A hybrid model for human factor analysis in process accidents: FBN-HFACS

Human factors are the largest contributing factors to unsafe operation of the chemical process systems. Conventional methods of human factor assessment are often static, unable to deal with data and model uncertainty, and to consider independencies among failure modes. To overcome the above limitations, this paper presents a hybrid dynamic human factor model considering Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), intuitionistic fuzzy set theory, and Bayesian network. The model is tested on accident scenarios which have occurred in a hot tapping operation of a natural gas pipeline. The results demonstrate that poor occupational safety training, failure to implement risk management principles, and ignoring reporting unsafe conditions were the factors that contributed most failures causing accident. The potential risk-based safety measures for preventing similar accidents are discussed. The application of the model confirms its robustness in estimating impact rate (degree) of human factor induced failures, consideration of the conditional dependency, and a dynamic and flexible modelling structure.     

Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review

Early non-invasive fetal sexing is widely available over the Internet, leading to concerns about its possible use for sex selection. The aim of this review is to summarise the results of surveys describing lay attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons to help address or inform such concerns. A search of electronic databases and key journals was supplemented by an Internet search and citation-tracking. Twenty-one quantitative studies were identified. Most were conducted in the US, with five recent studies in the UK and Germany. Most studies found that, overall, people were not in favour of sex selection. However, this varied from 94 to 18%. People may hold more negative attitudes when the method of sex selection is specified, particularly if this involves termination of pregnancy (TOP). Attitudes towards the general availability of sex selection are less negative than those towards personal use. Attitudes were consistently negative in German surveys. Little is known of such attitudes outside the US, the UK and Germany, and how such attitudes may change as new sex selection technologies become available. Studies of use of early non-invasive fetal sexing for sex selection for non-medical reasons are needed to assess the extent to which concerns about usage are justified and to assist in debates on how these might be most appropriately addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Community evacuation following a chlorine release, Mississippi

On 7th September 1986, four miles north of Collins, Mississippi, a train transporting chlorine derailed. Two cars ruptured and gas escaped. As a result, 100 families were evacuated. To study the evacuation process, we conducted person-to-person interviews with sixty-two families staying in the evacuation center. Only 52.5% of the families received their first directive to evacuate directly from police or other officials. Delays in evacuating tended to be shorter when people were warned by the police and were told the reason for evacuating. Lack of personal transportation and preexisting health problems resulted in delays in evacuation. Concerns about evacuation included fear of looting, lack of a place to go, lack of transportation, difficulty in moving with children and elderly persons, and the need to take care of pets. One third of the interviewees reported feeling panic. Community evacuation procedures would be improved if: (1) officials contact all households directly; (2) the warning message addresses people's concerns; and (3) transportation is provided.     

Sources, distribution, and risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides in Nairobi City, Kenya

The distribution and sources of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in air and surface waters were monitored in Nairobi City using triolein-filled semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). The SPMDs were extracted by dialysis using n-hexane, followed by cleanup by adsorption chromatography on silica gel cartridges. Sample analysis was done by GC-ECD and confirmed by GC–MS. Separation of means was achieved by analysis of variance, followed by pair-wise comparison using the t-test (p≤ 0.05). The total OCPs ranged between 0.018 – 1.277 ng/m³ in the air and <LOD – 1391.000 ng/m³ in surface waters. Based on the results, the means of Industrial Area, Dandora and Kibera were not significantly different (p≤ 0.05), but were higher (p≤ 0.05) than those of City square and Ngong’ Forest. The results revealed non-significant (p≤ 0.05) contribution of long-range transport to OCP pollution in Nairobi City. This indicated possible presence of point sources of environmental OCPs in the city. The water-air fugacity ratios indicated that volatilization and deposition played an important role in the spatial distribution of OCPs in Nairobi City. This indicated that contaminated surface waters could be major sources of human exposure to OCPs, through volatilization. The incremental lifetime cancer risks (ILCR) determined from inhalation of atmospheric OCPs were 2.3745  ×  10^?13 – 1.6845  ×  10^?11 (adult) and 5.5404  ×  10^?13 – 3.9306  ×  10^?11 (child) in the order: Dandora > Kibera > Industrial Area > City Square > Ngong’ Forest. However, these were lower than the USEPA acceptable risks, 10^?6 – 10^?4. This study concluded that atmospheric OCPs did not pose significant cancer risks to the residents.     

铁基质强化新型功能性化粪池高效处理黑水的试验

以铁基质生物载体为核心,将物理、生物和化学方法结合,对化粪池进行功能强化,实现黑水的原位深度处理.探究了溶解氧（DO）和碳氮比（C/N）等因素对黑水中污染物降解的影响,并在最佳运行参数下考察了氮素在系统中的转化机制.结果表明,当C/N为7.3~8.4时,好氧生物铁基质载体池DO为2.3~2.7mg/L时,系统氨氮（NH₄⁺-N）、总氮（TN） 、COD和总磷（TP）的平均去除率分别可达90.74%、85.81%、92.65%和95.78%;当进水C/N降至3.3~4.2时,系统NH₄⁺-N、TN、COD和TP的平均去除率仍可维持在81.16%、76.62%、93.87%和94.75%.铁基质生物载体内电解作用显著强化了化粪池内TN的脱除、COD的氧化和TP的固定.氮素转化机制分析表明,内电解与反硝化菌的耦合强化了反硝化作用,降低了反硝化过程对有机碳源的需求,强化了低C/N条件下TN、TP的脱除.     

解决对氨基二甲基苯胺光度法测定硫化物中的几个问题

介绍对氨基二甲基苯胺光度法测定硫化物方法中如何降低空白值,提高硫化钠溶液的稳定度以及提高酸化吹气回收率的原理和方法.     

城市中水回用环境经济效益分析——以福州市洋里污水处理厂出水回用为例

以福州市洋里污水厂出水回用为例,运用费用效益分析方法计算得出静态投资回收期为2.64 a,远远小于基准投资回收期15~20 a。效益-费用比为1.44,大于1。结果表明,洋里污水厂达标出水作为中水回用的经济效益良好,并且具有明显的社会效益和环境效益。     

乙酸型顶极群落的内平衡与反馈调节机制研究

通过产酸脱硫反应器处理高浓度硫酸盐有机废水的连续流试验，从“动态”角度考察COD／SO4^2-比改变引起的pH值、氧化还原电位（ORP）、碱度（ALK）和末端产物（VFAs）等的变动及生态因子的叠加效应引发的优势种群变迁，分析了乙酸型顶极群落的稳定性及其发生定向性生态演替的规律，进而阐明了乙酸型顶极群落抵抗环境压力的内平衡与反馈调节机制，并指出乙酸型代谢和乙酸型顶极群落是产酸脱硫生态系统的典型特征。     

The curve of ion exchange ratio(%)-pH of the interaction between suspended particles with Cd(II) in the Yellow River

The curve of ion exchange ratio(%)-pH of the interactionbetween suspended particles with Cd(II) in the Yellow River wasstudied. The effects of lysine on this curve have been alsoinvestigated. The results showed that (1) Cadmium in Cd(OH)+ formin the suspended particles exchanges with the cations.The exchangeratio of Cd2+ is nearly at its greatest value in the range of pH(8.0-8.5) in natural aquatic system; (2) Ion exchange ratiodecreases as the concentration of Cd2+ raises from 8.9×10-6 mol/L to 2x8.9 x 10-6mol/L; (3) At the lysine concentration of 6.8x10-6 mol/L, it can promote the ion exchange ratio; (4) Adsorption of thesuspended particles to cadmium is weaker in seawater and Jin ShaRiver than in the Yellow River.     

渤海江豚组织中钠,钙,锶,镁,磷,钾的研究

１９９０年，作者于辽东湾采集了１０头江豚标本，分别测定了其骨骼、皮肤、肌肉、肝脏、肺、肾、心、胃、肠、胰、脾、肾上腺及生殖腺等１３种组织中Ｃａ、Ｓｒ、Ｍｇ、Ｐ、Ｋ、Ｎａ６种元素的含量，详细分析了骨骼及其他各组织中的Ｃａ／Ｍｇ值、Ｃａ／Ｋ值、Ｃａ／Ｐ值、Ｃａ／Ｎａ值和Ｃａ／Ｓｒ×１００值。结果表明，Ｃａ、Ｓｒ、Ｍｇ、Ｐ，Ｋ在骨骼中累积率最高，钾在肌肉中具有高累积，Ｓｒ、Ｃａ在肌肉中累积率最低；Ｍｇ累积率最低的组织是生殖腺，Ｐ累积率最低的组织是肠，而Ｋ在骨骼中，Ｎａ在肌肉中的累积率均高于其他组织。分析结果还显示，Ｃａ／Ｍｇ值最高的是骨骼，最低为肌肉，Ｃａ／Ｐ值最高的是骨骼，最低的是肌肉和胰脏，Ｃａ／Ｋ值最高为骨骼，最低为脾Ｃａ／Ｓｒ×１００值最高为肺、最低为肠，而Ｋ／Ｎａ值最高为肌肉，最低为骨骼，在骨中Ｃａ／Ｐ值大约为１，类同于猫和人类。