Setback Distance Research Articles

Field Test of Living Snow Fences along Illinois Freeways

Abstract The objective of this study was to conduct field tests to provide insights on setback distances and species for future living snow fence (LSF) designs in IL. Seven LSF sites with different...

Distributed displacement on the Papatea fault from the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake and implications for hazard planning

ABSTRACT The distribution of ground motion, displacement, and secondary hazards around active faults is defined by the interaction of tectonic and site characteristics including fault kinematics. As a result of this complexity, recommendations for fault setback distances or avoidance zones are necessarily simplified. We observed distributed vertical coseismic displacement from the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake up to c. 500 m on either side of the sinistral-reverse Papatea fault. On average, c. 32% (2.13 m) of vertical displacement was measured at distances >50 m from the Papatea fault. Additionally, in places, there is strong asymmetry where displacement was accommodated over a wider area in the hanging wall of the fault, a common observation around many dip-slip fault ruptures globally. We compare the distribution of displacement around the Papatea fault to the current fault avoidance zone and find that increasing the size of the fault avoidance zone by 10 m captures 11% more area with a high gradient of vertical displacement. Given these results and similar findings for other faults globally, we recommend that existing standards for fault avoidance zones be evaluated to ensure their ongoing efficacy.

Wind turbines and adverse health effects

The weight of evidence indicates occurrences of adverse health effects (AHEs) from living and working near industrial wind turbines (IWTs). Descriptions of the AHEs being reported by those living or working near the turbines are similar. While these occurrences have been associated with exposure to audible and inaudible noise annoyance, the causation of reported wind turbine-associated health effects remains controversial. Establishing an argument of causation of adverse health outcomes has important clinical, scientific, and societal implications. Bradford Hill (BH) criteria have been widely used to establish causality between an environmental agent and risk of disease or disability, but have not previously been used to evaluate the relationship between IWTs and AHEs. The objective was to apply the BH criteria to evaluate the relationship between IWTs and AHEs. The nine criteria include the strength of the association, consistency, specificity, temporal sequence, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experimental evidence, and analogous evidence. These nine criteria have been applied to IWT exposure and reported AHEs using peer-reviewed and other published literature that describes clinical, animal, and laboratory studies, testimony and reported experiences, and internet sources. Applying the BH criteria to the IWT-related clinical, biological, and experimental data demonstrates that the exposure to IWTs is associated with an increased risk of AHEs. This analysis concludes that living or working near IWTs can result in AHEs in both people and animals. Our findings provide compelling evidence that the risk of AHEs should be considered before the approval of wind energy projects and during the assessment of setback distances of proposed and operational projects.

Is setback distance the best criteria for siting wind turbines under crowded conditions? An empirical analysis

Wind power has emerged as the most dominant source of clean energy during the two first decades of the 21st century. As wind turbines became popular, complaints about annoyances from neighboring settlements has led to establishment of greater setback distances in some jurisdictions, due to noise, shadow flickers, and aesthetic considerations. The current study seeks to establish an objective basis for determining optimal setback distance from human settlements. It begins by characterizing the tradeoff between turbines' environmental externalities and energy potential across northern region of Israel, where proposed wind farms are now being considered. The analysis relies on GIS software, which allows for quantification of the energy potential along with impacts of noise and shadow flickers. Based on the geographical data, we compare six contrasting regulatory approaches to setback distance for limiting wind turbines, evaluating how they would be applied in Israel's northern region. The results reveal that at setback of 700–800 m, annoyance levels depend on site-specific conditions, which in some sites are marginal. Zoning restrictions of 1,000–1,200 m pose only negligible externalities to nearby settlements. Greater distancing decreases the number of potential turbine sites dramatically without significant reducing anticipated annoyance levels and can unnecessarily compromise natural areas.

Short Introduction to the Summary and Evaluation of the Odour Regulations Worldwide

When it comes to air pollution complaints, odours are often the most significant contributor. Sources of odour emissions range from natural to anthropogenic. Mitigation of odour can be challenging, multifaceted, site-specific, and is often confounded by its complexity—defined by existing (or non-existing) environmental laws, public ordinances, and socio-economic considerations. The objective of this paper is to review and summarize odour legislation in selected European countries (France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium), North America (USA and Canada), South America (Chile and Colombia), as well as Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and Asia (Japan, China). Many countries have incorporated odour controls into their legislation. However, odour-related assessment criteria tend to be highly variable between countries, individual states, provinces and even counties and towns. Legislation ranges from (1) no specific mention in environmental legislation that regulates pollutants which are known to have an odour impact to (2) extensive details about odour source testing, odour dispersion modeling, ambient odour monitoring, (3) setback distances, (4) process operations, and (5) odour control technologies and procedures. Agricultural operations are one specific source of odour emissions in rural and suburban areas and a model example of such complexities. Management of agricultural odour emissions is important because of the dense consolidation of animal feeding operations and the advance of housing development into rural areas. Overall, there is a need for continued survey, review, development, and adjustment of odour legislation that considers sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and socio-economic realities, all of which are amenable to a just, site-specific, and sector-specific application.

Summary and Overview of the Odour Regulations Worldwide

When it comes to air pollution complaints, odours are often the most significant contributor. Sources of odour emissions range from natural to anthropogenic. Mitigation of odour can be challenging, multifaceted, site-specific, and is often confounded by its complexity—defined by existing (or non-existing) environmental laws, public ordinances, and socio-economic considerations. The objective of this paper is to review and summarise odour legislation in selected European countries (France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium), North America (the USA and Canada), and South America (Chile and Colombia), as well as Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and Asia (Japan, China). Many countries have incorporated odour controls into their legislation. However, odour-related assessment criteria tend to be highly variable between countries, individual states, provinces, and even counties and towns. Legislation ranges from (1) no specific mention in environmental legislation that regulates pollutants which are known to have an odour impact to (2) extensive details about odour source testing, odour dispersion modelling, ambient odour monitoring, (3) setback distances, (4) process operations, and (5) odour control technologies and procedures. Agricultural operations are one specific source of odour emissions in rural and suburban areas and a model example of such complexities. Management of agricultural odour emissions is important because of the dense consolidation of animal feeding operations and the advance of housing development into rural areas. Overall, there is a need for continued survey, review, development, and adjustment of odour legislation that considers sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and socio-economic realities, all of which are amenable to a just, site-specific, and sector-specific application.

Estimation of Wind Load on Stepped Tall Building Using CFD Simulation

The behavior of wind around stepped tall building is quite different comparing with the symmetric plan shape tall building. Setback roof of stepped buildings is widely responsible for the turbulence around the building. The purpose of this work is to understand the behavior of wind load on stepped tall building model. Four different models having the same dimensions and same aspect ratios but different setback distances, namely Models A, B, C and D, are considered. The setback distances are 0.2L, 0.3L, 0.4L and 0.5L (L = length) and are located at H/2 level (H = height) from the base of domain. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are taken out of terrain category 2 with the model scale 1:300. The foreground of this study is the external pressure and force variation around the building face and roof at 0° and 90° wind incidence angles. Maximum positive pressure coefficient develops at 90% of building height from the base of all models and for setback case it goes to 80%. Negative pressure develops at the building roof top, whereas positive pressure develops in the setback roof for the same model and wind angle. This type of pressure variable will be considered in roof design of stepped building.

Flow Redistribution at Bridge Contractions in Compound Channel for Extreme Hydrological Events and Implications for Sediment Scour

This study investigates the flood flow characteristics in a compound channel subject to both lateral contraction (caused by bridge abutment/embankment) and vertical contraction (caused by bridge deck submergence) at bridge sites. Three abutment setback distances and three pressure flow types [free surface (FS), submerged orifice (SO) and overtopping (OT)] are tested. The results show that turbulence structures in the approach channel remained the same irrespective of downstream obstruction. However, lesser abutment setback from the main channel led to greater flow acceleration as the flow approached the bridge section, where SO flow had the highest flow intensity and FS flow had the lowest. At a bridge contraction, the distributions of flow velocity, turbulence intensity, and Reynolds shear stress are significantly affected by the type of pressure flow and the extent of contraction. Enclosed counterclockwise secondary circulating flows in the main channel may occur for a combination of long or medium setback abutments and a FS flow, while other conditions usually feature open-ended upward flows due to flow relief. The strong downslope flow component detected at the main channel bank has a noticeable bank erosion capability. The bed shear stress, which is an indicator of sediment scour, is highlighted by apparent peak zones at the main channel bank and abutment toe. Finally, clear relationships between turbulence intensity, unit discharge ratio, and lateral contraction length are found. In general, normalized turbulence intensities on the floodplain and in the main channel can be used to assess the contribution of macroturbulence to the final bed topography after scour.

Benzene emissions from gas station clusters: a new framework for estimating lifetime cancer risk.

During gas station operation, unburned fuel can be released to the environment through distribution, delivery, and storage. Due to the toxicity of fuel compounds, setback distances have been implemented to protect the general population. However, these distances treat gasoline sales volume as a categorical variable and only account for the presence of a single gas station and not clusters, which frequently occur. This paper introduces a framework for recommending setback distances for gas station clusters based on estimated lifetime cancer risk from benzene exposure. Using the air quality dispersion model AERMOD, we simulated levels of benzene released to the atmosphere from single and clusters of generic gas stations and the associated lifetime cancer risk under meteorological conditions representative of Albany, New York. Cancer risk as a function of distance from gas station(s) and as a continuous function of total sales volume can be estimated from an equation we developed. We found that clusters of gas stations have increased cancer risk compared to a single station because of cumulative emissions from the individual gas stations. For instance, the cancer risk at 40m for four gas stations each dispensing 1million gal/year is 9.84 × 10-6 compared to 2.45 × 10-6 for one gas station. The framework we developed for estimating cancer risk from gas station(s) could be adopted by regulatory agencies to make setback distances a function of sales volume and the number of gas stations in a cluster, rather than on a sales volume category. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-020-00601-w.

A simple positioning technique for set-back suture

Tension-free wound repair can improve cosmetic outcomes.1 Studies show that soft tissue dissection (dissection of the soft tissue) and a buried suture placement technique, especially a set-back suture, can reduce tension on the dermis and subcutaneous tissue.2 The set-back suture method has many advantages, including its long-term, tension reduction effects. However, there may be difficulty in determining the scope of the set-back suture. Most importantly, there is no reference standard about the scope of the soft tissue dissection and set-back distance, which can lead to difficulties in performing the set-back suture.

Numerical parametric study of geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS)

A 2-D finite flement model was developed in this study to conduct a FE parametric study on the effects of some variables in the performance of geosynthetic reinforced soil integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS). The variables investigated in this study include the effect of internal friction angle of backfill material, width of reinforced soil foundation (RSF), secondary reinforcement within bearing bed, setback distance, bearing width and length of reinforcement. Other important parameters such as reinforcement stiffness and spacing were previously investgated by the authors. The performance of GRS-IBS were investgated in terms of lateral facing displacement, strain distribution along reinforcement, and location of potential failure zone. The results showed that the internal friction angle of backfill material has a significant impact on the performance of GRS-IBS. The secondary reinforcement, setback distance, and bearing width have low impact on the performance of GRS-IBS. However, it was found that the width of RSF and length of reinforcement have negligible effect on the performance of GRS-IBS. Finally, the potential failure envelope of the GRS-IBS abutment was found to be a combination of punching shear failure envelope (top) that starts under the inner edge of strip footing and extends vertically downward to intersect with Rankine active failure envelope (bottom).

An approach to coastline evolution as a tool for coastal management: case study of La Pedrera—Cabo Polonio Bay (Rocha, Uruguay)

A study of the position of the coastline was performed from the recent past (50 years) to Holocene ages (about 5000 years ago) in La Pedrera–Cabo Polonio coastal sector, in the southeast of Uruguay. Some persistent geoforms, such as marshes, located at very low elevations present lowest displacement of the recent coastline. Other recent landscapes, such as coastal gullies, developed on Late Pleistocene sediments are associated with a progradational coast in the short term. The geomorphological cartography was a useful tool for coastal management in the scenario of 10 cm sea-level rise per century and a coastal retreat of about 1 m per year. The analysis of coastline evolution provides information to assess the best measures to prevent coastal erosion and identify vulnerable areas. The presence of an escarpment (paleo coastline) located around + 10 to + 5 m above the current sea level appears to be the most appropriate criterion of minimum setback distances from current coastlines for constructions.

What really undermines public acceptance of wind turbines? A choice experiment analysis in Israel

As of 2020, there are only 27 MW of installed wind capacity in Israel. Yet, the country’s northern region is expected to soon become the site of numerous additional wind farms. The externalities associated with wind turbines frequently arouse concerns and objections among the general public. The relative apprehensions about different external effects remain poorly characterized. Moreover, the associated environmental costs with different effect are difficult to assess, especially for populations unfamiliar with turbines’ environmental impacts. The study involves a choice experiment survey among Israelis living in the country’s northern region. The questionnaire evaluated perceptions of five environmental impacts caused by wind turbines: noise, visibility; bird mortality, land use and shadow flickers. Results indicate high rates of public support for wind power. Significant concerns emerged about noise pollution from turbines. Reasonable setback distances and attention to avian populations also appear necessary to assuage public opinion. Evaluation of demographic characteristics reveals disparate preferences in different populations. Findings are relevant for policy makers in ongoing efforts to design more precise environmental standards for wind power and ensure appropriate utilization of land resources. Greater attention to environmental impacts promises to improve social acceptance of wind turbines, ensuring their optimal location and ultimate contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Evaluating Domestic Well Vulnerability to Contamination From Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Sites

AbstractThe rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas development (UD), made possible by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, has triggered concerns over groundwater contamination and public health risks. To improve our understanding of the risks posed by UD, we develop a physically based, spatially explicit framework for evaluating groundwater well vulnerability to aqueous phase contaminants released from surface spills and leaks at UD well pad locations. The proposed framework utilizes the concept of capture probability and incorporates decision‐relevant planning horizons and acceptable risks to support goal‐oriented modeling for groundwater protection. We illustrate the approach in northeastern Pennsylvania, where a high intensity of UD activity overlaps with local dependence on domestic groundwater wells. Using two alternative models of the bedrock aquifer and a precautionary paradigm to integrate their results, we found that most domestic wells in the domain had low vulnerability as the extent of their modeled probabilistic capture zones were smaller than distances to the nearest existing UD well pad. We also found that simulated capture probability and vulnerability were most sensitive to the model parameters of matrix hydraulic conductivity, porosity, pumping rate, and the ratio of fracture to matrix conductivity. Our analysis demonstrated the potential inadequacy of current state‐mandated setback distances that allow UD within the boundaries of delineated capture zones. The proposed framework, while limited to aqueous phase contamination, emphasizes the need to incorporate information on flow paths and transport timescales into policies aiming to protect groundwater from contamination by UD.

Study on upper limit solution and its application on bearing capacity of rock slope foundation

The determination and analysis of the bearing capacity of a slope foundation has become an important research topic in foundation design theory. To explore the ultimate bearing capacity of the rock foundation adjacent to a slope on the basis of the shear failure mode of a rock foundation on a semi-infinite plane, the failure mode of the rock foundation near the slope was established by analyzing the failure mechanism of the Bell solution. The upper limit theorem of limit analysis was used to build a velocity field allowable for maneuvering. Using this method, the ultimate bearing capacity of the Sandaozhuang open-pit mine was analyzed and calculated. The results show that the foundation load of the mine is less than the allowable bearing capacity; hence, the building on the slope meets the requirements of foundation bearing capacity. At the same time, this paper uses this method and existing research methods to compare and analyze this project with others, proving the rationality and feasibility of the proposed method. This paper further explores factors affecting the ultimate bearing capacity, such as the horizontal setback distance of the footing from the edge of the slope and the dip angle. It is concluded that the ultimate bearing capacity increases with increases in the distance to the slope and decreases in slope angle. The study also shows that the calculations developed and proposed in this paper for the bearing capacity of the rock foundation adjacent to the slope are reasonable and feasible, can be applied to the calculations of the bearing capacity of rock foundations near the slope, and have guiding significance for the project.

Hygiene risk of waterborne pathogenic viruses in rural communities using onsite sanitation systems and shallow dug wells

We evaluated the hygienic influence of onsite sanitation systems (OSSs) on drinking water wells in rural Sri Lanka by determining the safe setback distance between wells and the management of OSSs. Although previous studies have used bacterial indicators such as E. coli to evaluate the OSS impact, these parameters cannot assess the hygiene risk for waterborne pathogenic viruses (e.g. rotaviruses). Therefore, pepper mild mottle virus was selected as an indicator of human-specific faecal virus contamination. From a viral perspective, not only can the horizontal distance between a well and the nearest OSS reasonably represent hygiene safety, but the OSS sludge management can mitigate the contamination of wells even at short distances from the OSSs. Quantitative microbial risk assessment suggests that the infection risk of rotavirus was extremely high compared to the international standard. As proper management of OSSs would be key to reducing viral risk, it is necessary to reach out to the residents who are unaware of the importance and necessity of such management.

Costs of increasing oil and gas setbacks are initially modest but rise sharply

Spatial setback rules are a common form of oil and gas regulation worldwide - they require minimum distances between oil and gas operations and homes and other sensitive locations. While setbacks can reduce exposure to potential harms associated with oil and gas production, they can also cause substantial quantities of oil and gas resources to be unavailable for extraction. Using both theoretical modeling and spatial analysis with GIS tools on publicly available data, we determine oil and gas resource loss under different setback distances, focusing on Colorado counties as a case study. We show that increasing setbacks results in small resource loss for setbacks up to 1500 feet, but resource loss quickly increases with longer setbacks. Approximately $4.5 billion in annual resource revenues would be lost in Colorado under 2500-foot setbacks, a distance recently proposed in Colorado Proposition 112 and California AB 345.

The feasibility of PSO–ANFIS in estimating bearing capacity of strip foundations rested on cohesionless slope

This study aimed to assess particle swarm optimization (PSO) optimized with an adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for the prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of strip footing resting on a sloping crest. To make datasets, a 2524 finite element model (FEM) simulation analysis was performed. In this sense, the k-fold validation technique selected for the selection of the testing and validation purposes. Also, the variables of the ANFIS algorithm (i.e., the number of clusters), and the PSO algorithm (the population size were optimized using a series of trial and error process. The second main objective of the current study was to assess the applicability of PSO–ANFIS in estimating the ultimate bearing capacity of the strip footing resting on a single cohesionless slope when it was subjected to an external vertical applied stress. The input parameters were the soil properties (Stype) (classified into five different classes from the weakest, shown as S1, to the strongest type, displayed in higher order), slope angle (β), setback distance ratio (b/B) (the distance of the footing from the slope crest to the footing width), and vertical settlement (Uy) of the footing, while the main output was the applied vertical stresses (Fy) that can be applied on the footing. Note that the ultimate bearing capacity (Fult) is the maximum vertical stress when Uy = 0.1 B. A thorough comparison between the measured FEM simulations, the proposed ANFIS and PSO–ANFIS models were carried out to demonstrate their effectiveness in predicting a reliable Fult resting on cohesionless slopes.

Particulate matter emissions associated with marcellus shale drilling waste disposal and transport

ABSTRACT This study models emissions quantities and neighboring exposure concentrations of six airborne pollutants, including PM10, PM2.5, crystalline silica, arsenic, uranium, and barium, which resulted from the disposal of Marcellus shale drill cuttings waste during the 2011–2017 period. Using these predicted exposures, this study evaluates current setback distances required in Pennsylvania from waste facilities. For potential residents living at the perimeter of the current setback distance, 274 m (900 ft), a waste disposal rate of 612.4 metric tons per day at landfills (the 99th percentile in record) does not result in exceedances of the exposure limits for any of the six investigated pollutants. However, the current setback distance can result in exceedance with respect to the 24-hr daily concentration standards for PM10 and PM2.5 established in the National Air Ambient Quality Standards (NAAQS), if daily waste disposal rate surpasses 900 metric tons per day. Dry depositions of barium-containing and uranium-containing particulate matter should not be a danger to public health based on these results. To investigate the air quality impacts of waste transportation and the potential for reductions, this article describes an optimization of landfill locations in Pennsylvania indicating the potential benefits in reduced environmental health hazard level possible by decreasing the distance traveled by waste disposal trucks. This strategy could reduce annual emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 by a mean of 64% and reduce the expected number of annual fatal accidents by nearly half, and should be considered a potential risk management goal in the long run. Therefore, policy to limit or encourage reduction of distances traveled by waste removal trucks and manage setback distances as a function of delivered waste quantities is merited. Implications This study shows the necessity of reviewing current setback distance required in Pennsylvania, which might not ensure 24-hr mean PM10 and PM2.5 levels below the values stated in National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the residents living at the perimeter. Furthermore, this study also reveals potential tremendous benefits from optimizing location of landfills accepting drill cuttings within Pennsylvania, with PM10 and PM2.5 emission, total distance traveled shrinking, and number of fatal accidents shrinking by nearly half.

Magnitude thresholds and spatial footprints of damage from induced earthquakes

The rise in the number of anthropogenic small- to moderate-magnitude earthquakes in the central United States raises questions about the damageability of the built environment in such events. This study examines the performance of modern light-frame wood buildings, including single, multifamily, and commercial constructions, in earthquakes with moment magnitudes of 3–6, using dynamic analysis of building models subjected to ground motions recorded in past induced events in North America. We focus on first onset of damage, for example, wallboard or wallpaper cracking, and nails popping out. The results show that earthquakes with magnitudes less than 4–4.25 are unlikely to cause damage to modern constructions. However, moderate-magnitude events can cause damage over a wide geographic area (more than 30 mi from the earthquake epicenter, or 40 or more miles from a wastewater injection well). These results can be used to suggest setback distances between injection wells and certain neighborhoods or facilities, and magnitude thresholds for post-earthquake inspections.