Evaluating the Brazilian zero tolerance drinking and driving law: Time series analyses of traffic-related mortality in three major cities

Objective: A zero tolerance alcohol restriction law was adopted in Brazil in 2008. In order to assess the effectiveness of this intervention, the present study compares specific mortality in 2 time series: 1980–2007 and 2008–2013.

Methods: Data on mortality and population were gathered from official Brazilian Ministry of Health information systems. Segmented regression analyses were carried out separately for 3 major Brazilian capitals: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.

Results: In 2 cities (Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro) there were no significant changes in mortality rate trends in 2 periods, 1980 to 2007 and 2008 to 2013, where the observed rates did not differ significantly from predicted rates. In São Paulo, a decreasing trend until 2007 unexpectedly assumed higher levels after implementation of the law.

Conclusion: There is no evidence of reduced traffic-related mortality in the 3 major Brazilian capitals 5.5 years after the zero tolerance drinking and driving law was adopted.     

Clean production in context: an information infrastructure perspective

The electronics industry is generally recognized as a leader in clean production practices. Industrial ecology, however, encourages a systemic approach to sectoral behavior, which means that not just production, but also the role of electronics products and services in supporting an information culture should be considered as part of a comprehensive analysis. The eventual goal should be the production of social practices and systems that provide the desired functionality and quality of life in an environmentally acceptable manner. A conceptual framework for such an analysis of information infrastructure is presented, although the analyses and data required for a full understanding remain limited and preliminary in many ways.     

关于工业园区建设中环境保护问题的若干思考

为促进块状经济集聚升级，应对加入WTO以后的压力，弥补个私企业规模缺陷等经济发展进程中的问题，需要加快特色工业园区建设。如何使特色块状经济与环境保护良性互动，实现经济效益、社会效益、环境效益的三统一，促进社会经济的可持续发展。本文结合诸暨经济、环境现状，提出了在加快特色工业园区建设的同时，要重视解决环境问题。为此，提出在工业园区建设中，要编制环保规划、进行环境影响评价、严格执行“三同时”制度、推行清洁生产和ISO14000体系认证、实行污染集中治理和专业化治理污染等方面的对策及建议。     

Analyzing injury severity factors at highway railway grade crossing accidents involving vulnerable road users: A comparative study

Objective: The main objective of this study is to identify the main factors associated with injury severity of vulnerable road users (VRUs) involved in accidents at highway railroad grade crossings (HRGCs) using data mining techniques.

Methods: This article applies an ordered probit model, association rules, and classification and regression tree (CART) algorithms to the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) HRGC accident database for the period 2007–2013 to identify VRU injury severity factors at HRGCs.

Results: The results show that train speed is a key factor influencing injury severity. Further analysis illustrated that the presence of illumination does not reduce the severity of accidents for high-speed trains. In addition, there is a greater propensity toward fatal accidents for elderly road users compared to younger individuals. Interestingly, at night, injury accidents involving female road users are more severe compared to those involving males.

Conclusions: The ordered probit model was the primary technique, and CART and association rules act as the supporter and identifier of interactions between variables. All 3 algorithms' results consistently show that the most influential accident factors are train speed, VRU age, and gender. The findings of this research could be applied for identifying high-risk hotspots and developing cost-effective countermeasures targeting VRUs at HRGCs.     

IC反应器的启动研究进展

针对IC反应器存在的启动时间较长的问题,对有关IC反应器的启动研究做一综述,为IC反应器的研究提供一定的参考和借鉴。     

对工业污染场地治理修复创新机制的思考

土壤污染受到社会的广泛关注,其中工业污染是土壤污染的重要来源。针对工业污染场地修复中利益相关方众多、修复质量控制和追责机制不完善、工程实施后可能遗留风险隐患等问题,文章提出工业污染场地治理修复及环境管理全流程中的治理修复质量控制、异位和原位修复的当期及长远风险监控、责任追究机制等关键环节上环境管理模式和机制的几点思考,以期为实现我国工业污染场地修复的环境管理提供借鉴。     

基于DEA-Tobit的城市生态效率评价及影响因素研究——以江苏省为例

基于DEA-Tobit两阶段分析框架,利用超效率DEA模型评价了江苏省13个地级市及苏南、苏中、苏北3个区域2009~2013年的工业生态效率,并采用Tobit模型测量了城镇化率、产业结构、环境规制对该效率值的影响。研究表明:江苏省城市工业生态效率整体处于中上水平,但地区间差异较大:苏中优于苏南,苏南优于苏北;工业用水、工业用地消耗过多,工业废气排放过量是目前影响江苏省城市工业生态效率提升的主要原因;提高城镇化率对江苏省城市工业生态效率有积极的影响,产业结构调整对城市工业生态效率有微弱的抑制作用,环境规制对城市工业生态效率影响并不显著。     

我国主要污染物排放强度区域特征分析研究

文章以我国2012年化学需氧量、氨氮、二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟粉尘和工业固体废物等6种主要污染物的综合排放量与工业排放量数据为依据,应用层次分析赋权方法,测算了不同省份的综合污染值,对我国的污染物综合排放情况进行了评价分析。并与2005年相关研究成果进行了对比分析,找出了我国在污染物排放、治理方面取得的成果与存在的问题,针对我国不同区域的地域、经济、产业等特征要素提出了相应的政策建议。     

Estimation of explosion energy based on fragment characteristics

Explosions of vessels containing high pressure gases or superheated liquids are a common accident in the chemical industry. Fragments are the most information-rich physical evidence in accident analysis. A method is presented to calculate the total explosion energy based on the characteristics of fragments from the scene of an accident, such as mass, horizontal displacement, etc. The implicit expressions of the initial velocity can be obtained through analysing the trajectory equations of the fragments and the data obtained from the scene of the accident. The total energy is calculated from the relationship between the total explosion energy and the kinetic energy of the fragment. During the calculation there are some uncertain parameters, e.g., the energy factor and the initial angle. To solve the parameter uncertainties, a Monte-Carlo simulation is introduced. Analysis of an industrial accident shows that it is feasible to estimate the total explosion energy using the maximum probability density interval with the proposed methodology.     

Industrial ecosystems — some conditions for success

SUMMARY

The development of Industrial Ecology (IE) is based on the philosophy that the two systems, the industrial system and the ecosystem operate through different principles of system development and on the philosophy that IE can serve to reduce the conflict between the two systems as it learns from the model of an ecosystem. In an IE, following the roundput analogy of a natural ecosystem, the industrial actors co-operate by utilising each other's waste material and energy flows and try and reduce the system virgin material and energy input as well as the waste and emission output. In a successful IE, a business-environment win-win might be possible because the raw material and energy costs, waste management costs, costs resulting from environmental legislation, as well as the image costs of the companies in the system and of the system as a whole, can be reduced. In this paper, the IE analogy includes the four basic principles of system development of ecosystems; roundput, diversity, locality and gradual change. The principles are understood as a potential direction in which Regional Industrial Ecosystem Management (RIEM) can be developed.