Managing Uncertainty in Risk-Based Corrective Action Design: Global Sensitivity Analysis of Contaminant Fate and Exposure Models Used in the Dose Assessment

A variance-based global sensitivity analysis (GSA) was applied to the dose assessment model used in the risk-based corrective action methodology of environmental risk analysis to identify key sources of variability and uncertainty and quantify the relative contribution of these sources to the variance of estimated dose. GSA was performed applying extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test technique. The soil-to-air contaminant transport pathway within an inhalation exposure scenario was addressed. Three persistent semi-volatile carcinogenic chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls, benzo(a)pyrene, and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, were chosen as contaminants of concern.     

室内尘埃中铅的赋存形态与儿童血铅的相关性研究

有关室内尘埃中铅的赋存形态与儿童血铅的相关性研究尚未见报道。在对某地儿童血铅进行调查期间,发现当地儿童血铅浓度与室内尘埃中铅的水溶态、离子交换态、腐殖酸结合态、铁锰氧化态、强有机结合态和残渣态呈正相关,但不显著,无统计学意义。但与总铅浓度呈显著正相关(R=0.447,P=0.032),与铅的碳酸盐结合态呈高显著相关(R=0.537,P=0.008)。在此基础上,将儿童血铅分别与尘埃中铅暴露量、摄入量和潜在剂量进行相关分析,结果表明,儿童血铅与室内尘总铅摄入量和总铅潜在剂量正相关但无统计意义,与尘总铅暴露量显著相关(R=0.431,P=0.040),与碳酸盐态的暴露量(R=0.537,P=0.008)、摄入量(R=0.538,P=0.008)和潜在剂量(R=0.540,P=0.008)高度显著相关。提示在土壤和尘埃中铅的碳酸盐态含量较高的地区,碳酸盐态铅可能是造成儿童血铅超标的主要原因。     

某铀矿山废石场及尾砂库氡污染调查

通过对某退役铀矿山的 14个废石堆放场及 3个尾砂库氡析出率的测量及内照射剂量的估算 ,表明 ,只有一个废石场的氡析出率超过国家规定的管理限值水平 ;尾砂库的氡析出率较高 ,个别测点的氡析出率超出管理限值水平近 7倍 ;因氡析出而使当地居民额外所受的年最大有效剂量当量为 0 0 5 8mSv。指出在尾砂库表面覆盖黄土 ,可以有效降低氡析出水平 ,当覆盖厚度达 0 5m时 ,可将氡析出水平降低 84%以上。     

新疆核试验场周围地区主要食品中90Sr(锶)、137Cs(铯)水平及其所致居民剂量

本文报道了新疆核试验场周围地区9个调查区17种主要食品中⁹⁰Sr、¹³⁷Cs含量分别为1.1~72.3,0.3~40.7×10^-2Bq·Kg^-1;3个对照区分别为1.6~68.4,0.6~27.4×10^-2Bq·Kg^-1。两地区同类食品中⁹⁰Sr、¹³⁷Cs平均含量基本一致。调查区⁹⁰Sr、¹³⁷Cs所致成年居民有效剂量当量值分别为2μSV(集体剂量当量为30.0人· SV);0.3μSV(4.5人· SV)。对照区分别为2.2μSV(集体剂量当量为20.9人·SV);0.4μSV(3.0人·SV)。可见我国核试验产生的⁹⁰Sr、¹³⁷Cs对核试验场周围地区食品没有造成明显的局部污染,所致居民剂量当量负担仅为我国天然外照射所致年有效剂量当量(952μSV)的0.2%和0.03%。对该地区的广大居民健康不会产生有害的影响。     

Radionuclide content of building materials and associated gamma dose rates in Egyptian dwellings

Studies have been carried out to determine the natural radioactivity in some building materials (bricks, tiles, marble and ceramics) and their associated radiation hazard. The radioactivity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were measured using a gamma spectrometer with a Hp–Ge detector. The activities of ²³⁸U and ²³⁴U were measured using an alpha-spectrometer with a surface barrier detector after applying a radiochemical procedure. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U isotopic ratios were calculated. The radium equivalent activities and the radiation hazard index associated with the natural radionuclides were calculated. A computer program was developed and applied to calculate the dose rate a person will receive from the walls of a room constructed from the studied building materials.     

杀虫双对土壤脲酶影响的研究

通过对土壤脲酶受杀虫双影响的研究．结果表明,杀虫双对不同生态区土壤脲酶活性具有明显的抑制作用,随杀虫双浓度的增加,酶活性持续减小、计算得到了土壤酶活性的生态剂量ＥＤ５０值,获得了北方(?)土和南方红壤污染的;临界浓度为４８９和２４６ｇ/ｋｇ;Ｌａｎｇｍｕｉｒ模型可较好表征酶活性与尿素浓度间的定量关系;土壤脲酶活性和最大表观酶活性均可表征土壤受杀虫双污染程度的大小。     

中国钢铁工业职业卫生40年回顾和今后展望

通过对中国钢铁工业职业卫生四十年的回顾,笔者认为:钢铁工业卫生管理体制已基本形成,但管理水平急需提高;主要的传统职业危害有所抑制,而今后任务仍十分艰巨;随着钢铁工业生产技术的发展广大职工又面临新的职业危害的挑战。本文最后对90年代钢铁工业职业卫生的形势进行了展望,提出了新的对策。在执行「八五」职业卫生规划的基础上,还需加强职业互生服务机构,扩大服务覆盖面,提高专业素质、开展普及教育、加强专业队伍的自身建设,这些任务是实现十年战略目标的重要保证。     

Occupational accident rate in olive oil mills

Problem

This paper aims at examining the occupational accident rate in Spain in the olive oil mill industry. These mills produce olive oil by physical or mechanical, but not chemical procedures. Although Spain is the leading olive oil producer in the world with 1,200,000 tons/year and over 25% of the world olive farming area, the occupational accident rate in this sector has been little studied in the relevant scientific literature.

Method

Our study analyses all occupational accidents which occurred during 2004-2009, with or without sick leave, at 90 Andalusian olive oil mills covered by one of the biggest state insurance companies for accidents at work and occupational diseases (within the Spanish Social Security system).

Results and discussion

Slips or trips are the most frequent cause of occupational accidents in this sector, accounting for 14.86% of the cases. In second position, incorrectly coordinated bodily movements account for almost 13.51% of the accidents. Falls from height, 12.2% of the cases, are also statistically noteworthy. As for the seriousness of the injuries, entrapments are particularly important, since in 2.70% of the cases they result in the traumatic amputation of a part of the body. The analysis of accidents without sick leave reveals that a high number of incidents are caused by contact of the skin and eyes with hazardous substances (20% of the cases) and 10% of them involve superficial injuries.

Impact on the industry

This paper provides a clear and updated image of the accident rate in Spanish olive oil mills and can be a useful tool for the design and adequate adjustment of the management systems implemented in these plants to guarantee a satisfactory level of occupational health and safety by means of more efficient planning and monitoring of measures intended to reduce professional risks and improve working conditions.

Recommendations

Given not only the high incidence of falls on the same level and the potential seriousness of falls from different levels, but also the small, round fruit involved, with a high oil content and a hard round stone, it is extremely important to design and implement safe working procedures and specifically train both operatives and managers in charge of the tidiness, cleanliness and regular control of the premises and operations. The analysis of the accidents not requiring sick leave (mostly cases of contact with hazardous substances on the skin or eyes, or superficial injuries) clearly reveals that the use of suitable personal protective equipment and the relevant training are crucial issues.     

A fuzzy risk assessment approach for occupational hazards in the construction industry

The techniques in the construction industry have been improved due to the rapid development of science and technology. However, the constructional hazards are not decreased as expected. To reduce or prevent occupational hazards in the construction industry, a fuzzy risk assessment method was proposed to provide a prevention and improvement technique against occupational hazards. This method used two-stage quality function deployment (QFD) tables to represent the relationships among construction items, hazard types and hazard causes. A fuzzy analytic network process (ANP) method was developed to identify important hazard types and hazard causes. Failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) was performed to assess the risk value of hazard causes based on the fuzzy inference approach. The proposed method was applied to a telecom engineering company in southern Taiwan. The performance evaluation result indicated that this method can provide satisfactory risk assessment values of hazard causes and relevant improvement strategies.     

12-Year longitudinal study linking within-person changes in work and family transitions and workplace injury risk

Introduction: Despite the rich tradition of research on predictors of workplace injury, most studies rely on cross-sectional, between-person designs. Furthermore, prior research has often overlooked the possibility that factors outside the work domain can influence the occurrence of actual injuries at work. To address these limitations, the current study examined the effects of work and family demands on the occurrence of workplace injury. Drawing on the intuition of the work-home resources model (W-HR), we investigated how within-person level changes in demands and resources from both domains influence work injuries over a 12-year period. Method: We used 12 years of longitudinal data (N = 7,820) to study the long-term within-person changes in work and family domains and to capture the event of low frequency incidence such as workplace injury. Specifically, we conducted multilevel analyses to study the links between within-person change in time and energy resources both in work and family domains and within-person change in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. Results and conclusion: The findings showed that within-person changes in work hours, spousal work hours, income and number of children, were significantly associated with changes in the likelihood of experiencing a workplace injury. We conclude with a discussion of implications for theory and future research of workplace injuries. Practical application: The research provided useful insights on the intimate association between work and family domains in the context of safety management.