The inside story: timeline of events and communication leading up to superstorm sandy from the emergency manager perspective

During impending storms, emergency managers (EMs) are tasked with various decisions and challenges, particularly whether to issue evacuation orders for their area. This study aims to understand the timeline of decisions made and actions taken leading up to Superstorm Sandy’s landfall from the EM perspective. A total of 23 in-depth interviews was conducted in New Jersey and New York. All municipal EMs interviewed first heard about what would become Superstorm Sandy between one and two weeks prior to landfall. From then on, municipal EMs monitored the storm using a variety of sources. The communication and information trail is top-down, starting with higher EM levels (i.e. federal and state) and ending with municipal, or local, EMs. Typically, voluntary evacuation orders were issued on Friday or Saturday, while mandatory evacuation orders began being issued on Saturday, two days before landfall, and continued until the day of landfall. Who issued the various evacuation orders depended on location. In New York City, the Mayor has full control of whether an evacuation is ordered, while in New Jersey, the local EMs generally have the authority. Understanding the timeline of decisions is the first step into fully assessing the EM process during events such as Sandy.     

Volatile organic compounds at swine facilities: A critical review

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are regulated aerial pollutants that have environmental and health concerns. Swine operations produce and emit a complex mixture of VOCs with a wide range of molecular weights and a variety of physicochemical properties. Significant progress has been made in this area since the first experiment on VOCs at a swine facility in the early 1960s. A total of 47 research institutions in 15 North American, European, and Asian countries contributed to an increasing number of scientific publications. Nearly half of the research papers were published by U.S. institutions.Investigated major VOC sources included air inside swine barns, in headspaces of manure storages and composts, in open atmosphere above swine wastewater, and surrounding swine farms. They also included liquid swine manure and wastewater, and dusts inside and outside swine barns. Most of the sample analyses have been focusing on identification of VOC compounds and their relationship with odors. More than 500 VOCs have been identified. About 60% and 10% of the studies contributed to the quantification of VOC concentrations and emissions, respectively. The largest numbers of VOC compounds with reported concentrations in a single experimental study were 82 in air, 36 in manure, and 34 in dust samples.The relatively abundant VOC compounds that were quantified in at least two independent studies included acetic acid, butanoic acid (butyric acid), dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, iso-valeric, p-cresol, propionic acid, skatole, trimethyl amine, and valeric acid in air. They included acetic acid, p-cresol, iso-butyric acid, butyric acid, indole, phenol, propionic acid, iso-valeric acid, and skatole in manure. In dust samples, they were acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, p-cresol, hexanal, and decanal. Swine facility VOCs were preferentially bound to smaller-size dusts.Identification and quantification of VOCs were restricted by using instruments based on gas Chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) with different detectors most of which require time-consuming procedures to obtain results. Various methodologies and technologies in sampling, sample preparation, and sample analysis have been used. Only four publications reported using GC based analyzers and PTR-MS (proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry) that allowed continuous VOC measurement. Because of this, the majority of experimental studies were only performed on limited numbers of air, manure, or dust samples. Many aerial VOCs had concentrations that were too low to be identified by the GC peaks.Although VOCs emitted from swine facilities have environmental concerns, only a few studies investigated VOC emission rates, which ranged from 3.0 to 176.5 mg d⁻¹ kg⁻¹ pig at swine finishing barns and from 2.3 to 45.2 g d⁻¹ m⁻² at manure storages. Similar to the other pollutants, spatial and temporal variations of aerial VOC concentrations and emissions existed and were significantly affected by manure management systems, barn structural designs, and ventilation rates.Scientific research in this area has been mainly driven by odor nuisance, instead of environment or health concerns. Compared with other aerial pollutants in animal agriculture, the current scientific knowledge about VOCs at swine facilities is still very limited and far from sufficient to develop reliable emission factors.     

河南省排污单位用电监管的问题与对策

为加强环境监管力度,实现对排污单位污染治理设施的精准监管,分析了河南省排污单位用电监管系统建设现状.针对用电监管在承建单位水平、安装建设质量、管理制度体系保障、数据应用效果等方面存在的问题,提出了应严格筛选承建单位,加强质量控制和制度保障,提高数据应用能力等方面的对策建议,为排污单位用电监管工作提供借鉴,助力打好蓝天保...     

便携式分光光度计在地表水环境应急监测中的适用性分析

考察了便携式分光光度计对地表水中化学需氧量(COD)、氨氮(NH_3-N)、氟化物(F~-)、总磷(TP)和六价铬(Cr~(6+))的应急监测的适用性。对方法精密度和准确度进行测定,并将便携式方法与实验室方法的测定结果进行比对。结果表明,方法精密度为2.3%~7.4%,标准样品除Cr6+外,其他均在保证值范围内;加标回收率为86.0%~110%,2种方法比对的相对偏差为2.9%~6.4%。该方法精密度与准确度良好,可以较好地应用于地表水环境应急监测中。     

Revealing hidden debottlenecking potential in flare systems on offshore facilities using dynamic simulations – A preliminary investigation

Three flare systems are modeled and total plant depressurization is investigated using dynamic simulations in order to access the debottlenecking potential. Usually, steady-state simulation of the flare network is used for sizing and rating of the flare system. By using dynamic simulations, effects from line packing in the flare system can be studied. The results show that peak flow during a dynamic simulations is significantly lower than the peak flow used in a steady-state case. The three systems investigated span a wide range in flare system size, both in terms of number of process segments disposing into the flare network, in terms of peak design rate, the flare network pipe dimensions and total hold-up volume. Generally, it is observed that the larger the flare system, the larger debottlenecking potential.     

Optimal Assignments of Allocating and Scheduling Emergency Resources to Accidents in Chemical Industrial Parks

Accidents in chemical industrial parks can result in mass casualties and the risk usually escalates due to domino effects. However, most of the existing models of emergency logistics do not account for domino effect and may be unsuitable for emergency response to accidents in chemical industrial parks. This paper presents a mathematical model proposed for optimal assignments of allocating and scheduling emergency resources for rescuing victims and preventing accident spreading simultaneously. The detailed characteristics of accident scenarios and emergency resources are taken into account. Based on this, the efficiency of emergency response is evaluated by the total number of fatalities and the amount of losses caused by domino effects which are the optimal objectives of the model. A numerical case study was conducted by solving the model using a designed heuristic algorithm. The results showed the applicability and reliability of the proposed model for making optimal assignments for emergency response to accidents in chemical industrial parks.     

城市应急避难场所层次布局研究(Ⅱ)——三级层次选址模型

分析应急避难场所层次选址的目标因素:建设成本和避难效果,提出总的移动距离最短和建设成本最小两类选址目标,立足城市发展程度差异和现状应急避难场所建设情况分析,将应急避难场所选址类型分为规划性选址、老城新选址、补充性选址三种。依据应急避难场所的三级层次划分,以及单一流、嵌套、空间非匹配的层次特点,分别建立了应急避难场所的规划性选址、老城新选址、补充性选址共8个三级层次选址模型,并通过模拟实验对模型的效果进行了检验。     

A microcomputer-based emergency response system*

A microcomputer-based system was developed to provide local officials responsible for disaster management with assistance during the crucial period immediately following a disaster, a period when incorrect decisions could have an adverse impact on the surrounding community.
While the paper focuses on a potential disaster resulting from an accident at a commercial nuclear power generating facility, the system can be applied to other disastrous situations. Decisions involving evacuation, shelter and the deployment of resources must be made in response to floods, earthquakes, accidents in the transportation of hazardous materials, and hurricanes to name a few examples.
As a decision aid, the system was designed to enhance data display by presenting the data in the form of representations (i.e. road maps, evacuation routes, etc.) as well as in list or tabular form. The potential impact of the event (i.e. the release of radioactive material) was displayed in the form of a cloud, representing the dispersion of the radioactive material. In addition, an algorithm was developed to assist the manager in assigning response resources to demands.
The capability for modelling the impact of a disaster is discussed briefly, with reference to a system installed in the communities surrounding the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York State.
Results demonstrate both the technical feasibility of incorporating microcomputers indecision support systems for radiological emergency response, and the acceptance of such systems by those public officials responsible for implementing the response plans.     

Lake Elsinore disaster: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

A case study of a flood which occurred at Lake Elsinore, California, February, 1980, focuses upon the assistance which the community received during both the flood and recovery periods. Relevant literature on disaster research is examined, including a model of disaster recovery, and the study places the events which occurred din Lake Elsinore within that recovery model. Implications for policy include the recommendation that decision-makers consider the pre-disaster growth of the community indecisions to support recovery assistance.     

危险化学品运输中的安全问题

危险化学品运输是一种动态危险源 ,发生事故涉及面广 ,危害严重 ,对人民生命财产、社会公共安全构成威胁。危险化学品安全运输越来越受到人们的关注。笔者分析了危险化学品运输中引发事故的诸因素和安全运输中应特别注意的几个问题 ,强调从业单位、从业人员的资质、法律意识和业务素质 ,并探讨了发生事故的应急处置措施 :尽快报警 ,组织抢救 ,杜绝一切火源 ,消毒 ,现场监测。