Mine rescuers’ heat load during the expenditure of physical effort in a hot environment,using ventilated underwear and selected breathing apparatus

Mine rescuers’ heat load under the same physical effort load (25% of the maximal oxygen uptake), using three types of breathing apparatus, in newly developed heat-removing underwear and outerwear was assessed for typical work conditions of mine rescuers, under milder and harsher ambient conditions of 32 and 38?°C, respectively, both at relative humidity of 85% and air velocity of 1.0?m/s. Expending physical effort at the same load while using different kinds of breathing apparatus resulted in a similar heat load. Under both milder and harsher ambient conditions, heat storage and sweating intensity were greater than the average limit value recommended by hygienic standards, which indicates that the use of breathing apparatus significantly hinders heat exchange with the environment. The developed clothing for mine rescuers was highly rated, and was considered by most people to be better than that used currently.     

Uncertainty analysis in the nuclear industry: Analytical unavailability modelling incorporating ageing of safety components

There is a growing interest in analyzing the possibility for current nuclear power plants operation extension. In that sense, life management programs, considering safety components ageing, are being developed and employed. On the other side, the large uncertainties of the ageing parameters as well as the uncertainties associated with most of the reliability data collections are widely acknowledged.This paper deals with uncertainty analysis associated with specific ageing rates database. The analysis is conducted using an analytical unavailability model applied for a selected safety system in a nuclear power plant. The most important problem is the immense uncertainty associated to the component ageing data sets as well as the lack of the very data in general, which would correspond to the more detailed modelling of ageing.New probability distributions, encompassing the ageing rates available in the considered data set, are suggested. The obtained results indicate the extent to which the uncertainty of the considered ageing data set, given the inherently assigned probability distribution, influences the performed unavailability calculations. Additionally, comparative analysis regarding the insights gained out of the application of the suggested probability distributions is conducted.     

Survey of dioxin sources in the Baltic Region (extended summary)

The present paper summarises the results of the project: 'Survey of Anthropogenic Sources of Dioxins and Furans in the Baltic Region'. As a part of the project, inventories have been carried out in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland by applying the toolkit for quantification of dioxin and furan releases developed by UNEP Chemicals. The main route of direct releases to the environment is emission to air. Total emission to air from Poland was estimated at 490 (88-1,300) g I-TEQ/year, whereas the emissions from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were estimated as being 14 (2.4-54), 23 (2.6-63) and 17 (2.6-38) g I-TEQ, respectively. In general, the uncertainty on the estimates is very high, and recommendations regarding further development of the inventories have been made, and measures for reducing the releases have been provided.     

The applicability of compost,zeolite and calcium oxide in assisted remediation of acidic soil contaminated with Cr(III) and Cr(VI)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of soil amendments, i.e., compost, zeolite, and calcium oxide, on the chemical properties of soil contaminated with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) and...     

The concept of resilience in OSH management: a review of approaches

The concept of resilience has become very popular, especially in the 21st century. This concept is applicable to many fields, from mechanics to a broad range of social sciences. Resilience has even become part of the national and global policies of the USA, the United Nations and the European Commission. The concept of resilience has also been implemented in the area of safety and health based on the criticism of the traditional approach to occupational safety and health, which does not result in a satisfactory level of occupational safety. The concept of resilience was adopted to research occupational safety and health in different fields and thus with different approaches, such as via socio-technical studies, the psychological and behavioral aspects of organizational resilience and the link with research on individual or family resilience and its influence on work.     

Gloves against mineral oils and mechanical hazards: composites of carboxylated acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber latex

Resistance to permeation of noxious chemical substances should be accompanied by resistance to mechanical factors because the glove material may be torn, cut or punctured in the workplace. This study reports on glove materials, protecting against mineral oils and mechanical hazards, made of carboxylated acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (XNBR) latex. The obtained materials were characterized by a very high resistance of the produced materials to oil permeation (breakthrough time?>?480?min). The mechanical properties, and especially tear resistance, of the studied materials were improved after the addition of modified bentonite (nanofiller) to the XNBR latex mixture. The nanocomposite meets the requirements in terms of parameters characterizing tear, abrasion, cut and puncture resistance. Therefore, the developed material may be used for the production of multifunctional protective gloves.     

The significance of agricultural vs. natural ecosystem pathways in temperate climates in assessments of long-term radiological impact

Recent developments in performance assessment biosphere models have begun to emphasise the importance of natural accumulation pathways. In contrast to the agricultural pathways, the database for natural ecosystem pathways is less well developed, leading to a mismatch in quality of representations of the two types of system. At issue is the lack of reliable soil-plant and animal ingestion transfer factors for key radionuclides in natural ecosystems. The relative importance of the agricultural vs. natural ecosystem pathways is investigated here, in the context of a temperate site in present day, Eastern France. The BIOMASS Candidate Critical Group (CCG) methodology has been applied to map a set of eight candidate critical groups derived from the present-day societal context onto physical locations within a simple model of a river catchment system. The overall assessment model has been implemented using the Aquabios code. Annual individual dose to each of the CCGs has been calculated for each of the key radionuclides (79Se, 94Nb, 99Tc, 129I, 135Cs and 237Np) released to the valley aquifer and river. In addition to the traditional agricultural pathways, lifestyle groups exploiting natural habitats are explicitly addressed. Results show the susceptibility of different candidate critical groups to different radionuclides. A reference database typical of those employed in long-term performance assessment models is employed. Doses from external exposure (94Nb) and dust inhalation (237Np) are shown to dominate agricultural food consumption by factors of more than six, but, with the reference data set, foodstuffs obtained from natural ecosystems do not contribute significantly to critical group dose and, at most, show similar exposures to the agricultural pathways. This may lead to the conclusion that natural food can be ruled out of consideration in performance assessment models. However, systematic parametric sensitivity studies carried out on soil-plant and animal ingestion transfer factors restrict the validity of this observation and demonstrate the limitations of existing databases. Remaining uncertainties can be reduced by improving structural models for performance assessment and by better characterisation of sources of locally obtained foods. Improved characterisation of radionuclide accumulation in natural ecosystems in temperate as well as alternative future climate states should complement the modelling approach.     

Changes in river discharge structure and regime in mining-industrial-urban areas

In mining-industrial-urban areas, the variability of river discharge is regulated, directly or indirectly, by human economic activity. This results from the presence of alien water, which often comes from outside the catchment area, is discharged into the river network. This water includes industrial and municipal wastewater and deep-drainage mine water. Simultaneously, as a result of water intake and water infiltration into dry ground (due to mining), the volume of river discharge decreases. Such changeable conditions of water alimentation and drainage are typical of many regions of Europe. Detailed investigations of the range and directions of changes in river structure and regime were carried out for the area of Upper Silesian Industrial Region (USIR) of Poland. The results were compared with the results of investigations carried out in the Ruhr Basin of Germany and the Donetsk Basin of the Ukraine and Russia. The investigations showed that, in some cases, prolonged, multifunctional economic activity of a man has effectively eliminated of the influence of natural hydrometeorological conditions on river discharge. Wastewater and mine water which has contributed to river flow is only slightly variable in the annual cycle and it causes an increase of water volume and a discharge smoothing. Sewage effluent and mine wastewater also change the structure of river runoff because their contribution to the runoff sometimes exceeds 90% of its volume.     

Genetic differentiation in the brackish-water ostracod Cyprideis torosa

An electrophoretic survey of allozyme variation suggests that two separate populations of Cyprideis torosa (Jones) can be distinguished, one from the coast of England and the Netherlands, the other from the south coasts of the Baltic Sea. Gene flow between these two populations is limited and asymmetrical and seems to be more intense westwards than eastwards. On the other hand, particular local populations within the range of either population, although inhabiting geographically isolated estuaries, lagoons etc., are genetically similar to each other to such a degree that they should be treated as sets of subpopulations rather than as separate units. It is possible that in C. torosa a similar population structure occurs everywhere along the main migration routes of aquatic birds, which have clearly participated in the passive dispersal of this ostracod. Clines are observed in the frequencies of some alleles. Phosphogypsum pollution may be the cause of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in a local population.