Maximum Hazard Research Articles

Bioaccumulation, contamination and health risks of trace elements in wild fish in Chongqing City, China: a consumer guidance regarding fish size.

Trace elements generally contaminate wild fish, particularly in megacities, necessitating guided consumption practices. This study investigated the bioaccumulation of trace elements in wild fish from Chongqing City in June 2021. We evaluated their contamination and associated health risks to establish consumption guidance based on fish size. Our results indicate that the concentrations of Zn, Pb, Cr, and As were relatively high, with some fish exceeding the maximum residue limits. Herbivorous and pelagic fish generally exhibited lower bioaccumulation of most trace elements, except for Cr and As, which were higher in pelagic species. The contamination indices (Pi) for Cr, Pb and As were consistently above 0.2, indicating widespread contamination. The most contaminated fish typically measured around 19cm in length and weighed approximately 90g. Only the maximum target hazard quotients (THQ) for As, Cr, and Hg exceeded 1, with a notably high ratio of THQ(As) > 1, highlighting concerns over arsenic contamination. The THQ(As) remained below 1 for adults across all fish species, whereas for children, species such as Onychostoma sima, Pseudohemiculter dispar, and Parabramis pekinensis exceeded this threshold. Fish safe for adult consumption generally measured 13cm in length and weighed 20g, and for children, 16cm and 25g. Consequently, selecting larger fish is likely to reduce the consumption of contaminated fish, thereby decreasing health risks to the public. The centralization of contaminated fish with high risk in specific size range confirmed fish size could be used to gauge the contamination and health risk of fish.

Health risk assessment of residential overheating under the heat waves in Guangzhou

During extreme heatwave events, indoor overheating caused by power outages poses a significant threat to human health, especially for low-income groups exposed to hot and humid conditions for extended periods. However, currently, the definition and quantification standards for indoor overheating are not well-defined, and relying solely on thermal comfort indicators is insufficient to accurately assess the health risks associated with indoor overheating. This study proposes the use of maximum heat index (HImax) and heat index hazard hours when the heat index exceeds the caution level (HIHHCaution) to assess the health risk of indoor overheating. Taking various types of residential buildings in Guangzhou as examples, the study employs field surveys, simulation analysis, and statistical regression to analyze the impact of power outages during heatwaves on the indoor thermal environment and key human thermal physiological parameters, thereby establishing the basis for measuring indoor overheating and reference thresholds for assessing heat health risks. The results indicate that for young adults and the elderly, HIHHCaution exceeding 1174 °C·h and 850 °C·h respectively, or HImax nearing 55 °C, are likely to result in heat-related illnesses. In Guangzhou, most urban village housing with poor insulation cannot withstand the risk of power outages lasting more than a day during heatwaves, while old housing and commodity housing that meets the energy-efficiency standards of different periods still face varying degrees of indoor overheating risk. The findings enhance understanding of indoor overheating health risks and provide a scientific basis for strategies to improve living environments during heatwaves.

Research on the dangerous scenarios of propylene oxide leakage from tank in a chemical plant in an industrial park of Tongling City, China

ABSTRACT Propylene oxide (PO) is toxic, flammable and explosive. Accidents from the release of PO from large-scale storage tanks can have disastrous consequences associated with meteorological conditions. Therefore, this study explores the dangerous scenarios of PO leakage from a 1000 m3 spherical tank in a chemical plant located in an industrial park during various seasons using the Aerial Location of Hazardous Atmospheres software. Our results show that the maximum hazard distance of poisoning, flash fire and vapour cloud explosion caused by leakage and diffusion from the PO storage tank occur in the summer season and the affected distances were 2900, 372, and 374 m, respectively. In regard the thermal radiation resulting from a pool fire scenario, the longest threat distance was 110 m in the summer. For the boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE), the maximum thermal effect was 2100 m in winter. The BLEVE scenario has the largest impact area and its toxic vapour cloud is the primary accident. Adequate safety management and technical measures should be put in place for the prevention and emergency response of accidental PO release in the factory.

Perchlorate in foodstuffs from South China and its implication for human dietary exposure

Perchlorate, an aqueous-soluble compound resistant to degradation, is mainly used in the synthesis of pyrotechnics, herbicides, and other products. It serves as a pivotal component in the production of fireworks, rocket fuel, and explosives. Perchlorate was recognized as a pollutant owing to the potential toxic risk to thyroid function, which could pose a potential threat to the nervous system of infants and pregnant women. Some study had found that perchlorate existed in food, water and air. This study aimed to investigate the levels of perchlorate in six types of foods (n = 570) from South China, and evaluate potential exposure risks for residents. Vegetables were found to have the highest median levels of foods, attributed to elevated water content in leafy vegetables and facile solubility of perchlorate in water. The relatively low levels of perchlorate in food compared to other studies could attribute to the fact that the period of food we purchased in this study was during the wet season while the contaminants, such as perchlorate, were diluted. The maximum hazard quotient (HQ) values for all residents consuming different foods and water were all higher than 1 This suggested that there is a potential health risk of perchlorate to residents in South China. Those may be attributed to the high levels of perchlorate in some individual samples of meat and eggs. However, the 95th percentile of HQ values in all residents was less than 1, indicating that there is no potential health risk of perchlorate to most residents in South China.

Mycotoxin patulin contamination in various fruits and estimating its dietary impact on the consumers: From orchard to table

The present research examined patulin's presence across the whole supply chain of selected fruits. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on 442 samples of fruits (oranges, apples, apricots, lemons, and guava) to determine the presence of patulin contamination. This analysis used Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with a UV detector. The findings indicate that 17, 23, and 28 % of selected fruit samples tested positive for patulin levels in farm, transportation, and market samples. However, the sample collected during the transportation step showed that 56 % (percentage of positive samples) of fruits have patulin levels greater than 50 μg/kg, and 41 % (percentage of positive samples) have greater levels than 50 μg/kg in market samples. The findings of the one-way analysis of variance indicated that no statistically significant variation existed between the amounts of patulin across the various stages of the food supply chain system (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the analysis of the correlation study, namely Kendall's tau_b and Spearman's rho, denote a robust association between the levels of patulin and the food supply system. The apple samples exhibited the most significant average dietary intake of patulin, with an average value of 0.11 μg/kg bw/day. The maximum mean hazard quotient (HQ) of 0.28 was also recorded. The prevalence and incidence of patulin in specific fruits were found to be relatively high, and it was observed that market samples had elevated levels of patulin in the selected fruits.

The results of an experimental toxicological assessment of the pharmaceutical substance ambroxol hydrochloride, justification of the maximum permissible content in the air of the working area

Introduction. Ambroxol hydrochloride is a biologically active substance used as a pharmaceutical substance in the manufacture of medicines for secretolytic therapy in the case of acute and chronic bronchopulmonary diseases. To date, there is no hygienic standard for the safe content of substances in the air of the working area in the republic.
 The study aims to substantiate and develop the maximum permissible concentrations and hazard class of the pharmaceutical substance ambroxol hydrochloride in the air of the working area.
 Materials and methods. The authors have conducted experimental toxicological studies of the pharmaceutical substance on animals (rats, mice, rabbits) in accordance with the requirements of technical regulatory legal acts and recommendations of methodological documents regulating the justification of hygienic standards.
 Results. Scientists have found that the pharmaceutical substance ambroxol hydrochloride, when injected into the stomach and inhaled, is classified as a low-hazard substance at an average lethal dose/concentration (according to GOST 12.1.007-76), has a mild irritant effect on the skin and moderate on the mucous membranes of the eyes, does not exhibit a skin-resorptive effect, is characterized by a weak cumulative effect and does not it has sensitizing activity. Under the conditions of inhalation of the substance into the body of laboratory animals (rats), the threshold values of acute and chronic harmful effects of this pharmaceutical substance were at the level of 90 mg/m3 (in terms of the effect on the functional state of the nervous activity of rats) and 30 mg/m3, respectively (in terms of changes in behavioral indicators, weight and mass coefficient spleen, blood glucose, alanine aminotransferases and urea) accordingly.
 Conclusion. Based on the experimental results of the toxicological assessment, the authors have justified the standard of permissible content of the pharmaceutical substance ambroxol hydrochloride in the air of the working area at the level of 4.0 mg/m3, they also have established the hazard class of the substance according to GOST 12.1.007-76 (class 3, medium-hazard substances).
 Ethics. The Bioethics Commission of the State Enterprise "SPCH” has approved the use of laboratory animals for experimental purposes (Protocol No. 1 dated 03/04/2020). The treatment of animals was in accordance with the provisions of Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union of September 22, 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Assessment of radiation environmental risks for fish fauna of the cooling pools of a number of operating nuclear power plants

Relevance. The need to assess radiation risks for the main types of fish in pools that are under the constant influence of the nuclear power plants. Aim. To assess the radiation environmental risks for the ichthyofauna of cooling pools of the operating nuclear power plants, to analyze the sources and features of formation of the radiation risks at different stages of their operation. Objects: monitoring studies of radiation environmental risks for reference fish species in cooling reservoirs of the Leningrad, Beloyarsk and Novovoronezh NPP. Methods. Calculation of the exposure dose rate and quantitative assessment of the risk of exposure to technogenic radionuclides of the ichthyofauna of the cooling pools of the Beloyarskaya, Leningradskaya and Novovoronezhskaya NPPs were carried out using the international computer complex of the updated version of ERICA Tool 2.0. Results. The paper demonstrates that the radiation ecological risks for the ichthyofauna in the cooling pools of the operating nuclear power plants are caused by the combined effect of radioisotopes of the different origin. The features of the formation of the radiation risks for each pool are specific and depend on the current radiation situation. The cooling pool of the Beloyarskaya NPP is characterized by a pronounced dependence of the radiation load on the types of operating power units. The ichthyofauna experienced the greatest radiation risks during the operation of the first two power units with thermal reactors AMB-100 and AMB-200. The decommissioning of the first power units and the construction of the units with the fast neutron reactors (BN-600 and BN-800) led to a significant reduction in the radiation load on the ichthyofauna of the cooling pool. At present, the radiation risks are caused mainly by the influence of 90Sr, which is almost not discharged from the Beloyarskaya NPP into the cooling pools, but has a predominantly global origin. Therefore, the formation of the risks is more associated with atmospheric fallout of 90Sr, and not with the operation of the nuclear power plant. The radiation risks for the ichthyofauna of the Leningradskaya NPP cooling pool are caused by the combined effect of 137Cs as a result of the radiation accident at the Chernobylskaya NPP and radionuclides with induced activity (14C; 60Co; 3H 54Mn and 65Zn), the origin of which may be associated with the operation of the nuclear reactors of the NPP. The level of radiation risk for the fish fauna of the Novovoronezhskaya NPP cooling pool for 2009–2019 increased 2.2 times due to an increase in the content of 60Co in many components of the pool. As a result, 81.7% of the radiation risks in demersal fish species were formed by the influence of 60Co. It cannot be ruled out that the increase in the 60Co content in the cooling pool of the Novovoronezhskaya NPP is a consequence of radioactive contamination of the groundwater as a result of the 1985 accident. The ecological risks for the fish fauna in all cooling pools are two to three orders of magnitude lower than the maximum allowable hazard coefficient. Thus, the normal operation of the nuclear power plants does not create unacceptable radiation risks that pose a real environmental threat to the fish fauna of the cooling pools.

Study of Paired Approach Wake Separation Based on Crosswinds

The effect of crosswinds on paired approach (PA) procedures for Closely Spaced Parallel Runways (CSPR) is investigated in this paper by fully utilizing the crosswind environment to implement a more efficient PA and increase runway capacity. An improved wake dissipation model is used to quickly predict the change in the wake velocity field for the PA procedures. The change in the width of the hazard zone is explored in detail using the roll moment coefficient as a determination index. The calculation method for the hazard zone of a wake encounter in a PA is designed considering the influence of crosswind, turbulence, and ground effect. The results show the diffusion rate of the hazard zone and a decrease in the width of the maximum hazard zone under a breezeless environment with increases in the turbulence intensity. The maximum hazard zone width decreases with an increase in crosswind speed. Favorable crosswinds can reduce wake separation and improve the efficiency of a PA. Lower turbulence intensity has a better crosswind effect under a normal PA. The 3-degree offset PA can accommodate larger unfavorable crosswinds, with a higher turbulence intensity having a better crosswind effect. The 3-degree offset PA can substantially increase the proportion of time when no wake affects the PA procedure.

A dynamic time-to-event model for prediction of acute graft-versus-host disease in patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) is a major cause of death for patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Effective management of moderate to severe aGvHD remains challenging despite recent advances in HSCT, emphasizing the importance of prophylaxis and risk factor identification. In this study, we analyzed data from 1479 adults who underwent HSCT between 2005 and 2017 to investigate the effects of aGvHD prophylaxis and time-dependent risk factors on the development of grades II-IV aGvHD within 100 days post-HSCT. Using a dynamic longitudinal time-to-event model, we observed a non-monotonic baseline hazard overtime with a low hazard during the first few days and a maximum hazard at day 17, described by Bateman function with a mean transit time of approximately 11 days. Multivariable analysis revealed significant time-dependent effects of white blood cell counts and cyclosporine A exposure as well as static effects of female donors for male recipients, patients with matched related donors, conditioning regimen consisting of fludarabine plus total body irradiation, and patient age in recipients of grafts from related donors on the risk to develop grades II-IV aGvHD. Additionally, we found that higher cumulative hazard on day 7 after allo-HSCT are associated with an increased incidence of grades II-IV aGvHD within 100 days indicating that an individual assessment of the cumulative hazard on day 7 could potentially serve as valuable predictor for later grades II-IV aGvHD development. Using the final model, stochastic simulations were performed to explore covariate effects on the cumulative incidence over time and to estimate risk ratios. Overall, the presented model showed good descriptive and predictive performance and provides valuable insights into the interplay of multiple static and time-dependent risk factors for the prediction of aGvHD.

Analysis and prediction of hydrogen-blended natural gas diffusion from various pipeline leakage sources based on CFD and ANN approach

The influences of pipeline leakage source types on the hazard area distribution caused by accidental hydrogen-blended natural gas leakage are still the focus of gas leakage accidents. Three types of pipeline leakage sources are discussed in this study. Namely, the gas in the vertical pipeline flows from top to bottom, and the leakage orifice is in the pipeline wall; the gas in the vertical pipeline flows from bottom to top, and the leakage orifice is in the pipeline wall; the leakage orifice is in the horizontal pipeline end. The common feature of the above three pipeline leakage sources is that the normal of leakage orifice is parallel to the horizontal plane. The differences in the flow field distribution of hydrogen-blended natural gas released from three pipeline leakage sources are compared through numerical simulation. The effect of various factors on the jet centerline, concentration decay, and maximum horizontal diffusion distance of hydrogen-blended natural gas released from three pipeline leakage sources are analyzed. The predictive models of hydrogen-blended natural gas's maximum horizontal diffusion distance in three pipeline leakage sources under multi-factor coupling are established through a backward propagation neural network (BPNN). Results show that the angle between the gas flow direction in the pipeline and the normal of the leakage orifice, and the background step flow cause differences in the concentration field near the leakage orifice from the three pipeline leakage sources at the same working conditions. In the near-field region, the leakage orifice diameter has the most significant influence on the jet centerline of three hydrogen-blended natural gas jets among three factors. The concentration decay rate of gas released from the horizontal pipeline end is greater than that of gas released from the other two pipeline leakage sources. With the increase of volumetric flow rate, the maximum horizontal diffusion distances of methane released from three pipeline leakage sources all increase, while the maximum horizontal diffusion distances of hydrogen released from three pipeline leakage sources have little change. The predictive models of the maximum horizontal diffusion distance of hydrogen-blended natural gas released from three pipeline leakage sources are established through BPNN. The maximum horizontal hazard distances of the new working conditions are predicted, and the predicted results are in good agreement with the numerical simulation results. This investigation has guiding value for fast and accurate prediction of flammable gas hazard areas.

Deterministic full-scenario analysis for maximum credible earthquake hazards

Great earthquakes are one of the major threats to modern society due to their great destructive power and unpredictability. The maximum credible earthquake (MCE) for a specific fault, i.e., the largest magnitude earthquake that may occur there, has numerous potential scenarios with different source processes, making the future seismic hazard highly uncertain. We propose a full-scenario analysis method to evaluate the MCE hazards with deterministic broadband simulations of numerous scenarios. The full-scenario analysis is achieved by considering all uncertainties of potential future earthquakes with sufficient scenarios. Here we show an application of this method in the seismic hazard analysis for the Xiluodu dam in China by simulating 22,000,000 MCE scenarios in 0–10 Hz. The proposed method can provide arbitrary intensity measures, ground-motion time series, and spatial ground-motion fields for all hazard levels, which enables more realistic and accurate MCE hazard evaluations, and thus has great application potential in earthquake engineering.

Rethinking disaster risk for ecological risk assessment

While disaster events are consequential, they are rare. Ecological risk assessment processes tend to estimate risk through an “expected value” lens that focuses on the most probable events, which can drastically underappreciate the importance of rare events. Here, we show that expected value and average risk-based calculations underappreciate disaster events through questionable assumptions about equally weighing high probability low impact events with low probability high impact events, and in modeling probability as a chance among an ensemble of possible futures when many contexts of ecological risk assessment are focused on a single entity over time. We propose an update to ecological risk assessment that is specifically inclusive of disaster risk potential by adopting analytical processes that estimate the maximum hazard or impact that might be experienced in the future, borrowing from the practice of modeling “Value at Risk” in financial risk contexts. We show how this approach can be adopted in a variety of data contexts, including situations where no quantitative data is available and risk assessment is based on expert judgement, which is common for ecological risk assessment. Increased exposure to environmental variation requires assessment tools to better prepare for, mitigate, and respond to disasters.

Heat waves characteristics intensification across Indian smart cities

Indian cities have frequently observed intense and severe heat waves for the last few years. It will be primarily due to a significant increase in the variation in heat wave characteristics like duration, frequency, and intensity across the urban regions of India. This study will determine the impact of future climate scenarios like SSP 245 and 585 over the heat wave characteristics. It will present the comparison between heat waves characteristics in the historical time (1981 to 2020) with future projections, i.e., D1 (2021–2046), D2 (2047–2072), and D3 (2073–2098) for different climate scenarios across Indian smart cities. It is observed that the Coastal, Interior Peninsular, and North-Central regions will observe intense and frequent heat waves in the future under SSP 245 and 585 scenarios. A nearly two-fold increase in heat wave' mean duration will be observed in the smart cities of the Interior Peninsular, Coastal, and North Central zones. Thiruvananthapuram city on the west coast has the maximum hazard associated with heat waves among all the smart cities of India under both SSPs. This study assists smart city policymakers in improving the planning and implementation of heat wave adaptation and mitigation plans based on the proposed framework for heat action plans and heat wave characteristics for improving urban health well-being under hot weather extremes in different homogeneous temperature zones.

Benzoates and in situ formed benzene in food supplements and risk assessment

ABSTRACT Upward trend in the use of food supplements urged the assessment of their safety. Eighty-eight liquid herbal supplements collected in Novi Sad (Serbia) in 2018 (36 samples) and 2021 (52 samples) were analysed for the presence of benzoates and sorbates (HPLC-UV) and benzene (HS-GC/MS). Benzoic acid varied from 599 to 9253 mg/kg and sorbic acid between 185 and 1658 mg/kg. The acceptable daily intake of sorbic acid was not reached, but in case of benzoic acid, it was exceeded by 5.3% of the samples. The presence of benzene was confirmed in 41.2% of benzoate preserved supplements (0.9–51.7 µg/kg). Benzene exposure revealed no health concern: maximum hazard quotients ranged from 0.39% (toddlers) to 0.84% (adolescents); minimum margins of exposure were between 35,680 (adolescents) and 77,419 (toddlers); estimates of lifetime cancer risk did not reach one extra cancer case per 100 000 persons. However, measures to mitigate benzene presence in food should be considered.

A Probabilistic Approach for Off-Stream Reservoir Failure Flood Hazard Assessment

Off-stream reservoirs are hydraulic structures that might cause severe flood damages in case of failure or improper operation. Their safety regulations usually require hydraulic studies for flood hazard and inundation zone mapping. The selection of the break point is not trivial because the topography in its surroundings is commonly highly anthropic. A wrong selection would not provide the worst scenario in terms of maximum flood hazard extent. This work presents a probabilistic approach based on a stochastic definition of the break point along the dyke. A number of failure scenarios are generated automatically, corresponding to different breach formations. Then, an in-cascade calculation process simulates each scenario, providing a framework to carry out statistical analysis. The simulation of the breach formation and the flood wave propagation is performed through a GPU parallelised two-dimensional hydraulic numerical model, which provides a probabilistic inundation zone and flood hazard mapping of all scenarios simulated in a suitable timeframe.

Assessment of concentration of the potentially toxic elements and associated human health risk from particulate matter exposure along road intersections in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria

The harmful health effect of suspended particulate matter (PM10) is mostly associated with its mass concentrations and chemical compositions. Therefore, this study focuses on the determination of the particulate matter (PM10) concentrations and their potentially toxic elements (PTEs) composition from different road networks in Ibadan southwestern, Nigeria. In addition, human health risk assessment was estimated from the PTE data. The PM10 samples were collected from different road networks such as national highway roads (NHR), inner-city major roads (ICR), and remote roads (RRD) in Ibadan, Nigeria. The sampling was carried out with a high-volume air sampler (model #15000 manufactured by Science Resource, Walboro, USA) with a PM10 cut-off on a Whatman cellulose filter during the harmattan period. The PM10 concentrations and PTEs compositions (Al, Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, La, Mo, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) were determined by gravimetry and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) methods (VISTA-MPX manufactured by Varian Incorporation), respectively. The PM10 concentrations in all three road networks were more than 3 folds higher than World Health Organization (WHO), United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and United Kingdom Environmental Protection Agency (UKEPA) standards (50 µg/m3) for 24 h. The maximum average contents of Ba, Cd, Cu, La, Mn, Pb, and V, were observed at NHR, while that of Al, Fe, Mo, and Zn, were found at ICR. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that PC1 (Ba, Cd, Cu, La, Mo, Pb, and V) and PC4 (Zn) were characterised by elemental markers of both exhaust emission and non-exhaust emissions, while PC2 (Mn) and PC3 (Al, Fe) were characterised by crustal elements. The Enrichment factor (EF) analysis classified all the PTEs as moderately to very highly enriched, especially in NHR and ICR, except Al, Fe, and to some extent Mn. Both the maximum and average hazard quotient (HQ) levels of Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn were < 1, which was within the permissible level. Also, the carcinogenic risk (CR) was also within the permissible limit.

Study on CO migration characteristics and hazard potential function under ventilation after roof cutting blasting

Multiple toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), are generated by roof-cutting blasting (RCB) in the automatically formed roadway without coal pillars (AFRCP). To eliminate potential hazards in time, a ventilation model was established based on field data from Dianping Coal Mine. The spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of CO under different conditions after roof-cutting by shaped-charge blasting (SCB) and shaped-charge hydraulic blasting (SCHB), respectively, were investigated by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The results demonstrate that the CO gas cloud presents the coupling effect of movement and dilution under ventilation. The charge mainly affects the peak value of CO concentration (PVC). The air velocity affects the PVC and the CO gas cloud's over-limit time (OLT) and migration velocity. Roadway cross-sectional area and corner structure affect the PVC by influencing local air velocity. The CO hazard potential functions of the roadway after RCB were established, indicating a Gaussian-like distribution. The maximum hazard potential of SCHB was found to be 60% lower than that of SCB, and the re-entry time for personnel reduced by 36%. This study can serve as a guide for optimizing the ventilation design of roadways after RCB and contribute to the promotion of AFRCP.

Nitrate health risk and geochemical characteristics of water in a semi-urban: implications from graphical plots and statistical computing

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to assess the nitrate health risks due to water consumption via oral and dermal contact routes and to evaluate the geochemical characteristics of waters in the Umunya area, Nigeria, as implied from ionic ratios, graphical plots, and multivariate statistics. This study is the first to assess the human health risks associated with nitrate contamination in the semi-urban. Standard methods were used to achieve the aim of the study. Water from commercial and household sources were sampled. Measured physicochemical properties showed that the water resources are slightly contaminated. Health hazard quotient (oral) ranged from 0–0.5072 for men, 0–0.5994 for women, and 0–0.6858 for children. On the other hand, the maximum hazard quotient (dermal) for men, women, and children were 0.0013, 0.0016, and 0.0042, respectively. The total hazard index for men, women, and children respectively varied from 0–0.509, 0–0.601 and 0–0.690. Overall, it was indicated that 46.67%, 53.33%, and 53.33% of the water samples expose men, women, and children to low chronic health risk of nitrate. However, the risk for water ingestion was higher than that for dermal absorption. Hydrogeochemical plots revealed that Ca2+-Mg2+-HCO3 − and Na+-HCO3 − water types, representing recharge and base ion exchange processes, respectively, are predominant. Principal component analysis and R-type hierarchical clustering revealed that the hydrogeochemical characteristics are mostly controlled by geogenic factors than human-related factors. The geology of the area and silicate weathering processes were implicated as the major influencers of the hydrogeochemistry. For sustainable development and improved water monitoring in the area, the insights provided in this paper are considered very beneficial.

Accident consequence assessment of benzene leakage from storage tank in a chemical park in Bengbu City, China

AbstractBenzene is widely used in chemical industries and has a high potential to cause damage. The release of benzene from storage tanks can generate threats to workers, facilities, and the environment. The effects and consequences of benzene release from a storage tank during the dry and rainy seasons were investigated with the Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres (ALOHA) software program. Risk distributions were obtained through threat zones classified by red, orange, and yellow colors. The results showed that the maximum hazard areas related to benzene vapor cloud and flammability in rainy seasons were greater than those in the dry seasons. There was no significant difference in the consequences of the thermal radiation from pool fire and the Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE) scenario in both the rainy and dry seasons. The maximum threat zones were determined to be 2200 and 305 m for the toxic benzene vapor cloud and the flammable area, respectively. The consequences of the pool fire and BLEVE scenario of benzene were at a distance of 101 and 3600 m from the storage tank, respectively. This study is expected to play an important role for decision‐makers in preventing benzene‐related accident risks and to reducing loss.

Integral Protection Methodology to Mitigate Incident Energy

This paper proposes a new integral methodology to overcome hidden failures and mitigate the electrical hazard due arc-flash events. This methodology overcomes the drawbacks of legacy protection functions due hidden failures. Also, considering the requirement to limit the maximum arc-flash hazard, a restriction has been implemented to coordinate the protection devices in the proposed methodology. The application results of the proposed methodology are shown on a steel manufacturer user showing the improvements by reducing the probably incident energy feasible due to arc-flash events and show how legacy protection functions would fail to operate in such scenario.