ارزیابی و مدیریت مخاطرات شغلی در پروژه تونل انتقال آب در غرب کشور به روش فرایند مدیریت مخاطرات و پیامدها

Background and Aims: Digging and tunneling projects are among the most risky projects due to differences in project implementation conditions and insufficient knowledge of the geological situation of the region. Evaluation and management of occupational hazards in these projects are necessary in order to protect the health of the workforce and to preserve the financial resources of the organization. Materials and Methods: In this study, the Hazards and Effects Management Process was used to identify, evaluate and control occupational hazards in the water transmission tunnel project in west of Iran in 2018. After identifying the risks of each place and occupation, the ranking of risk levels was performed and corrective measures were taken based on the Hazards and Effects Management Process and then secondary risk assessment was carried out. Ethical considerations were taken into account at all stages. Results: The tunnel sector with 46% and the office sector with 5% had the highest and lowest occupational hazards, respectively. The general lighting of all stations was less than the standard value with the initial average lighting of 24.5 lux, which was upgraded to 58 lux. Respirable particles in two stations in the first stage were 18.5 and 11.02 mg/m3, which improved to 4.37 and 0.63 mg/m3, respectively. The highest improvements with 39%, 27% and 25% were related to the control indicators of lighting, noise, and chemical factors, respectively. Conclusion: The results showed that the most dangerous place in the whole project was the tunnel unit and the most important occupational risk factor was H2S, followed by the noise of the work environment. The results of control indicators showed that the proposed method for managing occupational health risks in the project had an acceptable efficiency and led to proper identification of risks, classification and prioritization of risks and control measures and thus optimal spending of the control budget.زمینه و هدف: پروژه‌های حفاری و بهره‌برداری تونل به دلیل تفاوت در شرایط اجرای پروژه و شناخت ناکافی از وضعیت زمین‌شناسی منطقه، ازجمله پرمخاطره‌رین پروژه‌ها به شمار می‌روند و ارزیابی و مدیریت مخاطرات شغلی در این پروژه‌ها در راستای صیانت از سلامت نیروی کار و حفظ منابع مالی سازمان، ضروریست. مواد و روش‌ها: در اين مطالعه از فرایند مدیریت مخاطرات و پیامدها به منظور شناسايي، ارزيابي و کنترل مخاطرات شغلی در پروژه تونل انتقال آب در غرب کشور در سال 1398 استفاده شد. بعد از شناسایی مخاطرات هر مکان و شغل، رتبه‌بندی سطوح ریسک انجام و اقدام اصلاحی بر اساس روش فرایند مدیریت مخاطرات و پیامدها اجرایی و سپس ارزیابی ریسک ثانویه انجام‌شد. در تمامی مراحل ملاحظات اخلاقی مدنظر قرار گرفت. یافته‌ها: بخش تونل با 46% بیشترین و بخش ادارای با 5% کمترین مخاطرات شغلی را دارا هستند. روشنایی عمومی تمامی ایستگاه‌ها کمتر از مقدار استاندارد با متوسط روشنایی اولیه 24/5 لوکس بود که به 58 لوکس ارتقا داده شد. ذرات قابل ‌تنفس در دو ایستگاه در مرحله اول 5/18 و 11/02 میلی‌گرم بر مترمکعب بود که به ترتیب به 4/37 و 0/63 میلی‌گرم بر مترمکعب بهبود یافت. بیشترین بهبودی با 39% ، 27% و 25% به ترتیب مربوط به شاخص‌های کنترل روشنایی، سروصدا و عوامل شیمیایی بود. نتیجه‌گیری: نتايج پژوهش نشان داد که پرمخاطره‌ترین مکان در کل پروژه، واحد تونل و پراهمیت‌ترین عامل مخاطره‌آمیز شغلی، گاز H2S و در جایگاه بعدی، صدای محیط کار بود. نتایج شاخص‌های کنترلی نشان داد که استفاده از روش ارائه‌ شده به ‌منظور مدیریت مخاطرات بهداشت شغلی در پروژه مورد نظر، کارایی قابل قبولی داشته و منجر به شناسايي مناسب ريسك‌ها، دسته‌بندی و اولویت‌بندی مخاطرات و اقدامات کنترلی و صرف بهینه بودجه کنترلی گشته است

National and sub-national age-sex specific and cause-specific mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to household air pollution from solid cookfuel use (HAP) in Iran, 1990–2013

National and sub-national mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for household air pollution from solid cookfuel use (HAP) in Iran, 1990–2013 were estimated based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013). The burden of disease attributable to HAP was quantified by the comparative risk assessment method using four inputs: (1) exposure to HAP, (2) the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), (3) exposure-response relationships of related causes (4) disease burden of related causes. All across the country, solid fuel use decreased from 5.26% in 1990 to 0.15% in 2013. The drastic reduction of solid fuel use leaded to DALYs attributable to HAP fell by 97.8% (95% uncertainty interval 97.7–98.0%) from 87,433 (51072–144303) in 1990 to 1889 (1016–3247) in 2013. Proportion of YLLs in DALYs from HAP decreased from 95.7% in 1990 to 86.6% in 2013. Contribution of causes in the attributable DALYs was variable during the study period and in 2013 was in the following order: ischemic heart disease for 43.4%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for 24.7%, hemorrhagic stroke for 9.7%, lower respiratory infections for 9.3%, ischemic stroke for 7.8%, lung cancer for 3.4% and cataract for 1.8%. Based on the Gini coefficient, the spatial inequality of the disease burden from HAP increased during the study period. The remained burden of disease was relatively scarce and it mainly occurred in seven southern provinces. Further reduction of the disease burden from HAP as well as compensation of the increasing spatial inequality in Iran could be attained through an especial plan for providing cleaner fuels in the southern provinces

شناسایی و اولویت‌بندی عوامل و مولفه‌های موثر بر انگیزش سلامت، ایمنی و محیط‌زیست (HSE) در صنعت ساخت و ساز با استفاده از روش دلفی فازی و فرآیند تحلیل شبکه‌ای (ANP)

Background and Aims: Employees’ motivation to perform job duties safely plays an important role in reducing risk of occupational accidents in the construction industry. The aim of this study was to identify, weight and prioritize the main factors and components affecting health, safety and environment (HSE) motivation in the construction industry. Materials and Methods: First, a primary list of factors and components potentially affecting HSE motivation was prepared by literature review and face-to-face interviews with the experts (faculty members and executive experts) and important factors and components were identified using fuzzy Delphi technique. Then, weighting and ranking of these factors and components were performed based on three criteria of cost, effectiveness and feasibility by network analysis process (ANP) using Super Decision software. Results: The main factors affecting HSE motivation were organizational factors, individual factors, management factors, safety knowledge and safety climate, and the most important factors were respectively management factors (with a weight of 0.27), safety knowledge (with a weight of 0.25), and organizational factors (with a weight of 0.22). The prioritization of the components affecting HSE motivation showed that the components with the highest priorities are not only related to management factors and a combination of actions such as increasing awareness of existing risks, holding operational maneuvers, management's commitment to HSE, and fairness of encouragement and punishment can be more effective in promoting HSE motivation in the construction industry. Conclusion: Applying the results of identifying and prioritizing effective factors in HSE motivation in the construction industry and focusing on components related to safety knowledge, management factors, and organizational factors can improve the effectiveness of HSE management programs in this industry.زمینه و اهداف: انگیزه کارکنان برای انجام وظایف شغلی در حالت ایمن نقش مهمی در کاهش ریسک حوادث شغلی در صنعت ساخت و ساز دارد. مطالعه حاضر با هدف شناسایی، وزن‌دهی و اولویت‌بندی عوامل و مولفه‌های موثر بر انگیزش بهداشت، ایمنی و محیط‌زیست (HSE) در صنعت ساخت و ساز انجام شد. مواد و روش‌ها: ابتدا فهرست اولیه عوامل و مولفه‌های بالقوه موثر بر انگیزش HSE از طریق بررسی پیشینه تحقیق و مصاحبه‌های حضوری با خبرگان (کارشناسان HSE و متخصصین دانشگاهی) تهیه گردید و با استفاده از تکنیک دلفی فازی عوامل و مولفه‌های حائز اهمیت مشخص شد. سپس وزن‌دهی و رتبه‌بندی این عوامل بر اساس سه معیار هزینه، اثربخشی و قابلیت اجرا به روش فرآیند تحلیل شبکه‌ای (ANP) با استفاده از نرم‌افزار Super Decision انجام شد. یافته‌ها: فاکتورهای سازمانی، فاکتورهای فردی، فاکتورهای مدیریتی، دانش ایمنی و جو ایمنی به عنوان عوامل اصلی موثر بر انگیزه HSE تعیین شدند و مهم‌ترین عوامل، فاکتورهای مدیریتی، دانش ایمنی و فاکتورهای سازمانی به ترتیب با وزن 0/27، 0/25 و 0/22 بودند. اولویت‌بندی مولفه‌های موثر بر انگیزش HSE در صنعت ساخت و ساز با روش ANP نشان داد که مولفه‌های با اولویت بالاتر تنها مربوط به فاکتورهای مدیریتی نیست و ترکیبی از اقدامات نظیر افزایش آگاهی نسبت به مخاطرات موجود، برگزاری مانورهای عملیاتی، تعهد مدیریت به مسائل HSE و منصفانه بودن تشویق و تنبیه می‌تواند در ارتقاء انگیزه HSE در کارکنان صنعت ساخت و ساز اثربخش‌تر باشد. نتیجه‌گیری: بکارگیری نتایج شناسایی و اولویت‌بندی عوامل موثر در ایجاد انگیزه HSE در کارکنان صنعت ساخت و ساز و تمرکز بر روی مولفه‌های مربوط به دانش ایمنی، فاکتورهای مدیریتی و فاکتورهای سازمانی می‌تواند اثربخشی برنامه‌های مدیریت HSE در این صنعت را ارتقاء دهد

ارزیابی ریسک مخاطرات سلامت، ایمنی و محیط‌زیست مبتنی بر چرخه عمر سیستم در یک صنعت پرورش آبزیان در استان هرمزگان

Background and Aims: This study aimed to assess the risk of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) hazards based on the system's life cycle using Fuzzy Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FFMEA) in an aquaculture industry in Hormozgan province. Materials and Methods Identification of HSE hazards by system life cycle stage, including (1) construction and preparation of pools, (2) construction of feed production and preparation plant, (3) pumping and filling the pools, (4) maintenance and breeding of aquatic animals and (5) catching and transporting the aquatic animals was carried out by five HSE experts using the FMEA worksheet. Then, the risk of identified hazards was assessed by the FFMEA method (with the range of risk priority number [RPN] of 1-634). All the ethical issues were considered in this study. Results: In the life cycle of the aquaculture industry, a total of 343 HSE hazards were identified, of which 38.8% had high risk, 44.6% had medium risk, and 16.6% had low risk. About 86% of the HSE hazards were in the health and safety field and 14% of them were in the field of environment. The construction of feed production and preparation plant (having 46% of the HSE hazards) was determined to be the most hazardous phase of the life cycle of aquaculture. Conclusion: The FFMEA risk assessment method based on the life cycle by taking into account the uncertainty in the risk components and identifying and prioritizing the HSE hazards in the entire life stages of a system can be used as an efficient and effective tool for assessing the risk of HSE hazards in different industries.زمینه و اهداف: مطالعه حاضر با هدف ارزیابی ریسک مخاطرات بهداشت، ایمنی و محیط‌زیست (Health, Safety and Environment: HSE) مبتنی بر چرخه عمر سیستم با روش تجزیه‌ و تحلیل حالت شکست و اثرات فازی (Fuzzy Failure Mode and Effects Analysis: FFMEA) در یک صنعت پرورش آبزیان در استان هرمزگان به انجام رسید. مواد و روش‌ها: شناسایی مخاطرات HSE به تفکیک مراحل چرخه عمر سیستم شامل (۱) ساخت و آماده‌سازی استخرها، (۲) ساخت کارخانه تولید و آماده‌سازی خوراک، (3) پمپاژ و آبگیری استخرها، (۴) نگهداری و پرورش آبزیان و (۵)‌ صید و انتقال آبزیان با استفاده از کاربرگ FMEA توسط ۵ نفر از کارشناسان HSE صورت گرفت، سپس ریسک مخاطرات شناسایی شده با روش FFMEA (با محدوده عدد اولویت ریسک 634-1) ارزیابی گردید. ملاحظات اخلاقی در تمام مراحل اجرای مطالعه درنظر گرفته شد. یافته‌ها: در چرخه عمر صنعت پرورش آبزیان مورد مطالعه، در مجموع 343 مخاطره HSE‌ شناسایی شد که 8/38% دارای ریسک بالا، 6/44% دارای ریسک متوسط و 16/6% دارای ریسک پایین بودند. حدود 86% مخاطرات HSE شناسایی شده در حوزه سلامت و ایمنی و ۱۴% در حوزه محیط‌زیست تعیین شدند. مرحله ساخت کارخانه تولید و آماده‌سازی خوراک (با دارا بودن 46% از مخاطرات HSE) مخاطره‌‌آمیزترین مرحله چرخه عمر پرورش آبزیان تعیین شد. نتیجه‌گیری: روش ارزیابی ریسک FFMEA مبتنی بر چرخه عمر با در نظر گرفتن عدم قطعیت در مؤلفه‌های ریسک و شناسایی و اولویت‌بندی مخاطرات در کل مراحل عمر سیستم، می‌تواند به عنوان یک الگوی کارآمد و مؤثر جهت ارزیابی ریسک مخاطرات HSE در صنایع مختلف مورد استفاده قرار گیرد

Transformer oils as a potential source of environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): an assessment in three central provinces of Iran

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of oils from all transformers of the national electrical grid in Tehran, Qom, and Alborz, three central provinces of Iran, was assessed. The concentration of PCBs in transformer oils was determined by gas chromatography. At the national level, the proportions of transformers with oil PCB contents of 5000 ppm were determined to be 85.7, 12.4, 1.6, 0.1, and 0.1%, respectively. About 0.5% of transformer oils (66,000 kg out of 13,342,000 kg) exhibited PCB levels higher than 50 ppm that based on the Stockholm Convention should be phased out before 2025. The contaminated oils contained 91.4% of detected PCBs (132 kg PCBs out of 144 kg PCBs) and were located in 1.9% of transformers (27 transformers out of 1449 transformers). Statistical analysis indicated that the year of manufacture and manufacturing company provided significant effects on PCB contamination (p value <0.001). PCB contamination of transformer oils in Tehran was higher than that of the other provinces that could be mainly caused by the older average year of manufacture. PCB levels higher than 499 ppm were also observed only in Tehran. This study provided valuable information for future studies on identification of PCB-contaminated transformers as well as planning and design of waste management facilities for PCB-contaminated oils at the national level

Graphene oxide coated wad as a new sorbent in fixed bed column for the removal of crystal violet from contaminated water

<p>An efficient method was developed to fabricate graphene oxide coated cotton wad (GO/W) using self-assembly technique. GO/W could be used as an adsorbent material in remediation of environmental pollutants in a continuous packed bed column. The efficiency of GO/W fixed bed column in the removal of crystal violet (CV) from an aquatic environment was studied. The experimental breakthrough data were modeled using Thomas, Adams-Bohart, and Yoon-Nelson models, and the column parameters for all these models were calculated. Increasing the effluent discharge rate and initial adsorbate concentration make the breakthrough and saturation points to be obtained faster and hence lower the adsorption capacity of column.</p

Quantitative assessment of health, safety, and environment (HSE) resilience based on the Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in municipal solid waste management system: A case study in Tehran

Background: The health, safety, and environment (HSE) resilience is the ability of a system to adapt, resist and cope with the HSE risks in critical situations. In this study, the HSE resilience in solid waste management (SWM) system of Tehran was quantitatively assessed using HSE resilience index (HSE-RI). Methods: The principles and components of HSE-RI were determined and weighted based on the expert panel opinions using Delphi technique and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The HSE-RI scores were divided into five categories as very good (80-100), good (65-79), medium (50-64), weak (35-49), and very weak (0-34). Results: The weights of the HSE-RI principles in the SWM system were determined as follows: 0.376 for top management commitment, 0.149 for awareness and risk perception, 0.144 for preparedness, 0.144 for performance, 0.057 for reporting and just culture, 0.0574 for learning culture, 0.055 for flexibility, and 0.017 for redundancy. The highest and lowest scores of the resilience principles in the SWM system were related to the principles of awareness and risk perception (73.6), and reporting and just culture (45.1), respectively. The HSE-RI score in the SWM system was 62.9 (medium). Conclusion: The results of this study based on the Delphi method and AHP showed that the HSE resilience in the SWM system of Tehran was not at the desired level. The principles of top management commitment (with the highest weight), reporting and just culture and preparedness (with the lowest scores) were determined as the most effective points for improving the HSE resilience in the SWM system of Tehran

Age-sex specific disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to elevated levels of fluoride in drinking water: A national and subnational study in Iran, 2017

National and subnational burden of disease attributable to elevated fluoride levels in drinking water apportioned by sex, age group, province, and community type in Iran, 2017 were quantified based on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The attributable burden of disease was estimated using four input data: (1) effect size of elevated drinking water fluoride levels for dental and skeletal fluorosis, (2) population distribution of drinking water fluoride levels, (3) the threshold levels of fluoride in drinking water for contribution in dental and skeletal fluorosis, and (4) age-sex distribution of population. The attributable burden of disease was only related to dental fluorosis, because the fluoride levels were lower than the threshold value for skeletal fluorosis (4.0 mg/L) in all of the cases. The national attributable prevalence (per 100,000 people), DALYs, and DALY rate in 2017 were calculated to be 60 (95% uncertainty interval 48–69), 3443 (1034–6940), and 4.31 (1.29–8.68), respectively. The national attributable burden of disease was not significantly different by sex, but was affected by age and community type in a manner that the highest DALY rate was related to the age group 10–14 y (6.06 [1.82–12.21]) and over 66% of the national attributable DALYs occurred in rural communities. The attributable burden of disease occurred only in 10 out of 31 provinces and about 94% of the attributable DALYs were concentrated in four provinces Fars (1967 [592–3964]), Bushehr (414 [124–836]), West Azarbaijan (400 [120–808]), and Hormozgan (377 [113–761]). Implementation of fluoride-safe drinking water supply schemes in the four leading provinces can prevent most of the national health losses and partly compensate the increasing trend of disease burden from oral conditions at the national leve