Energy casualties

McMillen, J. J. and Gregg, J. R., The Energy Mass and Velocity Which is Required of Small Missiles in Order to Produce a Casualty, Medical Casualties Report 12, National Research Council, Division of Medical Sciences, pp. 93-94, 1945. 

The largest accidents in terms of casualties in the energy field are connected with the collapse of hydro dams. Some 2500 people perished, for example, in a single dam failure in Macchu, India. There are also, as we know, severe accidents connected with the transport and storage of gas, the mining of coal, and the shipping of oil. A gas pipeline explosion in Guadalajara in Mexico killed 200 people in 1992. 

Interpreting the Henry s Law coefficient can be confusing because of the number of different units used in the literature. In this text it is presented in units of moles per Idlogram so that the effect of pressure on volume in the ocean is normalized. Other units that are often used are molar (mol 1 ) and volume fraction at standard temperature (0°C) and pressure (latm) (ml 1 , STP). Be carefiil STP for gases and standard conditions for free energies are not the same The pressure terms are identical, but the temperatures are 0 and 25 °C, respectively. This is one of the casualties of an old science that evolved from many different laboratories. Since the volume of a mole of ideal gas at STP is exactly 22.4141, there is a direct relation between moles of gas and milliliters (STP) of gas. Another potential confusion is that the Henry s Law relation is sometimes referred to as the reciprocal of the value given here, e.g. 1 /Kh. We can only say that the bulk of marine literature follows the definition used in Eq. (3.51), and one should make careful note of the units when using this constant. 

The most dismptive element of providing care for chemical casualties when wearing PPE is caused by heat stress and subsequent dehydration of the responder. To decrease heat stress, published tables provide work-rest cycles based on temperature being measured by the Wet Bulb Globe Temperamre Index (FM 3-11.4, June 2004). Careful adherence to these tables will decrease heat-related casualties among responders. This index considers the effects of temperature, humidity, radiant energy, and wind. It produces a temperature based on integration of the effects of the above four factors (Stafford County Public Schools, unknown year). 

Directed Energy Weapons. Directed-energy weapons are likely to cause large numbers of casualties and equipment disruptions if countermeasures are not in place. Health service support units have adequate organization, doctrine, and resources to address low-level lasers. 

Coal mine gas (called Coal bed Gas) is a kind of associated gas from the coal seam in coal mine exploitation process in different forms, which is one of the main reasons of the coal mine accident. As the first fatal factor in coal mine, the gas accident not only causes a large number of casualties and huge economic losses, and imperils the safety of coal mine production seriously once it occurs. Gas concerns the major issues of environmental pollution, the greenhouse effect and the future of new energy. It can be used after recovered rapidly if the coal mine gas develops, storages and transports high-efficiently in moderate environment. Meanwhile it will be reduced that the cost, the hidden safety trouble and the gas emission pollution to the environment. Thus it is badly in need of a new type of gas utilization technology to make up for the current technical defects. Hydrate method is an optional way. 

However, with reactor incidents, direct loss of life or casualties are extremely rare. In this respect the nuclear record compares well with other energy-related industries (see Appendix 10). There have been accidents at nuclear plants, leading to injury and in some cases deaths. In these, nuclear plant is similar to all other process and power plant. The special feature of nuclear plant is the awesome potential power in the plant and its highly radioactive contents. 

The accident at the SLl research reactor, USA, where a control rod was accidentally extracted by an operator causing a reactivity excursion and three casualties, entered the nuclear energy history books. 

Bugher, John C. Report on the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission Field Operation March-May 1951, p. 26 and appendixes. Report to Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C., 1951> [Recommends continuing the fundamental program for both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.]... 

Mortality index An index based on the observed average ratio of casualties to the mass of material or energy released, as derived from the historical record. It is used to characterize the potential hazard of toxic material storage. 

Crash speeds must remain below a certain value in order to prevent serious injury. How a safe speed is defined is partly determined by the characteristics of a potential crash and the protection against injury that may be present when a crash occurs (e.g., seatbelts, child restraint seats, crash helmets, side underrun protection on trucks). Furthermore, the age of potential casualties should be considered when defining a safe crash speed. For example, at equal levels of crash energy, the consequences are more severe for elderly road users than for younger ones due to their greater vulnerability. 

The majority of attacks targeted linear energy infrastructures (e.g. pipelines and transmission lines) which are difficult to protect and often pass through remote areas. Therefore, consequences in terms of fatalities and casualties were mostly minor, although when attacks occur frequently (in terms of multiple and connected events), they can result in substantial business and supply disruptions. 

An assessment of all categories of consequence may be beyond the capabilities available for a given risk analysis. Most energy sector assets are not associated with mass casualties, but they may have economic and long-term health and safety implications if disrupted. However, the redundancy of system-critical facilities and the overall system resilience minimize the potential for such consequences. 

An important question for widespread use of nuclear-based electrical energy generation is how reactors are safe. Table 1.10 lists selected accidents with casualties in power and chemical industries, transportation, and from firearms. Analysis of data in Table 1.10 clearly shows that the major cause of many deaths in the world is car accidents, which are apparently deemed socially acceptable because of the necessity for rapid, convenient transport. Nevertheless, the international nuclear and political communities have to do everything possible and impossible to prevent any future severe accidents at NPPs with radiation release and other consequences. 

The cause of a conventional major trauma incident is usually the violent release of energy, for example, from an explosion and fire or overwhelming environmental simations such as earthquakes or floods. In conventional incidents involving physical trauma, the consequences and the history and presentation of casualties are clearly linked to the event. However, major chemical releases may be less readily identifiable and the relationship with presenting casualties with toxic trauma less clear. There may be evidence of grouped casualties, but there may also be insidious... 

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