An approach to health and safety in E.U. forestry operations – Hazards and preventive measures

Forestry in general and logging in particular continue to be among the three most hazardous sectors in European countries. The aim of this article is to characterize health and safety problems and solutions in E.U. forestry operations, and particularly in Portuguese operations. Forest types, production, employment and ownership are used to characterize the forest sector. Forestry accidents and health problems data are mentioned. Typical hazards associated to the nature of logging operations are systematized. Preventive measures, focused on a wide spectrum of measures, making safety considerations an integral feature of all operational activities from planning to organization to execution and supervision of work are emphasized in this article.

Determiation of airborne nanoparticles from welding operations

The aim of this study is to assess the levels of airborne ultrafine particles emitted in welding processes (tungsten inert gas [TIG], metal active gas [MAG] of carbon steel, and friction stir welding [FSW] of aluminum) in terms of deposited area in pulmonary alveolar tract using a nanoparticle surface area monitor (NSAM) analyzer. The obtained results showed the dependence of process parameters on emitted ultrafine particles and demonstrated the presence of ultrafine particles compared to background levels. Data indicated that the process that resulted in the lowest levels of alveolar deposited surface area (ADSA) was FSW, followed by TIG and MAG. However, all tested processes resulted in significant concentrations of ultrafine particles being deposited in humans lungs of exposed workers.

Application of a control banding tool for risk level assessment and control of nanoparticles exposure in welding operations

Scope of study: welding operations result in harmful emissions of nanoparticles; the aim of emissions monitorisation is to evaluate exposure levels and to derive protection measures in order to protect exposed workers; however, the traditional approach of comparing measured concentrations with exposure limits cannot be used; but risk levels can be quantified by using Control Banding Strategies.

Anti-vibration gloves and the forearm efforts during tools operations

The objective of this paper is to analyze the forearm muscular contraction levels associated to the use of anti-vibration gloves, by comparing the contraction levels with gloves and without gloves. Two different vibration tools were used in a simulated work environment: (1) A compact Duty Multi-Cutter Bosch and (2) and a Percussion Drill with a drill bit Ø20 mm. Standard operations were performed by each subject in the following materials: (1) Performing cross- sectional cuts in 80x40 mm pine section and (2) performing 20 mm diameter holes in a concrete slab 2 x 2 m, 70 mm thick. The forearm contraction level were measured by surface electromyography in four different muscles: Flexor Digitorum Superficialis (FDS), Flexor Carpi Ulnaris (FCU), Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus (ECRL) e Extensor Carpi Ulnaris (ECU). For the flexor muscles (FDS, FCU), an increase tendency in muscular contraction was observed when the operations are performed without gloves (2-5% MVE increase in the FDS and 3-9% MVE increase in the FCU). For the extensor muscles ECU a decrease tendency in muscular contraction was observed when the operations are performed without gloves (1-10% MVE decrease). Any tendency was found in the ECRL muscle. ECU was the muscle with the highest contraction level for 79% and 71% of the operators, during the operations respectively with the multi-cutter (P50= 27-30%MVE) and with the percussion drill (P50=46-55%MVE). As a final conclusion from this study, anti- vibration gloves may increase the forearm fatigue in the posterior region of the forearm (ECU muscle) during operations with the mentioned tools

Assessment and control of nanoparticles exposure in welding operations by use of a control banding tool

This paper describes the use of a Control Banding Tool to assess and further control of exposure of nanoparticles emitted during welding operations. The tool was applied to Metal Active Gas (MAG) arc welding of mild and stainless steel, providing semi-quantitative data on the process, so that protection measures could be derived, e.g. exhaust gas ventilation by hoods, local ventilation devices and containment measures. This tool is quite useful to compare and evaluate the characteristics of arc welding procedures so that more eco-friendly processes could be preferred over the more potentially noxious ones.

Dispersion Modelling of Natural Radionuclides 238U, 232Th and 40K Released from Coal-fired Power Plants Operations

The aim of this work was to simulate the radionuclides dispersion in the surrounding area of a coal-fired power plant, operational during the last 25 years. The dispersion of natural radionuclides (236Ra, 232Th and 40K) was simulated by a Gaussian plume dispersion model with three different stability classes estimating the radionuclides concentration at ground level. Measurements of the environmen-tal activity concentrations were carried out by γ-spectrometry and compared with results from the air dispersion and deposition model which showed that the stabil-ity class D causes the dispersion to longer distances up to 20 km from the stacks.

Environmental pressures and impacts of public sector organizations: the case of the Portuguese Military

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, nº 4(5), p. 363-381

Developing and implementing an environmental performance index for the Portuguese military

Business Strategy and the Environment nº 15, p. 71–86

Adenoviruses isolated from civilian and military personnel in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Adenovirus are important pathogen primarily associated to respiratory infections of children and military personnel, even though it is also associated to cases of conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis. We analyzed respiratory secretion collected from subjects with and without respiratory infection symptoms, being 181 civilians and 221 military subjects. The samples were inoculated in HEp-2 and/or A549 tissue cultures for viral isolation. Samples presenting cytopathogenic effect (CPE) in any tissue culture were tested by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to confirm adenovirus isolation. The isolates confirmed as adenovirus were further analyzed by restriction endonuclease assay for determination of viral species. Three isolates were identified as specie A (two from civilian and one from military), one isolate from military was identified as specie C, and one isolate from civilian was identified as specie D. For two isolates the specie could not be identified.

Swordfish: an Autonomous Surface Vehicle for Network Centric Operations

The design and development of the swordfish autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) system is discussed. Swordfish is an ocean capable 4.5 m long catamaran designed for network centric operations (with ocean and air going vehicles and human operators). In the basic configuration, Swordfish is both a survey vehicle and a communications node with gateways for broadband, Wi-Fi and GSM transports and underwater acoustic modems. In another configuration, Swordfish mounts a docking station for the autonomous underwater vehicle Isurus from Porto University. Swordfish has an advanced control architecture for multi-vehicle operations with mixed initiative interactions (human operators are allowed to interact with the control loops).

Marine Operations with the SWORDFISH Autonomous Surface Vehicle

IEEE Robótica 2007 - 7th Conference on Mobile Robots and Competitions, Paderne, Portugal 2007

Planning, operations and data handling of planetary science missions

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Física

Structured Light System for Underwater Inspection Operations

In this work we propose the development of a stereo SLS system for underwater inspection operations. We demonstrate how to perform a SLS calibration both in dry and underwater environments using two different methods. The proposed methodology is able to achieve quite accurate results, lower than 1 mm in dry environments. We also display a 3D underwater scan of a known object size, a sea scallop, where the system is able to perform a scan with a global error lower than 2% of the object size.

TURTLE: Systems and technologies for deep ocean long term presence

This paper describes the TURTLE project that aim to develop sub-systems with the capability of deep-sea long-term presence. Our motivation is to produce new robotic ascend and descend energy efficient technologies to be incorporated in robotic vehicles used by civil and military stakeholders for underwater operations. TURTLE contribute to the sustainable presence and operations in the sea bottom. Long term presence on sea bottom, increased awareness and operation capabilities in underwater sea and in particular on benthic deeps can only be achieved through the use of advanced technologies, leading to automation of operation, reducing operational costs and increasing efficiency of human activity.