Lessons after Bhopal: CSB a catalyst for change

The Bhopal tragedy was a defining moment in the history of the chemical industry. On December 3, 1984, a runaway reaction within a methyl isocyanate storage tank at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant released a toxic gas cloud that killed thousands and injured hundreds of thousands. After Bhopal, industrial chemical plants became a major public concern. Both the public and the chemical industry realized the necessity of improving chemical process safety.

Bhopal served as a wake-up call. To prevent the same event from occurring in the United States, many legislative and industrial changes were invoked—one of which was formation of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). The ultimate goal of CSB is to use the lessons learned and recommendations from its investigations to achieve positive change within the chemical industry—preventing incidents and saving lives.

Although it seems clear that the lessons learned at Bhopal have improved chemical plant safety, CSB investigations indicate that the systemic problems identified at Bhopal remain the underlying causes of many incidents. These include:

• Lack of awareness of reactive hazards.

• Lack of management of change.

• Inadequate plant design and maintenance.

• Ineffective employee training.

• Ineffective emergency preparedness and community notification.

• Lack of root cause incident investigations and communication of lessons learned.

The aim of this paper is to present common themes from recent cases investigated by CSB and to discuss how these issues might be best addressed in the future.

This paper has not been independently approved by the Board and is published for general informational purposes only. Any material in the paper that did not originate in a Board-approved report is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent an official finding, conclusion, or position of the Board.     

流化床O2/CO2燃烧技术和化学链燃烧技术

O2／CO2燃烧技术不仅能使分离收集CO2和处理SO2容易进行，还能减少NOx排放，是一种能够综合控制燃煤污染物排放的新型洁净燃烧技术。流化床O2／CO2燃烧技术将流化床和O2／CO2燃烧技术的优点结合起来，有可能取得更好的效果。化学链燃烧技术打破了自古以来的火焰燃烧概念，开拓了根除燃料型NOx生成、控制热力型NOx产生与回收CO2的新途径，是解决能源与环境问题的创新性突破口。介绍了流化床O2／CO2燃烧技术和流化床化学链燃烧技术的原理和研究现状，比较了它们之间的差别，展望了发展前景。     

污染物排放相关指标计算方法的研究

针对传统的污染排放数据指标计算方法存在的问题,提出污染物排放指标应根据排污强度和经济指标确定的新思路,同时提出污染物排放指标数据的快速测算模型设计.建议通过环境监测数据或物料衡算数据确定每个排污单位的平均排污强度,作为计算机处理的参数,再由该排污单位申报每月的经济指标(产量或产值),输入计算机计算其产污量、排污量和去除量.实施计算机管理的关键是选取适当的数据计算模型.新思路应该能够规范计算程序,建立污染源动态数据库,对排污数据实行有效的统计分析.     

Reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory in Chinese drivers

Objective: The Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI) has been widely used in assessing the associations between driving styles and traffic violations and accidents in different cultural contexts. Due to the lack of a valid instrument to assess driving style, studies concerning driving style and its influence factors are limited in China. Thus, this study aimed to adapt and validate a Chinese version of the MDSI.

Methods: Seven hundred and sixty drivers aged from 19 to 60 years old were asked to complete the MDSI and a personality scale (trait anger, sensation seeking, altruism, and normlessness). Exploratory factory analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to obtain the factorial structure of the MDSI. The external validity of the MDSI was then evaluated by examining the associations between driving styles and personality traits, demographic variables, and traffic violations and crashes.

Results: EFA revealed a 6-factor structure of the MDSI (i.e., risky, anxious, angry, distress reduction, careful, and dissociative driving styles). CFA confirmed that the model fit of the MDSI was acceptable. The MDSI factors were moderately or weakly correlated with trait anger, sensation seeking, altruism, and normlessness. Significant gender and age differences in driving styles were found. Moreover, drivers who had traffic violations or crashes in the past year scored higher on risky and angry driving styles and lower on careful driving style than those who had not have traffic violations or crashes.

Conclusions: The Chinese version of the MDSI proved to be a reliable, valid, and highly useful instrument. It could be used to assess Chinese drivers who are at risk due to their maladaptive driving styles.     

Applicability of hybrid bionic optimization models with kernel-based extreme learning machine algorithm for predicting daily reference evapotranspiration: a case study in arid and semiarid regions,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The accurate prediction of daily reference crop evapotranspiration (ETO) enables effective management decision-making for agricultural water...     

雷管壳体安全检测过程的模拟与检测时间的确定

采用数值模拟与现场试验相结合的方法,分析了带缺陷雷管在气压检测过程中气体的泄漏过程,确定了最佳的检测时间。采用Fluent建立了缺陷雷管正气压检测模型,分析了缺陷在不同位置处的气体泄漏过程,研究了气体泄漏过程中,雷管内部气压的分布及其随时间变化过程,结果表明:距雷管顶端的缺陷因尺寸较大,所以该泄漏点的压强要大于侧壁处,而气体泄漏流速小于侧壁处,综合分析缺陷处和雷管内部的气体压降过程及试验,可确定4s为最佳的充气时间,5s作为最佳的雷管质量诊断时间。     

大尺寸短波发射天线现场测试技术研究

三线、对数周期等大尺寸天线大量应用于通信台站与舰船上,然而,考虑到天线放置地点、工作频段、通信覆盖范围等要求,这类天线都具有较大的物理尺寸,在实验室环境和外场试验环境下都无法直接测量辐射方向图、发射效率、驻波比等天线性能指标。以大尺寸短波发射天线现场测试技术为研究对象,分析了大尺寸短波发射天线现场测手段的必要性与所存在的不足,在传统现场测试方法的基础上,提出了一种基于无人机的短波发射天线现场测试方法,对信台站与舰艇上大尺寸短波发射天线的设计、施工、调试、维修、以及现场系统联调等环节起到保障作用。     

长期施肥下浙江稻田不同颗粒组分有机碳的稳定特征

依托浙江水网地区稻田长期定位施肥试验(1996~2013年),利用固态13C核磁共振波谱技术,研究长期不同施肥措施下土壤各颗粒组分有机碳含量及其化学结构特征.结果表明,与不施肥对照(CK)相比,秸秆与化肥配施(NPKRS)、栏肥与化肥配施(NPKOM)、单施化肥(NPK)和单施栏肥(OM)处理均显著(P0.05)增加了砂粒(2~0.02 mm)、粉粒(0.02~0.002mm)和黏粒(0.002 mm)组分中有机碳含量;而单施秸秆(RS)处理仅显著增加砂粒组分有机碳含量.此外,与单施化肥处理相比,有机肥和化肥配施促进了新增有机碳在粉粒和黏粒组分的分配,更有利于新增有机碳的稳定.应用13C-NMR波谱技术进行结构表征,结果表明粉粒和黏粒组分有机碳的化学结构存在明显差异,粉粒组分烷氧碳、芳香碳的相对含量高于黏粒,而烷基碳、羰基碳的相对含量低于黏粒.长期有机肥与化肥配施下粉粒和黏粒烷基碳相对含量较单施有机肥处理分别降低9.1%~11.9%和13.7%~19.9%,烷氧碳的相对含量则分别增加2.9%~6.3%和13.4%~22.1%,表明有机肥与化肥配施处理降低了粉粒和黏粒组分有机碳的分解程度.长期单施化肥处理下粉粒和黏粒组分有机质的芳化度和疏水性低于单施有机肥处理和不施肥处理,有机质的矿化稳定性较低.长期有机肥与化肥配施,尤其是NPKOM处理,通过增加化学抗性化合物和碳水化合物的积累,并且减缓活性组分的分解提高粉粒和黏粒组分有机碳含量,是促进稻田土壤有机碳可持续积累的有效措施.     

Exploring soil erosion trajectories and their divergent responses to driving factors: a model-based contrasting study in highly eroded mountain areas

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Soil erosion threatens environmental sustainability worldwide. Exploring the trajectories of soil erosion and associated drivers is of great...     

三门峡水库水体中不同形态汞的分布特征

为了解三门峡水库水体中不同形态汞的分布特征,在丰水期和枯水期对三门峡水库进行采样,分别采用冷原子荧光光谱法(CVAFS)和蒸馏-乙基化衍生-气相色谱-冷原子荧光法(GC-CVAFS)测定水样中总汞、总甲基汞、溶解态总汞和溶解态甲基汞的浓度.结果表明,三门峡水库水体中总汞、溶解态汞和颗粒态汞浓度范围分别为1.65~9.65、0.80~3.16和0.70~7.81 ng·L~(-1),符合国家地表水环境质量标准(GB 3838-2002)一类水汞浓度标准限值;总甲基汞、溶解态甲基汞和颗粒态甲基汞浓度分别为0.05~0.36、0.02~0.14和ND~0.26 ng·L~(-1).三门峡水库水体总汞和甲基汞在季节和空间分布上没有呈现出明显的变化规律.总汞和甲基汞与未受污染的天然水体差别不大,水库未受到明显的汞污染.丰、枯水期沉积物中总汞浓度分别为(92.96±10.65)ng·g~(-1)和(80.06±19.14)ng·g~(-1),甲基汞浓度分别为(0.33±0.14)ng·g~(-1)和(0.50±0.19)ng·g~(-1).较低的甲基汞浓度说明在三门峡水库汞的迁移转化过程中,甲基化作用可能并非主要的过程,这可能与水体底层溶解氧浓度较高以及沉积物中有机质浓度较低有关.