Journal articles: 'Illinois. Office of Pollution Prevention' – Grafiati (2024)

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ABSTRACT The Argentine Coast Guard is a security force acting as police coast guard and providing within its broad scope other outstanding services related to navigation safety and environmental protection. It is an institution with a deep historical background, which finds its roots in the colonial office of Captain of the Port, established by Spain January 8, 1756. This office was regulated by the Spanish Colonial Code until March 8, 1793, when King Charles V enacted the General Ordinances which outlined the main principles that rule the institution today. Those regulations have covered water pollution since 1937, but only in 1977 did the institution start work on the principles laid down by the International Maritime Organization, through the efforts of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee. The first principle is prevention. The second is that anyone who causes pollution is required to pay. In 1979, by Maritime Ordinance 4/79, vessels were allowed a 10-year period (1981–1991) to adjust to these new rules. These developments took place in accordance with MARPOL 73/78, an agreement endorsed by Argentina in 1993. This information was disseminated in Latin America through free courses and technical advisory services.

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The first poison centers were established in the United States in the early 1950s, stimulated by an American Academy of Pediatrics' survey of office-based pediatric practices which ascertained that its members had no place to turn for ingredient information on medications and household products.1 With the help of the Academy, pediatrician Dr. Edward Press, the Illinois Department of Health, and several community hospitals, the first poison center emerged. Over the subsequent 40 years, remarkable progress has occurred in the fields of clinical toxicology, poison control, and poison prevention. Yet despite these accomplishments, challenging clouds are appearing on the horizon which threaten these gains. This commentary, by the authors who have viewed and participated in a large part of the history of this progress, will focus on these major accomplishments with an emphasis on (a) poison prevention utilizing the pre-event (primary prevention), (b) the event (secondary prevention), and (c) the postevent (tertiary prevention) model.2

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ABSTRACT In the wake of the Exxon Valdez the federal government passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). A number of recent publications have discussed the effects of OPA 90 on the occurrence of unauthorized discharges, but nothing to date has included the additional influence of state regulations in their analysis. To address oil spill response on a state level, agencies such as the Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Division (TGLO) and the Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office (LOSCO) were created. Each state, given authority under similar Oil Spill Prevention and Response Legislation, regulates heavily industrialized coastlines. These agencies have developed a level of expertise in management and response to oil spills that compliment the federal oil spill response capabilities. This programmatic analysis of two adjacent state agencies will show that the interaction between state government, industry, and the public has a large influence on the effectiveness of OPA 90.

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ABSTRACT In addition to having ports that ship and receive oil and other commercial products by sea, the Republic of Tunisia is exposed to potential spills from vessels that are routed close to shore as they transit the Mediterranean. This paper summarizes a study that was conducted to evaluate Tunisia's commercial ports' oil spill contingency plans, response equipment, and response management systems, for the purposes of increasing the spill response capability of the Tunisian Office of the Merchant Marine and Ports (OMMP) and bringing each plan up to criteria established by Tunisia's 1996 oil spill legislation and international standards. The four ports evaluated were Bizerte, Tunis-Goulette-Radès (TGR), Sfax, and Zarzis. Interviews and discussions were conducted with representatives of the OMMP, the Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPE), the Tunisian Petroleum Activities Enterprise (ETAP), the Tunisian Navy and Merchant Marine, the Directorate General of Energy, the state-owned oil transportation company (TRAPSA), and selected private sector oil companies. The equipment review entailed analysis of existing equipment in each port, potential spill size and location, time to respond, and environmentally sensitive areas needing protection. Specific recommendations were made for improving the readiness posture of Tunisia's commercial ports and for the purchase of additional spill-response equipment and services. Implementation of these recommendations will result in a significantly improved capability on the part of the private and public sector users of Tunisia's commercial ports to respond effectively to marine oil spills, should one occur. This paper highlights the readiness capability of each port and the extent of oil transportation activities, and provides recommendations to improve response via equipment purchases, improvement of the existing response management system, implementation of a training and exercise program, and changes to the port contingency plans.

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Waste minimization/pollution prevention has become the strategic approach to waste management in the 90s and the hope for environmental management as we enter the third millenium. Nearly a decade ago, EPA's Office of Research and Development began a focused Waste Minimization Research Program to identify and demonstrate technology for reducing the generation of wastes and shifted the Agency's priority from end-of-pipe controls to the prevention of waste generation. The purpose of this presentation is to share a number of the results from several years of researching engineering solutions to multi-media problems, building a sound scientific foundation to support pollution prevention (P2) principles, and developing and demonstrating pollution prevention technologies, tools, and techniques. The “tools of the trade” for pollution prevention are the research reports that provide results of technology development, the case studies and demonstrations of P2 technologies, and the technical guides and manuals for conducting P2 activities. Technology Development - Tools resulting from technology development include the numerous research reports and briefs from: 1) the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Program, 2) Pollution Prevention Measurement Projects, and 3) the Innovative Clean Technologies Program. Technology Demonstration - Tools resulting from technology demonstration include the research reports and summaries from: 1) the Waste Reduction Innovative Technology Evaluation (WRITE) Program, 2) the Waste Reduction Evaluation At Federal Sites (WREAFS) Program, 3) the New Jersey/EPA Waste Minimization Assessment Project, and 4) Small Generator Waste Minimization Assessment Program. Technical Guides and Manuals - These tools include: 1) Facility Pollution Prevention Guide. 2) 16 industry specific guides to pollution prevention, 3) Background Document on Clean Products Research and Implementation, and 4) Industrial Pollution Prevention Opportunities for the 1990s. Much of the EPA's Pollution Prevention RD&D Program has focused on the development and demonstration of practical tools to encourage the development and adoption of processing technologies mid products that will lead to reducing the aggregate generation rates for pollutants entering various environmental media. The strategic direction for pollution prevention RD&D through the 1990s is: 1) to study high risk environmental problems where P2 offers a cost-effective solution for reducing the risks, 2) to conduct cross-cutting research such as measurement, modelling, and LCA that can be applied to multiple problems, and 3) to establish joint global P2 RD&D ventures where products and processes know no waste generating boundaries.

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ABSTRACT The Marine Safety Division of the 11th Coast Guard District and the California Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response are pursuing new avenues to assure that federal, state, and local efforts in California achieve the goals of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 1990. Coordination of the seven California area committees, publishing detailed area contingency plans, and the implemention of a memorandum of agreement on oil spill prevention and response highlight recent cooperative successes. In 1994 a joint Coast Guard/state/industry incident command system task force drafted an ICS field operations guide and incident action plan forms that meet National Interagency Incident Management System and fire scope ICS requirements.

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Air quality has been a matter of public concern in Delhi. The concentration of Particulate Matters (PM2.5 and PM10) often surpasses the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This study is focused upon the evaluation of Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCAs) Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) action during 2018 in terms of PM2.5 and NO2. In order to control air pollution sources in National Capital Region (NCR), the (EPCA) Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority directed GRAP to advise the local industries and other sources of pollution to close their operations on particular dates whenever Air Quality Index (AQI) showed severe level. In this study, we have analyzed 24 hourly averaged Air Quality Index (AQI) data for the period September 2017 - January 2018 and September 2018 - January 2019 at two sites i.e. Delhi Technical University (DTU) and Income Tax Office (ITO) respectively. The GRAP results showed a significant decrease in AQI values of both after every order passed by GRAP task force. In general, the PM2.5 AQI values were always higher during year 2017-18 as compared to 2018-19 at both sites.

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A case study in the implementation and use of a customized geographic information system (GIS) as an administrative tool is described. A modified GIS is being used to provide full administrative support for a $ 4 million/year transportation grant program with a single part-time support staff person in the central office. Pennsylvania’s Dirt and Gravel Road Pollution Prevention Program was enacted into law as Section 9106 of the State Vehicle Code in 1997 and is administered locally through county-based soil conservation districts. The program uses a simplified and customized GIS that enables personnel at 65 county conservation districts to use the system with minimal training. The customized GIS enabled a statewide assessment of more than 17,000 mi of unpaved roads to be conducted in 6 months. That assessment geographically identified and evaluated more than 11,000 pollution sites at which unpaved road runoff adversely affects stream quality. Pollution site assessments, record keeping, and reporting have been incorporated into the modified GIS to provide paperless, centralized reporting in keeping with the program’s core values—streamlined administrative structure, emphasis on local control, and effective prevention of stream pollution from dust and sediment generated by unpaved roads. The value that a customized GIS can have for similar applications is illustrated by providing a walk-through of how the system works, why it has been accepted, and what it accomplishes for this innovative non-point-source pollution prevention effort.

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ABSTRACT # 2017-408 The Texas General Land Office (TGLO) has developed an innovative and cost effective approach to dispose of abandoned vessels along the Texas coast. For years, unscrupulous vessel owners have removed serial numbers and registration information from primarily fiberglass boats and cast them adrift in remote or isolated areas along the Texas coast. Weather incidents have also contributed to hundreds of abandoned vessels in or near Texas waters. These vessels, which often still have fuel and lubricants on board, present a threat to the environment, navigation and public safety. Unfortunately, budget constraints, jurisdictional boundaries, and regulations prevent the local, state and federal agencies that have an interest in removing these vessels from taking action. The TGLO strategy is designed to help rid coastal areas of abandoned vessels before they enter coastal water. The Vessel Turn-In Program, known as VTIP, promotes partnerships by pooling the unique funding, capital and human resources of government entities and stakeholders to form a cost effective approach to eliminating abandoned vessels and the pollution they create.

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Ivan Kerchief, Oleg Mirochnik, Larysa Pereverzieva APPLICATION OF FIELD THEORY APPARATUS FOR DESCRIPTION OF AIR MOVEMENT IN MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF PREVENTION OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS OF TECHNOGENIC CHARACTERISTIC CHARACTER The main provisions of the field theory for the description of air movement processes in the closed premises of administrative buildings in the conditions of emergence of an emergency situation of technogenic character are defined in the work. Based on which the main assumptions are made regarding the problem of mathematical description of the process of air injection into the local volume using a filter ventilation unit in the interests of protecting people from the damaging factors of radioactive and chemical contamination in enclosed office buildings in a man-made emergency. A detailed analysis of the existing regulatory and methodological framework on the issues under consideration allowed us to state the following - known means of protection against radioactive and chemical contamination of the atmosphere are implemented in special protective structures, which are in large numbers in Ukraine, but for objective reasons (obsolete physically and morally) can not be used for its intended purpose. Existing methods of building temporary shelters cannot be implemented due to the rapid development of emergencies at present. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and propose new designs of special rooms in office buildings in the interests of protection and rescue of people from the harmful factors of hazardous substances sprayed into the atmosphere as a result of man-made disasters, which in turn should be based on modern methodological apparatus. closed premises of administrative buildings in the conditions of emergence of an emergency of technogenic character. Given the above, the properties of the vector function used to describe magnetic and other physical fields that do not contradict the provisions of gas dynamics and can be used to describe the problems of air injection in the local volume were considered. It is noted that the direction and modulus of the vector determine the direction and velocity of the air flow through the elementary site. In addition, the vector function allows you to represent (conditionally divide) the air flow as elements of lines or elements of surfaces. Thus, the properties of the vector function allow to use it to describe the processes of air injection into the local volume in the mathematical model of protection of people from the damaging factors of radioactive and chemical pollution in temporary shelters in office buildings in order to protect the population from the damaging factors of radioactive and chemical pollution. arising from man-made accidents and catastrophes. Key words: emergency situation, field theory, administrative buildings.

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Abstract In this article we present the design of effective control strategies (IVE Model), to predict atmospheric pollutants, greenhouse gases and toxins, from mobile sources, made up of 800 motorized vehicles, obtained from the records of the transport office of the Provincial Municipality of Ica. through an inventory of emissions from mobile sources, emission factors, activity and distribution of the vehicle fleet. The results obtained are Carbon Monoxide (CO, 23235.23 t/year), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC: 12123.55 t / year), Nitrogen Oxides (Nox: 361.76 t/year), Evaporative Volatile Organic Compounds (COVevap: 455.2 t / year), Particulate Material (PM: 361.76 t / year) and Sulfur Oxides (Sox: 50.75 t / year). Where the highest CO emissions are cars and motorcycles, representing 45.72% and 36% of the total CO emissions released in the study area. It is concluded that prevention measures and actions such as transport management, control of vehicular emissions, promotion of the use of clean fuels, as a way of mitigating the atmospheric pollutants that could be generated, be established.

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Introduction: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a health problem causing global morbidity and mortality in Indonesia, with 18.8 billion cases and more than six million deaths observed in 2016. Between 2013 and 2018, the diagnosis of ARI prevalence reportedly experienced a 10% decrease from 12.5-2.5%, within 10 provinces, including DKI Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: This study aims to identify the spatial analysis of ARI events using an ecological method, based on the Air Pollution Standard Index (PSI) at DKI Jakarta between 2018 and 2019. Results and Discussion: Data analysis was performed by mapping case description through Quantum GIS, correlation assessment, as well as linear regression with SPSS scatter plot. Based on the bivariate analysis, the correlation assessment and linear regression of the ARI event with PM10 had positive regression in 2018 and 2019, at (R)0.649 and (R)0.0630, respectively. Conclusion: The highest PM10 values in Kelapa Gading and Cipayung districts increased the case of ARI fluctuations within two years. Therefore, the environmental health service office focused on the air quality evaluation and prevention control of ARI cases.

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Countries around the world have become concerned about their responsibility to protect the environment and resources. In this paper, we established a model of multi-period PSW-DID (weighted propensity score matching- differences-in-differences) to test the effect of China’s audit of natural resource. We found that: (1) local governments had a strategic incentive to reduce pollution, they paid more attention to environmental performance linked to individual promotion than to green innovation and development. (2) Compared with the long-term and complexity of water pollution control, they paid more attention to air pollution treatment. (3) In the long run, the environmental audit was indeed beneficial to the improvement of environmental quality, but the time of taking effect was the second year (one-year lag). (4) In addition, because of the contradiction between the neglect of human capital and the timeliness of environmental supervision, the local government did not show substantial pollution reduction. Therefore, local officials should foster the long-term responsibility consciousness of green innovation and pay more attention to the integration of human capital. The audit of natural resources should establish a long-term mechanism, which could establish a complete accountability system or change off-office audit to interim audit. The construction of audit big data platforms should pay more attention to substantive characteristic data, such as data on population inflow, which is not only a paper score of air pollution. This study can reveal the dilemma of pollution prevention and control in China, urge local governments to promote the rational flow of human resources, improve the innovation level, and achieve substantive pollution control and efficiency enhancement of green development.

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Background: According to the literature analysis, the majority of the studies focused primarily on public health institutions. Although assessing the compliance of healthcare workers in private and public institutions would give comprehensive evidence on existing problems and appropriate prevention method, as a result, research on adherence to standard precautions are still required. Rely on existing research, to the best of the investigator’s knowledge, compliance with standard precautions in hospitals of Bahir Dar town has not been assessed. Therefore, this study will contribute to narrowing these gaps and determining the scope of problems with standard precautions. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among 442 healthcare workers working in hospitals from June 10 to 30, 2021. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Pre-tested and structured questionnaires and an observational checklist were used to collect the required data. The data were entered into EpiData and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to assess the association between independent and outcome variables. Odd ratios at 95% CI were used to measure the strength of the association between the outcome and explanatory variables. Finally, a P-value of <.05 was considered as a cut-off point for statistical significance. Results: Of the 442 healthcare workers who participated in the study, 41% were compliant with standard precautions. Furthermore, 68.1% and 51.8% of the respondents had good knowledge and a positive attitude toward infection prevention, respectively. Consistent water supply availability (AOR = 1.92 and 95% CI = 1.63, 6.27), and access to infection prevention guidelines (AOR = 1.73 and 95% CI = 1.08, 2.77), and availability of personal protective equipment (AOR = 2.32 and 95% CI = 1.35, 3.98) were some of the factors significantly associated with health care workers’ compliance. Conclusions: The current study found that only about two-fifths of the healthcare workers complied with standard precautions. The study suggests that there is a significant risk of developing an infection. Therefore, the concerned organizations; Bahir Dar Zonal Health Office, and respective sectors including Amhara Regional Health Office and the Federal Ministry of Health must take appropriate measures to improve the implementation of safety practices.

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The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) within the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated several programs to reduce risks associated with the use of pesticides. Examples include accelerated registration of new products (including biological pesticides) that offer reduced risk to human health and the environment, and regulatory relief for products posing virtually no risk to provide replacement for more problematic pesticides. In addition, efforts are being undertaken to reduce pesticide resistance in target pests, develop joint “Environmental Stewardship” efforts between the EPA, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The new Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention Division (BPPD), established as a pilot in October 1994, has responsibility for many above functions, with special emphasis on registration of biological pesticides and development of the new Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP). This program is designed to recognize achievements already made by farmers to reduce conventional pesticide use and to find further improvements through cooperative efforts with growers.

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The USEPA, as a member of the OECD, is involved in the review of OECD guidelines and OECD's plans for revisions. The guidelines reviewed to date include: acute oral toxicity, eye and dermal irritation/corrosion, and skin sensitization. The revisions to the guidelines have emphasized reductions in animal usage in lab testing, and refinements which reduce/eliminate pain and suffering of animals. Screening methods, such as use of structure-activity relationships and physicochemical properties of test substances, which would eliminate chemicals that did not require animal testing, or sharply reduce the number of animals required for testing, were also recommended for some guidelines. In vitro methods were also examined as screens to eliminate severely toxic chemicals, but most of these methods still require further development and validation. The proposed revisions are discussed in detail in this report. This report has been reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Agency.

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ABSTRACT Nationwide, the U.S. Coast Guard (CG) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are both tasked with the implementation of several environmental and safety statutes (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabilities Act [CERCLA], Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [OPA 90], Clean Water Act [CWA], international Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships [MARPOL], etc.). They share important leadership roles on the National Response Team (NRT), Regional Response Team (RRT) and several other response planning bodies. Often EPA On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) and CG OSC representatives work together in oil and chemical response operations and on various planning and exercise committees. However, the joint efforts of both organizations are often impacted by a mutual lack of understanding of each other's authorities, policies, procedures, internal structures, and leadership roles. Even the response zones for CG and EPA are often based on factors other than geography and often may not be well understood. USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) Chicago and EPA Region V are bridging this gap in understanding by sponsoring a Peer Exchange Program. Representatives from each agency are spending up to a week with the other agency for hands-on training and education. The program was initiated in April 1996 and has produced excellent results. As a result, joint CGIEPA responses run more smoothly, mutual understanding and accessibility are enhanced, and overall public health and welfare and the environment are better protected.

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The article is devoted to topical issues of the activities of the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China to ensure the rule of law in the environmental sphere. At the same time, the approaches of the two states to ensure legality in the environmental sphere at the constitutional level, which are regulated by the Constitutions of the Russian Federation and the PRC, were studied. The achievements of the prosecutor’s office for the protection of human and civil rights in the Russian Federation for a favorable natural environment, for improving the ecological environment for people and the general ecological situation were consecrated; prevention of pollution and other dangerous phenomena for society; protection of water bodies and forests. The author analyzes the environmental legislation of China, the main laws regulating the issues of environmental protection both in the Russian Federation and in the People’s Republic of China. The existing successes in this matter are canceled and the factors that reduce the effectiveness of environmental protection activities of both the authorities of these states and the regulatory and supervisory authorities in them are indicated.

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Abstract Background Infection disease (ID) groups covering inpatient and office, antimicrobial stewardship, and infection prevention duties may welcome an opportunity to streamline diagnostics via metagenomic next-generation sequencing (NGS). But the appropriate patient profile for NGS has yet to be defined. In 2019, we began using the Karius Test (KT), an NGS test that identifies and quantifies microbial cell-free DNA in plasma. Methods On January 10, 2019 our ID group (7 MDs and an APN covering 14 Illinois hospitals) began using the KT (Redwood City, CA). 5 ml of whole blood is collected, spun to plasma, and shipped to Karius for analysis. Following NGS, human sequences are removed and remaining sequences are aligned to a curated pathogen database of >1,000 organisms. Organisms present above a statistical threshold are quantified in DNA molecules per microliter (MPM) and reported. Results Over 90 days 45 KTs were ordered on 42 patients (mean age = 46); including 3 repeat tests. Thirty-six were inpatients (8 in the ICU) with a mean 4.7 days to ID consult and length-of-stay of 16 days. 31% (13/42) were immunocompromised: i.e., transplant, oncology, or HIV/AIDS. Fine needle or open biopsies were performed on 13 patients and 13 patients had bronchoscopy; 30.8% (8/26) were diagnostic of infection. A valid KT result was returned in 44/45 tests (mean 3.5 days from ID consult). 56.8% (25/44) of tests were positive for one or more organisms (a single pathogen was detected on 11 KTs). Among positive tests, 56% (14/25 - 10 bacterial and 4 fungal infections) were confirmed by culture, antigen, or PCR. Mean time to diagnosis for culture, PCR, antigen, and KT was 16.4, 3, 5.5, and 3.5 days, respectively. In 3 cases, the KT was the only positive test but correlated with the clinical scenario resulting in antimicrobial changes (Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in AIDS, pulmonary aspergillosis in AIDS, and Fusobacterium nucleatum septic thrombophlebitis). Conclusion We identified 4 clinical scenarios where the KT provided value: patients with suspected invasive fungal infections, culture-negative endovascular infections/endocarditis, possible discitis or paravertebral infection, and pulmonary disease in AIDS. Future efforts will include outreach for prevention of invasive diagnostic procedures when a KT is pending or positive. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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The article considers the analytical and statistical materials unfolding parameters of economic and ecological crime in Kemerovo Oblast. The close interrelation of quality indicators of the presented groups of crime is caused by the specifics of the coal-mining region. The illegal coal-mining developing in the territory of Kemerovo Oblast within the decades led to the irreversible ecological effects: pollution of rivers, air, soil, deforestation, etc. The administration of Kemerovo Oblast and the enterprises of the coal-mining industry paid attention to the problem not bringing desirable results. Formed in 2011 upon the request of the governor of Kemerovo Oblast the Prosecutor’s Office on the supervision of respecting the rule of law in the coal-mining industry combines the efforts of Rostekhnadzor (the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision) and Rosprirodnadzor (the Federal Service for Nature Management Supervision) for the prevention of proliferation of crimes in this sphere. Kemerovo State University combines the efforts of scientific community, executive authorities, public organizations and not indifferent residents of Kemerovo Oblast to recognize and prevent economic and ecological offenses. Kemerovo State University has been regularly holding the ecological and tax forums on its basis in recent years. They let bring the factors causing threat of the national security of the region and country in general to the authorities and the public.

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Civilization development has contributed to environmental pollution. In recent years, the number of vehicles has increased significantly; according to the Central Statistical Office, the number of passenger cars in Poland in 2000 was nearly 10 million, while in 2020 it was slightly more than 25 million. The study aimed to determine the content and spatial distribution of trace elements (Fe, Mn, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn and Cu) in the roadside topsoil along the trunk road Białystok–Budzisko on different types of land use (urban, rural, agricultural and forestal areas). Forty-five soil samples were collected from a 160 km road section, at intervals of approximately 4 km. Metal contents were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentrations of metals in roadside soils occurred in the following order: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cd. The average contents of Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb were higher than the geochemical background values of the Polish soils. Moreover, the values of the Igeo showed for Cd moderate to strong, while for Zn, Cu and Pb, moderate soil contamination. The study indicates that significant metal-binding factors in the studied roadside soils are Fe and Mn oxides. The crucial source of metals is road transport, depending on its intensity, which means amount, type, and speed of vehicles. Moreover, based on the analysis of the course of the factor values and their dynamics, it was observed that the areas where typical activities connected with the population take place (urban and agricultural areas) are additional sources of heavy metals. The results of this paper are relevant to the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in roadside soils. The study can contribute to reducing the concentration of toxic elements in ecosystems due to vehicle emissions with appropriate land-use policies.

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ABSTRACT In California, A GIS (Geographic Information System) is routinely employed by the Unified Command to manage, map, analyze and display convergent data during an oil spill emergency response. Collecting remote sensing data from satellite, aircraft and ground based platforms has become more common as technology advances and data acquisition expenses decrease. The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) first used aerial photographs acquired in stereo pairs in both natural color and color infra-red for the MV Stuyvesant response in 1999. The aim was to map aquaculture sites in Humboldt and Arcata Bays. OSPR used satellite radar (RADARSAT-1, ERS-2) for slick detection at the MV Stuyvesant and SS Jacob Luckenbach responses. A pilot project by OSPR in 2004/05 showed the feasibility of using the RADARSAT-1 satellite for both ship detection and suspected pollution (slick) location in near real-time. At the Suisun Marsh pipeline incident in 2004 the trustee agencies and the responsible party undertook several NRDA (natural resource damage assessment) data collection efforts and studies. One study used a multispectral digital camera that was flown over the spill site on two dates several weeks apart. Interpretations from these images helped to quantify acreage affected by the pipeline release. DFG'S air force routinely obtains aerial imagery for response purposes using a standard Nikon digital SLR (Single-Lens Reflex) camera. These aerial photographs are geo-referenced and used as “instant” accurate base maps.

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ABSTRACT In February 2002, a Unified Command (UC) comprised of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), and other state and federal agencies tested a sample of oil taken from the water near the wreck SS Jacob Luckenbach. Oil from this fifty-year-old wreck, submerged in 176 feet of water 17 miles off San Francisco, matched oil that had impacted thousands of birds and miles of shoreline since November 2001. It also matched oil from mystery spills in this area dating back to 1992. Now that the source of this extensive pollution was found, the next step seemed simple: remove the oil from the vessel. Yet there were many issues surrounding this vessel and its location that required significant cooperation with many agencies and trustees. The Luckenbach is an historic property, protected by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). It is submerged in the Gulf of Farallones National Marine Sanctuary - one of the most biologically productive regions off the California coast and home to many sensitive resources including several listed species. The UC realized that dialogue with and among the natural resource trustee agencies was crucial to planning balanced operations that would remove the pollution source while providing the utmost protection available to the resources at risk A task force was formed that allowed trustees to engage in discussions about the tradeoffs of initiating removal as quickly as possible while balancing the risk of harm that any incidental release during operations may cause to their resources of concern. One of the most exciting benefits of this cooperative effort was the shift in thinking beyond just responding to the incident to advanced planning of a response that would best enhance restoration and long-term recovery. In many responses, it is not always clear that everyone has the same priorities: the USCG may focus on recovering oil and mitigating damage, the responsible party wants to minimize costs, and the trustees want to protect and restore their resources. In this case, the trustees and USCG were clearly working together toward common goals: removing a source of chronic oil pollution while minimizing environmental impacts from the response.

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ABSTRACT Brazil has performed an important role in the oil and gas industry mainly because its offshore E&P activities. The volume of oil produced in offshore fields had increased 88% in the last decade and correspond to more than 90% of national production. The maritime Exploration and Production (E&P) operations in Brazil started in the middle of the 1970's. In 1981 a law was promulgated to establish a compulsory environmental permit to many activities, including oil and gas exploration and production activities. Although this regulation has existed for over 25 years, only in 1999 was it effectively brought into force to the E&P sector, with the creation of the oil and gas specialized office integrated to the Intituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Naturais Renováveis – IBAMA (Brazilian Federal Environmental Agency). On January 2000 Brazil faced one its worst oil spills, in Guanabara Bay. A broken pipeline owned and operated by Petrobras spilt 1300 tone of bunker fuel into Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. At that time, Brazil had no clear environmental scenario regarding the oil industry in Brazil: uncoordinated environmental regulations, debilitated environmental agencies and a relapse industry took part in the scenario. As a result of the repercussion of the disaster, in the same year was enacted the Federal Law 9966/2000, the so called “Oil Law”, on the prevention, control and inspection of pollution caused by the releasing of oil and other harmful substances in waters under national jurisdiction. The provisions of the Law 9966 included, among other things, the requirement for the notification to the competent environmental authority, the maritime authority and the oil regulating agency, of any incident which might cause water pollution. Although IBAMA receives the oil spill communications since 2001, only in 2010 the Agency began to include this information in a database. This paper discusses the offshore oil spill data received between 2010 and 2012.

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ABSTRACT The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of International Affairs has been joined by an interagency task force to undertake a program in the Black Sea region called the “Black Sea Environmental Initiative.” The objectives of the task force are to support the countries of the region to address significant Black Sea environmental issues, including oil spill response and prevention. Working with delegates from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine, DOE and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) coordinated a workshop on a regional oil spill emergency response system for the Black Sea on September 14–17, 1999 in Odessa, Ukraine; DOE and the National Academy of Science, Ukraine cosponsored the workshop. The “Black Sea Environmental Information Center” Web site was unveiled at the Odessa workshop. Created by ORNL, the Web site ( http://pims.ed.ornl.gov/blacksea) facilitates information flow and dialog between the countries of the region. The Web site is intended to provide a comprehensive source for information on: Oil spill cleanup, monitoring, and related commercial technologies Scientists' requests for research partner Various countries' laws, regulations, and standards relating to the environmental condition of the Black Sea Publication of scientific papers and on-line discussions of these issue Individuals and companies working on Black Sea environmental issues The Web site also provides a real time chat capability where meetings are organized. Several meetings among regional officials have been conducted and planning is underway for the first real-time training session, which will be held in the next few months. The Web site also is host to a growing database of historical pollution testing data from research institutes around the Black Sea.

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Abstract Growing renewable energy plants on agricultural land and its further energy usage presents a significant importance for implementing long-term strategy of Slovakia in the area of acquisition and use of renewable energy sources (RES). Renewable energy plants together fulfil the objectives of Europe 2020 strategy and contributes to diversification of energy resources. The paper draws on the EU and national legislation regulating RES. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC are analysed. Broadly, the topic of the renewable energy resources is integrated in Rural Development Program 2014 - 2020. More specifically, Biomass Action Plan 2008- 2013, Strategy of higher use of the renewable energy resources in Slovakia and Strategy of energy security of Slovakia till 2030 have been adopted. Sustainable use of agricultural land, its management and use, as well as the protection of its quality and functions are regulated by Act No. 220/2004 Coll. on the protection and use of agricultural land and amending the Act no. 245/2003 Coll. on integrated prevention and control of environmental pollution and amending certain acts as amended which came into the force 1. May 2004. Act. No. 57/2013 Coll. with is in effect from 1 April 2013, establishes the principles and procedure for the establishment of plantations of fast-growing trees on agricultural land. Slovak legislation introduced a register for fast-growing trees in Slovak territories at each district office, Land and Forest Department in Slovakia (72). The survey at registers shows that this legislation promoted the farmers to start to use marginal land for fast-growing trees.

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The impact of economic activity on the environment can best be traced in the scale of small river basins. One of such rivers is the Okonka River, which flows through the territory of the former Manevychi (Kamin-Kashyrskyi according to the new administrative-territorial structure) district. Among the environmental problems of the basin, the most acute are: surface water pollution due to runoff from agricultural fields, livestock farms, unauthorized landfills, etc. Improving the geo-ecological condition of the Okonka River basin on the basis of ecologically safe sustainable development is an urgent problem of the territory's development. The Okonka River Basin is one of the least explored regions of the Volyn Region. Materials from the Regional Office of Water Resources in Volyn Oblast, the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Volyn Oblast State Administration, own expeditionary research, cartographic materials, electronic maps (Google Map, OpenStreetMap) and satellite images were used to prepare the publication. Also, more than 20 literature sources and electronic resources, laws and regulations of Ukraine in the field of rational use and protection of water resources were developed. The following methods were used during the research: collection and processing of archival, literary, graphic, cartographic and tabular material, regime quantitative and qualitative observations of river characteristics; field research of channel processes; mathematical and engineering calculations, mathematical modeling, analysis of anthropogenic impact on water resources of the studied region, constructive-geographical method and method of expert assessments. The natural conditions of the basin contribute to the settlement and development of the economy. Particularly favorable are the terrain, climate, inland waters. Within the basin there are 7 objects and territories of the nature reserve fund. The impact of anthropogenic activity on the river basin is quite significant. This is due to intensive agricultural and residential use, the development of drainage reclamation. The level of radiation pollution is assessed as "satisfactory", the use of land resources - "close to normal. The water quality of the Okonka River in the upper line (leak) is assessed by the second class of the third category (water is quite good in quality, quite clean in purity). The environmental index is 2.92. Environmental protection measures are proposed to improve the geoecological condition of the river basin. The complex of environmental protection measures should include: development of a local eco-network; creation of new and expansion of the network of existing nature reserves; improvement of the situation with waste management, elimination of spontaneous dumps; monitoring of soils to protect them from degradation and pollution; monitoring of surface waters in order to protect them from depletion and pollution; an inventory of drainage systems in order to establish the feasibility of further use in agricultural separate areas, the allocation of parts of the drainage systems that can be renaturalized in the future; prevention of peat and forest fires. Key words: river, river basin, geological condition of the river basin, geographical features of the basin, ecological assessment of river water quality, measures to improve the geoecological condition of the basin.

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AbstrakMerkuri adalah salah satu jenis logam berat yang banyak ditemukan di alam dan tersebar dalam batuan, tanah, air dan udara sebagai senyawa anorganik dan organik. Merkuri dapat dimanfaatkan dalam berbagai bidang industri, salah satunya industri emas. Pengelolaan limbah hasil industri pengolahan emas yang tidak sesuai dengan prosedur yang baik dan benar akan menyebabkan pencemaran lingkungan. Merkuri yang telah mengontaminasi lingkungan dalam jangka waktu panjang akan membawa dampak buruk bagi kesehatan manusia yang sering berinteraksi dengan bahan merkuri ini. Dalam penelitian ini, dilakukan perancangan video berbasis animasi 2 dimensi, sebagai salah satu rekomendasi solusi edukasi, untuk pencegahan dampak kesehatan, akibat pencemaran lingkungan oleh merkuri di Lombok Tengah. Dari hasil penelitian didapatkan fakta bahwa responden yang terdiri dari staf Konservasi dan Sumber Daya Alam serta staf Pengawasan dan Pengendalian Lingkungan Kantor Lingkungan Hidup Kabupaten Lombok Tengah menilai video edukasi berbasis animasi 2 dimensi yang dihasilkan sangat baik dari segi desain maupun penyampaian informasinya. Video ini juga bermanfaat untuk mengedukasi masyarakat penambang emas di Lombok Tengah agar lebih mewaspadai merkuri dan bahayanya, juga menghargai kesehatan diri dan keselamatan kerja. Kata Kunci: Animasi 2 Dimensi, Bahaya Merkuri, Merkuri, Metil Merkuri, Video Edukasi AbstractMercury is one of the heavy metals found in nature and spread in rocks, soil, water and air as inorganic and organic compounds. Mercury can be utilized in various industrial fields, one of which is the gold industry. Waste management of gold processing industry that is not in accordance with good and correct procedures will cause environmental pollution. Mercury that has been contaminating the environment over the long term will have adverse effects on human health that often interact with these mercury ingredients. A 2-dimensional animation based video has been designed in this research, as one recommendation of educational solution, for the prevention of health impact, due to environmental pollution by mercury in Central Lombok. From the research results obtained the fact that respondents consisting of staff Conservation and Natural Resources and staff of Environmental Monitoring and Control Environment Office of Lombok Tengah District assessed 2-dimensional animation based animation videos produced very well in terms of design and delivery of information. This video is also useful to educate the gold miners community in Central Lombok to be more aware of mercury and its dangers, also appreciate the Occupational Health and Safety. Keywords: 2 Dimensional Animation, Mercury, Methyl Mercury, Educational Video

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Clean and quality water is one of the main aims in achieving the seventeen adopted Sustainable Development Goals. That means taking legislative measures at national and international level for the preservation of water quality, prevention of pollution and continuous monitoring. According to global and regional cooperation which is stated by numerous legal regulations, all member countries have obligation to monitoring water quality and submit annual report. For that reason it is very important to obtain accurate and precise data of all monitored water pollutants. In developing countries, because of poor and underdeveloped environmental infrastructure, obtained data for pollutants could have a certain percentage of uncertainty. In order to avoid that problem it is very important the existence of a larger number of models to estimate concentration of water pollutants, including concentration of phosphate. Due to the increasing influence of anthropogenic sources on the content of phosphorus, first in the soil and then in water sources, and negative effects caused by the eutrophication process, it is crucial to monitor the state of water in terms of the presence of phosphate. In the present study, in order to obtain one optimal model to predict the average annual concentration of phosphate in rivers was used two different approaches. In the first approach, was used artificial neural network (ANN), two different ANN architecture: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis Function (RBF). In the second approach were used two type of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) technique, simultaneous and stepwise MLR. Available data used in this study were obtained from Eurostat-the statistical office of the European Union, for 19 European countries for the period from 2004 to 2012. For all created models was used the same dataset. As input variables were used sustainable development indicators, in total 10. All selected inputs were chosen on the basis of their influence on phosphate concentration in rivers and also reviewing of adequate literature. As model performance indicators in this study was used Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and coefficient of determination (R2). Results of all created models first at all showed that comparing two ANN models, better performances on training and test dataset shows MLP model. On test dataset, MLP model gives satisfactory prediction with value of coefficient of determination 0,657. On the other side, developed MLR models show significantly poorer results. Taking into account performances of created models, it is clearly that MLP model shows the best predictive results. On the basis of results of MLP model, could be recognized that it can be an alternative model for prediction annual concentration of phosphate in rivers, and significant tool in water pollutant monitoring.

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ABSTRACT Exercise and evaluation of the Pacific Annex of the Joint Contingency Plan Between the United Mexican States and the United States of America Regarding Pollution of the Marine Environment by Discharges of Hydrocarbons or Other Hazardous Substances (MEXUSPLAN) uncovered a significant need for joint training between spill responders, planners, decision-makers and stakeholders on both sides of our border. Sponsored by U.S. Coast Guard District 11 (USCG Dll) and the Second Mexican Naval Zone (ZN2), a series of training sessions were held for Mexican officials from the Northern Baja California region and Mexico City in early 2003. The first of these well-attended sessions was held in two locations: San Diego, CA and Ensenada, Mexico in February 2003. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hazmat facilitated the first session, the Joint Mexico-United States Oil Spill Science Forum. It provided a scientific view of oil spills. The following joint session facilitated by USCG Dll and held in Ensenada was a tabletop exercise designed in preparation for the signing of the MEXUSPAC Annex. Through the use of a spill drill scenario, this session included instruction and dialogue about the roles and responsibilities of both U.S. and Mexican spill responders. Both sessions included presentations from several agencies of the Regional Response Team IX/Joint Response Team: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, U.S. Dept. of the Interior and California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response. Industry partners also contributed topics of discussion, further complementing the U.S. response landscape. Mexican response agencies, including PEMEX, SAGARPA, SEMARNAT and PROFEPA, provided valuable input ensuring dialogue helping to identify additional joint response gaps. Upon the most significant gaps brought to light was the need for additional information regarding dispersant use by Mexican agencies, particularly in light of the approaching international SONS Exercise in April 2004. To this end, USCG Dll and NOAA HAZMAT developed and presented a modified Ecological Risk Assessment for their Mexican counterparts. Hosted by ZN2 in October 2003, this highly successful workshop brought together many key decision makers, planners and stakeholders from both sides of the border to discuss tradeoffs inherent in the use of existing spill response tools, including dispersants. Joint training and discussion sessions such as these are key to ensuring any measure of success in a joint spill response. Several additional training and discussion topics designed for the Mexican-U.S. joint response forum have been identified with many in the planning phase. Acknowledging the similarities as well as differences in response systems of our two nations' is essential to the success of these joint collaborations. Such continued efforts will help bridge existing gaps.

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ObjectiveTo utilize ED chief complaint data obtained from syndromic surveillance to quantify the effect of the Illinois smoking ban on acute myocardial infarction (AMI), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) related ED visits in adults in Cook County, IL.IntroductionTobacco use is the leading global cause of preventable death, killing more than five million people per year [1]. In addition, exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to kill an additional 600,000 people globally each year [1]. In 1986, the US Surgeon General’s Report declared secondhand smoke to be a cause of lung cancer in healthy nonsmokers [2].The first law restricting smoking in public places was enacted in 1973 in Arizona that followed the 1972 Surgeon General’s Report providing awareness of the negative health effects associated with the exposure to air pollution from tobacco smoke [3]. Smoke-free laws were slowly enacted after this time point with most occurring after the year 2000 [4].In July 2007, the Smoke Free Illinois Act (SB0500, Public Act 095-0017) was passed in IL [5]. The ban went into effect on Jan 1, 2008 and Illinois joined 22 other states in prohibiting smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, schools, commercial establishments, retail stores, bars, private clubs, and gaming facilities [5-6].While many studies have examined the effect of smoking bans on hospitalizations, this study would be the first to examine the effect of the comprehensive smoking ban in IL on ED visits by utilizing chronic disease categories created with ED chief complaint data captured by syndromic surveillance [7]. The author hypothesizes that the comprehensive smoking ban in IL significantly reduced the ED visits associated with AMI, ACS, stroke, and COPD in adults in Cook County, IL.MethodsED visits with chief complaints consistent with categories for AMI, ACS, stroke and COPD captured by the Cook Co. Dept. of Public Health local instance of ESSENCE from Jan 1, 2006 – Dec 31, 2013 were included in the analysis. Proc Genmod with a log link and negative binomial distribution was utilized for the analysis. All data was aggregated at the monthly level. The total number of ED visits of the health effect of interest was the dependent variable. The total ED visits during the same period of time, was used as the offset variable, sub-grouped by age and gender where appropriate. A binary variable was utilized to capture the effect of the time period after the implementation of the statewide smoking ban; 0 for before the ban and 1 for after the ban. When examining the effect of the statewide ban, Cook Co. as an entirety was examined as well as ED visits stratified by zip codes that already had a smoking ban in place at that time point and those that did not, and stratifying by urban (Chicago) vs. suburban Cook Co. Seasonality was addressed by including month, month squared and month cubed in the model. Influenza was addressed by including a binary variable to indicate when influenza was occurring in the area based on percent influenza-like-illness ED visits that were occurring above the threshold for the area during that time period. Age and gender were also evaluated as confounders and effect modifiers. SAS 9.4 was utilized to perform the analyses.ResultsResults are presented in Table 1. Reductions of ED visits after the smoking ban implementation were seen in AMI and ACS disease categories for the overall adjusted model, at 3% and 3.5% respectively. Stroke associated ED visits were not affected by the smoking ban. COPD associated ED visits were not reduced immediately by the smoking ban, but did have a significant reduction 6 months after implementation of the ban at 3.6%. Stronger effects were seen in individuals 70 years and older, females, the urban population, and zip codes without a prior ban for AMI, ACS, and COPD.ConclusionsAn immediate, significant reduction in ED visits associated with AMI and ACS was associated with the IL statewide smoking ban in Cook Co., IL. COPD associated ED visits were significantly reduced 6 months after the ban implementation. The effect was greater in individuals 70 years and older, females, the urban population, and zip codes without a prior ban.References1. WHO, WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic. Implementing smoke-free environments. 2009, WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.2. DC, The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke : a report of the Surgeon General. 2006, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health: Atlanta, GA.3. Eriksen, M. and F. Chaloupka, The economic impact of clean indoor air laws. CA Cancer J Clin, 2007. 57(6): p. 367-78.4. Foundation, A.N.R. Overview List - How many Smokefree Laws? 2015 10/2/2015 [cited 2015 10/5/2015]; Available from: http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/mediaordlist.pdf.5. Smoke Free Illinois Act, in Public Act 095-0017. 2007.6. Goodman, P., et al., Effects of the Irish smoking ban on respiratory health of bar workers and air quality in Dublin pubs. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2007. 175(8): p. 840-5.7. Callinan, J.E., et al., Legislative smoking bans for reducing secondhand smoke exposure, smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2010(4): p. CD005992.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution against a background of big data using a differences-in-differences model.Design/methodology/approachThis study constructs a differences-in-differences model to evaluate the policy effects of off-office audit based on panel data from 11 cities in Anhui Province, China, from 2011 to 2017, and analyzes the dynamic effect of the audit and intermediary effect of industrial structure.FindingsThe implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution. Dynamic effect analysis showed that the audit policy can not only improve the quality of water resources but can also have a cumulative effect over time. That is, the prevention and control effect on water pollution is getting stronger and stronger. The results of the robustness test verified the effectiveness of water pollution prevention and control. However, the results of the influence mechanism analysis showed that the mediating effect of the industrial structure was not obvious in the short term.Practical implicationsThese findings shed light on the effect of the off-office audit of natural resource assets on the prevention and control of water pollution, and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant environmental policies. Furthermore, these findings show that the implementation of the audit system can effectively reduce water pollution, which has practical significance for the sustainable development of China's economy against the background of big data.Originality/valueThis study quantitatively analyzes the policy effect of off-office auditing from the perspective of water resources based on a big data background, which differs from the existing research that mainly focuses on basic theoretical analysis.

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Abstract This research examined the relationship between colon cancer risks and pollution in various areas of Thailand, using satellites to gather quantities of aerosols in the atmosphere. Bayesian hierarchical spatio-temporal model and the Poisson log-linear model were used to examine the incidence rates of colon cancer standardized by national references; from the database of the National Health Security Office, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand and NASA’s database from aerosol diagnostics model. Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) was used to explore disease-gender-specific spatio-temporal patterns of colon cancer incidences and accumulated air pollution-related cancers in Thailand between 2010 and 2016. A total of 59,605 patients were selected for the study. Due to concerns regarding statistical reliability between aerosol diagnostics model and colon cancer incidences, the posterior probabilities of risk appeared the most in dust PM2.5. It could be interpreted as relative risk in every increase of 10 μg/m3 in black carbon, organic carbon, and dust-PM2.5 levels were associated respectively with an increase of 4%, 4%, and 15% in the risks of colon cancer. A significant increase in the incidence of colon cancer with accumulated ambient air quality raised concerns regarding the prevention of air pollution. This study utilized data based on the incidences of colon cancer; the country’s database and linked cancer data to pollution. According to the database from NASA’s technology, this research has never been conducted in Thailand.

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ObjectiveDemonstrate the value of consolidated claims data from communityhealthcare providers in Zika Virus Disease surveillance at local level.IntroductionZika virus disease and Zika virus congenital infection arenationally notifiable conditions that became prominent recently as agrowing number of travel-associated infections have been identifiedin the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) have dedicated significant time and effort on determining andaddressing the risks and impact of Zika on pregnant women and theirbabies who are most vulnerable to the disease. CDC relies on twosources of information, reported voluntarily by healthcare providers,to monitor Zika virus disease: ArboNET and the newly establishedU.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry. A study by IMS Health compared U.S.trends of the Zika virus disease in general and pregnant women withZika virus disease in particular observed in an IMS healthcare claimsdatabase and the CDC ArboNET and the newly established U.S. ZikaPregnancy Registry.MethodsIMS used for this analysis claims for reimbursem*nt from office-based healthcare providers, which are widely accepted standardbusiness practice records throughout the healthcare industry. IMSclaims data is collected daily from office-based providers throughoutthe U.S. and processed, stored and analyzed in a centralized database.The information is available at the patient and visit level, with theability to characterize deidentified patients by age, gender andZIP3 location and to trace a patient’s history of visits, diagnoses,procedures, drugs prescribed and tests performed or ordered.The general IMS study sample captured all patients throughout thecontinental United States covered in claims between October 1, 2016and May 24, 2016 with ICD 10 diagnosis code A92.8, Other SpecifiedMosquito-Borne Viral Fevers. This sample was compared to thesample of laboratory-confirmed Zika virus disease cases reportedto ArboNET by state or territory from the CDC Arboviral DiseaseBranch from January 1, 2015 through May 18, 2016. In addition,IMS compared the subset of patients with both a Zika virus diseasediagnosis and any ICD 10 pregnancy diagnosis to the CDC sampleof patients captured by the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry with anylaboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection in the UnitedStates and territories.ResultsThroughout the continental United States, the IMS claims-basedsample captured 875 patients with a Zika virus disease diagnosiscompared to 548 travel-associated cases reported by CDC. At thestate level, especially in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas,the IMS data captured a much larger number of cases that the CDCreported cases. Most of these possible Zika cases are concentratedin the large metropolitan areas around New York City, Chicagoand Houston. Many of them are diagnosed and treated by the samehealthcare providers.The IMS sample captured 577 pregnant women with a possibleZika virus infection compared to the 168 pregnant women with apossible Zika virus infection reported in the U.S. Zika PregnancyRegistry as of May 24, 2016. Many of the pregnant women in the IMSsample had multiple visits, often in consecutive months, associatedwith the Zika virus disease diagnosis. Pregnant women are morelikely to be tested and diagnosed with a Zika virus infection due tothe risk of fetal malformations from the disease. As many as 250 ofthe 577 pregnant women with a possible Zika virus infection also hada diagnosis of suspected fetal damage due to a viral disease. Of allwomen with a possible Zika virus infection in the IMS sample, 120were in New Jersey, 111 in New York, 93 in Illinois and 74 in Texas,and most were concentrated in the large metropolitan areas aroundNew York City, Chicago and Houston.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that all-payer claims data can be usedsuccesfully to monitor Zika transmission trends at local and statelevel, especially with a focus on pregnant women. Healthcare claimsdata is fast, granular, relevant at local level and can be used tosupplement CDC ArboNET data for local and state level surveillanceand response to the evolving Zika virus infection outbreak. Thisstudy is an example of a novel approach to surveillance for Zika virusdisease and potentially many other infectious diseases.

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In the researched identified features of services of ship management companies and it is proved that the modern model of commercial management can effectively exist only in the presence of complex system of such tools as estimation and the account of navigation, actual calculations of results of navigation, calculation of full loading, consultation of the shortest routes for the vessel, crew hire calculation, control of accounts and cash from charterers, efficiency analysis in the form of an equivalent time charter for any required period. According to the criterion of efficiency of results of activity the systematization is carried out and the estimation of the basic external and internal factors which the company on management of courts faces is given. It is determined that the increase in investment and cash flow of the company complicates the accounting of business transactions and requires new approaches to the formation and accounting of data processing. The directions on increase of profitability of the companies on management of vessels are offered, namely: a choice of additional directions of activity (maintenance of port repair works, creation of additional specially equipped fleet); analysis of long-term charterers and selection of optimal organizational management structures, search for opportunities to maximize the strengths of companies, reduce the impact of weaknesses and threats. It is determined that an effective way to solve the identified problems in the study and increase the profitability of shipping companies is to purchase software products that provide effective management of remote production facilities, asset management and reduce the risk of local repairs and emergencies. The introduction of computerization from the standpoint of improving efficiency has the following positive consequences: minimization of management errors; increasing the efficiency of management decisions; strengthening office control over the maintenance of ships and the use of materials and spare parts; reduction of unproductive downtime of courts; optimization of ship's stocks and volumes of purchases, elimination of erroneous purchases; facilitating the certification of a shipping company in accordance with the requirements of the International Code for the Safe Management of Ships and for Pollution Prevention and in accordance with quality standards and reducing the duration of surveying of ships etc. Among the wide list of various software the software product BASSnet is allocated, its characteristics for achievement of the purpose of increase of efficiency are resulted.

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ObjectiveTo create chronic disease categories for emergency department (ED) chief complaint data and evaluate the categories for validity against ED data with discharge diagnoses and hospital discharge data.IntroductionSyndromic Surveillance (SS), traditionally applied to infectious diseases, is more recently being adapted to chronic disease prevention. Its usefulness rests on the large number of diverse individuals visiting emergency rooms with the possibility of real-time monitoring of acute health effects, including effects from environmental events and its potential ability to examine more long-term health effects and trends of chronic diseases on a local level [1-3].MethodsEmergency department chief complaint (CC) data captured by the Cook County Department of Public Health local instance of ESSENCE from Jan 1, 2006 – Dec 31, 2013 was utilized to generate chronic disease categories for: CVD, AMI, ACS, angina, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and COPD based on disease symptoms, natural language processing for free text chief complaints, and associated terms present in EMR system menus.A standard category was created for each chronic disease category based on discharge diagnoses (ICD-9 code), and their associated terms. The ICD-9 based categories were applied to the discharge diagnosis field within the ED data. The chief complaint based chronic disease category definitions were compared to the standard classification by determining the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value.The standard chronic disease categories created with ICD-9 codes for the chronic disease category validation were also applied to Illinois hospital discharge data for Cook County from Jan 1, 2006 – Dec 31, 2013. This data was compared to the chief complaint categories from the ED data for the same time period by visual analysis through time series and strength of correlation by Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. ESSENCE version 1.17 was utilized for the free-text query development and SAS 9.4 was utilized to perform the analyses.ResultsFor the validation analysis, 1,366,525 (24.76%) ED visits of individuals 40 years and older and 867,509 (15.72%) ED visits of individuals less than 18 years of age with a valid chief complaint and discharge diagnosis were included. Validation results are presented in Table 1. Specificity was generally high for most of the categories, with the narrow definitions having a higher specificity (Narrow AMI = 0.9996, Broad AMI = 0.9119). However, the loss in sensitivity is substantial in moving from the broader definition to the narrow definition (Broad AMI = 0.5444, Narrow AMI = 0.1040). The positive predictive values had a wide range from 0.0128 for the Broad ACS category to 0.7199 for the Narrow Asthma definition. The negative predictive values were high for all chronic disease categories ranging from 0.9501 for the Narrow CVD category to 0.9996 for Angina.The Pearson correlation coefficients are presented in Table 2. Graphs showing the comparisons of the chief complaint based ED data to the hospitalization data by chronic disease category definition are presented in Figure 1. Pearson correlations ranged from 0.9323 for Narrow Asthma to 0.1992 for Hypertension.ConclusionsBased on the high specificity and correlation coefficients in comparison to hospital discharge data, emergency department chief complaint data captured with syndromic surveillance could be utilized to examine chronic disease categories: asthma, COPD, CVD, AMI, ACS, stroke, and diabetes at a local, state or national level.References1. Bassil, K.L., et al., Temporal and spatial variation of heat-related illness using 911 medical dispatch data. Environ Res, 2009. 109(5): p. 600-6.2. Mathes, R.W., K. Ito, and T. Matte, Assessing syndromic surveillance of cardiovascular outcomes from emergency department chief complaint data in New York City. PLoS One, 2011. 6(2): p. e14677.3. Zanobetti, A. and J. Schwartz, Air pollution and emergency admissions in Boston, MA. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2006. 60(10): p. 890-5.

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Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is a field in public health that aims to achieve the highest level of health and well-being in all types of work, employment, and occupations through the promotion and prevention of work-related injuries, diseases, and disabilities. OSH is key to increasing the working capacity, productivity, and satisfaction of workers. Workers comprise nearly half of the world’s population with an estimated number of 3.5 billion.1 However, more than 2 million work-related fatalities are reported annually.2 Likewise, an average of 360 million accidents occur in the workplace and 160 million suffer from work-related illnesses every year.2 Initiatives towards health in the workplace can reduce absenteeism by 27% and healthcare costs for companies by 26%. The burden of work-related health problems is evident. Long hours of work attributing to at least 750,000 deaths is found to increase fatalities from heart diseases by 41% and stroke by 19%. Work exposures to air pollution, asthmagens, carcinogens, ergonomic, and other risk factors are linked to 450,000 fatalities. An estimated 360 million non-fatal accidents occur annually leading to loss of productivity and at least four days of absence from work.3 In the Philippines, 17 out of 18 workers or 38.8 million workers are exposed to unsafe working conditions.4 Although a majority of countries have come up with institutional arrangements and strategies for OSH, the global survey on occupational health services shows low coverage of OSH. Around 70% of the total labor force in the world has limited infrastructure, institutional and human resources, which serve as the major hindrance in implementing OSH.5 In the Philippines, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the OSH law was strengthened to increase the awareness of workers of their rights that their safety and health at work are guaranteed, to refuse work that posed an imminent danger, to report accidents, and to mandate the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other safety devices.6 During the COVID-19 pandemic, occupational health and safety activities played a critical role in a safe and healthy workplace. COVID-19 prevention practices such as the use of sanitizers, social distancing, new work shifts, and disinfection of workplaces as forms of risk management and biological risk mitigation were linked to improved safety and health performance.7 However, the ‘work from home’ as the ‘new normal form of work arrangement’ has posed health challenges. The most prevalent physical health problems for working from home were body weight gain at a rate of 40.97%, ergonomic problems that lead to musculoskeletal problems, psychosocial issues, indoor environmental pollution, and lifestyle changes in eating patterns, sleeping habits, and exercise.8 Amid the protracted pandemic, the role of OSH is indeed critical and has changed its focus from the traditional workplace to bringing and doing work at home, as well as emphasizing the link between environmental health and occupational health. Environmental toxins and viruses are among the biological hazards that can be brought from the environment and the community to the workplace, and vice-versa. It is imperative to rethink the framework and strategies of OSH to that from being mainly work-related to a continuum of workplace-environment context; programs and policies should target both these areas. A good example of showing the work-environmental health link is when it comes to inhaling dangerous chemicals at work. It has been shown that while the respiratory system is the primary target organ of SARS-CoV-2, exposure to chemicals in the workplace such as formaldehyde and ammonium compounds, raises the risk of respiratory symptoms and clinical indications among those with SARS-CoV-2 infection.9 Higher levels of air pollution were associated with a higher incidence and mortality rates from COVID-19.9 On a global dimension, the spread and/ or prevention of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to water and sanitation. A key recommendation is regular washing of hands for health and hygiene; however, a significant number of the global population currently lacks access to water and sanitation. Corollary to this, wastewater also plays a role in the spread of the virus within communities (KWR, 2020 as cited by OECD, 2021).10 Hence, OSH has both macro-and micro-level implications and is tied to global resources such as water. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health challenge in the twenty-first century is coming to the fore — that which is in dire need of a comprehensive OSH policy covering both traditional workplace and home workplace. There is a need for a paradigm shift from a siloed OSH as a stand-alone policy to one that encompasses the wider environment and community-at-large, both locally and cross-border. Institutional and social responsibility efforts to build an intersectoral, whole-of-society, and whole-of-the globe approach are necessary to promote healthier and safer work environments. The call for access to global resources such as water makes OSH a geopolitical concern as well. In all of this, people-centered and universal health coverage for a dedicated policy and programs for OSH especially with the COVID-19 pandemic will make the world of work safer and healthy. Jinky Leilanie Lu, MOH, PhD National Institutes of Health University of the Philippines Manila University Scientist III – UP System Secretary – International Commission of Occupational Health - Mining Occupational Safety and Health (ICOH-MinOSH) REFERENCES World Health Organization (WHO). Protecting worker’s health [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://www.who.int/en/news[1]room/fact-sheets/detail/protecting-workers’-health International Labour Organization (ILO). Safety and health at work [Internet]. 2021. [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm World Health Organization – International Labour Organization (WHO/ILO). WHO/ILO joint estimates of the work-related burden of disease and injury, 2000-2016: global monitoring report [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034945. International Labour Organization Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila). Safety and health at work in the Philippines [Internet]. N.d. [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm Rantanen J, Lehtinen S, Valenti A, Iavicoli S. A global survey on occupational health services in selected international commission on occupational health (ICOH) member countries. BMC Public Health. 2017; 17(1):787. Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). OSH Law (RA 11058) [Internet]. N.d. [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://safefilming.ph/osh-law-ra11058 de Oliveira Neto GCO, Tucci HNP, Filho MG, Lucat WC, Correia JMF. Performance evaluation of occupational health and safety in relation to the COVID-19 fighting practices established by WHO: survey in multinational industries. Saf Sci. 2021; 141(2021):105331. Ekpanyaskul C, Padungtod C. Occupational health problem and lifestyle changes among novice working-from-home workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Saf Health. 2021; 12(2021):384-9. Sly P, Trottier B, Bulka C, Cormier S, Fobil J, Fry R, et al. The interplay between environmental exposure and COVID-19 risks in the health of children. Environ Health. 2021; 20(34):1-10. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Environmental health and strengthening resilience to pandemics [Internet]. 2021 Apr 21. [cited 2022 Jan]. Available from: https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/environmental-health-and-strengthening[1]resilience-to-pandemics-73784e04/

Abstract:

I am pleased to welcome readers to Volume 8(1) of the International Journal for Educational Integrity. Academic integrity has been in the headlines in Australia this year, with the national Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) calling for commissioned projects on academic integrity for the first time. The last issue of the IJEI included refereed papers from the 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity (Perth, Australia) and highlighted the work of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded project, Australian academic integrity standards: Aligning policy and practice in Australian universities. The preliminary results of that project have resulted in the OLT providing $299,000 for an additional 12 month project entitled, Embedding and extending exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks across the higher education sector. The new project will begin in December 2012, and aims to extend and embed the five core elements of exemplary academic integrity policy identified by the ALTC project– access, approach, responsibility, detail and support – across the Australian higher education sector. Central to these elements is a commitment by providers to fostering a culture of academic integrity. As support is crucial to enact exemplary policy, the OLT project will develop resources accessible to both public and private higher education providers to embed these elements. Two critical areas identified by the ALTC project will be addressed in the new project. First, support systems will be developed for vulnerable student groups including international English as an Additional Language (EAL) students, and educationally "less prepared" students who struggle to understand the concept of academic integrity without assistance. Second, the lessons about exemplary academic integrity policy and support frameworks will be extended to include higher degree by research (HDR) students. It is apparent that policy makers at the highest levels, and across the various education sectors, are beginning to put academic integrity at the centre of teaching and learning. This, of course, is excellent news for all of us working in this important field. The current issue of the journal, like every issue published to date, includes commentary, research and recommendations for good practice from around the globe. The issue opens with an invited piece by Eric Duff Wrobbel from Southern Illinois University in the USA, which many of our North American readers may recall was in the news for, of all things, plagiarising the definition of plagiarism in their new plagiarism policy! Wrobbel takes a light-hearted approach to responding to the scandal, and conducts three informal studies which he shares with our readers. Of interest to Australian researchers on the ALTC project who are currently grappling with definitions of academic integrity, Wrobbel conducted a workshop with colleagues to come up with an original definition of plagiarism and found the task to be almost impossible. I think you will find Wrobbel's contribution both engaging and informative. Steve Williams, Margaret Tanner, Jim Beard and Georgia Hale, all from the University of Arkansas, USA, provide the first refereed paper in this issue. Williams and colleagues conducted a survey of 46 faculty members and 562 undergraduates. They found that 74% of faculty members believed academic misconduct had recently occurred in their classes, and this paralleled the 67% of undergraduates who admitted to academic misconduct in the past year. Not surprisingly, those students who admitted to having cheated viewed cheating as being significantly less serious than those who had not cheated. Williams et al provide some useful recommendations for addressing academic integrity issues on campus which are well supported by other researchers and practitioners working in this area. Lucia Zivcakova, Eileen Wood, Mark Baetz and Domenica De Pasquale, all from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, also explored university teaching staff perceptions of academic integrity. The authors used an innovative methodology of interviewing staff following their observation of their students engaged in a 45-minute interactive presentation on academic integrity. They then conducted a qualitative analysis of faculty members' perceptions, beliefs and instructional concerns regarding academic integrity in their classrooms. Key findings from the analysis suggest that faculty members perceived themselves to be confident in their own understanding of what constitutes academic integrity; however, there were inconsistencies regarding whether their students had the requisite knowledge to make appropriate decisions. Only half of the faculty found that the presentation content enhanced their own knowledge of academic integrity. Faculty identified several methods they use to safeguard against academic misconduct, and identified the importance of both faculty and the institution providing a consistent and clear model to promote academic integrity in students. The final two refereed papers in this issue come from the United Kingdom. Neil Wellman and Julian Fallon (Cardiff Metropolitan University) report the preliminary findings of an action research project designed to address academic misconduct amongst postgraduate students in an international MBA programme. A two-pronged approach was implemented, beginning with a zero-tolerance policy requiring that all MBA assignments be submitted to the Turnitin text matching software and penalties resulting from any identified misconduct be widely publicised. The second, crucial element of the approach was a strengthening of the induction and study skills elements of the programme. In keeping with generally agreed best practice, the authors conclude that the dual strategy of prevention and cure was effective, resulting in an overall reduction in the rate of academic misconduct. Sharon McCulloch from Lancaster University provides the final paper in the issue. McCulloch makes the compelling case that although much of the research into source use by international students has tended to focus on issues of plagiarism, there has recently been recognition that their difficulties may be more pedagogical than moral. McCulloch reports on a small case study involving a group of Japanese postgraduate students. Analysis of five Pre-Master's dissertations written by these students, as well as interviews conducted with the writers, revealed that they varied in their ability to handle source material effectively. In many cases, their use of source material appeared to be symptomatic of weak authorial stance and apparent lack of a clear argument. Based on these findings, the study concludes with the recommendation that instruction on the use of source material focus to a greater extent on its rhetorical function in constructing knowledge. All the papers in this issue aim to share research findings with the clear intention of improving practice in all levels of the educative process, beginning with undergraduate students and extending to postgraduate scholars and teaching staff. I trust you will enjoy reading these articles and sharing the lessons with your colleagues. Tracey Bretag, Editor.

Abstract:

Abstract Background The authors (Janicke and Janicke (2002). Development of a model-based assessment system for machine-related immission control. IB Janicke Dunum) developed an expansion model under the name AUSTAL2000. This becomes effective in the Federal Republic of Germany with the entry into force of TA Luft (BMU (2002) First general administrative regulation for the Federal Immission Control Act (technical instructions for keeping air TA air clean) from July 24, 2002. GMBL issue 25–29 S: 511–605) declared binding in 2002. Immediately after publication, the first doubts about the validity of the reference solutions are raised in individual cases. The author of this article, for example, is asked by senior employees of the immission control to express their opinions. However, questions regarding clarification in the engineering office Janicke in Dunum remain unanswered. In 2014, the author of this article was again questioned by interested environmental engineers about the validity of the reference solutions of the AUSTAL dispersion model. In the course of a clarification, the company WESTKALK, United Warstein Limestone Industry, later placed an order to develop expertise on this model development, Schenk (2014) Expertise on Austal 2000. Report on behalf of the United Warstein Limestone Industry, Westkalk Archives and IBS). The results of this expertise form the background of all publications on the criticism of Schenk’s AUSTAL expansion model. It is found that all reference solutions violate all main and conservation laws. Peculiar terms used spread confusion rather than enlightenment. For example, one confuses process engineering hom*ogenization with diffusion. When hom*ogenizing, one notices strange vibrations at the range limits, which cannot be explained further. It remains uncertain whether this is due to numerical instabilities. However, it is itself stated that in some cases the solutions cannot converge. The simulations should then be repeated with different input parameters. Concentrations are calculated inside AUSTAL. In this context, it is noteworthy that no publication by the AUSTAL authors specifies functional analysis, e.g. for stability, convergence and consistency. Concentrations are calculated inside closed buildings. It is explained that dust particles cannot “see” vertical walls and therefore want to pass through them. One calculates with “volume sources over the entire computing area”. However, such sources are unknown in the theory of modeling the spread of air pollutants. Deposition speeds are defined at will. 3D wind fields should be used for validation. The rigid rotation of a solid in the plane is actually used. You not only deliver yourself, but also all co-authors and official technical supporters of the comedy. Diffusion tensors are formulated without demonstrating that their coordinates have to comply with the laws of transformation and cannot be chosen arbitrarily. Constant concentration distributions only occur when there are no “external forces”. It is obviously not known that the relevant model equations are mass balances and not force equations. AUSTAL also claims to be able to perform non-stationary simulations. One pretends to have calculated time series. However, it is not possible to find out in all reports which time-dependent analytical solution the algorithm could have been validated with. A three-dimensional control room is described, but only zero and one-dimensional solutions are given. All reference examples with “volume source distributed over the entire computing area” turn out to be useless trivial cases. The AUSTAL authors believe that “a linear combination of two wind fields results in a valid wind field”. Obviously, one does not know that wind fields are only described by second-degree momentum equations, which excludes any linear combinations. It is claimed that Berljand profiles have been recalculated. In fact, one doesn’t care about three-dimensional concentration distributions. On the one hand, non-stationary tasks are described, but only stationary solutions are discussed. In another reference, non-stationary solutions are explained in reverse, but only stationary model equations are considered. Further contradictions can be found in the original literature by the AUSTAL authors. The public is misled. The aim of the present work is to untangle the absent-mindedness of the AUSTAL authors by means of mathematics and mechanics, to collect, to order and to systematize the information. This specifies the relevant tasks for the derivation of stationary and non-stationary reference solutions. They can be compared to the solutions of the AUSTAL authors. These results should make it possible to make clear conclusions about the validity of the AUSTAL model. Results Using the example of deriving reference solutions for spreading, sedimentation and deposition, the author of this work describes the necessary mathematical and physical principles. This includes the differential equations for stationary and non-stationary tasks as well as the relevant initial and boundary conditions. The valid initial boundary value task is explained. The correct solutions are given and compared to the wrong algorithms of the AUSTAL authors. In order to check the validity of the main and conservation laws, integral equations are developed, which are subsequently applied to all solutions. Numerical comparative calculations are used to check non-stationary solutions, for which an algorithm is independently developed. The analogy to the impulse, heat and mass transport is also used to analyze the reference solutions of the AUSTAL authors. If one follows this analogy, all reference solutions by the AUSTAL authors comparatively violate Newton’s 3rd axiom. As a result, the author of this article comes to the conclusion that all reference solutions by the AUSTAL authors violate the mass conservation law. Earlier statements on this are confirmed and substantiated further. All applications with “volume source distributed over the entire computing area” turn out to be useless zero-dimensional trivial cases. The information provided by the AUSTAL authors on non-stationary solutions has not been documented throughout. The authors of AUSTAL have readers puzzled about why, for example, the stationary solution should have set in after 10 days for each reference case. It turns out that no non-stationary calculations could be carried out at all. In order to gain in-depth knowledge of the development of AUSTAL, the author of this article deals with his life story. It begins according to (Axenfeld et al. (1984) Development of a model for the calculation of dust precipitation. Environmental research plan of the Federal Minister of the Interior for Air Pollution Control, research report 104 02 562, Dornier System GmbH Friedrichshafen, on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency), according to which one is under deposition loss and not Storage understands. In the end, the AUSTAL authors take refuge in (Trukenmüller (2016) equivalence of the reference solutions from Schenk and Janicke. Treatise Umweltbundesamt Dessau-Rosslau S: 1–5) in incomprehensible evidence. How Trukenmüller gets more and more involved in contradictions can be found in (Trukenmüller (2017) Treatises of the Federal Environment Agency from February 10th, 2017 and March 23rd, 2017. Dessau-Rosslau S: 1–15). Conclusion The author of this article comes to the conclusion that the dispersion model for air pollutants AUSTAL is not validated. Dispersion calculations for sedimentation and depositions cannot be carried out with this model. The authors of AUSTAL have to demonstrate how one can recalculate nature experiments with a dispersion model that contradicts all valid principles. Applications important for health and safety, e.g. Security analyzes, hazard prevention plans and immission forecasts are to be checked with physically based model developments. Court decisions are also affected.