Leading and lagging: Process safety climate–incident relationships at one year

In order to evaluate the leading and lagging effects of process safety climate on incidents, we correlated safety climate survey data with organizational safety records from before and after the survey time period. We obtained data from a large, multinational organization with manufacturing operations involving a number of complex processes, chemicals, and hazardous substances. A total of 7728 employees from 62 sites responded to a safety climate survey in 2007. Individual responses were aggregated to the site-level and matched to site-level organizational records of process safety incidents 1 year before and 1 year after survey administration. Employees’ perceptions of good routine housekeeping were significantly related to environmental impact incidents as both a leading and a lagging indicator, as well as fires/explosions and property damage outcomes. Employees’ perceptions of systems to prevent backlogs and the extent to which health and safety problems are promptly corrected were also related to environmental releases and fires/explosions. Implications for process safety climate research, organizational survey strategies, and organizational climate change are discussed.     

Analytical survey of arsenic in geothermal waters from sites in Kyushu,Japan, and a method for removing arsenic using magnetite

The objective of this study was to survey the cation and anion contents of geothermal waters to gather fundamental information on geographical variations. Sixteen sites in hot spring areas on the island of Kyushu in Japan were studied. The study focused on the arsenic content of the samples. Very high arsenic concentrations (more than 0.1 mg/l) were detected in most of the geothermal waters sampled. High contents of boron and fluoride (more than 1.0 mg/l) were also detected in some samples. Arsenic removal was performed on a laboratory scale using columns packed with a magnetite-type adsorbent. The reduction of arsenic contamination to a concentration of less than 0.01 mg/l could be achieved in the early stages of adsorption (bed volume = 200).     

Hydrolysis of organic matter during autoclaving of commingled household waste

Commingled household waste (HW) that had a controlled composition was autoclaved at elevated pressures in the presence of saturated steam for one hour at the nominal temperature levels of 130 °C, 160 °C and 200 °C. The focus of this study was the impact of temperature/pressure on hydrolysis of organic matter during autoclaving and the extent of its hydrolysis. The pH decreased with autoclaving temperature with which it had a linear relationship, and ranged from 7.4 and 6 in floc, and 6.7 and 3.6 in steam condensate. Overall, organic matter solubilisation, as indicated by dissolved organic carbon, biological and chemical oxygen demands, and total dissolved solids, increased with temperature. Lignin did not appear to hydrolyse. Hemicellulose hydrolysed and degraded the most, followed by cellulose. The highest recoveries of hemicellulose and cellulose in solution were achieved at 160 °C, although the latter could be due to experimental error. The largest losses of hemicellulose and cellulose were recorded at 200 °C. The performance of the system in respect to hydrolysis was inferior compared to other hydrothermal systems, particularly those employing wet oxidation.     

Assessing Sustainability at Multiple Scales in a Rotational Bushmeat Hunting System

Abstract: Results of many studies show unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting across West/Central Africa. Nevertheless, these results are usually derived from snapshot sustainability indices in which critical parameters are often taken from the literature. Simple, more informative tools for assessing sustainability are needed. We evaluated the impact of bushmeat hunting across a range of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales in a comparison of different measures of sustainability. Over 15 months in 2002–2004 in and around a village close to Equatorial Guinea's Monte Alén National Park, we collected data via a village offtake survey, hunter‐camp bushmeat‐consumption diaries, hunter interviews, and following hunters during hunts. We compared 2003 data with a previous offtake survey (1998–1999) and interview reports back to 1990. In the past 14 years, average distance from the village at which hunters operated remained constant, with hunters switching back and forth between long‐established camps, although trapping effort increased. In the past 5 years, overall offtake and number of active hunters did not change substantially, although catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased slightly. Although the proportion of the two most commonly trapped species (Cephalophus monticola and Atherurus africanus) and gun‐hunted primates increased in the offtake, species presumably less robust to trapping decreased slightly. Apparent sustainability in economic terms may be masking gradual local extirpation of more vulnerable species before and during this study. Our results suggest that changes in prey profiles and CPUE may be the most accurate indicators of actual sustainability; these indices can be monitored with simple village‐based offtake surveys and hunter interviews to improve community management of bushmeat hunting.     

Brain myelination in rats treated with ionizing radiation in utero

Abstract

Effects of ionizing radiation on brain myelination and some physical development parameters were studied in laboratory rats (Fisher F‐344 inbred strain). Rats were treated with three different doses of radiation (150 rad, 15 rad, and 6.8 rad) delivered on the 20th day of prenatal life. Exposure to 150 rad reduced body, brain, ovary, kidney, heart and spleen weights. Prenatal exposure to 150 rad of radiation reduced the cerebral cortex weight by 22 percent at 30 days of age, and 20 percent at 52 days of age which caused a reduction in cerebral cortex myelin content by 20 and 23 percent at the ages of 30 and 52 days respectively. This dose did not affect the myelin content of the cerebellum or the brain stem, or the myelin concentration (mg myelin/g brain tissue) of the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and the brain stem. The cerebral cortex weight of the 15 rad treated rats was reduced at the age of 30 days. Exposure to 15 rad, and 6.8 rad did not affect either the myelin content or the myelin concentration of these brain areas.     

The effects of partial mortality on the fecundity of three common Caribbean corals

The recent intensification of human disturbances in the Caribbean has increased the prevalence of partial mortality on coral colonies. Partial mortality can change colony size by directly shrinking colonies or by splitting colonies into fragments. A reduction in colony size can also adversely affect fecundity and fitness as internal resources shift away from reproduction toward colony maintenance. This study aimed to determine whether three Caribbean coral species, Siderastrea siderea, Montastraea faveolata, and Diploria strigosa, along the reef tract in Puerto Morelos, Mexico (20^o52′N, 86^o51′W), continued to dedicate resources to reproduction when colonies were fragmented to pre-maturation size. Contrary to expectations, eggs were found in colonies that were smaller than the maturation size and had been subjected to partial mortality. The continued dedication of resources toward reproduction, even in the smallest colonies, suggests that resource trade-offs away from reproduction are not as rigid as previously suggested in stressed corals.     

The Role of Disaggregation of Asset Values in Flood Loss Estimation: A Comparison of Different Modeling Approaches at the Mulde River,Germany

In loss estimation there is a spatial mismatch of hazard data that are commonly modeled on an explicit raster level and exposure data that are often available only for aggregated administrative units. Usually disaggregation methods that use ancillary information to distribute lumped exposure data in a finer spatial resolution help to bridge this gap. However, the actual influence of different mapping techniques and ancillary data on the final loss estimation has not been analyzed yet. In this paper three methods are applied to disaggregate residential building assets using two kinds of land use/land cover (LULC) data. The resulting disaggregated assets are validated and compared using census data of the residential building number on the community and constituency level. In addition, the disaggregated assets are taken to estimate residential building losses due to the flood in August 2002 in 21 municipalities on the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany. Losses are calculated with the help of four loss models. In general, disaggregation helps to decrease the error variance within the loss estimation. It must, however, be stated that the application of sophisticated disaggregation methods does not lead to significant improvements compared to the straightforward binary method. Therefore more effort should instead be put into the provision of high-resolution LULC data. Finally, the remaining uncertainties in loss estimation are high and demand further improvements in all modeling aspects.