Measurement of machinery safety level: European framework for product control: Particular case: Spanish framework for market surveillance

Current brief aims to introduce the concept of safety in European industrial sectors, particularly in mechanics and machinery industry. It also highlights the importance to ensure an even level of machinery safety along the European Union, setting up the appropriate frame and procedures to keep it under control. An overview over market surveillance activities for machinery (regulations, main actors and their roles) first at Community level, and secondly an approach to one of the Member States is also introduced.     

The influence of crime prevention through environmental design on victimisation and fear of crime

People's perception of crime and incivilities vary considerably depending on their attitudes towards environmental conditions. This paper investigated the hypothesised relationships between Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), victimisation and fear of crime. The checklist was administered by using on-site observation to measure the CPTED construct followed by a self-administered questionnaire to explore the residents' perceptions of victimisation and fear of crime in their area of residency. In all, 164 respondents from a selected group of residents were involved in this study. The structural equation modelling technique was employed and the results indicate that CPTED is negatively related to victimisation. The model also shows that there is a significant positive direct influence of victimisation on fear of crime. However, no direct significant relationship was found between CPTED and fear of crime, but a negative indirect relationship between CPTED and fear of crime was observed through victimisation.     

The relative importance of factors influencing the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: a factor approach for Malaysian vegetable farmers

This study develops the understanding of the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) by investigating the relative importance of a set of multidimensional factors in the Malaysian vegetable production sector. A factor approach is deployed to identify explanatory indicators within an integrative framework that is synthesized from the theory of interpersonal behavior and the theory of diffusion of innovation. We achieved this by analyzing a logistic regression model for the adoption of six individual SAPs (conservation tillage, intercropping, cover crops/mulches, crop rotation, organic fertilizers/composts, and integrated pest management). The findings indicate that adoption depends on a range of socio-economic, agro-ecological, institutional, informational, and psychological factors, as well as the perceived attributes of SAPs. Fundamental policy understanding of the issue should, therefore, be multidisciplinary. In addition, standardized coefficients reveal that the impact of statistically significant factors on adoption is unequal. In general, the most influential factor is the asymmetric distribution of resources across geographical locations. This is followed by financial capital and a number of factors, including the workforce size, the usefulness of information, Chinese ethnicity, and the perceived relative advantage of SAPs. Guided by this prioritization understanding, future SAPs promotion now has a better opportunity to target the more important areas. Similar research effort should be made to steer sustainable agriculture internationally.     

Performance assessment of integrated energy systems for HVAC applications

In this article, energy and exergy analyses are conducted for two integrated systems which can be used in HVAC applications. These two systems are analyzed for the cases of single generation, cogeneration and trigeneration, and their performances are evaluated through energy and exergy efficiencies. The parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of using cogeneration and extended to trigeneration on the system performance. To perform the comparisons between the systems for multiple options, the same amounts of outputs (in terms of electricity, heating, cooling) are produced for all systems. The energy analyses of systems 1 and 2 show a great benefit for moving from single generation to trigeneration, with the trigeneration efficiencies of 83.5% and 87.2%, respectively, and single generation efficiencies of 47% for both systems. However, the exergy analyses show that trigeneration may not always become more efficient than single generation, particularly for system 1, due to the fact that the trigeneration exergy efficiency is 38.7% and the corresponding single generation efficiency is 44.3%. For system 2, the trigeneration exergy efficiency is 52.7% while the single generation efficiency becomes 44.3%. Depending on the type of cogeneration or cogeneration design, the system can be more efficient.     

Inhalation exposure to volatile organic compounds in the printing industry

ABSTRACT

This study reports on the occupational inhalation exposure to VOCs of workers in the Kuwaiti printing industry. Using the evacuated canister methodology, we targeted 72 VOCs in three printeries and compared the concentrations to previous reports and relevant occupational exposure levels (OELs). We found that recent efforts in the printing industry to reduce VOC usage had been successful, as concentrations of key hazardous VOCs were substantially lower than anticipated. On the other hand, nearly all target VOCs were found. Non-production areas were sampled along with the offset printing areas, another strength of this study, and revealed exposures to hazardous VOCs among administers and digital printer and CTP operators. Exposure to ototoxic VOCs amounted to 1–3% of the OEL, consisting mostly of ethylbenzene, which was likely in use in two of the study printeries. Exposure to carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic VOCs was 15–20% of the OEL at four locations across the three printeries, consisting mostly of vinyl chloride and benzyl chloride. Vinyl chloride VOC was partially sourced from outdoors, but was also likely used inside the study printeries. Interestingly, concentrations of vinyl chloride were similar in most sampling locations to that of CFC-114, a CFC banned by the Montreal Protocol and not commonly used as a refrigerant. This unexpected finding suggests further study is warranted to identify the use of these VOCs in printeries. Exposure to hazardous VOCs up to nearly 50% of the OEL, consisting largely of bromoform and vinyl chloride. Bromoform was found in all the study printeries, sourced partially from outdoor air. The higher concentrations found inside the study printeries likely resulted from the use of the desalinated water for washing. This finding raises of emissions from sources other than blanket washes, and inks, etc. adding to the total VOC load in printery indoor air.

Implications: Results from this study indicate that efforts to reduce worker exposure to VOCs particularly dangerous to human health in recent years have been successful, but there is still much to be done to protect workers. Exposures to ototoxic and carcinogenic VOCs were identified, among both production and non-production workers. Unexpected findings included the apparent use in printing activities of the carcinogen vinyl chloride and CFC-114, banned under the Montreal Protocol. Observed lapses in safety procedures included failure to utilize ventilation systems and closing doors between work areas, indicating management and worker education should remain a priority.     

Optimum Methods of Inactivation of Strongyloides stercoralis Larvae from Reclaimed Wastewater

Strongyloidiasis presents a major health hazard when reusing wastewater. Albendazol with a concentration of 4 mg/l, a contact time of 45 min, pH 1.2 and pH 10.2, killed the larva. The larva was also killed with a 0.03% concentration of iodine and a detention time of 30 min or a 0.04% concentration of iodine and a contact time of 10 min. The required detention time to inactivate larva in water was found to be 17 days. The minimum revealed residual chlorine to kill the larvae was 4 mg/l with 120 min of detention time, and a minimum contact time was found to be 80 min with a residual of 23 mg/l. Many methods are available to inactivate the Strongyloides stercoralis, which could be acids, alkaline chemicals, larvicidal chemicals, super chlorination, or just detention time. The best method must be determined according to the prevailing specific environmental site and the feasibility of the selected method(s).     

Decolorization of Blue CL-BR dye by AOPs using bleach wastewater as source of H2O2

This research was focused on the investigation of the efficacy of advanced oxidation processes (Fenton,ozonation and UV/H_2O_2) for decolorization of reactive azo dye (Blue CL-BR) using bleach wastewater as possible source of H_2O_2.All the experiments were performed on the laboratory scale set-up.The results showed that colour removal efficiencies by UV or bleach (H_2O_2) alone were not so efficient.Fenton process with bleach wastewater was found to be the most effective at process conditions such as pH of 3 and H_2O_2/Fe~(2 ) ratio of 24:1,resulting in 64% colour removal.Almost complete colour removal,i.e.,99% and 95% were achieved by UV/H_2O_2 and UVfoleach wastewater in 30 and 60 min,respectively.Ozonation proved an efficient method for decolorization of Blue CL-BR dye at alkaline pH.It was possible to achieve 98% colour removal with 30 min of ozonation at pH 9.The colour removal of dye was found to follow first order kinetics.     

Manganese and trace-metal mobility under reducing conditions following in situ oxidation of TCE by KMnO4: a laboratory column experiment

The stability of Mn oxides, and the potential for mobilization of associated trace metals, were assessed by simulating the onset of microbially-mediated reducing conditions in a continuous-flow column experiment. The column had previously been used for an in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) experiment in which trichloroethylene was reacted with permanganate in the presence of aqueous trace metals, which produced Mn oxyhydroxides (MnO(x)) that sequestered the trace metals and coated the column sand. The column influent solution represented the incursion of ambient groundwater containing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) into an ISCO treatment zone. The influx of DOC-containing groundwater initiated a series of cation-exchange, surface-complexation and reductive-dissolution reactions that controlled the release of aqueous metals from the system. Peak concentrations in the effluent occurred in the order Na, Mo, Cr, Zn, K, Mn, Fe, Pb, Mg, Ni, Cu and Ca. Manganese release from the column was controlled by a combination of cation exchange, reductive dissolution and precipitation of rhodochrosite. The trend in Fe concentrations was similar to that of Mn, and also resulted from a combination of reductive dissolution and cation exchange. Cation exchange and/or surface-complexation were the primary mechanisms controlling Cu, Ni, Mo and Pb release to solution, while Zn and Cr concentrations did not display coherent trends. Although metal release from the treatment zone was evident in the data, concentrations of trace metals remained below 0.05 mg L(-1) with the exception of Mo which reached concentrations on the order of 1 mg L(-1). The establishment of anaerobic conditions in ISCO-treated aquifers may result in a prolonged flux of aqueous Mn(II), but with the exception of MoO(4)(2-), it is unlikely that trace metals sequestered with MnO(x) during ISCO will be released to the groundwater in elevated concentrations.     

Antibiofouling hollow-fiber membranes for dye rejection by embedding chitosan and silver-loaded chitosan nanoparticles

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The removal of toxic dyes from the wastewater and industrial effluents is a major environmental challenge. Various techniques have been employed for the removal of...