Sustainable livelihoods and people’s vulnerability in the face of coastal hazards

The present study investigates into the link between people’s vulnerability in the face of coastal hazards and sustainable livelihoods. It focuses on the town of Borongan in the Philippines and draws on questionnaire-based surveys and focus group discussions. This research shows that local fishermen are often compelled to go out fishing despite pending typhoon or storm surge to sustain the daily needs of their family. Its also demonstrates that the capacity of these people to protect themselves from the threat is constrained by poor and fragile livelihoods. In the event of a crisis, the study argues that people resort to a range of adjustments on their daily life which is rooted in the strength and diversity of their livelihoods. To reduce people’s vulnerability and enhance capacities to face coastal hazards, the study fosters Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction with special emphasis to sustainable livelihoods.     

Evaluating portable infrared spectrometers for measuring the silica content of coal dust

Miners face a variety of respiratory hazards while on the job, including exposure to silica dust which can lead to silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease. Currently, field-collected filter samples of silica are sent for laboratory analysis and the results take weeks to be reported. Since the mining workplace is constantly moving into new and often different geological strata with changing silica levels, more timely data on silica levels in mining workplaces could help reduce exposures. Improvements in infrared (IR) spectroscopy open the prospect for end-of-shift silica measurements at mine sites. Two field-portable IR spectrometers were evaluated for their ability to quantify the mass of silica on filter samples loaded with known amounts of either silica or silica-bearing coal dust (silica content ranging from 10-200 μg/filter). Analyses included a scheme to correct for the presence of kaolin, which is a confounder for IR analysis of silica. IR measurements of the samples were compared to parallel measurements derived using the laboratory-based U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration P7 analytical method. Linear correlations between Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and P7 data yielded slopes in the range of 0.90-0.97 with minimal bias. Data from a variable filter array spectrometer did not correlate as well, mainly due to poor wavelength resolution compared to the FTIR instrument. This work has shown that FTIR spectrometry has the potential to reasonably estimate the silica exposure of miners if employed in an end-of-shift method.     

Implementing infrared determination of quartz particulates on novel filters for a prototype dust monitor

Research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has pursued quartz analysis for the specialized filter assemblies of a new worker-wearable personal dust monitor (PDM). The PDM is a real-time instrument utilizing a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM). Standard fiberglass TEOM filters cannot accommodate the desired P-7 infrared analytical method used by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Novel filter materials were tested with the objective of demonstrating this type of analysis. Low temperature ashing and spectrometric examination were employed, revealing that nylon fiber candidate filters left minimal residual ash and produced no significant spectral interference. Avoiding titanium dioxide in all filter materials proved to be a key requirement. Fine quartz particulates were collected on prototype filters in a Marple chamber, either open-faced or through PDMs during test runs. The filters were then subjected to MSHA P-7 analysis and the spectrometrically based analytical results for quartz mass were compared to reference measurements. Also, PDM instrumental mass readings were compared to filter gravimetric measurements. Results suggest that the P-7 method is adaptable to variations in filter materials and that quartz dust analysis by the P-7 method when utilizing the new ashable PDM filters can have accuracy and precision within 10% and 4%, respectively. This is within the declared 13% accuracy and 7-10% precision of the P-7 method itself. Instrument mass readings had modest positive bias but met NIOSH accuracy criteria. Continued work with specialized PDM filters is merited, as they are a new type of TEOM sample amenable to ashing analysis of particulates.     

Academic publishing in disaster risk reduction: past,present, and future

Nowadays there are approximately 80 Anglophone journals that deal primarily with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and allied fields. This large array signals a sustained, if uneven, growth in DRR scholarship but also competition between the offerings of different publishers and institutions. The purpose of this article is first to summarise the development of academic publishing on DRR from its early beginnings to the present day. The paper then evaluates the current state of publishing in this field and discusses possible future trends. Next, it identifies some possible opportunities, challenges, expectations, and commitments for journal editors both within DRR and academia more broadly, including those that refer to changes in the use of terminology, the relentless increase in the number of papers submitted, the expansion and dangers of predatory journals, different peer review models, open access versus paywalls, citations and bibliography metrics, academic social networks, and copyright and distribution issues.     

Equivalency of a personal dust monitor to the current United States coal mine respirable dust sampler

The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, through an informal partnership with industry, labor, and the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration, has developed and tested a new instrument known as the Personal Dust Monitor (PDM). The new dust monitor is an integral part of the cap lamp that coal miners normally carry to work and provides continuous information about the concentration of respirable coal mine dust within the breathing zone of that individual. Previous laboratory testing demonstrated that there is a 95% confidence that greater than 95% of individual PDM measurements fall within +/-25% of reference measurements. The work presented in this paper focuses on the relationship between the PDM and respirable dust concentrations currently measured by a coal mine dust personal sampler unit utilizing a 10 mm Dorr-Oliver nylon cyclone. The United Kingdom Mining Research Establishment instrument, used as the basis for coal mine respirable dust standards, had been designed specifically to match the United Kingdom British Medical Research Council (BMRC) criterion. The personal sampler is used with a 1.38 multiplier to convert readings to the BMRC criterion. A stratified random sampling design incorporating a proportionate allocation strategy was used to select a sample of mechanized mining units representative of all US underground coal mines. A sample of 180 mechanized mining units was chosen, representing approximately 20% of the mechanized mining units in production at the time the sample was selected. A total of 129 valid PDM/personal sampler dust sample sets were obtained. A weighted linear regression analysis of this data base shows that, in comparison with the personal sampler, the PDM requires a mass equivalency conversion multiplier of 1.05 [95% C.I.=(1.03, 1.08)] when the small intercept term is removed from the analysis. Removal of the intercept term results in a personal sampler-equivalent concentration increase of 2.9% at a PDM measurement of 2.0 mg m(-3).