Unintentional non-traffic injury and fatal events: Threats to children in and around vehicles

Objective: There have been substantial reductions in motor vehicle crash–related child fatalities due to advances in legislation, public safety campaigns, and engineering. Less is known about non-traffic injuries and fatalities to children in and around motor vehicles. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of various non-traffic incidents, injuries, and fatalities to children using a unique surveillance system and database.

Methods: Instances of non-traffic injuries and fatalities in the United States to children 0–14 years were tracked from January 1990 to December 2014 using a compilation of sources including media reports, individual accounts from families of affected children, medical examiner reports, police reports, child death review teams, coroner reports, medical professionals, legal professionals, and other various modes of publication.

Results: Over the 25-year period, there were at least 11,759 events resulting in 3,396 deaths. The median age of the affected child was 3.7 years. The incident types included 3,115 children unattended in hot vehicles resulting in 729 deaths, 2,251 backovers resulting in 1,232 deaths, 1,439 frontovers resulting in 692 deaths, 777 vehicles knocked into motion resulting in 227 deaths, 415 underage drivers resulting in 203 deaths, 172 power window incidents resulting in 61 deaths, 134 falls resulting in 54 deaths, 79 fires resulting in 41 deaths, and 3,377 other incidents resulting in 157 deaths.

Conclusions: Non-traffic injuries and fatalities present an important threat to the safety and lives of very young children. Future efforts should consider complementary surveillance mechanisms to systematically and comprehensively capture all non-traffic incidents. Continued education, engineering modifications, advocacy, and legislation can help continue to prevent these incidents and must be incorporated in overall child vehicle safety initiatives.     

Stability of a Coal Waste Artificial Reef

The feasibility of using U.K. coal-fired power station waste materials for artificial reef production is being examined. in June, 1989, an experimental artificial reef was constructed in Poole Bay, off the central south coast of the U.K., using three different mixtures of pulverised fuel ash (PFA), flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum and slurry, stabilized with cement and formed into blocks. Fifty tonnes of 40 × 20 × 20 cm blocks were formed into eight conical reef units replicating three different PFA/gypsum mixtures and one concrete control. the reef structure is 10m below chart datum on a flat sandy sea-bed.

Combustion of coal concentrates the heavy metal content in the resultant ash. the purpose of stabilization of the ash as blocks is twofold: to immobilize heavy metals (or other components) and to provide hard substratum for the attachment of organisms. to examine the effectiveness of this stabilization and hence the environmental compatibility of the block materials, heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn) content of the blocks has been monitored routinely over two years, to determine leaching rates. Sectional profiles indicate partial replacement of calcium content by magnesium. Associated with this there has also been some redistribution of heavy metals. Only in the case of cadmium has there been a detectable loss from the surface of blocks. Chromium and manganese concentrations appear to have increased. the metal content of the reef epibiota (including ascidians, Ascidia mentula; hydroids, Halecium spp.; bryozoans, Bugula spp. and red algae) growing on the ash blocks has been compared to that of epibiota attached to the concrete controls and surrounding sea-bed. to date no evidence of excess bioaccumulation of metals has been detected.

The physical integrity of the ash reef blocks has been maintained. There is evidence that the blocks are increasing in compressive strength.

An indication of the fishery enhancement potential of the experimental structure is given by the presence of eight commercially fished species (crustaceans and molluscs) including lobsters (Homarus gammarus).     

ARSENIC CONSUMPTION AND HEALTH RISK PERCEPTIONS IN A RURAL WESTERN U.S. AREA1

ABSTRACT: Churchill County, Nevada, has approximately 23,000 residents, among whom an estimated 13,500 relied on private wells for water supply in 2002. This study examined exposure to arsenic in water supplies among residents with private domestic wells and factors related to householder choice to consume tap water. It compared opinions and concerns about water quality with consumption habits and observed concentrations from tap water samples. The results from 351 households indicated that a majority (75 percent) of respondents consumed tap water and that a minority (38 percent) applied treatment. Approximately 66 percent of those who consumed tap water were exposed to concentrations of arsenic that exceeded 10 ppb. Water consumption was related to application of treatment. Among 98 respondents who were not at all concerned about the health effects of aqueous arsenic, 59 (60 percent) reported consuming tap water with concentrations of arsenic exceeding 10 ppb. Conversely, among 86 respondents who were highly concerned about arsenic, 33 (37 percent) consumed tap water with concentrations of arsenic exceeding 10 ppb. Results from a national sampling effort showed that 620 of 5,304 private wells sampled (11.7 percent) had arsenic concentrations above 10 ppb. The paradox of awareness of arsenic in water supplies coupled with consumption of aqueous arsenic in concentrations greater than 10 ppb may be common in other parts of the nation. Enhanced educational efforts, especially related to tap water sampling and explanations of efficacy of available treatment, may be useful means of reducing exposure through private water supplies.     

COMPARISON OF STOCHASTIC AND DETERMINISTIC DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING FOR RESERVOIR OPERATING RULE GENERATION1

ABSTRACT: Two dynamic programming models — one deterministic and one stochastic — that may be used to generate reservoir operating rules are compared. The deterministic model (DPR) consists of an algorithm that cycles through three components: a dynamic program, a regression analysis, and a simulation. In this model, the correlation between the general operating rules, defined by the regression analysis and evaluated in the simulation, and the optimal deterministic operation defined by the dynamic program is increased through an iterative process. The stochastic dynamic program (SDP) describes streamflows with a discrete lag-one Markov process. To test the usefulness of both models in generating reservoir operating rules, real-time reservoir operation simulation models are constructed for three hydrologically different sites. The rules generated by DPR and SDP are then applied in the operation simulation model and their performance is evaluated. For the test cases, the DPR generated rules are more effective in the operation of medium to very large reservoirs and the SDP generated rules are more effective for the operation of small reservoirs.     

The Influence of Chironomus plumosus Larvae on Nutrient Fluxes and Phosphorus Fractions in Aluminum Treated Lake Sediment

One of the methods to diminish the internal phosphorus (P) loading is inactivation of P by aluminum (Al). After addition of Al to lake water an Al(OH)₃ floc is formed, which settles to the bottom and initially form a lid on the sediment surface. The effects of Chironomus plumosus larvae on sediment nutrient fluxes and P binding-sites in the sediment after addition of Al were tested. C. plumosus larvae were added to sediment cores in which sediment–water fluxes of nutrients were measured four times. After one month, the sediment was sectioned with depth and P fractions were measured by sequential chemical extraction. The chironomids created burrows through the Al layer which caused a significantly increased efflux of P from the Al treated sediment, because the P had only limited contact to the added Al. The chironomids also affected the P fractions in the sediment by their bioturbating activity. Thus, they caused increased Al concentrations in the upper part of the Al treated sediment. This created an enhanced contact between Al and P in the upper 7 cm of the sediment and, as a result, an increased binding of P to Al and a lowered porewater P. The DIP efflux is therefore expected to be lowered after the initial phase. Al had no effects on the nitrogen fluxes, but the chironomids enhanced the release, and decreased the release or increased the uptake by the sediments.     

Partitioning and removal of perfluorooctanoate during rain events: the importance of physical-chemical properties

The potential for airborne emissions to undergo long-range transport or to be removed from the atmosphere is influenced by their physical-chemical properties. When perfluorooctanate (PFO) enters the environment, its physical-chemical properties can vary significantly, depending on whether it exists as an acid, a salt, or a dissociated ion. A summary of the physical-chemical properties of the three most likely environmental states: ammonium perfluorooctanoate (APFO), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and the dissociated perfluorooctanoate anion (PFO(-)) is presented to illustrate the distinct environmental properties of each. The most volatile species, PFOA, is shown to have a pH-dependent air-water partitioning coefficient (K(aw)). The variability of K(aw) with pH influences the potential for vapor formation from aqueous environments, including rain events. Using the pH-dependent K(aw) and measured rain and air concentrations, it is shown that vapor-phase PFOA is not likely to be present above measurable levels of 0.2 ng m(-3) (12 parts per quadrillion v/v) during a rain event. Because rain concentrations determined in this work are comparable to measurements in other parts of North America, it is unlikely that rain events are a significant source of vapor-phase PFOA for the general North American region. It is shown that PFOA exists primarily in the particle phase in ambient air near direct sources of emissions and is efficiently scavenged by rain droplets, making wet deposition an important removal mechanism for emissions originating as either PFOA or APFO. Washout ratios of particle-associated PFO were determined to range between 1 x 10(5) and 5 x 10(5), in the same range as other semi-volatile compounds for which wet deposition is an important mechanism for atmospheric removal and deposition onto soils and water bodies.     

Using Lichen Chemistry to Assess Airborne Tungsten and Cobalt in Fallon, Nevada

This paper describes the use of lichen chemistry to assess airborne tungsten and cobalt in Fallon, Nevada, where a cluster of childhood leukemia has been on going since 1997. Lichens and their rock substrates were collected from Rattlesnake Hill within Fallon as well as from four different rock outcrops located north, east, south, and west of Fallon and at least 20 km away from the town center. In the lichens themselves, W and Co are significantly higher within Fallon than in the combined control site outside of Fallon. In the rock substrates of the lichens, no differences exist in W and Co. The W and Co differences in lichens cannot be attributed to substrate geochemistry. Fallon is distinctive in west central Nevada for high airborne W and Co, and given its cluster of childhood leukemia, it stands to reason that additional biomedical research is in order to test directly the leukogenicity of combined airborne W and Co.