Assessment of the effect of technical and management characteristics on the frequency of release from piping: An application to a gas storage facility

The assessment of the frequencies of release from piping due to losses of containment is an essential step in the preparing Safety Reports, drawn up as required by the so-called “Seveso” Directive. These are usually calculated starting from the frequencies of random rupture included in international databases and are not plant-specific, furthermore, the quantification of the effect of the safety management system of the facility is not easy. A simple and flexible approach quantifying technical and management characteristics of the plant has been proposed by Milazzo and co-workers in 2010; it is based on the modification of the frequency taken from literature, through the use of the percentages of failure causes actually possible in that plant, and the judgment about their management. The data about the failure causes are taken from the literature and modified by using corrective factors to adapt them to the industrial context. To make possible the application of the method to a large number of major-hazard industry types, some aspects of the approach needed to be improved; these have been identified during a development project coordinated by RINA Consulting, on behalf of Saipem, with the collaboration of the University of Messina. The improvement of the approach focused on two main points, the development of a method to calculate the corrective factors for the failure causes associated with corrosion and erosion phenomena and the strengthening of the methodology for the formulation of the judgment about the safety management. This paper illustrates the fully improved method, as well as an application to a typical gas storage plant.     

Experimental study on detonation flame penetrating through flame arrester

In-line detonation flame arresters are important safety apparatus to prevent group tank fires caused by the spreading of fire through vapor connection lines. In this study, a DN50 experimental apparatus aimed at the detonation flame penetration characteristics and failure mechanisms in a flame arrester was set up, and a series of experiments were carried out with 6.6% C2H4 and air mixture. Pressure, and velocity of flame penetrating through flame arrester housing and filters were analyzed. Experimental results showed that the attenuation of pressure and velocity was proportional to the thickness of the filters. Two failure modes of the fire-extinguishing process in the flame arrester were captured directly with a high-speed camera. In Mode I, the detonation flame could go straight through the flame arrester filters when the filters were too thin. In Mode II, when the filters were not sufficiently thick, the remained shock wave pressure of detonation flame was still several times of the initial pressure and could rise sharply at the downstream contraction section, resulting in that the flammable gas at the downstream transition section could be compressed and reignited even the flame had been extinguished by filters. These conclusions are helpful to reveal the nature of failure modes of fire-extinguishing process and design flame arresters with high fire-resisting performance by structure improved.     

PAN dust explosion inhibition mechanisms of NaHCO3 and Al(OH)3

We investigate the PAN dust explosion inhibition behaviors of NaHCO₃ and Al(OH)₃ in a 20 L spherical explosion system and a transparent pipe explosion propagation test system. The results show that, in the standard 20 L spherical explosion system, the highest PAN dust explosion concentration is 500 g/m³, the maximum explosion pressure is 0.661 MPa, and the maximum explosion pressure increase rate is 31.64 MPa/s; adding 50% NaHCO₃ and 60% Al(OH)₃ can totally inhibit PAN dust explosion. In the DN0.15 m transparent pipe explosion propagation test system, for 500 g/m³ PAN dust, the initial explosion flame velocity is 102 m/s, the initial pressure is 0.46 MPa, and the initial temperature is 967 °C; adding 60% NaHCO₃ and 70% Al(OH)₃ can totally inhibit PAN dust explosion flames. Through FTIR and TG analyses, we obtain the explosion products and pyrolysis patterns of the explosion products of PAN dust, NaHCO₃, and Al(OH)₃. On this basis, we also summarize the PAN dust explosion inhibition mechanisms of NaHCO₃ and Al(OH)₃.     

天然气供气业务风险分析与应急预案设计

近年来,天然气消费量迅速增长,天然气领域的投入和天然气储量、产量和贸易量也呈迅速增长态势,并显示出增长的巨大潜力。天然气市场需求量的大幅度增加与国内天然气供给不足造成的供需不平衡,给天然气供气业务带来了极大的挑战。本文根据近两年来天然气供应面临的危机,分别对天然气供气产业链的上、中、下游的突发事件风险进行分析;并针对供气业务中断带来的风险,从突发事件分级、应急处置流程等两个关键要素着手对应急预案进行优化。该研究对完善天然气供气突发事件应急预案、有效快速应对突发事件提供了参考和指导。     

Importance of awareness in improving performance of emergency medical services (EMS) systems in enhancing traffic safety: A lesson from India

Objective: India has been slow in implementing a central emergency medical services (EMS) system across the country. “108 services” is one of the most popular services that is functional under the public–private partnership model. Limited available literature shows that despite access to services, many traffic crash victims are transported using private vehicles. The objective of this study is to understand the effectiveness of 108 services from a traffic safety perspective.

Method: A questionnaire survey is conducted to understand the awareness of EMS and their function. Using traffic-related fatalities as the dependent variable, a fixed effect panel data model is developed to analyze the effectiveness of the 108 services in improving the traffic safety.

Results: The results from the survey show that, in general, people are not aware of the 108 services. A majority of the population prefers taking victims to the hospital using their personal vehicles or any other vehicles available compared to calling an ambulance. Results from panel data analysis show that despite having an efficient system, these services failed to make significant improvement in the safety of road users in the states in which their services were subscribed.

Discussion: The lack of awareness of an important safety service is alarming. This could be a major reason for lower utilization of 108 services for transporting victims of traffic crashes. This article shows the importance of having efficient awareness campaigns to improve the efficiency of any similar programs that are aimed to enhance the safety of a region.     

Integrated water resources management for emergency situations: A case study of Macau

Integrated urban water management (IUWM) is a useful tool that can be used to alleviate water resource shortages in developing regions like Macau, where 98% of the raw water comes from mainland China. In Macau, scarce water resources deteriorate rapidly in emergency situations, such as accidental chemical spills upstream of the supply reservoir or salty tides. During these times, only the water from the two freshwater reservoirs in Macau can be used. In this study, we developed urban water management optimization models that integrated the raw water supply from the two reservoirs with various proposed governmental policies (wastewater reuse, rainwater collection, and water saving). We then determined how various water resource strategies would influence the urban water supply in Macau in emergency situations. Our results showed that, without imported raw water, the water supply from only the two Macau reservoirs would last for 7.95 days. However, when all the government policies were included in the model, the supply could be extended to 13.79 days. Out of the three non-conventional water resources, wastewater reuse is the most beneficial for increasing the Macau water supply, and rainwater collection also has great potential.     

吉非罗齐在热活化过硫酸盐体系中的降解机制研究

以降血脂药物吉非罗齐(GEM)为目标污染物,研究其在热活化过硫酸盐体系中的降解机制.结果表明,GEM的降解过程符合准一级反应动力学规律,增加过硫酸盐初始浓度或升高反应溶液温度都可以显著提高GEM的降解速率常数(kobs),其反应的表观活化能Ea为133.14k J·mol~(-1).酸性和中性条件下GEM的降解效果要好于碱性条件.自然水体中的腐植酸(HA)和HCO_3~-对GEM的降解有明显的抑制作用.自由基清除实验表明,在酸性和中性条件下,SO_4~(·-)对GEM的降解起主导作用,而在碱性条件下,HO·成为体系主要的氧化物种.利用HPLC-MS/MS技术共检测到11种中间产物,推测GEM的降解路径涉及苯环的羟基化和醛基化反应、苯环侧链的环化作用和脱羧反应以及醚支链的断裂.     

Enterobacter sp.CV-v对孔雀石绿的脱色特性及机理研究

采用单因素实验研究了各种操作因素对菌株Enterobacter sp.CV-v降解孔雀石绿的影响.结果表明,在供试碳源中,葡萄糖对脱色的促进效果最为显著,而供试氮源中,酵母粉对脱色的促进效果最优;同时,供试金属离子中,锰离子对脱色的促进效果最优.在p H=3.0~10.0、温度20~50℃之间时,菌株CV-v对孔雀石绿的12 h脱色率在90%以上.此外,该菌株可在6 h内完全脱色浓度低于500 mg·L-1的孔雀石绿.动力学实验结果表明,该菌株对孔雀石绿脱色的动力学数据与一级动力学模型拟合度最好(R2=0.9755).酶分析实验结果表明,锰过氧化物酶和孔雀石绿还原酶可能与菌株CV-v降解孔雀石绿相关.此外,代谢产物分析实验结果表明,菌株CV-v降解孔雀石绿的主要产物为二甲氨基二苯甲酮和4-羟基-N,N-二甲基苯铵.     

设计配置对生物滞留设施污染物去除性能的影响研究

生物滞留是一种常用的低影响开发技术,通过不同机理去除径流中的各种污染物。设施面积、消能池设置、表面覆盖物的合理设计可降低外界的不利影响;内部斜坡与多元结构可优化设施性能,介质层的改良填料和较长深度可提高污染物的去除效率;配置适宜植物可提高环境耐受能力与污染物去除效果,引入多样植物可提高设施生物多样性,有利于发挥动植物相互作用,提高设施的稳定性与整体性能。     

美国环境与健康管理体制借鉴

美国为应对环境污染带来的公共健康灾难,建立了环保局与卫生部既分工又协作的体制,两个部门都关注环境污染对人类健康的危害。在职能上,环保局侧重于管制和"污染者",卫生部侧重于服务和"潜在受害者"。联邦层面,环保局与卫生部在管制方面和研究(信息共享)方面紧密合作。地方层面,环保局的主要职能是监督各州执行联邦标准,卫生部的主要职能是提供健康和医疗服务,并在具体工作中密切配合。借鉴美国的经验教训,明确建立"公众健康优先"的环境管理价值取向,针对环境与健康风险管理的特点推进生态环境统一监管机构改革,以法治思维和法治方法推进环境与健康治理体系建设;加强科学研究,加快建设环境与健康风险控制信息系统。