Kevytvesilaitosten reaktoripainesäiliöiden säteilyhaurastuminen

Työssä käydään läpi säteilyhaurastumisilmiöitä ja niistä johtuvia vaikutuksia kevytvesilaitosten reaktoripainesäiliöille

Utilization of Incident Reporting in The Finnish Maritime Industry

Marine traffic is expected to increase rapidly in the future, both in the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Finland. As the number of vessels in the area increases, so does the risk of serious marine accidents. To help prevent such accidents in the future, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has put forth the International Safety Management Code (the ISM Code), which aims to improve the safety of the vessels. The second work package of the Development of maritime safety culture (METKU) project investigates the effects of the ISM Code and potential areas of improvement in maritime safety. The first phase in the work package used a literature review to determine how maritime safety culture could be improved. Continuous improvement, management commitment and personnel empowerment and motivation were found to be essential. In the second phase, shipping companies and administrators were interviewed. It was discovered that especially incident reporting based on continuous improvement was felt to be lacking. This third phase aims to take a closer look at incident reporting and suggest improvements based on the findings. Both the IMO and national legislation encourage shipping companies in incident reporting, and on the national level a shared incident reporting system (ForeSea) is being pushed forward. The objective of this research project was to find out the IMO’s attitude towards incident reporting, to establish a theoretical framework of reference in incident reporting, and to observe how reporting is actually being employed on the seas. Existing incident reporting systems were also researched. The study was carried out using a literature review and the results previously gathered in interviews. The results of phase two were elaborated further for themes relating to incident reporting. According to the findings of this research, the theoretical background of incident reporting dates back to the early 20th century. Although some theories are widely accepted, some have also received criticism. The lack of a concise, shared terminology poses major difficulties in maritime incident reporting and in determining its efficiency. A central finding is the fact that existing incident reporting focuses mostly on information flow away from the ship, whereas the backward information flow is much less planned and monitored. In incident reporting, both nationally and internationally, stakeholders are plenty. The information produced by these parties is scattered, however, and thus not very usable. Based on this research, the centralizing of this information should be made a priority. Traditionally, the success of incident reporting has been determined statistically, from the number of reported incidents. Yet existing reporting systems have not been designed with such statistical analysis in mind, so different methodologies might yield a more comprehensive view. The previous findings of seafarers and management (including shipping companies and administration) having differing views on safety work and safety management were backed up by the results of this study. Seafarers find seamanship and storytelling important, while management wants a more systematic and broad approach on safety matters. The research project was carried out by the Centre for Maritime Studies of the University of Turku, in the Kotka unit (Maritime Logistics Research), with coordination by the Kotka Maritime Research Centre. The major financiers of the project were the European Union and the city of Kotka. The financing authority was the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme. Partners in the project were the shipping companies Finnlines Oyj, Kristina Cruises Oy, Meriaura Oy and VG-Shipping Oy, and the ports of Helsinki, Kotka and Hamina. The partners provided both funding for the project and information for the research.

Salivary gland cancer in Finland: Incidence, histological distribution, outcome and prognostic factors

Salivary gland cancer (SGC) is a rare cancer. The histological classification of SGC is complex and its biological behavior highly variable: it may vary from a low-grade tumor to a high-grade and often fatal malignancy. These circumstances make this cancer a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Older age and exposure to ionizing radiation are known risk factors. The mainstay of treatment is surgery combined with adjuvant radiation therapy, when appropriate. In addition to the histological type, the only well known prognostic factor is the TNM classification, which describes the tumor size and the amount of metastases. This study was performed using a full population-based nationwide cohort of SGC patients and tumors diagnosed in Finland in 1991-1996. The annual incidence of SGC in the entire population was, on average, 47.7 per year. By histological re-evaluation of 237 specimens the most frequent histological types were the adenoid cystic carcinoma (n=65; 27%), the mucoepidermoid carcinoma (n=45; 19%) and the acinic cell carcinoma (n=41; 17%). The highest 10-year disease-specific survival rate occurred among patients with acinic cell carcinoma (90%), followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma (81%) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (60%). A high volume-corrected index (VCI) of Ki-67 correlated with worse survival of patients with SGC. Computer-assisted morphometric analyses of CD34-positive vessels indicated an unfavorable prognosis for patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma and an association with poor survival among patients with acinic cell carcinoma. A high level of expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) showed a trend for a poorer prognosis in salivary duct carcinoma, and a high level of MMP-13 and a low level of MMP-1 had a trend for a poorer prognosis of patients with SGC. A low level of MMP-7 was associated with a poor prognosis of patients with acinic cell and mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Design of marine generators for alternative diesel-electric power systems

This study compares different electric propulsion systems. Results of the analysis of all the advantages and disadvantages of the different propulsion systems are given. This thesis estimates possibilities to apply different diesel-electric propulsion concepts for different vessel types. Small and medium size vessel’s power ranges are studied. The optimal delivery system is chosen. This choice is made on the base of detailed study of the concepts, electrical equipment market and comparison of mass, volume and efficiency parameters. In this thesis three marine generators are designed. They are: salient pole synchronous generator and two permanent magnet synchronous generators. Their electrical, dimensional, cost and efficiency parameters are compared. To understand all the benefits diagrams with these parameters are prepared. Possible benefits and money savings are estimated. As the result the advantages, disadvantages and boundary conditions for the permanent magnet synchronous generator application in marine electric-power systems are found out.

Painelaitteiden kunnonvalvonta ja kemikaaliputkistojen rakennuttaminen

Painelaitteet ja kemikaaliputkistot ovat yleisiä varsinkin kemian alan yrityksissä. Omista-jan ja haltijan on tiedettävä niihin liittyvä lainsäädäntö, ja osattava soveltaa niitä käytän-töön. Työssä on selvitetty painelaitteisiin ja kemikaaliputkistoihin liittyvän lainsäädännön olen-naisin sisältö. Nykyisin painelaitteiden määräaikaistarkastuksia voidaan korvata painelait-teen seurannalla ja kunnonvalvontajärjestelmällä. Mitä se käytännössä tarkoittaa, ja onko Suomessa mahdollisuutta kuinka laajasti hyödynnetty? On tärkeää tuntea painelaitteiden ja kemikaaliputkistojen vikaantumismekanismit ja kunnonvalvontamenetelmät, jotta yritys voi luoda omaan toimintaympäristöön soveltuvan kunnonvalvontajärjestelmän tai paine-laitteiden seurannan. On pyrittävä siihen, että ongelmat havaitaan, ennen kuin vaurio syn-tyy. Kunnonvalvontajärjestelmän luomiseen ja ylläpitoon voidaan hyödyntää painelaittei-den riskiperusteiseen kunnossapitoon ja tarkastukseen tarkoitettua menettelyä. Työssä on tarkemmin käyty läpi menettelyn sisältö. Kustannustehokkuus ja tuotantolaitteiden käytettävyys ovat nousseet tärkeiksi osa-alueiksi kilpailukyvyn takaamiseksi. Painelaitteiden tarkastuksista ja muista painelaitteisiin ja ke-mikaaliputkistoihin liittyvistä ennakkohuolloista syntyvät kustannukset ovat merkittäviä. Näihin kohdistuvia kustannussäästöjä voidaan saavuttaa monin keinoin huonontamatta kuitenkaan turvallisuutta. Työssä on selvitetty kohdeyrityksen painelaitteet ja kemikaali-putkistot. Lisäksi on käyty läpi nykyinen tarkastusjaksotus, keskeisimmät viat ja tarkastuk-siin liittyvää kustannushistoriaa. Lopputuloksena on syntynyt esiselvitys ja kemikaaliputkistojen hankkimista helpottavaa tietoa. Esiselvityksen avulla kohdeyritys voi yhdessä kunnossapitoyrityksen kanssa laatia strategian painelaitteiden kunnossapidolle ja tarkastuksille. Merkittäviä kustannussäästöjä on saavutettavissa ehdotetuilla jatkotoimenpiteillä, vaikka päädyttäisiin edelleen painelait-teiden tarkastuksien osalta noudattamaan olemassa olevaa käytäntöä.