The implementation of a human factors engineering checklist for human–system interfaces upgrade in nuclear power plants

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a human factors engineering (HFE) checklist for human–system interfaces (HSIs) upgrades in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The HFE checklist is used to review the HSIs design submittals prepared by licensees or applicants for a license or design certification of a HSI upgrade. NUREG-series regulation documents are used to develop the main frame of the initial HFE checklist. The contents of the HFE checklist are constructed by the theories and principles governing human factors. Then, verification and validation (V&V) of the HFE checklist is accomplished by validity and reliability evaluation. The results show that the HFE checklist has sufficient validity and reliability for the review of HSI upgrades in NPPs.     

A fuzzy risk assessment approach for occupational hazards in the construction industry

The techniques in the construction industry have been improved due to the rapid development of science and technology. However, the constructional hazards are not decreased as expected. To reduce or prevent occupational hazards in the construction industry, a fuzzy risk assessment method was proposed to provide a prevention and improvement technique against occupational hazards. This method used two-stage quality function deployment (QFD) tables to represent the relationships among construction items, hazard types and hazard causes. A fuzzy analytic network process (ANP) method was developed to identify important hazard types and hazard causes. Failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) was performed to assess the risk value of hazard causes based on the fuzzy inference approach. The proposed method was applied to a telecom engineering company in southern Taiwan. The performance evaluation result indicated that this method can provide satisfactory risk assessment values of hazard causes and relevant improvement strategies.     

上海崇明岛农田土壤中有机氯农药残留特征

为研究崇明岛农田土壤中有机氯农药（OCPs）的残留特征,于2008年7月采集崇明岛农田表层土壤30个.利用加速溶剂萃取仪（ASE）萃取,使用气相色谱-电子捕获检测器（GC-μECD）分析.结果表明,在采集的土壤样品（干重）中,OCPs的含量范围为3.11～117.47 ng.g-1（平均值26.25 ng.g-1）;主...     

Particulate composition characteristics under different ambient air quality conditions

Particulate compositions including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-soluble ionic species, and elemental compositions were investigated during the period from 2004 to 2006 in southern Taiwan. The correlation between the pollutant standard index (PSI) of ambient air quality and the various particle compositions was also addressed in this study. PSI revealed a correlation with fine (r = 0.74) and coarse (r = 0.80) particulate matter (PM). PSI manifested a significant correlation with the amount of analyzed ionic species (r approximately 0.80) in coarse and fine particles and a moderate correlation with carbon content (r = 0.63) in fine particles; however, it showed no correlation with elemental content. Although the ambient air quality ranged from good to moderate, the ionic species including chloride (Cl-), nitrate (NO3-), sulfate (SO4(2-)), sodium (Na+), ammonium (NH4+), magnesium (Mg2+), and calcium (Ca2+) increased significantly (1.5-3.7 times for Daliao and 1.8-6.9 times for Tzouying) in coarse PM. For fine particles, NO3-, SO4(2-), NH4+, and potassium (K+) also increased significantly (1.3-2.4 times for Daliao and 2.8-9.6 times for Tzouying) when the air quality went from good to moderate. For meteorological parameters, temperature evidenced a slightly negative correlation with PM concentration and PSI value, which implied a high PM concentration in the low-temperature condition. This reflects the high frequency of PM episodes in winter and spring in southern Taiwan. In addition, the mixing height increase from 980 to 1450 m corresponds to the air quality condition changing from unhealthy to good.     

Determination of volatile organic profiles and photochemical potentials from chemical manufacture process vents

The main objective of this study was to monitor the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the stack gas released from organic chemical industrial plants to determine emission factors. Samples from 52 stacks, with or without air pollution control devices (APCDs), from seven industrial processes were taken and VOCs measured using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 18. These 7 processes, including 26 plants, were the manufacturers of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), acrylic resin (ACR), vinyl chloride (VC), para-terephthalic acid (PTA), and synthetic fiber (SYF). The results clearly indicate significant variations of emission factors among the various industrial processes, particularly emission factors for those without APCDs. As expected, those with APCDs yield much less emission factors. Regardless of those with or without APCDs, the order of manufacturing processes with regard to VOC emission factors is SYF > ABS > PS >ACR > PTA > PVC > VC. The emission factors for some processes also differ from those in EPA-42 data file. The VOC profiles further indicate that some VOCs are not listed in the U.S. VOC/Particulate Matter Speciation Data System (SPECIATE). The potential O3 formation is determined from the total amount of VOC emitted for each of seven processes. The resultant O3 yield varied from 0.22 (ACR) to 2.33 g O3 g(-1) VOC (PTA). The significance of this O3 yield is discussed.     

Atmospheric lead concentration distribution in Northern Taiwan

Atmospheric lead concentrations were measured randomly, approximately once per week, at five traffic sites in northern Taiwan from September 1994 to May 1995. Three types of theoretical distributions, lognormal, Weibull and gamma were selected to fit the frequency distribution of the measured lead concentration. Four goodness-of-fit criteria were used to judge which theoretical distribution is the most appropriate to represent the frequency distributions of atmospheric lead.The results show that atmospheric lead concentrations in total suspended particulates fit the lognormal distribution reasonably well in northern Taiwan. The intervals of fitted theoretical cumulative frequency distributions (CFDs) can successfully contain the measured data when the population mean is estimated with a 95% confidence interval. In addition, atmospheric lead concentration exceeding a critical concentration is also predicted from the fitted theoretical CFDs.     

Anhydrosugar and sugar alcohol organic markers associated with carboxylic acids in particulate matter from incense burning

Aerosol from the burning two types of sandalwood-based incense, Hsing Shan and Lao Shan, was analyzed to characterize the chemical profile of total particulate matter emitted. The total particulate matter (PM) mass emission factors were 46.3 ± 2.68 mg g^?1 of Hsing Shan incense and 43.7 ± 1.08 mg g^?1 of Lao Shan incense. Chemical analysis of emissions from the two types of incense revealed that of the 25 components in four groups characterized, anhydrosugars formed the major group, at 46.7–52.2% w/w of the identified particulate and 1078.3–1169.8 μg g^?1 of incense, followed by inorganic salts at 30.4–31.8% w/w of identified particulate and 681.6–734.0 μg g^?1 of incense, carboxylic acids at 12.0–17.1% w/w of the identified particulate and 268.6–392.8 μg g^?1 of incense, and sugar alcohols at 4.44–5.38% w/w of the identified particulate and 102.3–120.6 μg g^?1 of incense. More anhydrosugars and sugar alcohols were emitted from Lao Shan incense than from Hsing Shan incense whereas more carboxylic acids and organic salts were emitted from Hsing Shan than from Lao Shan. These differences were due to structural and functional differences in the young sandalwood used to make Hsing Shan and the aged sandalwood used to make Lao Shan. The anhydrosugar levoglucosan, used as a marker of biomass burning, was always the most abundant species in emitted PM for both incenses (Lao Shan 21.7 mg g^?1 of PM and Hsing Shan 18.7 mg g^?1). K⁺ and Cl^? were the second most abundant components (K⁺ and Cl^? were summed), accounting for 10.6 mg g^?1 of Hsing Shan PM and 9.85 mg g^?1 of Lao Shan PM. The most abundant carboxylic acids in the emissions were formic, acetic, succinic, glutaric and phthalic acid. The latter is a fragrance ingredient and a potential health hazard and was twice as prevalent in Lao Shan emissions. Xylitol was the most prevalent of the sugar alcohols at 35.7–36.6% w/w of total identified sugar alcohols. These abundant species are potential markers for incense burning. K⁺, levoglucosan, mannosan and xylitol are already reported in discriminator ratios for wood burning and it is proposed here that these can and should also apply to incense burning. The calculated discriminator ratios for two types of incense burning reported here are 0.229–0.288 for K/Levo, 12.5–13.5 for Levo/Manno, and 21.5–23.7 for the novel discriminator ratio Levo/Xylitol.     

Decomposition of trichloroethylene and 2,4-dichlorophenol by ozonation in several organic solvents

The effects of chemical characteristics of organic solvents on the decomposition rate constants of undissociative trichloroethylene (TCE) and dissociative 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) by ozonation were studied. The TCE and 2,4-DCP decomposition by ozonation in organic solvents followed to the first-order reaction kinetics with respect to TCE or 2,4-DCP concentration. The orders of the rate constants among organic solvents for undissociative TCE and dissociative 2,4-DCP were different indicating that the ozonation rates for undissociative and dissociative compounds were dependent on the chemical property of organic solvent. The decomposition of undissociative TCE by ozonation was a simple electrophilic reaction, which was dependent on acceptor number (AN) of the solvent. On the other hand, the decomposition of dissociative 2,4-DCP was dependent on by the dissociation of the compounds and would be dependent on donor number (DN) of the solvent. Finally, TCE in acetic acid was transformed to chlorinated intermediates and chloride ion and then these intermediates were continuously oxidized to chlorine gas.     

PM10 source apportionment in a Swiss Alpine valley impacted by highway traffic

Although trans-Alpine highway traffic exhaust is one of the major sources of air pollution along the highway valleys of the Alpine regions, little is known about its contribution to residential exposure and impact on respiratory health. In this paper, source-specific contributions to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter?<?10 μm (PM₁₀) and their spatio-temporal distribution were determined for later use in a pediatric asthma panel study in an Alpine village. PM₁₀ sources were identified by positive matrix factorization using chemical trace elements, elemental, and organic carbon from daily PM₁₀ filters collected between November 2007 and June 2009 at seven locations within the village. Of the nine sources identified, four were directly road traffic-related: traffic exhaust, road dust, tire and brake wear, and road salt contributing 16 %, 8 %, 1 %, and 2 % to annual PM₁₀ concentrations, respectively. They showed a clear dependence with distance to highway. Additional contributions were identified from secondary particles (27 %), biomass burning (18 %), railway (11 %), and mineral dust including a local construction site (13 %). Comparing these source contributions with known source-specific biomarkers (e.g., levoglucosan, nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) showed high agreement with biomass burning, moderate with secondary particles (in winter), and lowest agreement with traffic exhaust.     

Trends in concentration of ground-level ozone and meteorological conditions during high ozone episodes in the Kao-Ping Airshed, Taiwan

This work analyzes the variations in daily maximum 1-hr ozone (O3) concentrations and the long-term trends in annual means of hourly ambient concentrations of O3, nitrogen oxides (nitrous oxide + nitrogen dioxide), and nonmethane hydrocarbons in the three administrative regions of Kao-Ping airshed in southern Taiwan over a recent 8-yr period. The annual or monthly means of all maxima, most 95th percentiles, and some 90th percentiles of the daily maximum 1-hr O3 concentrations exceed the daily limit of 120 parts per billion by volume in all three regions, namely, Kao-hsiung City, Kso-hsiung County, and P'ing-tung County. The monthly means of daily maximum 1-hr O3 concentrations exhibit distinct seasonal variations, with a bimodal form with the maxima in autumn and late winter to the middle of spring and a minimum in summer. The long-term variations in the annual means of hourly O3 concentrations in the three regions exhibit increasing trends. These increases in O3 are associated with the decline in ambient concentrations of nitrogen oxides and nonmethane hydrocarbons. High O3 episodes occur most often in autumn and most rarely in summer. The seasonal mean mixing heights in descending order follow the order of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Meteorological parameters in autumn and winter indicate that the ground-level O3 tends to accumulate and trigger a high O3 episode on a warm day with sufficient sunlight and low wind in a high-pressure system, consistent with the low mixing heights in these two seasons.