Analysis of the existing legal, regulatory and technical support for the prevention of environmental emergencies at gas pipeline facilities in Uzbekistan

Operation of new and existing pipeline systems is carried out in accordance with the relevant instructions, with technical inspections, diagnostics and control carried out, if necessary. In accordance with the pipeline safety concept being developed, the possibility of operational diagnostics of the occurrence and development of emergency situations should be provided. Analysis of data for the last years of gas pipeline operation indicates the occurrence of various environmental emergency situations. Therefore, the task of this study is to classify the factors of accidents and damage to gas pipelines with the determination of the main share of the most significant. The proportion of emergencies due to mechanical damage to pipes by machines and mechanisms during excavation has maximum values. This indicates that during this period of time, many violations of technological regulations were registered. With regard to emergencies due to corrosion damage, there is some stability. As can be evidenced in this research paper, mainly accidents, repairs and leaks occur in summer - winter periods.

Can a repository site be safer than safe? – Criteria and methods for a safety-oriented comparison of repository sites

In the course of the German site selection procedure, repository potential sites will be rejected if it becomes apparent that they will probably not meet the regulatory safety requirements (EndlSichAnfV). It is therefore likely that the remaining sites of the final selection phase (which is specified by paragraph 19 of the StandAG) will meet the safety requirements and are therefore capable of being approved. Under these circumstances, finding the site with the highest possible level of safety (as required by the StandAG) calls for a further differentiation of safety above the level of safety that is prescribed by the safety requirements. Based on this differentiation, operational criteria have to be developed for a safety-oriented comparison of repository sites and systems; however, finding suitable criteria is not a trivial task if the repository systems that are available for selection make use of different host rocks and therefore differ with respect to the internal structure and safety concept. Between 2007 and 2010, criteria and associated evaluation methods for a safety-oriented comparison of approvable repository sites were developed by project 3607R02589 of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) within the joint project VerSi. The robustness of the repository system was proposed as a central criterion for site comparison. In the years to follow, criteria and evaluation methods were tested and refined by BfE/BMU projects 05504/2 and 4719E03250, which finally showed a substantial need for further research and development. The presentation outlines the results of these three projects and discusses the questions that are still open.

Functional Safety Concept EGAS for Medical Devices

For patient safety, it is important that a medical device can safely and reliably perform its intended purpose. The challenge in medical technology is that medical devices are heterogeneous systems and thus no widely applicable standard concepts for functional safety exist in medical technology. This is also reflected in the regulatory landscape, with its rather generally applicable standards. Patient safety is currently achieved by performing continuous risk management with an acceptable level of residual risk. Functional safety and its design concepts, as applied in other industries, have so far found little application in the field of medical technology. In this paper, the automotive safety concept "EGAS" is analyzed with regard to its applicability for medical devices. Based on the investigated example of a medical ventilator, important parallels were found between the automotive and the medical device sector, indicating the possibility of successfully applying the EGAS safety concept to medical devices.

Environmental safety: concept and essence

The article considers various scientific approaches to the definition of the concept of environmental safety. Environmental safety is an important scientific category, it is the state of protection of the environment and humans from various types of hazards that pose a threat to the sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems and anthropogenic objects.

Functional Safety Concept to Support Hazard Assessment and Risk Management in Water-Supply Systems

Within the frame of upgrading and modernisation of the Water Supply System (WSS), our work is focussing on the safety systems/devices implemented or that should be implemented in the WSS. The implementation of safety systems is supposed to reduce hazard occurrence and hazardous consequences in case of a WSS unsafe disruption. To assess this reduction, we preconise the use of the safety integrity levels standards. The implementation of the safety systems/devices is undertaken on the ground of the multi-barriers safeguard approach. The “Water Contamination Hazard” is considered in the paper. A case study is presented, assessed and conclusions are drawn. The methodology presented in the paper and the results of the case study assessment will contribute to the decision-making regarding the upgrading of the safety and the performance of the WSS.

Safety evaluation of a medical congress held during the COVID-19 pandemic – a prospective cohort

Background Worldwide, scientific congresses are cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, scientific exchange is more important than ever, especially for infectious diseases and infection prevention specialists. Within a prospective cohort of congress attendees, we evaluated the safety concept of the 2020 congress of the Swiss Societies of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Hygiene. Methods The congress was held between September 2nd and 4th 2020 in Geneva (Switzerland), where COVID-19 incidence in the week during the congress was 65 cases /100 000 population within 7 days. A rigorous safety concept was implemented including universal face masking, physical distancing during sessions, and maximal reduction of social events. We invited congress attendees to participate in this prospective cohort and used an anonymized online questionnaire to assess risk perception, risk exposures, symptoms and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 of attendees before, during and after the congress. Dried blood spots were taken from attendees on-site and four weeks later to detect specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and to document seroconversions. Results A total of 365 people attended the congress, thereof 271 healthcare professionals. Of these, 196 (54%) either answered the questionnaire (N = 150) or provided baseline and follow-up blood samples (N = 168). None of the study participants reported a positive PCR result in the 2 weeks after the congress. Five of 168 (3%) participants were seropositive at follow-up, all of which had already been positive at baseline. The safety concept was deemed appropriate by 92% of the study participants and hygiene measures were performed correctly by the vast majority. Conclusion In this prospective cohort of congress attendees, no PCR positive cases or seroconversions could be documented after attending an on-site medical congress. These findings indicate that congresses with a rigorous safety concept may take place, even in areas with moderately-high COVID-19 activity.

The Safety Concept for Football Matches

Organising football matches in Poland is currently a very important issue for the institutions and services responsible for security. The author, on the basis of his professional and scientific experience, has presented a concept of safety in this area. The article analyses in detail the organisational and legal solutions in force in Poland and selected European countries and assesses their effectiveness. The proposed concept provides for the development of organisational and functional requirements that would increase the level of safety during this type of sports events. Implementing the proposed solutions into the current law would enable a harmonised security system to be organised.