Measuring safety climate in aviation: A review and recommendations for the future

This paper reviews 23 studies that have examined safety climate within commercial and military aviation. The safety climate factors identified in the aviation safety climate questionnaires were found to be consistent with the literature examining safety climate in non-aviation high reliability organizations. Therefore, it was concluded that the aviation safety climate tools had some construct validity (the extent to which the questionnaire measures what it is intended to measure). However, the majority of the studies made no attempt to establish the discriminate validity (the ability of the tool to differentiate between organizations or personnel with different levels of safety performance) of the tools. It is recommended that rather than constructing more aviation safety climate questionnaires, researchers should focus on establishing the construct and discriminate validity of existing measures by correlating safety climate with other metrics of safety performance. It is recognized that the accident rate in commercial aviation is too low to provide a sufficiently sensitive measure of safety performance. However, there are other measures of safety performance, collected as part of a company’s Aviation Safety Action Program or Flight Operational Quality Assurance, which could be used to assess the discriminate validity of an aviation safety climate tool.     

Twenty Years of New Zealand’s National Rivers Water Quality Network: Benefits of Careful Design and Consistent Operation1

Davies‐Colley, Robert J., David G. Smith, Robert C. Ward, Graham G. Bryers, Graham B. McBride, John M. Quinn, and Mike R. Scarsbrook, 2011. Twenty Years of New Zealand’s National Rivers Water Quality Network: Benefits of Careful Design and Consistent Operation. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):750‐771. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00554.x Abstract: This paper reviews New Zealand’s National Rivers Water Quality Network (NRWQN), which is now in its third decade of monitoring. The NRWQN is noteworthy for being operationally stable throughout its history, and the resulting consistency is increasingly valuable for detecting water quality trends and for “anchoring” temporary special purpose monitoring campaigns. The NRWQN was carefully designed following considerable effort to learn from monitoring experiences elsewhere. Monthly visits are made to 77 sites (all near hydrometric stations) on 35 river systems that cumulatively drain about one half of the national landscape. “Core” (routinely measured) variables are: conductivity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, visual clarity, turbidity, colored dissolved organic matter, fecal indicator bacteria, and different forms of nitrogen and phosphorus (italics indicate field measurements). Associated benthic biological monitoring comprises monthly visual assessment of periphyton and annual sampling for macro‐invertebrates. We overview the conception, design, initiation, and operational history of the NRWQN, and highlight the diverse applications of its datasets including numerous scientific applications, national‐scale modeling of material fluxes, and state‐of‐environment reporting and practical water management at both regional and national scale. The qualified success of the NRWQN can probably be attributed to careful (and parsimonious) design and consistent operation.     

Field and laboratory evaluation of the treatment of DNAPL source zones using emulsified zero‐valent iron

Emulsified zero‐valent iron (EZVI) is a surfactant‐stabilized, biodegradable emulsion that forms droplets consisting of a liquid‐oil membrane surrounding zero‐valent iron (ZVI) particles in water. This article summarizes the results obtained during the first field‐scale deployment of EZVI at NASA's Launch Complex 34 (LC34) located on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in August 2002 and presents the results of recent follow‐on laboratory tests evaluating the mechanisms, which contribute to the performance of the technology. The field‐scale demonstration evaluated the performance of EZVI containing nanoscale zero‐valent iron (NZVI) when applied to dense, nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) trichloroethylene (TCE) in the saturated zone. Results of the field demonstration indicate substantial reductions in TCE soil concentrations (greater than 80 percent) at all but two soil boring locations and significant reductions in TCE groundwater concentrations (e.g., 60 percent to 100 percent) at all depths targeted with EZVI. Laboratory tests conducted in 2005 suggest that both NZVI particles and EZVI containing NZVI can provide significant reductions in TCE mass when used to treat TCE DNAPL in small test reactors. However, EZVI was able to reduce TCE concentrations to lower levels than were obtained with NZVI alone, likely as a result of the combined impact of sequestration of the TCE into the oil phase and degradation of the TCE with the NZVI. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Appalachian Mountains' Copper Basin and the concept of environmental susceptibility

The Copper Basin is located within the southern Appalachian Mountains primarily in extreme southeastern Tennessee, USA. It has long been known for its copper mining/smelting and associated chemical industry, as well as its severely injured environment. Virtually all previous commentary on the environmental degradation at this location have focused on human activities and their destructive impact. This article approaches the subject from a different angle, one that emphasizes the interaction between man and nature. The site's physical setting, industrial history, and environmental history are briefly reviewed. The theory then presented here is that certain of the Copper Basin's natural features made its environment unusually vulnerable to the negative impact of copper mining and smelting, especially as practiced around the turn of the century. These features are identified. This reasoning provides the basis for the concept of environmental susceptibility, which is defined and discussed. A few of its applications are mentioned. This study offers a new perspective on the Copper Basin, as well as insights for those whose work involves investigating the man/nature relationship—both past and present.     

WATER QUALITY IN THE PAWTUXET RIVER: METAL MONITORING AND GEOCHEMISTRY1

ABSTRACT: The Pawtuxet River flows from a relatively rural area through some of the more highly industrialized sections of Rhode Island. During its journey, the river receives many municipal, industrial, and ground water sources of metal constituents. The present report is the first in a two part series in which the water quality of this urban river was evaluated by a chemical monitoring study of the sources, transport mechanisms, and fate of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and nickel in the river. The second paper will use the chemical data to derive and calibrate a steady-state water quality model for this river. The metal concentrations In the river tended to increase from the headwaters to the mouth with river stations nearest to point source outfalls showing elevated values. In some sections of the river, levels of a few of the metals could not be explained by the point sources; and other inputs, including sediment resuspension, axe proposed to make up this apparent unbalance. The ability of a municipal secondary treatment plant to remove metals was demonstrated, and the tie-in of the effluent from a major chemical company to the plant did not cause any observable deterioration in treatment efficiency.     

Developing alternative land-use scenarios to facilitate natural resource management across jurisdictional boundaries

Scenario planning is an effective approach for examining possible futures by exploring the implications and consequences of different policy responses to landscape stressors. We present here a case study that explores plausible futures of urban growth in Southern Nevada, USA that illustrates how scenario analysis can be used to inform region-wide resource management by spatially modeling drivers of change, resource impacts, and potential policy responses. Using a suite of energy, water and biodiversity impact models, we assess the outcomes of the various futures on priority resources, resulting in a clear basis of comparison between alternative policies and their potential outcomes. This case study demonstrates the utility of scenario modeling for natural resource management by exploring crucial policy decisions that might be made in the near-term that could have lasting and sometimes conflicting influences on regional resources over the long term.     

Note on the chromatographic analyses of marine polyunsaturated fatty acids

Gas-liquid chromatography was used to study the effects of saponification/methylation and thin-layer chromatographic isolation on the analyses of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Using selected procedures, the qualitative and quantitative distribution of these acids in marine organisms can be determined with a high degree of accuracy.     

Accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in crankcase oil

The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in automotive crankcase oils. PAHs were not detected in the new oil; however, concentrations increased rapidly with usage in the gasoline engine of an automobile. The PAH distributions found were dominated by alkylated two- and three-ring compounds. The concentrations of these compounds increased until about 4000 miles and then levelled out. Four-ring compounds continually increased with miles driven, and the five-ring benzopyrenes were only detected in the oil used for the longest distance (about 5800 miles).     

Solubilities of hydrophobic compounds in aqueous-organic solvent mixtures

Solubilities of several hydrophobic organic substances (paradichlorobenzene, endrin, naphthalene, and dibutyl phthalate) in aqueous solutions containing up to 0.10 mole fraction of common alcohols and ketones, were measured by gas chromatography. The solubilities are significantly increased by the alcohols and ketones. The results are interpreted in terms of the association of n molecules of alcohol or ketone with each hydrophobic organic molecule. Values of n and the equilibrium constant for this association are reported for each hydrophobic organic-alcohol and organic-ketone combination. The implications of these results for the disposal of toxic wastes by landfilling is discussed.     

Jointly estimating survival and mortality: integrating recapture and recovery data from complex multiple predator systems

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - Identifying where, when, and how many animals live and die over time is principal to understanding factors that influence population dynamics....