Severity of accidents with hazardous materials A comparison between transportation and fixed installations

A review of accident case histories relevant to hazardous materials has been performed. From the literature, 1793 accident case histories involving hazardous materials were identified, most of them from the period 1960–1988. Of these 1793 accidents, 39% happened during transportation. In 682 accidents the consequences included fatalities, and of these 27% involved the transportation of hazardous materials. The accumulated frequency-fatality curves (so-called fN curves) have been constructed and are close to straight lines with a slope of –1, indicating that the probability of having an accident with, for instance, more than one hundred fatalities is approximately ten times lower than the probability of having an accident with more than ten fatalities. The accidents were grouped according to transportation type, and the difference between the various groups was tested using a standard χ² approach. No significant difference between fixed installations and transportation was found for accidents having consequences above three fatalities. Differences were found between Western Europe and North America and the rest of the world. Once an accident has happened, it seems to have more severe effects outside Western Europe and North America, both for transportation accidents and fixed installations. Comparison of fN curves for Western Europe and North America from different time periods did not show significant differences, indicating that once an accident has happened, it has the same probability of escalating now, as it had 20 years ago.     

“Slippery” work surfaces: Towards a performance definition and quantitative coefficient of friction criteria

There have been 50 years of research in walking/working surface slipperiness and coefficient of friction (COF) measurements. Nevertheless, numerous standards address slip/fall accidents only in terms of requiring surfaces to be qualitatively “nonslippery.” The literature useful for establishing quantitative criteria for “slippery” vs. “slip-resistant” have been summarized here. A performance definition for “slippery work surfaces” is proposed. Recommendations applicable to standards-making organizations are made, including changing terms such as “non-slip” to “slip-resistant” and defining “slippery” in terms of quantitative COF values. For persons walking unloaded on level surfaces, a COF standard of 0.5 would be reasonable. Research is recommended to determine if “slip-resistance” requirements and accident prevention could be achieved more easily be controlling the type of shoe, type of task, or amount of surface contaminant rather than controlling only the COF of the basic surface and its coating.     

Development of a method for predicting the ignition of explosive atmospheres by mechanical friction and impacts (MECHEX)

Mechanical friction and impacts is still today a main cause of ignition of explosive atmospheres (ATEX) in the industry and this trend seems to be stable in time. This situation certainly results from a significant gap of knowledge in the underlying mechanisms so that the parameters to play on are not precisely identified. In this programme of European dimensions, the process of degradation of the mechanical energy into heat during friction and impacts have been studied.

An extensive experimental programme is presented to this end. The mechanisms of dissipation of the mechanical energy into heat during friction has been studied with rubbing machines in which a slider equipped with temperature sensors rubs against a rotating wheel. For impacts, a new device has been developed using a special “air driven cannon” to propel a projectile accurately up to 50 m/s onto an inclined target. A very significant effort has been reserved to the investigation of the ignition mechanisms, not only for ATEX but also for dust accumulations.

Some “simple” modelling is proposed on purpose of practical applications. For frictional situations, a critical rubbing power is calculated without any limitations about any lower boundary concerning the rubbing velocity. For “impacts”, the relevant parameter for ignition is not the kinetic energy of the projectile but its velocity and the nature of the materials.     

Prevention and suppression of explosions in gas-air and dust-air mixtures using powder aerosol-inhibitor

The prevention and suppression of explosions is a very topical field of research because annually hundreds of coal mine workers became their victims. In this research a very effective powder “powder for suppression of explosions” (“PSE”) for the suppression of explosions has been developed and tested. The experiments on suppression of explosions of a methane–air mixture (MAM) at a laboratory conditions using “PSE”-powder have been carried out. The possibility of lowering the power of coal-dust explosion with the help of a “PSE”-powder has been investigated. The feasibility of almost instantaneous disperse of powders using intentionally created mini-explosions (ammonal) was investigated. The barrel-suppressor of explosion in the experimental adit (tunnel) was studied and the large-scale tests for suppression of MAM-explosions in experimental adit were also subjects of study.     

Accident rates of drivers with bioptic telescopic lenses

The major purpose of this study was to determine the accident rate of drivers with bioptic telescopic lenses (“bioptic drivers”) in California. The bioptic driver group consisted of 229 drivers, while a randomly selected comparison sample consisted of 21,064 drivers. The 2-year total and fatal/injury accident rates of the bioptic group were normalized to the age/sex distribution of the comparison sample. Normalized accident rates for bioptic drivers were significantly greater than the corresponding rates for comparison drivers. The study also included an analysis of the driving records of bioptic drivers prior and subsequent to acquisition of telescopic lenses and an analysis of total and fatal/injury accidents for bioptic and comparison drivers with valid licenses only. It was recommended that California continue to license bioptic drivers, but with greater use of license restrictions and more stringent post-licensing control.     

“Vybuchovy trojuhelnik”: A software tool for evaluation of explosibility of coal mine atmosphere

Rescue operations during mine fires or methane explosions are highly dangerous for rescue workers. The knowledge of the composition of the coal mine atmosphere and the calculations of its explosibility may help to increase the safety of the rescuers. In the Czech Republic, a system called “Mine Gas Laboratory” (DPL) has been used for these purposes. The DPL allows measurement of the composition of the mine atmosphere and transmits the data necessary for evaluation to the surface. Up to now the explosibility evaluation of the coal mine atmosphere has depended either on the rescuers’ experience or on software code calculation. The code called “Vybuchovy trojuhelnik” (explosion triangle) is a graphical computing system intended for fast assessment of explosibility of fuel–air mixture. This article introduces the code and describes two simple methods of explosibility evaluation. The first method is “explosion triangle analysis”—a graphical method based on empirical graphs transformed into equations. The second method uses thermodynamic calculation based on chemical balance dynamics and Gibbs and Helmholtz energy. According to the requirements of the Czech Bureau of Mining (CBU) and Central Mine Rescue Service (HBZS), the code solves the problems of explosion triangle for both standard and non-standard coal mine atmosphere compositions. Unfortunately, the atmosphere composition must be introduced manually due to the unknown format of the data transmitted from the old DPL model. On 1 September 2005, a project started to develop a new system for on-line monitoring and atmosphere explosibility evaluation. The system should be able to measure CO₂, O₂, CH₄, H₂ and CO concentrations as well as the wind speed, temperature and humidity. The “Vybuchovy trojuhelnik” code will be used as a basis for explosibility evaluation, and an on-line connection with the new model of DPL will be established.     

Under-Reporting of Accidents Involving Biological Material by Nursing Professionals at a Brazilian Emergency Hospital

Background. Pathogens can be transmitted to health professionals after contact with biological material. The exact number of infections deriving from these events is still unknown, due to the lack of systematic surveillance data and under-reporting. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out, involving 451 nursing professionals from a Brazilian tertiary emergency hospital between April and July 2009. Through an active search, cases of under-reporting of occupational accidents with biological material by the nursing team were identified by means of individual interviews. The Institutional Review Board approved the research project. Results. Over half of the professionals (237) had been victims of one or more accidents (425 in total) involving biological material, and 23.76% of the accidents had not been officially reported using an occupational accident report. Among the under-reported accidents, 53.47% were percutaneous and 67.33% were bloodborne. The main reason for nonreporting was that the accident had been considered low risk. Conclusions. The under-reporting rate (23.76%) was low in comparison with other studies, but most cases of exposure were high risk.     

What-You-Look-For-Is-What-You-Find – The consequences of underlying accident models in eight accident investigation manuals

Accident investigation manuals are influential documents on various levels in a safety management system, and it is therefore important to appraise them in the light of what we currently know – or assume – about the nature of accidents. Investigation manuals necessarily embody or represent an accident model, i.e., a set of assumptions about how accidents happen and what the important factors are. In this paper we examine three aspects of accident investigation as described in a number of investigation manuals. Firstly, we focus on accident models and in particular the assumptions about how different factors interact to cause – or prevent – accidents, i.e., the accident “mechanisms”. Secondly, we focus on the scope in the sense of the factors (or factor domains) that are considered in the models – for instance (hu)man, technology, and organization (MTO). Thirdly, we focus on the system of investigation or the activities that together constitute an accident investigation project/process. We found that the manuals all used complex linear models. The factors considered were in general (hu)man, technology, organization, and information. The causes found during an investigation reflect the assumptions of the accident model, following the ‘What-You-Look-For-Is-What-You-Find’ or WYLFIWYF principle. The identified causes typically became specific problems to be fixed during an implementation of solutions. This follows what can be called ‘What-You-Find-Is-What-You-Fix’ or WYFIWYF principle.     

突发有毒气体泄漏事故应急模型开发

针对突发有毒气体泄漏事故,基于环境毒理学、GIS以及运筹学等基本方法和研究成果,探讨应急模型的建模方法和开发过程。使用高斯烟羽模型预测泄漏气体的扩散;基于毒气负载和AEGL标准评估事故危害,并开发以建筑物吸引率为核心的影响居民估算方法;基于最小伤害准则计算最佳应急疏散路线,并使用Logit模型进行疏散暴露评估;以最短救援时间为目标构建医疗资源的配置模型。将应急模型应用于模拟的气体泄漏场景,结果表明,模型开发方法有效,应急模型具有实用性,能够为应急决策提供重要的参考。     

A learning-by-doing strategy to improve top management involvement in safety

The growth of legal regulations in occupational safety during the 70's alienated to some extent top management from health and safety issues; safety was regarded as an activity of safety professionals and labour inspection. This lack of commitment to safety management led to reduced activity and awareness. However, both research and practice indicate that the role of top management is of crucial importance for achieving results in safety.Having realized the problem and the lack of appropriate training to meet the demands of top management, a program called “One hour for safety management” has been developed. The training is arranged in an “action” setting, during the formal meeting of the executive board of the company. The program consists of four main parts: (1) Principles of modern safety management, (2) The company's accident insurance system, the interdependency between compensation costs and premiums, (3) The safety situation of the company; accidents, premiums and losses, hazards, safety program, and (4) Setting the safety targets and action plans required. More recently, a short audit process has been developed to reveal the important sources of loss and the state of affairs in the company's loss control systems. A special software package includes essential handouts of the safety management meetings complemented by self-auditing tools.The approach initiated or revived top management interest in and awareness of safety in several companies. The success of the meeting seems to depend on several factors, e.g. consultation skills, safety expertise, style of presentation, corporate culture and co-operation in the preparation of the session. The factors that contribute to an effective training for top management should further be analyzed, and the impact of the management training on accident rates is a task for evaluation studies in future.     

基于贝叶斯网络的一种事故分析模型

贝叶斯网络被认为是人工智能研究中不确定性知识表示和推理的重要工具。当前在系统安全领域中已开始运用贝叶斯网络技术进行故障诊断分析，然而故障只是诱发事故的因素之一，无法系统的评价事故背后的隐患，对事故后果的预测也甚少涉及。笔者将贝叶斯网络作为一种事故分析手段，在事故致因理论的基础上提出了一种基于危险因素-事故-事故危害的三层贝叶斯网络拓扑模型；阐述了网络模型层次间的因果关联关系、各层次的构成、节点的描述方法以及网络模型的构建方法；最后通过一个天然气球罐的分析案例验证了该模型分析方法的可行性和有效性。     

我国高速公路交通事故应急救援体系的构建

与发达国家相比,我国高速公路交通事故应急救援体系很不完善,针对体系中存在的一系列问题,结合我国高速公路交通的实际情况,提出了构建我国高速公路交通事故应急救援体系的思路,给出了应急救援体系的构架,并对该救援体系各要素、构建和运行中的关键问题分别进行分析和研究;最后从应急救援体系的硬件和软件两方面提出了我国高速公路交通事故应急救援体系构建和运行的保障措施。     

Slip and fall accident prevention: A review of research, practice, and regulations

This paper summarizes current research, practices, and regulations regarding walking/working surface slipperiness and coefficient of friction (COF) measurements. The literature and data are reviewed from three aspects:

1. (a) the biomechanics of walking and psychophysiological factors involved in slips and falls studied by the scientific community,

2. (b) various measuring devices and methods developed in an attempt to quantify the “slipperiness” of walking/working surfaces, and

3. (c) an acceptable quantitative standard for the “slipperiness” of surfaces and the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on such a standard.

Unresolved issues related to slip-resistance are identified. A multifaceted approach and synergy from researchers, the building industries, standards organizations, and government are needed to obtain concensus on such issues.     

Scaling parameters for vented gas and dust explosions

Results of experiments or calculations for vented explosions are usually presented by expressing a term containing the peak (reduced) pressure as a function of a vent parameter. In gas explosions, the reactivity of the system has been typically characterized through an effective burning velocity, u_f. In the case of dust explosions, a normalized peak rate of pressure rise, K(=V^1/3(dp/dt)_max), has been used instead. Depending on the chosen approach, comparisons between systems with the same “reactivity” take different meanings. In fact, correlation formulas resulting from these two approaches imply different scaling between important system parameters. In the case of a constant-u_f system, and for sufficiently large vent areas, the reduced pressure, Δp_r, is approximately proportional to the square of the peak unvented pressure, Δp_m. On the other hand, correlations developed for constant-K systems imply proportionality of Δp_r with Δp_m raised to a power between −5/3 and −1, with the exact value depending on the assumptions made on the shape of the pressure profile. While the ultimate resolution of the details of the scaling may require recourse to experiments, this theoretical analysis offers a tool for the planning of such experiments and for the interpretation of their results. The paper provides a discussion of these scaling issues with the help of predictions from an isothermal model of vented explosions.     

建筑安全事故应急措施推理研究

为了加强对建筑安全事故历史案例经验的利用,提高建筑安全事故应急管理的信息化水平,对如何利用智能化技术制定事故应急措施进行研究。将规则推理引入案例推理中,建立了建筑安全事故应急措施推理模型。通过计算综合相似度,在案例库中检索出相似案例的基础上,根据关键属性运用规则推理对相似案例的应急措施进行适用性修改。计算特征属性权重时,利用灰色关联分析法对传统粗糙集方法进行改进,对冗余属性提出了灰色重要度的概念,避免了冗余属性权重为0的情况。选取基坑事故案例对模型进行实例分析,结果表明:建筑安全事故应急措施推理模型具有普遍适用性,可应用于事故应急管理。     

港口企业事故应急救援预案编制的研究

为了加强企业危机管理,许多港口企业都已建立企业应急预案,然而实际调查表明港口企业事故应急体系存在很多问题,可操作性较差。笔者经过多方调查和对相关港口广泛资料的分析和研究,提出港口企业事故预案的主要内容,认为该预案的编写应分3步进行:预案的准备、预案的编制以及预案的实施与修订。一个完整的港口企业事故应急预案应包括四级文件依次为总预案、程序文件、说明书以及应急行动记录,并对每级文件中的每一文件要素都做出细致的说明和描述,给出具体的考虑因素和研究对象。该预案编制技术已在镇江港口各企业得到广泛应用。     

应急演练突发事件的情景构建研究和应用

近年来国家高度重视地方政府和企业的应急管理水平,传统的预测应对模式不能很好应对当今突发事件,而需要向情景应对模式转变。为了将情景构建技术更好的应用到应急管理领域中,本文研究并应用了应急演练突发事件的情景构建。首先,阐述了应急演练突发事件的情景结构模型;其次介绍了应急突发事件情景构建的步骤和具体内容;最后将重大突发事件情景构建应用到昆明市原油管道泄漏事故中进行分析。因此对于情景-应对型事故情景构建理论应用在石油石化企业生产安全事故方面具有重要借鉴意义。     

基于案例推理的突发环境事件应急决策模型

突发环境事件不确定性高、演化过程复杂,给企业及政府的应急工作带来很大的困难,故如何提高应急决策的质量,是相关应急工作的重点之一。为了增强以往经验的可用性,利用本体模型进行案例的存储,根据情景构成要素提取方法对情景进行多维的空间表达,在此基础上优化情景匹配算法,实现基于情景的应急决策。最后,通过突发环境事件实例应用,验证该方法能够快速建立实例与本体模型之间的关系,提高知识的可用性和共享性,实现情景的多维表达,进而满足“情景-应对”的应急决策要求。