Health consultation : jet gas spill site, Lowell, Henry County, Iowa (2004)

An attorney representing seven property owners in Lowell, Iowa, requested the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to perform a health consultation for the Jet Gas Spill Site. The attorney asked the IDPH to provide comments concerning the potential and likely health effects to her clients due to exposure from the spill. The specific issues to be addressed are listed in this health consultation. The information in this health consultation was current at the time of writing. Data that emerges later could alter this document’s conclusions and recommendations.

Crash Data Validation: An Iowa Case Study, February, 2007

With the quickening pace of crash reporting, the statistical editing of data on a weekly basis, and the ability to provide working databases to users at CTRE/Iowa Traffic Safety Data Service, the University of Iowa, and the Iowa DOT, databases that would be considered incomplete by past standards of static data files are in “public use” even as the dynamic nature of the central DOT database allows changes to be made to both the aggregate of data and to the individual crashes already reported. Moreover, “definitive” analyses of serious crashes will, by their nature, lag seriously behind the preliminary data files. Even after these analyses, the dynamic nature of the mainframe data file means that crash numbers can continue to change long after the incident year. The Iowa DOT, its Office of Driver Services (the “data owner”), and institutional data users/distributors must establish data use, distribution, and labeling protocols to deal with the new, dynamic nature of data. In order to set these protocols, data must be collected concerning the magnitude of difference between database records and crash narratives and diagrams. This study determines the difference between database records and crash narratives for the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Traffic and Safety crash database and the impacts of this difference.

Status of Iowa Women Report, 2006

The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women (ICSW) is a state agency that seeks to assure equality for Iowa women. As an advocacy agency, the Commission works to equalize women's opportunities and to promote full participation by women in the economic, political, and social life of the state. This is the tenth edition of the Status of Iowa Women Report. Many positive changes toward women's full participation in all aspects of society are evident in this edition: more women than ever are getting a post-secondary education and they have made significant inroads into some traditionally male-dominated work domains. Still, much remains to be done. The 2006 report also shows that girls, by and large, are not enrolling in upper-level high-school computer courses, a necessity for the 21st century; women's earnings lag behind men's; and women continue to be raped, beaten, and battered at staggering rates. Much work needs to be done at the community and state levels to address those and other challenges addressed in this publication.

An Analysis of OWI Arrests and Convictions in Iowa, 2011

The primary goal of the project was to document the demographic profile of OWI offenders in Iowa. The study is based on both aggregate and case-level data. The case level data produced a final sample of 118,675 OWI convictions. That occurred from 2000 through 2009. The great majority of convicted offenders were White males. From 2000 through 2009 the percentage of convictions received by women increased by 34%. Defendants’ average age of was 30 years old, and the age cohorts of 15 to 24, 25 to 34, and 34 to 45 were overrepresented among convicted offenders. Whites were underrepresented among OWI defendants. African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans were overrepresented. From 2000 through 2009, the percentage of aggravated misdemeanor felony OWI convictions received by Hispanics and African Americans increased significantly. The percentage of OWI convictions received by women and African Americans increased significantly after implementation of the .08 BAC law. We did not find convincing evidence of a direct relationship between enforcement trends and the alcohol related traffic fatalities (ARTFs). However, the ten year Iowa conviction trends did provide evidence of a conviction lag effect on Iowa’s ARTFs. The research findings established the basis for a phase two project that would assess the efficacy of OWI sentencing practices in Iowa.

Scale Effects in Hydraulic Model Tests of Rock Protected Structures, HR-119, 1970

A laboratory investigation was undertaken to determine the limiting model Reynolds number above which the scour behavior of rock protected structures can be reproduced in hydraulic models scaled according to the Froude criterion. A submerged jet was passed over an initially full scour pocket containing uniform glass spheres and the rate of scour was measured as a function of time. The dimensions of the scour pocket and jet and the particle diameters were varied as needed to maintain strict geometric similarity. For each of two different Froude numbers the Reynolds number was varied over a wide range. The normalized scour rate was found to be practically independent of the Reynolds number, R, (based on the jet velocity and particle diameter) at values of R above about 2.5 x 10^3, and to decrease with Rat smaller values. A grid placed in the jet was found to have a very strong effect on the scour rate. In an attempt to explain the effect of R on the scour behavior, turbulent pressure and velocity fluctuations were measured in air flows and water flows, respectively, over rigid scour pockets having the same geometry as those formed in the scour experiments. The normalized spectra of the fluctuations were found to be nearly independent of R, but the flow pattern was found to be very sensitive to the inlet condition, the jet deflecting upward or downward in a not wholly explainable manner. This indicates that scour behavior can be modeled only if the approach flow is also accurately modeled.

The Effects of Headcut and Knickpoint Propagation on Bridges in Iowa, TR-541, 2008

The overarching goal of the proposed research was to provide a predictive tool for knickpoint propagation within the HCA (Hungry Canyon Alliance) territory. Knickpoints threaten the stability of bridge structures in Western Iowa. The study involved detailed field investigations over two years in order to monitor the upstream migration of a knickpoint on Mud Creek in Mills County, IA and identify the key mechanisms triggering knickpoint propagation. A state-of-the-art laser level system mounted on a movable truss provided continuous measurements of the knickpoint front for different flow conditions. A pressure transducer found in proximity of the truss provided simultaneous measurements of the flow depth. The laser and pressure transducer measurements led to the identification of the conditions at which the knickpoint migration commences. It was suggested that negative pressures developed by the reverse roller flow near the toe of the knickpoint face triggered undercutting of the knickpoint at this location. The pressure differential between the negative pressure and the atmospheric pressure also draws the impinging jet closer to the knickpoint face producing scour. In addition, the pressure differential may induce suction of sediment from the face. Other contributing factors include slump failure, seepage effects, and local fluvial erosion due to the exerted fluid shear. The prevailing flow conditions and soil information along with the channel cross-sectional geometry and gradient were used as inputs to a transcritical, one dimensional, hydraulic/geomorphic numerical model, which was used to map the flow characteristics and shear stress conditions near the knickpoint. Such detailed flow calculations do not exist in the published literature. The coupling of field and modeling work resulted in the development of a blueprint methodology, which can be adopted in different parts of the country for evaluating knickpoint evolution. This information will assist local government agencies in better understanding the principal factors that cause knickpoint propagation and help estimate the needed response time to control the propagation of a knickpoint after one has been identified.

Communicating Highway Safety: What Works, 2002

Few topics in transportation are of greater significance, now and in the future, than making today’s roads safe for those who use them. This study aims to assist the formulation of policy by examining the empirical evidence currently available on the ability of several forms of communication efforts and activities to increase knowledge about and affect attitudes and behavior toward highway safety practices. The objective of this effort is to provide a comparative synthesis of what works and what does not in highway safety campaigns across a large number of topical areas that have a mass media component. This was accomplished by conducting an extensive literature review to determine the current state of knowledge concerning what works and what has significant potential for wide use in future highway safety campaigns. An analytic framework for investigating highway safety campaigns was created. The framework includes (1) the types of media components, (2) the types of collaborations, (3) the context in which the campaign is intended to have impact, (4) the structure or procedural steps into which campaigns are organized, (5) the principles for what works in a campaign, and (6) the desired impact of a campaign on its target audience. The report reveals 25 characteristics of successful communication campaigns, strategies that stand a chance of achieving changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The actual impact of mass communication remains unproven because of a perceived lag in the development of adequate evaluation techniques. Education by itself has not generally resulted in significant changes in the behaviors targeted, but education of the public and advocacy groups has often helped enact necessary legislation, transmit knowledge about the provisions and penalties of laws in ways that increase their deterrent effect, and generate public support for law enforcement programs. Even in such cases, however, when enforcement is inconsistent, public compliance frequently decreases with time. Approaches to traffic safety that emphasize the need for long-term individual- and community-based measures are found to be especially crucial for addressing complex problems like drinking and driving that are determined by a myriad of lifestyle and psychosocial factors.