Wind risk and mitigation calculator framework for determining the wind annualized risk for single- and multi-family homes to support resilient community decision-making

Communicating risks and mitigation benefits associated with natural hazards such as wind to the general public is challenging given the location-dependency of parameters and the complexity of the problem.Web tools play a crucial role in educating residents,decision-makers,and stakeholders regarding potential wind hazard losses to,for example,residential buildings.However,a notable gap exists on the practical incorporation of mitigation actions within these tools.This gap hampers the collective awareness and understanding among stakeholders,communities,and citizens regarding the tangible advantages of mitigation strategies in reducing wind-related risks.Furthermore,there exists a need to elucidate the functionality and objectives of these tools in a more accessible manner.This study aims to present and outline the wind risk and mitigation calculator tool(WRMCT)within the Hazardaware platform,which is an address-based risk assessment tool.This tool,developed for 196 counties in the Gulf of Mexico coastal area,facilitates users’education of potential risks and benefits associated with mitigation strategies.WRMCT enables users to access location-specific wind risk and interactively suggests potential mitigation actions along with economic savings to support informed decisions and residential risk reduction.WRMCT intends to enhance users’ability to make informed decisions,take proactive measures in mitigating wind hazards,and contribute to the development of resilient,residential communities.

Assessment of pollution of potentially harmful elements in soils surrounding a municipal solid waste incinerator, China

We assessed the contamination levels of Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, As and Hg and the risks posed by these potentially harmful elements in top-soils around a municipal solid waste incinerator （MSWI）. We collected 20 soil samples, with an average pH of 8.1, and another fly ash sample emitted from the MSWI to investigate the concentrations of these elements in soils. We determined the concentrations of these elements by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer （ICP-OES）, except for Hg, which we measured by AF-610B atomic fluorescence spectrometer （AFS）. We assessed the risks of these elements through the use of geoaccumulation index （/geo）, potential ecological risk index （R/）, hazard quotient （HQi） and cancer risk （Riski）. The results showed that concentrations of potentially harmful elements in soil were influenced by the wind direction, and the concentrations of most elements were higher in the area northwest of the MSWI, compared with the area southeast of the incinerator, with the exception of As; these results were in accordance with those results acquired from our contour maps. According to the I^o values, some soil samples were clearly polluted by Hg emissions. However, the health risk assessment indicated that the concentrations of Hg and other elements in soil did not pose non-carcinogenic risks to the local populations. This was also the case for the carcinogenic risks posed by As Cr and Ni. The carcinogenic risk posed by As was higher in the range 6.49 × 10 -9.58 × 10 -6, but this was still considered to be an acceptable level of risk.