A safety self-management intervention for mining operations

PROBLEM: This quasi-experimental field study examined the efficacy of a safety self-management process to increase safety-related work practices in mining operations. METHODS: After a 7-week baseline, 15 miners participated in a safety self-management training and education presentation. The participants in a prebehavior condition (n=8) recorded their intentions to engage in specific percentages of safety-related work behaviors before starting their shift for the day. In contrast, participants in a postbehavior condition (n=7) recorded their percentages of safety-related work behaviors after their shift for the day. RESULTS: During withdrawal (4 weeks), the miners did not complete any self-monitoring forms. Based on 10,905 behavioral observations, safety self-management was effective at increasing the frequency of safety-related behavior (p<.05). For the prebehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 34.8% during intervention. Similarly, in the postbehavior condition, the mean percent safe score across three target behaviors increased 40.1% during intervention. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results suggest that employees who work in relative isolation or have little oversight, compared to traditional industrial workers, may benefit from a process by which they can systematically observe themselves.     

WATER HARVESTING TREATMENT EVALUATION AT GRANITE REEF1

ABSTRACT: Yearly runoff efficiencies (total runoff/total precipitation), threshold retentions (precipitation needed to initiate runoff), and runoff-efficiencies-after-thresholds were determined for several water-harvesting catchment treatments at the Granite Reef test site. This information was found to be useful for showing (1) overall performance of catchments with time; (2) the distribution of the precipitation among runoff, surface retention, and infiltration; (3) why, how, and when certain treatments weathered and failed; (4) when to repair treatments; and (5) how to design catchments (size, site preparation, material selection, etc.). New impermeable membranes with smooth surfaces yielded nearly 100% of the precipitation. An asphalt-fiberglass treatment continues this high efficiency after 10 years of weathering – polyethylene after 8; efficiency of butyl sheeting was high initially but decreased rapidly after 9 years weathering. A standard roofing treatment retained up to 30% of the precipitation in the gravel covering. A concrete catchment lost as much as 50% of the total precipitation through micropores and surface cracks. Silicone treatments rapidly lost repellancy and efficiency, while paraffin treatments have weathered 5 years with little loss of efficiency.     

Interpreting dynamics of aquatic resources: A perspective for resource managers

Since the presentation of the Leopold Report (Leopold et al. 1963) to the United States Secretary of the Interior, recommendations in the document for managing natural park resources on the ecosystem level have been included in the management policies of the National Park Service. In many instances, however, management programs have continued to focus on individual resource problems, without apparent concern for the ecological consequences on ecosystems. Without knowledge of the interrelationships of ecosystem components, solving one problem may result in other resource problems. Graphic approaches are presented as potential tools to view these complex interrelationships relative to the needs of the resource manager. Interpreting the dynamics of aquatic systems is emphasized.     

LAW,HYDROLOGY, AND SURFACE-WATER SUPPLY IN THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: Law and hydrology are inextricably woven together in the pattern of water resource development in the west. The former attempts to allocate a limited and valuable resource as the latter tries to define the limits of the resource. In the past an inadequate data base has made hydrologic estimates difficult and political factors have pushed the law into possibly conflicting commitments in the Colorado River Basin. Through the use of tree-ring research, hydrologists have produced a more definitive data base and placed water allocations such as the Colorado River Compact of 1922 in a clearer long-term perspective. This data base leads to the conclusion that the surface-water supply is about 13.5 million acre-feet per year. This hydrologic limit must be apportioned within an existing legal framework - the “Law of the River.” As development approaches the resource limit in the Upper Colorado River Basin, lawyers and hydrologists must act in concert toward the equitable solution of allocation and reallocation problems.     

DECISION-MAKING IN THE DEVLOPMENT OF URBAN WATERFRONTS FOR PARK/BUSINESS USE1

Abstract: Opportunities for the development of an amalgam of park and leisure-oriented commercial establishments in urban-core waterfont settings exist in many U.S. cities. Public awareness of the need to enhance the environmental quality of these waterfont areas has resulted in a demand for planning and implementation action. However, the lack of understanding of urban political systems has been an inhibiting factor in the development of this park/ business concept. The major factors that influence the decision-making process leading to the development of urban-core waterfronts for park/business use are identified inthis paper. Understanding this decision-making process can aid project implementation and avoid waste of planning effort in time, dollars, and productivity.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND RECEIVING-WATER STANDARDS1

ABSTRACT: An important enforcement question is, “What should be the relationship between ‘Best Management Practices’ (BMP) and receiving-water standards?” Nonpoint pollution dischargers are concerned about implementing a BMP program, only to find themselves in violation because receiving-water standards still have not been met. They are also concerned about the procedures a regulatory agency will utilize to determine the relative success of a BMP program. Successful management of nonpoint pollution requires that these concerns be addressed. Three alternative relationships have been developed. The recommended alternative is to implement the BMP program and use standards as a measure of the effectiveness of the program. Failure to achieve the standards would lead to a reevaluation of the BMP program. Enforcement activities against nonpoint dischargers would be restricted to the failure on their part to implement the previously agreed upon BMP program. Recommendations are also made as to measures regulatory agencies should take if their procedures to judge the relative success of a BMP program are to be technically and politically effective.     

COMPARING METHODS OF HYDROLOGIC REGIONALIZATION1

ABSTRACT: Data splitting is used to compare methods of determining “homogeneous” hydrologic regions. The methods compared use cluster analysis based on similarity of hydrologic characteristics or similarity of characteristics of a stream's drainage basin. Data for 221 stations in Arizona are used to show that the methods, which are a modification of DeCoursey's scheme for defining regions, improve the fit of estimation data to the model, but that is is necessary to have an independent measure of predictive accuracy, such as that provided by data splitting, to demonstrate improved predictive accuracy. The methods used the complete linkage algorithm for cluster analysis and computed weighted average estimates of hydrologic characteristics at ungaged sites.     

A Management Systems Review of the Superfund RI/FS: Opportunities for Streamlining

The Management Systems Review is an important component of EPA’s quality assurance program. MSRs enable managers to assess the effectiveness of environmental data operations and the quality assurance/ quality control activities designed to ensure that the results are of the expected quality. These reviews inform managers about aspects of the environmental data operation that are working well and those which may warrant some improvement. A recent review of the Superfund remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) has shown that the MSR is an excellent tool for providing a systematic definition of complex environmental data operations and for enabling a thorough analysis of these operations. The MSR utilized information gathered from interviews of Regional staff and management and from case studies of recently completed RI/FSs. The findings indicated that environmental data play an important role in most RI/FS decisions and that thorough and structured scoping is critical to the effectiveness of the RI/ FS. Analysis of the RI/FS process using a comprehensive flow model identified several opportunities for changes that may increase efficiency in data collection and the reliability of RI/FS decisions. These changes provide for more effective scoping activities, a streamlined feasibility study, and increased use of treatability studies during the RI. A pilot demonstration of these process changes is being planned for a Regional RI/FS.