RISK MANAGEMENT ALGORITHM FOR ENSURING THE SANITARY SAFETY OF THE POPULATION IN THE AREA OF THE OIL REFINERY

The article reveals the main features and characteristics of the algorithm of actions to ensure environmental safety of the population in the areas of oil refineries based on the mechanism of health risk assessment at all stages of the life cycle of environmentally hazardous production facilities. Methodologically, the algorithm implements the provisions of existing standards, regulatory documents and recommendations on health risk assessment of the population and is a sequence of procedures for making informed decisions on ensuring that health risk to the population exposed to potential negative environmental impacts meets the regulatory level. Application of the algorithm ensures compliance with the regulatory level of environmental impacts on the border of the sanitary protection zone of oil refineries and adjacent residential areas.A special emphasis is made on the stages of design and operation of environmentally hazardous objects, when the level of created health risks is especially sensitive to the results of decisions made. Timely identification of hazards and assessment of health risks at the design stage helps to choose the location of environmentally hazardous facilities, considering created risks in specific industrial and urban conditions. At the operation stage, the areas with highest risk levels of the sanitary protection zone boundary and the industrial site are identified, as well as priority production facilities and chemical toxicants (in terms of created risks). This gives a reason for adjusting the programs of industrial and environmental control, for specifying the priority of investment programs and plans of environmental protection measures. In practical terms the specific features of actions in conditions of high risks are defined to ensure the health risk meets the regulatory level in functioning of environmentally hazardous oil refining object, avoiding significant financial environmental costs as a result of making ecologically insufficiently justified planning and technological decisions at the design stage. The algorithm is universal, because it can be used for the existing production facilities and new construction projects, regardless of industry specifics

确保炼油厂附近居人群的环境安全的风险管理算法

The article reveals the main features and characteristics of the algorithm of actions to ensure environmental safety of the population in the areas of oil refineries based on the mechanism of health risk assessment at all stages of the life cycle of environmentally hazardous production facilities. Methodologically, the algorithm implements the provisions of existing standards, regulatory documents and recommendations on health risk assessment of the population and is a sequence of procedures for making informed decisions on ensuring that health risk to the population exposed to potential negative environmental impacts meets the regulatory level. Application of the algorithm ensures compliance with the regulatory level of environmental impacts on the border of the sanitary protection zone of oil refineries and adjacent residential areas.A special emphasis is made on the stages of design and operation of environmentally hazardous objects, when the level of created health risks is especially sensitive to the results of decisions made. Timely identification of hazards and assessment of health risks at the design stage helps to choose the location of environmentally hazardous facilities, considering created risks in specific industrial and urban conditions. At the operation stage, the areas with highest risk levels of the sanitary protection zone boundary and the industrial site are identified, as well as priority production facilities and chemical toxicants (in terms of created risks). This gives a reason for adjusting the programs of industrial and environmental control, for specifying the priority of investment programs and plans of environmental protection measures. In practical terms the specific features of actions in conditions of high risks are defined to ensure the health risk meets the regulatory level in functioning of environmentally hazardous oil refining object, avoiding significant financial environmental costs as a result of making ecologically insufficiently justified planning and technological decisions at the design stage. The algorithm is universal, because it can be used for the existing production facilities and new construction projects, regardless of industry specifics. В статье раскрываются основные черты и особенности алгоритма действий по обеспечению экологической безопасности населения, проживающего в районах размещения предприятий нефтепереработки, на основе механизма оценки рисков здоровью на всех этапах жизненного цикла экологически опасных производственных объектов. Методологически алгоритм реализует положения действующих стандартов, нормативных и рекомендательных документов по оценке риска здоровью населения и представляет собой набор последовательных процедур принятия обоснованных решений по обеспечению нормативного показателя остаточного риска здоровью населения, подверженного потенциальному негативному экологическому воздействию. Применение алгоритма обеспечивает соблюдение нормативного уровня экологических воздействий на границе санитарно-защитной зоны предприятий нефтепереработки и на прилегающих жилых территориях.Особый акцент делается на этапы проектирования и эксплуатации экологически опасного объекта, когда уровень создаваемых рисков здоровью особенно чувствителен к результатам принимаемых решений. Благодаря своевременным идентификации опасностей и оценке рисков здоровью на этапе проектирования уточняется расположение проектируемых экологически опасных установок с учетом их рискогенности в конкретных производственных и градостроительных условиях. На этапе эксплуатации выявляются наиболее рискогенно-опасные участки границы санитарно-защитной зоны и промплощадки, приоритетные (по величине формируемых рисков) производственные установки и химические токсиканты. Это дает основание для корректировки программ производственного контроля и производственного экологического контроля, для уточнения приоритетности инвестиционных программ и планов природоохранных мероприятий. В практическом плане сформулированы особенности действий в условиях высоких рисков для обеспечения нормативного уровня остаточного риска здоровью населения при функционировании экологически опасного производственного объекта нефтепереработки, при этом избегаются значительные финансовые природоохранные затраты как результат принятия экологически недостаточно обоснованных планировочных и технологических решений на этапе проектирования. Алгоритм универсален, поскольку может использоваться для действующих производственных объектов и объектов нового строительства независимо от отраслевой специфики. 文章揭示了为确保炼油厂所在地区居人群的环境安全而采取的行动算法的主要特点和特殊性﹐其依据是对环境有害的生产设施的生命周期的各个阶段的健康风险评估机制｡在方法上﹐该算法执行了现有的公共卫生风险评估标准﹑法规和指南的规定｡该算法是一套连续的程序﹐用于作出明智的决定﹐以确保暴露于潜在不利环境影响的人群的健康有一个规范的残余风险指标｡该算法的应用确保了炼油厂和邻近居群民区的卫生防护区边界符合环境影响的监管水平｡特别强调的是环境危险设施的设计和运营阶段﹐此时﹐所带来的健康风险水平对决策的结果特别敏感｡在设计阶段及时评估健康风险﹐可以根据具体工业和城市环境中的危险性来确定环境危险设施的位置｡在经营阶段﹐可确定卫生防护区边界和工业场地的最危险区域﹐以及优先（就产生的风险大小而言）的生产装置和化学毒物｡这为调整工业控制和工业环境控制方案﹐以及明确环境保护措施的投资方案和计划的优先次序提供了依据｡制定了在高风险环境中实际行事的具体内容﹐为确保环境危险的炼油生产设施运营期间对公众健康的残余风险达到监管水平｡在设计阶段提供无害环境规划和技术解决方案的结果是将避免巨大的环境财政成本｡该算法是通用的｡它既可用于现有的生产基地﹐也可用于新建筑工地﹐不受行业限制

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

International discussion (round table) «Arctic Subsoil and International Law» held at the MGIMO-University MFA Russia

Lawyers, economists, diplomats from Russia, Canada, Norway, USA, and Denmark participated in the discussion on the topic. In his opening remarks Professor A N Vylegjanin (Head, Department of International Law, MGIMO) underlined the importance of the topic because of the political and economic value of the statute of arctic subsoil and international law Professor S A Gureev and Dr I Bunik provided a general overview of alternative approaches on defining the statute of arctic high-altitude subsoil. According to them, there is no sense to allow more than 150 states to access the Arctic subsoil, which would happen if the International Area is established in the Arctic Accordingly, they offered alternative principles of delimiting the Arctic Oceans’s subsoil between the arctic states only Professor O Sanders, Director of Canadian Institute of Resources Law, was the main reporter. His report highlighted the following: at the moment, the statute of the Arctic’s high altitude subsoil is of no practical meaning, butit may change in the future; sectoral borders in the Arctic are drawn as state borders on some official Canadian maps, meeting each other at the North Pole; Canadian legislation on the Arctic sector is the oldest (since 1906); Canada, however, is flexible in its implementation.There were differing opinions on some of the issues. The idea of the Arctic states having to transfer part of their continental shelf in the Arctic to the Area was debated; some participants suggested that states are not obliged to do so Furthermore, it is impossible legally: one of the Arctic states is not a member of the 1982 Convention/ The suggestion that Russia has started already establishing the Area in the Arctic by making a submission according to article 76 of the 1982 Convention was criticized, as it is not possible to establish the Area from the Russian side only There was only one question where all participants agreed: rights of a state on its continental shelf exist ipso facto and ab initio and do not depend on any recommendation, including that of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

Private military and security companies in international law

INTRODUCTION. The article analyses the sources of international law, national legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as that of certain foreign States regulating the operation of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in armed conflict. The article highlights the out-comes of the work of the UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups to study the activity of PMSCs and the impact it had on the observance of human rights. The authors further analyze the status of PMSC personnel under international humanitarian law. The article also looks at the positions expressed by the delegations of Member States during the discussion of the 2010 Draft Convention on Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) and provides recommendations for developing an appropriate international regulatory framework. The authors also examined State practice of the implementation of the The Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for Statesт Related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies During Armed Conflict related to the operation of private military and security companies during armed conflict.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The article contains an analysis of the main sources of international law, the documents drafted by the United Nations International Law Commission, special rapporteurs and working groups on the matter, and State practice. It also addresses Russian and foreign legal scholarship. From a methodological perspective, this study relied on the general scientific (analysis, synthesis, systemic approach) and private legal methods of knowledge (formal-legal, comparative legal studies).RESEARCH RESULTS. Based on the study, it is argued that an international treaty should be adopted to regulate the activities of PMSCs, which would establish mechanisms to monitor and hold PMSCs and their employees legally accountable

Features of the Intestinal Microbiota in Patients with Inflammatory Intestinal Diseases

Introduction. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) occupy a leading position in the structure of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), as they are a progressive chronic pathology with an autoimmune type of inflammation. Changes in the composition of the gut microbiota can determine morphological changes at the latent stage of the disease. Aim of the study. To assess the genus-­species biodiversity of the microbiota in patients with IBD. Patients and methods. 16S rRNA sequencing of the intestinal microbiota was performed in 15 patients with confirmed ulcerative colitis (UC) and 20 healthy controls. The parameters of the full blood count and the serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP) were analyzed. The analysis of the obtained data was carried out using Microsoft Excel and Statistica software. Results. Among the studied laboratory parameters in patients with IBD, there was a significant increase in CRP, leukocyte and neutrophil counts compared to the control group. Sequencing of the gut microbiota showed a decrease in the normobiota, as well as an increase in the representatives of the pathogenic cluster. Conclusion. In the present study, we demonstrated a decrease in the biodiversity of the gut microbiota in patients with IBD compared to the control group, a significant change in the pathogenic cluster, and an imbalance between the representatives of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes