Dose assessment from incineration of deregulated solid biomedical radwaste

Medical and educational institutions generate large amounts of solid radwaste from biomedical tracer research. It is currently shipped to a commercial low-level waste site in the form of paper, plastic and glass contaminated principally with 3H, 14C and 125I (MSLC85). This waste stream could also be deregulated as are other forms of radwaste, for example, 3H and 14C liquid scintillation fluids. Incineration of this proposed deregulated, solid, low-level radwaste in concentrations comparable to currently deregulated radwaste would pose minimal risk to the occupants near these incinerators.     

Development and comparison of five site-specific biosphere models for safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal.

This paper describes the development and application of site-specific biosphere models that might be used for assessment of potential exposures in the framework of performance assessment studies of nuclear waste disposals. Model development follows the Reference Biosphere Methodology that has been set up in the framework of the BIOMASS study. In this paper, the application is to real sites at five European locations for which environmental and agricultural conditions have been described and characterised. For each of the sites a biosphere model has been developed specifically assuming a release of radionuclides to waters that are used by humans, for example as drinking water for humans and cattle and as irrigation water. Among the ingestion pathways, the intakes of drinking water, cereals, leafy vegetables, potatoes, milk, beef and freshwater fish are included in all models. Annual individual doses were calculated, and uncertainties in the results were estimated by means of stochastic calculations. To enable a comparison, all results were normalised to an activity concentration in groundwater of 1 Bq m(-3) for each of the radionuclides considered ((36)Cl, (79)Se, (99)Tc, (129)I, (135)Cs, (226)Ra, (231)Pa, (230)Th, (237)Np, (239)Pu, and (238)U), i.e. those that are usually most relevant in performance assessment studies of nuclear waste disposals. Although the results do not give answers in absolute terms on potential future exposures, they indicate the spectrum of exposures that might occur in different environments and specify the interaction of environmental conditions, human habits and potential exposure.     

A national profile of patient safety in U.S. hospitals

Measures based on routinely collected data would be useful to examine the epidemiology of patient safety. Extending previous work, we established the face and consensual validity of twenty Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs). We generated a national profile of patient safety by applying these PSIs to the HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The incidence of most nonobstetric PSIs increased with age and was higher among African Americans than among whites. The adjusted incidence of most PSIs was highest at urban teaching hospitals. The PSIs may be used in AHRQ's National Quality Report, while providers may use them to screen for preventable complications, target opportunities for improvement, and benchmark performance.     

A practical approach to programmatic assessment design

Assessment of complex tasks integrating several competencies calls for a programmatic design approach. As single instruments do not provide the information required to reach a robust judgment of integral performance, 73 guidelines for programmatic assessment design were developed. When simultaneously applying these interrelated guidelines, it is challenging to keep a clear overview of all assessment activities. The goal of this study was to provide practical support for applying a programmatic approach to assessment design, not bound to any specific educational paradigm. The guidelines were first applied in a postgraduate medical training setting, and a process analysis was conducted. This resulted in the identification of four steps for programmatic assessment design: evaluation, contextualisation, prioritisation and justification. Firstly, the (re)design process starts with sufficiently detailing the assessment environment and formulating the principal purpose. Key stakeholders with sufficient (assessment) expertise need to be involved in the analysis of strengths and weaknesses and identification of developmental needs. Central governance is essential to balance efforts and stakes with the principal purpose and decide on prioritisation of design decisions and selection of relevant guidelines. Finally, justification of assessment design decisions, quality assurance and external accountability close the loop, to ensure sound underpinning and continuous improvement of the assessment programme.     

HSE's safety assessment principles for criticality safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its revised Safety Assessment Principles for Nuclear Facilities (SAPs) in December 2006. The SAPs are primarily intended for use by HSE's inspectors when judging the adequacy of safety cases for nuclear facilities. The revised SAPs relate to all aspects of safety in nuclear facilities including the technical discipline of criticality safety. The purpose of this paper is to set out for the benefit of a wider audience some of the thinking behind the final published words and to provide an insight into the development of UK regulatory guidance. The paper notes that it is HSE's intention that the Safety Assessment Principles should be viewed as a reflection of good practice in the context of interpreting primary legislation such as the requirements under site licence conditions for arrangements for producing an adequate safety case and for producing a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (SI1999/3232 www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1999/uksi_19993232_en.pdf).     

《食品安全法》实施后南昌航空口岸食品安全事件处置工作探讨

《食品安全法》实施后,食品安全监管体制和模式都发生了较大改变,其中对口岸食品的监督管理也进行了明确。《食品安全法实施条例》从法律地位上规定了出入境检验检疫机构是国境口岸食品监督管理的主体,保障了出入境检验检疫机构在国境口岸食品监督管理的统一执法权。在南昌航空口岸,几年来检验检疫食品监管人员认真履行《食品安全法》赋予的职责,保证了口岸食品安全。同时,防患     

A model for integrated assessment of clinical competence

An interdisciplinary group of faculty from medicine, basic sciences, physical therapy, and education developed a performance assessment tool for evaluating clinical competence. This group was assembled following the revision to integrated systems-based curricula in the school of medicine and doctor of physical therapy program. The group was challenged to measure curricular outcomes through student assessment of clinical competence as defined through integration. The Integrated Standardized Patient Examination was developed as the assessment tool. This model utilizes standardized patients, who are trained to ask questions that require the students to integrate scientific knowledge and communicate this back to the patient. The student response is graded on a rubric and averaged with a history-taking portion of the examination. This model was administered to 140 first-year medical students who were randomly assigned to either an acute low back pain case or gastroesophageal reflux disease case. Clinical faculty scored the students in the treatment room, with additional faculty scoring in the monitor room. Interrater agreement was 87% for the low back pain case and 82% for the gastroesophageal reflux disease case. These results warrant further investigation of the Integrated Standardized Patient Examination for transfer to other health care professions, in particular physical therapy.     

An assessment of food hygiene and safety at farmers' markets

Farmers' markets are becoming a more significant part of the food-retailing sector. A survey of farmers' markets was conducted to assess aspects of food hygiene and safety. The views of the public using the markets were also examined. The range of farm products was wide and the methods utilised varied. The markets were usually temporary outdoor events with few facilities. Traders had received elementary food hygiene training and rated their hygiene standards highly. Less than half had risk management procedures in place, most did not perceive their produce as high-risk. They believed consumers to be mainly interested in food quality and to regard food safety issues highly. Consumers shopped at the markets because of the quality of the products sold. Their overall satisfaction with the markets was high and they raised no concerns about food safety. Given the restricted facilities at farmers' markets and the early phase of implementation of hygiene management systems by market traders, it may be precautionary to restrict the sale of farm products at farmers markets to those that are regarded as low-risk.     

A framework for operationalizing risk: A practical approach to patient safety

The importance of patient safety has grown tremendously; however, there are insufficient resources dedicated to its practical application. We provide an overview of the framework for addressing patient safety within the Johns Hopkins Health System, which approaches patient safety in the context of risk at the patient, provider, unit, and system levels. We present practical examples of how this approach is applied and highlight the resources needed as well as describe how it fits within the broader quality management infrastructure in the health system on its journey toward high reliability.     

Obtaining leadership support for medical safety programs: A practical approach

Development of an educational presentation that describes a comprehensive program for the hospital board is the first step.     

开展食品安全风险监测积极参与国际食品安全风险评估

<中华人民共和国食品安全法>(下简称<食品安全法>)规定国家实施食品安全风险监测制度和风险评估制度,为我国实行食品安全风险监测与评估制度提供了法律保障.     

开展食品安全风险监测积极参与国际食品安全风险评估

<中华人民共和国食品安全法>(下简称<食品安全法>)规定国家实施食品安全风险监测制度和风险评估制度,为我国实行食品安全风险监测与评估制度提供了法律保障.     

开展食品安全风险监测积极参与国际食品安全风险评估

<中华人民共和国食品安全法>(下简称<食品安全法>)规定国家实施食品安全风险监测制度和风险评估制度,为我国实行食品安全风险监测与评估制度提供了法律保障.     

一种新的保健食品安全监测手段质量轮廓技术

目的 提出有效监控保健食品安全的新方法质量轮廓技术,力图将违禁药物的监控由被动转为主动,有效保障保健食品的安全.方法 以高效液相色谱和直接电喷雾质谱法初步研究质量轮廓技术.高效液相色谱法采用0.05%磷酸水和乙腈作为流动相,在C18柱上全梯度洗脱,以223 nm为检测波长,对减肥和降糖保健食品进行化学成分轮廓分析,考察6份不同批号减肥样品A和降糖样品B的高效液相色谱质量轮廓稳定性.在保健食品中分别添加酚酞、西布曲明、罗格列酮、格列本脲、格列齐特,分析质量轮廓中出现的异常成分;另外直接电喷雾质谱法采用ESI+采集模式,毛细管电压:3.5 kV,锥孔电压:30 V,萃取电压:4 V,聚焦电压:0.5 V,源温度:105℃,脱溶剂温度:300℃,脱溶剂气流速:260 L/h,锥孔气流速:50 L/h,扫描范围:m/z 100-600.考察减肥保健食品C中添加单去甲基西布曲明时,质量轮廓中的异常成分.结果 高效液相色谱质量轮廓具有一定的稳定性(色谱相似度大于0.877),且高效液相色谱质量轮廓对保健食品中混入的酚酞、西布曲明、罗格列酮、格列本脲、格列齐特均有反应,直接电喷雾质谱质量轮廓也能明确反映保健食品中混入的单去甲基西布曲明.结论 质量轮廓技术可有效监控保健食品中违禁药物的添加情况,防止有害成分的"证后"添加.