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Human error model adaptation and validation for Savannah River Site nonreactor facilities
As part of an overall effort to improve safety analysis methods for the Savannah River Site (SRS) nonreactor nuclear facilities, a comprehensive human reliability analysis (HRA) methodology has been developed and selectively validated. The HRA methodology covers a wide variety of human errors that may exist in risk analyses of the nonreactor nuclear facilities. Such risk analyses are an integral part of safety analysis reports (SARS) at the SRS, forming the basis for severe accident analysis and assisting in the identification of safety classes for equipment. Nonreactor nuclear facilities at the SRS include nuclear fuel fabrication and reprocessing, nuclear waste processing, and nuclear waste storage and disposal. The SRS HRA methodology improvement included both adaptation of existing human error models and validation of selected model results with SRS-specific data on actual human errors. The data were obtained from three existing SRS data bases: (1) Fuel Processing, (2) Fuel Fabrication, and (3) Waste Management. These three are part of the Risk Analysis Methodology (RAM) Fault Tree data banks. Events in these data banks are obtained from a wide variety of sources, including operator log books, occurrence reports, safety newsletters, and others. Validation of the human error models involved comparison with SRS-specific data and calibration of model results where appropriate
Is the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms among Brazilian children related to socioeconomic status?
Objective. To evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms among Brazilian children. Methods. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) written questionnaire was applied to 23,457 six- to seven- year-old schoolchildren (SC) and 58,144 thirteen- to fourteen-year-old adolescents (AD) from 20 Brazilian cities. SES was evaluated by infant mortality index, poverty index, and average nominal income for people older than 10 years of age. Results. Current asthma ranged from 16.5% to 31.2% among SC and from 11.8% to 30.5% among AD and severe asthma from 2.9% to 8.5% (SC) and 2.6% to 9.1% (AD). Higher values were observed in Brazilian-Northern, -Northeastern and -Southeastern centers. No significant association between SES and prevalence of asthma and related symptoms was observed. Conclusions. In Brazil, the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms is quite variable and independent of SES. Copyright © 2008 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc
Prevalence of rhinitis among Brazilian schoolchildren: ISAAC phase 3 results
Objective: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) is a standardized method that allows international and regional comparisons of asthma and allergic diseases prevalence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of rhinitis and related symptoms among 6-7 year-old children (SC) and 13-14 year-old adolescents (AD) from 20 Brazilian cities applying the ISAA C's standardized written questionnaire (WQ). Methods: ISAAC's WQ was applied to 23,422 SC and 58,144 AD living in different regions of Brazil: North (N), Northeast (NE), Middle West (MW), Southeast (SE), and South (S). Results: The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in the last year ranged from 10.3% to 17.4% and from 8.9% to 28.5% among SC and AD, respectively. Considering SC the highest values were observed in SE region. In NE, the prevalence in countryside centres was higher than those along the coast. Among AD, the highest values were observed in N and S regions, mainly in Pará (Belém). The evaluation of populations probably with the same genetic background has shown higher prevalence among those living in urban centres (capital) in comparison to those in the countryside. Conclusions: The prevalence of rhinitis and related symptoms were variable and predominate in Brazilian N and NE centres