Is research keeping up with changes in landscape policy? A review of the literature

Several innovative directions for landscape policy development and implementation have emerged over recent years. These include: (i) an expansion of scope to include all landscape aspects and landscape types, (ii) an increased emphasis on public participation, (iii) a focus on designing measures appropriate for different contexts and scales, and (iv) encouraging support for capacity-building. In this paper, we evaluate the extent to which these policy directions are reflected in the practice of academic landscape research. We evaluate all research papers published in three leading landscape journals over six years, as well as published research papers relating directly to the European Landscape Convention. The latter, which was adopted in 2000, establishes a framework for landscape protection, planning and management in Europe and is to date the only international legal instrument of its kind. Results indicate that whilst policy innovations do not appear to be a major stimulus for academic research, studies nevertheless address a range of landscape aspects, types and scales (albeit with a slight bias towards bio-physical landscape aspects). However, geographical representativeness of research is weak and dominated by the United States and northern/western Europe, and research capacity likewise appears to be unevenly distributed. Landscape research is also limited in the extent to which it involves stakeholders or develops innovative methods for doing so, notwithstanding that this remains a key challenge for policy-makers. Results point to the potential for landscape research to address areas (topical and geographical) which have received little attention to date, as well as suggesting mutual benefits of stronger links between policy and academia.     

Societal risk assessment of major hazard installations using QuickRisk

QuickRisk is a quantitative risk assessment tool developed at the Health and Safety Laboratory for use in assessing societal risk around onshore major hazard installations to inform land-use planning decisions. It uses release scenario information, parameterised consequence models, weather data, and population data from the National Population Database (NPD).This paper describes enhancements to the NPD methodology to include workplace populations. It describes the novel numerical, graphical and geographical representations of societal risk produced by QuickRisk. F–N data are analysed in terms of scenario FN curves and Delta PLL vs. N curves, where PLL is potential loss of life. The Delta PLL curves could be useful for comparison of FN curves against FN criterion lines or other FN data on a PLL basis. Geographical representations generated from PLL density maps show: the distribution of PLL dominating release scenarios or the percentage of risk contributed by the PLL-dominant release scenario, the maximum number of fatalities associated with the worst-case event, and the associated release scenario. Geographical representations are also generated of the maximum population that would meet a PLL density criterion, and the relative population change that would match a given PLL density criterion.These novel representations of societal risk could be useful for more effective communication between stakeholders on the risk levels in the vicinity of major hazard installations.     

Dynamic Procedure for Atypical Scenarios Identification (DyPASI): A new systematic HAZID tool

The availability of a hazard identification methodology based on early warnings is a crucial factor in the identification of emerging risks. In the present study, a specific method named Dynamic Procedure for Atypical Scenarios Identification (DyPASI) was conceived as a development of bow-tie identification techniques. The main aim of the methodology is to provide a comprehensive hazard identification of the industrial process analysed, joined to a process of continuous improvement of the results of the assessment. DyPASI is a method for the continuous systematization of information from early signals of risk related to past events. The technique provides a support to the identification and assessment of atypical potential accident scenarios related to the substances, the equipment and the site considered, capturing available early warnings or risk notions. DyPASI features as a tool to support emerging risk management process, having the potentiality to contribute to an integrated approach aimed at breaking “vicious circles”, helping to trigger a gradual process of identification and assimilation of previously unrecognised atypical scenarios.     

Low Back Muscle Activity in an Automobile Seat with a Lumbar Massage System

This investigation was conducted to determine the effects of a massaging lumbar support system on low back muscle activity. The apparatus included a luxury-level automobile seat, six 10-mm diameter bipolar surface electrodes, an amplifier, an analog-to-digital conversion board, data acquisition software, and a personal computer. Six experimental conditions, each involving a variation of massage time, were considered. The dependent variable was the change in the root mean square variation of the EMG signal. One minute of lumbar massage every 5 min was found to have a beneficial effect on low back muscle activity (as compared to no massage). This may prove to be an extremely important result in the quest to combat low back pain attributable to automobile seating.     

Personal injury recovery cost of pedestrian–vehicle collisions in New South Wales,Australia

Background: There is a need for routine estimates of injury recovery costs from pedestrian collisions using hospital separation records for economic evaluations.

Objective: To estimate the cost of injury recovery following pedestrian–vehicle collisions using the personal injury recover cost (PIRC) equation using key demographic and injury characteristics.

Method: An estimation of the costs of on-road pedestrian–vehicle collisions involving individuals who were injured and hospitalized in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, from 2002 to 2011 using the PIRC equation. The PIRC estimates individual injury recovery costs and does not include costs associated with property damage, vehicle repair, or rescue services. Individual recovery costs associated with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) were estimated. The injured individual's mean, median, and total injury recovery costs are described for key demographic, injury, and crash characteristics.

Results: There were 9,781 pedestrians who were injured, costing an estimated total of $2.4 billion in personal injury recovery costs, an annual cost of $243 million. Males had a total injury recovery cost 1.7 times higher than females. The median injury recovery cost decreased with increasing age. TBI ($248,491) and spinal cord and vertebral column injuries ($264,103) had the highest median injury recovery costs for the body region of the most severe injury. TBI accounted for 22.6% of the total injury recovery costs for the most severe injury sustained. Just over one third of pedestrians sustained 4 or more injuries, with a median cost of $243,992, which was 1.6 times higher than the cost for a pedestrian who sustained a single injury ($153,682).

Conclusions: Personal injury recovery costs following pedestrian–vehicle collisions where a pedestrian is injured are substantial in NSW. The PIRC equation enables the economic cost burden of road traffic injury to be calculated using hospital separation data. The PIRC enables comprehensive personal injury recovery costs to be estimated and would aid in economic evaluations of preventive strategies in road safety.     

Assessment of the effluent quality from a gold mining industry in Ghana

The physical and chemical qualities of the process effluent and the tailings dam wastewater of AngloGold-Ashanti Limited, a gold mining company in Ghana, were studied from June to September, 2010. The process effluent from the gold extraction plant contains high amounts of suspended solids and is therefore highly turbid. Arsenic, copper and cyanide were identified as the major pollutants in the process effluent with average concentrations of 10.0, 3.1 and 21.6 mg?L^?1, respectively. Arsenic, copper, iron and free cyanide (CN^?) concentrations in the process effluent exceeded the Ghana EPA discharge limits; therefore, it is necessary to treat the process effluent before it can be discharged into the environment. Principal component analysis of the data indicated that the process effluent characteristics were influenced by the gold extraction process as well as the nature of the gold-bearing ore processed. No significant correlation was observed between the wastewater characteristics themselves, except for the dissolved oxygen and the biochemical oxygen demand. The process effluent is fed to the Sansu tailings dam, which removes 99.9 % of the total suspended solids and 99.7 % of the turbidity; but copper, arsenic and cyanide concentrations were still high. The effluent produced can be classified as inorganic with a high load of non-biodegradable compounds. It was noted that, though the Sansu tailings dam stores the polluted effluent from the gold extraction plant, there will still be serious environmental problems in the event of failure of the dam.     

Strength Development of Solidified/Stabilized Organic Waste and Optimum Treatment Design

Abstract

Artificially contaminated (spiked) natural soils were solidified/stabilized using various combinations of commonly used additives, such as lime, cement, fly ash, activated carbon, and silica fume. The effectiveness of the solidification/stabilization (S/S) processes was evaluated based on experimental findings from compaction testing, unconfined compressive shear strength, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Correlations of limited reliability between unconfined compressive strength and penetrometer and torvane measurements were derived. Results from XRD experiments indicated that certain organic contaminants (i.e., naphthalene and pyrene) might impact the S/S processes for a given combination of additives. The type and amount of organic contaminants also affected the pozzolanic reactions. Specifically, the absence or small peak intensity of pozzolanic product XRD patterns for a given combination of additives was a good indication that the type and the amount of organic contaminant present inhibited pozzolanic reactions. This phenomenon was tested and confirmed for actual field-contaminated samples.     

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) in urban air and deposition in the United Kingdom

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) have been monitored in air and deposition at four UK urban sites (London, Cardiff, Manchester and Stevenage) since the beginning of 1991; data from the first 2 years are presented here. Median Σ2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/F concentrations in air were 3.2, 4.0, 3.5 and 2.6 pg/m³ respectively for London, Cardiff, Manchester and Stevenage. Median Σ2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/F deposition fluxes were 1.5 ng/m²/day in London, 1.4 ng/m²/day in Cardiff and Manchester and 0.79 ng/m²/day in Stevenage. Seasonal variations in the PCDD/F concentrations were observed at all sites for both air and deposition, with concentrations/fluxes generally elevated during the winter.