SPC Report on LSAG Documents

The CERN Scientific Policy Committee (SPC) was asked by the President of the CERN Council to examine the documents produced by the LHC Safety Assessment Group (LSAG) and to provide Council with an independent opinion on the conclusions stated in those documents. A dedicated SPC panel was set up, composed of Peter Braun-Munzinger, Matteo Cavalli-Sforza, Gerard ‘t Hooft, Bryan Webber and Fabio Zwirner. The documents made available to the panel were: "Review of the Safety of LHC Collisions", by the LHC Safety Assessment Group (LSAG report); "Astronomical Implications of Hypothetical Stable TeV-Scale Black Holes", by S.B.Giddings and M.L.Mangano (GM paper). After thorough review, discussion and ensuing endorsement by the full SPC, the requested opinion is summarized in the present document

Safety Assessment of Moso Bamboo Column Under Fire by Using Bamboo as Protection Layer

Global warming issue has forced the construction world including architecture to find the green material in order to minimize CO2 which damages to the nature. In the beginning, wood was one of the green material but it has long growth cycle. Lately, bamboo has been chosen for its fast growing cycle and resuming some wood properties, also known as local material and eco-friendly –benign to the nature. Generally, wood and bamboo are composed by carbon-based compound. So, they are combustible and flammable when they are exposed to the fire. Up to now, there are not so many studies regarding the fire behavior of raw round bamboo which is used as the structure. To investigate the effectiveness of bamboo protection layer, the nine-trunk bamboos will be tied up to construct the column. A one bamboo will be placed in the middle and surrounded by the other eight-bamboos –as the protection layer of the center. All of them are with no-fire retardant. By doing this, it is possible to obtain knowledge upon bamboo on its natural properties. Specimen will be exposed to the fire inside the furnace up to 700° C. The temperature changing on the specimen will be measured by thermocouples which are installed inside and outside the wall of main bamboo in the center part. The main bamboo is expected to have lower temperature than its auto-ignition temperature, so that the structure will be able stand out during the fire until the occupants able to be evacuated safely

Safety assessment of biotechnology used in animal production, including genetically modified (GM) feed and GM animals - a review

Since the beginning of the large-scale commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in the mid-nineties, it has continuously increased. This has occurred in particular in non-European countries from which these crops may be exported as commodities to Europe and other markets. Before genetically modified organisms (GMO) are allowed onto the market as animal feed and/or food, they have to undergo a regulatory safety assessment as required by the law in many nations, including that of European Union (EU) nations under EU regulations. This safety assessment is based on an internationally harmonized approach of comparative safety assessment, in which the differences identified during the extensive comparison between a GMO and a conventional counterpart serve as basis for a further safety assessment. The GMOs that have been notified for regulatory approval and assessed for their safety as feed and food in the EU have so far been derived from crops and microorganisms. It is expected that in the near future, also several genetically modified (GM) animals may initially reach the market outside the EU. International activities to harmonize the safety assessment of GM animals have already started and have resulted in the issuance of specific guidelines by Codex alimentarius. Moreover, PEGASUS, an EU-funded project, will consider the perceptions, advantages and disadvantages of GM animals, including perspectives from the social-and life-sciences

Introducing the STAMP method in road tunnel safety assessment

After the tremendous accidents in European road tunnels over the past decade, many risk assessment methods have been proposed worldwide, most of them based on Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA). Although QRAs are helpful to address physical aspects and facilities of tunnels, current approaches in the road tunnel field have limitations to model organizational aspects, software behavior and the adaptation of the tunnel system over time. This paper reviews the aforementioned limitations and highlights the need to enhance the safety assessment process of these critical infrastructures with a complementary approach that links the organizational factors to the operational and technical issues, analyze software behavior and models the dynamics of the tunnel system. To achieve this objective, this paper examines the scope for introducing a safety assessment method which is based on the systems thinking paradigm and draws upon the STAMP model. The method proposed is demonstrated through a case study of a tunnel ventilation system and the results show that it has the potential to identify scenarios that encompass both the technical system and the organizational structure. However, since the method does not provide quantitative estimations of risk, it is recommended to be used as a complementary approach to the traditional risk assessments rather than as an alternative. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Safety assessment for EPS electron-proton spectrometer

A safety analysis was conducted to identify the efforts required to assure relatively hazard free operation of the EPS and to meet the safety requirements of the program. Safety engineering criteria, principles, and techniques in applicable disciplines are stressed in the performance of the system and subsystem studies; in test planning; in the design, development, test, evaluation, and checkout of the equipment; and the operating procedures for the EPS program

Dynamic safety assessment of a nonlinear pumped-storage generating system in a transient process

This paper focuses on a pumped-storage generating system with a reversible Francis turbine and presents an innovative framework for safety assessment in an attempt to overcome their limitations. Thus the aim is to analyze the dynamic safety process and risk probability of the above nonlinear generating system. This study is carried out based on an existing pumped-storage power station. In this paper we show the dynamic safety evaluation process and risk probability of the nonlinear generating system using Fisher discriminant method. A comparison analysis for the safety assessment is performed between two different closing laws, namely the separate mode only to include a guide vane and the linkage mode that includes a guide vane and a ball valve. We find that the most unfavorable condition of the generating system occurs in the final stage of the load rejection transient process. It is also demonstrated that there is no risk to the generating system with the linkage mode but the risk probability of the separate mode is 6 percent. The results obtained are in good agreement with the actual operation of hydropower stations. The developed framework may not only be adopted for the applications of the pumped-storage generating system with a reversible Francis turbine but serves as the basis for the safety assessment of various engineering applications.National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaFundamental Research Funds for the Central UniversitiesScientific research funds of Northwest A&F UniversityScience Fund for Excellent Young Scholars from Northwest A&F University and Shaanxi Nova progra

Governance and safety assessment

Depto. de Ciencia Política y de la AdministraciónFac. de Ciencias Políticas y SociologíaTRUEpu

Accident Rate as a Measure of Safety Assessment in Polish Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is characterised by high volatility with respect to working conditions, which are the source of many threats to worker life and health and contribute to high accident rates. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the phenomenon of accidents in Polish civil engineering and define the direction of changes that should occur in the safety area. The studies included in this research covered the years 2004–2018. The following indicators were used to assess the accident rates: (1) The total number of persons injured in workplace accidents and this total divided into fatal, severe, and minor accidents; (2) indicators of frequency of accidents in total and this total divided into minor, severe, and fatal accidents; (3) and an indicator of the severity of accidents. From the analysis of statistical data for the years 200–2018, the changes in accident rate parameters demonstrate the continuous improvement of workplace safety in the Polish civil engineering sector. From the analysed data from the 15 years, a clear decrease in the value of the applied indicators is apparent, including both the number of people involved in accidents and the frequency and severity of accidents