A study was made of the feasibility of putting hazardous area classification (HAC) on a more quantitative basis. A review of current HAC practice showed that the widespread policy of setting fixed zone distances around sources of hazard was subjective and sometimes led to inconsistencies between different codes of practice when applied to the same situation. Fatality and injury statistics were used to show that there is a significant risk to workers from the ignition of flammable atmospheres. which should be reduced. Data were researched and compiled to fit into a proposed framework for the quantification of HAC. These included information concerning leak source inventory: source leak frequency: and source leak size distribution. Mathematical models were collected which could be used to describe the emission and dispersion of flammable releases. Example calculations were performed for typical leak scenarios to illustrate the variation in hazard distances. Estimates were made of the ignition and explosion probabilities of flammable leaks. which depended princi pally on emission size. To compensate for uncertainties in the researched data. a fire and explosion model was devised to estimate the ignition frequency on a typical process plant. The model was applied to a "standard" plant which was formulated from researched data. By iteratively checking the estimated ignition frequencies against historical data it was concluded that reasonable agreement was achieved with some adjustment of the input data. The special problems of HAC of indoor plants were also addressed. It was concluded that the results of this study provided a basic framework for the quantification of HAC. although the quality of currently available data necessary for quantification is generally poor. The acquisition of better quality leak and ignition data should provide a platform from which the current work may progress. Further work should include the further refinement of the basic fire and explosion model to account for ignitions which HAC cannot protect against such as autoignitions. It was also noted that the behaviour of indoor releases requires clarification. together with the concept of a minimum flammable inventory below which there is negligible risk of ignition.

Aromatic hydrocarbons are a prevalent constituent of crude oil. The refined products of crude oil such as petroleum and diesel can find their way into groundwater though oil-spillages and are also present in the oil and gas industry’s produced water. These aromatics are biorecalcitrant, however upon ingestion with water, may be metabolised to toxic intermediates that are carcinogenic or mutagenic in nature. Although some treatment technologies are available most of these are under development and are yet to be proven in the field. This illustrates the need for novel, economical and environmentally friendly technologies to be developed with a view to remediating aqueous systems that have been polluted with aromatics hydrocarbons. The supramolecular cyclodextrin molecule, with its hydrophobic interior and hydrophobic exterior seems to be an excellent molecule for the trapping of the pollutant molecules, however the inclusion complexes with this cyclic sugar are water-soluble therefore there is a need for the cyclodextrin to be rendered waterinsoluble. A study of the aqueous solubilities of some aromatic hydrocarbons that may be present in crude oil has been carried out and shows that the majority of these molecules have a degree of water solubility that may increase upon environmental weathering. The successful reaction between a solid-phase resin and the β-cyclodextrin molecule has been achieved, with the total dryness of the system being required including Soxhlet extraction of the resin with anhydrous acetone before the reaction. The reaction between β-cyclodextrin and a range of isocyanates proved unsuccessful, but a range of symmetrical aryl ureas were synthesised from their isocyanates with the influence that different activating or deactivating groups on the ring have on the propensity to form the ureas being shown. The successful alkylation between β-cyclodextrin and a series of haloalkanes has shown the effect of increasing chain length on the degree of alkylation. This reaction involved the deprotonation of the cyclodextrin by sodium hydride in anhydrous dimethyl sulphoxide followed by reaction with the alkyl iodide. Increasing the equivalents of hydride or iodide, or the reaction time did not have a noticeable effect on the degree of reaction indicating that steric constraints were limiting the degree of reaction. Testing several of these alkyl iodides gave an indication as to their tendency to uptake and remove several model pollutants that had been dissolved in water with the propylated β-cyclodextrin displaying potential for the remediation of aqueous systems that had been polluted. Several of these results were very promising leading to the conclusion that further derivatives of these alkylated sugars may be even more suitable for future research into the remediation of organically polluted aqueous systems.

Several biomarkers (cell viability and phagocytosis) based on earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) immune cells (coelomocytes), together with whole-worm mortality (LC/LD50's), were used to assess a bioremediation attempt to reduce pentachlorophenol (PCP) toxicity in a former wood processing hazardous waste site (HWS).

Nas atividades típicas de empresas de mineração que produzem pedra britada para construção civil, conhecidas como pedreiras, é comum a exposição dos empregados a diversos fatores de risco à saúde ou integridade física, exposição que, no Brasil, confere a estes empregados o direito a adicionais de insalubridade ou periculosidade sobre o salário, definidos em lei a partir de diferentes parâmetros técnicos. As controvérsias acerca do pagamento ou não destes adicionais entre os empregadores e os empregados, a exemplo dos demais conflitos entre capital e trabalho, são solucionados no Brasil pela Justiça do Trabalho, sendo a perícia técnica uma das principais ferramentas da qual lançam mão os seus juízes, visando a apuração da efetiva ocorrência da insalubridade ou periculosidade nos ambientes de trabalho. No presente estudo foi realizada a caracterização da insalubridade e periculosidade em pedreiras sob o enfoque pericial, abordando-se para tanto os conceitos e a tipificação legal afeitos ao tema, bem como os principais aspectos da prova pericial técnica e sua contextualização no processo judicial, com o levantamento e análise das características dos ambientes de trabalho e das atividades desenvolvidas pelos empregados neste tipo de mineração. Como resultado, constatou-se a potencial ocorrência de insalubridade e/ou periculosidade em diversas das funções desenvolvidas pelos funcionários de pedreiras, pelo que foram discutidas as possíveis formas de gerenciamento da insalubridade e periculosidade no âmbito da gestão global de segurança destes empreendimentos, culminando na proposta de utilização voluntária e sistemática, por parte das empresas de mineração, das técnicas de levantamento e análise pericial, de forma a contribuir para uma melhor concepção e execução dos diversos programas de segurança e medicina do trabalho exigidos pela legislação brasileira, bem como para a redução dos custos relacionados. / In the typical activities of mining companies that produce crushed stone for civil construction, known as \"quarries\", employees exposition to diverse risk factors, to the health or physical integrity, is common. This kind of exposition, in Brazil, gives to these employees unhealthy or hazard adds on the wage, defined in law from different technical parameters. The controversies concerning the payment of these adds between the employers and the employees, like the other conflicts between capital and labor, are solved in Brazil by the labor justice, and the forensic expert survey is one of the main tools used by the judges for the verification of the effective occurrence of the unhealthy or hazardous situations in labor activities. The present study focus the unhealthy or hazardous situations in quarries under the forensic expert survey, approaching the concepts and the legal definitions of the unhealthy or hazardous situations in labor activities, the main aspects of the expert evidence technique and the judicial proceeding, and the survey and analysis of the typical characteristics of work environments and quarries employees activities. The possible forms of management of the unhealthy or hazardous situations were also discussed, in the scope of the global safety management in quarries, as well as the contribution of raised data in forensic expert survey for the conception of security and health programs, equally demanded for the brazilian legislation.

Thesis. 1978. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Louis E. Slesin. / Ph.D.

<p>Uvođenjem novih tehnologija raste potreba za dodatnim resursima, što se odražava na permanentni porast broja opasnih materija. Industrijski rizik je interpretiran kroz fenomen fragmentacije procesne opreme, dok su transportni rizici analizirani kroz model očekivanja akcidenata usled iskliznuća voza. Neizvesnost fragmentacione procene se kreće oko 12,5%. Visok procenat neizvesnosti transportnih akcidenata pokazuje da pouzdana procena rizika zahteva primenu naprednih metoda, poput Dempster-Shafer teorije.</p> / <p>Introduction of new technologies creates a growing need for additional resources, which affects the permanent increase in the number of dangerous materials. Industrial risk is interpreted through the phenomenon of process equipment fragmentation, while transport risks are analyzed through the model of accidents expectation caused by train derailment. The fragmentation estimates uncertainty is around 12.5%. A high percentage of uncertainties in transport accidents show that reliable risk assessment requires the use of advanced methods, such as Dempster-Shafer theory.</p>

This thesis is a regional interdisciplinary analysis of the environmental challenge to the liberal democratic state. It situates these new problems of governance in one of the dominating political conflicts of our time, the battle between market and state for the 'commanding heights'. By the end of the 1970s, environmental concerns had added to the social crises associated with the overloaded, welfare state. The study sets the political context through an exposition of the perceived problems of the overloaded state, analysed by neo-Marxist theorists in terms of rationality and legitimacy deficits and by public choice theorists in terms of the incentives and calculations confronting rational individuals. It draws out the association between these alternative perspectives on 'state overload' and the political philosophies of corporatism and neo-liberalism, showing that, on the neo-Marxist understanding, corporatism addresses the functional requirements of late capitalism, while public choice precepts are strongly influential on leading elements of neo-liberalism. This political analysis is developed through the history of a landmark piece of legislation, the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act (NSW) 1985, in toxic chemicals policymaking from the late 1970s to the end of 1997. The interpretation of the case material shows that the response in NSW to the environmental problematic has been driven by the reform agenda of the successive political programs of corporatism and neo-liberalism for the state, the bureaucracy and the democratic process. Neither the corporatist nor the neo-liberal programs succeeded in meeting environmental criteria. Examination of the inadequate responses of both corporatism and neo-liberalism, when measured against sustainability criteria, leads to a deeper understanding of the institutional reforms required if these criteria are to be addressed. The thesis concludes that the failure to effect successful reform of toxic chemicals policy in NSW reflects the failure of leading political theorems of the liberal democratic state to incorporate sustainability criteria successfully into their reform agenda for the state, the bureaucracy and the democratic process. These regional issues are shown to be thematic for the nation-state when raised in the context of the globalisation of the environmental challenge and the inter nationalisation of market forces. The thesis concludes with a brief review of some recent political theory in relation to the programmatic issues of sustainability and democracy which it has pursued.

Thesis (M.S. in environmental Science)--Washington State University, December 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 27).

Graduation date: 1995

Problem: Nurses are potentially exposed to hazardous drugs (HDs) in their practice. HD exposure is associated with adverse outcomes (reproductive problems, learning disabilities in offspring of nurses exposed during pregnancy, and cancer occurrence). Safe handling precautions (safety equipment and personal protective equipment, [PPE]) minimize exposure to HDs and decrease the potential for adverse outcomes. Despite existing OSHA recommendations, adherence to precautions is below recommendations. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among factors affecting nurses’ use of HD safe handling precautions, to identify factors that promote or interfere with HD precaution use, and to determine nurse managers’ perspectives on use of safe handling precautions. This study used a conceptual model which proposes that both individual and organizational factors influence precaution use. Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational design was used. Nurses (N = 165; 46% response rate) from oncology centers across the US who reported handling chemotherapy completed a mailed survey. Instruments measured HD precaution use, knowledge, self efficacy, barriers, perceived risk, conflict of interest, interpersonal influences and workplace safety climate. Hierarchical regression was used. Twenty managers of nurses handling chemotherapy were interviewed. Results: Nurses were experienced in oncology (M = 15.8 ± 7.6) yrs, well-educated (62.5% ≥BSN), certified in oncology nursing (85%), worked in outpatient settings (69%), and on average treated 6.8 ± 5.2 patients per day. Chemotherapy exposure knowledge was high (M = 10.9, ± 1, 0-12 scale); as was self efficacy for using PPE (M = 20.8 ± 3, 7-24 scale), and perceived risk (M = 3.14 ± .6, 0-4 scale). Total precaution use during HD administration and disposal was low (M = 1.9, SD = 1.1, 0= never to 5 = 100%). Nurse characteristics did not predict HD precaution use. In the final model (R2 = .29, F (2, 155) = 24.6, p < .000), fewer patients per day, fewer barriers and better workplace safety climate were independent predictors of higher precaution use. Conclusions: Results emphasize the importance of organizational influence on nurses’ HD safe handling precaution use and suggest fostering a positive workplace safety climate and reducing barriers as interventions.