Concept Of Risk Assessment Research Articles

MRI-Related Heating of Implants and Devices: A Review.

During an MRI scan, the radiofrequency field from the scanner's transmit coil, but also the switched gradient fields, induce currents in any conductive object in the bore. This makes any metallic medical implant an additional risk for an MRI patient, because those currents can heat up the surrounding tissues to dangerous levels. This is one of the reasons why implants are, until today, considered a contraindication for MRI; for example, by scanner manufacturers. Due to the increasing prevalence of medical implants in our aging societies, such general exclusion is no longer acceptable. Also, it should be no longer needed, because of a much-improved safety-assessment methodology, in particular in the field of numerical simulations. The present article reviews existing literature on implant-related heating effects in MRI. Concepts for risk assessment and quantification are presented and also some first attempts towards an active safety management and risk mitigation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 5.

The risk of developing non-carcinogenic effects in children in industrial city
 in multicompartment contamination with chemical pollutants

Introduction. Environmental factors can cause a gain in prevalence of a significant number of diseases in the population. The effect of various components on the body of children and adolescents becomes especially relevant on the territory of an industrial city, due to its increased sensitivity to adverse effects in connection with the ongoing processes of both growth and development. The article presents the results of an assessment of the non-carcinogenic risk to the health of the children living in the industrial city of Orenburg. Material and methods. The results of laboratory studies of atmospheric air, water from centralized sources of water supply and food products as sources of potential health risks for children living in the city of Orenburg were evaluated. Hygienic and statistical research methods were used. Results. In the industrial city, the priority media that form a high risk of developing non-carcinogenic effects were found to be contaminated food and drinking water, which create a high and very high non-carcinogenic risk for hormonal (up to HI = 13.8), cardiovascular (up to HI = 18.3), central nervous systems (up to HI = 8.3) in children and adolescents and effects on the blood (up to HI = 19.0) and kidneys (up to HI = 8.8), as well as atmospheric air when exposed to the respiratory system (HI = 7.2), which may be one of the reasons for the deviation in their state of health at the population level. Conclusion. The complex multicomponent impact of risk factors on children living in an industrial city is a well-studied problem, the relevance of which does not decrease. Modern concepts of risk assessment make it possible to identify priority environments and their contaminants, which, of course, makes management decisions more focused both at the population and individual levels. The priority media were established to be contaminated with drinking water and contaminated food products, which form a high non-carcinogenic risk for the hormonal, cardiovascular, central nervous systems of children and adolescents and the effect on blood in the long-term dynamics, which may be one of the causes of deviations in their state health at the population level.

THE RISK OF DEVELOPING NON-CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS IN CHILDREN IN INDUSTRIAL CITY IN MULTICOMPARTMENT CONTAMINATION WITH CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS

Introduction. Environmental factors can cause a gain in prevalence of a significant number of diseases in the population. The effect of various components on the body of children and adolescents becomes especially relevant on the territory of an industrial city, due to its increased sensitivity to adverse effects in connection with the ongoing processes of both growth and development. The article presents the results of an assessment of the non-carcinogenic risk to the health of the children living in the industrial city of Orenburg. Material and methods. The results of laboratory studies of atmospheric air, water from centralized sources of water supply and food products as sources of potential health risks for children living in the city of Orenburg were evaluated. Hygienic and statistical research methods were used. Results. In the industrial city, the priority media that form a high risk of developing non-carcinogenic effects were found to be contaminated food and drinking water, which create a high and very high non-carcinogenic risk for hormonal (up to HI = 13.8), cardiovascular (up to HI = 18.3), central nervous systems (up to HI = 8.3) in children and adolescents and effects on the blood (up to HI = 19.0) and kidneys (up to HI = 8.8), as well as atmospheric air when exposed to the respiratory system (HI = 7.2), which may be one of the reasons for the deviation in their state of health at the population level. Conclusion. The complex multicomponent impact of risk factors on children living in an industrial city is a well-studied problem, the relevance of which does not decrease. Modern concepts of risk assessment make it possible to identify priority environments and their contaminants, which, of course, makes management decisions more focused both at the population and individual levels. The priority media were established to be contaminated with drinking water and contaminated food products, which form a high non-carcinogenic risk for the hormonal, cardiovascular, central nervous systems of children and adolescents and the effect on blood in the long-term dynamics, which may be one of the causes of deviations in their state health at the population level.

Coronavirus and Environmental Engineering Science

Coronavirus and Environmental Engineering Science

Risk Assessment Myth Busters: Defining Risk Management Processes and Terminology

I have seen the future of electrical safety and it is risk assessment. Or so it would seem, based on how the concept of risk assessment has become prevalent in standards, papers, and presentations over the last few years. Is the future of electrical safety risk assessment or risk management? This article explores the rise in acceptance of risk assessment in the electrical safety world. It also discusses the difference between risk assessment and risk management, hazards and risk, and the two basic risk assessment approaches.

Risk assessment concepts and approaches for indoor air chemicals in Japan.

Individuals living in general indoor environments are exposed to a greater variety of chemical pollutants, albeit at lower concentrations, compared with industrial workers in occupational environments. These pollutants can result in a variety of adverse health effects, including those affecting the respiratory, neurological, reproductive, dermatologic, and cardiovascular systems. In Japan, indoor air quality guidelines have been established for 13 chemicals since 1997, and these developments have continued on the basis of scientific discussions in the Committee on Indoor Air Pollution (CIAP) that was set up by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. However, the types and concentrations of these pollutants have been observed to be inconsistent over time due to lifestyle changes and the development of novel household products and building materials. Therefore, continuing the monitoring of indoor chemicals and the development of indoor air quality guidelines for substances that pose potential high health risks are essential for the protection of public health. In indoor environments, there are multiple media by which humans come in contact with indoor chemicals and multiple exposure pathways that can affect human health, particularly for semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). This is defined as aggregate exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure to multiple low-level pollutants occurs in indoor environments. In this article, a comprehensive overview of the indoor air quality guidelines in Japan and assessment approaches for developing indoor air quality guidelines is provided. In addition, future issues facing approaches for indoor chemicals, including aggregate exposure to SVOCs and combined exposure to multiple pollutants with common toxicological effects in indoor environments, are discussed.

The Impact of the Human Factor on the Safety of Transportation of Dangerous Goods

This article brings up important safety issues pertaining to the transportation of hazardous goods: estimating risk and modeling human factors as the main cause of road accidents. For the purposes of this article, the concept of risk assessment has been depicted in a general manner while the “band” model, which takes human, technical and road factors into account, has been depicted in detail. The band model was implemented in calculation of accident probability in the transportation of hazardous goods. Heuristic techniques or, more precisely, fuzzy set techniques were used in the modeling of human factors. The model was conceived based on the bibliography of the subject matter and personally conducted survey and expert research.

Risk: A Conversation Worth Having in Mental Health Care?

Risk a normal everyday experience that is frequently initiated at a personal level has become an intrinsic part of mental health care. This commentary paper revisits the concept of risk assessment within mental health practice and suggest that risk management and recovery focused care are not mutually exclusive and that these constructs can co-exist as part of a person-centered approach. People want to feel safe and an approach that engages the person in arriving at solutions that promote their safety is a more positive conversation than one focused purely on risk.

INFLUENCE OF METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON THE LEVEL OF POLLUTION OF THE AIRALE TERRITORIES

The concept of risk assessment is currently considered in most countries of the world as the main mechanism for the development and adoption of managerial decisions at all levels of public health protection. The concept of risk assessment is based on determining the individual and collective (population) risk of a pathological condition under the influence of adverse environmental factors [1, 2]. In modern conditions, public health directly depends on the safety of the environment and the level of disease prevention. The activity of a modern person is carried out in conditions of an increase in the intensity and duration of the action of adverse environmental factors. The combination, simultaneous or sequential action of several factors leads to a mutual burdening of their influence on the human body, causing a rapid depletion of human physiological reserves. In response to the effect of a certain dose (intensity and duration) of unfavorable factors, states of extreme stress of adaptation mechanisms with reversible phenomena of maladjustment can develop [3]. Environmental safety is the levels of exposure to environmental factors that are safe for human health, that is, they violate the homeostasis of the functional systems of the body. The analysis of associative relationships between the content of metals and homeostatic indicators of the most sensitive systems of the body showed that for a safe and normal state of indicators of blood, biochemical metabolism, immunity, upper limits of the environmentally safe content of metals in human blood can be proposed.

Distribution of residual agricultural pesticides and their impact assessment on the survival of an endangered species

This study aimed to assess the distribution of spent pesticides in an agro-farming area and to evaluate their impact on the ecological risk for an endangered species combing the health risk assessment concept with the modelling algorithm proposed by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). An agricultural area in western Taiwan was chosen to investigate the ecological risk on Prionailurus bengalensis. Their ecological stability was evaluated in the context of the residuals’ distribution of the spent pesticides in the investigated area. The pesticide residues accumulated and correlated highly to the adverse health impact on the leopard cat. In the present study, 67 pesticides were detected from 79 collected soil samples. The hazard index (HI) was found related to land use patterns and the HI values in Yuanli and Zhuolan were significantly higher than those in the other areas, increasing poisoning probability of the leopard cat. The locations of agro-chemical utilization were highly overlapped with leopard cats’ activity zone, supporting the hypothesis that pesticide residues posed a potential threat to the leopard cats’ health. The proposed risk assessment framework was capable of estimating the risk caused by pesticide residues and no similar study has been reported before.

P.803 The effect of CACNA1C genotype on CACNA1C methylation and the association with cortisol release and perceived stress

Dose–effect and dose–response assessments are important to the overall risk assessment process by providing a quantitative estimation of the relationship between dose/exposure and the occurrence of adverse effects from human exposure to metallic species. This chapter defines the concepts of dose–effect and dose–response relationships, discusses the importance of identifying the critical effect and estimates the critical concentration for toxicity in the critical organ. It further describes how to use these concepts in quantitation of the overall relationship between external exposure, internal exposure/dose, and the likelihood of occurrence of adverse effects in groups or populations. This chapter gives definitions of the no-observed-adverse-effect level, benchmark dose, and its lower confidence limit, which are important concepts in risk assessment. It further describes various approaches to estimate a low (acceptable) risk to humans, based on experimental and epidemiological data. The chapter gives special emphasis on quantitative estimation of dose–response relationships based on the mechanism of action and toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic modeling and describes results of such modeling in terms of dose–response curves. It includes discussions of the use of adverse outcome pathways.

Utility of a next generation framework for assessment of genomic damage: A case study using the industrial chemical benzene.

We recently published a next generation framework for assessing the risk of genomic damage via exposure to chemical substances. The framework entails a systematic approach with the aim to quantify risk levels for substances that induce genomic damage contributing to human adverse health outcomes. Here, we evaluated the utility of the framework for assessing the risk for industrial chemicals, using the case of benzene. Benzene is a well‐studied substance that is generally considered a genotoxic carcinogen and is known to cause leukemia. The case study limits its focus on occupational and general population health as it relates to benzene exposure. Using the framework as guidance, available data on benzene considered relevant for assessment of genetic damage were collected. Based on these data, we were able to conduct quantitative analyses for relevant data sets to estimate acceptable exposure levels and to characterize the risk of genetic damage. Key observations include the need for robust exposure assessments, the importance of information on toxicokinetic properties, and the benefits of cheminformatics. The framework points to the need for further improvement on understanding of the mechanism(s) of action involved, which would also provide support for the use of targeted tests rather than a prescribed set of assays. Overall, this case study demonstrates the utility of the next generation framework to quantitatively model human risk on the basis of genetic damage, thereby enabling a new, innovative risk assessment concept. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 61:94–113, 2020. © 2019 The Authors. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society.

Quantity Assessment of the Risk of Investment Projects

The key to increasing the value of the enterprise, its competitiveness and profit level, respectively, is a timely and adequate investment in the investment project. However, the risks that have been underestimated can adversely affect the sustainability and financial performance of the enterprise. That is why it is essential to quantify the risk of investment projects. The article covers the issues of quantitative risk assessment of an investment project. The concept and methodology of investment risk assessment are considered. The methods of a quantitative evaluation of risks are presented. The simulation experiment was performed.

Health and Safety Risk Assessment Using a Combined FMEA and JSA Method in a Manufacturing Company

Background: Occupational accidents cause three to four times as many deaths in developing countries as industrialized countries. There are about 14,000 accidents in Iran every year, most of them involving workers in industries, To reduce these accidents, it is necessary to use risk assessment, which is a rational approach to hazard assessment and to identify hazards and potential consequences, on individuals, materials, equipment and the environment to reduce the risks of workplace accidents and consequently work-related accidents.
 Methods: This study was carried out in 1998 as an analytical-applied study in a manufacturing company. The Risk Assessment process, first with the formation of the relevant team, is selected from technical and production specialists who are more familiar with the concept of safety and risk assessment and again how to perform the Risk Assessment and Identify the risks involved, using the JSA Integrated Method for the analysis of business components and associated risks and FMEA method was trained and targeted to determine system failure states as well as assign risk priority number (RPN).
 Results: Risk assessment was carried out in 4 aspects, locations, equipment, main and sub-units and activities leading to the preparation of tables related to the risk assessment guide of locations, equipment, activities, RPN calculation, risk level classification and identification forms.
 Conclusions: In this study, 166 hazards were identified and, through follow-up and collaboration with senior management of the organization from 38 risks of fluids production hall, 22 corrective action (57.89%), from 46 risks of solids production hall, 37 corrective action (80.43%), from 33 risks of product warehouse, 28 corrective actions (84.84%), from 30 risks of raw materials warehouse, 21 corrective actions (70%), from 19 risk of incendiary materials, 10 corrective actions (52.63%) were performed. The overall results of the study showed that the major risk in the studied units was related to the dangers of inadequate cabling and placement of people in these work situations.
 key words: Safety and Health Risk Assessment, FMEA, JSA, AHA, JHA, THA, Executive Procedure, Guidelines.

Information Technologies for Assessing the Risk to Public Health from Emissions of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

Purpose of reseach. One of the most pressing environmental problems is the formation of production and consumption waste; moreover, the bulk of the waste is not involved in the circular economy but is disposed at landfills and waste dumps that pose a serious ecological hazard to the environment and public health. The authors of the article substantiate the need to apply modern information technologies for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the composition of emissions, a comprehensive assessment of the environmental state near sources of pollution, a study of cause-effect relationships in the ‘environment – public health’ system, and health risk assessment for the subsequent justification of the priority management decisions to ensure the environmental health and public safety.Methods. The main method used to assess the negative impact of municipal solid waste landfills on the health of the population living in the areas of their effect is the concept of risk assessment and analysis.Results. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of information technologies used in assessing the risk to public health from emissions of landfills of municipal solid waste; examples of using software products at various stages of assessing the risk to public health from emissions from Kursk landfill were considered. To take into account the specific uncertainties that are due to the peculiarities of the functioning of municipal solid waste landfills as risk sources, the authors developed an electronic database of the municipal solid waste morphological composition and landfill facilities.Conclusion. The developed database will allow us to level the uncertainties that arise in assessing the risk to public health from emissions of municipal solid waste landfills to the extent possible, and, so, increase the objectivity of the obtained risk assessment results.

Risk Assessment tool for Religious Mass Gathering Events of India

ObjectiveTo develop a risk assessment tool to assess the public health and environmental risks associated with religious mass gathering events of Tamil Nadu, a state in the southern part of IndiaIntroductionIn spite of the fact that mass gatherings are an undeniably regular element of our society attended by huge crowds yet such occasions are not very well understood. Even though such gatherings are accumulations of "well people", vast number of people associated with mass gatherings can put a serious strain on the entire health care system1.The public health implications of mass gathering events include a potential increased risk for disease transmission because of the variability and mobility of those attending the event and increased media attention. Risk assessment for mass gathering events is crucial to identify the potential health hazards which aids in planning and response activities specific to the event2. Preparing for mass gatherings offer an opportunity to improve health service delivery, enhance health promotion and strengthen public health systems3.In India, many of the religious festivals are observed with mass gatherings and prayers. Large crowd participate in such festivals as participants to observe the unique rituals and also as spectators. Literature indicates that in India, we might be well equipped for response activities but the scientific concept of risk assessment i.e., to understand the existing risks, identify the risks, characterize the risks and plan for risk reduction strategies accordingly are at an infant stage .The little that has been done in the field of mass gatherings has generally focused on description of preparedness activities of single event, crowd control, prevention of stampedes with little attention to public health preparedness. The present project is an attempt to systemize the process of risk assessment by developing a risk assessment tool consisting of characteristics peculiar to planned religious mass gatherings of Indian context.MethodsQualitative approach was followed to identify the risks associated with mass gathering events and to identify the domains and items to be included in the risk assessment tool. Firstly, an extensive review of literature about the risks associated with the mass gathering events was done. Secondly, Key Informants (n=20) involved in planning and management of religious mass gathering events in the State of Tamil Nadu, India were purposively identified and interviewed using a semi structured interview guide. Principle of redundancy was followed. Content/Thematic analysis was done using Atlas.ti software. Currently, the project is in the phase of obtaining content validity of the developed tool. Followed by this, a mobile application based upon the validated tool will be developed which will be further field tested for feasibility in a selected mass gathering event in Tamil Nadu. Using a self administered content validity questionnaire, the experts will be asked to assess the relevance of the items of the tool. Agreement proportions between the experts will be calculated. S-CVI (Scale Content Validity Index), index for inter-rater agreement (agreement proportion) and Kappa agreement coefficient will be calculated.ResultsA sum total of 48 unique health risks have been identified. Stampedes, fire accidents, structural collapse, drowning, outbreak of communicable diseases, exacerbation of existing medical illnesses (like cardiac diseases, asthma etc) etc are the some of the health risks identified. Six domains (characteristics related to event, participant, environment, disaster preparedness, medical service preparedness and pre event planning activities) and 21 items have been generated from the content analysis of key informant interviews and literature review.ConclusionsSome special events and unforeseen events occur in places of mass gatherings besides fixed places of worshipping .Such events cause more damage to human beings and property. Special events like idol procession, chariot pulling, fire walking, animal sacrificing happen pulling larger crowds within the mass gatherings. In order to inform all planning and delivery activities it is essential to understand the mass gathering context and risk assessments. This tool can be used by public health managers to identify key public health and environmental risks at the planning stage before the event takes off. At the planning stage, use of this tool will help in putting the required measures in place in order to address the potential risks identified. The tool can be used as a guiding instrument during and after the event as well. The investigators further plan to develop a mobile based app from this risk assessment tool and test it out in a selected mass gathering event of the state of Tamil Nadu located in southern part of India. Feedback from public health managers about the mobile based risk assessment tool can be instrumental in further modifying the tool. By contributing to public health preparedness activities during mass gathering events in a country with poor resources like India, this research activity is an initiative that is expected to lead to health systems strengthening.

Probabilistic simulation model of fragmentation risk

This paper presents a probabilistic concept of fragmentation risk assessment based on simulation modeling. An original probabilistic mass method for the assessment of fragmentation scenarios of a tank has been proposed. It has been concluded that the generation of individual fragments is accompanied by aleatoric uncertainty, regardless of their mass. The highest frequency of fragmentation occurs with generation of two fragments (17%) and three fragments (average 11%) if their masses range from 10% to 20% of the total mass of the tank. The epistemic uncertainty of the velocity, acceleration and attack angle of a fragment is eliminated by the introduction of initial acceleration and uniform fluctuation of variable parameters (coefficients of aerodynamic and lift acceleration). The range of fragments having a mass between 200 kg and 3500 kg can be adequately described by Weibull's distribution, while 70% of the fragments have a range of 298 m–902 m (average 638 m). The proposed methodological concept has been realized in terms of eliminating epistemic uncertainty in the fragmentation of a tank and is applicable to the analysis of explosions of a variety of process equipment in the process industry.

Cluster analysis as a method of mathematical interpretation of immunological parameters in health workers

The monitoring of metabolic and immunological processes in individuals exposed to occupational risk factors, is one of the components of a preventive approach to improving the health levels in working population. However, the diagnostic value of laboratory indexes appears varying. Aim It is therefore necessary to identify the most optimal set of indexes that can be used as biomarkers. Methods The achievements of modern mathematics can substantially extend our potential to explore the occupational and work-related diseases in medical workers. Results As a method, cluster analysis can be used for substantiating the criteria for estimating occupational hazards, as well as for developing a risk assessment concept when analyzing latent forms of chronic diseases in health workers. Conclusions The study has produced a number of conclusions validating the dependence between the risk of chronic diseases in medical workers they exposure to harmful occupational factors. In our study, comprehensive estimations covered not only the qualitative data relating to status and professional activity of health workers, but also such important quantitative data as immunological indexes that reflect the level of immune defence in medical workers. Such an approach gives the opportunity to expose, in a timely manner, additional diagnostic signs and to enhance the efficiency of therapheutic measures for health workers.

The concept of occupational risk assessment in preventive medicine and the issues of causation

The concept of occupational risk assessment in preventive medicine and the issues of causation

A quantitative probabilistic framework for estimating the critical moment in a petroleum system

The petroleum system concept spans the spatial and temporal extent of all elements and processes required for the generation and preservation of petroleum. The critical moment of a petroleum system is the moment with the highest probability for the generation–migration–accumulation of hydrocarbons. It is an important concept in petroleum exploration risk assessment because the stratigraphic and geographic extents of a petroleum system are determined at the critical moment. In petroleum systems, thermal history data, burial history data, and vitrinite reflectance data may be unavailable, unreliable, or incomplete; this introduces significant uncertainty in the choice of the critical moment. We present here a quantitative probabilistic framework for estimating the critical moment and quantifying the associated uncertainty in such cases. We define a probabilistic early bound and late bound for the critical moment (which, combined together, we term the critical range) and then estimate the moment with the highest numerical probability of generation–migration–accumulation. We define the uncertainty associated with the critical moment as half the absolute value of the critical range. In cases with little ambiguity or duplicity in the timing of petroleum system elements and processes, the critical range converges to one point, which is also the critical moment. The probabilistic framework introduces consistency to the critical moment estimation problem and quantifies the level of uncertainty in the estimation. This reduces the risk involved in petroleum exploration assessment.