Work accidents. ACSOM a new orientation for automatic risk management

Fundamento. Analizar la accidentalidad laboral en todo tipo de empresas, a través de los riesgos que la provocan, teniendo en cuenta que el objetivo final es establecer una clasificación de riesgos prioritarios. Esta información permite abordar las acciones preventivas oportunas sobre los riesgos más vulnerables. Material y Métodos. Se aplica un conjunto de técnicas estadístico-matemáticas, basadas fundamentalmente en contrastes estadísticos, a los accidentes laborales acaecidos durante tres años, en un organismo de investigación y desarrollo español (I+D) con 8.780 trabajadores. Se utiliza como patrón de referencia en este estudio, para un análisis comparativo, el conjunto de accidentes en España durante un periodo de 11 años. Resultados. Tras la aplicación de la nueva metodología, los dos primeros riesgos que requieren acciones preventivas prioritarias son interacción con substancias agresivas y accidentes con maquinaria móvil. Si únicamente se hubieran considerado los dos riesgos con frecuencias más elevadas, sin tener en cuenta la vulnerabilidad de cada uno de ellos, los riesgos prioritarios hubieran sido sobreesfuerzos y caídas al mismo nivel. Conclusiones. El análisis proporciona una relación de los riesgos más vulnerables (puntos débiles), sobre los cuales actuar y de esta forma ser más efectivos a la hora de reducir la accidentalidad.Background. To analyse workplace accidents, by considering the risks that provoke such accidents. hearing in mind that the final aim is to establish a classification of priority risks. This information will make it possible to undertake the opportune preventive actions against the most vulnerable risks. Material and Methods. A set of statistical-mathematical techniques, essentially based on statistical contrasts, was applied to work accidents taking place during a three year period in it Spanish Research and Development (R+D) organisation with 8, 780 workers. The reference standard used for comparative analysis was the ensemble of accidents in Spain over all 11 year period. Results. After application of the new methodology, the two risks requiring priority preventive actions are interaction with aggressive substances and accidents with moving machinery. If the two risks with the highest frequency had been considered alone, without taking into account the vulnerability of each, the priority risks would have been overexertion and falls at the same level. Conclusions. The analysis provides a list of the most vulnerable risks accidents on which action should be taken and thus achieve greater effectiveness in establishing which actions should be considered opportune

Cox regression model of hearing loss in workers exposed to noise and metalworking fluids or welding fumes

Fundamento. Los trabajos sobre pérdida auditiva laboral se han centrado clásicamente en el estudio del ruido como causa principal. En la rama del metal es muy común la presencia de contaminantes físicos y químicos. En este artículo se analizan ambos junto con ciertos hábitos personales, con la finalidad de ver su influencia conjunta en la pérdida auditiva laboral. Material y métodos. Se analiza una muestra de 558 trabajadores mediante regresión de Cox con una finalidad explicativa. Se define el carácter de las relaciones causa- efecto existentes entre las variables consideradas, con respecto a tres situaciones: sano/alterado; recuperable/ no recuperable; sin caídas en conversacionales/ con caídas en conversacionales. Resultados. El análisis refleja que los fluidos de mecanizado, en presencia de ruido, retrasan la adquisición de los diversos grados de alteración auditiva; efecto contrario al que producen los humos metálicos, que adelantan la adquisición de dichos estadios. El hábito de fumar se reconoce como influyente en la adquisición de un trauma acústico inicial; la exposición a ruido extralaboral influye en la adquisición de un trauma acústico avanzado; y por otro lado, los equipos de protección auditiva son protectores del ruido pero no de la ototoxicidad de los humos metálicos. Conclusión. Se pone de manifiesto el efecto antagónico de los fluidos de mecanizado y el sinérgico de los humos metálicos frente al ruido, explicando la variación temporal en la evolución de la alteración auditiva, relacionada con estas atmósferas; se comprueba la influencia del tabaco y del ruido extralaboral, en la adquisición del trauma acústico.Background. Works on labour-related hearing loss have traditionally been centred on the study of noise as the principal cause. The presence of physical and chemical pollutants is very common in the metalworking branch. This article analyses both, together with certain personal habits, with the aim of determining their joint influence on labour-related hearing loss. Methods. A sample of 558 workers was analysed using Cox regression with an explicative aim. The character of the cause-effect relations existing between the variables considered is defined with respect to three situations: healthy/altered; recoverable/non-recoverable; with falls in conversational abilities/without falls in conversational abilities. Results. The analysis reflects the fact that metalworking fluids, in the presence of noise, delay the acquisition of different degrees of auditory alteration; an effect contrary to that produced by welding fumes, which accelerate such states. The habit of smoking is recognised as having an influence on the acquisition of an initial acoustic trauma; exposure to noise outside the workplace influences the acquisition of an advanced acoustic trauma; and, on the other hand, the auditory protective equipment provides protection against noise but mot of the ototoxicity of welding fumes. Conclusion. The antagonistic effect of metalworking fluids and the synergic effect of welding fumes in the face of noise are made evident in relation to these environments, explaining the temporal variation in the evolution of auditory alteration; the influence of tobacco and noise outside the workplace in the acquisition of acoustic trauma are confirmed

Combined fit to the spectrum and composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory including magnetic horizon effects

The measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays can be interpreted assuming the presence of two extragalactic source populations, one dominating the flux at energies above a few EeV and the other below. To fit the data ignoring magnetic field effects, the high-energy population needs to accelerate a mixture of nuclei with very hard spectra, at odds with the approximate E$^{-2}$ shape expected from diffusive shock acceleration. The presence of turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields in the region between the closest sources and the Earth can significantly modify the observed CR spectrum with respect to that emitted by the sources, reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles that reach the Earth. We here take into account this magnetic horizon effect in the combined fit of the spectrum and shower depth distributions, exploring the possibility that a spectrum for the high-energy population sources with a shape closer to E$^{-2}$ be able to explain the observations

Studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays and proton-proton interaction cross-sections at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this work, we present an estimate of the cosmic-ray mass composition from the distributions of the depth of the shower maximum (Xmax) measured by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We discuss the sensitivity of the mass composition measurements to the uncertainties in the properties of the hadronic interactions, particularly in the predictions of the particle interaction cross-sections. For this purpose, we adjust the fractions of cosmic-ray mass groups to fit the data with Xmax distributions from air shower simulations. We modify the proton-proton cross-sections at ultra-high energies, and the corresponding air shower simulations with rescaled nucleus-air cross-sections are obtained via Glauber theory. We compare the energy-dependent composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays obtained for the different extrapolations of the proton-proton cross-sections from low-energy accelerator data

Study of downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The surface detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory, consisting of 1660 water-Cherenkov detectors (WCDs), covers 3000 km2 in the Argentinian pampa. Thanks to the high efficiency of WCDs in detecting gamma rays, it represents a unique instrument for studying downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) over a large area. Peculiar events, likely related to downward TGFs, were detected at the Auger Observatory. Their experimental signature and time evolution are very different from those of a shower produced by an ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray. They happen in coincidence with low thunderclouds and lightning, and their large deposited energy at the ground is compatible with that of a standard downward TGF with the source a few kilometers above the ground. A new trigger algorithm to increase the TGF-like event statistics was installed in the whole array. The study of the performance of the new trigger system during the lightning season is ongoing and will provide a handle to develop improved algorithms to implement in the Auger upgraded electronic boards. The available data sample, even if small, can give important clues about the TGF production models, in particular, the shape of WCD signals. Moreover, the SD allows us to observe more than one point in the TGF beam, providing information on the emission angle

Radio Interferometry applied to air showers recorded by the Auger Engineering Radio Array

A new radio interferometric technique was recently developed that takes into account time lags caused by the three-dimensional dependency of the refractive index in the atmosphere. It enables us to track the extensive air shower while it propagates through the atmosphere. Using this technique, properties of the air shower can be estimated, like the depth of maximum and the axis of propagation. In order to apply this method, strict constraints on the time-synchronisation between radio antennas in an array must be satisfied. In this contribution, we show that the Auger Engineering Radio Array can meet these timing criteria by operating a time reference beacon. We will show how this enables us to reconstruct air shower properties using the radio interferometric technique