Modelling gas release event behaviour in hazardous waste tanks

Certain radioactive waste storage tanks at the United States Department of Energy Hanford facilities continuously generate gases as a result of radiolysis and chemical reactions. The congealed sludge in these tanks traps the gases beneath it and causes the level of the waste within the tanks to rise. The waste level continues to rise until the sludge loses its buoyancy and rolls over, changing places with fluid on top. During a rollover, the trapped gases are released, resulting in a sudden drop in the waste level. This is known as a gas release event (GRE). After a GRE, the waste re-congeals and gas again accumulates, leading to another GRE. We are interested in the time between consecutive GREs. Understanding the probabilistic behaviour of the time between consecutive GREs is important because the hydrogen and nitrous oxide gases released during a GRE are flammable and the ammonia that is released is a health risk. From a safety perspective, activity around such waste tanks should be halted when a GRE is imminent. With a credible probability model for the time between consecutive GREs, we can establish time windows in which waste tank research and maintenance activities can be safely performed. We discuss the application of non-linear time series models to this problem.     

有毒药物安全操作台防止空气污染作用分析

分析了9112－B型有毒药物安全操作台的污染物去除效率，得出了该操作平台避免了有毒药物对操作者的侵害，减少了有毒药物对环境污染的结论。     

吡虫清等4种新农药的水生态安全性评价

以斜生栅列藻 (Scenedesmusobliquus)、大型 (Daphniamagna)和斑马鱼 (Brachydaniorerio)为试验生物 ,在实验室条件下测定了吡虫清、吡嗪酮、恶草酮和精喹禾灵 4种新农药对水生生物的急性毒性IC50值或LC50 值 ,并进行了安全性评价。结果表明 ,杀虫剂吡虫清对水极毒 ,对鱼类高毒 ,对藻类低毒 ;杀虫剂吡嗪酮对水和鱼类低毒 ,对藻类中等毒性 ;除草剂恶草酮对藻类高毒 ,对水和鱼类中等毒性 ;除草剂精喹禾灵对藻类高毒 ,对水中等毒性 ,对鱼类高毒。     

Operational sex ratios and behavioural sex differences in a pipefish population

In the pipefish Syngnathus typhle, only males brood embryos in specially developed brood pouches, supplying oxygen and nutrients. Laboratory studies have shown that this elaborate paternal care has led to sex-role reversal in this species: males limit female reproductive rate, females are the primary competitors for mates and males exercise greater selectivity in accepting mates. In the first field study of this pipefish, we describe mating behaviour in the wild and test the hypothesis that temporal variations in the operational sex ratio (OSR) determine sex differences in mating behaviour. Our study comprised two reproductive seasons of two sequential mating periods each, the latter separated by a lengthy interval of male brooding. During mating periods, females displayed to all males without wandering and males moved about searching for females, without reacting to all females. The OSR was least female-biased (or even male-biased) at the onset of the breeding season, when most pipefish were simultaneously available to mate, but became strikingly female-biased as males' pouches were filled. The OSR remained substantially female-biased during the second mating period, because few males became available to remate at any one time. As hypothesised, female-biased OSRs resulted in more female-female meetings. As well, females were above the eelgrass more often than brooding males, thus exposing themselves to conspecifics and/ or predators. In the second year, males arrived earlier than females on the breeding site and male pregnancies were shorter, because of higher water temperatures, so rematings occurred earlier. Males met more often during that year than the previous one, but male competitive interactions were still not observed. The field results support laboratory studies and demonstrate that behaviours associated with female-female competition are more prominent when the OSR is more female-biased. Correspondence to: A. Vincent     

Adaptive behaviour of chironomid larvae (Chironomus riparius) in response to chemical stimuli from predators and resource density

Chemical-mediated effects of predatory fish on chironomid larvae behaviour have been ignored so far. Sediment-dwelling chironomid larvae inhabit protective burrows from which they extend their bodies only to feed on deposited detritus and microalgae from the surrounding sediment. Here, we performed factorial laboratory experiments to study whether fish-borne chemical cues (kairomones) are responsible for behavioural trait changes of chironomid larvae, and whether chironomid larvae are able to assess the densities of fish predators and food resources and the trade-off between them. We exposed naïve Chironomus riparius larvae to the chemical presence of zero, one, and ten predator fish (Rutilus rutilus) and offered two resource levels (low food, high food) for each treatment. Kairomones induced significant inherent behavioural trait changes in chironomid larvae. During the first 120 min after exposing chironomids to fish-conditioned water, we found a significant increase in digging activity with increasing predator density. After 3 days of exposure, the deepest chironomid burrows were found in treatments with the highest predator density. Chironomid larvae were significantly able to adjust their foraging behaviour to different predator densities and food concentrations and trade off between them; that is, when fish predators were more abundant or when more food resources were available, the foraging activities of larvae were significantly reduced. Our data suggest that chemically mediated trait changes (burrowing and foraging behaviour) may cascade through the littoral food web.     

Safety and Cost-Effectiveness of Clearzones in Rockcuts

Clearzones are a feature of modern highways that have a dramatic impact on roadside safety. The purpose of these unobstructed spaces is to provide an area where an errant vehicle can safely stop or the driver can regain control of the vehicle without striking a hazardous object like a tree or utility pole. Many clearzone alternatives (e.g., removing trees, installing traversable culvert openings, and installing guardrails in front of untraversable hazards) are relatively inexpensive in comparison to other roadway construction costs. Roadways passing through rockcuts present an unusual case where the construction cost of providing the clearzone is very high. This article examines different clearzone alternatives in rockcuts and compares the likely effect on safety and construction costs. A method is described for determining the rockcut width that best balances the cost of construction with the improvements in safety that would result from a wider clearzone in the rockcut.     

Low-temperature oxidation of coal at elevated pressures

A mathematical model is presented to describe steady-state mass transfer and oxidation processes in coal at low temperatures in a fixed-bed flow reactor. The model incorporates the effects of partial pressure of oxygen, temperature and coal particle size, and accounts for the rate of coal oxidation and the composition of oxygenated products at high pressures. This is an important development since previous models did not include the effect of pressure in their formulation. It is found that, when the partial pressure of oxygen increases the rate of oxygen consumption increases accordingly. However, the influence of partial pressure of oxygen on the rate of oxidation is less pronounced when the pressure surpasses 1 MPa. In addition the model predicts that, for a constant partial pressure of oxygen, higher rates of oxygen consumption occur at lower total pressures. The same trends are also found for the concentration of oxygenated products at the reactor outlet. It is suggested that, the variation of partial pressure of oxygen leads to different concentration levels of oxygen at the surface and within the pores of coal particles, substantially affecting the rate of oxidation.     

论注册安全主任制度

为适应市场经济条件下安全生产工作的需要,以广州市建立注册安全主任执业资格制度为背景,概述了作为职业资格制度之一的“执业资格制度”、分析了安全主任执业资格制度产生的社会条件,论述了安全主任知识结构、作用机理等。用以上内容,试图论证：注册安全主任执业资格制度的产生是社会市场经济发展的必然要求     

促进人机环境系统本质安全化建设安全生产良性循环

结合金川公司龙首矿安全生产的实际,论述了建设人机环境系统并实现其本质安全化的意义,对该矿员工的本质安全化建设、机具与环境的本质安全化建设的经验作了介绍,其中,特别强调“四合一”的管理模式是人机环境系统实现本质安全化的重要保证。     

论职业卫生安全管理体系标准化与我国职业卫生安全管理及其改革的一致性

职业卫生安全管理体系（ＯＨＳＭＳ）标准倡导好的管理的共同原理,将ＯＨＳＭＳ融入组织总的管理体系,与我国组织职业卫生安全（ＯＨＳ）管理的经验相容,对我国组织在市场经济体制下建立自主安全管理机制有极重要的意义。实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准不存在经济实力的前提,且ＯＨＳ投入与组织的经济效益是一致的。这种标准化适应了我国经济体制转变时期政府安全管理职能和管理方式的变化,还与我国ＯＨＳ管理体制的改革方向相吻合。我国基本具备实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准的法律基础。为有效实施ＯＨＳＭＳ标准化,应加强ＯＨＳ法规建设,在监察体系上实行第三方机构的认证／注册制度