Monitoring Needs for Gene Drive Mosquito Projects: Lessons From Vector Control Field Trials and Invasive Species

As gene drive mosquito projects advance from contained laboratory testing to semi-field testing and small-scale field trials, there is a need to assess monitoring requirements to: i) assist with the effective introduction of the gene drive system at field sites, and ii) detect unintended spread of gene drive mosquitoes beyond trial sites, or resistance mechanisms and non-functional effector genes that spread within trial and intervention sites. This is of particular importance for non-localized gene drive projects, as the potential scale of intervention means that monitoring is expected to be more costly than research, development and deployment. Regarding monitoring needs for population replacement systems, lessons may be learned from experiences with Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, and for population suppression systems, from experiences with releases of genetically sterile male mosquitoes. For population suppression systems, assessing monitoring requirements for tracking population size and detecting rare resistant alleles are priorities, while for population replacement systems, allele frequencies must be tracked, and pressing concerns include detection of gene drive alleles with non-functional effector genes, and resistance of pathogens to functional effector genes. For spread to unintended areas, open questions relate to the optimal density and placement of traps and frequency of sampling in order to detect gene drive alleles, drive-resistant alleles or non-functional effector genes while they can still be effectively managed. Invasive species management programs face similar questions, and lessons may be learned from these experiences. We explore these monitoring needs for gene drive mosquito projects progressing through the phases of pre-release, release and post-release.

Qualitative Fire Vulnerability Assessments for Museums and Their Collections: A Case Study from Kosovo

Fires are among the most frequently recurring hazards affecting museums and cultural heritage sites. The fires of the National Museum of Brazil in 2018 and of Notre Dame de Paris in 2019 showed that the consequences of such events can be heavy and lead to irreversible heritage losses. In Kosovo, few studies were made about the risks that can affect cultural heritage sites. A project led by the NGO Kosovo Foundation for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB Kosova) in 2018 explored the most prevalent risks for the cultural heritage sites of the country and highlighted fire as a predominant risk in Kosovo. In order to better understand it, vulnerability assessments were conducted in several museums in Kosovo. Data were collected through field visits in the different museums, in which interviews with staff members as well as observations were conducted. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of the fire vulnerability assessments conducted in Kosovo’s museums in 2018. An important aspect of this project is the approach to collect information in data-scarce environments. It is believed that the questionnaires used to lead interviews with museums’ staff members could help other practitioners to collect data in such contexts and evaluate more easily the risk of fire for the museums and their collections. In the context of Kosovo, one of the main findings is the identification and prioritisation of measures to ensure better protection of Kosovar museums. Structural mitigation measures such as alarm and fire suppression systems are not the only elements necessary to improve the resilience of Kosovar museums to fire. Indeed, the promotion of risk awareness, the training of staff members and the realisation of crisis simulation exercises are just as important in order to prevent and detect a fire, and above all, to respond quickly and accurately if a fire occurs.

Environmental effects of silver iodide emitted by hail suppression systems in Aragón (Spain)

<p>Weather modification by means of cloud seeding techniques is widely implemented across the world. In areas where hail suppression systems are installed, silver iodide (AgI) particles are used.</p><p>Silver particles fall back to the surface thank to atmospheric deposition. In this research we follow a holistic approach to analyse silver accumulation in water, soils and sediments of Aragón (North-East Spain), where AgI emissions have been released for the last fifty years. We have also assessed silver bioaccumulation in plants and biota, and we have tested its effects in plant growth.</p><p>Our results show that silver concentrations in water and soils of areas covered by hail suppression networks are higher than in further areas, although concentrations are below legal thresholds. We have also observed that silver seems to be absorbed by plants and biota, which would act as a silver outflow and it may help to remove silver from the ecosystems.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>This work was funded by Spanish State Research Agency and FEDER Funds via AgroSOS project (PID2019-108057RB-I00) and DONAIRE project (CGL2015-68993-R), and thanks to a pre-doctoral grant awarded by the Government of Aragon to J. M. Orellana-Macías (BOA 20/ 07/2017).</p>

Quantitative Analysis of Valve Contribution to the Failure Probability of Carbon Dioxide Suppression System

Carbon dioxide suppression systems are used in nuclear power plants to extinguish oil fires and ensure integrity of critical equipment. In this study, the contributions of the valves in the carbon dioxide suppression system to the failure probability of suppression were quantitatively analyzed, and the failure probability of the fire suppression system applied to the fire Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) was evaluated for appropriateness. Then, a reliability evaluation model was developed in the form of a fault tree, and the reliability data were analyzed for the major component. The failure probability of the carbon dioxide suppression system with early air-release equipment was assessed as 6.22 × 10^-3/demand, which is 2.67 times that of the system without such equipment. The results were attributed to the addition of the diverted line isolation valves and quick exhaust valve to release residual air into the atmosphere before supplying carbon dioxide to the fire area. It was also confirmed that the failure probability of the carbon dioxide suppression system with the early air-release equipment was 15.6% that of the suppression provided by the fire PSA and that the failure probability of suppression by the fire PSA was conservative. There are no reported guidelines in literature for analyzing the reliabilities of carbon dioxide fire suppression systems, and the fire PSA currently use the failure probability of suppression recommended by the NSAC-179L.

Efficiency of fire suppression systems using dry powder sprays to extinguish fires amid non-steady heat exchange processes and heterogeneous inhibition of active flame centres by powder particles

Introduction. Presently, there are several problems in the field of dry powder fire suppression that require the indepth study of the physics and technology of fire suppression processes using these substances. One of the ways to find the solution to these problems is the efficiency analysis (theoretical and experimental) of frequently implemented fire extinguishing patterns involving fire suppression systems spraying dry powder, when the term of interaction between the dry fire extinguishing powder and the burning material is close to the duration of principal fire extinguishing patterns, or thermal and heterogeneous inhibition of active flame centres.Purpose and objectives. The purpose of the work was to assess the efficiency of principal fire extinguishing patterns (thermal and heterogeneous inhibition of active flame centres) amid non-stable heat exchange processes and heterogeneous inhibition of active combustion product particles by powder particles.Methods. The pre-set objective was achieved through theoretical modeling of patterns of thermal fire extinguishing and heterogeneous inhibition of active flame centres by dry chemical powder particles.Results. It was established that fire suppression with the help of general purpose dry chemical powder under non-steady conditions is the more effective, the smaller the effective size of powder particles, the longer the time of their stay in the combustion area and the shorter the characteristic period of heat transfer to powder particles and heterogeneous inhibition of active flame centres.Conclusions. The results optimize conditions and patterns of dry fire extinguishing powder application to a combustion area to achieve the highest extinguishing effect and to conduct a targeted search for new dry chemical powders having pre-set thermal and physical specifications.

Handling Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicles: Preventing and Recovering from Hazardous Events

The demand for lithium-ion battery powered road vehicles continues to increase around the world. As more of these become operational across the globe, their involvement in traffic accidents and incidents is likely to rise. This can damage the lithium-ion battery and subsequently pose a threat to occupants and responders as well as those involved in vehicle recovery and salvage operations. The project this paper is based on aimed to alleviate such concerns. To provide a basis for fire safety systems to be applied to damaged EVs, hazards have been identified and means for preventing and controlling lithium-ion battery fires, including preventive measures during workshop and salvage activities were studied. Tests were also performed with fixed fire suppression systems applying suppressant inside traction batteries which showed to improve their safety.