Album of Bradt Family hair

Album, 1843-1976. An album containing locks of hair of Bradt family members. The album was started by Elizabeth (Hansler) Bradt in 1843, then continued by her daughter Mercy J. Dunn, in 1899. Each lock of hair contains the person’s name, year the lock was taken, and sometimes other details such as date of birth and death, place of birth, or other biographical information. The hair is adorned with ribbons and flowers, and many samples are braided. There are 255 locks of hair in the album

Control of Plant Ageing at Seveso Sites: Achievements in Research and Transfer to Current Practice

This paper addresses the issue of "ageing", which for over a decade has been recognised as one the most relevant causes of accidents in chemical and oil industries. The EU Legislation explicitly mentions to manage ageing in the Directive Seveso III. Following the implementation of the Directive in national legislations, regulators had a few initiatives, including the publication of guidelines and recommended practices. Yet ageing is a very complex issue involving both technical and organizational factors. The greatest concern is the integrity of static containment systems, including pipes and vessels, where rupture may cause major losses of hazardous materials. Dynamic containment systems, including rotating machinery, are also important. The paper discusses a few practical solutions adopted by regulators in Europe, focusing on Italy and the Netherlands. Since 2018, Italian Authorities require the inspectors in charge to evaluate the adequateness of the ageing control programs of upper-tier Seveso sites by means of a codified protocol. The method has been developed with the collaboration of Regulators, Academia, and Industry. In three and more years of application, essential data about plant ageing of hundreds of Seveso sites were collected. This allowed a first statistical balance of ageing of Italian sites, as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of the Italian method. In order to place it in a broader context, these results are compared with related methods and findings about ageing in the Netherlands, obtained from investigated accidents 2004-2018

Opportunities for improvement of the use of air dispersion models in chemical incidents

Het RIVM heeft met het KNMI en de DCMR Milieudienst Rijnmond onderzocht welke mogelijkheden er zijn om de inzet van luchtverspreidingsmodellen bij chemische incidenten verder te verbeteren. De inzet blijkt op een aantal punten te kunnen worden verbeterd. Luchtverspreidingsmodellen leveren tijdens chemische incidenten informatie over bijvoorbeeld de afstand waarop slachtoffers te verwachten zijn, of welke locaties geschikt zijn om monsters te nemen. Daarmee dragen de modellen in belangrijke mate bij aan de informatievoorziening aan hulpverleners en het bevoegd gezag. Het onderzoek is in opdracht van de Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport uitgevoerd, naar aanleiding van de brand bij een chemisch bedrijf in Moerdijk (2011). Verbeterpunten Onder andere is niet vastgelegd wat precies van modellen mag worden verwacht tijdens chemische incidenten, en wie ervoor verantwoordelijk is om de benodigde expertise op peil te brengen en te houden. Dat moet worden verduidelijkt. Verder is het voor de aanbieders van modelberekeningen niet altijd duidelijk aan welke informatie de hulpdiensten behoefte hebben. Omgekeerd zijn de (on)mogelijkheden van de modellen niet altijd bekend bij de afnemers. Daarom wordt aanbevolen de mogelijkheden en beperkingen van modellen in de regio te verduidelijken. Ook wordt aanbevolen nieuwe middelen te ontwikkelen waarmee gebruikers makkelijker toegang kunnen krijgen tot de modelinformatie.RIVM, KNMI and DCMR examined possible ways to further improve the deployment of air dispersion models during chemical incidents. The project yielded a number of opportunities for improvement. During chemical incidents, air dispersion models provide information such as the distance at which victims are to be expected, or which locations are suitable for taking samples. This way the models contribute significantly to the provision of information to first responders and the competent authorities. The study was commissioned by the Environment and Transport Inspectorate, following the fire at a chemical plant in Moerdijk (2011). Opportunities for improvement The researchers conclude that it has not been defined what exactly models are supposed to deliver during chemical incidents, and who is responsible for developing and maintaining the necessary expertise. These issues need to be clarified. Furthermore, the information needs of the first responders are not always clear to the providers of modeling data. Conversely, the possibilities and limitations of the models are not always recognized by customers. It is therefore recommended to clarify the possibilities and limitations of models to first responders, and to develop new tools to provide customers with easier access to modeling information.Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transpor

Calibration and use of a cesium-iodide prism in the infrared

With a cesium-iodide prism the long wavelength range of an infrared spectrometer may be extended to 55µ The use of such a prism, the choice of optical system, and the problems of stray radiation are all discussed. Accurate data are assembled for calibration in this region, and sample calibration traces are shown. A simple gas absorption cell is described for use at long wavelengths

Optimal configuration of future electricity grid

This paper considers the scenario of a big new energy source connecting to an existing network of generators and loads. To be able to maintain such a network at the correct settings, the well known load flow equations have to be solved. Since existing software has trouble with solving the load flow equations in the scenario of a very large generator, new software was created using Matlab’s inherent fsolve function. This software was consequently used in combination with existing software of the MATPOWER package to calculate the optimal way of connecting a new large generator to an existing network. This was done for a relatively small case using a brute force method which iterated over all possible options.Department of Applied Mathematics AnalysisElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc