Central collecting and evaluating of major accidents and near-miss-events in the Federal Republic of Germany--results, experiences, perspectives

Lessons learnt from accidents are essential sources for updating state of the art requirements in process safety. To improve this input by a systematic way in the FRG, a central body for collecting and evaluating major accident (ZEMA) was established in 1993. ZEMA is part of the Federal Environmental Agency. All events which are to be notified due to the German Regulation on Major Accidents (St?rfall-Verordnung) are centrally collected, analysed (deducing lessons learnt) and documented by ZEMA. The bureau is also responsible for the dissemination of the lessons learnt to all stake holders. This work is done in co-operation with the German Major-Accident Hazard Commission (St?rfallkommission) and other international bodies like European MAHB. At the time being, over 375 events from 1980 to 2002 are registered in Germany. For each event, a separate data sheet is published in annual reports, first started in 1993. All information is also available at. A summary evaluation on the events from 1993 to 1999 is presented and some basic lessons learnt are shown. The results from root cause analysis underline the importance of maintenance, detailed knowledge of chemical properties, human factor issues and the role of safety organisation especially connected with subcontractors. The German notification system is described in detail and some experience with the system is reported. Keeping in mind that collecting reports from notified major accidents is only a small amount compared with all the events which might be interesting to learn from, the German Major-Accident Hazard Commission has established a separate body, the subcommittee "Incident Evaluation", which is in charge with collecting and evaluating of minor and near-miss events. Since 1994, a concept for the registration and evaluation of those non-notifiable events was developed. From 2000 on, the concept has been put into operation. Its main elements are; 1. reporting of the incident by the plant operator to an information collecting point of its trust, 2. passing the anonymous report to the "Incident Evaluation" subcommittee, 3. evaluation and classification whether the incident is safety relevant or not and, 4. publishing the relevant information to all interested stake holders, preparing of summary evaluation results in certain areas. Up to now, two brochures on "waste gas pipes" and "obstructions of pipes" were published.     

Spectromicroscope for the PHotoelectron Imaging of Nanostructures with X-rays (SPHINX): performance in biology, medicine and geology

Several X-ray PhotoElectron Emission spectroMicroscopes (X-PEEMs) exist around the world at this time. We present recent performance and resolution tests of one of them, the Spectromicroscope for PHotoelectron Imaging of Nanostructures with X-rays (SPHINX) X-PEEM, installed at the University of Wisconsin Synchrotron Radiation Center. With this state-of-the-art instrument we demonstrate chemical analysis capabilities on conducting and insulating specimens of diverse interests, and an unprecedented lateral resolution of 10 nm with monochromatic X-rays and 7.2 nm with ultraviolet illumination.     

Calcium vs. iron-mediated processes in hydrogen peroxide toxicity to L929 cells: effects of glucose

H2O2 toxicity was studied in L929 cells in the presence and absence of glucose. The data obtained in the absence of glucose suggest a Ca2+-dependent mechanism of cell injury. No evidence was found for any involvement of iron in the process. In particular, cell injury was unaffected by the intracellular iron chelators 2,2'-dipyridyl and deferoxamine or by the hydroxyl radical scavengers DMSO and DMPO. On the other hand, the intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA/AM provided significant protection. The cytosolic Ca2+ level rapidly and consistently increased after H2O2 addition, prior to visible bleb formation and loss of cell viability. Additionally, GSH not only prevented cell death but also significantly decreased cytosolic calcium accumulation. In the presence of glucose, however, Ca2+ does not seem to play any role in H2O2 toxicity. Cell death is now mainly mediated by iron: the iron chelators and hydroxyl radical scavengers prevented cell injury, the increase in cytosolic Ca2+ was significantly less pronounced, and BAPTA/AM did not exert any protection under these conditions. Hence, the metabolic state of the L929 cells, as given by the availability of glucose, decisively determines the biochemical mechanism of H2O2 cell injury.     

Putrescine-modified catalase with preserved enzymatic activity exhibits increased permeability at the blood-nerve and blood-brain barriers

Much evidence exists in support of the hypothesis that free radicals contribute to the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders and that mechanisms of free radical generation occur both intracellularly and extracellularly. Previous studies in this laboratory have shown that covalent modification of growth factors and antioxidant enzymes with the naturally occurring polyamine, putrescine, increases their permeability at the blood-nerve and blood-brain barriers (BNB and BBB), but does not significantly inhibit bioactivity. Furthermore, putrescine-modified superoxide dismutase (SOD) was shown to reduce neurodegeneration in a rat model of global cerebral ischemia. The purpose of the present study was to modify the antioxidant enzyme, catalase (CAT), with putrescine (PUT) at carboxylic acid groups whose ionization, and hence reactivity, was controlled with pH and investigate the effects on permeability and enzymatic activity. Modification of CAT with PUT increased its permeability 2-3-fold and preserved 67% of its enzymatic activity compared to native CAT and 137% compared to lyophilized CAT. The results of this study indicate that modification of CAT with putrescine increases its permeability while preserving enzymatic activity. PUT-SOD administered in combination with PUT-CAT may eliminate both the superoxide radical and the H2O2 produced from the dismutation of superoxide, respectively, and thus prevent the formation of hydroxyl radicals. This combination may exhibit increased neuroprotective effects, compared to native enzymes, following systemic administration for the treatment of free radical associated neurodegenerative disorders.     

Plasma membrane phospholipid asymmetry precedes DNA fragmentation in different apoptotic cell models

Enhancing factor (EF) protein was initially purified as a modulator of epidermal growth factor from small intestines of mouse. The cDNA sequence, obtained by RT-PCR, revealed that EF belonged to the non-pancreatic, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) family. This was the first report of the mouse PLA2. In the present paper we report the complete cDNA sequence of EF gene, in which the 5' sequence has been obtained by RAcE-PCR. The predicted amino acid sequence was computer analysed and the putative sites for enzyme action, calcium binding and heparin binding have been identified. The complete protein sequence of EF along with 16 aligned sequences were used to infer a phylogenetic tree. From this data the mouse EF was grouped with other membrane associated PLA2 with a bootstrap value of 98% indicating that it belonged to this class.     

Adolescent tibia vara, nonossifying fibroma, and bipartite patella in a nationally ranked adolescent karate competitor

The first victim of four serial murders occurring in Hiroshima in 1996 was an unidentified young female when she was found. In the lower jaw, the left and right deciduous second molars were identified, and the left and right permanent second premolars were revealed to be congenitally defective by X-ray examination. Comparison of the dental findings and study model after death with those before death identified the victim as a 16-year old female.     

Microbiological evaluation of glycerolized cadaveric donor skin

Record linkage was carried out between the national Registry of AIDS and 13 Cancer Registries (CRs) covering, in 1991, about 15% of the Italian population. Observed and expected numbers of cancers and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were assessed in 6067 persons with AIDS, for a total of 25,759 person-years. Significantly increased SIRs were found for Hodgkin's disease [8.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4-16.0], in which seven of 11 cases were of mixed cellularity type; invasive carcinoma of the cervix uteri (15.5; 95% CI 4.0-40.1); and non-melanomatous skin cancer (3.0, 95% CI 1.3-5.9), in which five of eight cases were basal cell carcinoma. An excess was also seen for brain tumours, but this may be partly due to misdiagnosis of brain non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or other brain diseases occurring near the time of the AIDS diagnosis. The risk for all cancer types, after exclusion of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), was approximately twice the general population risk. An increased SIR for Hodgkin's disease in persons with AIDS is thus confirmed, though it is many times smaller than that for NHL. An association with invasive carcinoma of the cervix is also shown at a population level. The excess of non-melanomatous skin cancer seems to be lower than in transplant recipients.