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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity Dec 2023The Accident Reporting and Guiding Operational System (ARGOS) is a decision support system used to assist in the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) to nuclear and...
The Accident Reporting and Guiding Operational System (ARGOS) is a decision support system used to assist in the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) to nuclear and radiological incidents. The ARGOS user group has been formed that is made up of government agencies across many countries that have a role in EPR to nuclear and radiological incidents. In 2020, a desktop exercise was organised for the members of the ARGOS user group. The exercise involved two hypothetical accidents at different times on the same date, namely a radiological release from a floating nuclear power plant (NPP) off the Norwegian coast and from the Loviisa NPP in Finland. The objectives of the exercise were to train and increase knowledge of the ARGOS system, to perform a comparison of model outputs, and to compare the recommendations of protective actions. In the case of the floating NPP the source term was provided, while in the Loviisa NPP scenario the participants were required to provide their own source term based on a description of the accident. The results on radiological consequences based on dispersion modelling, protective actions, source terms and dispersion modelling settings were collected from participants. A comparison was made between each of these reported aspects. In general, it was found that there was general agreement between the results for the floating nuclear power plant scenario in the sense of plume direction and extent, while in the case of the Loviisa NPP scenario, there was much greater variation, with the difference in source term estimates between the participants being an influencing factor. The participants acknowledged that taking part in an exercise of this nature increased their knowledge and understanding about using decision support tools such as ARGOS in planning and responding to nuclear and radiological emergencies.
Topics: Humans; Radioactive Hazard Release; Radiation Monitoring; Civil Defense; Nuclear Power Plants; Finland
PubMed: 37797405
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107298 -
BMC Public Health Jan 2024With the rapid development of China's chemical industry, although researchers have developed many methods in the field of chemical safety, the situation of chemical...
BACKGROUND
With the rapid development of China's chemical industry, although researchers have developed many methods in the field of chemical safety, the situation of chemical safety in China is still not optimistic. How to prevent accidents has always been the focus of scholars' attention.
METHODS
Based on the characteristics of chemical enterprises and the Heinrich accident triangle, this paper developed the organizational-level accident triangle, which divides accidents into group-level, unit-level, and workshop-level accidents. Based on 484 accident records of a large chemical enterprise in China, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze the rationality of accident classification and the occurrence rules of accidents at different levels. In addition, this paper used TF-IDF and K-means algorithms to extract keywords and perform text clustering analysis for accidents at different levels based on accident classification. The risk factors of each accident cluster were further analyzed, and improvement measures were proposed for the sample enterprises.
RESULTS
The results show that reducing unit-level accidents can prevent group-level accidents. The accidents of the sample enterprises are mainly personal injury accidents, production accidents, environmental pollution accidents, and quality accidents. The leading causes of personal injury accidents are employees' unsafe behaviors, such as poor safety awareness, non-standard operation, illegal operation, untimely communication, etc. The leading causes of production accidents, environmental pollution accidents, and quality accidents include the unsafe state of materials, such as equipment damage, pipeline leakage, short-circuiting, excessive fluctuation of process parameters, etc. CONCLUSION: Compared with the traditional accident classification method, the accident triangle proposed in this paper based on the organizational level dramatically reduces the differences between accidents, helps enterprises quickly identify risk factors, and prevents accidents. This method can effectively prevent accidents and provide helpful guidance for the safety management of chemical enterprises.
Topics: Humans; Accidents; Chemical Hazard Release; Environmental Pollution; Risk Factors; Safety Management
PubMed: 38166879
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17510-w -
Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) Aug 2023Older people are or remain increasingly mobile for longer and participate in road traffic as car drivers or passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Regardless of their... (Review)
Review
Older people are or remain increasingly mobile for longer and participate in road traffic as car drivers or passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Regardless of their role in causing accidents, they are more likely to be seriously injured due to their higher vulnerability. If they are involved in an accident they suffer increasingly more from severe injuries, which consequently leads to longer hospitalization times. These aspects are even more applicable for persons aged 75 years or more than for persons aged 65-74 years. From a German in-depth accident study (GIDAS) analysis of the individual injuries of different types of road users, the most frequently severely injured body regions as well as the leading injuries can be derived. Primarily head and thorax injuries are of importance and secondarily also injuries to the lower extremities (especially for cyclists and pedestrians). The majority of the presented results confirm findings from comparable studies; however, this study was conducted for the first time on the basis of the abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 2015 and some individual injuries (especially commotio cerebri, which dominates in almost all age and road user groups) were upgraded from AIS1 to AIS2 in the latest AIS revision. As a result, the current results partly show significant increases in injury severity, especially for the head, compared to earlier studies based on the AIS 2008.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Accidents, Traffic; Thoracic Injuries; Abbreviated Injury Scale; Brain Concussion; Pedestrians
PubMed: 37106234
DOI: 10.1007/s00113-023-01316-x -
Forensic Science, Medicine, and... Sep 2023Aortic injuries are the second leading cause of death after head injuries due to traffic accidents, and strain-induced injuries are becoming increasingly prominent. The...
Aortic injuries are the second leading cause of death after head injuries due to traffic accidents, and strain-induced injuries are becoming increasingly prominent. The quantitative study of aortic strain injury allows for a rapid assessment of the degree of aortic injury after an accident and timely diagnosis of the pathology of aortic injury. It is more reliable than diagnosis based on clinical symptoms alone and it is faster than diagnosis based on imaging. Based on the porcine aortic tensile and injury tests, this study obtained the maximum stress threshold of the aorta that can withstand tensile stress and the safe stress threshold under tensile action, which provides a more detailed data reference about aortic injury in the field of internal medicine. Injuries to the aorta under various degrees of traction were analyzed in detail. A comprehensive and quantitative evaluation criterion for aortic strain injury was proposed, which provides a more in-depth reference for the mechanism of aortic strain injury. In addition, combining it with current imaging promises a combination of numbers and shapes for rapid and accurate diagnosis of aortic strain injury.
Topics: Animals; Swine; Accidents, Traffic; Aorta; Craniocerebral Trauma
PubMed: 36169877
DOI: 10.1007/s12024-022-00531-z -
BMC Public Health Feb 2024The monotonous nature of work, long driving duration, and working overload hours cause frequent fatigue in taxi drivers. A high prevalence of fatigue is associated with...
BACKGROUND
The monotonous nature of work, long driving duration, and working overload hours cause frequent fatigue in taxi drivers. A high prevalence of fatigue is associated with traffic accidents. However, the risk factors associated with taxi driver fatigue are unclear. Therefore, the present study aims to determine the rate of fatigue in taxi drivers and its relationship to their traffic accident experience.
METHODS
In this descriptive-analytical study, 400 taxi drivers in the city of Rasht were registered in Taxi association selected through random sampling and entered into the study based on inclusion criteria. Data was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire reliable and valid by two medical students. The statistical analysis used ordinal data and a Poisson regression model with SPSS software version 21, with a significance level set at 5%.
RESULTS
The driver fatigue self-reported was directly and significantly related to alcohol consumption (OR = 3.43, 95% CI 1.01-11.62) and had a significant and inverse relationship with smoking (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.32-0.76), being married (OR = 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.40) and driving experience there was (OR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.98). Drivers' sense of quality of life (QOL) was directly and significantly related to smoking (IRR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.28-1.59), education level under diploma (IRR = 2.41, 95% CI 1.43-4.06) diploma (IRR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.21-3.48) and bachelor (IRR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.36-4.29) and there was a significant and inverse relationship with age (IRR = 0.98, 95%CI 0.98-0.99). There was a significant relationship between the number of traffic accidents in the past year with the level of bachelor's degree (IRR = 3.10, 95% CI 1.43-6.76) and driving experience (IRR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.04 and inverse relationship between the number of traffic accidents in the past year and the QOL sense (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.93-0.99) and the working hours (IRR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.94-0.99).
CONCLUSION
Legislators and policymakers should pay more attention to fatigue in single and inexperienced taxi drivers. Regarding the QOL, pay attention to drivers with high education and older. To reduce the number of crashes, pay more attention to drivers with a bachelor's degree and less driving experience and improve the feeling of QOL.
Topics: Humans; Accidents, Traffic; Automobile Driving; Cross-Sectional Studies; Quality of Life; Iran; Fatigue
PubMed: 38378491
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18044-5 -
Epidemiologia E Servicos de Saude :... 2023To evaluate the temporal trend and magnitude of occupational accident indicators among Social Security beneficiaries in Brazil and its regions from 2009 to 2019.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the temporal trend and magnitude of occupational accident indicators among Social Security beneficiaries in Brazil and its regions from 2009 to 2019.
METHODS
A time series study was conducted on occupational accident indicators in the regions of Brazil, from 2009 to 2019. Data were retrieved from the Statistical Yearbook of Occupational Accidents and the Statistical Yearbook of Social Security. Prais-Winsten generalized linear regression models were used to estimate trends, and annual percentage change and their respective 95% confidence intervals were obtained.
RESULTS
There were 7,253,923 occupational accidents during the study period. The average incidence rate was 16.3 per 1,000 employment relationships, with a decreasing trend (APC = 4.3%; 95%CI -5.63;-3.26).
CONCLUSION
Brazil and its regions showed an overall decreasing trend in indicators representing morbidity burden and the magnitude of occupational accidents.
MAIN RESULTS
In Brazil, despite regional inequalities, there has been a decrease in occupational accident rates reported to Social Security.
IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES
The results suggest improvements in working conditions, control and prevention of occupational accidents among these workers and contribute to targeting measures to prevent and control these diseases in the regions with the highest incidence.
PERSPECTIVES
Further research could explore trends according to professional category and economic activity sector, aimed at improving the monitoring of safety conditions and the wellbeing of workers in the regions of Brazil.
Topics: Humans; Accidents, Occupational; Brazil; Social Security; Incidence; Employment
PubMed: 38088633
DOI: 10.1590/S2237-96222023000300013.en -
Journal of Safety Research Dec 2023The continuous growth in the use of e-bikes (in Germany mostly pedelecs that support pedaling up to 25 km/h) raises questions about the use of historic crash data for...
INTRODUCTION
The continuous growth in the use of e-bikes (in Germany mostly pedelecs that support pedaling up to 25 km/h) raises questions about the use of historic crash data for the development of road safety measures. The aim of this study was to address this issue, by conducting a longitudinal analysis of pedelec and bicycle crash data over a period of nine years to identify trends and to clarify whether such trends are specific to pedelecs.
METHOD
We analyzed 95,338 police reported pedelec and bicycle injury crashes from 2013 through 2021. The dataset consisted of crashes from three federal states of Germany: Brandenburg, Hesse and Saxony. Data were analyzed with respect to sex and age distribution, time, location and type of accident, conflict partner, cause of crash and injury severity.
RESULTS
Many of the analyzed variables showed a considerable degree of temporal stability, with differences as well as similarities between the two bicycle types staying quite consistent over the years. One notable difference was the mean age of the involved riders, with crashed pedelec riders being significantly older than conventional cyclists. At the same time, however, the mean age of these pedelec riders has decreased by eight years over time. Single vehicle crashes were consistently more common for pedelec riders than for cyclists. Similarly, pedelec rider crashes went with a higher injury severity over all the years.
CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
While, on a more detailed level, we found differences between the two bicycle types, overall crash characteristics were remarkably similar and consistent over time. Our findings provide no clear argument for road safety measures that are specifically designed to target pedelecs. Instead, the stable crash total, and the increases in ridership of both bicycles and pedelecs, highlight the demand for new, innovative solutions to improve cycling safety in general.
Topics: Humans; Child; Accidents, Traffic; Bicycling; Police; Germany
PubMed: 38081694
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.09.016 -
JAMA May 2024
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Firearms; United States; Wounds, Gunshot; Infant; Child, Preschool; Young Adult; Child Health; Wounds and Injuries; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Homicide; Suicide; Accidents, Traffic; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Health Inequities; Public Health Practice; Accident Prevention
PubMed: 38703402
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2024.4208 -
Accident; Analysis and Prevention Oct 2023The application of Computer Vision (CV) techniques massively stimulates microscopic traffic safety analysis from the perspective of traffic conflicts and near misses,... (Review)
Review
The application of Computer Vision (CV) techniques massively stimulates microscopic traffic safety analysis from the perspective of traffic conflicts and near misses, which is usually measured using Surrogate Safety Measures (SSM). However, as video processing and traffic safety modeling are two separate research domains and few research have focused on systematically bridging the gap between them, it is necessary to provide transportation researchers and practitioners with corresponding guidance. With this aim in mind, this paper focuses on reviewing the applications of CV techniques in traffic safety modeling using SSM and suggesting the best way forward. The CV algorithms that are used for vehicle detection and tracking from early approaches to the state-of-the-art models are summarized at a high level. Then, the video pre-processing and post-processing techniques for vehicle trajectory extraction are introduced. A detailed review of SSMs for vehicle trajectory data along with their application on traffic safety analysis is presented. Finally, practical issues in traffic video processing and SSM-based safety analysis are discussed, and the available or potential solutions are provided. This review is expected to assist transportation researchers and engineers with the selection of suitable CV techniques for video processing, and the usage of SSMs for various traffic safety research objectives.
Topics: Humans; Accidents, Traffic; Safety; Transportation; Computers; Algorithms; Automobile Driving
PubMed: 37423140
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.107191 -
Annals of Emergency Medicine Jun 2024
Topics: Humans; Male; Accidents, Traffic; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 38777502
DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.01.012