Experimental investigation on oxidation of sulfurized rust in oil tank

Oxidation of sulfurized rust in oil tank is complicated, and it is influenced by numerous factors such as water content, air humidity, operating temperature etc. The paper focuses on the oxidation process of sulfurized rust in the wild. Firstly, samples collected from a petrochemical company were put into the sulfurization & oxidation experimental apparatus to gain wet and dry sulfurized rusts. Their chemical compositions and phase were analyzed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) -scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique. The results showed that both wet and dry sulfurized rusts had S, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃S₄ and FeS₂, whereas FeS only existed in wet sulfurized rust. The two kinds of rusts gave a short length of side, diamond appearance and a large pore size in structure. Then oxidation of wet sulfurized rust was investigated, which included electrochemical reaction stage, electrochemical & chemical reaction coexisting stage and chemical reaction stage. The final oxidation product of wet sulfurized was determined to be Fe₂O₃. On the basis of this study, an indicator for monitoring and early-warning was proposed to prevent plants in vicinity of the accidental vessel or tank from fire and explosion.     

Measuring site-level success in brownfield redevelopments: a focus on sustainability and green building

This research has met the following four objectives within the broader research topic of characterizing and quantifying success in brownfield revitalization: (1) to define 40 total indicators that define and determine the success of brownfield redevelopments in four categories: environment-health, finance, livability, and social-economic; (2) to use these indicators to develop a partially automated tool that stakeholders in brownfield redevelopment may use to more easily assess and communicate success (or failures) in these projects; (3) to integrate "green" building as an important aspect of successful brownfield redevelopments; and (4) to develop this tool within the framework of a specific multi-attribute decision method (MADM), the analytical hierarchical process (AHP). Future research should include the operationalization and application of this tool to specific sites. Currently, no such indicator framework or automated tool is known to exist or be in use. Indicators were chosen because of their ability to reduce data into comprehensible measurements and to systematically measure success in a standardized fashion. Appropriate indicators were selected based on (1) interviews with prominent private developers and national leaders in brownfield redevelopment, (2) a review of the relevant literature, (3) objective hierarchies created in this project, and (4) the ability for each indicator to serve goals in more than one of the four categories described above. These were combined to form the Sustainable Brownfields Redevelopment (SBR) Tool. A survey was conducted to serve as a preliminary assessment and proposed methodology for judging the validity of the SBR Tool. Professionals in the academic, private, and public sector were asked to provide an evaluation of the management tool and a weighting of the relative importance of each indicator and each of the four categories listed previously. Experts rated the tool at 7.68 out of 10 suggesting that this framework will be useful in evaluating these redevelopments upon completion and in formulating initial site plans and building design.     

政府环境绩效审计研究综述

为了对政府环境绩效审计的有关理论问题有一个系统深入的认识,促进环境绩效审计工作的发展,文章对政府环境绩效审计方式尤其是评价指标体系等方面的国内外研究进展进行了综述,对审计的核心内容、主要方法和实现途径进行了探讨,期望为我国环境绩效审计工作指标体系、核心内容、主要方法和实现途径等工作的开展提供借鉴作用。     

Environmental strategies: A case study of systematic evaluation

A major problem facing environmental managers is the necessity to effectively evaluate management alternatives. Traditional environmental assessments have emphasized the use of economic analyses. These approaches are often deficient due to difficulty in assigning dollar values to environmental systems and to social amenities. A more flexible decisionmaking model has been developed to analyze management options for coping with beach erosion problems at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey. This model is comprised of decision-making variables which are formulated from a combination of environmental and management criteria, and it has an accept-reject format in which the management options are analyzed in terms of the variables. Through logical ordering of the insertion of the variables into the model, stepwise elimination of alternatives is possible. A hierarchy of variables is determined through estimating work required to complete an assessment of the alternatives for each variable. The assessment requiring the least work is performed first so that the more difficult evaluation will be limited to fewer alternatives. The application of this approach is illustrated with a case study in which beach protection alternatives were evaluated for the United States National Park Service.Portions of this paper have been excerpted from Sherman and Garès (1978).     

Bacterial water quality: Springs and streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Water samples from streams and springs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were analyzed for fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and total coliform bacteria. Levels of bacteria were found to be highly variable but related to elevation, time of year, type of water source, and water level of the streams. Visitors did not seem to be major contributors to bacterial contamination. Levels of fecal coliform and total coliform in most water samples were unsuitable for drinking without treatment. Tennessee state standards for body contact recreation (swimming and wading) were exceeded in a few samples but none from streams suitable for swimming. As a result of these findings, park managers increased efforts to inform visitors of the need to treat drinking water and removed improvements at backcountry springs which tended to give the springs the image of safe, maintained water sources.     

Trends in Global Protected Area Governance,1992–2002

Governance refers to the interactions among structures, processes, and traditions that determine direction, how power is exercised, and how the views of citizens or stakeholders are incorporated into decision-making. Governance is now recognized as a critical aspect of effective conservation and is a prominent part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s work program on protected areas. This study reports on a global survey to assess changes in governance of protected area systems between 1992 and 2002 based on responses from 41 countries. Results indicate that substantial changes have taken place with overall trends towards increased participation of more stakeholders, greater use of formal accountability mechanisms, and a wider range of participatory techniques. Many of these changes are supported by legislative and policy requirements and 75% of respondents reported changes in legislation over the past decade. Protected areas are becoming more influenced by global forces. A majority of respondents reported increased involvement of the private sector. Funding is coming from a broader range of sources, with a smaller proportion of income coming from government sources in 2002. Absolute funding amounts have increased, but almost two-thirds report that budgets fall short of requirements. Almost 90% of respondents felt that protected area governance had improved over the last decade; 67% felt that this had also led to improved management effectiveness. Respondents felt that secure funding, capacity building, and increased community involvement were the main governance needs for the future.     

Fall from equipment injuries in U.S. mining: Identification of specific research areas for future investigation

Introduction

The objective of this study was to evaluate the circumstances leading to fall from equipment injuries in the mining industry.

Method

The 2006 and 2007 Mine Safety and Health Administration annual injury databases were utilized for this study whereby the injury narrative, nature of injury, body part injured, mine type, age at injury, and days lost were evaluated for each injury.

Results

The majority of injuries occurred at surface mining facilities (∼ 60%) with fractures and sprains/strains being the most common injuries occurring to the major joints of the body. Nearly 50% of injuries occurred during ingress/egress, predominately during egress, and approximately 25% of injuries occurred during maintenance tasks. The majority of injuries occurred in relation to large trucks, wheel loaders, dozers, and conveyors/belts. The severity of injury was independent of age and the median days lost was seven days; however, there was a large range in severity.

Impact on industry

From the data obtained in this study, several different research areas have been identified for future work, which include balance and stability control when descending ladders and equipment design for maintenance tasks.     

Recursive Operability Analysis as a decision support tool for Risk-Based Maintenance

This work was developed with the support of MEMC, one of the most important producers of ultra-pure silicon wafers for electronic applications throughout the world. The availability of ultra-pure water is of prime importance in the silicon production process. In order to maximize the availability of UP water, MEMC has developed a preventive maintenance program and a detailed record of each maintenance intervention is recorded. This has allowed a complete failure rate data bank to be developed. In order to optimize the maintenance intervention, a Recursive Operability Analysis (ROA) has been used as a decision support tool. The results of the ROA, coupled with the failure rates, have made it possible to calculate the expected number of events (ENE) of various top events (TEs). The magnitude of each TE has been estimated on the basis of the monetary losses provoked by each event. The risk then has been calculated and the events ranked on this basis. Maintenance policies have been optimized with the aim of reducing the risk of the top ranked events.     

Pedestrian crossing decision-making: A situational and behavioral approach

Among road users, pedestrians are those whose continued trajectory is the less constrained by the environment and by the regulation rules. Consequently, the choice of where, when and how to cross roads are more or less conforming with the awaited behavior. Proceeding with an experimental approach, from observations of pedestrian crossings to the modeling of the decision-making process, a categorization of both environments and of pedestrian behavior is proposed.     

某铁路货车检修车间污染治理分析

某车辆段货车检修中抛丸除锈、电焊、喷漆、探伤等工艺存在粉尘颗粒物、有机废气等职业危害因素.检测表明,电焊烟尘产生的粉尘颗粒物为主要污染源,急需治理.通过改造设置下送上回式的排烟除尘系统,车间污染情况得以有效改善,经检测室内粉尘满足工作场所有害因素职业接触限值要求,颗粒物排放满足国家环保标准要求.