Spatial and temporal variations in traffic-related particulate matter at New York City high schools

Relatively little is known about exposures to traffic-related particulate matter at schools located in dense urban areas. The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of diesel traffic proximity and intensity on ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and black carbon (BC), an indicator of diesel exhaust particles, at New York City (NYC) high schools. Outdoor PM_2.5 and BC were monitored continuously for 4–6 weeks at each of 3 NYC schools and 1 suburban school located 40 km upwind of the city. Traffic count data were obtained using an automated traffic counter or video camera. BC concentrations were 2–3 fold higher at urban schools compared with the suburban school, and among the 3 urban schools, BC concentrations were higher at schools located adjacent to highways. PM_2.5 concentrations were significantly higher at urban schools than at the suburban school, but concentrations did not vary significantly among urban schools. Both hourly average counts of trucks and buses and meteorological factors such as wind direction, wind speed, and humidity were significantly associated with hourly average ambient BC and PM_2.5 concentrations in multivariate regression models. An increase of 443 trucks/buses per hour was associated with a 0.62 μg/m³ increase in hourly average BC at an NYC school located adjacent to a major interstate highway. Car traffic counts were not associated with BC. The results suggest that local diesel vehicle traffic may be important sources of airborne fine particles in dense urban areas and consequently may contribute to local variations in PM_2.5 concentrations. In urban areas with higher levels of diesel traffic, local, neighborhood-scale monitoring of pollutants such as BC, which compared to PM_2.5, is a more specific indicator of diesel exhaust particles, may more accurately represent population exposures.     

Blood on the coal: The effect of organizational size and differentiation on coal mine accidents

Introduction

Each year, there are at least 100,000,000 occupational accidents and 100,000 occupational deaths in the world. In the United States, one of the safest countries in the world in which to work, there were more than 5,400 workplace fatalities and 5.9 million workplace injuries in 2007. The cost to American industry and taxpayers is estimated to be at least $170 billion per year. Further, as illustrated by accidents such as Three Mile Island and Bhopal, industrial accidents potentially impact a much wider sphere than that of the injured worker and his or her employer. As the repercussions of organizational accidents reverberate through organizations and are felt from human resources to accounting, firms are beginning to incorporate messages of safety in their missions and strategies. As firms organize to achieve safer work environments, they are faced with decisions on how to structure their activities in terms of, among other things, size and differentiation.

Method

This paper explores the impact on accident rates of size and differentiation at the corporate and mine levels of mining companies in an effort to create a framework for thinking about organizational accidents from a structural perspective.

Results

The results suggest that larger mines are safer than smaller mines, and that mines with less task diversity are safer than mines with greater task diversity. The results also suggest that at the corporate level, task diversity decreases mine accidents. These results may help mining executives and engineers structure their corporate activities and individual mines more effectively to help reduce accidents.     

The role of production and teamwork practices in construction safety: A cognitive model and an empirical case study

Problem

In construction, the challenge for researchers and practitioners is to develop work systems (production processes and teams) that can achieve high productivity and high safety at the same time. However, construction accident causation models ignore the role of work practices and teamwork. This study investigates the mechanisms by which production and teamwork practices affect the likelihood of accidents.

Method

The paper synthesizes a new model for construction safety based on the cognitive perspective (Fuller's Task-Demand-Capability Interface model, 2005) and then presents an exploratory case study. The case study investigates and compares the work practices of two residential framing crews: a 'High Reliability Crew' (HRC)—that is, a crew with exceptional productivity and safety over several years, and an average performing crew from the same company.

Results

The model explains how the production and teamwork practices generate the work situations that workers face (the task demands) and affect the workers ability to cope (capabilities). The case study indicates that the work practices of the HRC directly influence the task demands and match them with the applied capabilities. These practices were guided by the 'principle' of avoiding errors and rework and included work planning and preparation, work distribution, managing the production pressures, and quality and behavior monitoring.

Summary

The Task Demand-Capability model links construction research to a cognitive model of accident causation and provides a new way to conceptualize safety as an emergent property of the production practices and teamwork processes. The empirical evidence indicates that the crews' work practices and team processes strongly affect the task demands, the applied capabilities, and the match between demands and capabilities.

Impact on Industry

The proposed model and the exploratory case study will guide further discovery of work practices and teamwork processes that can increase both productivity and safety in construction operations. Such understanding will enable training of construction foremen and crews in these practices to systematically develop high reliability crews.     

基于事故致因理论分析煤矿安全事故

从我国煤矿安全现状出发,根据事故致因理论分析了煤矿安全事故发生的主要原因,阐述了煤矿安全事故发生的直接原因和间接原因,实例分析了 2 起煤矿安全事故,以便为煤矿安全隐患提供预防指导.     

轨道交通荷载下路基土的动力学行为研究进展

随着高速铁路、城际列车、地铁和轻轨等快速轨道交通的迅速发展,以及既有铁路列车提速,列车高速运行引起的地基振动、永久变形以及一系列相关的土动力学和岩土工程问题已经成为亟待解决的关键问题。通过对国内外关于轨道交通荷载作用下地基土的动力响应的理论研究、现场测试、土的动力特性以及地基土的永久变形研究进行评述,分析和总结了目前轨道交通荷载作用下路基土研究中存在的问题,并提出了尚需进一步研究的建议。     

基于车辆事故等级分类的紧急呼救系统研究

基于交通事故紧急救援的现状,阐述建立车辆事故紧急呼救系统的新需求,提出了开发基于车辆事故严重等级分类的紧急呼救系统需要实现的功能;应用车辆碰撞安全性理论和研究成果、导航定位技术及通信技术,设计了基于事故严重等级分类的车辆事故紧急呼救决策流程;探讨车辆事故自动检测和等级分类及紧急救援的实施方案,以实现车辆事故紧急自动呼救,使车辆和伤员得到及时高效的紧急救助。     

大连金州区城市交通噪声的监测分析与防治对策

通过对大连市金州区城市交通噪声污染状况进行调查、监测,发现城市交通噪声污染状况不容忽视,提出了扩建城市环城公路、拓展和平整路面、噪声技术治理以及加强城市交通管理等城市交通噪声综合防治的对策。     

常用几种公路交通噪声预测模式准确性分析

本文根据成温邛高速公路和成绵高速公路的交通量、车型及车速等监测数据,应用美国联邦公路管理局（FH-WA）噪声预测模式、JTGB03-2006推荐噪声预测模式和HJ2.4-2009推荐噪声预测模式,分别对两条高速公路进行噪声预测,将噪声预测值与实测值进行对比,分析在相同车流量、车型及车速等条件下各预测模式预测值与实测值的差值大小,并分析其原因,得出在高速公路交通噪声预测的准确性上HJ2.4-2009预测模式优于FHWA预测模式和JT-GB03-2006预测模式。     

营运期高速公路交通噪声声场分布及噪声污染的防治措施

结合福鼎至宁德高速公路工程竣工环保验收的工程实例，对该公路营运初期交通噪声实地监测，用回归曲线的方法，从垂直和水平方向分析了高速公路沿线两侧交通噪声声场分布及其交通噪声的衰减规律，分析了交通噪声对处在不同地理位置上敏感点的影响程度。从噪声治理技术的角度，提出了营运期公路交通噪声污染有效治理的合理化建议。     

高密度城市道路交通噪声的典型分布及其在战略环境评价(SEA)中的应用

分析了高密度城市道路交通噪声分布的特点，从噪声接受点评价的观点出发，以香港地区为例，研究不同建筑形态道路交通噪声的典型分布。基于方法是采用简化的DoT模型计算道路交通噪声，以基于GIS的道路交通噪声评价预测系统为工具计算不同建筑类型各单元的噪声级，再统计出各型建筑的噪声分布。通过Kolmogorov-Smirnov检验证实这些分布来自于不同总体，具有显著的差异。将上述计算结果运用于香港新界西北地区道路交通噪声的战略环境评价。