Overcoming the blame game to learn from major accidents: A systemic analysis of an Anhydrous Ammonia leakage accident

This article aims to demonstrate the need for changing the methods with which accidents are analyzed, if we truly wish to use what we uncover from them to learn and enrich our knowledge base of organizational management. The goal is to relinquish the broadly adopted and rather simplistic paradigm that accepts the search for human error and unsafe acts performed by workers, and produces “guilt diagnostics”. Instead, we use a systemic accident analysis methodology, based on the sociotechnical principle of understanding the real operating conditions in which accidents take place. In order to demonstrate the benefits of the theoretical framework, we compare the analyses of an Anhydrous Ammonia gas leakage accident in a fish processing plant using the traditional accident analysis model based on unsafe acts and the proposed systemic approach. The results favor the latter since it tends to be more reliable and offering useful recommendations to safety management processes, thus helping to prevent accidents, especially in complex systems.     

Anthropogenic influence on the water quality in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Guanabara Bay is a 384-km² coastal bay with 70% of the population of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro located within its drainage basin. The water quality of the Bay is impacted by domestic and industrial runoff, of which only 15% has been adequately treated. However, based on a 14-year monitoring program, the water quality for most of Guanabara Bay remains acceptable because of intense tidal flushing, and we failed to find a worsening of conditions during the 14-year study. The inner shallow regions of the Bay, the western and northwestern parts, receive most of the drainage from metropolitan Rio de Janeiro. It is here that the water quality is alarmingly poor, characterized by hypertrophic conditions and occasional hypoxic events. Fecal coliform counts in these inner reaches of the Bay are 4–100 times higher than the maximum acceptable count for recreational waters. Hypertrophic conditions prevail in Guanabara Bay, which is characterized by low dissolved oxygen, high biochemical oxygen demand, peaks in fecal coliform, and extremely high chlorophyll-a concentrations, which reflect high quantities of nutrients entering the system. These anthropogenic pressures are a threat to planktonic and benthic communities and are reminiscent of San Francisco Bay 30 years ago. The Guanabara Bay water quality could be returned to pre-1950 conditions, but it would require sufficient political will and economic investment to ensure that at least 80–90% of the domestic and industrial sewage were treated adequately. Electronic Publication     

Biodegradability assessment of several priority hazardous substances: choice, application and relevance regarding toxicity and bacterial activity

Nineteen compounds listed in the category of priority substances (PS) were selected for a biodegradation study using standardized tests. The compounds consist of pesticides, chlorinated solvents and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this paper, the choice of the most suitable method is discussed in relation to the physico-chemical properties of each substance. Zahn-Wellens, manometric respirometry and closed-bottle tests are alternatively used. Experimental results are presented and interpreted. Toxicity (Microtox) and bacterial viability (Bac-light) are also used as tools to investigate the influence of each substance on the microbial population (activated sludge). In addition, experimental values are compared with predictive data calculated according to quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs) models. Biodeg Models were permitted to correctly estimate 17 substances; Survey Models and screening tests also revealed the same behavior for 16 target compounds.     

Auramine dyes induce toxic effects to aquatic organisms from different trophic levels: an application of predicted non-effect concentration (PNEC)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The dyes Auramine and Auramine O are used in several industrial products, despite the scarce information regarding their ecotoxicity. The aim of the...     

Evaluation of human exposure to ambient PM10 in the metropolitan area of Mexico City using a GIS-based methodology.

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of outdoor exposure to fine particulate matter (PM10) potentially experienced by the population of metropolitan Mexico City. With the use of a geographic information system (GIS), spatially resolved PM10 distributions were generated and linked to the local population. The PM10 concentration exceeded the 24-hr air quality standard of 150 microg/m3 on 16% of the days, and the annual air quality standard of 50 microg/m3 was exceeded by almost twice its value in some places. The basic methodology described in this paper integrates spatial demographic and air quality databases, allowing the evaluation of various air pollution reduction scenarios. Achieving the annual air quality standard would represent a reduction in the annual arithmetic average concentration of 14 microg/m3 for the typical inhabitant. Human exposure to particulate matter (PM) has been associated with mortality and morbidity in Mexico City; reducing the concentration levels of this pollutant would represent a reduction in mortality and morbidity and the associated cost of such impacts. This methodology is critical to assessing the potential benefits of the current initiative to improve air quality implemented by the Environmental Metropolitan Commission of Mexico City.     

Open chemical combustions resulting in a local increased incidence of orofacial clefts

HYPOTHESIS: The open chemical combustions in Zeeburg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during the years 1961 up to and including 1969, resulted in a local increased incidence of orofacial clefts during this period. STUDY: A retrospective observational epidemiological study was performed, comparing the trend of the incidence of non-syndromal orofacial clefts during the sixties, for the Zeeburg maternity with that of the Wilhelmina Gasthuis. Both clinics were situated in Amsterdam, but varying in distance and compass direction from the incineration works. Thereafter, the addresses of the mothers giving birth to infants with orofacial clefts were plotted on a map of Amsterdam. RESULTS: Of the 8803 children born in the Zeeburg clinic during this period, 21 had a non-syndromal orofacial cleft, producing an average incidence of 2.4 per 1000 births. For the years 1963 through 1965 the incidence rose dramatically to peak at 7.1 per 1000, before plateauing at an average incidence of 1.68 per 1000 births, still 155% higher than in the Wilhelmina clinic (average incidence of 0.66 per 1000 during the years 1966 through 1969). During the 10 year period the Wilhelmina clinic exhibited no such rise. The incidence of non-syndromal orofacial clefts at the Wilhelmina clinic at no time exceeded 2.3 per 1000 births during the 10 year period. The addresses of the mothers of the Zeeburg clefts were grouped primarily to the northwest (and a smaller group to the west) of the incineration works. CONCLUSION: A relation between the open incineration of the chemicals and a local increased incidence of orofacial clefts seems very likely.     

Marine ecosystem appropriation in the Indo-Pacific: a case study of the live reef fish food trade

Our ecological footprint analyses of coral reef fish fisheries and, in particular, the live reef fish food trade (FT), indicate many countries' current consumption exceeds estimated sustainable per capita global, regional and local coral reef production levels. Hong Kong appropriates 25% of SE Asia's annual reef fish production of 135 260-286 560 tonnes (t) through its FT demand, exceeding regional biocapacity by 8.3 times; reef fish fisheries demand out-paces sustainable production in the Indo-Pacific and SE Asia by 2.5 and 6 times. In contrast, most Pacific islands live within their own reef fisheries means with local demand at < 20% of total capacity in Oceania. The FT annually requisitions up to 40% of SE Asia's estimated reef fish and virtually all of its estimated grouper yields. Our results underscore the unsustainable nature of the FT and the urgent need for regional management and conservation of coral reef fisheries in the Indo-Pacific.     

Environmental noise in hospitals: a systematic review

Environmental noise has been growing in recent years, causing numerous health problems. Highly sensitive environments such as hospitals deserve special attention, since noise can aggravate patients’ health issues and impair the performance of healthcare professionals. This work consists of a systematic review of scientific articles describing environmental noise measurements taken in hospitals between the years 2015 and 2020. The researchers started with a consultation of three databases, namely, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The results indicate that for the most part, these studies are published in journals in the fields of medicine, engineering, environmental sciences, acoustics, and nursing and that most of their authors work in the fields of architecture, engineering, medicine, and nursing. These studies, which are concentrated in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, use as reference values sound levels recommended by the World Health Organization. L_eq measured in hospital environments showed daytime values ranging from 37 to 88.6 dB (A) and nighttime values of 38.7 to 68.8 dB (A). L_eq values for outdoor noise were 74.3 and 56.6 dB (A) for daytime and nighttime, respectively. The measurements were taken mainly inside hospitals, prioritizing more sensitive departments such as intensive care units. There is a potential for growth in work carried out in this area, but research should also include discussions about guidelines for improvement measures aimed at reducing noise in hospitals.

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Rapid karyotyping in ectopic pregnancies

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of karyotyping ectopic Fallopian tube pregnancies utilizing dividing cytotrophoblast cells. Villi from 78 ectopic conceptuses were processed by the direct chromosome technique and cytogenetic diagnosis was successful in 60 cases (76-9 per cent). The amount of villi obtained, as well as villus morphology, was correlated with cytogenetic success rate. Histological examination of the Fallopian tube was also carried out. A total of 47 cases were chromosomally abnormal (78-3 per cent), which is the highest frequency of cytogenetic abnormalities reported to date.