Hazardous Sites Research Articles

Topography of the pelvic autonomic nerves – an anatomical study to facilitate nerve-preserving total mesorectal excision

Introduction Urogenital dysfunction caused by iatrogenic injury to the autonomic nerves persists as a common complication of rectal cancer surgery. This study aims to investigate the relationship between autonomic nerves and the 'holy plane' with the intention of identifying hazardous sites at which urogenital dysfunction may occur. Patients and methods Dissection of the 'holy plane' and preparation of the autonomic nerves was performed on Thiel-embalmed bodies. The morphology of the inferior hypogastric plexus and its distance to nearby reference points was recorded. Results In all 28 bodies (13 females, 15 males), we observed that the autonomic nerves were enveloped in parietal pelvic fascia and thereby absent from the 'holy plane' of total mesorectal excision. The midpoint of the inferior hypogastric plexus resided 85 mm from the sacral promontory, and 47 mm from the coccygeal apex. Both distances were significantly longer in men than in women (p < 0.01, p < 0.01). The ureter coursed 11 mm superiorly to the inferior hypogastric plexus. Distal to the ischial spine, it ran 13 mm laterally to the mesorectal fascia. Differences between females and males were not statistically significant (p = 0.32, p = 0.85). Conclusions Pursuit of the 'holy plane' spares the autonomic nerves. Restricted visibility may complicate the identification and sparing of the autonomic nerves, and thus requires the meticulous planning and execution of surgery. Contextual, the ureter may act as another landmark for the localisation of the inferior hypogastric plexus, additionally to the already established lateral ligaments of the rectum.

Field evaluation of 1.75 groundwater profiler and field screening device for on-site contamination profiling of chromium(VI) in groundwater

Groundwater contamination by toxic heavy metals pose serious health hazards to humans and the environment. The remediation of contaminated groundwater requires effective characterization of the concentrations and spatial distribution of heavy metals. Groundwater samples from long screening monitoring wells do not provide an accurate representation of the distribution of heavy metals with depth, as the data obtained from the well are an average along the screen length. This study reports the development and application of two new technologies, a direct push 1.75 groundwater profiler (GWP) that obtains groundwater samples from multiple depths in a single push, and a portable field screening device that uses novel disposable sensors to facilitate rapid, cost-effective, on-site detection of heavy metals in groundwater, surface water, and sediment pore water. Extensive fieldwork was performed at a chromium(VI)-contaminated site to evaluate and validate these two technologies for on-site contamination profiling of Cr(VI) in groundwater. A preliminary investigation was performed with an OIHPT logging tool to determine formation lithology and relative permeability for identifying potential groundwater sampling intervals and contaminant migration pathways in the subsurface. Groundwater samples from selected depth intervals were collected and analyzed by an outside laboratory analysis for total chromium and hexavalent chromium as per EPA standards 6020 (SW) and 7196, respectively. The excellent comparison of the field results with the laboratory test results confirm the potential of these technologies in obtaining high resolution site characterization data to improve the management of heavy metal-contaminated hazardous sites.

The Facts of Science &amp; the Values of Social Justice

The Facts of Science &amp; the Values of Social Justice

ReCognizing SUspect and PredictiNg ThE SpRead of Contagion Based on Mobile Phone LoCation DaTa (COUNTERACT): A system of identifying COVID-19 infectious and hazardous sites, detecting disease outbreaks based on the internet of things, edge computing, and artificial intelligence

Human movement is a significant factor in extensive spatial-transmission models of contagious viruses. The proposed COUNTERACT system recognizes infectious sites by retrieving location data from a mobile phone device linked with a particular infected subject. The proposed approach is computing an incubation phase for the subject's infection, backpropagation through the subjects’ location data to investigate a location where the subject has been during the incubation period. Classifying to each such site as a contagious site, informing exposed suspects who have been to the contagious location, and seeking near real-time or real-time feedback from suspects to affirm, discard, or improve the recognition of the infectious site. This technique is based on the contraption to gather confirmed infected subject and possibly carrier suspect area location, correlating location for the incubation days. Security and privacy are a specific thing in the present research, and the system is used only through authentication and authorization. The proposed approach is for healthcare officials primarily. It is different from other existing systems where all the subjects have to install the application. The cell phone associated with the global positioning system (GPS) location data is collected from the COVID-19 subjects.

Historical Landslide Fatalities in British Columbia, Canada: Trends and Implications for Risk Management

According to a Canadian government database, landslides are the most common type of disaster that occurs in the province of British Columbia. Recently there has been a trend in British Columbia toward using quantitative risk assessments to estimate life-loss risk at landslide hazard sites, and to compare these estimates with risk tolerance thresholds to determine the necessity for, and extent of, risk management measures. These risk estimates are most often calibrated by so-called ‘expert judgment’ because historical landslide fatality data are not readily available. This article addresses this gap by summarizing available historical data to better inform expert judgment. It shows that fatalities caused by landslides in British Columbia are rare (approximately one fatality per year in the last decade) and have decreased with time despite rapid population growth. Approximately half of these fatalities in the last decade are related to debris flows and debris floods that impact houses, whereas the other half are related to rockfalls, debris flows, and debris floods that impact highways. A comparison with other hazard types in the Canadian government’s disaster database suggests that, while not particularly deadly, landslides are still important because of the economic damage and service disruptions they cause. Although the data are specific to British Columbia, the methods for identifying and presenting landslide risk trends could be modified and adopted in other world regions where landslide fatality data are collected and quantitative risk management methods are utilized.

Assessing the impact made by groundwater processes and undermining on coal pit wall stability

Introduction. The reliability of geomechanical prediction depends on the level of detail of databases covering geological structure, geometry and physical properties of the rock mass under investigation. In order to improve the accuracy of coal pit wall stability prediction, following the generalization of databases containing geological survey, groundwater monitoring, geophysical sounding and mine surveying, it is advisable to construct three-dimensional geological-geophysical models accounting for the main adverse factors, and thereafter search for the most hazardous section. Research aim is to predict wall stability according to the developed algorithm based on the threedimensional geological-geophysical model. Research methodology includes a search for the most hazardous rock mass site section by the ratio between shear and retaining forces within the established zones with anomalous physical characteristics. Results. By generalizing databases containing geological studies, groundwater monitoring, geophysical sounding by the method of electrical resistivity tomography, and mine surveying, a three-dimensional geological- geophysical model has been constructed of a wall loaded with “heap of dry rock atop of the hydraulic dump” man-made structure and undermined by underground works. The trial site stability has been predicted for the true state of mining. Comparative analysis of the obtained data has been carried out. Summary. The combination of natural and man-made factors, including hydrogeological conditions of the territory, seasonal and climatic behavior, tectonic faulting of the deposit and shear zones connected with undermining result in the development of a rather complex geological structure of the wall which includes local deconsolidated and waterlogged zones significantly reducing the stability of the pit slope. At the trial site of Kedrovsky pit due to spatial and temporal alternation of properties and state of rock within the landslide hazardous zone, the variation range of the factor of safety in six typical sections amounts n = 1.06–2.39. For that reason the objective prediction of slope stability in similar conditions (in addition to geological survey and hydrogeological observations data analysis) should include geophysical monitoring of anomalous zones origination and development, hereupon creation of a treedimensional geological-physical model, and the automated calculation of the factor of safety including repeated selection of the most hazardous section.

Empirical assessment of rockfall and debris flow risk along the Karakoram Highway, Pakistan

The Karakoram Highway links north Pakistan with southwest China. It passes through unique geomorphological, geological and tectonic setting. This study focused 200-km-long section of the highway starting from Besham until Chilas. Landslides are frequent and are mostly triggered by torrential rain during Monsoon and Westerlies, leading to highway blockade. Rockfall and debris flow are prime mode of slope failures. Regional to site-specific approach was implemented to assess risk associated with these two modes. Remote sensing-based techniques were used to identify potential hazardous sites, which were further investigated for risk assessment. Modified Pierson’s rockfall hazard rating system (RHRS) rated potential rockfalls, whereas semi-quantitative technique was employed to assess debris flows. Normalized scores of each site shaped the final map, further classified into four zones: very high, high, intermediate and low risk.

Simulating landslide-induced tsunamis in the Yangtze River at the Three Gorges in China

Landslide-induced tsunamis may cause fatalities, damages and financial losses. In the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China, several large landslides are still unstable and persistently creeping toward the Yangtze River. In this paper, we investigate the impacts of landslide-induced tsunamis in the Three Gorges Reservoir by using a hybrid numerical approach. One of the largest unstable mass in this area, the Huangtupo landslide, is chosen as the study object. First, the landslide deformation and initiating velocities are obtained by using the finite-discrete element method. The landslide-induced tsunamis and their impacts on shipping on the Yangtze River are then investigated through smooth particle hydrodynamics modelling. Our results reveal that an approximately 80% reduction in shear strength of the tip in the landslide will lead to catastrophic failure of the landslide, with sliding velocities of up to 8 m/s. Subsequently, such a collapse may initiate a river tsunami, propagating up to 9 m on the nearby reservoir banks within 3 km. The impacts on surrounding floating objects, such as surges and sways, heaves and rolls, are up to 110 m, 8 m and 6°, respectively. The simulations indicate that although the likelihood of a catastrophic failure of the whole landslide is low, the partial sliding still poses severe threat to the nearby reservoir banks and shipping on the Yangtze River. Thus, we recommend continuous monitoring as well as landslide early warning systems at this and also other hazardous sites in this area.

Geo-hazards of the San Vito peninsula offshore (southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea)

ABSTRACT In this paper we present geomorphological hazard mapping of the San Vito Peninsula offshore (Sicilian margin of Tyrrhenian Sea), characterised by a very narrow continental shelf and a very dipping, tectonically active continental slope, no far from a seismogenic belt. The data set consists of morpho-bathymetric models achieved by means of multibeam survey and scattered high resolution seismic profiles. The morpho-bathymetric study highlighted some potential sites of geomorphological hazards, the most representative of which are: (i) two canyons developing from the upper slope off San Vito Cape down to the Erice basin; (ii) a dense network of small incisions across the upper slope; (iii) a very active landslide, developed onland and extending in the continental shelf close to the Scopello village. The geomorphological features that can generate submarine hazard are represented by: unstable sediment packages into canyon heads or along the upper slope; submarine canyons with regressive erosion; coastal landslides.

Investigation of adequacy of adjacent building seismic joints in Tehran City corresponding to seismic hazard analysis, site effects and nonlinear dynamic analysis

The topic of pounding of adjacent structures has greatly attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. Among the observed damages due to the earthquake, one could refer to those damages induced by pounding of the adjacent structures which is a prevalent phenomenon. The reason for this issue is the lack of separation joint or its inadequacy between two adjacent buildings. When an earthquake occurs, difference in the structures' frequencies would result in difference in their reaction relative to the ground acceleration and pounding would take place. In this article the effects of site soil type, structure type, its height and distance from the fault on the separation joint for the steel and reinforced concrete moment resisting buildings with 3, 5, 8 and 12 stories are investigated. The structural models are first designed by structural design software and then are analyzed under various time histories using Seismostruct software. The obtained results show that the highest hazard risks corresponding to collision between the adjacent buildings belong to areas near the faults located on soft soil types and collision of two buildings with different types is the most severe collision. Different conditions have been discussed in this paper and based on the results, some editions to criteria of seismic design code of Iran has been proposed considering to distance to active faults, soil conditions and type of structure.

Actual Issues of Industrial and Environmental Safety of Chemically Hazardous Sites Operating Refrigeration Units

Actual Issues of Industrial and Environmental Safety of Chemically Hazardous Sites Operating Refrigeration Units

위험물 안전관리·관계자 전계층의 역량 및 환경에 관한 Data Analytics 분석

Increased use of hazardous materials increases overall number of safety accidents such as leaks, fires, and explosions. Also, it causes environmental damage such as water pollution and air pollution, exacerbating extensive and diverse damage. In this study, a wide range of surveys were conducted on the entire groups related to safety management of hazardous materials, including safety managers and carriers responsible for safety management at hazardous materials industrial sites, and safety management agents and tank performance test workers who are specialized of hazardous materials, and civil service personnel and inspectors at fire stations. Because the sample size was large for each group, a multi-faceted survey was analyzed using data analytics such as correlation analysis and regression. The results show the findings in the aspect of safety capabilities and institutional environment to be improved for the enhanced safety management of hazardous materials.

Coverage Path Planning Techniques for Inspection of Disjoint Regions With Precedence Provision

Recent times are witnessing an emergence of sites that are hazardous for human access. This has created a global demand to equip agents with the ability to autonomously inspect such environments by computing a coverage path effectively and efficiently. However, inspection of such sites requires agents to consider the correlation of work, providing precedence provision in visiting regions. The current approaches to compute coverage path in the hazardous sites, however, do not consider precedence provision. To this end, coverage path planning strategies are proposed, which provide precedence provision. To meet the challenges, the problem is divided into two phases: inter-region and intra-region path planning. In the `inter-region' path planning of the approach, the site comprising of multiple disjoint regions is modelled as connectivity graph. Two novel approaches, Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) solution and heuristic based techniques, are proposed to generate the ordered sequence of regions to be traversed. In the `intra-region' path planning of the approach, each region is decomposed into a grid and Boustrophedon Motion is planned over each region. The ability of combined approach to provide complete coverage is proved under minor assumption. An investigative study has been conducted to elucidate the efficiency of the proposed approach in different scenarios using simulation experiments. The proposed approach is evaluated against baseline approaches. The results manifest a significant reduction in cost and execution time, which caters to inspection of target sites comprising of multiple disjoint regions with precedence provision.

Impact of γ-irradiation on biofilm-formation by corrosion-relevant heterotrophic bacteria

At nuclear hazard sites, such as the Chernobyl reactor sarcophagus or Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, radiation is one of the main factors influencing microbial communities including those involved in microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of metal structures. By studying the impact of radiation on corrosion-relevant bacteria it may be possible in the future to predict changes in MIC. We believe that the composition and function of natural multi-species biofilms will change when exposed to the stress of ionizing radiation. To address this possibility, biofilm formation by Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were studied after exposure to a range of radiation dosages. Altered planktonic cell morphologies and biofilm architectures on submerged glass surfaces were noted 3 – 7 days after low-doasage sub-lethal irradiation (5.3 Gy) of samples at the micro-colony, macro-colony and mature biofilm stages of development. Furthermore, significant differences in the percentage area covered by biofilms and the release of viable planktonic cells was also noted. These observations suggested that exposure, considered as insignificant levels of irradiation, can be enough to alter biofilm formation of corrosion-relevant bacteria. Such low dosage radiation may have significant impact on soil microbial communities in nuclear hazard sites, potentially altering the MIC of exposed metal structures, their stability and service life of underground metal constructions.

SCAN360: A Resource for a 360-Degree View of Cancer Prevention, Risk, and Survival.

SCAN360, an interactive web platform aiming to provide a “360-degree view” of factors that drive cancer, calculates and integrates several measures of cancer burden from the Florida Cancer Data System, the state’s cancer registry, from 2012 to 2016 with cancer risk factors, clinical factors, and social determinants of health on multiple levels of geography — ranging from the entire state to the neighborhood. Integrating various sources of data, the web platform visualizes numerous indicators, including sociodemographic characteristics, cancer histology and staging, risk behaviors, screening behavior, environmental factors, hazardous sites, health insurance access, prevalence of potential comorbidities, housing characteristics, and levels of residential segregation, through maps and easy-to-interpret graphs. By walking through an example of a practical use, we show that SCAN360 provides data that are easily accessible to public health professionals, decision makers, and researchers and can assist them with identifying potential drivers of cancer burden on a localized level.

A GIS-Based Retrospective Analysis of the Epizootiologic and Epidemiologic Situation of Anthrax in the Republic of Crimea

The purpose of the study was to conduct a retrospective analysis of the epizootiologic and epidemiologic situation of anthrax in the Republic of Crimea and to improve surveillance of this infection using geographic information systems (GIS technologies). Material and methods: In the process of considering specific features of manifestations of infection in different areas of the Crimean Peninsula and outbreaks of anthrax in animals and humans in 1922–2019, we analyzed and summarized data of reporting forms of the Interregional Department of Rospotrebnadzor in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. ESRI’s ArcGIS 10 software was used as a GIS-platform. When zoning the administrative units of Crimea by the level of endemicity, we estimated epizootic indices for anthrax. Results: We observed a relatively safe epizootiologic and epidemiologic situation of anthrax in the Republic of Crimea. In 1922–2019, 211 potentially hazardous stationary sites located in nine districts and one city council and 13 anthrax burial sites in four districts were registered in Crimea. Most sites (182 or 86.3 %) appeared in 1932–1961, the peak anthrax activity occurred in 1942–1951, and the latest outbreaks of infection among animals and humans were registered in 1995. Taking into account the ability of anthrax spores to persist in soil for years, the administrative units of the Crimean Peninsula were zoned using GIS-technologies based on the established epizootic indices. As a result, the territory of the Republic of Crimea was divided into areas with different levels of risk of exposure to anthrax. We also studied the relationship between the endemic areas and local climatic and geographical conditions and found that the majority of stationary sites (167) were within the dry-steppe, typical steppe, and northern steppe zones of the Peninsula with dominating soddy calcareous, meadow chernozem, and chernozem types of soil.

The methodological approach to environmental risk assessment from man-made emergencies at chemically hazardous sites

The purpose of the article is to present a methodological approach to assessing the state of the risk to the environment from man-made emergencies at chemically hazardous sites. The methodological approach is based on an expert method, the use of which allowed the authors to create the structure of the risk management system and, determine the plurality of criteria parameters while taking into account their weight in the formation of the environmental consequences of chemical accidents. Criteria parameters were grouped into clusters of physicochemical and toxicological properties of hazardous chemicals used at a chemical plant, equipment operating at an enterprise, personnel, and environmental vulnerability. The research became the basis of the Guidelines for Assessing the Environmental Risk from Emergencies at Chemically Hazardous Sites. As an example, the article presents the calculation of the level of environmental risk for a terrestrial site from the metallurgical enterprise LLP Kazakhmys Smelting, in Zhezkazgan town, Republic of Kazakhstan. The developed methodology is the basis of the Information and Analytical System for Assessing the Environmental Consequences of Man-made Emergencies, which allows users to facilitate the implementation of a set of measures aimed to forecast and reduce the impact of emergency’s damaging factors on the environment.

Generalized criteria for evaluating hotspot identification methods

Hotspot identification (HSID) is one of the most important components in the highway safety management process. Previous research has found that hazardous sites identified with different methods are not consistent. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the performance of various HSID methods. The existing evaluation criteria are limited to two consecutive periods, and do not consider the temporal instability of crashes. In addition, one existing criterion does not precisely evaluate HSID method under given circumstances. This paper proposed three generalized criteria to evaluate the performance of HSID methods: (1) High Crashes Consistency Test (HCCT) is proposed to evaluate HSID methods in terms of their reliabilities of identifying sites with high crash counts; (2) Common Sites Consistency Test (CSCT) is proposed to gauge HSID methods in consistently identifying a set of common sites as hazardous sites; and, (3) Absolute Rank Differences Test (ARDT) is proposed to measure the consistency of HSID methods in measuring the absolute differences in rankings. Further, three commonly used HSID methods are applied to estimate crashes on Texas rural two-lane roadway segments with eight years of crash data. The performance of these three HSID methods were evaluated to validate the proposed criteria. Comparisons between the existing criteria and the generalized criteria revealed that: (1) the generalized criteria are capable of evaluating different HSID methods over multiple periods; and (2) the generalized criteria are enhanced with a consistent result and with less discrepancy in scores of the best identified HSID method.

Abstract 1189: Association between female breast cancer period prevalence and residential exposure to environmental hazards at Hermosillo municipality, Sonora, Mexico: A retrospective observational study based on clinical databases from years 2013 to 2019 and INEGI census 2010

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of female cancer-related deaths in Mexico. Breast cancer risk may increase given residential exposure to environmental hazards, such as industrial-produced air pollutants (HAPs), and residual water sites (RWS). Hermosillo is one municipality with high breast cancer prevalence in Sonora, Mexico. However, the association of environmental hazards with breast cancer remains a matter of debate for this community. Objectives: This retrospective observational study aims to evaluate associations between breast cancer period prevalence (years 2013 - 2019) and residential exposure to potentially hazardous sites (PHS) in Hermosillo. Methods: The study collected the data from 912 female breast cancer cases from 6-year old hospital files (2013 to 2019) in Hermosillo. INEGI Census 2010 provided the PHS coordinates, and ArcGIS software (version 10.7.1) projected the data onto a map by conversion to UTM 12 N. Cluster analysis identified regions of high breast cancer period prevalence. Additionally, PHS-proximity is used as a criterion to define subpopulations of interest. The odds ratio (OR) estimated breast cancer risk among the Hermosillo subpopulations to find a difference between them. Age distribution analysis assessed putative residential exposure between PHS-exposed and non-PHS-exposed breast cancer cases. Results: Findings indicate high-high clusters in six neighborhoods across Hermosillo, and from those, three are contiguous. Significant associations with breast cancer risk were the following: residence in highly-industrialized (≥ 7 industries) vs low-industrialized neighborhoods (≤ 6 industries) with an OR = 1.69 (1.41, 2.02) (p-value &amp;lt; 0.0001); residence within ≤ 4 km to gas power plants (GPP) vs those ≥ 4 km (OR = 1.55, (1.36, 1.77)) (p -value &amp;lt; 0.0001); residence within ≤ 3 km to RWS vs residences ≥ 3 km (OR = 1.45, (1.26, 1.66)) (p-value &amp;lt; 0.0001). In comparison to non-PHS-exposed locations, cumulative residential exposure to highly-industrialized neighborhoods within ≤ 4 km to GPP and RWS (PHS-exposed) had an OR = 2.29 (1.80, 2.91) (p-value &amp;lt; 0.0001). Moreover, older breast cancer patients (≥ 58 years old) are in PHS-exposed subpopulation. Conclusions: This study shows a difference in breast cancer prevalence for highly industrialized neighborhoods closer to HAPs' sources (GPP) and RWS. Age distribution showed an older population in the PHS-exposed group. Further studies with larger cohorts are needed to confirm or reject these findings. Citation Format: Diana E. Villa-Guillen, Enrique Avila-Monteverde, Jose H. Gonzalez-Zepeda, Luis F. Munguia-Ibarra, Baldemar Corral-Villegas, Karla Aguilar-Gutierrez, Cynthia Rojas-Camarena, Luis C. Durazo-Cons, Carlos D. Luque-Morales, Wendy B. Aguilar-Peraza, Jorge A. Cordon-Guillen, Leticia Garcia-Rico, Martin Jara-Marini, Ana I. Valenzuela-Quintanar, Graciela Caire-Juvera, Ivan Anduro-Corona, Eduardo Ruiz-Bustos, Jorge A. Villa-Carrillo. Association between female breast cancer period prevalence and residential exposure to environmental hazards at Hermosillo municipality, Sonora, Mexico: A retrospective observational study based on clinical databases from years 2013 to 2019 and INEGI census 2010 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1189.

Hazards Identification, Risk Assessment and Preventive Measures at Specific Sites

The present work proposes an integrated approach in identifying hazardous substances, materials and sections (modules) of the studied specific (potentially hazardous) site, having an impact on safety, identifying the sources of danger in this site, assessing the consequences of potential major accidents at the site, as well as determining and assessing the adequacy of preventive, control and risk mitigation measures. A concrete example of application of the approach is presented.