudomonas Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludmilla Aristilde

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies have reported adverse effects of glyphosate on crop-beneficial soil bacterial species, including several soil Pseudomonas species. Of particular interest is the elucidation of the metabolic consequences of glyphosate toxicity in these species. Here we investigated the growth and metabolic responses of soil Pseudomonas species grown on succinate, a common root exudate, and glyphosate at different concentrations. We conducted our experiments with one agricultural soil isolate, P. fluorescens RA12, and three model species, P. putida KT2440, P. putida S12, and P. protegens Pf-5. Our results demonstrated both species- and strain-dependent growth responses to glyphosate. Following exposure to a range of glyphosate concentrations (up to 5 mM, the growth rate of both P. protegens Pf-5 and P. fluorescens RA12 remained unchanged whereas the two P. putida strains exhibited from 0 to 100% growth inhibition. We employed a 13C-assisted metabolomics approach using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to monitor disruptions in metabolic homeostasis and fluxes. Profiling of the whole-cell metabolome captured deviations in metabolite levels involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, ribonucleotide biosynthesis, and protein biosynthesis. Altered metabolite levels specifically in the biosynthetic pathway of aromatic amino acids (AAs, the target of toxicity for glyphosate in plants, implied the same toxicity target in the soil bacterium. Kinetic flux experiments with 13C-labeled succinate revealed that biosynthetic fluxes of the aromatic AAs were not inhibited in P. fluorescens Pf-5 in the presence of low and high glyphosate doses but these fluxes were inhibited by up to 60% in P. putida KT2440, even at sub-lethal glyphosate exposure. Notably, the greatest inhibition was found for the aromatic AA tryptophan, an important precursor to secondary metabolites. When the growth medium was supplemented with aromatic AAs, P. putida S12 exposed to a lethal

  13. Radiological accidents in medical practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardenas Herrera, Juan

    2012-01-01

    Different radiological accidents that may occur in medical practice are shown. The following topics are focused: accident statistics for medical exposure, accidental medical exposures, radiotherapy accidents and potential accidental scenarios [es

  14. Design study on dose evaluation method for employees at severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoshida, Yoshitaka; Irie, Takashi; Kohriyama, Tamio [Institute of Nuclear Safety Systems Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan); Kudo, Seiichi [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Nishimura, Kazuya [Computer Software Development Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-09-01

    When we assume a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, it is required for rescue activity in the plant, accident management, repair work of failed parts and evaluation of employees to obtain radiation dose rate distribution or map in the plant and estimated dose value for the above works. However it might be difficult to obtain them accurately along the progress of the accident, because radiation monitors are not always installed in the areas where the accident management is planned or the repair work is thought for safety-related equipments. In this work, we analyzed diffusion of radioactive materials in case of a severe accident in a pressurized water reactor plant, investigated a method to obtain radiation dose rate in the plant from estimated radioactive sources, made up a prototype analyzing system by modeling a specific part of components and buildings in the plant from this design study on dose evaluation method for employees at severe accident, and then evaluated its availability. As a result, we obtained the followings: (1) A new dose evaluation method was established to predict the radiation dose rate in any point in the plant during a severe accident scenario. (2) This evaluation of total dose including moving route and time for the accident management and the repair work is useful for estimating radiation dose limit for these actions of the employees. (3) The radiation dose rate map is effective for identifying high radiation areas and for choosing a route with lower radiation dose rate. (author)

  15. Design study on dose evaluation method for employees at severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Yoshitaka; Irie, Takashi; Kohriyama, Tamio; Kudo, Seiichi; Nishimura, Kazuya

    2001-01-01

    When we assume a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, it is required for rescue activity in the plant, accident management, repair work of failed parts and evaluation of employees to obtain radiation dose rate distribution or map in the plant and estimated dose value for the above works. However it might be difficult to obtain them accurately along the progress of the accident, because radiation monitors are not always installed in the areas where the accident management is planned or the repair work is thought for safety-related equipments. In this work, we analyzed diffusion of radioactive materials in case of a severe accident in a pressurized water reactor plant, investigated a method to obtain radiation dose rate in the plant from estimated radioactive sources, made up a prototype analyzing system by modeling a specific part of components and buildings in the plant from this design study on dose evaluation method for employees at severe accident, and then evaluated its availability. As a result, we obtained the followings: (1) A new dose evaluation method was established to predict the radiation dose rate in any point in the plant during a severe accident scenario. (2) This evaluation of total dose including moving route and time for the accident management and the repair work is useful for estimating radiation dose limit for these actions of the employees. (3) The radiation dose rate map is effective for identifying high radiation areas and for choosing a route with lower radiation dose rate. (author)

  16. Sports Accidents

    CERN Multimedia

    Kiebel

    1972-01-01

    Le Docteur Kiebel, chirurgien à Genève, est aussi un grand ami de sport et de temps en temps médecin des classes genevoises de ski et également médecin de l'équipe de hockey sur glace de Genève Servette. Il est bien qualifié pour nous parler d'accidents de sport et surtout d'accidents de ski.

  17. Statistical description of heavy truck accidents on representative segments of interstate highway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartman, W.F.; Davidson, C.A.; Foley, J.T.

    1977-01-01

    Any quantitative analysis of the risk of transportation accidents requires the use of many different statistical distributions. Included among these are the types of accidents which occur and the severity of these when they do occur. Several previous studies have derived this type of information for truck traffic over U. S. highways in general; these data are not necessarily applicable for the anticipated LMFBR spent fuel cask routes. This report presents data for highway segments representative of the specific LMFBR cask routes which are anticipated. These data are based upon a detailed record-by-record review of filed reports for accidents which occurred along the specified route segments

  18. Occupational Radiation Protection in Severe Accident Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-01-01

    protection job coverage during severe accident response. The IAEA defines a 'Severe Accident' as a beyond design basis accident comprising of accident conditions more severe than a design basis accident, involving significant core degradation. Preparation of the report The expert group met several times to share their experience and develop an interim (preliminary) report by the end of 2013. The content of the report is thus based on current reflections and action plans undertaken by the ISOE participating utilities and regulatory authorities to improve the emergency response plans in the event of a severe nuclear accident from the point of view of occupational radiation protection. A specific attention has been given to the analysis of past nuclear accidents (TMI-2, USA-1979; Chernobyl, USSR-1986 and Fukushima Daiichi, Japan-2011) and to the integration of the occupational radiation protection (ORP) lessons learned from these accidents into the various chapters of the report (See synthesis of these lessons learned in Appendix-1). To finalize the report, an international workshop was organized in 2014 to present and discuss the content of the interim version and share national experiences on best occupational RP management practices and protocols for optimum RP job coverage during severe accident, initial response and recovery efforts (see Appendix-2). The workshop notably allowed to improve and complete the report which has then be submitted to the ISOE Management Board for approval. This report comprises five main chapters. Chapter 2 provides essential information on radiation protection management and organisation. Chapter 3 establishes the goal of radiation protection training and exercises related to severe accident management. Chapter 4 discusses facility characteristics that must be considered when planning actions in response to a severe accident. Chapter 5 introduces an overall approach for the protection of workers / responders with its interpretation and

  19. [Accidents in travellers - the hidden epidemic].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walz, Alexander; Hatz, Christoph

    2013-06-01

    The risk of malaria and other communicable diseases is well addressed in pre-travel advice. Accidents are usually less discussed. Thus, we aimed at assessing accident figures for the Swiss population, based on data of the register from 2004 to 2008 of the largest Swiss accident insurance organization (SUVA). More than 139'000 accidents over 5 years showed that 65 % of the accidents overseas are injuries, and 24 % are caused by poisoning or harm by cold, heat or air pressure. Most accidents happened during leisure activities or sports. More than one third of the non-lethal and more than 50 % of the fatal accidents happened in Asia. More than three-quarters of non-lethal accidents take place in people between 25 and 54 years. One out of 74 insured persons has an accident abroad per year. Despite of many analysis short-comings of the data set with regard to overseas travel, the figures document the underestimated burden of disease caused by accidents abroad and should affect the given pre-health advice.

  20. Occupational accidents among mototaxi drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amorim, Camila Rego; de Araújo, Edna Maria; de Araújo, Tânia Maria; de Oliveira, Nelson Fernandes

    2012-03-01

    The use of motorcycles as a means of work has contributed to the increase in traffic accidents, in particular, mototaxi accidents. The aim of this study was to estimate and characterize the incidence of occupational accidents among the mototaxis registered in Feira de Santana, BA. This is a cross-sectional study with descriptive and census data. Of the 300 professionals registered at the Municipal Transportation Service, 267 professionals were interviewed through a structured questionnaire. Then, a descriptive analysis was conducted and the incidence of accidents was estimated based on the variables studied. Relative risks were calculated and statistical significance was determined using the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test, considering p accidents were observed in 10.5% of mototaxis. There were mainly minor injuries (48.7%), 27% of them requiring leaves of absence from work. There was an association between the days of work per week, fatigue in lower limbs and musculoskeletal complaints, and accidents. Knowledge of the working conditions and accidents involved in this activity can be of great importance for the adoption of traffic education policies, and to help prevent accidents by improving the working conditions and lives of these professionals.

  1. RADIATION CONDITIONS IN KALUGA REGION 30 YEARS AFTER CHERNOBYL NPP ACCIDENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. G. Ashitko

    2016-01-01

    effective doses, caused90by Chernobyl fallouts, do not exceed 1 mSv/year. In 2014 AAEDmaximum calculated value for adultpopulation of 0,91 mSv was established in the following settlements:, Martynki village(Ulyanovsky district and Lovatyanka village (Hvastovichsky district. The doses, accumulated in the period after the accident, are generally not high. According to calculations numerical value of forecasted accumulated doses varies from 0,23 to 21 mSv. Maximum calculated values of 21 mSv are established in Hvastovichsky district (Lovatyanka village and Ulyanovsky district (Martynki village. Between 1986 and 2005, the effective irradiation doses did not exceed 29 mSv. Hence, in 70 years after the Chernobyl NPP accident standard value of 70 mSv will not be exceeded in the Kaluga region settlements. After 30 years, the main cause of population internal exposure is consumption of products from private subsidiary farms and especially of wild-growing products. There was conducted radiation monitoring of local agricultural foodstuff produce and of products from the forest. It demonstrated that caesium-137 average specific activity in samples of milk from private subsidiary farms in settlements of Zhizdrinsky, Ulyanovsky and Hvastovichsky districts decreased several-fold. It is between 20,0 Bq/l in 2007 and 1,7 Bq/l in 2015. In 2015, maximum levels of caesium-137 contamination in milk was 3,1% of the standard value, in potatoes - 4,7%, in meat - 4,4%.Average specific activity of caesium-137 in forest mushrooms samples from Zhizdrinsky, Ulyanovsky and Hvastovichsky districts doesn’t decline. Peaks of average caesium-137 activity were observed in 2012, 2013 and 2014; they depend on mushrooms abundance, species, dry summer weather and locations of sampling in the forest. In 2015 in three southern districts, the maximum content of caesium-137 in mushrooms exceeded the permissible level (500 Bq/kg 4,5-fold; about 2% of the samples do not correspond to it. The maximum contamination of

  2. Prediction of road accidents: A Bayesian hierarchical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deublein, Markus; Schubert, Matthias; Adey, Bryan T; Köhler, Jochen; Faber, Michael H

    2013-03-01

    In this paper a novel methodology for the prediction of the occurrence of road accidents is presented. The methodology utilizes a combination of three statistical methods: (1) gamma-updating of the occurrence rates of injury accidents and injured road users, (2) hierarchical multivariate Poisson-lognormal regression analysis taking into account correlations amongst multiple dependent model response variables and effects of discrete accident count data e.g. over-dispersion, and (3) Bayesian inference algorithms, which are applied by means of data mining techniques supported by Bayesian Probabilistic Networks in order to represent non-linearity between risk indicating and model response variables, as well as different types of uncertainties which might be present in the development of the specific models. Prior Bayesian Probabilistic Networks are first established by means of multivariate regression analysis of the observed frequencies of the model response variables, e.g. the occurrence of an accident, and observed values of the risk indicating variables, e.g. degree of road curvature. Subsequently, parameter learning is done using updating algorithms, to determine the posterior predictive probability distributions of the model response variables, conditional on the values of the risk indicating variables. The methodology is illustrated through a case study using data of the Austrian rural motorway network. In the case study, on randomly selected road segments the methodology is used to produce a model to predict the expected number of accidents in which an injury has occurred and the expected number of light, severe and fatally injured road users. Additionally, the methodology is used for geo-referenced identification of road sections with increased occurrence probabilities of injury accident events on a road link between two Austrian cities. It is shown that the proposed methodology can be used to develop models to estimate the occurrence of road accidents for any

  3. Development of Northeast Asia Nuclear Power Plant Accident Simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Juyub; Kim, Juyoul; Po, Li-Chi Cliff

    2017-06-15

    A conclusion from the lessons learned after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident was that Korea needs a tool to estimate consequences from a major accident that could occur at a nuclear power plant located in a neighboring country. This paper describes a suite of computer-based codes to be used by Korea's nuclear emergency response staff for training and potentially operational support in Korea's national emergency preparedness and response program. The systems of codes, Northeast Asia Nuclear Accident Simulator (NANAS), consist of three modules: source-term estimation, atmospheric dispersion prediction and dose assessment. To quickly assess potential doses to the public in Korea, NANAS includes specific reactor data from the nuclear power plants in China, Japan and Taiwan. The completed simulator is demonstrated using data for a hypothetical release. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. The application of the assessment of nuclear accident status in emergency decision-making during nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Ling

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear accident assessment is one of the bases for emergency decision-making in the situation of nuclear accident in NPP. Usually, the assessment includes accident status and consequence assessment. It is accident status assessment, and its application in emergency decision-making is introduced here. (author)

  5. Code Development on Fission Product Behavior under Severe Accident-Validation of Aerosol Sedimentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Sung Il; Jang, Jin Sung; Kim, Dong Ha

    2016-01-01

    The gas and aerosol phases of the radioactive materials move through the reactor coolant systems and containments as loaded on the carrier gas or liquid, such as steam or water. Most radioactive materials might escape in the form of aerosols from a nuclear power plant during a severe reactor accident, and it is very important to predict the behavior of these radioactive aerosols in the reactor cooling system and in the containment building under severe accident conditions. Aerosols are designated as very small solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gas phase. The suspended solid or liquid particles typically have a range of sizes of 0.01 m to 20 m. Aerosol concentrations in reactor accident analyses are typically less than 100 g/m3 and usually less than 1 g/m3. When there are continuing sources of aerosol to the gas phase or when there are complicated processes involving engineered safety features, much more complicated size distributions develop. It is not uncommon for aerosols in reactor containments to have bimodal size distributions for at least some significant periods of time early during an accident. Salient features of aerosol physics under reactor accident conditions that will affect the nature of the aerosols are (1) the formation of aerosol particles, (2) growth of aerosol particles, (3) shape of aerosol particles. At KAERI, a fission product module has been developed to predict the behaviors of the radioactive materials in the reactor coolant system under severe accident conditions. The fission product module consists of an estimation of the initial inventories, species release from the core, aerosol generation, gas transport, and aerosol transport. The final outcomes of the fission product module designate the radioactive gas and aerosol distribution in the reactor coolant system. The aerosol sedimentation models in the fission product module were validated using ABCOVE and LACE experiments. There were some discrepancies on the predicted

  6. Code Development on Fission Product Behavior under Severe Accident-Validation of Aerosol Sedimentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Sung Il; Jang, Jin Sung; Kim, Dong Ha [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The gas and aerosol phases of the radioactive materials move through the reactor coolant systems and containments as loaded on the carrier gas or liquid, such as steam or water. Most radioactive materials might escape in the form of aerosols from a nuclear power plant during a severe reactor accident, and it is very important to predict the behavior of these radioactive aerosols in the reactor cooling system and in the containment building under severe accident conditions. Aerosols are designated as very small solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gas phase. The suspended solid or liquid particles typically have a range of sizes of 0.01 m to 20 m. Aerosol concentrations in reactor accident analyses are typically less than 100 g/m3 and usually less than 1 g/m3. When there are continuing sources of aerosol to the gas phase or when there are complicated processes involving engineered safety features, much more complicated size distributions develop. It is not uncommon for aerosols in reactor containments to have bimodal size distributions for at least some significant periods of time early during an accident. Salient features of aerosol physics under reactor accident conditions that will affect the nature of the aerosols are (1) the formation of aerosol particles, (2) growth of aerosol particles, (3) shape of aerosol particles. At KAERI, a fission product module has been developed to predict the behaviors of the radioactive materials in the reactor coolant system under severe accident conditions. The fission product module consists of an estimation of the initial inventories, species release from the core, aerosol generation, gas transport, and aerosol transport. The final outcomes of the fission product module designate the radioactive gas and aerosol distribution in the reactor coolant system. The aerosol sedimentation models in the fission product module were validated using ABCOVE and LACE experiments. There were some discrepancies on the predicted

  7. Driving behaviors and on-duty road accidents: a French case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fort, Emmanuel; Chiron, Mireille; Davezies, Philippe; Bergeret, Alain; Charbotel, Barbara

    2013-01-01

    A case-control study was carried out to identify driving behaviors associated with the risk of on-duty road accident and to compare driving behaviors according to the type of journey (on duty, commuting, and private) for on-duty road accident victims. Cases were recruited from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry between January 2004 and October 2005 and were on duty at the time of the accident. Control subjects were recruited from the electoral rolls of the case subjects' constituencies of residence. Cases' and controls' driving behavior data were collected by self-administered questionnaire. A logistic regression was performed to identify behavioral risk factors for on-duty road accidents, taking into account age, sex, place of residence, road accident risk exposure, socio-occupational category, and type of road user. A second analysis focused specifically on the case subjects, comparing their self-assessed usual behaviors according to the type of journey. Significant factors for multivariate analysis of on-duty road accidents were female gender, history of on-duty road accidents during the previous 10 years, severe time pressure at work, and driving a vehicle not belonging to the driver. On-duty road accident victims reported behavioral risk factors more frequently in relation to driving for work than driving for private reasons or commuting: nonsystematic seat belt use, cell phone use at least once daily while driving, and history of accidents with injury during the previous 10 years. This study provides knowledge on behavioral risk factors for on-duty road accidents and differences in behavior according to the type of journey for subjects who have been on-duty road accident victims. These results will be useful for the design of on-duty road risk prevention.

  8. Severe accident management. Prevention and Mitigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    Effective planning for the management of severe accidents at nuclear power plants can produce both a reduction in the frequency of such accidents as well as the ability to mitigate their consequences if and when they should occur. This report provides an overview of accident management activities in OECD countries. It also presents the conclusions of a group of international experts regarding the development of accident management methods, the integration of accident management planning into reactor operations, and the benefits of accident management

  9. Analysis of hypothetical LMFBR whole-core accidents in the USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferguson, D.R.; Deitrich, L.W.; Brown, N.W.; Waltar, A.E.

    1978-01-01

    The issue of hypothetical whole-core accidents continues to play a significant role in assessment of the potential risk to the public associated with LMFBR operation in the USA. The paper briefly characterizes the changing nature of this role, with emphasis on the current risk-oriented perspective. It then describes the models and codes used for accident analysis in the USA which have been developed under DOE sponsorship and summarizes some specific applications of the codes to the current generation of fast reactors. An assessment of future trends in this area concludes the paper

  10. Casebook on electric safety accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-09-01

    This book gives concentration on electric safety accidents in domestic and abroad, which introduces general electrical safety with property of electricity, safe equipment and maintenance and protection of electric shock. It lists the cases of accident caused of electricity in domestic like accident in power substation, utilization equipment, load system and another accident by electricity like death in electric shock another by electricity like death in electric shock in new building construction, the cases caused of electricity in abroad like damage in electric shock by high voltage electric transformer, electric shock in summer and earth fault accident by fault cooling tower.

  11. Radiological accidents balance in medicine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nenot, J.C.

    1995-01-01

    This work deals with the radiological accidents in medicine. In medicine, the radiation accidents on medical personnel and patients can be the result of over dosage and bad focusing of radiotherapy sealed sources. Sometimes, the accidents, if they are unknown during a time enough for the source to be spread and to expose a lot of persons (in the case of source dismantling for instance) can take considerable dimensions. Others accidents can come from bad handling of linear accelerators and from radionuclide kinetics in some therapies. Some examples of accidents are given. (O.L.). 11 refs

  12. A study on industrial accident rate forecasting and program development of estimated zero accident time in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae-gu; Kang, Young-sig; Lee, Hyung-won

    2011-01-01

    To begin a zero accident campaign for industry, the first thing is to estimate the industrial accident rate and the zero accident time systematically. This paper considers the social and technical change of the business environment after beginning the zero accident campaign through quantitative time series analysis methods. These methods include sum of squared errors (SSE), regression analysis method (RAM), exponential smoothing method (ESM), double exponential smoothing method (DESM), auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, and the proposed analytic function method (AFM). The program is developed to estimate the accident rate, zero accident time and achievement probability of an efficient industrial environment. In this paper, MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) software of Visual Studio 2008 was used to develop a zero accident program. The results of this paper will provide major information for industrial accident prevention and be an important part of stimulating the zero accident campaign within all industrial environments.

  13. Occupational accidents aboard merchant ships

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

    2002-01-01

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

  14. Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Specific Novel Tetrapeptide and Potential Anti-Inflammatory Metabolites in Pathogenic Aspergillus species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kim-Chung; Tam, Emily W T; Lo, Ka-Ching; Tsang, Alan K L; Lau, Candy C Y; To, Kelvin K W; Chan, Jasper F W; Lam, Ching-Wan; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Lau, Susanna K P; Woo, Patrick C Y

    2015-06-17

    Infections related to Aspergillus species have emerged to become an important focus in infectious diseases, as a result of the increasing use of immunosuppressive agents and high fatality associated with invasive aspergillosis. However, laboratory diagnosis of Aspergillus infections remains difficult. In this study, by comparing the metabolomic profiles of the culture supernatants of 30 strains of six pathogenic Aspergillus species (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, A. nomius and A. tamarii) and 31 strains of 10 non-Aspergillus fungi, eight compounds present in all strains of the six Aspergillus species but not in any strain of the non-Aspergillus fungi were observed. One of the eight compounds, Leu-Glu-Leu-Glu, is a novel tetrapeptide and represents the first linear tetrapeptide observed in Aspergillus species, which we propose to be named aspergitide. Two other closely related Aspergillus-specific compounds, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid, may possess anti-inflammatory properties, as 2-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid possesses a structure similar to those of aspirin [2-(acetoxy)benzoic acid] and salicylic acid (2-hydroxybenzoic acid). Further studies to examine the potentials of these Aspergillus-specific compounds for laboratory diagnosis of aspergillosis are warranted and further experiments will reveal whether Leu-Glu-Leu-Glu, hydroxy-(sulfooxy)benzoic acid and (sulfooxy)benzoic acid are virulent factors of the pathogenic Aspergillus species.

  15. A Study on the Operation Strategy for Combined Accident including TLOFW accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Gook Young; Yoon, Ho Joon

    2014-01-01

    It is difficult for operators to recognize the necessity of a feed-and-bleed (F-B) operation when the loss of coolant accident and failure of secondary side occur. An F-B operation directly cools down the reactor coolant system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. The plant is not always necessary the F-B operation when the secondary side is failed. It is not necessary to initiate an F-B operation in the case of a medium or large break because these cases correspond to low RCS pressure sequences when the secondary side is failed. If the break size is too small to sufficiently decrease the RCS pressure, the F-B operation is necessary. Therefore, in the case of a combined accident including a secondary cooling system failure, the provision of clear information will play a critical role in the operators' decision to initiate an F-B operation. This study focuses on the how we establish the operation strategy for combined accident including the failure of secondary side in consideration of plant and operating conditions. Previous studies have usually focused on accidents involving a TLOFW accident. The plant conditions to make the operators confused seriously are usually the combined accident because the ORP only focuses on a single accident and FRP is less familiar with operators. The relationship between CET and PCT under various plant conditions is important to decide the limitation of initiating the F-B operation to prevent core damage

  16. Experiments on The Retention of The Fission Product Iodine in Nuclear Reactor Accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruchertseifer, H.; Cripps, R.; Guentay, S.; Jaeckel, B.

    2004-01-01

    The paper reports PSI participation in the ICHEMM Project (Iodine Chemistry and Mitigation Mechanisms) of the EU 5th Framework Programme, which has the objective of identifying new possible mitigation processes, or accident management measures, favouring the conversion of volatile iodine species, especially organic iodine released during a severe accident at a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), into nonvolatile forms. Significant effort has been expended, firstly to develop analytical methods for determining concentrations of the common iodine species (iodide, iodate, molecular iodine and methyl iodide), and secondly to provide missing and important information on decomposition phenomena and involved reactions. Experiments have been conducted at PSI to obtain data on thermal (hydrolysis) and radiolytic decomposition of CH 3 I in aqueous solution under conditions as close as possible to those in an anticipated accident. Radioactive-labelled methyl iodide was used to monitor and quantify the decomposition and to determine the overall mass balance. Results have shown that CH 3 I hydrolysis at 90 o C will dominate over radiolysis at the dose rates (max. 0.4 Gy.s -1 ) employed in the experiments. Much increased decomposition rates of CH 3 I have been achieved with chemical reagents (additives), such as sodium thiosulphate or ammonium sulphide. After completion of the ICHEMM Project, further advances have been made from experiments carried out on additives (especially in combination with Aliquat 336) in terms of a fast and complete retention of iodine. The data from these experiments are of direct relevance to severe accident management for both PWR and BWR systems. The impact of the results on possible strategies for management of radioactive waste has also been investigated. (author)

  17. Experiments on The Retention of The Fission Product Iodine in Nuclear Reactor Accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruchertseifer, H.; Cripps, R.; Guentay, S.; Jaeckel, B

    2004-03-01

    The paper reports PSI participation in the ICHEMM Project (Iodine Chemistry and Mitigation Mechanisms) of the EU 5th Framework Programme, which has the objective of identifying new possible mitigation processes, or accident management measures, favouring the conversion of volatile iodine species, especially organic iodine released during a severe accident at a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), into nonvolatile forms. Significant effort has been expended, firstly to develop analytical methods for determining concentrations of the common iodine species (iodide, iodate, molecular iodine and methyl iodide), and secondly to provide missing and important information on decomposition phenomena and involved reactions. Experiments have been conducted at PSI to obtain data on thermal (hydrolysis) and radiolytic decomposition of CH{sub 3}I in aqueous solution under conditions as close as possible to those in an anticipated accident. Radioactive-labelled methyl iodide was used to monitor and quantify the decomposition and to determine the overall mass balance. Results have shown that CH{sub 3}I hydrolysis at 90{sup o}C will dominate over radiolysis at the dose rates (max. 0.4 Gy.s{sup -1}) employed in the experiments. Much increased decomposition rates of CH{sub 3}I have been achieved with chemical reagents (additives), such as sodium thiosulphate or ammonium sulphide. After completion of the ICHEMM Project, further advances have been made from experiments carried out on additives (especially in combination with Aliquat 336) in terms of a fast and complete retention of iodine. The data from these experiments are of direct relevance to severe accident management for both PWR and BWR systems. The impact of the results on possible strategies for management of radioactive waste has also been investigated. (author)

  18. Seabrook Station Level 2 PRA Update to Include Accident Management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutz, Robert; Lucci, Melissa; Kiper, Kenneth; Henry, Robert

    2006-01-01

    A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these key operator actions. This addresses a key requirement of the ASME PRA Standard for considering SAMG. An important benefit of this assessment was the identification of Seabrook specific accident management insights that can be fed back into the Seabrook Station accident management procedures and guidance or the training provided to plant personnel for these procedures and guidance. (authors)

  19. Report on the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-12-01

    This report presents the compilation of information obtained by various organizations regarding the accident (and the consequences of the accident) that occurred at Unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl in the USSR on April 26, 1986. Each organization has independently accepted responsibility for one or more chapters. The specific responsibility of each organization is indicated. The various authors are identified in a footnote to each chapter. Very briefly the other chapters cover: the design of the Chernobyl nuclear station Unit 4; safety analyses for Unit 4; the accident scenario; the role of the operator; an assessment of the radioactive release, dispersion, and transport; the activities associated with emergency actions; and information on the health and environmental consequences from the accident. These subjects cover the major aspects of the accident that have the potential to present new information and lessons for the nuclear industry in general. The task of evaluating the information obtained in these various areas and the assessment of the potential implications has been left to each organization to pursue according to the relevance of the subject to their organization. Those findings will be issued separately by the cognizant organizations. The basic purpose of this report is to provide the information upon which such assessments can be made

  20. Accident loads for a VVER-440/213 containment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Techy, Z. [Institute for Electric Power Research (VEIKI), Budapest (Hungary); Lajtha, G. [Institute for Electric Power Research (VEIKI), Budapest (Hungary); Taubner, R. [Institute for Electric Power Research (VEIKI), Budapest (Hungary)

    1995-08-01

    Specific features of the VVER-440/213 containment are the subdivided rectangular building and the localization system including the bubbler trays and air traps. Accident loads are calculated for a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA). The maximum pressure and temperature loads are calculated with different codes during the blowdown phase of the LBLOCA. The uncertainty margins of the maximum pressure are given in this case. Sensitivity studies are performed for different leakage rates and hydraulic data of the containment. The effects of the active and passive spray systems on the depressurization are presented in this paper. The maximum pressure loads are also examined in case of degraded conditions of the localization system. (orig.).

  1. Accidents in making fireworks. Tapaturmat polttopuun teossa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solmio, H

    1991-01-01

    The accidents and the trends in the number of accidents and their causes were analyzed in a study conducted by the Forestry Department of the Work Efficiency Institute. The study was funded by the Finnish Agricultural Enterpreneurs' Pension Fund (MELA). The study material was selected from MELA's accident stage work and cause code. Altogether, the material comprised the following accidents that occurred while making and using firewood: 671 accidents in 1987 and 596 accidents in 1988. The amount of accidents caused by the working environment and hand tools was clearly higher in 1987 than in 1988. The number of accidents occurred while chopping wood was 20 % higher in 1987 than in 1988. April was the most accident-prone month both in 1987 and in 1988. Chopping of firewood was the most dangerous work stage in terms of the number of accidents. In 1988, the number of accidents in chopping firewood was 336, in sawing using circular saw 97 cases and other mechanized chopping led to 93 accidents. Heating with wood caused 33 accidents. In 1988 there were 10 (2 %) accidents involving loss of limbs and 9 of them occurred in the mechanized chopping of firewood. Nine accidents of these involved the loss of one or more fingers. Serious accidents, leading to inability to work for more than 3 months, were most frequent in chopping and in storing firewood.

  2. CANDU safety under severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snell, V.G.; Howieson, J.Q.; Frescura, G.M.; King, F.; Rogers, J.T.; Tamm, H.

    1988-01-01

    The characteristics of the CANDU reactor relevant to severe accidents are set first by the inherent properties of the design, and second by the Canadian safety/licensing approach. Probabilistic safety assessment studies have been performed on operating CANDU plants, and on the 4 x 880 MW(e) Darlington station now under construction; furthermore a scoping risk assessment has been done for a CANDU 600 plant. They indicate that the summed severe core damage frequency is of the order of 5 x 10 -6 /year. CANDU nuclear plant designers and owner/operators share information and operational experience nationally and internationally through the CANDU Owners' Group (COG). The research program generally emphasizes the unique aspects of the CANDU concept, such as heat removal through the moderator, but it has also contributed significantly to areas generic to most power reactors such as hydrogen combustion, containment failure modes, fission product chemistry, and high temperature fuel behaviour. Abnormal plant operating procedures are aimed at first using event-specific emergency operating procedures, in cases where the event can be diagnosed. If this is not possible, generic procedures are followed to control Critical Safety Parameters and manage the accident. Similarly, the on-site contingency plans include a generic plan covering overall plant response strategy, and a specific plan covering each category of contingency

  3. Interactions of severe accident research and regulatory positions (ISARRP)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sehgal, B.R.

    2001-12-01

    The work Programme of the ISARRP Project was divided into several work packages. The work was conducted in the form of presentations and discussions, held during several meetings whose character was that of workshops. Short reports were prepared by the partners assigned to each task. Work Package 1: Critical review of the SA phenomenological research. The objective of this work package was to consider the progress made world-wide in research on the resolution of the outstanding phenomenological issues posed by severe accidents. Work Package 2: Relevance of severe accident research to SAMG requirements and implementation. The objective of this work package was to relate the progress made in the resolution of the SA issues to the practical matter of what results are required or have been used for the management of severe accidents. Clearly, the SAMG is the most important avenue employed by the regulatory organizations to assure themselves of the safe (from public perspective) performance of a nuclear plant in a postulated severe accident event. Work Package 3: Relevance of severe accident research to PSA and the risk informed regulatory approach. The objectives of this work package is to relate the results obtained by the severe accident research to the requirements of a PSA and of the new trend of employing the risk informed approach in promulgating regulations. Clearly a PSA identifies vulnerabilities in the knowledge base, however, their importance is decidedly plant specific. Nevertheless the uncertainties in the phenomenology or in resolution of issues lead to uncertainties in the PSA conclusions and in the adoption of the risk informed approach. Work Package 4: Questionnaire and the evaluation of responses to the questions. The purpose of this work package is to solicit the views of the regulatory organizations towards the results of the SA research and the benefits they have derived from it in terms of regulatory actions, or in the confidence they have gained

  4. Interactions of severe accident research and regulatory positions (ISARRP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sehgal, B.R. (comp.) [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Nuclear Power Safety

    2001-12-01

    The work Programme of the ISARRP Project was divided into several work packages. The work was conducted in the form of presentations and discussions, held during several meetings whose character was that of workshops. Short reports were prepared by the partners assigned to each task. Work Package 1: Critical review of the SA phenomenological research. The objective of this work package was to consider the progress made world-wide in research on the resolution of the outstanding phenomenological issues posed by severe accidents. Work Package 2: Relevance of severe accident research to SAMG requirements and implementation. The objective of this work package was to relate the progress made in the resolution of the SA issues to the practical matter of what results are required or have been used for the management of severe accidents. Clearly, the SAMG is the most important avenue employed by the regulatory organizations to assure themselves of the safe (from public perspective) performance of a nuclear plant in a postulated severe accident event. Work Package 3: Relevance of severe accident research to PSA and the risk informed regulatory approach. The objectives of this work package is to relate the results obtained by the severe accident research to the requirements of a PSA and of the new trend of employing the risk informed approach in promulgating regulations. Clearly a PSA identifies vulnerabilities in the knowledge base, however, their importance is decidedly plant specific. Nevertheless the uncertainties in the phenomenology or in resolution of issues lead to uncertainties in the PSA conclusions and in the adoption of the risk informed approach. Work Package 4: Questionnaire and the evaluation of responses to the questions. The purpose of this work package is to solicit the views of the regulatory organizations towards the results of the SA research and the benefits they have derived from it in terms of regulatory actions, or in the confidence they have gained

  5. Analysis of ASTEC code adaptability to severe accident simulation for CANDU type reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constantin, Marin; Rizoiu, Andrei

    2008-01-01

    In order to prepare the adaptation of the ASTEC code to CANDU NPP severe accident analysis two kinds of activities were performed: - analyses of the ASTEC modules from the point of view of models and options, followed by CANDU exploratory calculation for the appropriate modules/models; - preparing the specifications for ASTEC adaptation for CANDU NPP. The paper is structured in three parts: - a comparison of PWR and CANDU concepts (from the point of view of severe accident phenomena); - exploratory calculations with some ASTEC modules- SOPHAEROS, CPA, IODE, CESAR, DIVA - for CANDU type reactors specific problems; - development needs analysis - algorithms, methods, modules. (authors)

  6. Estimation of cost per severe accident for improvement of accident protection and consequence mitigation strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Kampanart; Ishiwatari, Yuki; Takahara, Shogo

    2013-01-01

    To assess the complex situations regarding the severe accidents such as what observed in Fukushima Accident, not only radiation protection aspects but also relevant aspects: health, environmental, economic and societal aspects; must be all included into the consequence assessment. In this study, the authors introduce the “cost per severe accident” as an index to analyze the consequences of severe accidents comprehensively. The cost per severe accident consists of various costs and consequences converted into monetary values. For the purpose of improvement of the accident protection and consequence mitigation strategies, the costs needed to introduce the protective actions, and health and psychological consequences are included in the present study. The evaluations of these costs and consequences were made based on the systematic consequence analysis using level 2 and 3 probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) codes. The accident sequences used in this analysis were taken from the results of level 2 seismic PSA of a virtual 1,100 MWe BWR-5. The doses to the public and the number of people affected were calculated using the level 3 PSA code OSCAAR of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The calculations have been made for 248 meteorological sequences, and the outputs are given as expectation values for various meteorological conditions. Using these outputs, the cost per severe accident is calculated based on the open documents on the Fukushima Accident regarding the cost of protective actions and compensations for psychological harms. Finally, optimized accident protection and consequence mitigation strategies are recommended taking into account the various aspects comprehensively using the cost per severe accident. The authors must emphasize that the aim is not to estimate the accident cost itself but to extend the scope of “risk-informed decision making” for continuous safety improvements of nuclear energy. (author)

  7. 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

  8. [Interventions for mental health sequelae of accidents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angenendt, J

    2014-06-01

    Emergency psychology and psychotraumatology deal with the psychological sequelae of traumatic experiences, i.e., the prevention and early intervention of posttraumatic mental health disorders. Accidents are the most prevalent traumatic events in the general population that may result in a range of severe trauma and adjustment disorders. Accidents happen suddenly, unexpectedly, and can gravely threaten health, personal integrity, and life. The prevalence of intermittent and chronic psychiatric disorders in the aftermath of severe accidents varies between 5 and 30 %. Victims suffer from unknown and frightening posttraumatic symptoms, often irreversible handicaps as a consequence of their injuries, impairments in everyday functioning, and negative impact on the quality of life. The direct and indirect burden for society is high. Comprehensive secondary prevention, starting with early detection and early intervention of post-accident disorders, is not well established in clinical care. In case of severe accidental injuries, emergency and medical treatment has absolute priority. But all too often, severe mental health problems remain undetected in later treatment phases and therefore cannot be addressed adequately. In primary care, knowledge of specific psychodiagnostic and treatment options is still insufficient. Prejudices, denial, and fear of stigmatization in traumatized victims as well as practical constraints (availability, waiting time) in the referral to special evidence-based interventions limit the access to adequate and effective support. This overview presents the objectives, concepts, and therapeutic tools of a stepped-care model for psychological symptoms after accidental trauma, with reference to clinical guidelines.

  9. Severe accident behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denning, R.S.

    1986-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of severe accident behavior. The term source term is defined and a brief history of the regulatory use of source term is presented. The processes in severe accidents in light water reactors are described with particular emphasis on the relationships between accident thermal-hydraulics and chemistry. Those factors which have the greatest impact on predicted source terms are identified. Design differences between plants that affect source term estimation are also described. The principal unresolved issues are identified that are the focus of ongoing research and debate in the technical community

  10. Species-specific and seasonal differences in chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic light response among three evergreen species in a Madrean sky island mixed conifer forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potts, D. L.; Minor, R. L.; Braun, Z.; Barron-Gafford, G. A.

    2012-12-01

    Unlike the snowmelt-dominated hydroclimate of more northern mountainous regions, the hydroclimate of the Madrean sky islands is characterized by snowmelt and convective storms associated with the North American Monsoon. These mid-summer storms trigger biological activity and are important drivers of primary productivity. For example, at the highest elevations where mixed conifer forests occur, ecosystem carbon balance is influenced by monsoon rains. Whereas these storms' significance is increasingly recognized at the ecosystem scale, species-specific physiological responses to the monsoon are poorly known. Prior to and following monsoon onset, we measured pre-dawn and light-adapted chlorophyll fluorescence as well as photosynthetic light response in southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in a Madrean sky island mixed conifer forest near Tucson, Arizona. Photochemical quenching (qp), an indicator of the proportion of open PSII reaction centers, was greatest in P. strobiformis and least in P. menziesii and increased in response to monsoon rains (repeated-measures ANOVA; species, F2,14 = 6.17, P = 0.012; time, F2,14= 8.17, P = 0.013). In contrast, non-photochemical quenching (qN), an indicator of heat dissipation ability, was greatest in P. ponderosa and least in P. menziesii, but was not influenced by monsoon onset (repeated-measures ANOVA; species, F2,12 = 4.18, P = 0.042). Estimated from leaf area-adjusted photosynthetic light response curves, maximum photosynthetic rate (Amax) was greatest in P. ponderosa and least in P. menziesii (repeated-measures ANOVA; species, F2,8= 40.8, P = 0.001). Surprisingly, while the monsoon positively influenced Amax among P. ponderosa and P. strobiformis, Amax of P. menziesii declined with monsoon onset (repeated-measures ANOVA; species x time, F2,8 = 13.8, P = 0.002). Calculated as the initial slope of the photosynthetic light response curve, light

  11. Routine methods for post-transportation accident recovery of spent fuel casks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shappert, L.B.; Pope, R.B.; Best, R.E.; Jones, R.H.

    1991-01-01

    Spent fuel casks and other large radioactive material packages have been examined to determine whether the designs are adequate to allow the casks to be recovered using conventional recovery methods following a transportation accident. Casks and similar packages are typically designed with, and handled by, trunnions that support the package during transport. These trunnions are considered the best cask feature with which to grapple the cask once it is no longer in its usual shipping mode. Following a transport accident, the trunnions may be buried or entangled so that they are not readily accessible to initiate the recovery process. To evaluate the effectiveness of applying traditional recovery methods to spent fuel casks, a workshop was held in which a series of accidents involving casks were postulated; the modes of transportation considered included truck, rail, and barge. These participants knowledgeable in transport, handling, and, in some cases, recovery of large, heavy containers attended. Participants concluded that the physical recovery of a cask involved in an accident, irrespective of where the accident occurs, would be a straightforward rigging operation and that the addition of specific recovery features (e.g., additional trunnions) to the cask appears unnecessary

  12. Accidents caused by Bothrops and Bothropoides in the State of Paraiba: epidemiological and clinical aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Fagner Neves; Brito, Monalisa Taveira; Morais, Isabel Cristina Oliveira de; Fook, Sayonara Maria Lia; Albuquerque, Helder Neves de

    2010-01-01

    Bothrops and Bothropoides snakes cause 70% of the ophidic accidents in Brazil. The species that cause ophidic accidents in State of Paraíba are Bothropoides erythromelas, Bothrops leucurus and Bothropoides neuwiedi. This is a prospective and transverse study, following a quantitative approach of accidents involving Bothrops and Bothropoides admitted to the Toxicological Assistance and Information Centers of Campina Grande and João Pessoa (Ceatox-CG and Ceatox-JP), aimed at identifying the epidemiological and clinical profile of such accidents. All of the patients admitted had medical diagnoses and were monitored at Ceatox-CG or Ceatox-JP. The genera Bothrops and Bothropoides caused 91.7% of the ophidic accidents reported. Snake bites were frequent in men (75.1%), rural workers (65.1%), literate individuals (69%) between 11 and 20 years-old (21.7%), and toes the most common area attacked (52.7%). Most (86.6%) patients were admitted within 6 hours after the accident/bite, with a predominance of mild cases (64.6%). The annual occurrence in Paraíba was 5.5 accidents/100,000 inhabitants and lethality was 0.2%. Positive changes in the profiles of these accidents were verified, such as the non-application of inadequate solutions, including the use of tourniquet, coffee grounds, garlic, suction and/or cutting the bitten area. Moreover, the Itinerant Laboratory project, linked to Paraíba State University in partnership with Ceatox-CG, has contributed positively, providing several cities of the state with information regarding the prevention of accidents involving venomous animals. The local press has also contributed, reporting the educational work developed by the centers.

  13. Construction industry accidents in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camino López, Miguel A; Ritzel, Dale O; Fontaneda, Ignacio; González Alcantara, Oscar J

    2008-01-01

    This paper analyzed industrial accidents that take place on construction sites and their severity. Eighteen variables were studied. We analyzed the influence of each of these with respect to the severity and fatality of the accident. This descriptive analysis was grounded in 1,630,452 accidents, representing the total number of accidents suffered by workers in the construction sector in Spain over the period 1990-2000. It was shown that age, type of contract, time of accident, length of service in the company, company size, day of the week, and the remainder of the variables under analysis influenced the seriousness of the accident. IMPACT ON INJURY PREVENTION: The results obtained show that different training was needed, depending on the severity of accidents, for different age, length of service in the company, organization of work, and time when workers work. The research provides an insight to the likely causes of construction injuries in Spain. As a result of the analysis, industries and governmental agencies in Spain can start to provide appropriate strategies and training to the construction workers.

  14. Psychosocial aspects of the victims of the accident with caesium-137 in Goiania (1987-1994)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curado, M P [Fundacao Leide das Neves Ferreira, Goias (Brazil); Costa Neto, S B [Universidade de Brasilia, Instituto de Psicologia, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

    2000-05-01

    In September of 1987 two men took possession of and violated a source containing Caesium-137, which caused the Radiological Accident of Goiania. Besides the direct victims, a significant part of the community of Goiania was directly involved with this accident. The psychosocial impact in the social groups involved in this radiological accident - the population as a whole, immediate neighbours of contaminated sites, professionals and the victims themselves - gave rise to specific behaviour and attitudes which will be discussed in this paper. (author)

  15. Psychosocial aspects of the victims of the accident with caesium-137 in Goiania (1987-1994)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curado, M.P.; Costa Neto, S.B.

    2000-01-01

    In September of 1987 two men took possession of and violated a source containing Caesium-137, which caused the Radiological Accident of Goiania. Besides the direct victims, a significant part of the community of Goiania was directly involved with this accident. The psychosocial impact in the social groups involved in this radiological accident - the population as a whole, immediate neighbours of contaminated sites, professionals and the victims themselves - gave rise to specific behaviour and attitudes which will be discussed in this paper. (author)

  16. Review and assessment of package requirements (yellowcake) and emergency response to transportation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-10-01

    As a consequence of an accident involving a truck shipment of yellowcake, a joint NRC--DOT study was undertaken to review and assess the regulations and practices related to package integrity and to emergency response to transportation accidents involving low specific activity radioactive materials. Recommendations are made regarding the responsibilities of state and local agencies, carriers, and shippers, and the DOT and NRC regulations

  17. Uptake and translocation of radiocesium in cedar leaves following the Fukushima nuclear accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishikiori, Tatsuhiro; Watanabe, Mirai; Koshikawa, Masami K; Takamatsu, Takejiro; Ishii, Yumiko; Ito, Shoko; Takenaka, Akio; Watanabe, Keiji; Hayashi, Seiji

    2015-01-01

    Cryptomeria japonica trees in the area surrounding Fukushima, Japan, intercepted (137)Cs present in atmospheric deposits soon after the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011. To study the uptake and translocation of (137)Cs in C. japonica leaves, we analyzed activity concentrations of (137)Cs and the concentration ratios of (137)Cs to (133)Cs ((137)Cs/(133)Cs) in old and new leaves of C. japonica collected from a forest on Mount Tsukuba between 9 and 15 months after the accident. Both isotopes were also analyzed in throughfall, bulk precipitation and soil extracts. Water of atmospheric and soil origin were used as proxies for deciphering the absorption from leaf surfaces and root systems, respectively. Results indicate that 20-40% of foliar (137)Cs existed inside the leaf, while 60-80% adhered to the leaf surface. The (137)Cs/(133)Cs ratios inside leaves that had sprouted before the accident were considerably higher than that of the soil extract and lower than that of throughfall and bulk precipitation. Additionally, more than 80% of (137)Cs in throughfall and bulk precipitation was present in the dissolved form, which is available for foliar uptake, indicating that a portion of the (137)Cs inside old leaves was presumably absorbed from the leaf surface. New leaves that sprouted after the accident had similar (137)Cs/(133)Cs ratios to that of the old leaves, suggesting that internal (137)Cs was translocated from old to new leaves. For 17 species of woody plants other than C. japonica, new leaves that sprouted after the accident also contained (137)Cs, and their (137)Cs/(133)Cs ratios were equal to or higher than that of the soil extract. These results suggested that foliar uptake and further translocation of (137)Cs is an important vector of contamination in various tree species during or just after radioactive fallout. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Pilot program: NRC severe reactor accident incident response training manual: Severe reactor accident overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenna, T.J.; Martin, J.A.; Miller, C.W.; Hively, L.M.; Sharpe, R.W.; Giitter, J.G.; Watkins, R.M.

    1987-02-01

    This pilot training manual has been written to fill the need for a general text on NRC response to reactor accidents. The manual is intended to be the foundation for a course for all NRC response personnel. Severe Reactor Accident Overview is the second in a series of volumes that collectively summarize the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) emergency response during severe power reactor accidents and provide necessary background information. This volume describes elementary perspectives on severe accidents and accident assesment. Each volume serves, respectively, as the text for a course of instruction in a series of courses. Each volume is accompanied by an appendix of slides that can be used to present this material. The slides are called out in the text

  19. Assessment of accident severity in the construction industry using the Bayesian theorem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh, Seyed Shamseddin; Mortazavi, Seyed Bagher; Mehdi Sepehri, Mohammad

    2015-01-01

    Construction is a major source of employment in many countries. In construction, workers perform a great diversity of activities, each one with a specific associated risk. The aim of this paper is to identify workers who are at risk of accidents with severe consequences and classify these workers to determine appropriate control measures. We defined 48 groups of workers and used the Bayesian theorem to estimate posterior probabilities about the severity of accidents at the level of individuals in construction sector. First, the posterior probabilities of injuries based on four variables were provided. Then the probabilities of injury for 48 groups of workers were determined. With regard to marginal frequency of injury, slight injury (0.856), fatal injury (0.086) and severe injury (0.058) had the highest probability of occurrence. It was observed that workers with severe and fatal accidents, involved workers ≥ 50 years old, married, with 1-5 years' work experience, who had no past accident experience. The findings provide a direction for more effective safety strategies and occupational accident prevention and emergency programmes.

  20. Species-specific response-topography of chickens' and pigeons' water-induced autoshaped responding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ploog, Bertram O

    2014-07-01

    Four pigeons and eight chickens received autoshaping training where a keylight (conditioned stimulus) signaled response-independent deliveries of water (unconditioned stimulus). Pigeons drink while keeping their beaks submerged in water and moving their beaks to create suction ("mumbling"), whereas chickens drink by trapping a small amount of water in their mouths and then lifting their heads so the water trickles down. This experiment tested whether these and other species-specific differences in drinking and related behaviors of pigeons and chickens would be reflected in the form of conditioned (autoshaped) responding. Touchscreens and videotapes were used for data recording. Results showed that chickens moved their heads more than pigeons when drinking (unconditioned response). The birds also differed in conditioned responding in the presence of the keylight: Pigeons produced more keyswitch closures and mumbled at the keylight more than chickens whereas chickens scratched more than pigeons. In conclusion, with this unique comparative method that employed identical contingencies and comparable deprivation levels, species-specific differences in unconditioned responses and, more importantly, differences in their corresponding conditioned responses were observed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Lessons learned from accidents investigations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

    1997-12-31

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

  2. Lessons learned from accident investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1998-01-01

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

  3. Effect of engineered safety features on the risk of hypothetical LMFBR accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cybulskis, P.

    1978-01-01

    The risks of hypothetical core-disruptive accidents in liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactors which involve meltthrough of the reactor vessel are compared for two plant designs: one design without specific provisions to accommodate such an accident and the other design with an ex-vessel core catcher and a cvity hot liner. The approach to risk analysis used is that developed in the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400). Since the probability of occurrence of such an event has not been evaluated, however, insight into the potential risk is gained only on a relative basis. The principal conclusions of this study are: (1) adding a core catcher--hot liner reduces the probabilty of accidents having major consequences; (2) the degree to which hot liner--core catcher systems can reduce the risk of melt-through accidents is limited by the failure probability of these systems; (3) fractional radioactive releases to the environment in the liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactor accidents considered are comparable to those from the light-water reactors evaluated in WASH-1400; (4) since sodium--concrete reactions are a dominant driving force during the accident, the integrity of the cavity liner is as important as the function of the core catcher; (5) there may be other accidents or paths to radioactive releases that are not affected by the addition of a hot liner--core catcher

  4. Seasonal variation in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigments in 15 woody species from northeastern mexico during summer and winter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, H.G.; Maiti, R.; Kumari, A.

    2017-01-01

    The present study has been undertaken on the variability in specific leaf area, epicuticular wax and pigment content of 15 native woody species in northeastern Mexico. The species showed considerable variability in responses of these leaf traits. Majority of the species showed a decline in specific leaf area and epicuticular wax content. With respect to pigments, only few species showed a decrease, but some species showed an increase in pigments (chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll (a+b)) showing mechanism of adaptation to winter season.However, in few species there was a decline in pigment contents showing susceptibility to winter. (author)

  5. Species-specific effects of soil fauna on fungal foraging and decomposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowther, Thomas W; Boddy, Lynne; Jones, T Hefin

    2011-10-01

    Decomposer fungi are primary decomposing agents in terrestrial soils. Their mycelial networks play an important role in nutrient mineralisation and distribution, but are also nutritious resources for various soil invertebrates. Global climate change is predicted to alter the diversity and community composition of these soil fauna. To understand whether changes in invertebrate species diversity are likely to affect fungal-mediated decomposition, this study compared the grazing potentials of different invertebrate taxa and functional groups. Specifically, the grazing impacts of seven invertebrate taxa on the growth and spatial distribution of six basidiomycete fungi growing from beech wood blocks in soil microcosms were explored. Wood decay rates by fungi were also compared. The consequences of grazing were both taxon- and species-specific. Generally, macro-invertebrates caused the greatest damage, while meso- and micro-invertebrates often stimulated mycelial growth. Invertebrate size, preferences and population dynamics are likely to influence grazing potentials. Effects of grazing varied between fungi, with mycelial morphology and biochemistry possibly influencing susceptibility. Heavy grazing indirectly increased fungal-mediated wood decomposition. Changes in invertebrate community composition are predicted to have consequences for fungal growth, activity and community structure in woodland soils. Abiotic climate change factors including CO(2) and temperature affect mycelial productivity directly, but the indirect effects, mediated through changes in the soil invertebrate community, may be equally important in controlling ecosystem functioning.

  6. International Experts' Meeting on Decommissioning and Remediation after a Nuclear Accident. Presentations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Against the backdrop of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety in Vienna, Austria, in June 2011. The Conference adopted a Ministerial Declaration which, inter alia, requested the Director General to prepare a draft Action Plan covering all the relevant aspects relating to nuclear safety, emergency preparedness and response, and radiation protection of people and the environment, as well as the relevant international legal framework. On 22 September 2011, the IAEA General Conference unanimously endorsed the draft IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety approved by the Board of Governors. The Action Plan sets out a comprehensive programme of work, in 12 major areas, to strengthen nuclear safety worldwide. Under one of these areas, headed 'Enhance transparency and effectiveness of communication and improve dissemination of information', the IAEA Secretariat was requested to organize an International Experts' Meeting (IEM) on decommissioning, cleanup and remediation of nuclear facilities and contaminated lands after a nuclear accident. This IEM was organized in response to that request. The IEM focussed on the complex technical, societal, environmental and economic issues that need to be considered for decommissioning and remediation activities after a nuclear accident, specifically after the emergency exposure situation of an accident has been declared ended. The objective of the IEM is to assist Member States to prepare for and to be able to manage the consequences resulting from a nuclear accident. The meeting highlighted the specific short term and long term issues that may need to be addressed during decommissioning of facilities and remediation of the off-site environment affected by a nuclear accident. It is of interest to a wide range of experts, such as decision makers, regulators, operators

  7. Socioeconomic consequences of nuclear reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tawil, J.J.; Callaway, J.W.; Coles, B.L.; Cronin, F.J.; Currie, J.W.; Imhoff, K.L.; Lewis, P.M.; Nesse, R.J.; Strenge, D.L.

    1984-06-01

    This report identifies and characterizes the off-site socioeconomic consequences that would likely result from a severe radiological accident at a nuclear power plant. The types of impacts that are addressed include economic impacts, health impacts, social/psychological impacts and institutional impacts. These impacts are identified for each of several phases of a reactor accident - from the warning phase through the post-resettlement phase. The relative importance of the impact during each accident phase and the degree to which the impact can be predicted are indicated. The report also examines the methods that are currently used for assessing nuclear reactor accidents, including development of accident scenarios and the estimating of socioeconomic accident consequences with various models. Finally, a critical evaluation is made regarding the use of impact analyses in estimating the contribution of socioeconomic consequences to nuclear accident reactor accident risk. 116 references, 7 figures, 15 tables

  8. Lipidomic Adaptations in White and Brown Adipose Tissue in Response to Exercise Demonstrate Molecular Species-Specific Remodeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis J. May

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Exercise improves whole-body metabolic health through adaptations to various tissues, including adipose tissue, but the effects of exercise training on the lipidome of white adipose tissue (WAT and brown adipose tissue (BAT are unknown. Here, we utilize MS/MSALL shotgun lipidomics to determine the molecular signatures of exercise-induced adaptations to subcutaneous WAT (scWAT and BAT. Three weeks of exercise training decrease specific molecular species of phosphatidic acid (PA, phosphatidylcholines (PC, phosphatidylethanolamines (PE, and phosphatidylserines (PS in scWAT and increase specific molecular species of PC and PE in BAT. Exercise also decreases most triacylglycerols (TAGs in scWAT and BAT. In summary, exercise-induced changes to the scWAT and BAT lipidome are highly specific to certain molecular lipid species, indicating that changes in tissue lipid content reflect selective remodeling in scWAT and BAT of both phospholipids and glycerol lipids in response to exercise training, thus providing a comprehensive resource for future studies of lipid metabolism pathways.

  9. Atmospheric Direct Uptake and Long-term Fate of Radiocesium in Trees after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahara, Yasunori; Ohta, Tomoko; Ogawa, Hideki; Kumata, Atsushi

    2014-11-01

    Large areas of forests were radioactively contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident of 2011, and forest decontamination is now an important problem in Japan. However, whether trees absorb radioactive fallout from soil via the roots or directly from the atmosphere through the bark and leaves is unclear. We measured the uptake of radiocesium by trees in forests heavily contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident. The radiocesium concentrations in sapwood of two tree species, the deciduous broadleaved konara (Quercus serrata) and the evergreen coniferous sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), were higher than that in heartwood. The concentration profiles showed anomalous directionality in konara and non-directionality in sugi, indicating that most radiocesium in the tree rings was directly absorbed from the atmosphere via bark and leaves rather than via roots. Numerical modelling shows that the maximum 137Cs concentration in the xylem of konara will be achieved 28 years after the accident. Conversely, the values for sugi will monotonously decrease because of the small transfer factor in this species. Overall, xylem 137Cs concentrations will not be affected by root uptake if active root systems occur 10 cm below the soil.

  10. The Chernobyl accident consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-04-01

    Five teen years later, Tchernobyl remains the symbol of the greater industrial nuclear accident. To take stock on this accident, this paper proposes a chronology of the events and presents the opinion of many international and national organizations. It provides also web sites references concerning the environmental and sanitary consequences of the Tchernobyl accident, the economic actions and propositions for the nuclear safety improvement in the East Europe. (A.L.B.)

  11. The expert assistant in accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

    1990-01-01

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

  12. 49 CFR 195.50 - Reporting accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Reporting accidents. 195.50 Section 195.50 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY... PIPELINE Annual, Accident, and Safety-Related Condition Reporting § 195.50 Reporting accidents. An accident...

  13. 28 CFR 301.106 - Repetitious accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Repetitious accidents. 301.106 Section 301.106 Judicial Administration FEDERAL PRISON INDUSTRIES, INC., DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INMATE ACCIDENT COMPENSATION General § 301.106 Repetitious accidents. If an inmate worker is involved in successive accidents...

  14. Occupational accidents in professional dance with focus on gender differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Classical dance comprises gender specific movement tasks. There is a lack of studies which investigate work related traumatic injuries in terms of gender specific differences in detail. Objective To define gender related differences of occupational accidents. Methods Basis for the evaluation were occupational injuries of professional dancers from three (n = 785; f: n = 358, m: n = 427) state theatres. Results The incidence rate (0.36 per year) was higher in males (m: 0.45, f: 0.29). There were gender specific differences as to the localizations of injuries, particularly the spine region (m: 17.3%, f: 9.8%, p = 0.05) and ankle joint (m: 23.7%, f: 35.5%, p = 0.003). Compared to male dancers, females sustained more injuries resulting from extrinsic factors. Significant differences could specifically be observed with dance floors (m: 8.8%, f: 15.1%, p = 0.02). There were also significant gender differences observed with movement vocabulary. Conclusion The clearly defined gender specific movement activities in classical dance are reflected in occupational accidents sustained. Organisational structures as well as work environment represent a burden likewise to male and female dancers. The presented differences support the development of gender specific injury prevention measures. PMID:24341391

  15. Accident management on french PWRS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Queniart, D.

    1990-06-01

    After a brief recall of French safety rationale, the reactor operation and severe accident management is given. The research and development aimed at developing accident management procedures and emergency organization in France for the case of a NPP accident are also given

  16. Species-Specific Antimonial Sensitivity in Leishmania Is Driven by Post-Transcriptional Regulation of AQP1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandal, Goutam; Mandal, Srotoswati; Sharma, Mansi; Charret, Karen Santos; Papadopoulou, Barbara; Bhattacharjee, Hiranmoy; Mukhopadhyay, Rita

    2015-01-01

    Leishmania is a digenetic protozoan parasite causing leishmaniasis in humans. The different clinical forms of leishmaniasis are caused by more than twenty species of Leishmania that are transmitted by nearly thirty species of phlebotomine sand flies. Pentavalent antimonials (such as Pentostam or Glucantime) are the first line drugs for treating leishmaniasis. Recent studies suggest that pentavalent antimony (Sb(V)) acts as a pro-drug, which is converted to the more active trivalent form (Sb(III)). However, sensitivity to trivalent antimony varies among different Leishmania species. In general, Leishmania species causing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) are more sensitive to Sb(III) than the species responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Leishmania aquaglyceroporin (AQP1) facilitates the adventitious passage of antimonite down a concentration gradient. In this study, we show that Leishmania species causing CL accumulate more antimonite, and therefore exhibit higher sensitivity to antimonials, than the species responsible for VL. This species-specific differential sensitivity to antimonite is directly proportional to the expression levels of AQP1 mRNA. We show that the stability of AQP1 mRNA in different Leishmania species is regulated by their respective 3’-untranslated regions. The differential regulation of AQP1 mRNA explains the distinct antimonial sensitivity of each species. PMID:25714343

  17. Overview of core disruptive accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchaterre, J.F.

    1977-01-01

    An overview of the analysis of core-disruptive accidents is given. These analyses are for the purpose of understanding and predicting fast reactor behavior in severe low probability accident conditions, to establish the consequences of such conditions and to provide a basis for evaluating consequence limiting design features. The methods are used to analyze core-disruptive accidents from initiating event to complete core disruption, the effects of the accident on reactor structures and the resulting radiological consequences are described

  18. Review of the severe accident risk reduction program (SARRP) containment event trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-05-01

    A part of the Severe Accident Risk Reduction Program, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have constructed a group of containment event trees to be used in the analysis of key accident sequences for light water reactors (LWR) during postulated severe accidents. The ultimate goal of the program is to provide to the NRC staff a current assessment of the risk from severe reactor accidents for a group of five light water reactors. This review specifically focuses on the development and construction of the containment event trees and the results for containment failure probability, modes and timing. The report first gives the background on the program, the review criteria, and a summary of the observations, findings and recommendations. secondly, the individual reviews of each committee member on the event trees is presented. Finally, a review is provided on the computer model used to construct and evaluate the event trees

  19. Factors correlated with traffic accidents as a basis for evaluating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staubach, Maria

    2009-09-01

    This study aims to identify factors which influence and cause errors in traffic accidents and to use these as a basis for information to guide the application and design of driver assistance systems. A total of 474 accidents were examined in depth for this study by means of a psychological survey, data from accident reports, and technical reconstruction information. An error analysis was subsequently carried out, taking into account the driver, environment, and vehicle sub-systems. Results showed that all accidents were influenced by errors as a consequence of distraction and reduced activity. For crossroad accidents, there were further errors resulting from sight obstruction, masked stimuli, focus errors, and law infringements. Lane departure crashes were additionally caused by errors as a result of masked stimuli, law infringements, expectation errors as well as objective and action slips, while same direction accidents occurred additionally because of focus errors, expectation errors, and objective and action slips. Most accidents were influenced by multiple factors. There is a safety potential for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which support the driver in information assimilation and help to avoid distraction and reduced activity. The design of the ADAS is dependent on the specific influencing factors of the accident type.

  20. Hazards and accident analyses, an integrated approach, for the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, P.Y.; Goen, L.K.; Letellier, B.C.; Sasser, M.K.

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes an integrated approach to perform hazards and accident analyses for the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A comprehensive hazards analysis methodology was developed that extends the scope of the preliminary/process hazard analysis methods described in the AIChE Guidelines for Hazard Evaluations. Results fro the semi-quantitative approach constitute a full spectrum of hazards. For each accident scenario identified, there is a binning assigned for the event likelihood and consequence severity. In addition, each accident scenario is analyzed for four possible sectors (workers, on-site personnel, public, and environment). A screening process was developed to link the hazard analysis to the accident analysis. Specifically the 840 accident scenarios were screened down to about 15 accident scenarios for a more through deterministic analysis to define the operational safety envelope. The mechanics of the screening process in the selection of final scenarios for each representative accident category, i.e., fire, explosion, criticality, and spill, is described

  1. Traffic Accidents on Slippery Roads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fonnesbech, J. K.; Bolet, Lars

    2014-01-01

    Police registrations from 65 accidents on slippery roads in normally Danish winters have been studied. The study showed: • 1 accident per 100 km when using brine spread with nozzles • 2 accidents per 100 km when using pre wetted salt • 3 accidents per 100 km when using kombi spreaders The results...... of accidents in normally Danish winter seasons are remarkable alike the amount of salt used in praxis in the winter 2011/2012. • 2.7 ton NaCl/km when using brine spread with nozzles • 5 ton NaCl/km when using pre wetted salt. • 5.7 ton NaCl/km when using kombi spreaders The explanation is that spreading...

  2. Nuclear accidents and protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biocanin, R.; Amidzic, B.

    2005-01-01

    The numerous threats are our cruel reality. There is a great arsenal of nuclear weapons. Nuclear terrorism and nuclear accidents are always possible, especially during the transport and handling different nuclear material. Terrorist organisation also goes for coming into the possession of the nuclear means. Specific and important problem is human radioactive contamination in using nuclear energy for peaceful and military purpose. So, realisation of the universal and united system of NBCD gives us a possibility by using the modern communication equipment and very effective mobile units to react in a real time and successfully perform monitoring, alarming, protection and decontamination. (author) [sr

  3. Species-specific impact of introduced largemouth bass Micropterus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Canonical correspondence analysis showed that only one native species, the Marico barb Barbus motebensis, had a negative spatial association with M. salmoides. Assessment of relative distributions showed this species to be excluded from M. salmoides-invaded river reaches, whereas the other native species were not ...

  4. Information on the Chernobyl NPP accident and its consequencies prepared for IAEA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1986-11-01

    The information on the accident at the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl NPP and its consequences prepared for IAEA on the basis of the conclusions made by the Government commission constituted for investigating the accident causes and implementing the necessary emergency and reconstruction measures is given. The accident with reactor core disruption and partial destruction of the building Lappened on 26.04.86 at 1 hour and 23 minutes. The accident occurred before reactor shut-down for planned repairs during the testing of one of turbogenerators. The design features of the RBMK-1000 reactor plant, its main physical characteristics and parameters of the NPP safety system are considered. The chronology of the accident development and the results of analysis carried out using a mathematical model are given. The causes of the accident are analyzed. The measures for preventing the accident development and lessening its consequences as well as those for the environment radioactive contamination control and sanitary provisions are described in detail. The conclusion is made that the original cause of the accident is highly improbable combination of disorder and errors in operational conditions made by the personnel of the power unit. It is emphasized that development of the world nuclear engineering, besides advantages in the field of power supply and natural resources conservation, incurs also damages of international character. Among these are transboundary radioactivity transport, in particular, during serious radiation accidents and the danger of international terrorism and specific radiation hazard of nuclear objects under war conditions. All this defines the key necessity of deep international cooperation in the field of nuclear power engineering and its safeguarding.

  5. Evolution of divergent DNA recognition specificities in VDE homing endonucleases from two yeast species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Posey, Karen L; Koufopanou, Vassiliki; Burt, Austin; Gimble, Frederick S

    2004-01-01

    Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are mobile DNA elements that are thought to confer no benefit to their host. They encode site-specific DNA endonucleases that perpetuate the element within a species population by homing and disseminate it between species by horizontal transfer. Several yeast species contain the VMA1 HEG that encodes the intein-associated VMA1-derived endonuclease (VDE). The evolutionary state of VDEs from 12 species was assessed by assaying their endonuclease activities. Only two enzymes are active, PI-ZbaI from Zygosaccharomyces bailii and PI-ScaI from Saccharomyces cariocanus. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii recognition sequence significantly faster than the Saccharomyces cerevisiae site, which differs at six nucleotide positions. A mutational analysis indicates that PI-ZbaI cleaves the S.cerevisiae substrate poorly due to the absence of a contact that is analogous to one made in PI-SceI between Gln-55 and nucleotides +9/+10. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii substrate primarily due to a single base-pair substitution (A/T+5 --> T/A+5). Structural modeling of the PI-ZbaI/DNA complex suggests that Arg-331, which is absent in PI-SceI, contacts T/A+5, and the reduced activity observed in a PI-ZbaI R331A mutant provides evidence for this interaction. These data illustrate that homing endonucleases evolve altered specificity as they adapt to recognize alternative target sites.

  6. Evolution of divergent DNA recognition specificities in VDE homing endonucleases from two yeast species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Posey, Karen L.; Koufopanou, Vassiliki; Burt, Austin; Gimble, Frederick S.

    2004-01-01

    Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are mobile DNA elements that are thought to confer no benefit to their host. They encode site-specific DNA endonucleases that perpetuate the element within a species population by homing and disseminate it between species by horizontal transfer. Several yeast species contain the VMA1 HEG that encodes the intein-associated VMA1-derived endonuclease (VDE). The evolutionary state of VDEs from 12 species was assessed by assaying their endonuclease activities. Only two enzymes are active, PI-ZbaI from Zygosaccharomyces bailii and PI-ScaI from Saccharomyces cariocanus. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii recognition sequence significantly faster than the Saccharomyces cerevisiae site, which differs at six nucleotide positions. A mutational analysis indicates that PI-ZbaI cleaves the S.cerevisiae substrate poorly due to the absence of a contact that is analogous to one made in PI-SceI between Gln-55 and nucleotides +9/+10. PI-ZbaI cleaves the Z.bailii substrate primarily due to a single base-pair substitution (A/T+5 → T/A+5). Structural modeling of the PI-ZbaI/DNA complex suggests that Arg-331, which is absent in PI-SceI, contacts T/A+5, and the reduced activity observed in a PI-ZbaI R331A mutant provides evidence for this interaction. These data illustrate that homing endonucleases evolve altered specificity as they adapt to recognize alternative target sites. PMID:15280510

  7. Rapid species specific identification and subtyping of Yersinia enterocolitica by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephan, Roger; Cernela, Nicole; Ziegler, Dominik; Pflüger, Valentin; Tonolla, Mauro; Ravasi, Damiana; Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Maria; Hächler, Herbert

    2011-11-01

    Yersinia enterocolitica are Gram-negative pathogens and known as important causes of foodborne infections. Rapid and reliable identification of strains of the species Y. enterocolitica within the genus Yersinia and the differentiation of the pathogenic from the non-pathogenic biotypes has become increasingly important. We evaluated here the application of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for rapid species identification and subtyping of Y. enterocolitica. To this end, we developed a reference MS database library including 19 Y. enterocolitica (non-pathogenic biotype 1A and pathogenic biotypes 2 and 4) as well as 24 non-Y. enterocolitica strains, belonging to eleven different other Yersinia spp. The strains provided reproducible and unique mass spectra profiles covering a wide molecular mass range (2000 to 30,000 Da). Species-specific and biotype-specific biomarker protein mass patterns were determined for Y. enterocolitica. The defined biomarker mass patterns (SARAMIS SuperSpectrum™) were validated using 117 strains from various Y. enterocolitica bioserotypes in a blind-test. All strains were correctly identified and for all strains the mass spectrometry-based identification scheme yielded identical results compared to a characterization by a combination of biotyping and serotyping. Our study demonstrates that MALDI-TOF-MS is a reliable and powerful tool for the rapid identification of Y. enterocolitica strains to the species level and allows subtyping of strains to the biotype level. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. 32 CFR 644.532 - Reporting accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Reporting accidents. 644.532 Section 644.532... and Improvements § 644.532 Reporting accidents. Immediately upon receipt of information of an accident... that an accident has occurred, the former using command should be requested to send qualified explosive...

  9. Accidents with sulfuric acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajković Miloš B.

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Sulfuric acid is an important industrial and strategic raw material, the production of which is developing on all continents, in many factories in the world and with an annual production of over 160 million tons. On the other hand, the production, transport and usage are very dangerous and demand measures of precaution because the consequences could be catastrophic, and not only at the local level where the accident would happen. Accidents that have been publicly recorded during the last eighteen years (from 1988 till the beginning of 2006 are analyzed in this paper. It is very alarming data that, according to all the recorded accidents, over 1.6 million tons of sulfuric acid were exuded. Although water transport is the safest (only 16.38% of the total amount of accidents in that way 98.88% of the total amount of sulfuric acid was exuded into the environment. Human factor was the common factor in all the accidents, whether there was enough control of the production process, of reservoirs or transportation tanks or the transport was done by inadequate (old tanks, or the accidents arose from human factor (inadequate speed, lock of caution etc. The fact is that huge energy, sacrifice and courage were involved in the recovery from accidents where rescue teams and fire brigades showed great courage to prevent real environmental catastrophes and very often they lost their lives during the events. So, the phrase that sulfuric acid is a real "environmental bomb" has become clearer.

  10. Accidents in nuclear ships

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oelgaard, P L [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark); [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)

    1996-12-01

    This report starts with a discussion of the types of nuclear vessels accidents, in particular accidents which involve the nuclear propulsion systems. Next available information on 61 reported nuclear ship events in considered. Of these 6 deals with U.S. ships, 54 with USSR ships and 1 with a French ship. The ships are in almost all cases nuclear submarines. Only events that involve the sinking of vessels, the nuclear propulsion plants, radiation exposures, fires/explosions, sea-water leaks into the submarines and sinking of vessels are considered. For each event a summary of available information is presented, and comments are added. In some cases the available information is not credible, and these events are neglected. This reduces the number of events to 5 U.S. events, 35 USSR/Russian events and 1 French event. A comparison is made between the reported Soviet accidents and information available on dumped and damaged Soviet naval reactors. It seems possible to obtain good correlation between the two types of events. An analysis is made of the accident and estimates are made of the accident probabilities which are found to be of the order of 10{sup -3} per ship reactor years. It if finally pointed out that the consequences of nuclear ship accidents are fairly local and does in no way not approach the magnitude of the Chernobyl accident. It is emphasized that some of the information on which this report is based, may not be correct. Consequently some of the results of the assessments made may not be correct. (au).

  11. Accidents in nuclear ships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oelgaard, P.L.

    1996-12-01

    This report starts with a discussion of the types of nuclear vessels accidents, in particular accidents which involve the nuclear propulsion systems. Next available information on 61 reported nuclear ship events in considered. Of these 6 deals with U.S. ships, 54 with USSR ships and 1 with a French ship. The ships are in almost all cases nuclear submarines. Only events that involve the sinking of vessels, the nuclear propulsion plants, radiation exposures, fires/explosions, sea-water leaks into the submarines and sinking of vessels are considered. For each event a summary of available information is presented, and comments are added. In some cases the available information is not credible, and these events are neglected. This reduces the number of events to 5 U.S. events, 35 USSR/Russian events and 1 French event. A comparison is made between the reported Soviet accidents and information available on dumped and damaged Soviet naval reactors. It seems possible to obtain good correlation between the two types of events. An analysis is made of the accident and estimates are made of the accident probabilities which are found to be of the order of 10 -3 per ship reactor years. It if finally pointed out that the consequences of nuclear ship accidents are fairly local and does in no way not approach the magnitude of the Chernobyl accident. It is emphasized that some of the information on which this report is based, may not be correct. Consequently some of the results of the assessments made may not be correct. (au)

  12. Contributing factors in construction accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2005-07-01

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

  13. Experimental and modelling studies of iodine oxide formation and aerosol behaviour relevant to nuclear reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dickinson, S.; Auvinen, A.; Ammar, Y.; Bosland, L.; Clément, B.; Funke, F.; Glowa, G.; Kärkelä, T.; Powers, D.A.; Tietze, S.; Weber, G.; Zhang, S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Radiolytic reactions can influence iodine volatility following a nuclear accident. • Kinetic models have been developed based on atmospheric chemistry studies. • Properties of iodine oxide aerosols produced by radiation have been measured. • Decomposition of iodine oxides by the action of heat or radiation has been observed. - Abstract: Plant assessments have shown that iodine contributes significantly to the source term for a range of accident scenarios. Iodine has a complex chemistry that determines its chemical form and, consequently, its volatility in the containment. If volatile iodine species are formed by reactions in the containment, they will be subject to radiolytic reactions in the atmosphere, resulting in the conversion of the gaseous species into involatile iodine oxides, which may deposit on surfaces or re-dissolve in water pools. The concentration of airborne iodine in the containment will, therefore, be determined by the balance between the reactions contributing to the formation and destruction of volatile species, as well as by the physico-chemical properties of the iodine oxide aerosols which will influence their longevity in the atmosphere. This paper summarises the work that has been done in the framework of the EC SARNET (Severe Accident Research Network) to develop a greater understanding of the reactions of gaseous iodine species in irradiated air/steam atmospheres, and the nature and behaviour of the reaction products. This work has mainly been focussed on investigating the nature and behaviour of iodine oxide aerosols, but earlier work by members of the SARNET group on gaseous reaction rates is also discussed to place the more recent work into context

  14. Accidents with biological material and immunization against hepatitis B among students from the health area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gir, Elucir; Netto, Jeniffer Caffer; Malaguti, Silmara Elaine; Canini, Silvia Rita Marin da Silva; Hayashida, Miyeko; Machado, Alcyone Artioli

    2008-01-01

    Undergraduate students from the health area often handle piercing-cutting instruments in their academic activities, which exposes them to the risk of contracting infections. This study aimed to analyze accidents with biological material among these students. Out of 170 accidents registered, 83 (48.8%) occurred with Dentistry students, 69 (40.6%) with Medical students, 11 (6.5%) with Nursing students and in 06 (3.5%) of the cases there was no such information in the files. Most accidents, 106 (62.4%), occurred with students from private schools and 55 (32.3%) with those from public schools. Percutaneous accidents occurred in 133 (78.2%) exposures and there was immediate search for specialized health care in only 38 (21.3%) accidents. In 127 (74.7%) accidents, the immunization schedule against hepatitis B was complete. Therefore, schools need to offer courses and specific class subjects regarding biosafety measures, including aspects related to immunization, especially the vaccine against hepatitis B.

  15. Species and tissues specific differentiation of processed animal proteins in aquafeeds using proteomics tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasinger, J D; Marbaix, H; Dieu, M; Fumière, O; Mauro, S; Palmblad, M; Raes, M; Berntssen, M H G

    2016-09-16

    The rapidly growing aquaculture industry drives the search for sustainable protein sources in fish feed. In the European Union (EU) since 2013 non-ruminant processed animal proteins (PAP) are again permitted to be used in aquafeeds. To ensure that commercial fish feeds do not contain PAP from prohibited species, EU reference methods were established. However, due to the heterogeneous and complex nature of PAP complementary methods are required to guarantee the safe use of this fish feed ingredient. In addition, there is a need for tissue specific PAP detection to identify the sources (i.e. bovine carcass, blood, or meat) of illegal PAP use. In the present study, we investigated and compared different protein extraction, solubilisation and digestion protocols on different proteomics platforms for the detection and differentiation of prohibited PAP. In addition, we assessed if tissue specific PAP detection was feasible using proteomics tools. All work was performed independently in two different laboratories. We found that irrespective of sample preparation gel-based proteomics tools were inappropriate when working with PAP. Gel-free shotgun proteomics approaches in combination with direct spectral comparison were able to provide quality species and tissue specific data to complement and refine current methods of PAP detection and identification. To guarantee the safe use of processed animal protein (PAP) in aquafeeds efficient PAP detection and monitoring tools are required. The present study investigated and compared various proteomics workflows and shows that the application of shotgun proteomics in combination with direct comparison of spectral libraries provides for the desired species and tissue specific classification of this heat sterilized and pressure treated (≥133°C, at 3bar for 20min) protein feed ingredient. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Radiological accidents: education for prevention and confrontation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardenas Herrera, Juan; Fernandez Gomez, Isis Maria

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to train and inform on radiological accidents as a preventive measure to improve the people life quality. Radiological accidents are part of the events of technological origin which are composed of nuclear and radiological accidents. As a notable figure is determined that there have been 423 radiological accidents from 1944 to 2005 and among the causes prevail industrial accidents, by irradiations, medical accidents and of laboratories, among others. Latin American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru are some where most accidents have occurred by radioactivity. The radiological accidents can have sociological, environmental, economic, social and political consequences. In addition, there are scenarios of potential nuclear accidents and in them the potential human consequences. Also, the importance of the organization and planning in a nuclear emergency is highlighted. Finally, the experience that Cuba has lived on the subject of radiological accidents is described [es

  17. Potential behavior of depleted uranium penetrators under shipping and bulk storage accident conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mishima, J.; Parkhurst, M.A.; Scherpelz, R.I.

    1985-03-01

    An investigation of the potential hazard from airborne releases of depleted uranium (DU) from the Army's M829 munitions was conducted at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The study included: (1) assessing the characteristics of DU oxide from an April 1983 burn test, (2) postulating conditions of specific accident situations, and (3) reviewing laboratory and theoretical studies of oxidation and airborne transport of DU from accidents. Results of the experimental measurements of the DU oxides were combined with atmospheric transport models and lung and kidney exposure data to help establish reasonable exclusion boundaries to protect personnel and the public at an accident site. 121 references, 44 figures, 30 tables.

  18. HIV-1 Vif's Capacity To Manipulate the Cell Cycle Is Species Specific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Edward L; Becker, Jordan T; Fricke, Stephanie L; Patel, Kishan; Sherer, Nathan M

    2018-04-01

    Cells derived from mice and other rodents exhibit profound blocks to HIV-1 virion production, reflecting species-specific incompatibilities between viral Tat and Rev proteins and essential host factors cyclin T1 (CCNT1) and exportin-1 (XPO1, also known as CRM1), respectively. To determine if mouse cell blocks other than CCNT1 and XPO1 affect HIV's postintegration stages, we studied HIV-1 NL4-3 gene expression in mouse NIH 3T3 cells modified to constitutively express HIV-1-compatible versions of CCNT1 and XPO1 (3T3.CX cells). 3T3.CX cells supported both Rev-independent and Rev-dependent viral gene expression and produced relatively robust levels of virus particles, confirming that CCNT1 and XPO1 represent the predominant blocks to these stages. Unexpectedly, however, 3T3.CX cells were remarkably resistant to virus-induced cytopathic effects observed in human cell lines, which we mapped to the viral protein Vif and its apparent species-specific capacity to induce G 2 /M cell cycle arrest. Vif was able to mediate rapid degradation of human APOBEC3G and the PPP2R5D regulatory B56 subunit of the PP2A phosphatase holoenzyme in mouse cells, thus demonstrating that Vif NL4-3 's modulation of the cell cycle can be functionally uncoupled from some of its other defined roles in CUL5-dependent protein degradation. Vif was also unable to induce G 2 /M cell cycle arrest in other nonhuman cell types, including cells derived from nonhuman primates, leading us to propose that one or more human-specific cofactors underpin Vif's ability to modulate the cell cycle. IMPORTANCE Cells derived from mice and other rodents exhibit profound blocks to HIV-1 replication, thus hindering the development of a low-cost small-animal model for studying HIV/AIDS. Here, we engineered otherwise-nonpermissive mouse cells to express HIV-1-compatible versions of two species-specific host dependency factors, cyclin T1 (CCNT1) and exportin-1 (XPO1) (3T3.CX cells). We show that 3T3.CX cells rescue HIV-1

  19. Elucidating Microbial Species-Specific Effects on Organic Matter Transformation in Marine Sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoudi, N.; Enke, T. N.; Beaupre, S. R.; Teske, A.; Cordero, O. X.; Pearson, A.

    2017-12-01

    Microbial transformation and decomposition of organic matter in sediments constitutes one of the largest fluxes of carbon in marine environments. Mineralization of sedimentary organic matter by microorganisms results in selective degradation such that bioavailable or accessible compounds are rapidly metabolized while more recalcitrant, complex compounds are preserved and buried in sediment. Recent studies have found that the ability to use different carbon sources appears to vary among microorganisms, suggesting that the availability of certain pools of carbon can be specific to the taxa that utilize the pool. This implies that organic matter mineralization in marine environments may depend on the metabolic potential of the microbial populations that are present and active. The goal of our study was to investigate the extent to which organic matter availability and transformation may be species-specific using sediment from Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California). We carried out time-series incubations using bacterial isolates and sterilized sediment in the IsoCaRB system which allowed us to measure the production rates and natural isotopic signatures (δ13C and Δ14C) of microbially-respired CO2. Separate incubations using two different marine bacterial isolates (Vibrio sp. and Pseudoalteromonas sp.) and sterilized Guaymas Basin sediment under oxic conditions showed that the rate and total quantity of organic matter metabolized by these two species differs. Approximately twice as much CO2 was collected during the Vibrio sp. incubation compared to the Pseudoalteromonas sp. incubation. Moreover, the rate at which organic matter was metabolized by the Vibrio sp. was much higher than the Pseudoalteromonas sp. indicating the intrinsic availability of organic matter in sediments may depend on the species that is present and active. Isotopic analyses of microbially respired CO2 will be used to constrain the type and age of organic matter that is accessible to each species

  20. Link-N: The missing link towards intervertebral disc repair is species-specific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frances C Bach

    Full Text Available Degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD is a frequent cause for back pain in humans and dogs. Link-N stabilizes proteoglycan aggregates in cartilaginous tissues and exerts growth factor-like effects. The human variant of Link-N facilitates IVD regeneration in several species in vitro by inducing Smad1 signaling, but it is not clear whether this is species specific. Dogs with IVD disease could possibly benefit from Link-N treatment, but Link-N has not been tested on canine IVD cells. If Link-N appears to be effective in canines, this would facilitate translation of Link-N into the clinic using the dog as an in vivo large animal model for human IVD degeneration.This study's objective was to determine the effect of the human and canine variant of Link-N and short (s Link-N on canine chondrocyte-like cells (CLCs and compare this to those on already studied species, i.e. human and bovine CLCs. Extracellular matrix (ECM production was determined by measuring glycosaminoglycan (GAG content and histological evaluation. Additionally, the micro-aggregates' DNA content was measured. Phosphorylated (p Smad1 and -2 levels were determined using ELISA.Human (sLink-N induced GAG deposition in human and bovine CLCs, as expected. In contrast, canine (sLink-N did not affect ECM production in human CLCs, while it mainly induced collagen type I and II deposition in bovine CLCs. In canine CLCs, both canine and human (sLink-N induced negligible GAG deposition. Surprisingly, human and canine (sLink-N did not induce Smad signaling in human and bovine CLCs. Human and canine (sLink-N only mildly increased pSmad1 and Smad2 levels in canine CLCs.Human and canine (sLink-N exerted species-specific effects on CLCs from early degenerated IVDs. Both variants, however, lacked the potency as canine IVD regeneration agent. While these studies demonstrate the challenges of translational studies in large animal models, (sLink-N still holds a regenerative potential for humans.