Development and evaluation of RAMP I – a practitioner’s tool for screening of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manual handling

RAMP I is a screening tool developed to support practitioners in screening for work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors related to manual handling. RAMP I, which is part of the RAMP tool, is based on research-based studies combined with expert group judgments. More than 80 practitioners participated in the development of RAMP I. The tool consists of dichotomous assessment items grouped into seven categories. Acceptable reliability was found for a majority of the assessment items for 15 practitioners who were given 1?h of training. The usability evaluation points to RAMP I being usable for screening for musculoskeletal disorder risk factors, i.e., usable for assessing risks, being usable as a decision base, having clear results and that the time needed for an assessment is acceptable. It is concluded that RAMP I is a usable tool for practitioners.     

A proactive process risk assessment approach based on job hazard analysis and resilient engineering

Complex systems often experience a long period of incubation before accidents occur. Therefore, a proactive risk assessment is essential for process safety. The conventional job hazard analysis (JHA) method has been an effective tool to conduct a process risk assessment in the high-risk industrial field. However, the conventional JHA is inadequate for the proactive risk assessment since it is usually conducted during and before one specific operation process. Operations such as startup and maintenance are performed repeatedly on the lifecycle of a plant. Therefore, the risk reduction measures for the industrial process should include not only preventive actions obtained from the conventional JHA but also recovery ones. Resilience engineering (RE) has proven to be helpful for the recovery analysis of a complex system. The objective of this paper is to propose a proactive and comprehensive process risk assessment approach based on JHA and RE. The mechanism of applying RE to address operation process risk is illustrated. The integrated approach can provide guidelines to establish proactive risk reduction measures as well as maintain a low-risk level. Finally, a gas transmission startup process risk assessment case is presented to demonstrate its applicability.     

Epidemiologic Analysis of Factors Associated with Local Disappearances of Native Ranid Frogs in Arizona

Abstract:  We examined factors that may independently or synergistically contribute to amphibian population declines. We used epidemiologic case–control methodology to sample and analyze a large database developed and maintained by the Arizona Game and Fish Department that describes historical and currently known ranid frog localities in Arizona, U.S.A. Sites with historical documentation of target ranid species ( n = 324) were evaluated to identify locations where frogs had disappeared during the study period (case sites) and locations where frog populations persisted (control sites). Between 1986 and 2003, 117 (36%) of the 324 sites became case sites, of which 105 were used in the analyses. An equal number of control sites were sampled to control for the effects of time. Risk factors, or predictor variables, were defined from environmental data summarized during site surveys and geographic information system data layers. We evaluated risk factors with univariate and multifactorial logistic-regression analyses to derive odds ratios (OR). Odds for local population disappearance were significantly related to 4 factors in the multifactorial model. Disappearance of frog populations increased with increasing elevation (OR = 2.7 for every 500 m, p < 0.01). Sites where disappearances occurred were 4.3 times more likely to have other nearby sites that also experienced disappearances (OR = 4.3, p < 0.01), whereas the odds of disappearance were 6.7 times less (OR = 0.15, p < 0.01) when there was a source population nearby. Sites with disappearances were 2.6 times more likely to have introduced crayfish than were control sites (OR = 2.6, p = 0.04). The identification of factors associated with frog disappearances increases understanding of declines occurring in natural populations and aids in conservation efforts to reestablish and protect native ranids by identifying and prioritizing implicated threats.     

Risk-evaluation of Hi-tech Enterprise in the Process of Approaching Global Market

In the high technology industry, small and medium sized technology enterprises (SMSTEs) play a pivotal role in advancing the whole industry. To achieve sustainable development, they need to extend their scope of business activities beyond a national view and exploit international market actively to meet international competitions that increase quickly in the form of allocating resources within the scope of the world. However, the SMSTEs are also facing risks associated with themselves during the process of exploiting international market owing to their own restrictions, so what they should do is to consider risk evaluations in exploiting the international market.     

企业开展HSE危害识别及风险评估的现状与对策

结合本单位建立与实施HSE管理体系实际，分析了企业开展危害识别与风险评估中常见的问题，提出了解决问题的初步方法。     

爆炸事故过程分析中不确定性问题处理方法

针对事故过程分析中的不确定性问题,指出了不确定问题在危险分析中的重要性及处理该问题的复杂性和难点,列出了几种基于非线性数学方法处理不确定问题的基本方法,如微分法、MonteCarlo模拟、Fourier方法、响应表面法等,并对之进行了比较.建议在处理事故过程的不确定性时采用Monte Carlo模拟.     

铅锌矿区玉米中重金属污染特征及健康风险评价

以西南某铅锌矿区为研究区域,测定了92份玉米样品中Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr和Ni的含量,开展了矿区玉米籽粒中重金属污染特征及健康风险研究.应用单因子污染指数和内梅罗综合污染指数分析了重金属在玉米中的污染状况,采用健康风险评价模型评价了重金属对人体健康造成的风险,同时利用主成分分析法解析了重金属的主要来源.结果表明,玉米籽粒中Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr和Ni的平均含量分别为0.30、23.75、0.21、1.33和1.15 mg ·kg^-1;除重金属Zn外,其他4种重金属均超过我国食品卫生标准限值,研究区玉米籽粒中Pb、Cd、Cr和Ni的综合污染指数范围介于4.32~9.07之间,均属于重度污染,Zn的综合污染指数小于1;重金属通过玉米籽粒摄入引起的复合重金属污染对成人和儿童均存在健康风险,且对儿童造成的健康风险高于成人.玉米籽粒中5种重金属可以由2个主成分来反映,第一主成分主要支配Pb、Cd、Cr和Ni的来源,第二主成分支配Zn的来源.玉米籽粒重金属含量与土壤重金属含量之间没有明显相关性.     

长江经济带突发水污染风险分区研究

长江经济带突发水污染事件频发,对区域人群健康和生态安全造成严峻挑战.环境风险分区是环境风险管理的基础和有效工具.本研究以2015年为基准年,基于环境统计数据、DEM数据、水质监测断面数据和基础地理数据,综合考虑了水系流向、水系级别及水质等因素,以1 km×1 km的网格为基本单元,对长江经济带开展突发水污染风险分区.结果表明:①高风险区面积为3348.9 km~2,占评估区总面积的0.16%;较高风险区面积为26030.7 km~2,占比1.27%;中风险区面积为97971.1 km~2,占比4.79%;低风险区面积为1916838.7 km~2,占比93.77%;②从沿长江干流两岸分布来看,高风险区面积沿长江上游至下游呈逐渐增加趋势,主要集中分布在重庆市中部、湖北省东部、安徽省东部、江苏省中西部、浙江省北部、上海市西部等地;③从沿长江主要支流两岸分布来看,高风险区主要分布在嘉陵江南段、乌江南段、汉水东段、湘江北段、赣江北段等.研究结果可为长江经济带生态环境管理提供科学依据.     

沱江沉积物中有机氯农药分布特征及其与藻类有机质的关系和生态风险评估

使用气相色谱-质谱联用仪分析了长江支流沱江流域48个表层沉积物中有机氯农药（organochlorine pesticides,OCPs）的残留水平,探讨了其分布和组成特征及其与总有机碳（total organic carbon,TOC）、藻类有机质之间的关系,以及评估其生态风险.结果表明沱江流域表层沉积物中OCPs的总含量为3.17~127 ng·g^-1,其中六六六（hexachlorocyclohexane,HCHs）类农药的含量为2.83~86.0 ng·g^-1,滴滴涕（dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane,DDTs）类农药的含量为0.340~40.9 ng·g^-1.OCPs空间分布特点为：上游 < 中游 < 下游 < 支流.HCHs和DDTs的组成成分分析表明,沱江流域存在林丹输入的现象,主要来自于历史残留,这与绝大多数流域的DDTs的输入状况相似.OCPs含量与TOC、藻类有机质含量之间存在着极显著的正相关性关系,表明藻类有机质在TOC对沉积物中的OCPs分配中起更为重要的作用.生态风险评估表明,沱江流域表层沉积物的有机氯农药存在较大的生态风险,可能对河流的底栖生物及生态环境造成明显的影响.