API Standard 521 new alternative method to evaluate fire relief for pressure relief device sizing and depressuring system design

Since the 1950's, API Standards have provided guidance on determining relief loads for equipment exposed to pool fires. The API method is empirical based on tests performed in the 1940's. There is increasingly widespread interest in analytical methods based on heat transfer principles to model fire heat input. The API committee agreed to include an analytical method in the 6th edition of API Standard 521 to establish relief loads for pressure relief devices and to design depressuring systems for the fire scenario. The analytical method provides more flexibility than the empirical method but has limitations (e.g., too many permutations are possible leading to potential under-sizing of the pressure relief device).This paper discusses the basis for the empirical method in API Standard 521 and provides comparisons of the empirical and analytical method with two more recent large-scale pool fire tests. This pool fire test data indicates that the empirical method will provide a conservative estimate of pool fire heat input for most applications and is still the method of choice when designing pressure relief systems. However, these recent tests indicate the empirical method needs to be modified when a vessel or equipment is partially confined by adjacent embankments or walls equal or greater than the vessel height. In such cases, the wetted area exponent should be 1.0 instead of 0.82.The analytical method is useful in determining time-versus-temperature profiles for heating unwetted vessels of varying wall thicknesses and materials of construction. These profiles, which depend upon the type of fire (e.g., unconfined pool fire, jet fire, etc.), can be combined with tensile strength and stress-rupture data to specify a depressuring system's pressure-versus-time profile. This will minimize failure and/or mitigate the effects of failure due to overheating from fire exposure.     

Evaluation of potential toxic effects of occupational inhalation exposure to licorice root dust

Licorice, a plant indigenous to southern Europe, the Middle East, and northern China, exhibits several pharmacological properties, including estrogenic, anti-tumoral, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic, and anti-tussive activities. Prolonged use of licorice is known to produce headaches, hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, edema, lethargy, dyspnea, sodium retention and loss of potassium in humans. However, to date, the potential adverse health effects due to occupational inhalation exposure of licorice root dust remains unknown. This study was, therefore, undertaken to address this issue. In this cross-sectional study, individuals (30 workers) occupationally exposed to licorice root dust at a licorice producing plant in Shiraz, Iran were recruited. Similarly, 30 healthy male unexposed employees at a telecommunications industry, with identical demographic and socioeconomic status, without any past or current exposure to licorice dust or habitual ingestion of this compound, served as the referent group. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured. Further, individuals underwent electrocardiography, clinical examination and blood chemistry tests. To assess the extent to which subjects were exposed to licorice root dust, atmospheric concentrations of this compound were also measured in the plant. There were no differences in age, weight, height and duration of exposure to licorice dust or length of employment between exposed and referent groups. Atmospheric measurement of licorice dust showed that concentration exceeded the permissible limit of 5 mg m^?3. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures of exposed subjects were significantly higher than those of the referent group. Similarly, blood analysis revealed that serum concentrations of potassium and platelet counts were significantly lower in exposed subjects than in referent individuals. Questionnaire data demonstrated that symptoms such as headaches, lethargy, and vertigo were more common in exposed subjects. No abnormal changes were noted in the electrocardiographs of exposed or referent subjects. Our findings provide evidence that inhalation exposure to high concentrations of licorice dust is associated with an increased prevalence of headache, lethargy, and vertigo, as well as hypertension and hypokalemia. None of these changes resulted in increased morbidity and mortality in exposed workers.     

Electrochemical degradation of Acid Red I dye and its treatment by UV light

Degradation of Acid Red I (ARI) dye by electrochemical treatment and UV light irradiation was studied in this work. The effect of the current density and the concentration of NaCl and dye on the decoloration and degradation efficiency were studied and optimized. The UV irradiation was monitored by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and chemical oxygen demand. The kinetic constants for decoloration and degradation were calculated. Degradation of 86% was achieved in 160?min and the first-order kinetic constant was 0.013?min^?1. Degradation products were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The mechanism for the degradation of ARI was proposed.     

Mutagenicity of diesel engine exhaust in the Ames / Salmonella assay using a direct exposure method

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential mutagenic activity of diesel engine exhaust in the Ames/Salmonella assay using a direct aerosol exposure system. So, TA 98 and TA 100 strains, with or without added S9 mix, were exposed to diesel emissions after varying degrees of filtration. Variants of these two strains, deficient in nitroreductase (TA 98NR and TA 100NR) or over-expressing O-Acetyl Transferase (YG 1024 and YG 1029), were also exposed to total (unfiltered) diesel exhaust to highlight the putative mutagenicity of any nitro-PAHs present in these emissions. Mutagenic activity of the diesel exhaust was demonstrated on Salmonella typhimurium, strains TA 100 and variants TA 100 NR and YG1029. The use of a particle filter did not modify the genotoxicity of the diesel emissions, indicating a major contribution of the gas phase to the mutagenicity of these diesel emissions. The prominent role of the particulate-associated nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAHs) claimed by some authors working on diesel exhaust organic extracts was not confirmed by our results with native diesel exhaust exposure. Our results show that the gas phase is potentially more mutagenic than the particles alone.     

Environmental human silver exposure

Environmental exposure to silver (Ag) was assessed in occupationally non-exposed adult human population by analyzing Ag in the hair (H?·?Ag) and whole blood (WB?·?Ag). H?·?Ag was analyzed in 311 (123 men, M; 188 women, W); while WB?·?Ag was determined in 235 of these individuals (90 M, 145 W). Women had more H?·?Ag than men (M 0.05 vs. W 0.076), whereas WB?·?Ag concentrations in men and women were not significantly different. A natural distribution of the median derivatives was utilized to generate the dataset to fit the logistic sigmoid curve to assess the current human body burden of environmental Ag population exposure for M and W separately. The H?·?Ag (µg?g^?1) below 0.0105 for M and 0.0145 for W, reflects low level of environmental Ag exposure. The adaptive physiological saturation phase followed where H?·?Ag rose rapidly, first for M and then for W in parallel with biological assay. Both parallel saturation curves converged and plateaued at 0.215 for M and 0.965 for W (µg?g^?1). The current level of human environmental Ag exposure is low, but cases of high Ag exposure occurred sporadically. In conjunction with the medical histories overt clinical neural toxicity may be expected for H?·?Ag at 4?µg?g^?1and higher. There were no significant correlation between the H?·?Ag and WB?·?Ag.     

Effects of repeated pesticide exposure on the peripheral and central nervous systems

This study was designed to compare organic farmers (comparison group) and pesticide-using farmers (pesticide group) in terms of neurobehavioral performance and sensorimotor function. The subjects were recruited in October 2004 from Chungnam Province and the neighboring Jeolla Province in western South Korea. Psychological assessment was carried out using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and the Bender Gestalt test. Neuroselective sensory nerve conduction threshold was measured at both left and right middle fingers by using an electrodiagnostic device to determine current perception thresholds (CPTs). Three independent CPT measurements were obtained from each test site by using sinusoidal stimuli at three frequencies. CPT testing showed no difference between the two groups. No significant differences were found in the large myelinated (2000?Hz stimulation; cutaneous touch, pressure), small myelinated (250?Hz stimulation; mechanoreceptive, pressure, temperature, fast pain) and small unmyelinated (5?Hz stimulation; polymodal nociceptive, temperature, slow pain, postganglionic sympathetic) C-fibers. Furthermore, there was no difference found between the pesticide and comparison groups in psychological variables, including intelligence quotient, orientation, memory, calculation, similarities, visual sensitivity, and psychomotor speed. In conclusion, chronic pesticide exposure has no apparent effect on either the peripheral or central nervous system in Korean farmers.     

Male reproductive toxicity of organophosphorous compounds: a review

Fertility is declining in many countries and there has been substantial interest in the potential adverse effects of exposure to environmental hazardous chemicals, including pesticides on male reproduction. Organophosphorous compounds (organophosphates, OP) constitute a heterogeneous category of chemicals specifically designed for the control of pests or plant diseases. OP are known to produce reproductive toxicity, resulting in a decrease in the fertility levels of humans and animals. This review article mainly focused on toxicity of some OP such as acephate, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, dimethoate, fenitrothion, malathion, and monocrotophos especially dealing with reproductive toxicity in males. Furthermore, this review deals with mode of action and clinical syndromes of OP. Considerable lab studies on animals concluded that OP produce adverse effects on male reproductive system.     

Influence of electromagentic field exposure on serum glucose and cortisol levels in Guinea pigs

Studies showed significant disturbances of electromagnetic fields on metabolism of carbohydrate, lipid, proteins, as well as enzyme activities. In this investigation, the effect of whole-body magnetic field (MF) on glucose and cortisol levels was studied on 30 adult male Guinea pigs. Guinea pigs were exposed to sinusoidal 5 Hz, 0.015 µT and 50 Hz, 0.21 µT MF for 2 and 4 h per day over a 7-day period. Blood samples were taken, and serum glucose was measured by an auto analyzer, and cortisol by radioimmunoassay. The results showed significant decreased serum glucose and cortisol levels in 50 Hz, 0.21 µT MF after 2 or 4 h exposure. A greater decrease was noted in exposure after 2 or 4 h with 50 Hz, 0.21 μT compared to 5 Hz, 0.015 μT MF in all samples. The results indicated a direct relation between MF exposure, serum glucose, and cortisol levels.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in amniotic fluids of pregnant women in south-central Turkey†

The concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in amniotic fluid of 200 pregnant women from the Cukurova region of Turkey. The concentrations of OCPs [hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (p,p′-DDT), and various metabolites], and different PCB congeners (28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) were determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection as follows: HCB 6.6 ± 4.7, ΣHCH 21.6 ± 14.2, ΣDDT 12.5 ± 7.5, and ΣPCBs 74.0 ± 54 ng mL^?1. Correlations of maternal or gestational age and levels of OCPs and PCBs were not significant. The levels of these organochlorine compounds (OCs) were below detection limit for 5% of the samples, 80% contained more than one OC. This study illustrates that prenatal exposure of a fetus to OCs is prevalent in the Cukurova region.     

中国浏阳农村地区人群暴露参数

以湖南省浏阳市农村地区人群为研究对象,采用问卷调查的方式对研究地区人群的暴露参数进行研究,结果表明:研究地区成人男性、女性的平均体质量分别为62.45和53.71kg,平均体表面积分别为1.710和1.546m2;成人日均饮水摄入量为1428 mL,P₉₅(第95百分位数)为3350mL,其中,日均直接饮水量为1035mL,P₉₅为2500mL;调查地区大米、面粉、鱼类、猪肉、鸡肉、蛋类(鸡蛋和鸭蛋合计)日均摄入量,成人男性为335.54、89.28、15.41、18.48、14.18和21.70g/d,成人女性为269.28、68.45、14.89、16.73、13.11和18.07g/d. 研究还发现,调查地区人群饮用水源以泉水和井水为主,分别占52.42%和36.31%,也有个别人群饮用河水和湖水等地表水. 研究结果与美国和日本暴露参数推荐值相比有较大差异,与我国同类研究相比也存在一定的差异,说明暴露参数具有区域性、种族性等特征.