Study of Major-Accident Risk Assessment Techniques in the Environmental Impact Assessment Process

[EN] Design, implementation, and operation of any project are affected by the environment where it is developed; at the same time, the project will influence the environment, since during its life cycle it can cause an impact on it. This impact can lead to social, economic, and environmental results. Directive 2014/52/EU, on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, reflects the obligation for the project promoter to consider, in the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of the project, their vulnerability (exposure and resilience) to major accidents and/or disasters, evaluating both the risk and their effects on the environment, in case these major accidents and/or disasters appear. The IEC 31.010:2019 Risk management-Risk assessment techniques standard defines 45 risk appreciation techniques that are useful when analysing the risks, in general. The objective of this paper is to review these 45 techniques, and establish which ones can be used for the assessment of accidents or disasters required in the specific environmental impact assessment process to accomplish with the regulation. After the revision, the authors propose five risks appreciation techniques that could be used for the assessment of major accidents and or disasters in projects for which EIA has to be carried out.The APC was funded by Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.Fuentes Bargues, JL.; Bastante Ceca, MJ.; Ferrer-Gisbert, P.; González-Cruz, M. (2020). Study of Major-Accident Risk Assessment Techniques in the Environmental Impact Assessment Process. Sustainability. 12(14):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145770S1161214Gimenez, C., Sierra, V., & Rodon, J. (2012). Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(1), 149-159. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2012.01.035Kleindorfer, P. R., Singhal, K., & Wassenhove, L. N. (2009). Sustainable Operations Management. Production and Operations Management, 14(4), 482-492. doi:10.1111/j.1937-5956.2005.tb00235.xZhang, X., Wu, Y., & Shen, L. (2015). Embedding «green» in project-based organizations: the way ahead in the construction industry? Journal of Cleaner Production, 107, 420-427. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.10.024Chofreh, A. G., Goni, F. A., Malik, M. N., Khan, H. H., & Klemeš, J. J. (2019). The imperative and research directions of sustainable project management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 238, 117810. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117810Armenia, S., Dangelico, R. M., Nonino, F., & Pompei, A. (2019). Sustainable Project Management: A Conceptualization-Oriented Review and a Framework Proposal for Future Studies. Sustainability, 11(9), 2664. doi:10.3390/su11092664Silvius, A. J. G., & Schipper, R. P. J. (2014). Sustainability in project management: A literature review and impact analysis. Social Business, 4(1), 63-96. doi:10.1362/204440814x13948909253866Dong, N., Fu, Y., Xiong, F., Li, L., Ao, Y., & Martek, I. (2019). Sustainable Construction Project Management (SCPM) Evaluation—A Case Study of the Guangzhou Metro Line-7, PR China. Sustainability, 11(20), 5731. doi:10.3390/su11205731Gilbert Silvius, A. J., Kampinga, M., Paniagua, S., & Mooi, H. (2017). Considering sustainability in project management decision making; An investigation using Q-methodology. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1133-1150. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.01.011Demidova, O., & Cherp, A. (2005). Risk assessment for improved treatment of health considerations in EIA. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 25(4), 411-429. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2004.09.008Zeleňáková, M., & Zvijáková, L. (2017). Risk analysis within environmental impact assessment of proposed construction activity. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 62, 76-89. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2016.10.003Marconi, M., Marilungo, E., Papetti, A., & Germani, M. (2017). Traceability as a means to investigate supply chain sustainability: the real case of a leather shoe supply chain. International Journal of Production Research, 55(22), 6638-6652. doi:10.1080/00207543.2017.1332437Torres-Ruiz, A., & Ravindran, A. R. (2018). Multiple criteria framework for the sustainability risk assessment of a supplier portfolio. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 4478-4493. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.304Oliveira, F. N. de, Leiras, A., & Ceryno, P. (2019). Environmental risk management in supply chains: A taxonomy, a framework and future research avenues. Journal of Cleaner Production, 232, 1257-1271. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.032Chen, Z., Li, H., Ren, H., Xu, Q., & Hong, J. (2011). A total environmental risk assessment model for international hub airports. International Journal of Project Management, 29(7), 856-866. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.03.004Zeleňáková, M., Labant, S., Zvijáková, L., Weiss, E., Čepelová, H., Weiss, R., … Minďaš, J. (2020). Methodology for environmental assessment of proposed activity using risk analysis. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 80, 106333. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2019.106333Tixier, J., Dusserre, G., Salvi, O., & Gaston, D. (2002). Review of 62 risk analysis methodologies of industrial plants. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 15(4), 291-303. doi:10.1016/s0950-4230(02)00008-6Marhavilas, P. K., Koulouriotis, D., & Gemeni, V. (2011). Risk analysis and assessment methodologies in the work sites: On a review, classification and comparative study of the scientific literature of the period 2000–2009. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 24(5), 477-523. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2011.03.004Zheng, X., & Liu, M. (2009). An overview of accident forecasting methodologies. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 22(4), 484-491. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2009.03.005Price, C. J., & Taylor, N. S. (2002). Automated multiple failure FMEA. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 76(1), 1-10. doi:10.1016/s0951-8320(01)00136-

Estrategias comunicativas sanitario-paciente con diabetes y su relación con actividad física y perfil psicosocial

The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between health-related quality of life and level of physical activity in a sample population affected by diabetes mellitus type 2, and the rate, frequency, and duration of physical activity recommended by primary care physicians in this sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 104 participants with diabetes mellitus type 2. The abovementioned variables were assessed using a questionnaire designed by the authors. We observed statistical differences in health related quality of life and physical activity regarding the recommended rate, frequency, and duration of physical activity. The results of the study highlight the need to increase and improve the level of physical activity, which is a cornerstone in the management of people with diabetes mellitus type 2.El objetivo de este estudio fue establecer, en una muestra de población afectada de diabetes mellitus tipo 2, la relación existente entre la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud y nivel de actividad física y el ritmo, frecuencia y tiempo que es aconsejada por parte de profesionales sanitarios. Se usó un diseño de corte trasversal-observacional en el que participaron 104 sujetos afectados por diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Se evaluó la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud, el nivel de actividad física y ritmo, frecuencia y tiempo de actividad física aconsejada por el profesional sanitario (cuestionario de creación propia). Se observaron diferencias en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (p < .05), y sobre la cantidad de actividad física (p < .05) en función del ritmo, frecuencia y tiempo con la que se aconsejaba el ejercicio físico. Los resultados observados establecen la importancia que los canales de información pueden tener sobre la adquisición de hábitos de vida activos y saludables por parte de pacientes afectados por diabetes mellitus tipo 2. Además resalta la necesidad de que el profesional sanitario que maneja a pacientes diabéticos debe estar capacitado o trabajar de manera multidisciplinar con profesionales de actividad física, ayudando en este sentido al control y al manejo de la enfermedad, mejorando la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud de quienes la padecen

Risk Analysis of a Fuel Storage Terminal Using HAZOP and FTA

[EN] The size and complexity of industrial chemical plants, together with the nature of the products handled, means that an analysis and control of the risks involved is required. This paper presents a methodology for risk analysis in chemical and allied industries that is based on a combination of HAZard and OPerability analysis (HAZOP) and a quantitative analysis of the most relevant risks through the development of fault trees, fault tree analysis (FTA). Results from FTA allow prioritizing the preventive and corrective measures to minimize the probability of failure. An analysis of a case study is performed; it consists in the terminal for unloading chemical and petroleum products, and the fuel storage facilities of two companies, in the port of Valencia (Spain). HAZOP analysis shows that loading and unloading areas are the most sensitive areas of the plant and where the most significant danger is a fuel spill. FTA analysis indicates that the most likely event is a fuel spill in tank truck loading area. A sensitivity analysis from the FTA results show the importance of the human factor in all sequences of the possible accidents, so it should be mandatory to improve the training of the staff of the plants.This paper was funded by the Universitat Politècnica de València and UNED, both of Spain.Fuentes Bargues, JL.; González-Cruz, M.; González-Gaya, C.; Baixauli-Perez, M. (2017). Risk Analysis of a Fuel Storage Terminal Using HAZOP and FTA. International Journal of Environmental research and Public Health. 14(7):1-26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070705S126147Tixier, J., Dusserre, G., Salvi, O., & Gaston, D. (2002). Review of 62 risk analysis methodologies of industrial plants. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 15(4), 291-303. doi:10.1016/s0950-4230(02)00008-6Planas, E., Arnaldos, J., Darbra, R. M., Muñoz, M., Pastor, E., & Vílchez, J. A. (2014). Historical evolution of process safety and major-accident hazards prevention in Spain. Contribution of the pioneer Joaquim Casal. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 28, 109-117. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2013.04.005Woodruff, J. M. (2005). Consequence and likelihood in risk estimation: A matter of balance in UK health and safety risk assessment practice. Safety Science, 43(5-6), 345-353. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2005.07.003Reniers, G. L. L., Dullaert, W., Ale, B. J. M., & Soudan, K. (2005). Developing an external domino accident prevention framework: Hazwim. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 18(3), 127-138. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2005.03.002Høj, N. P., & Kröger, W. (2002). Risk analyses of transportation on road and railway from a European Perspective. Safety Science, 40(1-4), 337-357. doi:10.1016/s0925-7535(01)00053-4Marhavilas, P. K., Koulouriotis, D., & Gemeni, V. (2011). Risk analysis and assessment methodologies in the work sites: On a review, classification and comparative study of the scientific literature of the period 2000–2009. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 24(5), 477-523. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2011.03.004Hailwood, M., Gawlowski, M., Schalau, B., & Schönbucher, A. (2009). Conclusions Drawn from the Buncefield and Naples Incidents Regarding the Utilization of Consequence Models. Chemical Engineering & Technology, 32(2), 207-231. doi:10.1002/ceat.200800595Willey, R. J., Hendershot, D. C., & Berger, S. (2007). The accident in Bhopal: Observations 20 years later. Process Safety Progress, 26(3), 180-184. doi:10.1002/prs.10191Estadísticas\Radiografía Económica del Sector Químico 2016www.feique.org/pdfs/Radiografia_Economica_del_sector_2016.pdfEstadísticas de Seguridad\Informe de Siniestrabilidad 2013www.feique.org/pdfs/informeseguridad2015.pdf¿Qué Hacemos?/Riesgos: Prevención y Planificación/Tecnológicos/Químicos/Distribuciónwww.proteccioncivil.es/riesgos/quimicos/distribucionPapers Prevention. Nº 238: HAZOP at Processing Facilitieswww.insht.es/InshtWeb/Contenidos/Documentacion/FichasTecnicas/NTP/Ficheros/201a300/ntp_238.pdfDunjó, J., Fthenakis, V., Vílchez, J. A., & Arnaldos, J. (2010). Hazard and operability (HAZOP) analysis. A literature review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 173(1-3), 19-32. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.08.076Demichela, M., & Camuncoli, G. (2014). Risk based decision making. Discussion on two methodological milestones. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 28, 101-108. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2013.05.010Mitkowski, P. T., & Bal, S. K. (2015). Integration of Fire and Explosion Index in 3D Process Plant Design Software. Chemical Engineering & Technology, 38(7), 1212-1222. doi:10.1002/ceat.201400644Bendixen, L. M., & O’Neill, J. K. (1984). Chemical plant risk assessment using HAZOP and fault tree methods. Plant/Operations Progress, 3(3), 179-184. doi:10.1002/prsb.720030314Demichela, M., Marmo, L., & Piccinini, N. (2002). Recursive operability analysis of a complex plant with multiple protection devices. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 77(3), 301-308. doi:10.1016/s0951-8320(02)00063-7COZZANI, V., BONVICINI, S., SPADONI, G., & ZANELLI, S. (2007). Hazmat transport: A methodological framework for the risk analysis of marshalling yards. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 147(1-2), 412-423. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.01.065Casamirra, M., Castiglia, F., Giardina, M., & Lombardo, C. (2009). Safety studies of a hydrogen refuelling station: Determination of the occurrence frequency of the accidental scenarios. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34(14), 5846-5854. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.01.096Kim, E., Lee, K., Kim, J., Lee, Y., Park, J., & Moon, I. (2011). Development of Korean hydrogen fueling station codes through risk analysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 36(20), 13122-13131. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.07.053Declaración Ambiental y Responsabilidad Social Corporativawww.tepsa.esChang, J. I., & Lin, C.-C. (2006). A study of storage tank accidents. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 19(1), 51-59. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2005.05.015Aneziris, O. N., Papazoglou, I. A., Konstantinidou, M., & Nivolianitou, Z. (2014). Integrated risk assessment for LNG terminals. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 28, 23-35. doi:10.1016/j.jlp.2013.07.014Taveau, J. (2011). Explosion of fixed roof atmospheric storage tanks, part 1: Background and review of case histories. Process Safety Progress, 30(4), 381-392. doi:10.1002/prs.10459Papers Prevention. Nº 333: Probabilistic Risk Analysis: Fault Tree Analysiswww.insht.es/InshtWeb/Contenidos/Documentacion/FichasTecnicas/NTP/Ficheros/301a400/ntp_333.pdfRonza, A., Carol, S., Espejo, V., Vílchez, J. A., & Arnaldos, J. (2006). A quantitative risk analysis approach to port hydrocarbon logistics. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 128(1), 10-24. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2005.07.03

Efecto de videojuegos activos sobre variables psicológicas en niños con sobrepeso.

INTRODUCCIÓN: El exceso de peso e inactividad son factores de riesgo en enfermedades no transmisibles. La población infantil se está viendo afectada por sus consecuencias, no solo problemas cardiometabólicos sino también motrices y psicológicos. El ejercicio físico puede producir mejoras en todos ellos y, el control y mejora de variables psicológicas como el autoconcepto, la autoestima, o la felicidad, puede evitar comportamientos que ponen en riesgo la salud de los más jóvenes. Los videojuegos activos, parecen ser útiles para la mejora de la condición física y aumento de los niveles de actividad. Sin embargo, poco se sabe sobre su efecto sobre las variables psicológicas. El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar cómo se modifican algunas variables psicológicas tras una intervención con exergames en niños con sobrepeso. MÉTODOS: 11 niños (10.4±0.6 años) con sobrepeso participaron en la intervención con videojuegos activos durante 5 meses. Para las mediciones se emplearon los siguientes cuestionarios: Escala de Rosenberg para la autoestima; Inventario Infantil de Estresores Cotidianos para el estrés; Subjective Happines Scale para la felicidad subjetiva; Autoconcepto de forma-5 para el autoconcepto; Siluetas de Collins para la percepción de la imagen corporal. RESULTADOS: Hubo una mejora significativa en la autoestima, estrés y algunas dimensiones del autoconcepto. Existen diferencias entre la percepción de la imagen corporal real y la deseada en los niños con sobrepeso y, entre estas percepciones y las que sus padres tienen sobre sus hijos. El disfrute y competencia percibida se mantuvieron durante los 5 meses de entrenamiento. Existe relación entre el VO2max y el nivel de estrés, la felicidad subjetiva y el autoconcepto físico. CONCLUSIONES: 5 meses de entrenamiento con videojuegos activos pueden aumentar los niveles de autoestima y reducir el estrés en niños con sobrepeso/obesidad. Una mejor condición física se asocia con mejores valores de autoconcepto físico, estrés y felicidad.<br /

Durum and Bread Wheat Flours. Preliminary Mineral Characterization and Its Potential Health Claims

Wheat is one of the most important cereals in terms of its role in the human diet. The distribution of the nutrients in wheat grains depends largely on their morphology, the bran fraction being the richest in minerals, thus developing important functions related to human health. The main purpose of this study was to point out the potential nutritional and health claims related to the mineral composition based on the current European legislation in order to valorize the interesting wheat varieties traditionally consumed in Spain. The mineral composition (microelements: Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn; and macrolements: Ca, Mg, Na, and K) were evaluated in different milling fractions (white flour, whole grain flour, and bran fraction) of 4 wheat varieties of durum (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum Linnaeus) and bread (Triticum aestivum Linnaeus) wheat. As expected, the mineral concentration was higher in the case of bran and whole grain flour, K and Mg being the principal minerals found. A difference between wheat genotype and harvesting year have been found. Moreover, regarding these preliminary results, some samples analysed in the present study met the conditions of use of different approved health claims that could support the possibility to consider wheat flours, especially whole grain flour and bran fraction as functional foods, but some did not.Depto. de Nutrición y Ciencia de los AlimentosFac. de FarmaciaTRUESpanish Ministry of Science and Technology (project reference AGL2012-38345)ALIMNOVA research group (UCM 252/2017)pu

New Control Strategy for Energy Conversion Based on Coupled Magnetic Structures

In this paper, a new strategy for energy conversion based on a coupled magnetic structure is presented. A proper control of the input voltages provides constant output voltage at any time and ideally no output filter is required and no energy is stored, enabling very fast dynamics and low losses in the converter since switching frequency can be very small. Ideal features and actual limitations of the proposed concept are analyzed. A prototype with a two-input magnetic structure is built in order to prove the concept

Minimum Energy Storage Converters based on a Coupled Magnetic Structure: Design Methodology

This paper presents a design methodology for coupled inductor converters designed and operated under the principle of minimum energy storage. This minimum energy storage concept is applied to a coupled inductor converter along with a control strategy that aims to keep constant the sum of input voltages to the magnetic component for every instant of time. If the input voltage is kept constant, output voltage would be also constant for every instant of time and the energy storage in the converter would be minimized. The main advantage of this concept is that a very fast dynamic response can be achieved without operating at very high frequencies, thus maximizing efficiency in a wide load range. Instead of continuous voltage regulation, output voltage can be changed in discrete values, which could be a drawback in some applications. The proposed design methodology is applied in order to design a four-cell prototype and it is validated with an experimental prototyp

Drying-rewetting cycles in ordinary Portland cement mortars investigated by electrical impedance spectroscopy

[EN] Changes caused in the porous microstructure of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortars were studied using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and equivalent circuit (EqC). Two successive processes, at 20 ºC and 50 °C, consisting of several drying-rewetting cycles, were applied to the mortars. After each cycle, the electrical impedance and the amount of water absorbed were measured. The EIS-EqC methodology allowed to find two distributed impedance relaxations, associated to capillary and gel-C-S-H porosities, respectively. At room temperature any microstructural change was not detected. Nevertheless, at 50 °C two microstructural changes were inferred: 1) the volume of accessible porosity increased (pore coarsening) and 2) the surface of the conductive path through C-S-H gel became more conductive (surface smoothing).The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for supporting this research through the project BIA 2011-26947.Fita Fernández, IC.; Cruz González, JM.; Calvo Muñoz, C.; Soriano Martínez, L.; Paya Bernabeu, JJ.; Sánchez Martín, I. (2018). Drying-rewetting cycles in ordinary Portland cement mortars investigated by electrical impedance spectroscopy. Construction and Building Materials. 187:954-963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.07.227S95496318

Core-less Multiphase Converter with Transformer Coupling

A coupled multiphase converter where the coupling among the phases is done using core-less planar transformers is presented in this paper. Operating principle of the transformer-coupled converter has been presented previously in the literature and in this paper this concept is applied to develop a core-less converter. Two prototypes operating at high frequency (4 MHz), with low profile (3 mm - 4 mm) and 60 W of output power, with two different core-less transformers are presented. Main advantages of applying this concept at high frequency are size reduction and operation with core-less transformers. This topology can be considered as a dc-dc transformer and applications for this topology can be `dc-dc transformers' for two-stage power supply systems and voltage scaling power supplies

Power analog to digital converter for voltage scaling applications

In order to optimize energy efficiency, some applications require adapting supply voltage according to the work load requirements. For example, in high performance digital systems and in RF systems, voltage scaling and modulation techniques have been adopted in order to achieve a more efficient processing of the energy. These techniques are based in rapidly adjusting the system supply voltage level. In order to achieve this, a topology which is capable of achieving very fast changes of the output voltage is needed. In this paper a PWM multiphase topology whose phases are coupled by using transformers is proposed to be used in an envelope elimination and restoration (EER) technique. The proposed topology can achieve very fast changes between discrete voltage steps so it can be considered as a power analog to digita