Termination of the leprosy isolation policy in the US and Japan : Science, policy changes, and the garbage can model

BACKGROUND: In both the US and Japan, the patient isolation policy for leprosy /Hansen's disease (HD) was preserved along with the isolation facilities, long after it had been proven to be scientifically unnecessary. This delayed policy termination caused a deprivation of civil liberties of the involuntarily confined patients, the fostering of social stigmas attached to the disease, and an inefficient use of health resources. This article seeks to elucidate the political process which hindered timely policy changes congruent with scientific advances. METHODS: Examination of historical materials, supplemented by personal interviews. The role that science played in the process of policy making was scrutinized with particular reference to the Garbage Can model. RESULTS: From the vantage of history, science remained instrumental in all period in the sense that it was not the primary objective for which policy change was discussed or intended, nor was it the principal driving force for policy change. When the argument arose, scientific arguments were employed to justify the patient isolation policy. However, in the early post-WWII period, issues were foregrounded and agendas were set as the inadvertent result of administrative reforms. Subsequently, scientific developments were more or less ignored due to concern about adverse policy outcomes. Finally, in the 1980s and 1990s, scientific arguments were used instrumentally to argue against isolation and for the termination of residential care. CONCLUSION: Contrary to public expectations, health policy is not always rational and scientifically justified. In the process of policy making, the role of science can be limited and instrumental. Policy change may require the opening of policy windows, as a result of convergence of the problem, policy, and political streams, by effective exercise of leadership. Scientists and policymakers should be attentive enough to the political context of policies

New approach to intersection modeling - FLINT

The Florida Department of Transportation has developed a new carbon monoxide intersection model, called FLINT. FLINT is a user-friendly model using radically new ideas for emission allocation, traffic movement and dispersion. Preliminary testing has shown it to be more accurate than existing models. Further testing on databases will better determine FLINT\u27s accuracy and merit compared to other models

Atmospheric Releases Of Formaldehyde From Electroless Copper Plating Operations

The objective of this project was to assist the electroplating and surface finishing industry identify and solve specific problems with completion of Form R - a required annual emissions report to the U.S. EPA. A \u27problem\u27 often encountered is the uncertainty in emissions estimates for a combination of a process (e.g., electroless copper plating) and a release (e.g., air releases of formaldehyde) leading to an error in Form R. Because the majority of environmental releases (liquid and residuals) are subject to some form of monitoring, specific data are usually available to support completion of Form R. The principal exception to this generalization concerns air emissions, which are typically not monitored nor well characterized. The process selected for field characterization in this study was electroless copper plating. The sampling effort involved simultaneous quantification of fugitive emissions of formaldehyde (HCHO), and emissions of HCHO through existing tank ventilation systems that connect to a stack. The results of this research indicate that only about 10% of the formaldehyde purchased becomes an atmospheric release, with the dominant loss being consumptive reactions in the plating bath. The stack and fugitive losses of formaldehyde are of about equal magnitude. A predictive model for atmospheric releases was developed. Total (uncontrolled) emissions from the three plants evaluated ranged from about 20 to about 160 pounds per year per plant

Queueing algorithm for calculating idling emissions in FLINT - The FLorida INTersection air quality model

The theoretical development of the queueing model used in the FLINT (FLorida INTersection) air quality model is described. FLINT is an area source model used to predict carbon monoxide concentrations for undersaturated and oversaturated traffic conditions at signalized intersections. In the FLINT model, deterministic queueing is used to estimate the queue length for cases of undersaturated conditions. In oversaturated cases, a cycle failure method has been developed to estimate queue length. In addition, a new concept is presented for calculating idling time for each vehicle\u27s position in the queue during both the red and the green phases of the traffic signal cycle. A limited set of undersaturated cases from monitoring data in Melrose Park, Illinois, was used to compare the predicted queue lengths with the measured queue lengths for several air quality models. It was found that FLINT predicted the queue length within one vehicle of the observed queue length. The same cases were tested using CAL3QHC, TEXIN2 intersection air quality models, and the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) simulation model. It was found that predictions of the AAMA and the FLINT models were very close to the measured queue lengths in cases of undersaturated conditions. Moreover, although the FLINT and the AAMA models use a different approach to estimate queue length, their predicted queue lengths were very close in oversaturated cases. However, the predicted queue lengths of CAL3QHC were too long for oversaturated cases