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In the present study, thermal hazards of TNT and DNAN used as the molten binder in TKX-50-based melt-cast explosives were comparatively studied through accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) and Cook-off experiments. Two kinds of ARC operation modes were performed to investigate the thermal safety performance under adiabatic conditions (HWS mode) and constant heating (CHR mode). The obtained results demonstrated that at both heating modes, DNAN/TKX-50 outperformed TNT/TKX-50 from the thermal safety point of view. However, the sensitivity to heat of the samples was reverse because of the different heating modes. In addition, the results of thermal hazard assessment obtained from the cook-off experiment complied with ARC analysis which indicated the molten binder TNT replaced by DNAN would reduce the hazard of the TKX-50 melt cast explosive. Furthermore, the results of cook-off experiments also showed that DNAN/TKX-50 outperformed TNT/TKX-50 from the aspect of thermal stability, which was consistent with the result of CHR mode because of the similar heating process.

The occurrence and impacts of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in the aquatic environment have gained widespread attention over the past two decades. Due to large number of potential contaminants, monitoring campaigns, treatment plants, and proposed regulations should preferentially focus on specific pollutants with the highest potential for ecological and human health effects. In the present study, a multi-criteria screening approach based on hazard and exposure potentials was developed for prioritization of 405 unregulated EOCs already present in Chinese surface water. Hazard potential, exposure potential, and risk quotients for ecological and human health effects were quantitatively analyzed and used to screen contaminants. The hazard potential was defined by contaminant persistence, bioaccumulation, ecotoxicity, and human health effects; similarly, the exposure potential was a function of contaminant concentration and detection frequency. In total, 123 compounds passed the preselection process, which involved a priority index equal to the normalized hazard potential multiplied by the normalized exposure potential. Based on the prioritization scheme, 11 compounds were identified as top-priority, and 37 chemicals were defined as high-priority. The results obtained by the priority index were compared with four other prioritization schemes based on exposure potential, hazard potential, or risk quotients for ecological effects or human health. The priority index effectively captured and integrated the results from the more simplistic prioritization schemes. Based on identified data gaps, four uncertainty categories were classified to recommend: ① regular monitoring, derivation of environmental quality standards, and development of control strategies, ② increased monitoring, ③ fortified hazard assessment, and ④ increased efforts to collect occurrence and toxicity data. Overall, 20 pollutants were recommended as priority EOCs. The prioritized list of contaminants provides the necessary information for authoritative regulations to monitor, control, evaluate, and manage the risks of environmentally-relevant EOCs in Chinese surface water.

Landslide hazard analysis is important to mitigate possible landslide hazards and ensure sustainable development of society and economy. Integrating machine learning models into landslide hazard analysis is a common but challenging task for researchers in general. In this work, we introduce a revolutionary framework, the Amazon's AutoGluon, a new open-source library of machine learning models, to analyze landslide hazards related to the 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake in west China. We use 11 mathematical models in the AutoGluon to perform the analysis. For each model, the coseismic landslide inventory and 10 environmental and triggering factors are used as model inputs to perform landslide hazard analysis. These 10 factors are altitude, slope, aspect, slope position, distance parallel to the seismogenic fault, distance vertical to the seismogenic fault, distance to the epicenter, lithology, distance to rivers, and distance to roads. The same number (4,834) of random points in landslide and non-landslide areas are selected, 70 ​% of which are used as training points, and the remaining 30 ​% used as validation points. It takes 47.33 ​s for data preprocessing and model training for 11 machine learning models and the best result measured by Roc-AUC score is 0.94. Our work shows that AutoGluon can greatly improve the efficiency of landslide hazard analysis.

In India, the Firework industries are mostly located in and around Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. Right from the initial phase of manufacturing till the transportation and storage of fireworks in the stores, risk to life and property is high so these industries are known to be highly hazardous industry. Fire is one of the major hazards which occur due to natural or man-made causes. The hazards in firework industry has been identified by walk around audit and the risk is quantified by Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) method for every task. After quantifying the risk suitable control measures are suggested to reduce the high-level risk into as low as possible. The risk zones as identified through the task-based quantification, helps the safety engineers to make necessary measures for the health and safety of the workers.

Occupational health analyses the job and health relationships, in particular the chronic health influence of chemicals to workers. In most of the previous works for inherent hazards assessment, the focus was put on safety aspect; with very minor elements of health are taken into account. Most of the earlier design stage assessment methods focus only on the hazard identification and assessment part; but not the risk mitigation element. This study aims to create an assessment method that integrate the existing inherent hazards assessment index which is the Inherent Occupational Health Index (IOHI) with suitable Layers of Protection (LOP) strategies for each of the enlisted hazard parameters. The IOHI considers the health hazards existed during research and development stage. Risk prevention and minimization strategies are proposed according to each hazard parameters and levels. Scores are also assigned to each LOP strategies. Integration of occupational health hazard assessment index with the prevention strategy is achieved through a designed formula. The proposed method provides users with list of suitable counter measures for each hazard parameter, and each option offers varied level of effectiveness. The proposed index is applied to two process routes of methyl methacrylate production which are ethylene via propionaldehyde based route (C2/PA) and propylene based route (C3). The results revealed that the process routes are in the category of “safe” when the proposed control strategies are evaluated in the assessment.

With the development of the world water resources situation, the reuse of wastewater will be one of the essential measures for solving water resources' problems and implementing practical and sustainable use of water resources. Wastewater reclamation risks have received considerable attention in all worlds, but research in this area is minimal, and a unified understanding and evaluation method has not yet been formed. Therefore, based on the system theory process analysis (STPA) method and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) theory, this paper expounds on the concept of the safety and reliability of the wastewater reclamation system. Through the application of analysis methods, this paper proposes a verification method for the safety of the wastewater reclamation system and a reliability evaluation system for the wastewater reclamation system. Besides, the next research direction is further to improve the analysis model and evaluation index system to provide technical support for the construction of a safe, reliable, and economical wastewater recovery system.

In the process industries, the flammable and explosive hazards of aerosols receive less attention and have less understanding as compared to gases and dust clouds. Numerous incidents in various industries have revealed the distinct differences between the hazards of a bulk liquid compared to those of aerosols. Flash point, the criterion for liquid flammability becomes insignificant when the liquid is present in aerosol form. A practical discussion of the criteria for aerosol flammability hazard assessment is needed. Unlike standard measurements for gas and dust clouds, an aerosol flammability standard test method, such as ASTM D3065−01, has not been widely adopted owing to the lack of quantification. Therefore, it is important to establish quantitative aerosol flammability and aerosol explosion testing procedures. This paper comprehensively reviews the methodologies to generate aerosols, both lab and large-scale aerosol combustion and explosion experiments, and liquid flammability risk assessments. Additionally, this paper reviews important but sparsely studied areas such as aerosol deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) and proposes a systematic strategy to investigate the complicated mechanism and consequences of aerosol combustion and explosions.

The article aims to review the various Ergonomics studies carried out in various domains mainly focusing on preventing the incidents and accidents that will lead to the human factors and ergonomics problems faced by the industrial workers. The various researchers have identified various tools to improve the ergonomic interventions methods to overcome and decrease the incident frequency. Although safety is a very relevant contribution to their ergonomics and human parts, this article is discussed based on the various industrial zones. After that, a clear way of mitigation and prevention methods can be implemented in the workplace. A workplace that deals with the machinery part interacts with the environment with the comfort level zones. Especially in the manufacturing industry, ergonomics is prominent human factors. This article reviewed various methodology proposed in various industries based on the postures and awkward frequencies of each work activity. Each research tool defines different comfort level zones that interact with the workers. Based on that, only future work carried out, and problems were extensively identified by the previous literature.

From the annual reports of bench marked companies from 2016 to 2018, also from the case studies available approximate 100 disaster cases were analyzed in knowing the possible hazard during drilling. The outcome indicates the change in control measures that is suggested in-order to have safe and healthy work environment at work place which in turn helps in preparing the risk register. In oil industry Risk Assessment needs to be performed on steady and systematic or regular basis. The goal of risk assessment is to identify the hazards, to determine the rating of various risks with controls, to revise the risk controls implementation from the previous sessions of risk assessment. Risk assessment process provides a method for assessing the likelihood of health, safety and environmental impacts. This paper highlights in order to know the details of hazard identification, its assessment and with controls includes: hazard Identification- finding potential hazards, defining the risks and rating which is linked to the hazard based on severity, frequency and probability. Hazard Control -controlling of hazards and associated risks with the hazard. Control Measures- providing information on training, supervision on the hazard, education, analyzing the risks, controls measure for the employees affected by the hazards with evaluation of hazard. Furthermore, an example is shown how to do or calculate the quantitative risk assessment for the various hazards that comes across various operations in hydrocarbon industry.

Today in India, modern technology or many chemical companies need different chemicals as a raw material or as a finished product according to customer requirement. However, at first, most chemical industry problems are the introduction of own hazards during the production of respective chemicals. The Main aim of the work to mitigate the Environmental Hazards encountered in the Sewage treatment plant applying the Fault tree analysis methods minimize the chances of risk involved in the Treatment plants. This work was done in a company located in Mumbai, India. The considered company is administrated by Government, and it produces many chemicals for various purposes. At second, the problem of sewage water is high in all over Mumbai. The Risk assessment is carried out in sewage treatment plant by categorize the factors influenced on each work activity and adopting the Fault tree analysis methodology to reduce the hazards and risks Industry has its sewage treatment plant. The prime issue is that the sewage treatment plant is a failure in reverse osmosis and releases liquid chlorine in the field area. This study aims to find out what are the root causes of above two failure parameter.

In today's Industry 4.0 scenario, various steps have been taken in automation for effective workplace implementations. It leads to prevent industrial incidents and prevent the injuries inside the workplace. However, the industries that have implemented the automation cannot achieve zero accidents. The practical implementation of safety is a challenging task with the cooperation of every worker. This case investigation deals with effective safety management implementation using management approaches to implement and identify the potential hazards. The case assessment is carried out using the risk assessment methods with the combination of JSA analysis method. The effective methodology potential type of incidents is identified by using the Job Safety Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (JSHIRA) analysis. Approximately more than 50% of hazards are eliminated using the JSHIRA Methodology. The JSHIRA method critically assesses the various potential threats encounter in the workplace.

In this paper, we present an overview of how the International Space Station (ISS) safety engineering methodology directed to controlling extravehicular activity (EVA) crew electrical shock hazards, caused by ISS spacecraft charging, has evolved over the past 25+ years. Long-term measurements of ISS charging severity and frequency-of-occurrence, combined with detailed probabilistic analysis of EVA electric shock-circuit completion, led to a change in hazard control methodology. The requirement for two-fault tolerant EVA shock hazard control during all EVAs was replaced with a less operationally burdensome and risky EVA shock hazard detection and warning process. The applicability of event probability-based detection-and-warning processes to human spaceflight charging hazard control beyond low-earth orbit (LEO) is also considered.

Trans-1233zd was developed as a refrigerant and propellant in consumer products; its toxicity has been studied extensively. The scope of this assessment is to apply the confirmed NOAEC to conduct Benchmark Dose Modeling (BMD) and determine the Point of Departure (POD). In a previously published 13-week inhalation study, a NOAEC was identified at 4000 ppm. Due to uncertainty concerning the cardiac lesion, an external pathology peer review of heart tissues was undertaken using published best practices and consistent nomenclature and diagnostic criteria. The cardiac lesion observed at 4000 ppm was considered to be spontaneous based on lesion location and microscopic features. BMD was applied to derive the BMDL05 and BMDL10; the more conservative BMDL05 was used as the POD for risk assessment to calculate the Reference Exposure Levels (RELs). The 2-Box Air Dispersion Model was used to calculate the exposure to consumer products. Both the acute and chronic exposure concentrations calculated were compared to the acute and chronic RELs. The acute and chronic exposure to trans-1233zd in the assessed consumer products are below the RELs and deemed safe for their intended uses.

One large landslide (Soleghan) in the north of the megacity, Tehran, has been surveyed for dating with OSL methods. Landslide dammed-lake deposits of the Soleghan landslide was used to obtain the age of the landslide event using the SAR protocol for both quartz and feldspar grains. The age of the event was 1.09 ± 0.09 ka for quartz, and 1.03 ± 0.08 ka and 1.10 ± 0.13 ka for feldspars (stimulation at 50 °C and 225 °C, respectively). These results suggest that the Soleghan mass movement was an earthquake-induced landslide triggered by the 23rd February 958 7.7 M Ray-Taleghan/Ruyan earthquake. Based on this work, thorough review studies of landslides using OSL dating methods can be used to determine the age of other mass movements in Iran. Multiple landslides with identical ages, which may be attributed to a seismic event, could be created by a known earthquake or an unknown earthquake. Subsequently, finding an unknown earthquake will complete the earthquake catalogue resulting in a better hazard assessment.

The hazard that prevails in the chemical storage area of a process industry is exceptionally high in contrast to other different areas. In the present scenario, upcoming process industries handle different hazardous chemicals for processing, due to which the chemical storage area draws more attention with regard to safety. It is very hard to repair the damages brought about unintentionally in a chemical warehouse. Resilience-based Integrated Process System Hazard Analysis (RIPSHA) approach is a recently developed methodology to examine the varied nature of an accident. In this study, storage areas of chemicals, namely sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, caustic (sodium hydroxide), ammonia in an edible oil refinery in South India were considered for resilient analysis. The results of the study were made in RIPSHA worksheet and represented graphically. The existing risk has been adequately investigated in both plant system layers and managerial system layers, and it has been found that the safety precautions and structural design of the chemical storage area needed development.

The health risk assessment of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) associated with the combustion of gas in gas flares of one of the largest gas refinery complex in Iran (South Pars gas complex in Asalouyeh, 1–10 phases) has been conducted based on Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) method. In this regard, AERMOD dispersion model coupled with WRF model has been used to predict the ground level concentration of pollutants emitted from gas flares. The accuracy of the dispersion model has been verified with measured ambient SO2 data. The risk assessment results have shown that the chronic noncarcinogenic risk of BTEX emitted from gas flares is in the acceptable range in the residential area and most of refineries site. Regarding acute noncarcinogenic risk, the hazard indices (HIs) are only greater than one in refineries sites and are less than permitted level elsewhere in the study area. For carcinogenic risk, the cumulative risk of benzene and ethylbenzene are greater than 10−6 in refineries sites and two cities (Asalouyeh and Nakhl Taghi), but in two camps nearby the gas flaring sites, the value is less than the allowable limit. Besides, the relative contribution of gas flaring in health risk assessment of BTEX is accomplished by calculating the health risk parameters with the measured BTEX concentrations at 10 receptors, which reveal the cumulative effects of all potential sources of BTEX throughout the study area. The comparison of health risk parameters has shown that the health risk of BTEX associated with flaring is in average 42 %, 2.6 % and 10.8 % of the overall health risk of BTEX in industrial areas, two cities and camps, respectively. It can be concluded that the contribution of gas flaring in industrial areas is noticeable and application of emission reduction policies at gas flaring, has a major effect on industrial areas and maybe has minor effects on the air quality of the residential areas.

Rockburst hazard in mining industry all over the world is one of the most severe hazards. It is becoming increasingly common because of the ever-growing depths of mining operations accompanied by the increasing strength of rocks. One of the most difficult issues is to predict this hazard before the mining operations, whether geophysical investigations have been conducted or not. Polish experience in this field shows that in such cases an effective solution can be the geomechanical method. Therefore, extensive studies on rockburst hazard should focus on three main aspects: (1) rock mass and rock (and coal) predisposition to rockburst–laboratory tests and empirical analyses based on lithology, (2) identification of the potential places with stress and elastic energy concentration in the rock mass within the area planned for exploitation, and (3) the assessment of the impact of mining tremors on the surface. This preliminary geomechanical analysis assesses the propensity of the rock mass to dynamic breakage and provides quantitatively the level of rockburst hazard. The paper presents Polish experience in rockburst hazard assessment with the use of geomechanical method, as well as some solutions and examples of such analyses.

Renewable power generation facilities are constantly expanding due to the expected depletion of fossil fuels and the increasingly demanding policy of pollution control. Having said that, hydrogen is one of the promising energy sources. That said, hydrogen chain safety is an unescapable parameter that should continuously coexist with the development of hydrogen domain. In this context, this article presents a contribution to the risk analysis and evaluation of a complex hydrogen production system 'EGA-9000′ at CIEMAT (Centre for Research on Energy, Environment and Technology - Madrid, Spain). The methodology followed in this study revolves around the risk analysis process through a FAST (Functional Analysis System Technique) functional analysis method and a HAZOP (HAZard and Operability) dysfunctional analysis method. The evaluation of the thirty-three scenarios identified by the risk analysis shows that the studied system is insecure. Indeed, five scenarios at an unacceptable level of risk. And it is noted that the risk of fire and explosion is the major risk for all scenarios studied. To this end, safety measures (recommendation) have been proposed based on the weaknesses detected by the risk analysis carried out.

The United States Air Force maintains the Catalog of Earth orbiting satellites, or SATCAT. In February of 2009, a collision between Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 occurred. This event not only generated thousands of pieces of debris, but also heightened international interest in preventing future orbital collisions. Future potential collisions, or conjunctions, are predicted and warned of by the 18th Space Control Squadron (18 SPCS), across the space community, using Conjunction Data Messages (CDMs). The research team requested, processed, analyzed, and trended the historical catalog of 23 million CDMs across spatial and temporal domains for aggregate risk assessment in each of the major Earth orbit classes. This effort is in the spirit of the Air Force Safety Center's (AFSEC's) vision, which is to achieve a proactive safety culture of hazard identification and risk management across the Air Force, to prevent mishaps. The type and depth of analysis presented here will increase in the future to better inform the hazards of the orbital environment and cultivate space mishap prevention.

The goal of this paper is to develop a quantitative resilience assessment framework for a supply chain system exposed to multiple risk factors. Most existing studies on supply chain resilience have primarily focused on assessing the system’s ability to withstand and recover from disruptions caused by a single type of hazard. However, a supply chain system is exposed to multiple exogenous and endogenous events and conditions over a planning horizon, and a comprehensive assessment of resilience should take into account multiple risk factors. Moreover, contrary to the conventional resilience assessment methods focusing on the short duration during which the system is impacted by a disaster event, the proposed framework measures the resilience capacities of the system over a long-term horizon through multi-risk assessment and multi-component resilience assessment. Specifically, a new multi-component resilience index is proposed to measure (a) hazard-induced cumulative loss of functionality, (b) opportunity-induced cumulative gain of functionality, and (c) non-hazard-induced cumulative loss of functionality. The case study results indicate that all three types of risk factors contribute to the overall resilience index significantly and ignoring any one of them may result in inaccurate supply chain performance and resilience assessment.

The maritime industry is currently ongoing into a digital transformation to develop cleaner, safer and smarter transport services. Establishing such services requires identifying and assessing new emerging risks such as software and design flaws. Thus, suitable hazard identification and risk analysis methods must be developed and implemented for these complex services. This study aims to develop a novel risk analysis methodology by integrating Systems Theoretic Process Analysis, Bayesian Network, Noisy-OR gates, Parent divorcing technique and Sub-modelling. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through a case study of Remote pilotage operation. The results show that the methodology can be applied to complex operations to assess the propagation of risks from a single fault or failure in a system to the hazards, accidents and incidents, and ultimately the losses. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how the remote pilotage risk model can support pilots and pilotage companies in real-time decision-making by estimating the likelihood of losses in case of a single fault or failure.

Tremendous amounts of oil and gas products are transported in pipelines worldwide resulting in increasing interest to identify the hazards and evaluate the associated risks associated with this critical infrastructure. Third-party intrusion is one of the least quantifiable factors being considered during the pipeline hazard assessment stage despite the substantial contributing to the total number of oil and gas pipeline incidents. This is because a probabilistic risk assessment cannot reliably model human actions and be applied to intentional acts. Due to the distinctive motivations of third-party damage, an unintentional third-party damage Bayesian Network model and a game-theoretic model on malicious intrusion will therefore be built, to examine the mechanism of pipeline failure caused by this mode. This study is conducted aiming at investigating pipeline risk resulting from third-party damage, and will formulate risk assessment models to identify threats, prioritize risks and determine which integrity plan should apply to different pipeline segments given the condition of third-party interference (both the accidental damage and malicious acts).

Background\ud The topic of food safety culture and climate is growing attention from industry, researchers, standards owners and certification bodies. Authors use the terms food safety culture and climate, however, there are no unified definitions to provide clarity on the meaning of these terms.\ud \ud Scope and approach\ud The objective of this study is to analyse the similarities and differences in current definitions and statements of Food Safety Culture and Food Safety Climate, and provide suggested clarifying definitions for both concepts, to bring a consistent approach to the field. The study evaluates the types of organisational cultures, climates and employees’ behaviours which provide important differences and further insights into each of these.\ud \ud Key findings and conclusions\ud Looking back at the origins of safety culture following the Chernobyl accident in the 1980's provides an understanding of how this laid the foundation for safety culture and climate in the UK. Reflecting on the increasing trend in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) breaches due to the increasing number of incidents reported to authorities, the study suggests an increased focus is needed on culture, climate, and behaviour in food businesses. A critical analysis of previous definitions, statements and common words currently used to describe culture and climate in published definitions is provided. New definitions for food safety culture and climate based on factors shown to be important and are recommended for use by industry and researchers are proposed. The study assesses different types of culture, climate and employees, and suggests different employee behaviours impact the culture and climate of an organisation.

On the level of the conceptual integration of measurement functions into existing technical systems, there is significant uncertainty regarding the dependence of potential solutions on environmental and boundary conditions. In order to enable an early assessment of the viability of potential solutions, an approach to take this uncertainty into account is presented in this paper. For this purpose, existing approaches for the differentiation of uncertainty, for failure and hazard analysis, for the integration of measurement functions into existing systems as well as for robust design are collected in a literature review and further developed in a focused way. Based on a general differentiation of possible uncertainties (context, model, data uncertainty), the identification of uncertainty is supported by the further development and application of a control list and an effect matrix. The subsequent evaluation of the identified uncertainty is carried out with a method similar to a FMEA. Finally, measures for the consideration of uncertainty (reduction of uncertainty, reduction of the influences of uncertainty and reduction of the impacts of uncertainty) are derived from the principles of robust design. The presented approach is applied to the sensor integration into an elastic claw coupling.

A lifting equipment plays an important role in assembly industries. In Truck manufacturing plant, assembling components of truck chassis involves many numbers of process and then loading of components in the finishing process creates problems for workers. This study is to identify the potential risk in assembling process at the industry by using hazard identification Risk Assessment (HIRA). The appropriate risk controls are providing engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment. This HIRA study may help to employer be more proactive in ensuring the safety and health of workers. The hazard has been identified and evaluated, then possible control measures will be recommended for safe execution of activities.

Norwegian fish farms are expanding into more exposed sites due to a lack of sheltered coastal locations and growing negative ecological consequences close to land. The severe wave and current conditions, irregular and often high winds, sheer remoteness, and limited weather window amplify the hazards during aquaculture operations. This paper presents a methodology for identifying hazards in aquaculture operations that take into account risks to personnel, material assets, the environment, fish welfare and food safety. The methodology considers the marine fish farm, its support service systems, external agents impacts, potential environmental disturbance and the likelihood of hazard interactions, and fish in the cage. The methodology has been used to analyse a net-cleaning operation, and the results show that it provides a good overview of hazards in a specific operation. The operator can have a better understanding of the nature of the operation to be better prepared for what can go wrong. The paper concludes that the risk assessment framework for aquaculture operation needs to be holistic to take into account multiple dimensions of risk, and the proposed methodology serves a good basis to develop the framework further. The paper also brings up the necessity to investigate further the definition of major accident and major accident hazards in aquaculture, especially for exposed fish farms that are exposed to different hazards comparing to the coastal fish farms today.

Deplorable safety management practices are damaging the reputation of construction sector. Though legislation has specified rules and regulations for safety improvement, the state of violation is still alarming. Its root causes are unavailability of information and lack of integration of core data with other project activities. The technology that can help in overcoming these issues is the need of hour. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has the potential to address poor safety performance which inspired many researchers to explore its application for safety improvement throughout project lifecycle. The primary objective of this study is to review and analyze the literature on BIM. For this purpose, comprehensive bibliometric and scientometric analyses were performed using science mapping tools on the articles published during the period 2000–2018 using selected search string. The analyses on 97 articles majorly resulted in the identification of BIM application characteristics, construction safety application domains and their relationship. The relationship in the form of a factor-feature matrix shows the association strengths between various safety factors and BIM features, revealing interesting findings. It is found that visualization is the most promising feature of BIM while hazard identification is a highly significant application domain of construction safety. The findings drive the knowledge areas available for future research endeavors in BIM and safety. Taking the lead, app developers can design and develop a dedicated BIM plugin to plan and monitor safety in construction projects.

Objective The objective of this study was to show how fuzzy representation of hazard risk (membership functions and risk bands) could be used along with quantification of human-automation reliability to produce precise risk assessments and broad sets of control measures. Background Although some prior research has integrated fuzzy logic into several hazard analysis techniques and identified advantages in terms of risk estimation and recommended control measures, in applying systems hazard analysis (SHA), analysts still rely on discrete risk assessment approaches. The SHA approach is the only hazard analysis technique that accounts for hazards due to interactions among system components. However, the original method does not consider the impact of human-automation reliability in risk exposure calculations. Method The Mamdani max-min inference method was used to calculate a “risk-reliability” (R-R) score based on a fuzzy definition of frequency of hazard occurrence, severity of hazard outcomes, and system reliability. The application of the proposed model is presented in the context of a complex-human-in-the-loop system using the MATLAB® fuzzy logic toolbox. Results The fuzzy R-R score provided a precise risk assessment and led to broader set of control measures, as compared to use of the original SHA in a construction safety application. The proposed fuzzy inference system can be used by analysts through a graphical user interface. Conclusion The enhanced SHA supports broader safety control recommendations and provides more comprehensive results than the original technique. However, the new approach needs to be further evaluated for reliability in different applications.

The last several years have seen a very rapid increase in the development and availability of unmanned aerial vehicles/systems (UAV or UAS), more commonly called “drones.” UAS are remotely-operated aerial vehicles that can be fixed-wing planes, helicopters, or aerial systems with multiple propellers. Small versions of UAS, here called “sUAS,” in particular, have become so prevalent that they can be easily purchased at general retail stores. This paper seeks to review and summarize the use of sUAS in volcanic research. Given their size, low cost, and relative durability, sUAS provide a light-weight tool platform that is easy to transport to field locations; quick to set-up; and easy to launch, and control. They require very little launch and recovery space. Because of these characteristics, sUAS are useful in collecting immediate and real-time aerial data, especially in remote, inaccessible, dynamic, and/or hazardous, volcanic environments. In volcanic areas, sUAS have been used for mapping, sample collection, thermal imaging, magnetic surveys, slope stability studies, and as platforms for sensors to measure outgassing of CO 2 and SO 2 . They are also becoming invaluable for real-time hazard assessment during and after an eruption. They are, however, limited by their flight time, which is greatly affected by wind speeds. Since they are predominately made of plastic, they are also impacted by the high thermal temperatures found in active volcanic areas, which can degrade their structure and performance. With continued technological improvement however, sUAS have the potential to dramatically improve our ability to collect field data. Because of additional natural, technological, and legal challenges related to their use, it is critical that users be aware of, and adhere to, all national and local laws associated with sUAS.

Skin sensitization is an important toxicological endpoint in the safety assessment of chemicals and cosmetic ingredients. Driven by ethical considerations and European Union (EU) legislation, its assessment has progressed from the reliance on traditional animal models to the use of non-animal test methods. It is generally accepted that the assessment of skin sensitization requires the integration of various non-animal test methods in defined approaches (DAs), to cover the mechanistic key events of the adverse outcomes pathway (AOP) ( OECD, 2014 ). Several case studies for DAs predicting skin sensitization hazard or potency have been submitted to the OECD, including a stacking meta-model developed by L'Oreal Research & Innovation ( OECD, 2017b ; Del Bufalo et al., 2018 ; Nocairi et al., 2016 ). The present study evaluated the predictive performance of the defined approach integrating a stacking meta-model incorporating in silico, in chemico and in vitro assays, using the Cosmetics Europe (CE) skin sensitization database. Based on the optimized prediction cut-offs, the defined approach provided a hazard prediction for 97 chemicals with a sensitivity of 91%, a specificity of 76% and accuracy of 86% (kappa of 0.67) against human skin sensitization hazard data and a sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 91% and accuracy of 87% (kappa of 0.67) against Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA) hazard data. A comparison of the in vivo LLNA with human hazard data for the same 97 chemicals showed a sensitivity of 92%, specificity of 51% and accuracy of 78% (kappa of 0.48). Thus, the defined approach showed a higher degree of concordance, as compared to the LLNA for predicting human skin sensitization hazard. Moreover, a comparison with the six DAs selected for evaluation of their predictivity in the study by Kleinstreuer et al. (2018) showed a similar high accuracy of 86% for 97 overlapping chemicals. The next step will be an independent evaluation of the DA for its integration in the performances based test guidelines (PBTG) for skin sensitization.

Various chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing have raised environmental and human health (EHH) concerns regarding water resources contamination, leading to the transition towards the use of chemicals with minimum EHH hazards. Chemical hazard screening and indexing approaches have been used to measure the chemical hazard of hydraulic fracturing, and each approach is associated with inherent advantages and limitations. In this study, the two chemical hazard assessment approaches were discussed, and an integrated chemical hazard screening and indexing system was developed to combine the strengths of the two approaches. The integrated system was applied to assess the EHH hazards of representative hydraulic fracturing chemicals used in British Columbia, Canada. The hazard screening results showed that more than half of the ingredients and additives were classified into high hazard groups. Moreover, the integrated system generated more critical hazard assessment results than two hazard indexing systems, revealing that using the individual hazard indexing approach could result in underestimated EHH hazards for chemicals. The integrated system can significantly improve the data confidence levels of hazard assessment results compared to a previously developed indexing system. The integrated system can also help formulate fracturing fluids with low EHH hazards by identifying ingredients of high hazard concerns.

The inherent complexity of generating and monitoring a test article in an inhalation chamber can make inhalation toxicity testing challenging. Poor study design, human error, and electrical and mechanical problems can adversely affect an inhalation exposure and undermine a study's results. We have developed a process for evaluating seven key elements of exposure quality in inhalation chamber studies: 1) test article characterization, 2) generation method, 3) chamber sampling and analytical method, 4) chamber concentrations, 5) particle size characteristics, 6) chamber type, and 7) controls. For each study evaluated, exposure deficiencies are documented, and a study is given an overall rating (Robust, Adequate, or Poor) for the quality of its exposure characterization and documentation. In combination with the systematic consideration of experimental features other than exposure, these ratings can inform the utility of a study for use in hazard identification and/or exposure-response analysis. Exposure quality evaluations of 204 formaldehyde inhalation studies are presented as a case study. Of these, 34% were rated Robust because they had comprehensive exposure documentation and no serious deficiencies in the key elements of exposure quality. Another 19% of studies with minor uncertainties or limitations were rated Adequate. Conversely, 47% of the studies were rated Poor due to multiple serious exposure deficiencies. This formaldehyde case study illustrates the need to carefully consider the exposure quality of inhalation toxicity studies when their results are used to support hazard and risk assessments.

By considering the integrity of microcosmic and comprehensive geomorphological features, this article intends to develop a quantitative method for regional risk assessment of debris flow by analyzing the in-depth relations among hazard-forming environments, disaster factors and elements at risk. Taking the debris flows in the Longxi River Basin in China as a case study, an approach based on the hydrological response unit (HRU) is proposed by establishing both a model and system for regional risk assessment to analyze the hazard of debris flows and the exposure and vulnerability of elements at risk. The HRU-based approach consists of 11 disaster factors: topographic slope; relative elevation difference; lithology; channel gradient; fault; disturbed area; rainfall; and the type, location, fragility and economic value of the elements at risk. Specifically, a hazard integrated model is built by considering the hazard factors and their corresponding weights to evaluate the hazard level of debris flow. Through determining the type, quantity, distribution, economic value and fragility of hazard-affected objects in a region, methods are established to determine the exposure and vulnerability of different elements at risk. Validated by using a field study of actual debris flows, a debris-flow risk map is obtained, and the assessment results are in accordance with the actual disaster situation. The analyses show that the distributions of zones with high risk and above (i.e., where hazard densities and economic activities are considerably high) are closely correlated with the topographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the debris flow catchment. These findings suggest that the assessment results provide scientific support for planning measures to prevent or reduce debris flow hazards; thus, the presented method may serve as a pertinent guidance for regional risk assessment of debris flows in both the Longxi River Basin and beyond.

Different hazard analysis techniques are used in the chemical process industry. Most of these techniques were developed long time ago. There is an argument that significant changes have occurred in the process industry but these techniques have not been modified accordingly. Therefore, there may be limitations in identifying hazards related to the modern process industry in complex sociotechnical environment using these techniques. Recently new hazard analysis techniques based on systems theory have been introduced. STPA (System-Theoretic Process Analysis) is one of these systemic techniques. It has been used in some fields with promising results but with limited application in the process industry. This paper applies STPA to a process plant as an industrial case study. Recommendations generated by STPA are compared with the HAZOP study of the process plant which is a traditional technique. Conclusions are presented on the application of systemic techniques to the process industry as a complementary study to analyze the safety of the system as a whole and also to capture interactions between component of the system. Further studies are required to study STPA in more details and evaluate if it can be used as an alternative to HAZOP.

The modified Stoessel criticality diagram was present in this research. The final temperature under adiabatic condition was considered for thermal hazard assessment. We reported the systematic thermal hazard assessment of synthesis of tert-butyl peracetate, preparation of hydroxylamine and synthesis of 2,6-diethyl-4-methylPhenylpropanamide and discussed their classification according to the modified Stoessel criticality diagram. The process temperature, maximum temperature of synthesis reaction, maximum temperature for technical reasons, temperature at which TMRad is 24 h and the final temperature under adiabatic condition(Tp, MTSR, MTT, TD24, Tf) were obtained by experiments and calculation. The evaluation results by the modified Stoessel criticality are more rational and conforms to reality.

The Boiling Lake - a major touristic attraction in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica's (West Indies) World Heritage site - is located in an area of high hydrothermal activity in the southern part of the island. This spectacular lake is characterized by unstable behavior which has been interpreted to result from the presence of a water body above a fluctuating gas-filled, or multi-phase vent system. The system produces a near-boiling lake that occasionally drains and refills with water, without any simple periodicity. Despite the fact that such unstable draining lakes are thought to be non-eruptive, the Boiling Lake is known to have sourced occasional small hydrothermal eruptions as well as toxic gas emissions which accompany the refilling phase of these drainage events. Similar explosive events seem also to be likely after landslide slumped rocks from steep altered crater walls cover the vent area in the lake leading to overpressurized conditions. In both cases, rock expulsion and gas release continue to pose serious threats for tourists and tour guides. While conceptual models exist describing possible mechanisms of the Boiling Lake drainage itself, little information exists to date regarding the trigger mechanisms related to the explosive events. Further, no estimation of the eruption processes and dynamics of these events has previously been attempted. To address this knowledge gap, we employ here a combined field- and laboratory-based approach in order to i) characterize the properties of the dominant lithologies from the crater walls at Boiling Lake, ii) determine how the ongoing alteration may affect their petrophysical properties (e.g., porosity and permeability), and iii) evaluate how water-saturated, unconsolidated wall rock materials behave when rapidly decompressed from a slightly elevated pressure and temperature conditions. Here, we propose that it is the petrophysical state of the materials involved (e.g. porosity, permeability and alteration-related strength) which controls the style and energy of these eruptions, as well as the potential for landslides from the crater walls. The experimentally simulated scenarios included in this study are: i) decompression from only slightly elevated pressure conditions inferred for small hydrothermal eruptions occurring after lake drainage events, and ii) decompression from rapidly enhanced pressure conditions produced by the capping and overpressurization of the vent area following landslide episodes. Ejection velocities obtained from rapid decompression experiments were used as input parameters for ballistic trajectory calculations, allowing for estimation of the potential area impacted by ejected debris. We anticipate that this study will serve as a contribution to the understanding of the hazard potential of future hydrothermal eruptions at unstable crater lakes in general, as well as providing direct insights into the ongoing hydrothermal activity at the Boiling Lake.

In the United States, industrial compounds are routinely transported by rail in pressurized vessels, often near urban areas. A rupture of a vessel, for example due to a derailment, can result in the rapid release of a liquid-aerosol-gas mixture. The health consequences of such a release, especially close to population centers, are not well understood. To address this question, a series of controlled experimental releases of pressurized chlorine (Cl2) was conducted at the Dugway Proving Ground (Dugway, Utah). Each trial consisted of the sudden breach of a tank containing at least 4,500 kg (kg) of pressurized liquid Cl2. In this paper, we report on measured Cl2 concentrations in three test structures downwind of the release. Based on these data, we estimate the indoor-outdoor exchange, transport through a multi-room structure, and the first-order loss rate due to reaction or sorption. This loss rate is particularly important for consequence assessment. For example, in a mobile office with a ventilation rate of about three air changes per hour, the reaction loss rate was approximately 2.5 h−1. This accounts for a nearly 20 percent reduction in toxic load to indoor occupants. Finally, the paper discusses the modeling and analysis of a typical urban hazard assessment.

The adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative marine fuel is a promising solution for “green shipping”, with potential extensive reduction of pollutant emissions. The future development and spread of LNG technologies for ship bunkering and fuel systems operation will necessarily need to face the safety issues associated with the high flammability of LNG, compared to conventional marine fuels. In this study, a comparative analysis of the inherent safety performance of the foreseen technologies for LNG bunkering was performed. Moreover, a comparison with conventional technologies based on marine diesel fuels was also carried out. An inherent safety ranking based on overall indicators deriving from severity of consequences and credibility of loss of containment events was introduced. The results allowed the identification of the inherently safer solutions for maritime fuel bunkering, highlighting critical units and providing insights on the safety issues to be addressed for the future development of green shipping technologies.

Sinkholes function as small sediment traps that may host valuable stratigraphic records for paleoenvironmental reconstructions and hazard assessments (e.g., subsidence, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, tephra fall-out). The sedimentological features and completeness of such archives are influenced by the sedimentation and subsidence patterns and rates. However, karst depressions are frequently treated as static basins unaffected by settlement. This work illustrates the practicality of integrated studies combining trenching, numerical dating and shallow geophysical techniques (GPR) for characterizing the subsurface subsidence structure associated with sinkholes and reconstructing their deformational and sedimentary history. The approach is applied in two collapse sinkholes located in contrasting geomorphic settings (relict terrace and floodplain) related to deep-seated interstratal karstification of evaporites. The analysis of the sinkholes, particularly the trenching technique, provides practical information for assessing the associated subsidence hazard, including the presence of larger cavities at depth, the kinematic regime (episodic versus progressive), evidence of catastrophic displacement (fluidization structures) and the magnitude and timing of collapse events, especially the most recent one. The sinkhole located in the floodplain offers the opportunity of analyzing the possibilities and limitations of subsidence sinkholes as recorders of past floods in alluvial environments. This depression shows a largely incomplete record attributable to the high frequency of flood events compared to that of the collapse events, which create the accommodation space for sediment deposition. These limitations could be partially overcome by selecting old sinkholes situated in low terraces and/or affected by rapid subsidence.

Process hazard analysis (PHA) teams are responsible for determining and categorizing the potential impact of a loss of containment. For streams containing hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), the health and safety consequences of a worker being exposed to H₂S are a function of airborne concentration in the breathing zone and duration of exposure. PHA teams often do not have the technical knowledge to link the known concentration of H₂S in the process stream to an adverse health outcome. This paper describes the methodology and the assumptions made in developing such guidance. H2S concentration in the process stream was correlated to concentration of H2S in the breathing zone. Dispersion modeling was used to assess vapor releases, while additional multi-phase release modeling was required to estimate the amount of H2S liberated from the released liquid. Modeling was completed for different H2S concentrations in process streams under a variety of conditions. Breathing zone concentrations were assessed against published occupational exposure levels associated with probable health outcomes. This study demonstrated that H2S stream concentrations can be associated directly with a consequence categorization that can be used in a PHA. Results were summarized, providing simplified guidance that is valid over a wide range of process conditions and release scenarios.

Preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) is an effective method to identify and evaluate hazards in a system. Then, prevention measures can be set according to assessment results. However, assessment results may not be detailed and reasonable enough due to the qualitative assessment by PHA. This paper proposes a quantitative PHA called cloud model-preliminary hazard analysis (CM-PHA). The cloud model (CM) is utilized to improve PHA. The cloud model-hazard grade (CM-HG) is proposed to classify hazards, and the algorithm of CM-HG is established. Then, steps to conduct quantitative assessments of hazards are provided. The process of CM-PHA to obtain the CM-PHA diagram is worked out accordingly. A case study of hazards in the biomass gasification station is developed based on CM-PHA. A qualitative PHA is introduced and compared with the proposed method. Comparison results show that the assessment results obtained by CM-PHA are more detailed and precise, and corresponding prevention measures for hazards are more reasonable.

Quebec City (QC, Canada) is an important urban center developed along the Saint-Charles River, at the confluence with the Saint-Lawrence River. Here, environmental issues related to pollution have been recently raised for sediments trapped upstream a dam built in the early 1970s. The major concern is about downstream transport of sediments and contaminants toward the Saint-Lawrence Estuary, a protected marine area of high socioeconomic value. This article deals with metallic contaminants in reservoir sediments collected along a longitudinal transect in the Saint-Charles River. The spatial and temporal patterns of metallic pollution have been assessed by the calculation of enrichment factors, geoaccumulation indexes, and metallic pollution index on 68 samples from a set of sediment cores and surface sediment samples. Severe to extreme pollutions are recorded with respect to silver (Ag), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). Spatial analyses show contaminated samples are trapped in the downstream section of the river, where several point (industries, mall, harbor) and diffuse (dense urban habitat, road network) sources of pollution were evidenced using historical documents and multivariate statistics such as PCA/FA. A 50-yr sedimentary record indicates these metals were mainly delivered to the river system by the accumulation of fine-grained, organic-rich sediments during the 1970s and the 1980s. Since then, the commissioning of wastewater treatment plants in the city and environmental regulations likely played a key role to reduce the metallic yield in the Saint-Charles River. More recently, the river flow management within the reservoir favored the accumulation of much less contaminated sediments, burying the contamination. Yet, a significant environmental hazard remains if this sandy layer is removed by erosion, allowing for the remobilization and transport of contaminated sediments downstream toward the Saint-Lawrence River.

To further understand rock damage mechanisms under loading, evaluate coal burst danger and ensure stopping safety during coal mining, uniaxial compression tests of rock samples at different mining-induced loading rates were carried out. A systematical analysis has been conducted on strain rate effect on rock mechanical properties, AE parameters response and damage evolution law. The results show that along with the increase of mining-induced loading rate, an increase of peak strength and elastic modulus of rock together with a decrease of peak strain and dynamic failure duration in post-peak period are shown. Several acoustic characteristics are found decreasing in power function when loading rate increases such as AE hits, counts and events, but an obvious increase of AE energy is shown. Peak frequencies of AE events are mostly between 95 ∼ 125 kHz and 270 ∼ 310 kHz. A well-defined correspondence between AE count curve and rock stress-strain curve is presented. Rock damage variable was derived based on accumulative AE count, and three stages of rock damage evolution at different loading rates can be divided: initial damage, steady evolution, and accelerated development. A constitutive damage equation has been established on the basis of equivalent strain hypothesis and AE count. Calculated results can basically reflect the characteristics of rock stress-strain curves at different strain rates. The conclusions of this paper can provide references for the issues of coal burst control and hazard assessment.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are ubiquitous in the environment, but little is known about their distribution in soils. In this study, we measured 19 OPEs in soil samples collected nationwide in China for the first time. Concentrations of 19 OPEs (∑OPEs) in soils ranged from 4.50 to 430 ng/g dry weight (dw), with a median value of 36.6 ng/g dw. ∑OPE concentrations in soils were significantly higher in Northeastern (90.6, 19.1-180 ng/g dw; median, range) and Eastern/Southern China (57.4, 7.23-430 ng/g dw), areas with high population density and economic development, than those in Central (35.8, 4.80-417 ng/g dw) and Western China (29.7, 4.50-228 ng/g dw). High concentrations of ∑OPEs were found in soils collected from sites located in the most urbanized areas of China including Beijing (126 ng/g dw), Shanghai (388 ng/g dw), and Guangzhou (430 ng/g dw). Chlorinated (Cl-) OPEs were the predominant compounds, accounting for over 74.0% of ∑OPE concentrations in soils from China. In soil samples from Northeastern and Eastern/Southern China, Cl-OPEs accounted for 84.3% and 92.1% of ∑OPE concentrations, respectively. Cresyl diphenyl phosphate (CDPP) and isodecyl diphenyl phosphate (IDDP), which have been less studied thus far, were also found at measurable concentrations (0.15-0.40 ng/g dw) in soils. The Spearman's rank correlations among major aryl-OPEs in soils were significant (Rho = 0.582-0.747, p 0.01), which suggested similar sources of environmental release of these compounds. Total organic carbon (TOC) content was not correlated with the concentrations of ∑OPE in soils (Rho = 0.036, p 0.05). A hazard assessment for ten OPEs in soils suggested a notable risk from tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) and trimethylphenyl phosphate (TMPP). Further studies are needed to elucidate the fate of TMPP in soils.

Today, detailed risk assessment can only be performed for a few percent of the total number of current-use chemicals because of lack of data. Toxicity data is, therefore, needed for a substantial number of untested chemicals, a task that requires improved and faster chemical risk assessment strategies that are cost-efficient, human relevant and ethically responsible. In this commentary, we use a case study on five known thyroid toxic chemicals (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, triclosan, tetrabromobisphenol A, decabromodiphenyl ether and hexabromocyclododecane) to explore the use of in vitro data for hazard assessment together with human biomonitoring (HBM) data for exposure assessment when evaluating human risk. Based on the case study, we conclude that in vitro and HBM data can be used for risk ranking of chemicals. We envision that an in vitro/HBM approach can use data from studies such as the big European initiative Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) together with human-relevant in vitro data to make alternative risk assessment more valuable to finally be able to ‘stand-alone’.

Safety analysis is essential in the natural gas transmission industry to guarantee effective hazard identification and to prevent the failure of components in advance. The overall aim of this research is to introduce a new hybrid expert system and fuzzy logic to monitor city gate stations as one of the most vital installations of gas distribution networks. The proposed model utilizes fuzzy if-then rules based on multiple experts' opinions to study the compound interrelations between the mechanical and physical elements of city gate stations. The presented expert system accounts for uncertainty associated with the experts’ judgments by fuzzy sets theory. The expert system is implemented in an object-oriented platform and is programmed with C#. The validity of the expert system is confirmed using simulation experiments through a case study of city gate stations.

It is still a major challenge to protect humans at workplaces and in the environment. To cope with this task, it is a prerequisite to obtain detailed information on the extent of chemical perturbations of biological pathways, in particular, adaptive vs. adverse effects and the dose-response relationships. This knowledge serves as the basis for the classification of non-carcinogens and carcinogens and for further distinguishing carcinogens in genotoxic (DNA damaging) or non-genotoxic compounds. Basing on quantitative dose-response relationships, points of departures can be derived for chemical risk assessment. In recent years, new methods have shown their capability to support the established rodent models of carcinogenicity testing. In vitro high throughput screening assays assess more comprehensively cell response. In addition, omics technologies were applied to study the mode of action of chemicals whereby the term "toxicogenomics" comprises various technologies such as transcriptomics, epigenomics, or metabolomics. This review aims to summarize the current state of toxicogenomic approaches in risk science and to compare them with established ones. For example, measurement of global transcriptional changes generates meaningful information for toxicological risk assessment such as accurate classification of genotoxic/non-genotoxic carcinogens. Alteration in mRNA expression offers previously unknown insights in the mode of action and enables the definition of key events. Based on these, benchmark doses can be calculated for the transition from an adaptive to an adverse state. In short, this review assesses the potential and challenges of transcriptomics and addresses the impact of other omics technologies on risk assessment in terms of hazard identification and dose-response assessment.

The objective of this study was to develop a method for analyzing harmfulness of combustion products generated from material burning based on quantitative analysis. We conducted animal exposure experiment and performed quantitative analysis to analyze harmfulness of combustion products generated by material burning. Results of the experiment confirmed the limit of hazard analysis by toxicity index based on quantitative analysis of toxic gases. In the process of calculating harmful index of combustion products, we confirmed that the hazard of particulate matter should also be reflected. We also confirmed that existing criteria for judging harmfulness should be improved based on the amount of particulate matter generated. Results also confirmed that particle size and hazardousness of particulate matter were highly correlated. Results of this study demonstrate the necessity to study complex harmful analysis including particle size of particulate matter in the field of harmfulness of combustion products from material burning.

In the hazard assessment of landslide dams, the decision makers (DMs) are inclined to express some qualitative indicators such as the possible economic loss and the environment influence by linguistic terms. Due to the complexity of emergency environment, it is unrealistic to obtain entire and accurate data of landslide dams in a limited time. Hence, we propose a hazard assessment method based on multi-scale adjacent linguistic terms, namely hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs). Besides, to model uncertainties associated with complex situations and subjective evaluations, evidential reasoning (ER), a powerful tool to consistently copy with the uncertainty caused by ignorance and fuzziness, is first applied to aggregate multi-scale HFLTSs. After presenting the α -cut of a HFLTS which reflects the DMs’ prudent degree, we develop a generalized hesitant fuzzy linguistic ER (HFL-ER) method which distributes basic probability mass to each linguistic term in the HFLTS. Then, the special procedures for hazard assessment of landslide dams are provided with the modified indicator system. Finally, a case study about the hazard assessment of 7 landslide dams in the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake verifies the effectiveness and rationality of the HFL-ER method.