Distributions of personal VOC exposures: a population-based analysis

Information regarding the distribution of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations and exposures is scarce, and there have been few, if any, studies using population-based samples from which representative estimates can be derived. This study characterizes distributions of personal exposures to ten different VOCs in the U.S. measured in the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Personal VOC exposures were collected for 669 individuals over 2-3 days, and measurements were weighted to derive national-level statistics. Four common exposure sources were identified using factor analyses: gasoline vapor and vehicle exhaust, methyl tert-butyl ether (MBTE) as a gasoline additive, tap water disinfection products, and household cleaning products. Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylenes chloroform, and tetrachloroethene were fit to log-normal distributions with reasonably good agreement to observations. 1,4-Dichlorobenzene and trichloroethene were fit to Pareto distributions, and MTBE to Weibull distribution, but agreement was poor. However, distributions that attempt to match all of the VOC exposure data can lead to incorrect conclusions regarding the level and frequency of the higher exposures. Maximum Gumbel distributions gave generally good fits to extrema, however, they could not fully represent the highest exposures of the NHANES measurements. The analysis suggests that complete models for the distribution of VOC exposures require an approach that combines standard and extreme value distributions, and that carefully identifies outliers. This is the first study to provide national-level and representative statistics regarding the VOC exposures, and its results have important implications for risk assessment and probabilistic analyses.     

Influence of seasonal climate differences on the pharmaceutical,hormone and personal care product removal efficiency of a drinking water treatment plant

The potential presence of pharmaceuticals, hormones and personal care products in drinking water supplies has raised concerned over the efficiency with which these substances are removed by water treatment processes. In this work, we analyzed samples of raw, unprocessed water collected in different periods and found them to contain higher levels of these contaminants in the colder periods (viz. 12–314 ng L⁻¹ in autumn and winter as compared to 8–127 ng L⁻¹ in spring and summer) as a result of their biodegradation being favoured by high temperatures and solar irradiance. We also assessed the efficiency with which these contaminants are removed from drinking water by a water treatment plant operating in south-eastern Spain. Preoxidation with potassium permanganate and chloramination with sodium hypochlorite in the presence of highly concentrated ammonia were found to be the treatment steps most markedly contributing to the removal of pharmaceuticals, hormones and personal care products from drinking water (especially in the warmer periods, where these contaminants were completely removed from the water). By contrast, water treated in the colder periods (autumn and winter) still contained small amounts of ibuprofen and carbamazepine (0.09–0.5 ng L⁻¹) which, however, accounted for less than 0.2% of their original concentrations in the water prior to treatment.     

防护服对消防员工效性能影响的定量研究*

为开发高性能防护服以提升救援效率,基于人体试验,测量受试者穿戴灭火防护服、半封闭防化服、全封闭防化服以及基础服装（对照组）时静态条件下左右手握力值、疲劳度（RPE）和活动受限程度,通过方差分析、接受者操作特征（ROC）曲线图、相关性分析进行定量研究。研究结果表明:灭火防护服对消防员工效性能影响大于防化服,灭火防护服较对照组握力减小32%、RPE增大54%、活动受限程度增大35倍,且RPE和活动受限程度均与握力呈显著负相关（p<0.001）。研究结果可为消防员个体防护服装设计、测试、性能提升等提供理论支撑,也可为消防员生命安全保障研究提供基础数据。     

When may road fatalities start to decrease?

Introduction

The comparative analysis of macroscopic trends in road safety has been a popular research topic. The objective of this research is to propose a simple and, at the same time, reliable multiple regime model framework for international road safety comparisons, allowing for the identification of slope changes of personal risk curves and respective breakpoints.

Method

The trends of road traffic fatalities in several EU countries have been examined through the temporal evolution of elementary socioeconomic indicators, namely motorized vehicle fleet and population, at the country level.

Results

Piece-wise linear regression models have been fitted, using a methodology that allows the simultaneous estimation of all slopes and breakpoints. The number and location of breakpoints, as well as the slope of the connecting trends, vary among countries, thus indicating different road safety evolution patterns.

Impact on industry

Macroscopic analysis of road accident trends may be proved beneficial for the identification of best examples and the implementation of appropriate programmes and measures, which will lead to important benefits for the society and the economy through the reduction of road fatalities and injuries. Best performing countries and the related programmes and measures adopted may concern several safety improvements at the processes of the road, the vehicle and the insurance industries.

Conclusions

Lessons from the analysis of the past road safety patterns of developed countries provide some insight into the underlying process that relates motorization levels with personal risk and can prove to be beneficial for predicting the road safety evolution of developing countries that may have not yet reached the same breakpoints. Furthermore, the presented framework may serve as a basis to build more elaborate models, including more reliable exposure indicators (such as vehicle-km driven).     

突发公共事件与个体防护装备

作者论述了个体防护装备的作用、种类和发展 ;从军事斗争、劳动防护和社会公众防护等方面论述了个体防护装备的重要性 ,指出突发公共事件正在呼唤个体防护装备 ;对我国个体防护装备的发展和应用提出了意见和建议     

水上个体救生具性能测试方法的比较研究

对比研究了国际标准化组织 (ISO) ,国际海事组织 (IMO) ,英国标准 (BS) ,美国军事标准 (MIL) ,日本工业标准 (JIS) ,中华人民共和国标准 (GB) ,中华人民共和国交通部标准 (JT)等各类标准中关于水上个体救生具的整体救生性能、主体材料和部件性能、属具性能的测试方法 ,在此基础上 ,笔者提出了我国水上个体救生具在性能检测方面的研发方向。     

个体防护装备在受限空间作业中的选择配备与使用管理

近年来,受限空间伤害事故频发,已引起各相关部门的重视。个体防护装备的合理正确选用在避免受限空间伤害事故的发生上起着至关重要的作用。本文通过典型案例,仅从个体防护装备的配备和管理角度分析事故的致因,并根据受限空间内所存在的各种危害类别及形式探讨个体防护装备的选配以及合理的使用与管理,以期能够有效地防止或减少受限空间内作业伤害事故的发生。     

基于行人占据区域的泰森多边形人员密度统计方法

行人动力学的研究一直是火灾下人员疏散研究的重要内容。研究者通过大量观测和可控实验,获得行人的运动行为特征,揭示人员运动规律,但是仍然缺乏足够的定量校准的实验数据。在总结了前人对于实验中全局密度与局部密度统计方法的基础上,基于泰森多边形方法,结合人际关系距离与视野的观念,提出了一种行人占据多边形的速度密度统计方法。通过对平均密度平均速度的比较发现,方法得到的结果比传统统计方法得到的结果波动更小且更接近于连续变化、在密度低时比泰森多边形方法的结果更符合实际情况;而对于个人的速度密度散点图,结果也比泰森多边形方法的结果更为集中,尤其是除去了密度小而速度低的不合理数据点。     

Investigation of exhaled pollutant distribution in the breathing microenvironment in a displacement ventilated room with indoor air stability conditions

This study experimentally studied the dispersion of exhaled pollutant in the breathing microenvironment (BM) in a room equipped with a displacement ventilation (DV) system and indoor air stability conditions (i.e., stable and unstable conditions). The vertical temperature differences and the carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration in the BM were measured. Results show that when DV is combined with the stable condition (DS), pollutant tends to accumulate in the BM, leading to a high pollutant concentration in this region. Whereas, when DV is combined with the unstable condition (DU), pollutant diffuses to a relatively wider area beyond the BM, thus the pollutant concentration in the BM is substantially reduced. Moreover, increasing the flow rate can reduce the pollutant concentration in the BM of the DS but yields little difference of the DU. In addition, personal exposure intensity increases with time, and the DS has a relatively higher increase rate than DU. The results suggest that indoor air stability will affect the performance of DV systems. DS will lead to a higher health risk for people when they stay in the indoor environment with pollutant sources, and DU is recommended for minimizing pollutant level in the BM in order to reduce the pollutant concentration and providing better air environments for the occupants.     

A review of personal care products in the aquatic environment: environmental concentrations and toxicity

Considerable research has been conducted examining occurrence and effects of human use pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment; however, relatively little research has been conducted examining personal care products although they are found more often and in higher concentrations than pharmaceuticals. Personal care products are continually released into the aquatic environment and are biologically active and persistent. This article examines the acute and chronic toxicity data available for personal care products and highlights areas of concern. Toxicity and environmental data were synergized to develop a preliminary hazard assessment in which only triclosan and triclocarban presented any hazard. However, numerous PCPs including triclosan, paraben preservatives, and UV filters have evidence suggesting endocrine effects in aquatic organisms and thus need to be investigated and incorporated in definitive risk assessments. Additional data pertaining to environmental concentrations of UV filters and parabens, in vivo toxicity data for parabens, and potential for bioaccumulation of PCPs needs to obtained to develop definitive aquatic risk assessments.