Streamflow,Sediment Transport,and Geomorphic Change during the 2011 Flood on the Missouri River Near Bismarck–Mandan,ND

Geomorphic change from extreme events in large managed rivers has implications for river management. A steady‐state, quasi‐three‐dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to a 29‐km reach of the Missouri River using 2011 flood data. Model results for an extreme flow (500‐year recurrence interval [RI]) and an elevated managed flow (75‐year RI) were used to assess sediment mobility through examination of the spatial distribution of boundary or bed shear stress (τ_b) and longitudinal patterns of average τ_b, velocity, and kurtosis of τ_b. Kurtosis of τ_b was used as an indicator of planform channel complexity and can be applied to other river systems. From differences in longitudinal patterns of sediment mobility for the two flows we can infer: (1) under extreme flow, the channel behaves as a single‐thread channel controlled primarily by flow, which enhances the meander pattern; (2) under elevated managed flows, the channel behaves as multithread channel controlled by the interaction of flow with bed and channel topography, resulting in a more complex channel; and (3) for both flows, the model reach lacks a consistent pattern of deposition or erosion, which indicates migration of areas of erosion and deposition within the reach. Despite caveats and limitations, the analysis provides useful information about geomorphic change under extreme flow and potential implications for river management. Although a 500‐year RI is rare, extreme hydrologic events such as this are predicted to increase in frequency.     

A process-based model for the partitioning of soluble, suspended particulate and bed sediment fractions of plutonium and caesium in the eastern Irish Sea

A dynamic model of plutonium behaviour in the marine environment has been developed, representing the oxidation state distribution and partitioning of plutonium between the soluble, colloidal, suspended particulate and seabed sediment fractions. With simple re-parameterisation, this model can also be applied to (137)Cs. The model, which is calibrated and validated against field data, has been used to predict concentrations of Pu(alpha) and (137)Cs in both water and seabed sediments from the vicinity of the Sellafield Ltd. reprocessing plant in Cumbria, UK. The model predicts that sediment reworking and transport are the key environmental processes as the Sellafield Pu(alpha) and (137)Cs discharge continues to decline. Inventory calculations generated by the model are consistent with previous estimations. For a hypothetical post-discharge scenario, the concentrations of these radionuclides in both seawater and surface sediments are predicted to decrease sharply, concurrent with a downward vertical migration of the activity retained in sediments.     

The role of national culture in determining safety performance: Challenges for the global oil and gas industry

This paper addresses the issue of occupational safety and how the process of globalisation can potentially influence the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of disparate ‘national’ workforces working across the globe for the same multi-national company. The paper reviews published literature on cross-cultural differences in attitudes, perceptions and beliefs regarding safety and presents details of a study examining the relationship between Hofstede’s [Hofstede, G., 1984. Culture’s Consequences; International Differences in Work-Related Values, Abridged edition. Sage Publications, London, Hofstede, G., 1991. Culture and Organisations; Software of the Mind. McGraw Hill, Maidenhead] cultural values dimensions (i.e., Power Distance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity); safety climate (perceived management commitment to safety) and risk-taking behaviour in workforce members of a multi-national engineering organisation operating in six countries. The results suggest that more proximal influences such as perceived management commitment to safety and the efficacy of safety measures exert more impact on workforce behaviour and subsequent accident rates than fundamental national values.     

Source-to-receptor pathways of anthropogenic PM2.5 in Detroit,Michigan: Comparison of two inhalation exposure studies

Recent studies have attributed toxic effects of ambient fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm; PM_2.5) to physical and/or chemical properties rather than total mass. However, identifying specific components or sources of a complex mixture of ambient PM_2.5 that are responsible for adverse health effects is still challenging. In order to improve our understanding of source-to-receptor pathways for ambient PM_2.5 (links between sources of ambient PM_2.5 and measures of biologically relevant dose), integrated inhalation toxicology studies using animal models and concentrated air particles (CAPs) were completed in southwest Detroit, a community where the pediatric asthma rate is more than twice the national average. Ambient PM_2.5 was concentrated with a Harvard fine particle concentrator housed in AirCARE1, a mobile air research laboratory which facilitates inhalation exposure studies in real-world settings. Detailed characterizations of ambient PM_2.5 and CAPs, identification of major emission sources of PM_2.5, and quantification of trace elements in the lung tissues of laboratory rats that were exposed to CAPs for two distinct 3-day exposure periods were completed.This paper describes the physical/chemical properties and sources of PM_2.5, pulmonary metal concentrations and meteorology from two different 3-day exposure periods—both conducted at the southwest Detroit location in July 2003—which resulted in disparate biological effects. More specifically, during one of the exposure periods, ambient PM_2.5-derived trace metals were recovered from lung tissues of CAPs-exposed animals, and these metals were linked to local combustion point sources in southwest Detroit via receptor modeling and meteorology; whereas in the other exposure period, no such trace metals were observed. By comparing these two disparate results, this investigation was able to define possible links between PM_2.5 emitted from refineries and incinerators and biologically relevant dose, which in turn may be associated with observed health effects.     

Process plant safety information repository and support for safety applications

The consideration of safety of processing plants from design to operation involves many tasks. Different techniques and tools have been developed to assist in carry out those tasks. With the advances in computing technologies, both in hardware and software, there is the opportunity to bring together the vast amount of engineering, hazard and risk data and handle them in an efficient way to manage and improve safety throughout the life time of a plant. This paper proposes keeping such data in a process plant safety information repository which can be easily accessed by different safety-related tools to enhance the efficiency of safety identification and analysis tasks.     

An Evaluation of Multiple Objective Decision Support Weighting Techniques in Natural Resource Management

Multiple objective decision support (MODS) is a structured framework for evaluating decision alternatives against multiple, and often conflicting, criteria. Its ability to handle complex trade-offs in a variety of quantitative and qualitative units gives it much potential in the field of natural resource management (NRM). A key component of MODS is the process used to obtain information from decision makers on the relative importance of evaluative criteria. Ranking algorithms then use this information to determine the relative value of each decision alternative. This paper explores how practising community based NRM decision makers respond to five generic methods for weighting the criteria. It presents a study in which 55 decision makers throughout five regions in Queensland, Australia, applied MODS to evaluate environmental projects seeking funding under the Australian Natural Heritage Trust. Weighting methods applied include fixed point scoring, rating, ordinal ranking, a graphical method and paired comparisons. Decision makers evaluated each weighting method in terms of ease of use and of how much it helped clarify the decision problem. Results show that decision makers felt uncomfortable applying fixed point scoring and generally preferred to express their preferences through ordinal ranking. This has implications for the types of ranking algorithms that can be applied to evaluate the decision alternatives.     

Going beyond environmental impact assessment: Environmental input to planning and design

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been, and remains for the time being, a very important tool of environmental management — though not always for the reasons one would expect. Major achievements of EIA have been through indirect benefits that have had little recognition to date, particularly the achievements of its stimulative and educative roles. However, EIA is evolving as a planning tool and will continue to do so, and we argue that, in time, we will be able to go beyond EIA as a separate stand alone process. We indicate the requirements for its eventual absorption into project planning and design, and the concomitant need to fully incorporate environmental issues in land use planning to address those matters that cannot be addressed on a project-by-project basis.