Validation – a brief introduction

The process validation was developed in the 20th century in order to improve the quality of pharmaceutical products. The validation concept has expanded over the last 50 years from analytical methods used to control pharmaceutical substances to analyses of computerized systems. Validation is nowadays successfully used in most areas. The validation of a method aims to ensure the effectiveness of the method from the point of view of some statistical parameters during each stage of production and not only at the end of the process. By validation, scientific evidence is established that a process is capable of consistently delivering quality products. It is also recognized internationally that validation of a product is required in any production process of a new product

Subsidence determined by InSAR – a review

Multi-temporal interferometry or InSAR allows monitoring of a deformation phenomenon at millimetre level, via the generation of mean deformation velocity maps and displacement time series from a data set of acquired SAR satellite images. The advantages of satellite radar interferometry for displacement monitoring are demonstrated in cases of monitoring man-made structures (e.g. buildings, bridges, dams, subway lines, mines exploitation). This paper presents works in which subsidence phenomena were analyzed by InSAR technique

A Three-Year Analysis of Toxic Benzene Levels and Associated Impact in Ploieşti City, Romania

This study examines the levels of benzene and the potential health impact during three years of continuous monitoring (2019–2021), including the COVID-lockdown period from 2020 in a city that is an important Romanian center for petroleum refining and associated product manufacturing. The dataset contains benzene, toluene, NOx, PM10 concentrations, and meteorological factors monitored by six automatic stations from the national network of which four are in the city and two outside. Special attention was given to the benzene dynamics to establish patterns related to the health impact and leukemia. An assessment of the exposure was performed using EPA’s ExpoFIRST v. 2.0 for computing the inhalation Average Daily Dose (ADD) and Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD). The health impact was estimated based on several indicators such as lifetime cancer risk (LCR), Hazard Quotient (HQ), Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY), and Environmental burden of disease (EBD). Overall, the annual average of all stations was almost similar between years i.e., 3.46 in 2019, 3.41 in 2020, and 3.63 µg/m3 in 2021, respectively. The average of all stations during the lockdown period was 2.67 µg/m3, which was lower than the multiannual average of the 2019–2021 period, i.e., 3.5 µg/m3. Significant correlations were present between benzene and other pollutants such as NOx (r = 0.57), PM10 fraction (r = 0.70), and toluene (r = 0.69), and benzene and temperature (r = −0.46), humidity (r = 0.28), and wind speed (r = −0.34). Regarding the ADD, in all scenarios, the most affected age categories are small children, despite a lower outdoor exposure time. From birth to −4, 5.6 × 10−4, and 4.04 × 104 mg/kg-day, and 3.95 × 10−4, 10.6 × 10−4, and 6.76 × 10−4 mg/kg-day for the LADD, respectively. The Integrated Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILTCR) values were 14.1 × 10−5 in winter, 9.04 × 10−5 in spring, 8.74 × 10−5 in summer, and 10.6 × 10−4 in autumn. The ILTCR annual averages were 1.08 × 10−4 (2019), 1.07 × 10−4 (2020), 1.04 × 10−4 (2021), and 1.06 × 10−4 for the entire period. The resulting ILTCR values point out very risky conditions, with the annual averages reaching the definite cancer risk category. The corresponding burden based on the DALY’s loss due to leukemia in Ploieşti was estimated at 0.291 (2 μg/m3 benzene), 0.509 (3.5 μg/m3 benzene), 0.582 (4 μg/m3 benzene), and 0.873 DALYs per 100,000 inhabitants (6 μg/m3 benzene), respectively. The current study provides useful insights for a better understanding of the exposure levels to benzene and associated health impact in Ploieşti despite the limitations determined by the data hiatus and incomplete or missing information regarding the health impact