Processes and Techniques for Rapid Bridge Replacement After Extreme Events

Yong Bai and Seong Hoon Kim, Processes and Techniques for Rapid Bridge Replacement After Extreme Events, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (Volume: 1991 issue: 1) pp. 54-61. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications. DOI: 10.3141/1991-07.Highway bridges, as critical components of the nation's transportation network, have received increased attention after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and subsequent potential threats to U.S. transportation systems. To respond to the potential threats on highway bridges, a pooled-fund research project was conducted to identify rapid bridge replacement processes and techniques after extreme events. These events include manufactured and natural disasters such as earthquakes, explosions, fires, floods, and hurricanes. To achieve the research objectives, the research team studied three cases of previous bridge replacements following extreme events. These cases are the I-40 Webbers Falls Bridge in Oklahoma, the I-95 Chester Creek Bridge in Pennsylvania, and the I-87 New York State Thruway Bridge in Yonkers, New York. By studying these cases, the research team first sought to identify and expand on lessons learned. Lessons learned from these cases benefit government agencies such as state departments of transportation, which are responsible for development of the enhanced emergency response plans for highway bridges, and the engineering and construction communities, which are responsible for design and reconstruction of the damaged bridges. Next, the research team determined the processes and techniques that were used in the rapid bridge replacements and outlined needed improvements so that the research community could investigate new technologies to advance current practices

Measuring Interactions among Agricultural Productivity, Trade Openness, Agricultural GDP, and Income in Korea (1972- 2007)

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Acute Symptoms after a Community Hydrogen Fluoride Spill

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients who visited a general hospital because of the release of chemically hazardous hydrogen fluoride that occurred on September 27, 2012 in Gumi City, Korea. METHODS: The medical records at 1 general hospital 9 km from the accident site were reviewed using a standardized survey format. There were 1,890 non-hospitalized and 12 hospitalized patients exposed to hydrogen fluoride between September 27 and October 13 2012. RESULTS: Among the 12 hospitalized patients, 11 were discharged within 1 week and the other was hospitalized for 10 days. The chief complaints were respiratory symptoms such as hemoptysis and shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms, neurologic symptoms, sore throat, and lip burn. The number of non-hospitalized patients exhibited a bimodal distribution, peaking on the first and twelfth days after the accident. Their chief complaints were sore throat (24.1%), headache (19.1%), cough (13.1%), and eye irritation (9.2%); some patients were asymptomatic (6.2%). Patients who visited the hospital within 3 days (early patients) of the spill more often had shortness of breath (27.0%) and nausea (6.3%) as the chief complaints than patients who visited after 3 days (late patients) (3.5% and 2.6%, respectively). However, cough and rhinorrhea were more common in the late patients (14.0% and 3.3%, respectively) than in the early patients (5.0% and 0.0%, respectively). Patients who were closer to the accident site more often had shortness of breath and sputum as the chief complaints than patients who were farther away. The mean serum calcium concentration was 9.37 mg/dL (range: 8.4–11.0 mg/dL); none of the patients had a decreased serum calcium level. Among 48 pulmonary function test results, 4 showed decreased lung function. None of the patients had abnormal urine fluoride levels on the eighth day after exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients hospitalized due to chemical hazard release of hydrogen fluoride had acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurologic health problems. Non-hospitalized patients have acute symptoms mainly related to upper respiratory irritation