International law obligations for the disposal of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water under the principles of nuclear safety

The disposal of contaminated water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant is a significant international nuclear safety issue with considerable cross-border implications.This matter requires compliance not only with the law of the sea but also with the principles of nuclear safety under international law.These principles serve as the overarching tenet of international and China’s domestic nuclear laws,applicable to nuclear facilities and activities.The principle of safety in nuclear activities is fully recognized in international and domestic laws,carrying broad legal binding force.Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea violates its obligations under the principle of safety in nuclear activities,including commitments to optimum protection,as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention.The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)have breached the obligation of optimum protection by restricting the scope of assessments,substituting core concepts,and shielding dissenting views.In the absence of clear radiation standards,they have acted unilaterally without fulfilling the obligation as low as reasonably practicable principle.The discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water poses an imminent and unpredictable risk to all countries worldwide,including Japanese residents.Japan and the IAEA should fulfill their obligations under international law regarding disposal,adhering to the principles of nuclear safety,including optimum protection,the obligation as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention through multilateral cooperation.Specifically,the obligation to provide optimum protection should be implemented by re-evaluating the most reliable disposal technologies and methods currently available and comprehensively assessing various options.The standard of the obligation as low as reasonably practicable requires that the minimization of negative impacts on human health,livelihoods,and the environment should not be subordinated to considerations of cutting costs and expenses.Multilateral cooperation should be promoted through the establishment of sound multilateral long-term monitoring mechanisms for the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water,notification and consultation obligations,and periodic assessments.These obligations under international law were fulfilled after the accidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plants.The implications of the principles of nuclear safety align with the concept of building a community of shared future for nuclear safety advocated by China.In cases of violations of international law regarding the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water that jeopardize the concept of a community of a shared future for nuclear safety,China can also rely on its own strength to promote the implementation of due obligations through self-help.

Changes of coastline and tidal flat and its implication for ecological protection under human activities: Take China’s Bohai Bay as an example

The change processes and trends of shoreline and tidal flat forced by human activities are essential issues for the sustainability of coastal area,which is also of great significance for understanding coastal ecological environment changes and even global changes.Based on field measurements,combined with Linear Regression(LR)model and Inverse Distance Weighing(IDW)method,this paper presents detailed analysis on the change history and trend of the shoreline and tidal flat in Bohai Bay.The shoreline faces a high erosion chance under the action of natural factors,while the tidal flat faces a different erosion and deposition patterns in Bohai Bay due to the impact of human activities.The implication of change rule for ecological protection and recovery is also discussed.Measures should be taken to protect the coastal ecological environment.The models used in this paper show a high correlation coefficient between observed and modeling data,which means that this method can be used to predict the changing trend of shoreline and tidal flat.The research results of present study can provide scientific supports for future coastal protection and management.

Safety distance for preventing hot particle ignition of building insulation materials

Trajectories of flying hot particles were predicted in this work, and the temperatures during the movement were also calculated. Once the particle tem- perature decreased to the critical temperature for a hot particle to ignite building insulation materials, which was predicted by hot-spot ignition theory, the distance particle traveled was determined as the minimum safety distance for preventing the ignition of building insulation materials by hot particles. The results showed that for sphere aluminum particles with the same initial velocities and diameters, the horizontal and vertical distances traveled by particles with higher initial tem- peratures were higher. Smaller particles traveled farther when other conditions were the same. The critical temperature for an aluminum particle to ignite rigid polyurethane foam increased rapidly with the decrease of particle diameter. The horizontal and vertical safety distances were closely related to the initial temper- ature, diameter and initial velocity of particles. These results could help update the safety provision of firework display.

Distance protection of EHV long transmission lines considering compensation degree of shunt reactor

This study investigated the feasibility of distance protection in extra-high voltage(EHV) networks. In long-distance transmission lines, the distributed parameter characteristic of the EHV network is obvious. When a fault occurs far away from the measurement site, the measured impedance might not be directly proportional to the fault distance, and the protection domain of distance protection will be decreased. The detailed theory inferred and proven in this paper reveals that this phenomenon is widespread in EHV transmission lines. The results indicate that the protection domain error is greatly reduced by the application of the shunt reactor. Overall, simulation results show that the proposed method is effective for impedance relay, considering different characteristics, different lengths of lines, and compensation degrees.

Research on Evaluating Index of Lightning Protection Safety Performance of High Voltage Overhead Transmission Line

In order to improve the lightning protection performance of transmission lines, lightning protection management has been divided into every tower that lightning protection performance has been evaluated respectively. According to factors such as landform, span, tower type, grounding resistance, isolator type, and so on, relative ratio of tripping operation of every tower in the line has been calculated to evaluate its lightning protection safety performance, it is beneficial to operation maintenance and lightning reconstruction of transmission lines.

Study on the Priority and Interaction of Food Security,Food Safety and Environmental Protection

Food security, food safety and environmental protection are major livelihood issues in front of the Chinese people. The priorities of the three are different, and there is mutually dependent and contradictory relationship among them. Facing the triple pressures of food security, food safety, and environmental protection, this paper analyzes the priority of the three from the historical development, then further analyzes the interaction between food security,food safety and environmental protection and finally puts forward the healthy development of food security, food safety and environmental protection, and the proper settlement of the three problems.

New Method for Confirming the Desired Safety Headway Distance and Desired Deceleration in ACC System

A new method of confirming the desired safety headway distance and desired deceleration is put forward according to the detected static or moving target and its simulation results in Matlab are also presented. The validity of the algorithm to calculate the reference speeds of both the ACC vehicle and the targeted car according to the vector quadrangle composed of the relative distance, the relative azimuth angle, the relative speeds of the vehicles has also been demonstrated through numerical example in Matlab. New laws to obtain the desired deceleration by estimating the braking force according to the vehicle analyses force equation are established too.

Effects of Wind Turbines Equipped with Doubly-fed Induction Generators on Distance Protection

Nowadays wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy resource in the world.The problems of integrating wind farms are caused by changes of wind speed during a day.Moreover,the behaviors of wind turbines equipped with doubly-fed induction generators differ fundamentally from synchronous generators.Therefore,more considerations are needed to analyze the performances of the distance protection relays.The protection of a wind farm with distance relay is inspected.By changing the conditions of the wind farm,the characteristics of the distance relay are studied.

Placement distance of freeway exit advance guide sign and its safety impacts

To remedy the empirical pitfalls of current chinese specifications and MUTCD 2009 guidelines in determining the placement distance of freeway exit advance guide signs,the driving maneuver of exiting traffic is analyzed and the factors influencing placement distance are explored.Variables including the number of lanes,lane width,lane-changing time,driver＇s visual characteristics,sign installation methods and operating speeds on both freeway mainlines and exit ramps are found significant in explaining exit safety.Three different installation methods,namely ground installation,overhead installation and median installation,are introduced and their applicable conditions are given.Models,with the same structure among the three installation methods,are developed to compute the placement distance under different roadway geometric and traffic conditions.Taking overhead installation as an example,simulation results in TSIS-CORSIM show that the proposed distance reduces the number of lane changes in the area from the ramp nose to 500 m upstream by 58.93% compared with current Chinese specifications and 27.35% compared with MUTCD 2009 guidelines.Thus,the distances recommended in this paper have a better safety performance.

The safety distance of a tunnel under-traversing a slope body with a landslide-prone zone

At present,substantial scientific research achievements have been made in the research on landslide occurrence,movement mechanism,mitigation measures,and structural stability during tunnel excavation.However,the interaction mechanism of a tunnel under-traversing a slope body with potential landslides is still not well understood.Based on the field data provided by previous investigations in the study area,six sets of 1:100 laboratory experiment model tests were conducted to study the stability of the landslide-prone zone of the slope body with an under-traversing tunnel.The selected distances between the tunnel and the sliding surface are 1.5,3,and 5 times of the tunnel diameter,respectively.The experiment results show the interaction between the landslide-prone zone and the tunnel,elucidating the effect of potential landslides during the tunnel excavation process and the reaction of the landslide slip on the tunnel structure.Several conclusions are obtained:①During the process of tunnel excavation,the vertical displacement of the tunnel vault decreases with the increase of the buried depth.②The vertical displacement of the sliding surface increases with the increase of the buried depth of the tunnel.The horizontal displacement of sliding surface decreases with the increase of the buried depth.③After the occurrence of a rainfall-induced landslide,the vertical displacement of the tunnel vault in the 1.5-diameter-distance case is 57.29%greater than that in the 3.0-dismeter-distance case.④For a two-cave tunnel,it is suggested that the cave farther from the landslide toe should be firstly excavated since it may generate less structural deformation.

Investigation on Fire Protection System of Highrise Buildings in the Context of Bir Uttam Aminul Haque Avenue in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rapid high-rise building construction of different occupancies is becoming popular in Dhaka due to its economic gain and functional flexibility. Fire prevention poses a significant difficulty to this type of construction due to its complexity and economic worth as well. Therefore, construction of high-rise building without following the proper fire safety measures, is a common practice at present in the city and it poses a greater threat to urban life considering its associated loss. Even though, most of the owners or authorities do not respect the construction code and the majority of them lack sufficient awareness and basic fire control knowledge and practice. More often, they are unable to comprehend the magnitude and severity of severe fire hazards, and recognize the causes and implementing effective mitigation measures are rare. As a result, the number of fire hazard in high-rise construction is increasing day by day. Hence, investigating the present condition of high-rise buildings (already built) in terms of Fire Protection System is imperative to prevent the upcoming fire hazard. An urban chunk of 33 plots along with Bir Uttam Aminul Haque Avenue, located in Banani, has been chosen for the study area considering its vulnerability to fire hazard. Among these buildings, STAR Tower and HBR Tower, these two high-rise buildings are assessed thoroughly using FRI (Fire Risk Index) Method. The method is semi-quantitative in nature with seventeen parameters associated with fire protection. This assessment represents a scenario in what extent fire codes are being followed in the selected area. It concludes that most of the buildings lack in providing protection against fire hazards for not following the code strictly. This research provides some recommendations which can be followed to improve the fire safety measures in this existing context. It is expected that this research could be a unique addition to firefighting knowledge by contributing to mitigating the consequences of fire related hazards in any densely populated city like Dhaka.

A Smart Strategy for Blocking the Distance Protection Function during VT Fuse Failure

Saving the electrical power system in stable condition is considered as one of important challenges to avoid any failure of high voltage equipment. Additionally, with the increasing off the critical loads, it’s very important to use the accurate protection system that can deal with any abnormal condition. This paper studies one of critical cases that can effect on the coordination of the protection system with the faults during fuse fail condition. Over Head transmission line (OHTL) is the most part in the power system that faces the disturbances, which can be protected by multi-protection functions as line differential function, distance protection function, over current, earth fault, over/under voltage etc. The distance protection function is depending on the line voltage and the load current to calculate the load zone. This paper aims to prevent the falls operation of distance protection function during voltage transformer fuse failure condition.

Technical Analysis and Improvement of the Pedestrian Safety Protection of a Car Hood

The pedestrian protection technology must be used in automotive design if China-made automotives want to compete and grow strong in the world in the future. In this paper, a CAE simulation analysis is made for a domestic sedan car hood to check whether it meet the pedestrian safety protection laws and regulations. Results show that the original car cannot meet the demands of the rules. In order to meet the standards of the pedustrian protection rules, the car hood should undergo structural improvements. Tested again by CAE simulation analysis, the car after a series of improved design can reached the 3-star class EuroNCAP（ Euro New Car Assessment Program）standard of the car pedestrian safety protection laws and regulations.

Self-actuating protection mechanisms for safer lithium-ion batteries

Safety issue is still a problem nowadays for the large-scale application of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)in electric vehicles and energy storage stations.The unsafe behaviors of LIBs arise from the thermal run-away,which is intrinsically triggered by the overcharging and overheating.To improve the safety of LIBs,various protection strategies based on self-actuating reaction control mechanisms(SRCMs)have been proposed,including redox shuttle,polymerizable monomer additive,potential-sensitive separator,thermal shutdown separator,positive-temperature-coefficient electrode,thermally polymerizable addi-tive,and reversible thermal phase transition electrolyte.As build-in protection mechanisms,these meth-ods can sensitively detect either the temperature change inside battery or the potential change of the electrode,and spontaneously shut down the electrode reaction at risky conditions,thus preventing the battery from going into thermal runaway.Given their advantages in enhancing the intrinsic safety of LIBs,this paper overviews the research progresses of SRCMs after a brief introduction of thermal runaway mechanism and limitations of conventional thermal runaway mitigating measures.More importantly,the current states and issues,key challenges,and future developing trends of SRCTs are also discussed and outlined from the viewpoint of practical application,aiming at providing insights and guidance for developing more effective SRCMs for LIBs.

Distributed process monitoring based on Kantorovich distancemultiblock variational autoencoder and Bayesian inference

Modern industrial processes are typically characterized by large-scale and intricate internal relationships.Therefore,the distributed modeling process monitoring method is effective.A novel distributed monitoring scheme utilizing the Kantorovich distance-multiblock variational autoencoder(KD-MBVAE)is introduced.Firstly,given the high consistency of relevant variables within each sub-block during the change process,the variables exhibiting analogous statistical features are grouped into identical segments according to the optimal quality transfer theory.Subsequently,the variational autoencoder(VAE)model was separately established,and corresponding T^(2)statistics were calculated.To improve fault sensitivity further,a novel statistic,derived from Kantorovich distance,is introduced by analyzing model residuals from the perspective of probability distribution.The thresholds of both statistics were determined by kernel density estimation.Finally,monitoring results for both types of statistics within all blocks are amalgamated using Bayesian inference.Additionally,a novel approach for fault diagnosis is introduced.The feasibility and efficiency of the introduced scheme are verified through two cases.

A Workable Solution for Reducing the Large Number of Vehicle and Pedestrian Accidents Occurring on a Yellow Light

Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.

Prevalence of Occupational Injury and Knowledge of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Accessibility among Healthcare Workers in Mogadishu, Somalia

Introduction: Healthcare workers in Mogadishu, Somalia face significant occupational injury risks, particularly needle stick injuries, with 61.1% reporting incidents. This poses a serious threat to their health, leading to infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Despite the high prevalence of injuries, awareness of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) accessibility is relatively high, with 84.0% of respondents aware of it. However, there are gaps in knowledge and implementation, as evidenced by variations in availability of PEP. Improving workplace safety measures, providing comprehensive training on injury prevention and PEP protocols, and ensuring consistent availability of PEP in healthcare facilities are crucial steps to safeguard the well-being of healthcare workers in Mogadishu, Somalia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among hospital workers in Mogadishu, Somalia, focusing on professionals from various healthcare facilities. The study targeted nurses, doctors, laboratory personnel, and pharmacists. Purposive sampling was employed, resulting in a sample size of 383 calculated using Fisher’s sample size formula. Data were collected using coded questionnaires entered into Microsoft Excel 2019 and analyzed with SPSS software to generate frequencies and proportions, presented through frequency tables and pie figures. Results: The study in Mogadishu, Somalia, examined the prevalence of occupational injuries and knowledge of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) accessibility among healthcare workers. Findings indicate a high prevalence of injuries, with 61.1% reporting incidents, predominantly needle stick injuries (60.6%). Despite the majority seeking prompt medical attention (72.0%), work-related illnesses affected 53.2% of respondents, notably work-related stress (59.5%). While most received training on injury and illness prevention (68.9%), gaps exist in PEP awareness, with 16.0% unaware of it. Nonetheless, 84.0% were aware, predominantly through health facilities (52.0%). Availability of PEP was reported by 71.3% in healthcare facilities, with variations in shift availability. The majority reported guidelines for PEP use (55.7%). Efforts are needed to bolster PEP awareness and ensure consistent availability in healthcare facilities to safeguard worker health. Conclusion: High prevalence of occupational injuries among healthcare workers, with needle stick injuries being the most common (60.6%). Despite this, 84.0% of respondents were aware of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), primarily learning about it from health facilities (52.0%). While 71.3% reported the availability of PEP in their facility, 28.7% noted its unavailability. These results emphasize the need for improved education and accessibility of PEP to mitigate occupational injury risks.

Discussion on Gas Safety Protection Management in Steel Plants

The necessity of establishing gas protection station in iron and steel works is demonstrated,issues of strengthening the management of gas safety protection,studying new technology of gas protection,adapting to the needs of modernization and building large scale and intelligent iron and steel works are discussed.Relevant sug-gestions are also put forward.

Comparative Study on the Efficacy of Tiotropium Bromide Inhalation and Oral Doxofylline Treatment of Moderate to Severe Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

This study compared the efficacy and safety of tiotropium bromide inhalation powder （spiriva） and doxofylline oral tablet （doxofylline） in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-controlled study involved 127 eligible stable moderate to severe COPD patients treated with inhaled tiotropium dry powder （18 μg/day） or oral doxofylline tablets （0.2 g/time, 2 times a day） for 12 and 24 weeks. Before and after treatment for 12 weeks and 24 weeks, respectively, pulmonary function, 6-min walking distance and dyspnea index were recorded. The results showed that in both tiotropium group and doxofylline groups, after 12-week treatment, FEV1, FEV1/FVC% and 6-min walk distance were sig-nificantly higher than those before the medication, while dyspnea index decreased as compared with that before treatment. After 24-week treatment, a slight improvement in the measures was observed as compared with that of 12-weeks treatment, but the difference was not statistically significant. With both 12-week and 24-week treatment, the effect of tiotropium was slightly better than that of doxofylline tablets, with the difference being statistically insignificant. The major adverse events in the tiotropium group and doxofylline group were observed in 9 cases （9.9%） and 12 cases （12.9%）, respectively, and no statistically significant difference was found between them. We are led to conclude that both tiotropium at 18 μg a day and doxofylline tablets at 0.2 g/day （two times a day） are effective and safe for the treatment of COPD.

Importance of establishing radiation protection culture in Radiology Department

The increased use of ionization radiation for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, the rapid advances in computed tomography as well as the high radiation doses delivered by interventional procedures have raised serious safety and health concerns for both patients and medical staff and have necessitated the establishment of a radiation protection culture(RPC) in every Radiology Department. RPC is a newly introduced concept. The term culture describes the combination of attitudes, beliefs, practices and rules among the professionals, staff and patients regarding to radiation protection. Most of the time, the challenge is to improve rather than to build a RPC. The establishment of a RPC requires continuing education of the staff and professional, effective communication among stakeholders of all levels and implementation of quality assurance programs. The RPC creation is being driven from the highest level. Leadership, professionals and associate societies are recognized to play a vital role in the embedding and promotion of RPC in a Medical Unit. The establishment of a RPC enables the reduction of the radiation dose, enhances radiation risk awareness, minimizes unsafe practices, and improves the quality of a radiation protection program. The purpose of this review paper is to describe the role and highlight the importance of establishing a strong RPC in Radiology Departments with an emphasis on promoting RPC in the Interventional Radiology environment.