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Price 150/- | May 2015 | Vol. 01 | Issue 08 the complete magazine on HSE safe limits of Daily Radiation How safe are mobile towers? Acute water shortage Imminent Safety Messenger | May 2015 1 contents 08 Cover story Safe Limits of Daily Radiation John Ebanazer ……………...........................…………Page 8 Mobile Towers: Towering Threat 14 Jayas Manadath……………........…...............……..Page 52 Endovascular Therapy to save Stroke Patients N-Power Plants: Boon or Bane? Radiation Resisting Systems …………..............……….....................................….Page 28 Dr. M. Dinesh and Dr. Ram Madhav............................Page 22 Getting Rid of Nuclear Waste Prostate Cancer Growing in India ......................................................……..........….Page 94 Dr. A. N. Brijesh Nair ………...............................……..Page 46 Dr. R. Vijayan ………………...........................…….Page 58 Safety Spice up to Keep Cancer Away....................…..Page 64 Ray Safe i2 Personal Dosimeter Staff Monitoring System.................................Page 95 Looking After the Eyes Safety News India in for Severe Water Shortage …...................................................................…. Page 89 Products CLEAR-PB Mobile Barriers Radiation Area Monitoring System Safe Food Supply Chain is the Need of the Hour……................................................….Page 86 ………........................................................................Page 35 Global NCAP: Get Car Safety Standards to Smaller Economies By 2020 Wildlife Crimes Cry for Urgent Attention .................................................................................Page 87 Jisha Tijo……..................................................………Page 70 Who Links Food Safety and Nutrition for Increasing Deaths Air Pollution Plagues India .........................................................………..Page 77 28 Promoting Positive Health and Safety Culture Health ENVIRONMENT 64 HSE TRAINING C. Mahadevan …………........................…………….Page 14 Dr. Deepa M G ……….........................................…….Page 40 4 22 ….........................................................................Page 88 Safety Messenger | May 2015 …....................................................................…Page 96 Emergency Response Kit Survey Meter W/Dual Detectors.............................Page 97 Mobile Phone Radiation Protection ‘Nightholder’ .....................................................Page 97 HSE Conferences …................….. Page 69 News digest ….....................…........... Page 90 Safety Messenger | May 2015 What is in the next issue? June 2015 issue Focus on School Safety Highlights Articles and features by experts on : • Safety issues specific to schools • Discussion on school crimes, drug abuse, bullying, ragging etc. • Laws relating to school safety in India and abroad • News and views from around the world on school safety Health, Environment and other stories... 5 Subscription Form Term Face Value Subscription Rate Savings 3 YearRs. 5400/-Rs. 4400/-Rs. 1000/2 YearRs. 3600/-Rs. 3000/-Rs. 600/1 YearRs. 1800/-Rs. 1500/-Rs. 300/These rates are valid in India Only Mailing Address Living dangerously...? A scene from the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Name Mr. /Mrs. ..................................................................................................................................... Designation ............................................................................................................................................... Organization ............................................................................................................................................ Address .......................................................................................................................................................... Chief Editor : M.V.Thomas EDITORIAL I would like to subscribe to the safety Messenger Magazine as indicated below Executive Editor : K.K.Madhusudanan Nair (Former Dy.Editor, Mathrubhumi Daily) Consulting Editor : Jose Philip T here is growing concern in both developed and developing countries about the health hazards of living in a cellular world. Most of the latest studies from across the world have cautioned against the harmful effects of cellphone usage and living under the electromagnetic fields of mobile towers. Mobile towers are especially dangerous because they emit microwaves at a frequency of 1,900 MHz. What happens when human population centres are flooded with massive amounts of powerful wireless microwave radiation? Nobody knows…yet. But we will soon. Because we are exposed to 100 million times more electromagnetic radiation than our grandparents were, and cell towers are making this figures grow exponentially. Some of the most powerful cell tower installations are on mountains and hilltops outside urban areas. Alarmingly, these electromagnetic fields have been impacting humans, animals as well as the ecological balance. Studies of people and farm animals living around these towers point to chronic problems like stress and sleep disorders to birth defects, cancer and Alzheimer’s. A number of studies have also shown relationship between mobile telephone use and reduced sperm count and sperm quality. Studies have demonstrated that artificial frequencies higher than 10 Hz can create stress and serious health problems. And, a mobile tower emits microwaves at 1,900 MHz! These higher energy waves can actually destroy chemical and molecular bonds, creating chaos in our basic biochemical structures. One of the problems is that this damage is cumulative in the tissues, and can take years, Sub Editor : Jisha Tijo ................................................................................................................................................................................... Editorial Office : 34/1354 C, Edappally, [email protected] ................................................................................................................................................................................... Printer & Publisher : M.V.Thomas, Managing Director NIFE Fire Systems & TNTI Fire Equipments Pvt. Ltd, Kochi, Kerala. City................................................................................... State ................................................................. 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You can email us your orders at [email protected] or Send us to the below address. Safety Messenger 34/1354 C, Mother Theresa Road edappally P.O, Kochi-682024, KERALA Chennai Jose Rajan, [email protected] Bangaluru Kiran Kumar N, General Manager, [email protected] V. Unnikrishnan, [email protected] Avijit Gouda, [email protected] Hyderabad Subash Chander, [email protected] Cochin Nishad K Subair, [email protected], Mob: 8589857776 Finoy Francis, [email protected] Disclaimer: Every effort is made to provide accurate and the latest information possible. The publisher cannot accept the responsibility for any unforeseen mistakes and for the consequences arising from the use of information provided in the publication. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or Publisher. 6 Edited, published and owned by Mr. M. V. Thomas, Maliakal House,Mytri Lane, M G Nagar, Mamangalam, Kochi-682 024, Kerala. Printed at the Five Star Offset Printers, 39/ 3144, Chelaveettil Estate, Valanjambalam, Ernakulam, Kochi 682 016. Safety Messenger | May 2015 Living dangerously in a cellular world Safety Messenger | May 2015 even decades, to show up. In the case of India, the issue has not yet become as alarming as in developed countries like the US, but India is fast heading towards such levels if the growth of mobile phone usage and other wireless gadgets are any indication. According to a report submitted by a 13-member committee constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), there is no cause of alarm regarding possible illeffects on human health electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from cellphone towers and cellphones because the limits adopted in India account for all biological effects of radiation. In fact, the limits set by India are much lower than the internationally adopted recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the report says, which is really a welcome step. Of course, we cannot escape completely from radiation in day-to-day life since it is all around us in various forms. In this issue of Safety Messenger, we have consciously chosen radiation safety as the focal theme on account of the advent of newer sources of radiation like the cellphones and cell towers, which make life more difficult on Earth. Hope the various aspects of radiation discussed in the following pages will create more awareness about the gravity of the issue and possibly open the eyes of the authorities concerned to take necessary safety and preventive measures. M.V. Thomas Chief Editor. 7 Cover Story Cover Story Mobile Towers Towering Threat 15 N-Power Plants Boon or Bane? 28 Getting Rid of Nuclear Waste 47 SAFE LIMITS OF DAILY RADIATION Whether it comes from the ground, the sky, or medical treatment, humans are constantly exposed to radiation from the world around them. Radiation exists all around us. It is in our homes as a part of our radios and microwave ovens, and, we, like all other creatures and objects on Earth, experience extremely low levels every moment from our natural environment. But the crucial issue is how much radiation are we exposed to normally, and what is the safe level? I n simple words, radiation is energy that travels through space as either waves or high-speed particles. There are two types of radiation: non-ionizing radiation and ionizing radiation. Together, these two types of radiation form the electromagnetic spectrum. John Ebanazer 8 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Non-ionizing radiation does not have as much energy as ionizing radiation; thus, it is generally less harmful. The energy contained in non-ionizing radiation is enough to make the electrons in atoms or molecules wiggle and dance but not enough to strip the electrons away. In contrast, ionizing radiation has enough energy to ionize (strip away an electron, leaving an unpaired electron behind) atoms and molecules. 9 620 mrem per year (1 mrem is one-thousandth of 1 rem). That is just an average though, and the actual figure may fluctuate widely per person depending on where he lives and the medical procedures he has had that year. The international standard is to allow people who work with and around radioactive material – researchers, nuclear-power plant workers, X-ray technicians, etc. – to have exposures of no more than 5,000 mrem total per year. The 5,000 mrem annual dose is considered to be safe and not increase significantly the risk for radiation-related health effects. At high biologically effective doses, ionizing radiation can cause serious tissue damage. For this reason, anyone doing experiments with radioactive materials must monitor how much radiation he is being exposed to. This can be done simply with a Geiger counter. Geiger counters are tools that detect and measure ionizing radiation. Geiger counters typically give readings in some fraction of sieverts, or rems, per hour. You can use this information and the time you spend experimenting to calculate your total exposure dose (time in hours multiplied by the Geiger counter’s mrem-per-hour reading). It is always wise to decrease your exposure as much as possible. Harmful effects of ionizing radiation This process and the resulting ions can cause serious damage to tissues and cells. It causes damage through several mechanisms, including breaking important chemical bonds; producing free radicals which are extremely reactive ions in the body that interrupt normal function and cause cellular and tissue damage when they react with biological pathways; creating new, harmful, chemical bonds between macromolecules that would otherwise not occur and directly damaging molecules like DNA, RNA, and proteins that are responsible for normal cellular function. Depending on the amount and duration of ionizing radiation exposure, all or none of these types of damage can occur. Extremely high doses of radiation can lead to radiation sickness or even death. An above-average amount of radiation exposure can be responsible for increasing one’s chance of developing cancer. Not all ionizing radiation is bad though. Ionizing radiation can be used in the medical field for imaging, for example X-rays to look at bone, or treatment as in the case of cancer radiation. Ionizing radiation is capable of causing significant damage to living cells – this does not mean that just any exposure will 10 cause harm. A small amount over a short period of time may be harmless. To answer whether a specific exposure is harmful or harmless, scientists focus on quantifying and measuring the dose. When working with radiation, the biologically effective dose is what matters most for personal safety. For X-rays, the relative harm factor is 1, which means that a 1 rad absorbed dose is equivalent to a 1 rem biologically effective dose. Medical procedures account for nearly all (96%) human exposure to manmade radiation. For example, a chest x-ray typically gives a dose of about 0.01 rem (10 millirem), and a full-body CT gives a dose of 1 rem (1,000 mrem). When experimenting with ionizing radiation like X-rays, diminishing your and everyone else’s exposure should be the first priority. Ionizing radiation can have serious health effects at high biologically effective doses, including skin burns, an increase in cancers, radiation sickness, and even death. In normal case, a single chest X-ray or dental X-ray, both of which are considered to be medically safe, exposes a patient to 10 mrem of radiation. Limiting your exposure for a single experiment to 10 mrem would be similar to getting an X-ray. The international safety standard is 5,000 mrem or less per year. Your annual exposure, both normal and experimental, should fall below the 5,000-mrem level. Three components There are three components that figure in the total radiation dose: time, distance, and shielding. Time: The less time you spend exposed to radiation the lower your dose. When experimenting, make sure you know exactly what you need to get done with the radiation. If necessary, go through a dry run by practicing all your motions without the radiation. Only use the radiation when you have worked out all the other potential problems with your experimental procedure. Distance: Like most other physical phenomena, radiation decreases with distance in accordance with the inverse square law. This means that the further away you are from the source of the radiation, the less radiation you will be exposed to. Try to plan your experiments so that you and anyone else around are standing as far away from the radiation source as possible. Shielding: As ionizing radiation passes through matter, the intensity of the radiation is diminished. Thus, to protect yourself from radiation, you should erect a barrier or shield. However, the material you use matters significantly; some materials reduce the intensity of radiation more than others do. Nasa's Astrobiology Lab Among these medical procedures, x-rays, mammography, and CT use radiation or perform functions similar to those of radioisotopes. However, they do not involve radioactive material, and, hence, are not regulated by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Instead, most of these procedures are regulated by state health agencies in United States. Safe limits According to the American Nuclear Society, the average person is exposed to a dose of about Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 11 different characteristics. The common ionizing radiations generally talked about are: Alpha radiation: It consists of heavy, positively charged particles emitted by atoms of elements such as uranium and radium. Alpha radiation can be stopped completely by a sheet of paper or by the thin surface layer of our skin (epidermis). However, if alpha-emitting materials are taken into the body by breathing, eating, or drinking, they can expose internal tissues directly and may, therefore, cause biological damage. Beta radiation: It consists of electrons, which are more penetrating than alpha particles and can pass through 1-2 centimetres of water. In general, a sheet of aluminium a few millimetres thick will stop beta radiation. Radiation resistant Types of radiation The term ‘radiation’ is very broad, and includes such things as light and radio waves. In our context, it refers to ‘ionizing’ radiation, which means that because such radiation passes through matter, it can cause the matter to become electrically charged or ionized. In living tissues, the electrical ions produced by radiation can affect normal biological processes. circuit from mechanical parts There are various types of radiation, each having I Neutrons: Neutrons are uncharged particles and do not produce ionization directly, but their interaction with the atoms of matter can give rise to alpha, beta, gamma, or X-rays which then produce ionization. Neutrons are penetrating and can be stopped only by thick masses of concrete, water or HOW RISKY IS RADIATION? f you watch TV or use a cellphone, you are getting radiation. If you smoke cigarettes, you are definitely getting it, too. While not all types and sources of radiation are the same, scientists agree their net effect is to increase your risk of cancer and other health problems. How dangerous is radiation? Radiation consists of several types of subatomic particles, principally those called gamma rays, neutrons, electrons, and alpha particles, that shoot through space at very high speeds, something like 100,000 miles per second. They can easily penetrate deep inside the human body, damaging some of the biological cells of which the body is composed. This damage can cause a fatal cancer to develop, or if it occurs in reproductive cells, it can cause genetic defects in later generations of offspring. However, every person in the world is struck by about 15,000 of these particles of radiation every second of his or her life. These particles, totalling 500 billion a year, or 40 trillion in a lifetime, are from natural sources. In addition, our technology has introduced new sources of radiation like medical X-rays. With all of this radiation exposure, how come we are not all dying of cancer? The answer to that question is not that it takes a very large number of these particles to cause a cancer; what saves us is that the probability for one of these particles to cause cancer is very low, about 1 chance in 30 quadrillion (30 million billion, or 30,000,000,000,000,000). 12 Gamma rays: Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation similar to X-rays, light, and radio waves. Gamma rays, depending on their energy, can pass right through the human body, but can be stopped by thick walls of concrete or lead. Every time a particle of radiation strikes us, we engage in a fatal game of chance at those odds. Of course, every extra particle that strikes us increases our cancer risk; so many people feel that they should go to great lengths to avoid extra radiation. To put the matter in a nutshell, hazards of radiation must be treated quantitatively. To discuss radiation exposure quantitatively, we must introduce the unit in which it is measured, called the millirem, abbreviated mrem. One millirem of exposure corresponds to being struck by about 7 billion particles of radiation, but it takes into account variations in health risks with particle type and size of person. For example, a large adult and a small child standing side by side in a field of radiation would suffer roughly the same cancer risk and hence would receive the same dose in millirems, though the adult would be struck by many more particles of radiation being a larger target. In nearly all of our discussions about radiation, we will be considering doses below about 10,000 mrem, which is commonly referred to as low-level radiation. paraffin. Though we cannot see or feel the presence of radiation, it can be detected and measured in the minutest quantities with quite simple radiation measuring instruments. Protection from radiation It has long been recognised that large doses of ionizing radiation can damage human tissues. Over the years, as more was learnt, scientists became increasingly concerned about the potentially damaging effects of exposure to large doses of radiation. The need to regulate exposure to radiation prompted the formation of a number of expert bodies to consider what is needed to be done. In 1928, an independent, non-governmental body of experts in the field, the International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee, was set up. It was later renamed the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Its purpose is to establish basic principles for, and issue recommendations on, radiation protection. These principles and recommendations form the basis for national regulations governing the exposure of radiation workers and members of the public. They also have been incorporated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into its Basic Safety Standards for Radiation Protection, published jointly with World Health Organisation (WHO), International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). These standards are used worldwide to ensure safety and radiation protection of radiation workers and the public. An intergovernmental body was formed in 1955 by the United Nations General Assembly named the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). UNSCEAR is directed to assemble study and disseminate information on observed levels of ionizing radiation and radioactivity (natural and manmade) in the environment, and on the effects of such radiation on humans and the environment• How dangerous is 1 mrem of radiation? The answer can be given in quantitative terms, but, in most situations, for each millirem of radiation we receive, our risk of dying from cancer is increased by about 1 chance in 4 million. This is the result arrived at independently by the United States National Academy of Sciences Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation and the United Nations Scientific Committee on Effects of Atomic Radiation. Safety Messenger | May 2015 It has long been recognised that large doses of ionizing radiation can damage human tissues. What are X-rays? X-rays are a type of ionizing radiation that exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties. The wavelengths of X-rays are so short that they can travel very far through matter. For this reason, they are both useful and dangerous. Safety precautions need to be taken to make sure that the ionizing radiation does not damage living tissue. X-rays are produced when electrons give up some of their energy when they react with either the nucleus of an atom or orbital electrons. There are two atomic ways for this to occur. In both cases, free electrons are shot at a target of heavy atoms. In the Bremsstrahlung process, the highvelocity free electrons slow down as they interact with the target atom, especially its high protoncount nucleus. This slowdown is translated into electromagnetic energy and radiated out in the form of X-rays. In the K-shell emission process, the highvelocity electrons knock out electrons from the inner orbit (K-shell) of the target atoms. Higherenergy electrons from the target atoms’ outer orbit descend in to the lower-energy inner orbit to fill in the space created in the inner orbit. The descent releases excess electromagnetic energy in the form of X-rays. Medical X-ray machines and homemade X-ray machine use X-ray tubes to produce and control X-rays. These tubes have a cathode which releases electrons in to the vacuum and an anode that collects the electrons. This flow of electrons from cathode to anode is known as the beam. When the vacuum tube is hooked up to a highvoltage power supply, the energy is sufficient to accelerate electrons to extreme velocities until they collide with the metal anode. This collision knocks off inner-orbital electrons from the anode atoms. The subsequent act of other orbital electrons filling in the gap is what causes X-rays to be emitted. The energy of the X-rays emitted is directly proportional to the voltage applied through the tube. The minimum voltage needed to produce X-rays from a vacuum tube is about 20,000 V (20 kV). Safety Messenger | May 2015 13 Cover Story MOBILE TOWERS: TOWERING THREAT The remarkable increase in the users of mobile phones in India and the mushrooming of mobile tower installations in every nook and cranny of cities and towns have raised concerns over its probable impact on human health and wildlife. The common man is still not fully aware of the potential risks of the mobile phone. Multinational companies and telecom operators have been asked to provide better-quality services that are also ecologically safe. C.Mahadevan, HSE Consultant and chemical expert explains the regulations and possible hazards of cell phone towers. M C Mahadevan illions of mobile subscribers had taken part in the delayed rollout of 3G wireless telephony networks in India. Now, mobile subscribers will experience it all over again. The Department of Telecommunication has given a timeline for telecom operators and mobile phone makers to adhere to the globally permissible and safe levels of electromagnetic radiation emissions. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) not to permit installation of cell towers within one kilometer of existing ones. This is to ensure that there is no potential risk of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) harming humans, animals and other biological systems. The DoT has finalised tougher norms for radiation emission from cell towers. India currently follows the guidelines set for exposure to radiation by International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), a German independent body. 14 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 15 guidelines for issue of clearance for installation of mobile towers. All mobile-phone service providers were directed to follow the following guidelines strictly at the time of installation of mobile towers: 1. Installation of base station antennas within the premises of schools and hospitals may be avoided because children and patients are more susceptible to electromagnetic field (EMF). Installation of base station antennas in narrow lanes should be avoided to reduce the risks caused by earthquake or windrelated disaster. 2. The base station antennas should be at least 3 metres away from the nearby building, and antennas should not directly face the building. Further, the lower end of the antenna should be at least 3 metres above the ground or roof. 3. Cases of multiple transmitter sites at a specific locality sharing of a common tower infrastructure should be explored, and, as far as possible, coordinated through a nodal agency. The DoT’s new regulations regarding radiation emissions from cellular towers and mobile phones are came into effect on 1st September 2012. Mobile phone towers installed on top of buildings are a definite threat to human health. According to experts, radiation from mobile phones used for long duration is higher than those from mobile towers.A good part of a telecom tower is a single installed unit can be home to multiple telecom providers. This means that the same telecom tower can be used by multiple companies for distributing the signals. History of regulations in India If towers are responsible for radiation effects, is the Government doing anything about it? Are there any regulations that mobile companies have to follow? 1. The Government framed a policy in 2006, which included guidelines, rules and regulations for installing a tower. Under the guidelines, mobile service providers have to get clearances from the Government before installing a tower. exposure, without accounting for people who live close to cell towers 24/7. 4. In August 2010, Government set up an InterMinisterial Committee on Electric and Magnetic radiation from cell towers and mobile handsets as well as their effects on health. 5. In 2011, the committee submitted the report. 6. In 2012, the DoT framed rules mandating all mobile-phone manufacturers to comply with the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and announced that the new regulations regarding radiation emissions from cell towers and mobile phones, to be effective from September 1, 2012. Important guidelines for installing towers 4. Access to base-station antenna sites should be prohibited for the public by suitable means such as wire-fencing, locking of the door to the roof, etc. Access to tower site, even for the maintenance personnel, should be for a minimum period as far as possible. 5. Sign boards/warning signs are to be provided at base-station antenna sites, which should be clearly visible and identifiable. A warning sign should be placed at the entrance of such zone. The warning sign should discourage longer stay in the zone, even for the maintenance personnel. The signboard may contain the following text: Danger! RF radiations Do not enter! Restricted Area. 6. The operators and maintenance personnel 7. All local authorities should ensure that, before giving any permission for installation of the mobile towers, the aforementioned guidelines should be followed. 8. Permissions or documents required 8.1. Structural safety certificate from designated institute 8.2. Housing societies, before giving permissions to service providers to erect towers for a rent, should check the structural stability of the building according to the Development Control (DC) rules. This is important certificate for installation of tower in building. 8.3. Consent from authority Mobile phone operators and building owner have to get consent of municipality or other competent authority. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and rules made thereunder and the DoT issued 8.4. Indemnity bond This is required from owner or service provider for the installation of tower. Indemnity bond is to take care of any loss or injury due to accident caused by the tower. 2. In 2008, DoT decided to adopt the International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines in the Telecom sector. 8.5. Other documents required as per guideline of DoT 3. Till 2009, India had not adopted any standards for safe exposure from mobile phone and mobile towers. In 2009, the country adopted radiation norms specified by ICNIRP guidelines of 1998. However, the ICNIRP guidelines are outdated as they are only intended to protect the public against short-term gross heating effects and NOT against ‘biological’ effects such as cancer and genetic damage from long-term exposure. Besides, these safety standards are based on 6-minute-a-day 16 who are dealing with radio frequency devices, especially with base station antennas installed on towers and at any other outdoor sites, should be protected from electromagnetic radiations. It is required that operators and maintenance personnel should be educated for possible hazards from these devices. 8.5.1. Copy of Access Service Registration Certificate from DoT License/IP 8.5.2. Copy of SACFA clearance for the said location issued by WPC Wing of DoT 8.5.3. Other clearance at state-level/ local authoritylevel: From Pollution Control Board for DG sets; from Fire Safety Department, if applicable; and from State Environment and Forest Dept. where Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 17 lakh per tower per company if rules are flouted. The decision follows a report of the interministerial committee formed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to study the hazards posed by electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from base stations and mobile phones. India Brings strict norms A n Inter-Ministerial Committee comprising the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Department of Biotechnology, and Indian Council of Medical Research was set up in August 2010 for studying radiation from cell towers and mobile handsets. The group highlighted the adverse effects of radiation on human health and made very specific recommendations of not permitting cell towers near schools, residential colonies and hospitals. Keeping public interest in view and to have regular interactions between TERM Cell of DoT and state/district administration, state and district telecom committees were formed for review of all telecom infrastructurerelated issues at state/district level. India’s current radiation exposure limit (9.2 watt/m²) for mobile towers is higher than in countries like Russia (0.2 w/m²) and China (0.4 w/m²). In the United States, Canada and Japan, however, the radiation exposure limit is much higher (12 w/m). Based on the government circular dated 31/8/2012, the Government of India implemented stricter radiation emission norms from September 1, 2012, for mobile towers, which must reduce emission to one-tenth of the prevailing standard – from 9.2 w/ m² (watt per square metre) to 0.92 w/m² – or else, face penalties. The DoT also issued directions for reducing the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), a measure of the amount of radio-frequency energy absorbed by the body while using a phone as the guidelines prescribed by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The ICNIRP lays down the basic restrictions and reference levels for limiting exposure to electromagnetic radiations from mobile base stations and handsets. Thus mobile handsets with the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values of 1.6 watt/ kg averaged over 1 gram of human tissue will be allowed in India, which is 50% more stringent than current norms, though ICNIRP has stipulated that manufacturers must ensure that the maximum SAR level of a cellphone does not exceed 2 w/kg. For handsets, SAR is an indication of the amount of radiation that is absorbed by body while using a mobile phone. This is measured in watts per kilogram (w/kg) and the higher the SAR rating, the more is the radiation absorbed. At present, mobile handsets are compliant with 2 watt/ kg averaged over 10 gram of human tissue. Mobile phones with new SAR values will be permitted to be manufactured or imported into the country. Since every handset has its own SAR levels, DoT is considering making it mandatory for handset manufacturers to display the radiation levels on mobile phones through the menu options, making it easier for the consumers to know the exact levels for each mobile device. The lower the SAR value, the less dangerous it is. Ideally go for a phone which has SAR value of 0.2-0.8 w/kg. The new norms will place India among the more radiation-conscious countries. 18 necessary. 8.5.4. Copy of NOC from building owner 8.5.5. Nominal, one-time administrative fee as may be decided by the local body to recover its costs on the issue of permission for installation of tower. 8.5.6. Electricity connection may be provided to BTS site on priority. 8.5.7. For BTS tower, the following details are required: Data sheet; name of service/infrastructure provider; location; tower reference: height, weight, ground/rooftop, and the number of antennas planned on tower. 8.5.8. Copy of structural stability certificate for ground-based BTS, or, in case of rooftop BTS towers, structural stability certificate for the building based on written approvals of authorised Chartered Structural Engineer (local bodies); Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee; or reputed engineering colleges like IIT and NIIT. 8.6. Avoid base station antennas in narrow lanes (≤ 5 metres) 8.7. In respect of rooftop towers with multiple antennas, the rooftop usage desirable to be totally restricted. 8.8. In case of both ground-based towers and rooftop towers, there shall be no nearby buildings right in front of the antenna with height comparable to the lowest antenna on tower at a distance threshold. Tougher norms include tower providers to avoid installing base station antennas in lanes narrower than 5 metres while totally restricting rooftop towers with multiple antennas. To safeguard consumers, telecoms will have to maintain distance from a building depending on the number of antennas they want to put up. For instance, a building should be 75 metres away from a tower that has 12 antennas. A tower with only two antennas can be 35 meters away. It is gathered that 95% of nearly 500,000 towers across the country are already adhering to the high standards. Objections operators raised telecom The telecom operators are, however, resisting the move. According to them, lowering of EMF limits will give no health benefits but affect services. Deteriorated coverage will mean the handset will have to work harder/at a higher power which will cause greater personal exposure. Also, if the handset operates at a higher power, the battery will discharge faster, giving consumers lesser talktime/standby time, leading to a degraded customer experience. They also argue that the steps are not needed, as there is no proof of direct correlation between the radiation emitted by cellphone towers and phones and health. They also has opposed a Government’s proposal to make it mandatory for mobile-phone manufacturers to specify the radiation levels (SAR) emitted by the device on the handset’s screen menu. Telecom manufacturers also oppose a move from DoT to set up a Conformity Assessment Body Reducing risks Lowering of the limit is a preventive step against serious health risks posed by radiation emitted from towers, which include the possibility of developing certain types of cancer, though the cause-and-effect relationship has not been established yet. The new radiation exposure limits from towers were 10 times more stringent than those adopted by 90% of the world and telecoms were bound to comply. Mobile phone companies would have to provide selfcertification of compliance with the new norms and register with the Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cells. TERM cells would conduct random audits, and, in case of complaints. The Telecom Department can impose a fine of Rs 5 Safety Messenger | May 2015 by (CAB), which will measure radiation from mobile base stations and provide certifications to the operators. There are over 3 lakh mobile towers in the country, which are known to emit electromagnetic radiation. Cellular operators argue that the level of radiation at any tower is under permissible levels and the assessment body will only result in delays. It should not insist on making SAR a part of the handset menu. In this regard, they maintain that most of the handsets sold in India comply with the global emission norms, and their SAR values are displayed either in the device manual, or on the website of the mobile manufacturer – hence the display of SAR values through menu options on screen is not required. According to the guidelines framed in 2006, there are rules and regulations for installing a tower. No tower would be installed within a 100-metre radius of hospitals or educational institutes. Location of tower According to the guidelines framed in 2006, there are rules and regulations for installing a tower. No tower would be installed within a 100-metre radius of hospitals or educational institutes. However many towers have been installed flouting these guidelines. Regarding the location of towers, cell operators shall avoid residential areas for erection of the same. • First preference shall be given to the location of tower in the forest areas • Second preference shall be given to the location of tower in the open or public areas away from residential locations • Where it is not possible to avoid the location of the tower in residential area, the same shall be located in open space or park, with prior consent of owners of adjoining residential houses • Erection of tower shall not be allowed within a radius of 100 metres from residential buildings, schools and hospitals• Safety Messenger | May 2015 19 What is mobile tower radiation? brain, which consists of about 90% water. How can one detect whether one is being harmed or not? Who can one complain to? If one lives close to a mobile tower: • One can request the operators to reduce the power transmission • Change the angle of the antennas so that no house falls in the main beam of the antennas, or • Go for shielding solution For detection, NESA has come up with a lowcost, simple and easy-to-use Cell Tower Radiation Detector, DETEX 189, which is based on the health recommendations by Bio-initiative Group. It has an LED indicator as well as buzzer to find if one is living in a safe, caution, or danger zone. Unfortunately, right now, in India, there is no e-mail address or authority to which one can complain directly, other than DoT. M obile phone towers hold antennas and other communications equipment. They flood the area for miles around with powerful, high-frequency radio waves to support the use of cellphones. This radiation allegedly causes health problem – ‘allegedly’ because our Government has said in Parliament that mobile-tower radiation does not cause health problems. How exactly does mobile radiation cause health problems? Mobile phones and towers emit electromagnetic radiation having health effects, which can be divided into thermal and nonthermal. Thermal effects refer to heating effect which you feel if you hold the phone for long near your ear. Non-thermal effects on the cells, genes and the DNA and are more harmful than thermal effects. Excessive use of mobiles can lead to headache, sleep disturbance, lack of concentration, memory loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and increased risk of brain cancer. Having mobile towers in your neighbourhood can pose health problems like severe headache, sleep disturbance, constant body pain, memory problems, joint pains, 20 • Use text as compared to voice wherever possible. Put the cell phone on speaker mode. • Do not press the phone handset against your head. Radio Frequency (RF) energy is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source – that is, being very close increases energy absorption much more. • Do not carry your phone directly on your body, even on standby mode, and do not use it less than 1 metre away from another person, in order to reduce the effect of ‘passive’ radiation. • If the radio signal is weak, a mobile phone will increase its transmission power. Find a strong signal and avoid movement. Use your phone where reception is good. • When a mobile phone is ON, it automatically transmits at high power every one or two minutes to check (poll) the network. • Reduce mobile phone use by children since a younger person is likely to have a longer lifetime exposure to radiation from cellphones. With their lighter body weight, the radiation is more damaging, especially to the brain, weakening the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB), and to the reproductive organs/ovaries, etc. • People having active medical implants should preferably keep the cellphone least 15 cm away from the implant. etc. The more severe health effects noted include infertility, miscarriage, neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, etc.), heart problems and cancer. In May 2012,WHO classified radio frequency EMF associated with a wireless phone as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” The UN’s health body urged phone owners to restrict their use and take pragmatic steps to reduce exposure like use of hands-free devices and texting. WHO study also says that electromagnetic waves from mobile towers could be possible carcinogens for a kind of brain cancer. How and why does mobile radiation affect humans? Human body is itself is electromagnetic (very low – around 10 hertz frequency). Each of our cells has its own electromagnetic field. When we are exposed to the cellular tower frequency, which is very high our body’s EMF (electromagnetic field) is disturbed and this causes very serious types of damages to our cells, brain, etc. Human body consists of 70% liquid. It is similar to that of cooking in the microwave oven where the water in the food content is heated first. The ‘microwave absorption’ effect is much more significant in the body parts which contain more fluid (water, blood, etc.), like the Safety Messenger | May 2015 • Use the phone only in conditions of optimum reception: do not use it in a confined space such as an elevator, basement, underground station, caravan, etc. In these situations, the strength of the signal, both sending and receiving, is much greater, and hence the radiation is much more intense. HANDLE CELLPHONE WITH CARE The following are some of the basic precautions to be taken to minimise exposure to radiation while using a mobile phone: • Hold the cellphone away from body to the extent possible. • Limit phone calls to those that are absolutely necessary, and restrict these to a maximum of 6 minutes, which is the time the body needs to adjust. World health Organisation (WHO) has urged phone owners to restrict their use and take pragmatic steps to reduce exposure like using hands-free devices and texting. Use a hands-free kit and hold the phone 20 cm-30 cm away from your body in order to limit the impact of radiation on yourself. • Use a headset (wired or Bluetooth) to keep the handset away from your head. • Limit the length of cellphone calls. Safety Messenger | May 2015 • Do not use the phone while you are in a moving vehicle, including the train, bus, etc., since its antenna will be constantly scanning for contact using the maximum signal strength, and the radiation from both incoming and outgoing signal will be intensified. • Do not use the phone while in any vehicle, even when stationary. An enclosed metal container produces the ‘Faraday cage’ effect, which maximises the damaging impact of radiation, reflecting not only on the person using the phone but also on other passengers, especially children. So it is essential to step out of the vehicle before making a call. • Do not keep a mobile phone beside the bed at night switched on, because even when on standby mode, it is in contact with the nearest phone mast and emits radiation at regular intervals• 21 HEALTH RADIATION RESISTING SYSTEMS Radiation protection, otherwise referred to as radiological protection, is the science and practice of protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, which is widely used in industry and medicine, and can present significant health hazard. The technology and methodology of radiation protection is still evolving for the better. This article prepared by Dr. M. Dinesh & Dr. Ram Madhav of AIMS, Kochi is an analytical overview of radiation hazards and protection systems. I n the beginning, the dangers of radioactivity and radiation were not immediately recognised. The discovery of X-rays in 1895 led to widespread experimentation by scientists, and incidence of burns, hair loss and worse began to appear in technical journals as early as 1896. In 1902, William Herbert Rollins made public his warnings about the dangers involved in careless use of X-rays. By this time, Rollins had proved that X-rays could kill experimental animals, could cause a pregnant guinea pig to abort, and that they could kill a foetus. Meanwhile, many physicians and corporations began marketing radioactive substances as patent medicine. Marie Curie protested against this sort of treatment, warning that the effects of radiation on the human body were not understood well. Curie later died from aplastic anaemia, likely caused by exposure to ionizing radiation. By the 1930s, after a number of cases of bone necrosis occurred and many radium treatment enthusiasts died, radium- 22 Dr. M. Dinesh Professor Radiation Oncology Dn. Dr.Ram Madhav Asst.Professor Radiation Oncology Dn. Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 23 Regulation of dose uptake In most countries, a national regulatory authority works towards ensuring a secure radiation environment in society by setting dose limitation requirements that are generally based on the recommendations of the ICRP. The principles they follow are: Justification: No unnecessary use of radiation is permitted, which means that the advantages must outweigh the disadvantages Limitation: Each individual must be protected against risks that are far too large through individual radiation dose limits Optimisation: Radiation doses should all be kept as low as reasonably achievable. This means that it is not enough to remain under the radiation dose limits. As permit holder, you are responsible for ensuring that radiation doses are as low as reasonably achievable, which means that the actual radiation doses are often much lower than the permitted limit. Minimising radiation risks containing medicinal products had been largely removed from the market. Now it has been widely accepted that ionized radiation causes microscopic damage to living tissue, which can result in skin burns and radiation sickness at high exposures, and statistically elevated risks of cancer at low exposures. Fundamental to radiation or radiological protection are the reduction of expected dose and the measurement of human dose uptake, thereby protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. CT Scan Result of radiation exposure on a child the protection of patients, and public radiation protection, which is protection of individual members of the public, and of the population as a whole. The types of exposure, as well as government regulations and legal exposure limits are different for each of these groups. ALARP is an acronym for an important principle in exposure to radiation and other occupational health risks and stands for As Low As Reasonably Practicable.’ The aim is to minimise the risk of radioactive exposure or other hazards while keeping in mind that some exposure may be acceptable to further the task at hand. The application of radiation can aid the patient by providing doctors and other health care professionals with a medical diagnosis, but the exposure should be reasonably low enough to keep the statistical probability of cancers or sarcomas below an acceptable level, and to eliminate deterministic effects like skin reddening or cataracts. This policy is based on the principle that any For radiation protection and dissymmetry assessment, the International Committee on Radiation Protection (ICRP) and the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) recommend, develop and maintain the International System of Radiological Protection, based on evaluation of scientific studies available. These recommendations flow down to national regulators, which have the option of incorporating them into law. amount of radiation exposure, no matter how small, can increase the chance of negative biological effects such as cancer. It is also based on the principle that the probability of the occurrence of negative effects of radiation exposure increases with cumulative lifetime dose. At the same time, radiology and other practices that involve use of radiations bring benefits to population, so reducing radiation exposure can reduce the efficacy of a medical practice. The economic cost, for example of adding a barrier against radiation, must also be considered when applying the ALARP principle. Various kinds of shielding materials are used to protect against radiation. Different types of ionizing radiation interact in different ways with shielding material. The effectiveness of shielding is dependent on the stopping power of radiation particles, which varies with the type and energy of radiation and the shielding material used. Different shielding techniques are, therefore, used depending on the application and the type and energy of the radiation. In some cases, improper shielding can actually make the situation worse, when the radiation interacts with the shielding material and creates secondary radiation that absorbs in the organisms more readily. Radiation protection instruments Practical radiation measurement using calibrated radiation protection instruments is essential in evaluating the effectiveness of protection measures and in assessing the radiation dose likely to be received by individuals. The measuring instruments for radiation protection are both installed ones and those can be carried. Who all need protection? Radiation protection is divided into occupational radiation protection, which is the protection of workers, medical radiation protection, which is 24 In most countries, a national regulatory authority works towards ensuring a secure radiation environment in society by setting dose limitation requirements that are generally based on the recommendations of the ICRP. Installed instruments are fixed in positions Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 25 Gamma radiation ‘interlock monitors’ are used in applications to prevent inadvertent exposure of workers to an excess dose by preventing personnel access to an area when a high radiation level is present. These interlock the process access directly. Personnel exit monitors (PEM) are used to monitor workers who are exiting a ‘contaminationcontrolled’ or potentially contaminated area. These can be in the form of hand monitors, clothing frisk probes, or whole body monitors. These monitor the surface of the workers body and clothing to check if any radioactive contamination has been deposited. These generally measure alpha or beta or gamma, or combinations of these• Protecting spacecraft On long-duration manned missions, advantage can be taken of the good shielding characteristics of liquid-hydrogen fuel and water. The NASA Space Radiation Laboratory makes use of a particle accelerator that produces beams of protons or heavy ions. In a 2002 NASA study, it was determined that materials that have high hydrogen contents, such as polyethylene, can reduce primary and secondary radiation to a greater extent than metals such as aluminium. The problem with this ‘passive shielding’ method is that radiation interactions in the material generate secondary radiation. Juno Spacecraft Taking Shape In Denver S pacecraft, both manned and unmanned, must cope with the high radiation environment of outer space. Space radiation produced by the Sun and other galactic sources, and trapped in radiation ‘belts’ in space is more dangerous and hundreds of times more intense than radiation sources such as medical X-rays or normal cosmic radiation usually experienced on Earth. When the intensely ionizing particles found in space strike human tissue, it can result in cell damage and may eventually lead to cancer. Active shielding, that is, using magnets, high voltages, or artificial magnetospheres to slow down or defect radiation, has been considered to combat radiation potentially in a feasible way. So far, the cost of equipment, power and weight of active shielding equipment outweigh their benefits. For example, active radiation equipment would need a habitable volume size to house it, and magnetic and electrostatic configurations often are not homogenous in intensity, allowing high-energy particles to penetrate the magnetic and electric fields from low-intensity parts, like cusps in dipolar magnetic field of Earth• Radiation Protection Products & Services Our Solutions Nuvia is recognised internationally as a world-class provider of radiation safety products and services. We provide complete services related to provision of radiation safety requirements in the fields of energy, health, education, science and industry. Radiation Monitoring Instrument (RMI) Calibration Services AERB accredited Traceability of test measurements and results Quality Assurance( QA) of X-ray diagnostic equipments AERB accredited Training Programmes Radiation Protection Waste Management & Decommissioning Introduction to the Nuclear Industry Environment Monitoring & Assessment Geological & Geophysical survey products Airborne Radiation Monitoring Mobile Radiation Monitoring Portable Gamma Ray Spectrometry Nuclear/ Radiation Measuring Products Contamination monitors Whole body counting system Modular containment System Radiation shielding material Radiation Protection Consultancy and Advice The usual method for radiation protection is material shielding by spacecraft and equipment structures, usually aluminium, possibly augmented by polyethylene in human spaceflight where the main concern is high-energy protons and cosmic ray ions. On unmanned spacecraft in high-electron dose environments such as Jupiter missions, or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), additional shielding with materials of a high atomic number can be effective. 26 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Nuvia India Pvt Ltd www.nuvia-india.com | [email protected] 011 - 49384300 Calibration facility, New Delhi which are known to be important in assessing the general radiation hazard in an area. Examples are installed ‘area’ radiation monitors, gamma interlock monitors, personnel exit monitors, and airborne particulate monitors. The area radiation monitor will measure the ambient radiation, usually X-ray, gamma or neutrons; these are radiations which can have significant radiation levels over a range in excess of tens of metres from their source, and thereby cover a wide area. Cover Story N-POWER PLANTS: BOON OR BANE? Nuclear power plants have come to stay despite their potential to cause health hazards, and, all the more so, when something like the Chernobyl happens. This is because the humanity is badly in need of atomic energy for survival in the context of depletion of many other natural energy sources. The following is an analytical overview based on expert opinions on the pros and cons of having nuclear power plants as a major source of energy. 28 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 29 It may be noted that the Soviet Chernobyl reactor, built on a much less safe design concept, did not have such a containment structure; if it did, that disaster would have been averted. N uclear-power technology produces materials that are active in emitting radiation and are, therefore, called radioactive.’ These materials can come into contact with people principally through small releases during routine plant operation, accidents in nuclear power plants, accidents in transporting radioactive materials, and escape of radioactive wastes from confinement systems. Since natural radiation is estimated to cause about 1% of all cancers, radiation due to nuclear technology should eventually increase our cancer risk by 0.002% (one part in 50,000), thereby reducing our life expectancy by less than one hour, according to Prof. Bernard Cohen, of the University of Pittsburgh Nuclear plants and safety Anti-nuclear power plant rally in Tokyo Satellite view of the Fukushima nuclear power plant after earthquake Very high radiation doses can destroy body functions and lead to death within 60 days, but such ‘noticeable’ deaths would be expected in only 2% of reactor meltdown accidents; there would be over 100 in 0.2% of meltdowns, and 3,500 in 1 out of 100,000 meltdowns. To date, the largest number of noticeable deaths from coal burning was in the 1952 London air pollution incident where there were 3,500 extra deaths in one week. Of course, the nuclear accidents are hypothetical and there are many much worse hypothetical accidents in other electricity generation technologies like collapse of hydroelectric dams. Hazards of radioactive waste Radioactive waste is one of the main sources of hazardous nuclear radiation; hence the radioactive waste products from the nuclear industry must be isolated from contact with people for very long time periods. The bulk of the radioactivity is contained in the spent fuel, which is quite small in volume, and, therefore, can be handled easily with great care. This ‘high level waste’ will be converted to a rock-like form and emplaced in the natural habitat of rocks, deep underground. The average lifetime of a rock in that environment is 1 billion years. If the waste behaves like other rock, it is easily shown that the waste generated by one nuclear power plant will eventually, over millions of years, cause one death from 50 years of operation. By comparison, the wastes from coal burning plants that end up in the ground will eventually cause several thousand deaths from generating the same amount of electricity, according to nuclear experts Experts say that there has been much misunderstanding on genetic diseases due to radiation. The risks are somewhat less than the cancer risks; for example, among the Japanese A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there have been about 400 extra cancer deaths among the 100,000 people in the follow-up group, but there have been no extra genetic diseases among their progeny. Since there is no possible way for the cells in our bodies to distinguish between natural radiation and radiation from the nuclear industry, the latter cannot cause new types 30 Even in the Three Mile Island accident, where at least two equipment failures were compounded severely by human errors, two lines of defence were still not breached. Essentially, all of the radioactivity remained sealed in the thick steel reactor vessel, and that vessel was sealed inside the heavily reinforced concrete and steel-lined ‘containment’ building, which was never even challenged. It was clearly not a close call on disaster to the surrounding population. It may be noted that the Soviet Chernobyl reactor, built on a much less safe design concept, did not have such a containment structure; if it did, that disaster would have been averted. Risks from reactor accidents are estimated by the rapidly developing science of probabilistic risk analysis (PRA). A PRA must be done separately for each power plant. Typically, a fuel meltdown might be expected once in 20,000 years of a reactor operation. “In 2 out of 3 meltdowns there would be no deaths; in 1 out of 5, there would be over 1,000 deaths; and in 1 out of 100,000 meltdowns, there would be 50,000 deaths. The average for all meltdowns would be 400 deaths. Since air pollution from coal burning is estimated to be causing 10,000 deaths a year, there would have to be 25 meltdowns each year for nuclear power to be as dangerous as coal burning,” experts say. of genetic diseases or deformities, or threaten the ‘human race.’ Nuclear power plants’ design strategy for preventing accidents and mitigating their potential effects has to be foolproof. If something fails, there is a backup system to limit the harm done; if that system should also fail, there is another backup system for it. Of course, it is possible that each system in this series of backups might fail one after the other, but the probability for that is exceedingly small. The media often publicise a failure of some particular system in some plant, implying that it was a close call on disaster; they completely miss the point of defence in depth, which easily takes care of such failures. The much larger volume of much less radioactive – ‘low level’ – waste from nuclear plants will be buried at shallow depths, typically 20 feet in soil. If we assume that this material immediately becomes dispersed through the soil between the surface and Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 31 Radioactive waste is one of the main sources of hazardous nuclear radiation; hence the radioactive waste products from the nuclear industry must be isolated from contact with people for very long time periods. Major nuclear accidents was mostly restricted to 50 mSv, though occasionally it was many times this. None of the men developed any symptoms of radiation sickness, but they must be considered to have a considerably increased cancer risk. Fukushima The accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan in March 2011 released about 940 PBq (iodine-131 equivalent) of radioactive material, mostly 4 to 6 days after the tsunami. In May 2013, UNSCEAR reported that “radiation exposure following the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi did not cause any immediate health effects. It is unlikely to be able to attribute any health effects in the future among the general public and the vast majority of workers.” The only exception was the 146 emergency workers who received radiation doses of over 100 mSv during the crisis. Evidence of nuclear exposure in ancient India ground water depth, despite elaborate measures to maintain waste package integrity, the death toll from this low-level waste would be 5% of that from the high-level waste. Other radiation issues The effects of routine releases of radioactivity from nuclear plants depend somewhat on how the spent fuel is handled. A typical estimate is that they may reduce our life expectancy by 15 minutes, says Prof. Bernard. A pictorial representation which shows radiation effects on a fetus through food. Potential problems from accidents in transport of radioactive materials are largely neutralised by elaborate packaging. A great deal of such transport has taken place over the past 50 years and there have been numerous accidents, including fatal ones. However, from all of these accidents combined, there is less than a 1% chance that even a single death will ever result from radiation exposure. Probabilistic risk analyses indicate that we can expect less than one death per century in from this source. Mining uranium to fuel nuclear power plants leaves ‘mill tailings’ – which are the residues from chemical processing of the ore, which lead to radon exposures to the public. However, these effects are grossly overcompensated by the fact that mining uranium out of the ground reduces future radon exposures. By comparison, coal burning leaves ashes that increase future radon exposures. The all-inclusive estimates of radon effects are that one nuclear power plant operating for one year will eventually avert a few hundred deaths, while an equivalent coal burning plant will eventually cause 30 deaths, according to studies. Nuclear radiation exposures The average annual radiation dose to employees at uranium mines (in addition to natural background) is around 2 mSv, ranging up to 10 mSv (a millisievert – ‘mSv’ – is defined as the average accumulated background radiation dose to an individual for 1 year, exclusive of radon). Natural background radiation is about 2 mSv. In most mines, keeping doses to such low levels is achieved with straightforward ventilation techniques coupled with rigorously enforced procedures for hygiene. Reprocessing plants in Europe and Russia treat used fuel to recover useable uranium and plutonium and separate the highly radioactive wastes. These facilities employ massive shielding to screen gamma radiation in particular. Manual operations are carried by operators behind lead glass by using remote handling equipment• 32 Thyroid doses in children were significantly lower than from the Chernobyl accident. Some 160,000 people were evacuated as a precautionary measure, and prolonging the evacuation resulted in the deaths of about 1,100 of them due to stress, and some due to disruption of medical and social welfare facilities. Safety Messenger | May 2015 Chernobyl Victim Chernobyl I n the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986, very large doses of radiation were experienced. Apart from the residents of the nearby Pripyat who were evacuated within two days, some 24,000 people living within 15 kilometres of the plant received an average of 450 mSv before they were evacuated. In June 1989, a group of experts from World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed that an incremental long-term dose of 350 mSv should be the criterion for relocating people affected by the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Certainly, the main radiation exposure was to workers on site, and the 146 with doses of over 100 mSv were be monitored closely for potential late radiation-related health effects at an individual level. Six of them had received over 250 mSv – the limit set for emergency workers there, apparently due to inhaling iodine-131 fume early on. There were around 250 workers on site each day. Three Mile Island The March 1979 accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the United States caused some people near the plant to receive very minor doses of radiation, well under the internationally recommended level. Subsequent scientific studies found no evidence of any harm resulting from that exposure. In 1996, some 2,100 lawsuits claiming adverse health effects from the accident were dismissed for lack of evidence• Out of the 134 severely exposed workers and firemen, 28 of the most heavily exposed died as a result of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) within three months of the accident. Of these, 20 were from the group of 21 that had received over 6.5 Gy, seven out of 22 had received between 4.2 and 6.4 Gy, and one out of 50 from the group that had received 2.2-4.1 Gy. A further 19 died during 1987-2004 from different causes. After the shelter was built over the destroyed reactor at Chernobyl, a team of about 15 engineers and scientists was set up to investigate the situation inside it. Over several years, they repeatedly entered the ruin, accumulating individual doses of up to 15,000 mSv. Daily dose Safety Messenger | May 2015 Fukushima Waste 33 Environment INDIA IN FOR SEVERE WATER SHORTAGE India is heading for acute water scarcity. While it is estimated that over 2 billion people worldwide live in regions facing water famine, in India, this is a particularly severe crisis. Millions of Indians are living without clean drinking water, and the situation is getting worse since India’s demand for water is growing at an alarming rate. 34 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 35 is estimated that, 30 years from now, about onethird of our population will suffer from chronic water shortages. whereas the United States has nearly 8,000 cubic metres per person now. The second cause is poor water quality resulting from insufficient and delayed investment in urban water treatment facilities. Water in most rivers in India is largely not fit for drinking, and, in many stretches, not even fit for bathing. Despite the Ganga Action Plan, which was launched in 1984 to clean up the Ganga river within 25 years, much of the river remains polluted with a high coliform count at many places. Moreover, industrial-effluent standards are not enforced because the state pollution control boards have inadequate technical and human resources. According to the Planning Commission, the total water resources are about 178 million hectare metres, but because of limitations of physiography, topography, geology, dependability, quality and the present state of technology, only a fraction of it could be utilised. The demand for water for irrigation is increasing rapidly due to rapid increase in population, and new technology will have to be developed for making optimum use of the available water resources. Water-scarce cities A survey conducted by Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) showed that 50 lakh households in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Madurai are water-deficient. World Health Organisation specifies that minimum water requirement should be 100-200 litres a day, which is way above the average urban figure of 90 litres. Chennai and Bangalore suffer from 53.8% and 39.5% water deficiency, respectively. Andhra Pradesh has extremes: deficiency is a moderate 24.2% in Hyderabad, and an alarming 91.8% Visakhapatnam. In the north, Delhi records 29.8% water deficiency, and Lucknow, 27.3%. W orld Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 97 million Indians lack access to safe water at present, second only to China. As a result, World Bank estimates that 21% of communicable diseases in India are related to unsafe water. Without change, the problem may get worse as India is projected to grow significantly in the coming decades and overtake China by 2028 to become the world’s most populous country. India has about 16% of the world’s population as compared to only 4% of its water resources. With the present population of over 1,000 million, the per-capita water availability is around 1.170 cu m/person/year. Severe water shortages have led to a growing number of conflicts between users in the agricultural and industrial sectors, as also the domestic sector. The lack of water availability and poor management practices also have manifested in poor sanitation facilities, one among the biggest environmental and social challenges India faces today, a report of the UNICEF points out. New Delhi demands 36 million cubic metres of water a day. The New Delhi Jal Board supplies just over 30 million cubic metres a day, but only 17 million cubic metres actually reach consumers due to infrastructure problems, such as leaking pipes. The Government has neglected proper maintenance of pipes and canals, which is now causing major inefficiencies in water use. A joint effort of pulling up some water that lies bineath Nearly 40% of water demand in urban India is met by groundwater, so groundwater tables in most cities are falling at an alarming rate of 2-3 metres a year. Another factor is water leakage. Delhi loses at least 30% of its water due to leakages in its 83-kilometere-long pipeline network. Mumbai loses about 20% of its water due to leakage. It is estimated that, in India, 85% of rural and over 50% of urban water supplies depend on groundwater for meeting drinking and domestic water needs. Increasing demand for water in agriculture sector puts a heavy strain on our water resources, and groundwater resources are overexploited. In some districts of Punjab and Haryana, the groundwater level is falling at an alarming rate of over 1 metre a year. Root causes India’s water crisis is rooted in three causes. The first is insufficient water per person as a result of population growth. The total amount of usable water has been estimated to be between 700 to 1,200 billion cubic metres (bcm). With a population of 1.2 billion according to the 2011 census, India has only 1,000 cubic metres of water per person, even using the higher estimate. A country is considered waterstressed if it has less than 1,700 cubic metres per person per year. For comparison, India had between 3,000 and 4,000 cubic metres per person in 1951, Children in Myanmar engaged in collecting water The third problem is dwindling groundwater supplies due to over-extraction by farmers. This is because groundwater is an open-access resource and anyone can pump water from under his own land. Given how highly fragmented land ownership in India is, with millions of farmers and an average farm size of less than 2 hectares, the tragedy of the commons is inevitable. India extracted 251 bcm of groundwater in 2010, whereas the United States extracted only 112 bcm. Further, India’s rate of extraction has been steadily growing from a base of 90 bcm in 1980, while this rate in the United States has remained at more or less the same level since 1980. In a developing country like India, more and more power plants are being built to meet the everincreasing demand of electricity. This will lead to a clash of competing necessities – between drinking water and energy demand. Thermal-power plants are posing a threat to the country’s freshwater. According to a recent research done in India and three other countries ( the US, China and France), electricity is one of the biggest source of water consumption as the power plants need cooling cycles to function, for which water is needed in large volumes. In addition to the increasing population, over the years, growing industrialisation, expanding agriculture and rising standards of living have pushed up the demand for water. Efforts have been made to collect water by building dams and reservoirs and creating groundwater structures such as wells. Recycling and desalination of water are other options, but the cost involved is very high. But, still, the situation is not promising. It is the human nature that we value things only when they are scarce or are in short supply. As such, we appreciate the value of water once the rivers, reservoirs, ponds, wells, etc., run dry. Our water resources have now entered an era of scarcity. It 36 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 37 scarcity an unnecessary yet critical problem. Tamil Nadu model India’s agricultural sector currently uses about 90% of the total water resources. Irrigated agriculture has been fundamental to economic development, but, unfortunately, it has caused groundwater depletion. Owing to water pollution in rivers, India draws 80% of its irrigation water from groundwater. As water scarcity becomes a bigger and bigger problem, rural and farming areas will most likely be hit the hardest. If India wants to maintain its level of food security, the farmers will have to switch to less water-intensive crops; otherwise, India will end up being a net importer of food, which would have massive ramifications for the global price of grain. India receives an average of 4,000 billion cubic metres of rainfall every year. However, only 48% of rainfall ends up in India’s rivers. Owing to lack of storage and crumbling infrastructure, only 18% can be utilised. Rainfall is confined to the monsoon season, June through September, when India gets, on an average, 75% of its total annual precipitation. Once again, due to India’s storage crunch, the Government is unable to store surplus water for the dry season. Such uneven seasonal distribution of rainfall has not stimulated the development of better capturing and storing infrastructure, making water 38 Some states like Tamil Nadu has started rainwater harvesting in a big way which has proven to be a model for all. The rainwater harvesting movement launched by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2001 has had a tremendous impact in recharging the groundwater table all over the state. There are 1821 water bodies maintained by town panchayats, with an extent of 6286.84 acres in Tamil Nadu. To restore the 243 water-bodies, Rs 55.52 crore has been allocated for the years 2011-12 and 20122013 under IUDM and NABARD, according to the State Government’s website. Similarly, during 20132014, 561 improvement works such as de-silting and strengthening of bund and sluice works were taken up at a cost of Rs 8.40 crore under General fund. It has been proposed to taken up 88 waterbody improvement works in 68 town panchayats at an estimated cost of Rs 28.15 crore. Amendments made to Section 215 (a) of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920, and Building Rules, 1973, have made it mandatory to provide RWH structures in all new buildings. To consolidate the gains, various measures have been taken up for rejuvenation of RWH structures created already in both public and private buildings, besides creating new ones. India’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2012–17) has focused attention on all aspects of the water scarcity. The Plan puts great emphasis on aquifer mapping, watershed development, involvement of NGOs, and efficiency in developing irrigation capacity. Because water is a state subject in the federal constitution, state governments are expected to play a big role in these efforts. At the same time, many active NGOs are now able to enforce compliance with environmental obligations through the Right to Information Act, active and competitive media, and growing awareness on water issues. (Source: World Bank Report)• Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety LOOKING AFTER THE EYES Eye injuries at the workplace are very common. It is estimated that over 2,000 people injure their eyes at work each day. What are the situations where workers eyes got injured and what are the protective measures to be taken to avoid eye injuries? Dr.M.G.Deepa, Senior Resident in the department of Ophthalmology, Govt. Medical College, Cochin explains these issues in this article. E ye injuries in the workplace are very common. It is estimated that over 2,000 people injure their eyes at work each day. Three out of five who suffered these were not wearing eye protection, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. About 1 in 10 injuries require one or more missed workdays to recover from. Of the total amount of work-related injuries, 10%-20 % will cause temporary or permanent vision loss. Simply using the proper eye protection on the job could prevent many of the eye injuries each year. Common eye injuries occurring at work can result from chemicals or foreign objects in the eye and cuts or scrapes on the cornea. Other causes of injuries include splashes with grease and oil, burns from steam, ultraviolet or infrared radiation exposure, and flying wood or metal chips. Dr. Deepa M G 40 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 In addition, health care workers, laboratory and janitorial staff, and other workers may be at risk of acquiring infectious diseases from eye exposure. Some infectious diseases can be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the eye as a result of direct exposure to blood splashes, respiratory droplets generated during coughing, or 41 spectacles or goggles. differ for each type of hazard. High-risk occupations for eye injuries include construction, manufacturing, mining, carpentry, auto repair, electrical work, plumbing, welding, and maintenance. • Goggles in lasers: Laser safety goggles are protection against specific wavelength of the laser. • Anti-glare measures: They are special-purpose spectacles with anti-glare coating; they adjust the illumination at your work area, monitor height and tilt adjustments, and they have tinted lenses. Everyone, including children, should get their eyes examined regularly. It helps protect your sight and see your best. Eye examination can also find eye diseases like glaucoma, which have no symptoms. • Protective eyewear works best when you know how to use it properly. Combined with machine guards, screened or divided workstations, and other engineering controls, using the correct protective eyewear can help keep you safe from any type of eye hazard. Common eye injuries at work places are: • Conjunctivitis • Foreign body embedded in the eye • Corneal abrasions • Chemical splash and burns First-aid • Welder burns • If any small foreign body, like dust or wood chip or metal piece, falls into the eyes, flush the eyes with sterile eyewash solution, if available, or clean drinking water. • Lacerations from touching the eyes with contaminated fingers or other objects. Two major reasons for eye injuries on the job are: 1. Not wearing eye protection Wearing a full head and eye protection helmet helps from harmful rays are work 2. Wearing the wrong kind of protection for the job The type of safety eye protection you should wear depends on the hazards in your workplace: •If you are working with chemicals, you must wear goggles. •If you are working near hazardous radiation (welding, lasers, or fibre optics), you must use special-purpose safety glasses, goggles, face shields, or helmets designed for that task. The eye protection chosen for specific work situations depends on the type of hazard, the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and individual vision needs. According to the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), 70% of the ocular injuries are owing to the following: Types of eye protection •If you are working in an area that has particles, flying objects, or dust, you must at least wear safety glasses with side protection (side shields). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the United States require the use of eye and face protection whenever there is a reasonable probability of injury that could be prevented by such equipment. Personal protective eyewear, such as goggles, face shields, safety glasses, or full-face respirators must be used when an eye hazard exists. Main causes of injuries • Blunt injury: contusion/black eye In addition, the employers need to take steps to make the work environment as safe as possible. A free eye checkup camp While contact lenses cannot provide significant protection from ocular hazards in the workplace, the improved vision many patients experience can have a positive impact on workplace safety. Contact lenses cannot provide significant protection from eye hazards in the work place. However, there is no evidence that the wearing of contact lenses increases the risk of eye injury. • No rubbing of eyes. Better not to touch a corneal foreign body, as it may abrade the cornea more. Seek medical help. • Safety glasses provide eye protection for general working conditions where there may be dust, chips or flying particles. Additional side-protection can be provided by the use of side-shields and wraparound-style safety glasses. • In chemical injury: Wash with plenty of clean water or eyewash solution for at least 15 minutes. Water need not be cold. Once considerable amount of chemical is washed off, seek medical help. Avoid rubbing the eyes. Safety lenses are available in glass, plastic, and polycarbonate materials. While all these types must meet or exceed the minimum requirements for protecting your eyes, polycarbonate lenses provide the highest level of protection from impact. • Goggles: Goggles are modified spectacles which fit the face immediately surrounding the eyes and form protective seal around the eyes, thereby prevent entry of foreign body under or around the goggles. This is especially important when working with molten metal that may splash. • After thorough wash, if any superficial particles are seen on the lid or conjunctiva, try to remove it with a sterile bud. • If sharp foreign bodies have pierced in, do not wash the eyes, and do not attempt to remove them. Seek immediate medical help. Players in protective wear • In blunt injuries, like pipe hitting the face: Give cold compress around the orbit and seek medical help• • Face-shields: Face-shields provide protection for the entire face/ part of the face, but they are secondary protection and does not protect from impact hazards when worn alone. Hence use in combination with safety spectacles or goggles for additional protection is advised. • Flying objects: Wood, metal, plastic, glass, cement and dust can arise from diverse operations such as woodworking, cutting, coarse grinding, spot-welding and almost any job involving hand tools. • Scrap materials, waste, windblown dust • Safety spectacles with side-shields: They give primarily protection for eyes from thermal hazards, and also give adequate protection when used along with heat-effective face-shield. • Chemical or chemical products • Smokes, noxious/poisonous gases • Ultraviolet light/optical radiations • Blood-borne pathogens • Optical radiation filter lenses: The most important factor here is wearing the correct filter-shade number, considering the degree and type of radiant energy at the workplace. Some working conditions include multiple eye hazards. Proper eye protection takes all hazards into account. The best methods of eye protection • Helmets: Helmets are secondary protectors, shielding the eyes from optical radiation, heat as well as flying objects. They are used in addition to • Welding light and electrical arc flash • Thermal hazards 42 A Doctor performing Cateract surgery Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 43 Some Tips to Protect Your Eyes of a desk, with the keyboard at the front edge of the desk or in a keyboard drawer. A bigger monitor and bigger font size is good for this. 6. Keep some distance while reading books: Reading books holding very close to the eyes might reduce strain or mitigate nearsightedness. Propped up on the lap such as with aid of a pillow, or on a low desk propped at an angle on something, is good. A computer can be better for reading in that it holds itself up. 7. LCD monitors are less harsh to look at than CRT monitors: W e are exposed to more harmful radiations and pollution these days. So it is really important to protect our eyes from all things that are harmful to ensure good eye health for a lifetime. Given here are some simple and useful tips for daily protection of your eyes. 1. Get a pair of quality- good sunglasses: Your eyes need more care. Choosing polarized (selectively blocks direct sunlight and its reflections) sunglasses are better than merely dark sunglasses. 2. Never stare into direct sunlight or at any object reflecting the sun's rays. (Shiny metallic objects, sand/water, etc.) Even if you're wearing sunglasses, never look directly at the sun. It is also important to not stare into darkness; this can damage your eyes as well. Be sure to either close your eyes or use a flashlight in the dark. 3. Get a vision test approximately every 6 months from an Eye Doctor Try to use LCD Monitors, while using a CRT monitor ensure that the refresh rate is set well above 60 Hz, for instance at 85 Hz. 8. Wear Protective Goggles at work: When doing anything that may get particles or fumes in your eyes, be sure to wear protective glasses/goggles. Ensure that there is a water source nearby to wash out contaminants that get into the eyes. Do not wear contact lenses in these situations as they can hold contaminants in. 9. Wear goggles in the pool: Swimming goggles protect your eyes from chemicals used in cleaning the pool. 10. Wash your eyes with fresh water immediately, if anything that isn't completely sterile/clean gets in your eyes. 11. Get plenty of sleep: Sleeping helps your eyes relax so your eyes don't strain to stay open during the day. 12. Do not rub your eyes: This is what normally causes eye infections, because the bacteria on your hands or fingers get between your eyelids• 4. Use eye drops as directed for itchy, watery, dry, or red eyes. See a doctor if you think you may have pink eye. 5. Protect your eyes from eye strain when at the computer or watching television: If you are watching TV., keep a good distance from the screen. As for computer, try to stay at a distance (which might help to reduce, avoid or mitigate nearsightedness over time), be sure to keep blinking, and look away every now and then. A laptop should be on the lap or some distance away on a low desk, slid back on a desk, or on a keyboard drawer, not close in front of the face lying prone on a bed. A separate monitor should be toward the back 44 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Environment GETTING RID OF NUCLEAR WASTE With the increase in population, nuclear energy is consider to be the safest solution. However disposal of nuclear waste is a big question still not answered completly. Dr. A.N. Brijesh Nair, Professor, VIT University, Vellore gives here a detail account of the nuclear waste and its management. U Dr A N Brijesh Nair 46 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 nited Nations estimates that the world population will cross 10 billion by 2050. Everyone agrees that, to meet the huge energy needs of a population of this magnitude, nuclear energy is the safest bet. However, the debate on how to dispose of safely the huge amount of nuclear waste that is generated is still not completely answered. 47 radioactive waste. To understand how to dispose of nuclear waste properly, one needs to understand the classification of nuclear waste based on its radioactivity. The nuclear wastes are classified as follows: Low-level waste (LLW): This category of waste includes those nuclear wastes that have low levels of radioactivity. LLW represents about 90% of the total volume of radioactive waste, but contains only 1% of the radioactive content of all radioactive waste generated from nuclear power. This includes materials used to handle highly radioactive parts of nuclear reactors like cooling-water pipe and waste from medical procedures involving radioactive treatments and X-rays. A nuclear waste spill Nuclear waste container of Nevada 48 Any activity that produces or uses any radioactive substance can generate radioactive waste that may be in gaseous, liquid or solid form. These radioactive wastes can remain radioactive for a few hours to several months to even thousands of years. Owing to its hazardous nature and its property of remaining radioactive for so long, it is very difficult to find suitable methods/facilities to dispose of Intermediate-level waste (ILW): This category of waste includes those nuclear wastes that has higher amount of radioactivity and needs some kind of shielding. ILW represents about 7% of the total volume of radioactive waste, and contains 4% of the radioactive content of all radioactive waste generated from nuclear power. These types of wastes are typically generated from reprocessing of the spent fuel and maintenance work of nuclear reactors. ILW commonly consists of metals like graphite from the reactor cores, reactor components and sludge from the treatment of radioactive liquid effluents. These wastes are solidified by mixing them with either sand or cement and then pouring them to concrete drums. These drums are transported to repository for burial after temporary storage on the site of nuclear power station. High-level waste (HLW): This category includes nuclear wastes that are highly radioactive, including Safety Messenger | May 2015 the waste arising from the burning of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. HLW represents about 3% of the total volume of radioactive waste, and contains 95% of the radioactive content of all radioactive waste generated from nuclear power. HLW contains the fission products and transuranic elements (those unstable chemical elements with atomic number greater than 92, which decay radioactively into other elements) generated in the reactor core. HLW emit sufficient radiations that it increases the temperature of the vicinity. Since it is highly radioactive and hot due to decay heat, HLW require shielding and cooling. HLW consists of both long-lived and shortlived components. The nuclear wastes should be disposed of based on the nature of the waste present and their halflives as well as in accordance with the complicated regulatory laws dealing with radioactive wastes. If the concentration of the radioactive element in waste is short-lived, then ‘delay and decay’ method can be adopted, by which waste will be free of all radioactive elements. Another approach normally adopted is ‘dilute and disperse’ so that threat to the environment is reduced considerably. When the radioactivity is long-lived, the only possible approach that can be adopted is ‘concentrate and contain’ the radioactivity. The concentration of the waste is carried out using various methods like chemical precipitation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis and centrifuging. The resultant concentrated radioactive material will be ‘contained’ in a secured location to prevent its contact with the environment. Different methods are employed for the safe Safety Messenger | May 2015 disposal of nuclear waste. The various options are: Deep geological repositories: The radioactive waste is contained inside host rocks that are crystalline or argillaceous or salty or tuff. This method of disposal of radioactive waste has been followed by different countries from 1957 for handling long-living nuclear waste. The rocks in which these radioactive wastes are stored are stable over hundreds of thousands of years to contain long-lived radioactive waste. Ocean dumping: This is considered to be the least option of dumping radioactive wastes by dumping them into oceans. From 1946 through 1993, the nuclear-capable countries used ocean India's thorium based fast breeder reactor under construction Nuclear waste storage in Plymouth 49 the sediment on the ocean floor. Transmutation of radioactive waste: This method involves use of transmutational devices to remove radioactivity by neutrons to produce stable nuclides that are not radioactive. However, this method has not yet proved to be practical and cost-effective. to dispose of their nuclear wastes. The dumping into the ocean was banned completely in 1993 following international treaties like London Dumping Convention. Before the treaty came into effect, the United States dumped over 112,000 containers of nuclear wastes at 30 locations in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. In Europe, around 28,500 containers of radioactive wastes were dropped into the English Channel between 1950 and 1963 by various European countries. The 1993 treaty remain in force till 2018, after which the ocean dumping option will be reconsidered by the UN. Sub-seabed disposal: The sub-seabed disposal method involve three options, namely, shallow penetration of the sea bed, deep burial through drilling, and subduction involving tectonic dissipation of spent nuclear fuel. These three options are closely related in which the nuclear waste is disposed of through penetration of the seabed and placing waste containers several metres beneath 50 Dispatching to the Sun: This method involves placing highly concentrated radioactive wastes in the Earth orbit and then accelerating it so that the wastes would drop into the Sun. This method is theoretically possible but involves a lot of further study and is not cost-effective compared to other methods. Another worry in this method is that a foolproof system of containment needs to be developed to ensure that no waste would be released in the event of failure of the space transport system. Let us look forward to a world self-sufficient in energy needs by using nuclear energy, and, at the same time, a world free of worries from nuclear-waste management. For that to happen, international bodies and governments have to set up a mechanism to develop new technologies for nuclear-waste management and to use the existing disposal method more effectively• Swedish KBS-III Capsule for Nuclear waste Nuclear waste management in India According to the Annual Report-2013 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), India has 21 nuclear reactors producing 5,308 MWe of power. This is very much less than countries like the United States (100 reactors, producing 99,081 MWe of power) or France (58 reactors, producing 63,130 MWe of power), or Japan (48 reactors, producing 42,388 MWe of power). Also, as of year 2013, according to the same report, India’s share of nuclear-electricity generation as percentage of total electricity generation in the country is only 3.5%, while it is 18.3% in the UK, 19.4% in the US, 36.4% in Switzerland, 42.7% in Sweden, 50.7% in Hungary, and 52.1% in Belgium. India ranks in the last five The safe and proper disposal of nuclear waste is of great significance as improper disposal is going to harm entire biosphere, thereby making the whole world unhealthy to live in. Stringent laws by international bodies have made countries that use nuclear power to develop new technologies for the proper disposal of nuclear waste. The nuclear wastes should be disposed of based on the nature of the waste present and their half-lives as well as in accordance with the complicated regulatory laws dealing with radioactive wastes. on the scale of nuclear share of total electricity production as per the IAEA report. Dumbing of nuclear waste drums Since India’s usage of nuclear power is less than that of other countries that use nuclear power, the magnitude of radioactive waste management in India is diminutive compared to other countries. India has radioactive waste management facilities at Trombay, Tarapore, Rawatbhata, Kalpakkam, Narora, Kakrapar, Jaduguda, Kudankulam, along with fuel reprocessing plants. Multiple-barrier approach is followed in all nuclear facilities to handle solid nuclear waste. Workers in nuclear protection Hazmat Suite Fukushima Nuclear power plant disaster Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 51 HSE Training It is important that management shows its commitment to health and safety as this sets the standard within the organization. 3)Communication Good lines of communication both up and down are essential in improving health and safety. If employees can see that action is being taken when defects are reported they will feel that the organization is committed to improving health and safety. 4)Competence It is important that employees feel properly trained and competent to carry out the functions that are required of them. 5) Employee Representative It is very important that employees feel that they are represented in the decision making process on health and safety matters as they then will take “ownership” of the procedures laid down. EXTRENAL INFLUENCES There are many external influences on an organization. They will have varying influence depending on the current state of health and safety within the organization. Some of the more important influences are: 1)Economic Promoting Positive Health and Safety Culture Jayas Manadath 2) Social Expectations Society today has a great awareness of health and safety and environmental issues and expects organizations to meet their responsibilities. Bad publicity can have an adverse effect on a business 3)Legislation There is a vast amount of legislation on health and safety in many countries and it is continually growing. Meeting the requirements of legislation puts increasing costs on to industry which can create conflict. For legislation to influence organizations they must either want to comply or there has to be a real prospect of punishment for non-compliance. 4)Enforcement Enforcement has a significant role in influencing an organization’s level of performance with regard to health and safety. If the focus of the enforcement agency is on technical specifics then organizations will tend to follow this lead and deal with these issues. It is therefore important that the enforcing agencies demonstrate the value of an interest in seeing organizations use technical, procedural and behavioural preventive measures. The relative influence of the enforcement agencies is highly dependent on them being sufficiently field active to contact a significant number of organizations. It would not be a balanced influence if the only time they were seen was when there had been an accident. They therefore have to be seen by organizations before accidents occur, encouraging planned preventive actions. 5) Insurance companies All private sector employers must have approved insurance policies against liability for injury or disease sustained by their employees in the course of their employment. Most insurance companies which provide liability insurance have terms of qualified and competent surveyors who undertake surveys of client’s premises. They Safety Messenger continues with the syllabus of NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health), a UK based independent examination board delivering vocational qualifications in health, safety & environmental practice and management. Safety Messenger is neither an approved trainer nor an accredited agency for NEBOSH, but those who attend the training in any accredited schools can get tips for preparing NEBOSH exam through the pages of the magazine. Jayas Manadath, authorized trainer for NEBOSH, takes you to the concept of health and safety culture and its various components. This part of syllabus discusses on the factors influencing on health and safety, safety culture and the human factors which plays a vital role within job and the working environment. Also visit the following websites for reference: www.hse.gov.uk |www.osha.gov | http:// www.iosh.co.uk| www.iso.org I nfluences on Health and Safety There are two basic issues influencing health and safety and these are: a)Internal Influences b) External Influences INTERNAL INFLUENCES 1) 52 Companies are generally expected to make a profit for the shareholders and obviously the drive to make this profit can conflict with good health and safety practice and encourage “cutting of corners”. operation. Production Demands When production is a priority then health and safety issues can be seen as a hindrance. Good health and safety practice should be seen as helping organizations to meet their production targets. Any health and safety procedure that is seen to slow the job down or make the job harder will generally be ignored. 2) Management Commitment Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 53 report back on their general impression of the organization. Obviously premiums can rise if the report is unfavourable or there are unacceptable levels of accidents and claims. 6) SAFETY CULTURE Definition The HSE DEFINE Safety Culture as: The product of individual and group values, attitudes, competencies and patterns of behavior that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization’s health and safety performance. Organizations with a positive safety culture are characterized by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety, and by confidence in the efficiency of preventative measures. At its simplest, an organisation’s culture has been defined as, “the way we do things around here”-Deal and Kennedy 1982. The four elements involved in creating a safety culture are: a) Control b)Co-operation c)Communication d)Competence a)CONTROL Performance standards are necessary to ensure the effective operation of an organsiation. 54 •Lack of leadership and commitment •Reduced staff complaints •Lack of monitoring •Reduced absenteeism Failure to implement remedial action •Lack of involvement Trade Unions have always been involved in attempting to improve working conditions and this has involved health and safety matters. The aim is make representation with the government departments on matters relating to health and safety. A major area of Trade Union involvement in health and safety is compensation claims. The unions offer their members free legal representation for undertaking claims. Many unions have retained firms of solicitors, who specialize in dealing with compensational claims. In previous years this was of great benefit to those who could not afford to take out claims, although this situation is changing with solicitors offering ‘no win no fee’. Those who are not members of Trade Unions are now much more able to take civil actions. In the U.K, Trade Unions are represented on the Health and Safety Commission. •Reduced damage to equipment • Trade Union A number of trade unions sponsor Members of Parliament. However, very little legislation regarding health and safety grants any rights to Trade Unions. One obvious piece of legislation is the Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977 which granted Trade Unions the right to appoint Safety Representatives. •Perception of growing blame culture consultation and employee •Poor working environment • External influences • Health and safety seen as low priority •Lack of supervision •Reorganisation and uncertainty The safety culture of the organization can be improved by: • Senior management commitment •Ownership of health and safety at every level Management systems, their creation, implementation and maintenance are, therefore, essential. • Effective communication and consultation • Training for all levels of employee • Shared perception of risks •Policy Formulation • Standards of acceptable behavior •Organisational development •Learning from experience through monitoring and review •Planning • Balance between health and safety and production •Auditing • Monitoring •Reviewing The benefits of a positive culture to the employer are: b) CO-OPERATION •Increased levels of compliance with health and safety rules and procedures Performance and standards should be established to determine the nature and frequency of: • Health and safety committee meetings • Team briefings •Problem solving particular issues meetings to •Improved production •Improved staff morale •Improved company reputation •Reduced accidents address •Reduced ill health c) COMMUNICATION Performance standards need to be established to ensure staff are competent and should cover selection and training of staff at all levels from senior management to employee on the shop floor and must include supervision. •Attitude •Reduced fines and compensation claims HUMAN FACTORS The term “Human Factors” covers a wide range of issues such as the perceptual, mental and physical capabilities of people and the interactions of individuals with their job and working environments. It also considers the influence of equipment and system design on human performance and the organizational characteristics that influence safety related behaviour at work. The traditional approach to health and safety is to concentrate on the “hardware” aspects of work, i.e., the plant, equipment, premises, guarding, etc, an approach reflected in the UK in legislation made under the Factories Act 1961 and earlier Statutes. Companies which achieved high standards of compliance with this legislation often dropped to a plateau of accident numbers and ill health but found it difficult to improve and achieve better results. Modern legislation and safety management techniques have emphasized the importance of Human Factors in accident prevention. The Accident Prevention Advisory Unit of the Health and Safety Executive have indicated that some 90% of fatal accidents are preventable and of these about 70% -75% were directly related to failures in management, rather than physical failures. The DuPont Company did an accident trend study, results of which indicated that the traditional approach using technical improvements had reduced accidents to a certain level, process and software had reduced them further and the last step reducing accidents is human factors. 1) The Organisation 2) The Individual 3) The Job THE ORGANISATION Morale The attitudes and patterns of acceptable or “normal” behaviour will vary enormously from organization to organization. Organizational factors have the greatest influence on individual and group behaviour. •Accidents •Absenteeism/sickness rates • •Reduced Insurance premiums When considering human factors there are three areas that can be taken into account in contributing to safe/unsafe behaviour and these are: Indicators of either a positive or negative culture could be: • •Reduced staff turnover Staff Turnover •Compliance with rules Organisational Factors are the management elements which contribute to a positive health and safety culture, which obviously if not provided could •Complaints about working conditions Factors that can cause the culture to decline: •Lack of effective communication Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 55 programmes; • Supporting active committee meetings; involvement in safety • Being accompanied by employees or their representatives on safety tours and inspections; •Giving employees responsibilities mentoring young and inexperienced workers. for Education •Clear policy with health and safety being given obvious equal priority to other business objectives (production, quality, etc). • Experience • Home Life Social and Cultural Influences: •Peer groups (work colleagues) •Job satisfaction and security Psychological Attributes: •Good consultation and communication with the workforce. •Attitude •Perception Control The personal factors that might place an individual at a greater risk of harm while at work are: • The setting of realistic and achievable targets; •Proactive monitoring of health and safety standards; •A ‘no-balance’ culture. Review and Audit •Learning from success and from mistakes The organization and its managers are responsible to ensure health and safety. Practical measures managers could take to ensure health and safety include: • Setting good commitment to H & S example and showing • The recognition of good health and safety performance (e.g. by giving praise and/ or offering financial incentives) •Involving employees in carrying out risk assessments and drawing up safe systems of work •Improving the company’s health and safety culture and demonstrating a high level of management commitment Motivation •A generally poor attitude to work •Low motivation •Issues relating to physical capabilities (such as lack of stature, strength and/ or stamina) and to mental capabilities Ensuring a good working environment •Providing training communication • and good Setting good example •Realistic goals •Addressing environmental factors, e.g. lighting and noise that might cause distraction or otherwise hinder the perceptual processes The reasons a person may fail to comply with a safety procedure although they are competent are complex but may include: •Lack of employee motivation •Unrealistic working procedures •Lack of management commitment •Repetitive work leading to boredom and lack of concentration An employee’s attitude to health and safety issues may be affected by: •Peer group pressure •Culture • Willful disregard of laid-down procedures coupled with inadequate or ineffective supervision • • Experience •Peer groups • Management commitment • Home Influence PERCEPTION Fatigue and stress •Lack of information, training and consultation and •Job Insecurity • Perception is the way people interpret and make sense of presented information, e.g. in relation to their surroundings. Factors which affect a person’s perception are: • Sensory input i.e. seeing, hearing, touching , smelling and tasting • Encouraging hazard spotting and the reporting of defects; So what motivates or demotivates people in work? • •Incentives • Familiarity with the situation •Recognition • Feeling of being in ‘control’ Safety Messenger | May 2015 •Identifying, including by the use of surveys, the reasons for employees’ misperceptions in order to show how improvements might be achieved and how currently held views might be challenged; Attitude is the tendency to behave in a particular way in a certain situation. •Age-related behavioural factors associated with immaturity MOTIVATION •Increasing knowledge, e.g. Training •Over-familiarisation with the tasks to be performed For example a person’s attitude to wearing PPE may be affected by the actions of colleagues. • The levels of training and experience of the individual •Involving people in the risk assessment process; ATTITUDE Motive is the drive a person has to achieve a particular goal. •Organising training courses and information ensuring •Poor perception of risk, perhaps influenced by alcohol or drugs • Medical conditions affecting physical or mental capacity An employee’s perception may be improved and managed by: •Increasing awareness of hazards, e.g. safety campaigns or posters •Involving employees in risk assessments, accident investigations, and the development of safe systems and procedures; Setting up suggestion schemes; in Employers can motivate their workforce by: • • Monitoring 56 •Gender •Competence and training of the workforce; The provision of a good working environment involvement • Disciplining employees who choose to ignore safe working procedures • • management/ Threat of discipline Planning senior •Committed decisions The level and nature of training •Personal characteristics such as age, attitude and sensory impairment. •Realistic Goals • •Physical condition (health) of •Peer Approval Individual employees at all levels will have different habits, attitudes, skills, personalities, knowledge, physical and mental capabilities. Some of these will change from time to time as people are influenced by different factors including: •Physique (size and strength) leadership •Confidence in others abilities and judgments Team Spirit Safe environment lead to a negative culture and also cause employees to work unsafely even if competent. These may be considered under the following headings: and •Peer group Influences • • •Age •Commitment management; • •Personal Achievement THE INDIVIDUAL Physical Characteristics: Organising •Job Satisfaction •Personal Protective Equipment • The nature of the hazard, (e.g. obvious or hidden, immediate or delayed effects) •Previous experience Safety Messenger | May 2015 57 HEALTH PROSTATE CANCER GROWING IN INDIA Prostate cancer has been a major health problem and leading cause for cancer deaths in males. In this article Dr. R. Vijayan, Senior Laparoscopic and Reconstructive Consultant Urologist at Specialists Hospital, Kochi analyses the causes, symptoms and remedies of this common disease. P Dr. R. Vijayan rostate cancer is the most common cancer in males in the West, and is a leading cause for cancer deaths in males. Though the incidence in India is nearly 10 times less, it is increasing by 1% every year. We can, therefore, no longer ignore this cancer and push it aside as a predominantly Western disease as we once did for breast cancer. Causes of prostate cancer Prostate cancer is more likely to occur as one grows older. It is rarely seen in men below the age of 50 years. Besides age, the only other definite correlation is that it is slightly more common among first blood relations. The higher incidence of the disease in the affluent Western society may point towards a more fatty Western-type of diet and sedentary life style. This may be the reason why the incidence of the disease increases in Asian population that has immigrated to the West and Bladder Prostate Urethra Prostate cancer pressing on urethra 58 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 59 develop an aggressive, fast-progressing disease and who will have a cancer which is unlikely to affect one’s life in any way. A lot of research is progressing to answer this question, but, many a time, we still cannot answer this question with absolute certainty. Therefore, a screening programme may save lives, but, at the same time, will diagnose and treat a large percentage of people whose cancer may not have affected them. Treatments available adapted a Western lifestyle. The third-generation Asians in the West have the same incidence as the local population. Symptoms The prostate is commonly affected by two common diseases. Non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate is very common and presents with symptoms of difficulty to pass urine, frequency of micturition especially at night, bleeding, feeling of incomplete voiding, etc. These are also the symptoms of prostate cancer. In fact, symptomatic prostate cancer in most instances is already advanced and too late for a curative treatment. In most instances, for curative treatment, therefore, one has to detect the disease even before the person is symptomatic. Locating the source before surgery HEED THE WARNINGS Symptoms RISK FACTORS REMEDY • Frequent urination, especially at night. •It is very rare in men younger than 40, but the probability increases rapidly after the age of 50. Combination therapy of drugs to reduce the size of prostate. •A weak or interrupted urinary stream. •About 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men over the age of 65. Hormone treatment. • Difficulty in Uriantion. •Prostate cancer seems to run in some families, which suggests that in some cases there may be an inherited or genetic factor. Removal of prostateProstatectomy. •Retention incontinence. Prostate cancer is a slow-growing disease, and, therefore, even when the disease has spread outside the prostate gland, it can be effectively contained for a significant period of time by hormone treatment and later by chemotherapy. Unlike chemotherapy, the side effects of hormone therapy are very much less. Hormone therapy is done by neutralising the male hormone testosterone either medically or surgically. • Blood in urine or semen However, if one is able to detect the cancer early, curative treatment is possible. This is done in two ways: by surgery or by radiotherapy. Surgically, one can remove the prostate gland completely. Complete surgical removal of the gland is done by open surgery or by keyhole surgery. Key hole surgery can also be facilitated by robotics. The same can be achieved by radiotherapy. Generally, if one is physically fit to undergo a long surgery, surgical removal of the gland is advocated as the therapeutic effect is immediate and side effects are comparatively less when compared to radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is appropriate for a less physically fit person. The therapeutic effects of radiotherapy are a little delayed. With modern radiotherapy techniques, the side effects are becoming less and less. Important: Dont dismiss the symptoms as minor or too embarassing to discuss with a physician •Pain associated with urination and ejaculation. • Erectile dysfunction. • Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man's risk of developing this disease. (The risk is higher for men who have a brother with the disease than for those with an affected father.) • The risk is much higher for men with several affected relatives, particularly if their relatives were young at the time the cancer was found. If treated early prostate cancer cure easy Pre-symptomatic detection In the West, prostate cancer is detected often in the very early stages of the disease. In India, however, this is sadly not the case. Even in this day and age of cancer awareness, many patients in India present only after the onset of symptoms and the diagnosis is made only when the disease has spread outside the prostate gland. Once diagnosis of prostate cancer is done, medical management is taken up through medicines and surgery. There are drugs in the market, which are usually administered by doctors in combination with others to decrease the size of the enlarged prostate. Usually, known as combination therapy, these drugs are given from 6 to 12 months to prostate cancer patients. Second management involves surgery. Interestingly, prostate takes a long time to grow, a good enough reason for patients to get themselves checked. Doctors pointed out that prostate cancer diagnosis is highly matured in US and UK, which could be followed in India. Anybody who turns 50 in western countries, usually go for a prostate examination because there is a lot of awareness, doctors said. The American Cancer Society recently updated its recommendations for cancer survivors with some specific guidance for men with prostate cancer: •Avoid weight gains during prostate cancer treatment, whether you are at a healthy weight or overweight. Early detection of prostate cancer is possible only by regular screening programme. Screening for prostate cancer involves internal examination by a urologist and blood test for prostate-specific antigen. Prostate screening is recommended to be done by all males after the age of 50 years, unless one has a first blood relation who has suffered from this disease – in which case, the screening is advised from 40 years of age. • Weight loss after recovery from treatment may benefit survivors who are overweight or obese. E very year, a whopping 15 lakh prostate cancer cases among men are detected in India of which 85 per cent are stage four cancers, which means doctors do not give them more than three years to live. The irony is that unlike other cancers, if prostate cancer is detected early, then chances of treating it is almost 100 per cent, cancer specialists point out. Screening for prostate cancer has become controversial as prostate cancer is a very slowgrowing disease, and we are still not sure who will 60 Radiation Therapy. Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 •Research has linked obesity to a greater risk of death from prostate cancer. • Studies show that exercise is safe during prostate cancer treatment and can improve many aspects of health, including muscle strength, balance, fatigue, cardiovascular fitness, and depression. •Physical activity after a prostate cancer diagnosis is linked to living longer and a reduced 61 risk of the cancer returning. •In a study, men with localized prostate cancer who engaged in at least 3 hours of vigorous activity per week were nearly 60% less likely to die from the disease. • The most health benefits are associated with a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, and fish; low in refined grains, beef, pork, lamb, and processed meat (such as hot dogs, sausage, and bacon); and low in high-fat dairy products. •A diet high in saturated fat, including red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) and high-fat dairy products, has been linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer. Industrial World Research findings shows that prostate cancer has become a major health problem in industrialized world during the last decades of the 20th century contributing to three fourth of the registered cases across the globe. Incidence rates of prostate cancer vary by more than 25 fold worldwide, the highest rates being in Australia/New Zealand (104.2/100,000), Western and Northern Europe, North America, largely because the practice of PSA has become widespread in those regions. Although incidence rates of prostate cancer are considered low in Asian and North African countries, ranging from 1 to 9/100,000 persons), demographic and epidemiological transitions in developing countries like India have shown an increasing trend in the burden of various cancer cases including prostate cancer. The incidence rates of this cancer are constantly and rapidly increasing in all the PBRCs. The cancer projection data shows that the number of cases will become doubled by 2020. The PBCRs at Bangalore (APC: 3.4%), Chennai (4.2%), Delhi (3.3%), Mumbai (0.9%) and Kamrup Urban District (11.6%) recorded a statistically significant increasing trend in incidence rates over time. PBCR common cancer), Bangalore (3rd most common cancer) and Pune (2nd most common cancer) as compared to the smaller cities like Kollam, Bhopal, Nagpur and Wardha. As far as different regions of India are concerned, prostate cancer has ranked among top ten in all the regions like north (Delhi— 2nd most common), south (Trivandram—2nd most common), east (Kolkatta—2nd most common) and west (Mumbai—3rd most common). The incidence of PCa is relatively low in some states like Gujrat (Ahmedabad and Wardha PBRCs) and Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal PBCR). But the incidence of Prostate cancer is lowest in north east region of India. Northeast India is the eastern-most region of India connected to East India via a narrow corridor squeezed between Nepal and Bangladesh. It comprises the contiguous Seven Sister States— Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura and the Himalayan state of Sikkim. PBCRs from Assam state (Cachar District and Dibrugarh District) shows absence of prostate cancer among top ten leading site of cancers except Kamrup district where it is 6th leading site of cancer. PBCRs from Manipur state, Mizoram State, Sikkim state, Meghalaya state, Tripura state and Nagaland show that PCa is not among the top ten leading site of cancer in these states• Annual % changeDuration Bangalore3.4% 1982–2009/10 Chennai4.2% 1982–2009/10 Delhi3.3% 1988–2009/10 Mumbai0.9% 1982–2009/10 Prostate is the second leading site of cancer for four PBCRs namely Delhi, Kolkata, Nagpur and Thiruvananthpuram. It is also evident from the table that prostate cancer incidence are highest in metro cities like Delhi (2nd most common cancer), Mumbai (3rd most common cancer), Kolkatta (2nd most common cancer), Chennai (4th most 62 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Health SPICE UP TO KEEP CANCER AWAY Many of the spices that we use in our daily diet have medicinal value. People have been using these spices for ages though they were not necessarily aware of their medicinal properties. This article deals with the medicinal merits of Indian spices in helping prevent and fight cancer and the need to include those spices in our diet. T he concept of diet in India was developed over thousands of years ago and it was based on a mix of religious and secular beliefs. An example is that the ayurveda system prescribes over 700 plant-based medicines that contain spices and food addictives to promote health. Many of these foodstuffs have been studied for their disease prevention capabilities, including turmeric, cumin, chillies, kalakhar, amrita bindu, and various plant seeds. Among the most studied in recent years is turmeric, an ingredient in the common Indian curry and a spice that has been shown to be a potent antioxidant and anti- 64 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 65 around 250,000 flower stigmas (saffron crocus) that make just about half a kilogram, few saffron threads come loaded with benefits you won’t regret paying for. Saffron threads can be used in various ways. Cumin: Cumin aids digestion and probably that is why we like chewing a handful of cumin seeds at the end of every meal. However, its health benefits go beyond. A portent herb with antioxidant characteristics, cumin seeds contains a compound called thymoquinone that checks proliferation of cells responsible for prostate cancer. So, instead of loading your usual snack options with calories and oil, add this seasoning to your bread, fried beans or sauce and make the dish rich in flavour and high on health. Ginger inflammatory agent with additional promise as a disease-preventive agent. Amrita bindu – a dietary supplement that is a salt-spice-herbal mixture – was found to protect rats against cancer induced by N-methyle-NNitroguanidine, a potent carcinogenic nitrosamine. Other studies conducted on rats and mice have found the anti-carcinogenic effects of 9 Indian spices on induction by dietary benzopyrene of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the stomach in mice and induction by dietary 3’-methyle -4-dimethylaminoazobezene of hepatomas in rats. Based on this study, the cumin seed and basil leaves decreased significantly the incidence of both SCC and hepatomas; poppy seed significantly inhibited BP-induced SCC; and other 6 spices showed no effect. Curcumin promotes apoptosis (programmed cell death/cell suicide) that safely eliminates cancerbreeding cells without posing a threat to the development of other healthy cells. In cases of conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the surrounding cells too become a target in addition to the cancer cells, thereby leading to side effects. Fennel: Armed with phytonutrients and antioxidants, cancer cells have to accept defeat when the spice is fennel. Anethole, a major Saffron Cinnamon constituent of fennel, resists and restricts the adhesive and invasive activities of cancer cells. It suppresses the enzymatic regulated activities behind cancer cell multiplication. A tomato-fennel soup with garlic or fresh salads with fennel bulbs make for an ideal entree before an elaborate course meal. Roasted fennel with parmesan can be another star pick. Saffron: A natural carotenoid dicarboxylic acid called crocetin is the primary cancer-fighting element that saffron contains. It not only inhibits the progression of the disease but also decreases the size of the tumour by half, thus guaranteeing a complete goodbye to cancer. Though it is the most expensive spice in the world since it is derived from Cinnamon: It takes not more than a half teaspoon of cinnamon powder every day to keep cancer risk away. A natural food preservative, cinnamon is a source of iron and calcium. Cinnamon, useful in reducing tumour growth, blocks the formation of new vessels in the human body. Some of the effective ways of including cinnamon in your diet are: • Start your day with a cup of cinnamon tea (in leaf or sachet). • Make your breakfast meal a super-healthy one: just add this wonder spice to your breakfast. • A fruity delight comprising chopped apples, a few walnuts and your magic potion cinnamon. • Consuming a glass of milk mixed with honey A mix of Indian spices Described below are some of the most commonly used Indian spices and their ability in keeping many deadly diseases at bay: Turmeric/Curcumin: This is the king of spices when it comes to dealing with cancer diseases, besides it adding a zesty colour to food on the platter. Turmeric contains the powerful polyphenol curcumin, which has been clinically proven to retard the growth of cancer cells that cause prostate cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, brain tumour, pancreatic cancer and leukaemia among a host of others. 66 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 67 automotive and many others. T owards promoting ecological sustainability in industry, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has embarked on to conduct the 4th edition of GreenCo Summit 2015 on 25 & 26th June in Mumbai. The event would be the appropriate forum to learn more on the best practices and technologies for environmental sustainability, and will also provide a platform for various stakeholders to showcase and deliberate on the benefits of adopting green practices, products and services. Powder made out of top Indian spices This event will serve as an excellent platform for companies pursuing green to assess where they stand and help in defining the path forward in following areas: •International Experiences Environmental Sustainability in Green and Fennel seeds off, too. Oregano: More than a pizza or pasta topping, oregano confirms its worth as a potential agent against prostate cancer. Consisting of anti-microbial compounds, just one teaspoon of oregano has the power of two cups of red grapes. Quercetin, the phytochemical present in oregano, restricts growth of malignant cells in the body and acts like a drug against cancer-centric diseases. Ginger: This humble spice boasts of medicinal qualities that help lower cholesterol, boost metabolism and kill cancer cells. Easily added to vegetable dishes, fish preparations and salads, ginger enhances the flavour in cooking. Chew on fresh parsley if the odour bothers you. Cayenne Pepper/Capsaicin (chilli pepper): This is a promising spice with anti-cancer properties. An overdose of chilli pepper, however, is bad. Capsaicin induces the process of apoptosis that destroys potential cancer cells and reduces the size of leukaemia tumour cells considerably. It can be concluded that, apart from setting our tongues on fire, chilli pepper can scare cancer pathogens Others: Cloves, anise, basil, garlic, caraway, fenugreek, mustard, mint leaves, rosemary, limonin (fresh lemon), virgin olive, vinegar and avocado are the other cancer-fighting diet components. Cancer-preventing dietary habits • A plant-based diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and beans is the best organic way to fight cancer. • Add fibre: Replace white rice with brown rice in meals • Use wholegrain bread instead of white bread; choose a bran muffin over a pastry - Carbon Neutrality - Water Positive status Date: 15-17 October, 2015 - Zero Waste company Venue: The Lalit Hotel, Mumbai• • Design for Environment : Resource conservation, nil toxicity & recyclability • How to use Life Cycle Approach to drive Green Product development • Experiences sharing by GreenCo Champions •Green Branding The above latest concepts would be discussed and deliberated extensively by leading national & international experts. The strategies and innovations shared at the event will not only promote ecological sustainability but will also go a long way in demonstrating that 'Green makes business sense'. This event will also aim to adequately equip companies to meet future national & international compliance norms / regulations on environmental sustainability. Date: 25-26 June 2015 Venue: Palladium Hotel, Mumbai• • Eat fresh fruits with skin Safety India 2015 • Cook with olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil • Avoid packaged or fried foods that are high in trans-fats • Avoid processed salt. Celtic sea salt/Himalayan salt can be consumed sparingly • Cancer patients should not load their diet with turmeric or curcumin supplements without doctor’s advice or prescribed dosage• 68 •Green Supply Chain, Green Procurement, Green Logistics, Sustainable Packaging • Snack on popcorn instead of potato chips • Omega-3 fatty acids fight inflammation Safety Messenger | May 2015 The event is motivated with a recent announcement from the Finance Ministry of India that the country’s economy could grow by 8.5 percent this fiscal year and, it’s imperative that safety professionals from every industry sharpen their skills to be ready to tackle the projects such explosive growth brings. The World Bank estimates that more than 10 million citizens will be moving into urban areas for jobs in the coming years, the largest migration in this young century. This will require new roads, the expansion of cities and manufacturing areas, as well as housing. Such unprecedented economic growth gives India a chance to show the world how the country’s political, business and civic leaders will join together to make safety a priority in completing and maintaining these projects For more details, updates, or to register for the upcoming conference, please visit www. safetyindia2015.org or contact safetyindia2015@ mci-group.com. • World Class practices in Green: and cinnamon helps prevent cancer. T he American Society of Safety Engineers, the world’s oldest professional safety society is organizing SAFETY INDIA 2015, a twoday professional development conference and exposition in Mumbai on October 15-17, 2015. The conference is intended to attract safety practitioners from a wide variety of industries including manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, Safety Messenger | May 2015 HSE Conferences Greenco Summit 2015 A plant-based diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and beans is the best organic way to fight cancer. OSH India Conference O SH - Occupational Safety & Health India 2015 is an event of international related with the health and safety industry of the India. The fair will provide an excellent opportunity for the professionals to discuss on the latest opportunities and new developments in the respective field and disseminate and publicize their business in the global markets. The event will exhibit products based on health, safety, health service, safety service, Providers of PPE, fall arrest and working at height equipment, training equipment, lifting and handling equipment, occupational health services, noise prevention, hazardous material storage, handling material storage, software safety related services, health consultancy, safety consultancy, safety signs and posters. Visitors like health and safety managers, directors, health and safety consultants, distributors, business owners and operators, occupational health specialists, personnel, HR managers and emergency services professionals are invited for the expo. Also it is a participation opportunity for the market observers, business analysts, HSE directors, managers and professionals, EHS directors, managers and professionals. Date: 20-21 August 2015 Venue: Chennai Exhibition Centre, Chennai• 69 environment WILDLIFE CRIMES CRY FOR URGENT ATTENTION National and international illegal trade in wildlife has grown to such huge proportions that it threatens seriously the existence of many species of plants and animals. It is not too late for the governmental bodies to understand and do something serious about these increasing crimes against our wildlife. Understanding what is being hunted, who is hunting them, and how it is being traded can help in tackling this growing menace. W Jisha Tijo ildlife crimes are increasing on a large scale. Three of the world’s best-loved species – elephants, rhinos and tigers – are under serious threat. Illegal wildlife trade has exploded to meet increasing demand for elephant ivory, rhino horns, and tiger products, particularly in Asia. Controlled by dangerous crime syndicates, wildlife is trafficked much like drugs or weapons. On the occasion of World Wildlife Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon released a statement urging all consumers, suppliers and governments to treat crimes against wildlife as a threat to sustainable future. The UN General Assembly proclaimed March 3 as World Wildlife Day in 2013 – the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Wildlife crimes in India The scale of the crimes in our country can be gauged from some of the information put out by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). WPSI, a wildlife conservation organisation founded by 70 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 71 these laws, so that they can contribute effectively. It is also vital to understand which institutions control land in India before any conservation interventions can be attempted in any landscape. Crimes related to wildlife and forest play a major role in financing organised crimes and non-state armed groups, including terrorist organizations. In the Indian state of Assam, which is home to 75% of the world’s remaining great one-horned rhinoceroses, a multitude of armed groups, including tribal separatists, rebels, and terrorists poach within the Kaziranga National Park and adjacent protected areas of Orang and Pabitora. At least 41 rhinos were poached in Kaziranga in 2013, double the number killed the previous year. Most were reportedly killed by AK-47s and .303 rifles used by militant groups. The horns are traded for weapons and cash to fund militant activities, says a report. Belinda Wright, has recorded over 20,000 wildlife crime cases. While bringing focus onto the high rate of wildlife crimes in India, Bollywood actor Salman Khan was convicted in 2007 for hunting blackbuck for sport. Other wildlife crimes, involving poachers and traders, were found to have targeted over 400 species of wildlife. WPSI has information about 16,000 wildlife criminals and their associates, interstate wildlife traders, smuggling routes, and new poaching and new poaching trade routes. The most threatened wildlife species in India are tigers, elephants, leopards and rhinos. Just 26,000 to 30,000 elephants may be left in the wild in India. According to WPSI data, 18 elephants were poached between January and September 2014 for their tusks to meet the demand for ivory. The agency has recorded the loss of over 120 elephants due to poaching between 2008 and 2011. During the same period, WPSI has records of seizure of 781 kg ivory and 69 tusks, besides ivory pieces and carved articles. Dehorning of a rhinoceros at a national park in Zimbabwe Almost two dozen militant organisations are active in the region, proliferating arms and impacting security, and creating opportunities for the penetration of transnational organised crime. Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Bangladeshi terror groups affiliated with Al Qaeda, reportedly poach tigers, elephants, and rhino in the park to raise organisational operating funds. The groups have been claimed to have links with crime syndicates in Nepal, Thailand and China, the report notes. Another such illegal trade involves ivory, which provides income to militia groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic and ‘horse gangs’ in Sudan, Chad and Niger. Given the estimated elephant populations and the number of projected killed elephants within striking range of these militia groups, the annual income from ivory to militias in the subSaharan Africa is up to US $12.2 million. Around 25,000 elephants are poached in Africa annually, and African ivory may constitute an ‘end-use street value’ of $188 million in Asia. A poached Tiger Transnational criminal organisations are making immense profits by exploiting the natural resources The Government of India has introduced various types of legislation in response to the growing destruction of wildlife and forests. These are: 1. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, (Last amended in 2006) The Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972, is an important statute that provides a powerful legal framework for: • Prohibition of hunting • Protection and management of wildlife habitats • Establishment of protected areas • Regulation and control of trade in parts and products derived from wildlife to fuel their illicit activities, threatening the stability and future development of some of the world’s poorest regions. While there is growing awareness of the dangers posed by wildlife crime, it will require a dedicated and concerted international effort among law enforcement and partner organisations to combat effectively this threat to global security. of a dead wild elephant found in Brahmaputra River Steps to curb poaching There are 12 recommendations issued to curb environmental crimes. These call for: • Coordinated efforts to strengthen environmental legislation and regulations A statement by the Minister for Environment in November 2014 indicates how vulnerable the ‘national animal’ is. At least 274 tigers have died in the last 4 years, according to official statistics. This figure is the highest for any given period between two assessment cycles. Only 82 tigers died due to natural reasons. Over 70% tiger of deaths were due to poaching or for reasons that forest departments have not been able to establish yet. • Strengthening institutional, legal and regulatory systems to further combat corruption and ensure that the legal trade is monitored and managed effectively • Management of zoos The WLPA provides for several categories of protected areas/reserves: • National parks • Wildlife sanctuaries • Tiger reserves • Conservation reserves Beyond immediate environmental impacts, the illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues just to fill the pockets of criminals. As hundreds of Environment Ministers assemble at Nairobi for the first United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the UN has warned that high profits and low probability of being caught is fuelling environmental crimes, which now threatens the security and sustainable development of many nations. According to data available on the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) website, 66 tigers were found dead around the country in 2014; in most cases, the reports on cause of deaths are awaited. There were 12 instances of seizure of tiger parts and skins in this period. • Community reserves The 2006 amendment introduced a new chapter (IV B) for establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and notification of Tiger Reserves (before this amendment, tiger reserves were not defined under the law, but were merely administrative designations to enable funding under Project Tiger). An illegal wildlife trade caught by customs The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) was constituted vide the 2006 amendment to monitor and control the illegal trade in wildlife products. The WLPA provides for investigation and prosecution of • Alleviation of poverty • Identifying end-user markets • Implementing consumer awareness campaigns Legal framework for conservation in India wildlife India does have strong wildlife conservation laws. We have some of the most stringent legislation to protect wildlife and habitats. It is imperative that all conservationists familiarise themselves with Funding for militants 72 Examining the tusks Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 73 offences in a court of law by authorised officers of the forest department and police officers. 2. The Indian Forest Act (1927) and Forest Acts of state governments The main objective of the Indian Forest Act (1927) was to secure exclusive state control over forests to meet the demand for timber. Most of these untitled lands had traditionally belonged to the forest-dwelling communities. The Act defined state ownership, regulated its use, and appropriated the power to substitute or extinguish customary rights. The Act facilitates three categories of forests. They are: • Reserved forests • Village forests • Protected forests 3. The Forest Conservation Act (1980) To check rapid deforestation due to forestlands being released by state governments for agriculture, industry and other development projects (allowed under the Indian Forest Act), the federal government enacted the Forest Conservation Act in 1980, with an amendment in 1988. The Act made the prior approval of the federal government necessary for de-reservation of reserved forests, logging and for use of forestland for non- forest purposes. substances, etc. The Act provided an opportunity to extend legal protection to non-forest habitats (‘Ecologically Sensitive Areas’) such as grasslands, wetlands and coastal zones. 5. The Biological Diversity Act (2002) The Supreme Court of India has currently imposed a complete ban on the release of forestland for non-forestry activities without the prior approval of the federal government. India is a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. The provisions of the Biological Diversity Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions in any other law relating to forests or wildlife. 4. The Environment (Protection) Act (1986) 6. National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) The Environment Protection Act is an important legislation that provides for coordination of activities of the various regulatory agencies, creation of authorities with adequate powers for environmental protection, regulation of the discharge of environmental pollutants, handling of hazardous It replaces the earlier Plan adopted in 1983 and was introduced in response to the need for a change in priorities given the increased commercial use of natural resources, continued growth of human and livestock populations, and changes in consumption patterns. It focuses on strengthening and enhancing the protected area network, on the conservation of endangered wildlife and their habitats, on controlling trade in wildlife products and on research, education, and training. The most threatened wildlife species in India are tigers, elephants, leopards and rhinos. Just 26,000 to 30,000 elephants may be left in the wild in India. A Leopard caught in a man-made trap The Plan recognises the need to reduce humanwildlife conflict and emphasises the establishment of effective compensation mechanisms. It includes the restoration of degraded habitats outside protected areas as a key objective. 7. The National Forest Policy (1998), The National Forest Policy (1988) (NFP) is primarily concerned with the sustainable use and conservation of forests, and further strengthens the Forest Conservation Act (1980). It marked a significant departure from earlier forest policies, which gave primacy to meeting government interests and industrial requirements for forest products at the expense of local subsistence 74 Safety Messenger | May 2015 When the quantity of dust decreases the quality of air we breathe in, life on Earth starts to deteriorate. It is a serious problem that every person in India faces. When increasing urbanisation uproots the green protectors of the Earth (the trees), vast green lands and fields in the name of development, are we not depriving ourselves and the future generations the right to live on Earth? Releasing the translocated rhinos into a national park requirements. As seen above, India has a strong set of laws, Acts and policies for the protection of forests and wildlife. It is for the citizens to study these carefully and apply them appropriately while conducting conservation advocacy campaigns. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is responsible in tackling the wildlife-related crimes in the country. But, how effective is this bureau in controlling these crimes is something we need to make a check. The bureau would detect and prosecute networks and individuals engaged in poaching tigers and other endangered species. The wildlife trade in Burma Environment AIR POLLUTION PLAGUES INDIA Almost two dozen militant organisations are active in the region, proliferating arms and impacting security, and creating opportunities for the penetration of transnational organised crime. The body called the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau will maintain a database on wildlife items and trade, and help convict criminals and their accomplices at national and international levels. The body will strengthen the ongoing efforts to control poaching and illegal trade and will also facilitate training of field staff in intelligence gathering, crime detection and prosecution. With its headquarters in New Delhi, the bureau will have five regional offices and three sub-regional offices. Global measures Experts in government, security, and conservation discuss how dangerous wildlife crime is and why it threatens not only animals but also our own global security. WWF is leading a global campaign to stop wildlife crime. The campaign focuses on: • Pushing governments to protect threatened animal populations by increasing law enforcement, imposing strict deterrents, reducing demand for endangered species products and honouring international commitments made under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) • Speaking up on behalf of those on the frontlines being threatened by armed poachers, so that they are properly equipped, trained and compensated • Reducing demand for illegal wildlife parts and products by encouraging others to ask questions and get the facts before buying any wildlife or plant product To improve the management, analysis and reporting of the wildlife crimes, the Indian Government is working along with some of the nonprofit organisations and environmental protection agencies • 76 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 77 Construction Dust A ir pollution is a worldwide concern. There have been many investigations into what causes air pollution and the exact methods that work best in the prevention of air pollution. Air pollution is the presence of high concentration of contamination, dust, smokes, etc., in the general body of air we breathe. The main sources of smoke pollutants in urban areas are petrol/diesel-driven motor vehicles, fuel combustion in stationary sources including residential, commercial and industrial heating/ cooling system and coal-burning power plants. Dust and smoke are the two major components of particulate matter. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, and pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. The dust or particle pollution is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small that they can only be detected with an electron microscope. Clouds of dust billowing out of the landfill These particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Some particles, known as primary particles, are emitted directly from a source, such as construction and demolition sites, paved and unpaved roadways, fields, smokestacks or fires, parking lots, storage piles, handling and transfer of materials, and open areas. Others form in complicated reactions in the atmosphere of chemicals such as sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides that are emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles. These particles, known Debris removal cause to form dust particles in the air as secondary particles, make up most of the fine particle pollution in the country. Health hazard The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. Small particles less than 10 micrometres in diameter pose the greatest problems because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream. In fact, dust, when inhaled, can increase breathing problems, damage lung tissue, and aggravate existing health problems. In addition to health concerns, dust generated from various activities can reduce visibility, resulting in accidents. Therefore, every government should have stringent regulations which require prevention, reduction and/or mitigation of dust emissions. Pollution in India, particularly in Indian cities, is far worse than that in developed countries. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it is also called smog. Smoke from burning, industries, vehicles, smog and particulate pollution is far higher, and even nonsmokers in India have 30% lower lung function than Europeans. Major causes of air pollution The dust which comes from natural erosion of soil, sand and rock is the most common source of dust. Pollen, microscopic organisms, plant material and dander (dead skin cells shed by animals) are also part of the dust in the environment. • Dust generated and thrown to general atmosphere by various industries such as cement plants, ore/stone crushing units, and mining industries due to rock drilling and movements of mining machineries and blasting. • Waste deposition for landfills which generate methane • Toxic/germ/noxious gasses and fumes generated from military activities and explosives blasting in mines. The main sources of smoke pollutants in urban areas are petrol/diesel-driven motor vehicles, fuel combustion in stationary sources including residential, commercial and industrial heating/ cooling system and coal-burning power plants. Petrol/diesel-driven motor vehicles produce high levels of carbon dioxide /carbon monoxide, which are the major source of hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxides. Fuel combustion in stationary sources is the dominant source of carbon dioxide and sulphur Commercial under-fired charboilers emit a large amount of particulate matter into the air Manmade dust is common in urban areas. It is created by a range of activities from personal hobbies such as gardening to large-scale industrial activities such as electricity generation at power stations. The prime sources of air pollution are the industrial activities or processes releasing large quantity of pollutants in the atmosphere. These pollutants are mainly: • Smoke coming out from various industries like, power plants, chemical plants, other manufacturing facilities, motor vehicles, etc. • Burning of wood, coal in furnaces and incinerators • Gaseous pollutants from oil refining industries 78 Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 79 dioxide. Facts and figures According to World Health Organisation (WHO), 15 Indian cities feature in a list of the 30 most polluted cities in the world. The burning of solid fuels and wood is the major cause of high levels of air pollution in Indian cities. Then there is the fact that all our city roads are terribly congested by vehicles of all sorts – the sort that belch out polluting gasses because of age, poor maintenance and fuel adulteration. There is also the fact that rising incomes mean that new vehicles are being constantly added to Indian roads. Delhi has the distinction of being one of the most polluted cities in the country. However, since the most powerful people in the country live there, there is at least some attention being paid to air quality in the nation’s capital. This was the first city in the country to have CNG busses and autorickshaws pressed into service – a move that other cities have emulated. There is also evidence to show that foetuses exposed to high pollution could be born prematurely, or be born with low birth weight, or even be born with birth defects. These children may also be more likely to have more respiratory and digestive problems later in life. Diarrhoea and respiratory problems (very often related to air and water pollution either directly or indirectly) are the leading cause of death among Indian kids, according to a UNICEF report. The Global Burden of Disease Study has said that air pollution is the fifth largest killer in the country. The report also says that about 620,000 premature deaths occur in India as a result of diseases related to air pollution. According to a Delhi-based pediatrician, even Fatal dust pollution in Jammu Kashmir (Left) and Nuclear pollution (Right) Bicycle riders cover their face from dust newborn infants now present with respiratory diseases. Air pollution can cause problems ranging from allergies, wheezing, bronchitis, ear infections, pneumonia, sore eyes, asthma, dermatitis, tonsils problems, giddiness, and headaches. Longterm impacts could include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchial asthma and even certain types of cancer and heart problems. Controlling air pollution Smoke from a typical Indian Kitchen Parked cars covered with dust Airborne particulate matters (PM) emissions can be minimised by pollution prevention and emission control measures. Prevention, which is frequently more cost-effective than control, should be emphasised. Special attention should be given to mitigate the effects, where toxics associated with particulate emissions may pose a significant environmental risk. Measures such as improved process design, operation, maintenance, housekeeping, and other management practices can reduce emissions. By improving combustion efficiency in diesel engines, generation of particulate matters can be reduced significantly. Proper fuel-firing practices and combustion zone configuration, along with an adequate amount of excess air, can achieve lower products of incomplete combustion (PIC). The following steps should be adhered to control particulate matters (PM): • Choosing cleaner fuels – natural gas used as fuel emits negligible amounts of particulate matter • Low-ash fossil fuels contain less noncombustible, ash-forming mineral matter and thus generate lower levels of particulate emissions • Reduction of ash by coal-cleaning reduces the generation of ash and particulate matter emissions by up to 40% Despite this, Delhi’s name is at the top of the list of the 6 most polluted cities in India. Delhi’s air pollution levels are by far the highest, with 1,478 tonnes a day, followed by Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Kanpur. Delhi’s air is polluted by road dust, industrial emissions and vehicles. • Use of more efficient technologies or process changes can reduce PIC emissions What is really alarming is the impact that pollution has on the children of the country; even on the unborn child still in the mother’s womb. There is evidence to show that air pollution could be a contributing factor for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – that kids exposed to very high air pollution levels before birth are more risk of being born with ADHD. • A variety of particulate removal technologies are available – these are (a) inertial or impingement separators, (b) electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) , (c) filters and dust collectors (bag houses), and (d) wet scrubbers that rely on a liquid spray to remove dust particles from a gas stream. 80 • Advanced coal combustion technologies such as coal gasification and fluidized-bed combustion are examples of cleaner processes that may lower PIC by about 10% Safety Messenger | May 2015 Safety Messenger | May 2015 81 Prevention With the use of different methods, air pollution is becoming easier to control. It is only through various measures, though, that the prevention of air pollution is possible. The government plays a very important role in prevention of air pollution. It is through government regulations that industries are forced to reduce their air pollution and new developments in technology are created to help everyone do their part in the prevention of air pollution. The government also helps by making regulations stricter and enforcing new regulations that help combat any newfound source of air pollution. the poorest relative air quality out of 132 countries. Pollution in India, particularly in Indian cities, is far worse than that in developed countries. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. A dust storm Many countries have set controls on pollution emissions for transportation vehicles and industry. This is usually done to through a variety of coordinating agencies which monitor the air and the environment. In India, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was passed in 1981 to regulate air pollution, and there have been some measurable improvements. However, the Environmental Performance Index (2012) ranked India as having What can you do? The regulatory agencies play an essential role in reducing and preventing air pollution in the environment. In addition, it is possible to prevent many types of air pollution that are not regulated through personal, careful attention to our interactions with the environment. One of the most dangerous indoor air pollutants is cigarette smoke. Restricting smoking is an important key to a healthier environment. Legislation to control smoking is in effect in some locations, but personal exposure should be monitored and limited wherever possible. Along with controlling the pollution from your side, ask yourself what else you can do to lower air pollution in your city and perhaps save your child from potential health problems• Children cover their face from bad dust pollution 82 Safety Messenger | May 2015 GULF News GCC rail network to link all 6 Gulf States by 2018 UAE has already taken its first steps with the establishment of Etihad Railways Co, also known as Union Railways, following a decree by President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in July 2014. With an equity capital of 1bn dirhams, ER will be responsible for building around 1100 route-km at an estimated cost of 30bn dirhams. A second decree issued on October 1, 2014 appointed the ER board members, who will serve for an initial period of three years. New chairman Hassem Jasem Al Nowais has already started looking for potential traffic, opening negotiations with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Corp to serve oil and gas fields in the west of the country. ER is to develop the network within UAE, with main lines running from Al-Ghuweifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Al-Fujayrah and from Abu Dhabi to Al-Ayn and the Oman border. It has a mandate to procure its own fleet of freight and passenger trains. Qatar has also launched its own national railway project, under the management of state-owned property development group Qatari Diar. According to its chairman Ghanem Saad Al Saad, railway development will run from 2012 to 2026, starting with a metro network in Doha and a connection to New Smart City in Dubai the Gulf Railway in the south. To the east, Systra is working with Oman’s National Engineering Office on plans for an initial 400 km network in the Batinah region, with a feasibility study to be completed by the end of this year. The 260 km main line would follow the coast from Khatmat Malaha on the UAE border near AlFujayrah to Barka, with a 30 km link from Barka to Rusayl. A 110 km branch from the port of Suhar would run to the UAE border at Al Buraimi near AlAyn• The total length of the railway line in KM in each GCC country States The total length of the railway line in KM Kuwait145 Bahrain36 Qatar283 Oman306 United Arab Emirates 684 Saudi Arabia 663 Total2117 New Al Burj radars on Dubai roads D ubai: Dubai Police has started replacing 52 old radars across Dubai roads with the new Vitronic (Al Burj) radars. D ubai: The 2,177-km-long GCC rail network, which will link all six Gulf States by rail for the first time, will be fully operational in 2018. The cost of the railway project connecting the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the linking of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia through a bridge, is expected to be around $200 billion, according to GCC sources. The designs of the network, which will run down the Gulf coast from Kuwait, through Saudi Arabia, to the UAE and Oman, with branches linking Bahrain and Qatar, is being prepared and construction on the network is to start this year. Project is expected to be fully operational in 2018, Abu Dhabi is leading the GCC rail network with its Dh40 billion Etihad Rail project. The 1,200-km line, planned to be completed in 2018, will link major industrial zones, cities and ports in the UAE, and will eventually connect with the GCC railway. Abdullah Al Shibli, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the General Secretariat of the GCC, said that the GCC railway project approved at 84 the 30th GCC summit in 2009, has begun with the preparation of a detailed engineering design and the establishment of the Gulf Railway Authority to supervise and execute the project in the shortest possible time as per the best global standards. The railway track would begin from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia via Dammam and then to Bahrain, Al Shibli explained. He added that Qatar and Bahrain would be linked through the Salwa Post, and from Saudi Arabia it would go to the UAE and then to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, finally ending at Muscat via Sohar. The speed of passenger trains would be approximately 220km/hour, while freighter trains would run at a speed of 80-120km/hour.“The project will be executed as per the best global specifications and designs available in the railway sector, such as axial loads, signaling and communications, operations and maintenance systems. GCC ministers of transport are closely following up on developments of the project and are working to eliminate any obstacles to the project which is designed to serve the inhabitants of the region. Safety Messenger | May 2015 Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, Director of Dubai Traffic Police, said the new radars will replace the old ones on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, Shaikh Zayed Road and Emirates Road. “The old radars we are removing will be placed in other roads in Dubai that need radars,” he said. D ubai Municipality is planning to build a smart city for Emirati residents which will be powered by solar energy. The project will be located near Al Aweer Roundabout in Dubai. The smart city will be completely sustainable and will produce 200 MW from solar panels that will cover the roofs of the residential units and other buildings. According to directives of the ruler of Dubai, work on the project will start immediately and is expected to finish by 2020. The smart city will accommodate about 160,000 people over a total area of 14,000 acre. Surrounded by a green belt, the development will be fully sustainable and self sufficient in terms of resources, transport and energy. The city will recycle over 40,000 cu m of water. Plans are also in progress for a smart-address project that will provide a digital infrastructure rather than the traditional naming system• Safety Messenger | May 2015 The vitronic radar, which was introduced to some roads around April 2014, has the ability to record eight violations: vehicles speeding, vehicles going below the speed limit, vehicles not leaving enough distance between other vehicles, drivers not wearing a seat belt, drivers using their mobile phone, heavy vehicles not abiding by their designated lanes, heavy vehicles that are on the road outside their designated timings and vehicles driving on the hard shoulder. Some of the function have not been activated yet. “There will also be 32 new radars to be placed on intersections. We will be receiving them soon from the manufacturer,” Col Al Mazroui said. This is in addition to 18 devices to catch people driving on the hard shoulder that is still in the production phase. The 18 devices will be placed on outer roads including, Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, Al Ain Road, Shaikh Zayed Road, and Al Hibab road. Col Al Mazroui said that road fatalities have gone down in the first four months of 2015, compared with the same period last year. “This year there were only 51 road deaths in the first four months, as opposed to the 69 deaths recorded in the same period in 2014.”• 85 T he Global Food Safety Conference 2015 held at Kulalumpur in the first week of March resolved to work towards a dependable, safe food supply chain which is the need of the hour for sustainable survival of the humanity in these challenging times. The annual event brought together over 900 leading food safety specialists in the food and agriculture industry, such as manufacturers and retailers, as well as food related associations and government agencies from over 50 countries to discuss the roadmap for advancing Food Safety globally. rising to 90% by age 14. The Conference themed “Food Safety: A Shared Responsibility” provided the best ever opportunity to meet and network with industry peers, share knowledge, benefit from thought-provoking presentations from internationally reputed industry experts and hear innovative ideas to implement in respective organizations. The Scamp study will be led by Dr Mireille Toledano, of the faculty of medicine at Imperial College, who has written papers on investigations into claims of cancer links between low-power emissions from mobile phones and from power lines. The SGS, a leading global solutions provider in food safety, quality and sustainability, and one of the main sponsors of the Conference 2015 conducted a special Session titled “How well do you know your Supply Chain?” The objectives of this breakout session were to present findings of the SGS industry survey on current supply chain management practices, including supplier approval processes and a review of their vulnerability and impact on food safety, dscuss the concept of risk and vulnerability in the supply chain through available guidelines and challenges of implementation and evaluate the available tools and methods to manage traceability and transparency in the supply chain and how they support the prevention, mitigation and management of risk. The conference emphasized the truly global nature of the food supply chain, not only by bringing so many people together but also by fostering collaborative opportunities in food safety management• Mobile Phones (Scamp) will examine about 2,500 schoolchildren at the ages of 11 and 12, collect data about how they use the phones and how much time they spend on them, and assess them two years later on mental functions such as memory and attention, which continue to develop into the teenage years. While no study has ever shown harmful effects from the low-power radio waves, known as "nonionizing radiation", generated by mobile phones, almost all have focused on adults. T The Study of Cognition, Adolescents and 86 across all automotive markets worldwide. By 2020, at the latest, we want all new cars to meet basic standards for both, crash protection and crash avoidance. They must have crumple zones, airbags, and electronic stability control". Global NCAP, at the UN, also set forth ten recommendations to help transform global car safety as well as a timeline for its implementation. Together, these life-saving recommendations have the potential to prevent tens of thousands of avoidable deaths, and hundreds and thousands of injuries every year, Ward said. The Global NCAP's policy recommendations are: G lobal NCAP has proposed recommendations at the United Nations in Geneva, to enhance car safety in all the markets around the world by 2020. Many cars in the middle and low income countries fail to meet the basic Global NCAP safety standards for front and side impacts, the international automotive safety regulatory body has revealed. Speaking at the United Nations in Geneva while launching its new policy report - Democratising Car Safety: Road Map for Safer Cars 2020 - on March 10, Global NCAP chairman Max Mosley said, "Safety improvements stimulated by legislation and consumer awareness campaigns in high income economies that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives are not yet systematically available for drivers and their families in rapidly growing lower income markets”. The last advice on children’s use of mobile phones came in the Stewart report in January 2005, in which Sir William Stewart suggested that as a precaution children under eight should not use mobile phones at all, and that older children should use it for texting rather than voice calls. He added that car safety laws accepted as a norm in Europe for the last 20 years, are yet to be met by manufacturers in middle and low income countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He said that manufacturers cannot treat millions of its customers as second-class citizens when it comes to life saving standards of occupant protection. Since then ownership of mobile phones has continued to rise: an estimated 70% of 11- to 12-year-olds in the UK now own a mobile phone, Global NCAP secretary general and the author of this report, David Ward said, "The drive for the democratisation of car safety must now be extended Safety Messenger | May 2015 Current UK health guidelines, based on the 2005 Stewart report, say children under 16 should be encouraged only to use mobile phones for essential calls, and where possible to use a hands-free kit or to send text messages. When they do have to make calls, they are advised to keep them short• Global NCAP: get car safety standards to smaller economies by 2020 Need for collaborative efforts UK launches largest study of mobile phone effects on children's brains he Department of Health of the UK government has commissioned the world's biggest study into the effects of mobile phones' radio waves on children’s brains, nine years after a government study said children should only use mobile phones when "absolutely necessary". The Scamp study was commissioned by the Department of Health through the Research Initiative on Health and Mobile Telecommunications, which is funded jointly by the government and mobile phone operators. Safety Messenger | May 2015 - That all UN member states adopt the following two-stage minimum car safety regulation plan and implementation timescale by the end of the UN Decade of Action in 2020: Stage 1: UN Regulations for Frontal Impact (No.94), Side Impact (No.95), Seat Belt and Seat Belt Anchorages (No.14 & No.16) by 2016 for all new car models produced or imported, by 2018 for all cars produced or imported. Stage 2: UN Regulations for Electronic Stability Control (No.13H or GTR. 8), Pedestrian Protection (No. 127 or GTR.9) by 2018 for all new car models produced or imported, by 2020 for all cars produced or imported. - All UN member states with significant automobile production should participate in the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations, to promote a leveling up of the safety standards in an open and competitive market for automobiles and their components. - Fleet purchasers both, in the private and public sectors and rental companies should adopt Global NCAP's buyer's guide and choose 'five star' vehicles wherever possible. - The automobile manufacturers should improve the content of its sustainability responsibility reporting to include data on the applied safety standards of its global vehicle production• 87 Safety News Safety News safe food supply chain is the need of the hour food contamination. Food borne illness is a serious cause of concern. Access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food is the key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Total body irradiation treatment increases risks on children Food safety, nutrition and food security are inextricably linked," said Asheena Khalakdia, the team leader for communicable diseases at WHO country office for India. The study supports the recommendations of the Children’s Oncology Group for long term follow up care for children receiving TBI (survivorshipguidelines.org). Specifically, MulcahyLevy hopes that increasing awareness of likely effects will help patients and their doctors’ screen for, detect, and correct likely effects of TBI. From production to consumption, there were several potential areas of food contamination and, safe and healthy food should be the prime focus. The WHO experts enumerated five key points for safer food. These include cleanliness, keeping the raw and cooked food separate from other foods, cooking thoroughly especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood at 70 degrees Celsius, keeping food at safe temperatures, using safe water and raw materials. W HO connected food safety and nutrition for the food and water borne diseases kill an estimated two million people across the world annually. Globally, every year, millions of people die of Stressing on to the five key points, Asheena Khalakdia said that the food safety is a shared responsibility. It is important to work all along the food production chain - from farmers and manufacturers to vendors and consumers. The WHO Indian counterpart wants these five keys for safer food to be made accessible to every consumer. She urged all the stake holders to come forward on a joint platform to share this responsibility• ASEAN presses the need to reform Aviation Safety Framework altitude to avoid bad weather. Though the cause of the crash is still unknown, aviation experts have seized on the incident to point to the region's infrastructure suffering from congested skies and a patchwork of differing safety standards. ASEAN is pushing ahead with plans to establish a single aviation market or "Open Skies" by 2015 that will allow its members' airlines unfettered access to each other's markets. F or many pediatric cancer patients, total body irradiation (TBI) is a hazardous part of treatment during bone marrow transplant– it’s a key component of long term survival. But lengthened survival creates the ability to notice long term effects of radiation as these youngest cancer patients age. A report from University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer details these late effects of radiation. These kids basically lie on a table and truly do get radiation from head to toe. There is a little blocking of the lungs, but nothing of, for example, the brain or the kidneys. Of 15 patients who received TBI before age 3, many developed endocrine and metabolic problems including testicular malfunction (78%), restrictive pulmonary disease due to high levels of blood triglycerides (74%), and cataracts (78%). Likewise, 90% of patients showed abnormally low levels of growth hormone, and 71% were considerably under height. Additional late effects of TBI included kidney, liver, skeletal and cardiac malfunction and, three of four patients whose IQ had been tested before TBI showed cognitive decline. T The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has no regional agencies overseeing aviation safety or co-coordinating air traffic control, unlike in the more developed European market. The issue has come to the fore after the Air Asia flight QZ8501from Surabaya to Singapore, carrying 162 people, crashed in the Java Sea in Dec 2014 shortly after the pilot requested to change 88 Experts point to Europe as the model to follow, where the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) oversees the region's safety standards and crew training, while Euro-control co-ordinates the region's air traffic control. While Euro-control was established back in the 1960s, EASA was set up only in 2002 when the European Union was already a much more unified and better-funded bloc than ASEAN is today• Safety Messenger | May 2015 The study shows it’s important know about these problems in order to address them appropriately and proactively. Early side effects Early side effects are those that occur shortly after the start of TBI and up to six months after TBI ends. They can include: •Nausea and vomiting; • Sores in the mouth; • Diarrhea (upset stomach); •Jaw pain or swollen salivary glands; • Dry mouth; • Skin redness; • Hair loss; • Fatigue; •Low blood counts; and • Sore throat, problems with swallowing, or both. Late side effects Late side effects are those that occur six months to several years after the TBI treatment. They can include: •Cataracts; • Decrease in growth; • Hormone problems; and • Sterility• Endovascular Therapy to save Stroke Patients However the group, whose 10 member states range from developed Singapore to impoverished Myanmar, has made scant progress on adopting uniform technical and safety operating procedures. he rapid growth in Southeast Asia's airline industry is pressing need for reforms to the region's fragmented safety framework, with a lack of streamlined standards on air navigation and staff training. Safety News Safety News WHO links Food safety and Nutrition for Increasing Deaths co-authored by an Indian-origin doctor. "Endovascular treatment using stent retrievers will become the standard of care for patients with acute ischemic stroke," said Mayank Goyal from University of Calgary in Canada. The clinical trial randomised 196 patients to receive t-PA, a clot busting drug, or tPA plus ET. ET is performed by inserting a thin tube into the artery in the groin, through the body and into the brain vessels to the clot. This is done under image-guided care using an X-ray. E ndovascular Therapy (ET) could be the best option for many stroke sufferers for its ability to reduce the incidence of disability, says a study Safety Messenger | May 2015 The clot is then removed by a retrievable stent and pulled out, restoring blood flow to the brain. Overall, positive outcomes for patients increased from 35 percent to 60 percent, the researchers noted• 89 In women, cancer is caused when there is early menarche and late menopause, obesity and exposure to viruses like HPV. Room Heaters can be harmful to Skin While doing away with a heater completely might not be an option for everybody but reducing your dependence is a way out; so is the undertaking of certain precautions to prevent harm to body and skin. According to WHO, lung and oral cancers are the most common cancers among men while cervical and breast cancers are the most common cancers in women. It is estimated that India records 1.1 million new cancer cases every year thus, contributing to 7.8 percent of the global cancer burden. I Such habits need to be curbed from the childhood. Busier lifestyles mean that people are having more and more processed food and fast food. Cancer is like any other disease which can be prevented. At least one-third of cancers can be prevented by following a healthy lifestyle and good diet. Tobacco use - smoking and chewing - is the single most important factor for cancer in men. Nearly 60-70 percent of all cancer cases in men are due to tobacco. While in women, cancer is caused due to over exposure to hormones. An important factor in preventing cancer was getting regular medical care, self-exams and screenings for various types of cancers - such as cancer of the breast, colon, prostate and cervix. This can increase the chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. In addition, a significant proportion of cancers can be cured, by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, especially if they are detected early. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 30 percent cancer deaths can be prevented by addressing the main risk factors - tobacco use, alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excess body weight. Tobacco use is the single most important factor for cancer, causing 22 percent of the global 8.2 million deaths due to cancer, and 71 percent of the global lung cancer deaths. The Southeast Asian A Necklace to Stop Over-eating S cientists have developed a necklace that acts like human conscience when one overeat or overindulge and start buzzing. So, if eaten according to what necklace says, you might achieve an ideal weight. The necklace which is called ‘WearSens’ is made of a metal 90 Doctors have suggested some simple additional measures that can prevent the heat from causing harm to the skin and health: According to doctors, Lifestyle factors, including diet, smoking, alcohol, exposure to sun, physical inactivity, obesity and stress can greatly affect the risk of developing cancer. A diet low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high in energy-dense foods that are high in fat (such as red and processed meats), refined sugar (such as refined grains) or salt can predispose one to cancer. n an effort to identify the leading causes of cancer, experts from various institutes have found that Tobacco is the leading cause of cancer when compared. The experts say that the disease can be prevented by taking simple steps like eating a healthy diet, managing obesity and proper exposure to the sun. W inter is the time when people resort to things that can keep themselves warm. The room heaters play a vital role to do away the biting cold. While an indispensable accessory in most north Indian homes at the winter time of the year, an electric heater doesn’t just throw heat to warm up; it also saps away all moisture from its environment, leaving people vulnerable to dryness and allergies. Cosmetologists underlines that use of an electric heater day in and day out without some necessary remedial measures and precautions can cause worries for your skin, by depleting of moisture content in the air. “The air that is sent out through the heater or the blower dries up natural moisture in the air, inside the room. Skin moisture evaporation can cause skin irritations and eye itching. It also leads to dryness and roughness in your scalp. If you have sensitive skin, this could also lead to itching and redness or give rise to infection. Moreover, if you have a baby, this could lead to even more damage to your baby’s sensitive skin. Extreme dryness in infants and babies, due to overuse of a heater, could lead to skin rashes and nose bleeds,” says Doctors. The experts also cautioned that immediate note should be taken of some issues like unintentional weight loss, any kind of lumps, bumps and sores, chronic cough or hoarseness of voice and lower back pain occurs• ring that goes around the neck and has a sensor which uses the vibrations in the throat to tell when you are eating and drinking. The device is linked to a smartphone app which buzzes once you exceed your permitted daily calorie limit. India Face Shortfall in health workers I ndia has 19 health workers per 10,000 people of its total population; the parliament was informed by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda. The WHO norms require 25 health workers per 10,000 people. The researchers said the WearSens works because each food makes a distinctive pattern of vibrations in the neck so the device is able to find out what you are consuming using a sensor, which measures changes in pressure or force. As per information provided by the Medical Council of India and Indian Nursing Council, the total number of registered doctors is 9, 36,488 of In a way it can be considered as an ‘accessory’ every man and woman would like to possess• Safety Messenger | May 2015 The heaters that come enclosed in a non-metallic case can heat the outer surface when used for too long. If touched accidentally, this could cause burns that could be very severe on skin leaving lifetime marks, especially for the elderly and infants. Safety Messenger | May 2015 • The problems of imbalance of moisture in air content can be reduced by simply increasing the indoor relative humidity. This can be done through use of humidifiers, vaporizers, steam generators, sources such as large pans, or water containers made of porous ceramics. Even wet towels or water in a bathtub will be of some help. The lower the room temperature the easier the relative humidity can be brought to its desired level. • Always keep the heater in a reasonable temperature so you don’t overheat the room. To know, what is the best suited temperature for your setting, check the user-manual and follow the instructions. • Make sure that your heater is checked and serviced by the manufacturers at least twice a year. This will ensure that the tubes, coils and the bands are functioning well so that they don’t emit more carbon monoxide into the room. • Ensure that you open the doors and windows of your room to initiate natural ventilation. This way, you can get rid of the pollutant and clean the room naturally. • Dress appropriately to beat the winter chills and don’t depend on a heater solely. This will help your body to adjust to the season and your immunity to work accordingly, to save you from seasonal bouts of cold and flu• registered nurses is 16,73,338, and of auxiliary nurses and midwives is 7,56,937. Additionally, there are 7, 90,000 Ayush (ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddhi and homeopathy) practitioners registered in the country. Listing the steps taken to address this shortfall, Health Minister said that the Medical Council of India (MCI) with the previous approval of central government, has amended the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 to provide 50 percent reservation in post graduate diploma courses for medical officers in government service, who have served for at least three years in remote and difficult areas• 91 News Digest News Digest Tobacco is the Leading cause of Cancer region is home to 250 million smokers and an equal number of smokeless tobacco users. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder which affects women of reproductive age. Those affected suffer from numerous cysts located along the outer edge of each ovary. World could Suffer Severe Water Shortfall by 2030 E If compulsive overeating, characterized by excessive food consumption, is not treated it can lead to diseases like obesity, diabetics, heart disease, hypertension, depression, kidney disease and high cholesterol, Says doctors• nvironmentalists in India expressed alarm over the new budget of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which they say heralds substantial cuts in environmental programmes and fails to address the country’s worsening pollution and vulnerability to climate change. The budget for the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for the fiscal year beginning April 1 has been reduced by 25 percent, from 22.6 billion Indian rupees ($360 million) to 16.8 billion rupees ($268 million). Half of the pregnant women in India are Anaemic A I f you crave for food even after a sumptuous meal, you could be a victim of overeating, warn health experts”. Stress, long hours of starvation and the wide variety of food options available in the market contribute to overeating, they say. Listing the various reasons that lead to overeating, the dietitian says that when people feel emotional, stressed or are under any trauma or have any discomfort, they tend to eat a lot. Sometimes people overeat when there is a long gap between two meals. Apart from overeating, stress can also cause under-eating. Under eating often leads to hair fall, calcium deficiency, less immunity, lack of glow on the face and anemia, they added. However, the percentage of people who eat when stressed is lower. Experts add that skipping or having a late breakfast is also a reason for being overweight. These days, people leave for work early and by the time they have their food, it gets late. Since they have not eaten a proper meal, they are extremely hungry and end up eating anything which comes in front of them. 92 nnual World Water Development Report predicts global water demand will increase by 55 pc by 2050, while reserves dwindle. In released report UN warns the countries all over the world that unless they dramatically change their water resource usage there could be a 40 percent shortfall in water in 15 years. H alf of the pregnant women and 74 percent of children under five in India are anaemic, a malnutrition mapping project stated. The 'Malnutrition Mapping Project' is an interactive tool that includes an online map for country-specific information and insights into the global challenge of malnutrition. Developed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) with support from Amway, the project report said 50 percent of pregnant women and 74 per cent of children under the age of five are anaemic. In addition, it highlights the fact that 62 percent of children show insufficient Vitamin A status and undernutrition is the leading risk factor for death in children under five. A few symptoms associated with overeating include "eating more rapidly than normal, depression or mood swings, abnormal eating patterns, history of weight fluctuations, unsuccessful diets and obesity". The goal of this project is to raise awareness of malnutrition in all its forms so that political, health and business leaders can discuss, develop and ultimately implement solutions. The map includes data from more than 30 countries representing low, middle and high incomes and provides an easy path to country-by-country statistics and insights into nutritional challenges. Apart from weight gain, overeating can also lead to increase in the percentage of fat, indigestion, and loose motions. Hormonal imbalance usually seen in It draws data from the World Health Organisation, Unicef and Lancet, and includes more than 40 indicators to help track under nutrition and obesity• Safety Messenger | May 2015 Union Budget Lacks Environmental Focus for India Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are predicted to become more erratic with climate change. As the world’s population grows to an expected 9 billion by 2050, more groundwater will be needed for farming, industry and personal consumption. The report predicts global water demand will increase by 55 percent by 2050, while reserves dwindle. If current usage trends don’t change, the world will have only 60 percent of the water it needs in 2030, it said. “Unless the balance between demand and finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit,” the annual World Water Development Report said, noting that more efficient use could guarantee enough supply in the future. In many countries including India, water use is largely unregulated and often wasteful. Pollution of water is often ignored and unpunished. At least 80 percent of India’s population relies on groundwater for drinking to avoid often unsafe surface water. Currently, about 748 million people worldwide have poor access to clean drinking water, the report said. The report, released in New Delhi before World Water Day, urges policymakers and communities to rethink water policies and calls for more conservation and recycling of wastewater as is done in Singapore. Countries may also want to consider raising the price for water, as well as searching for ways to make water-intensive sectors more efficient and less polluting, it said• Safety Messenger | May 2015 In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an increase in the target for renewable energy generating capacity, to 175,000 megawatts by 2022. But the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will see its funding for the coming year reduced by more than two-thirds, to 3 billion rupees ($48 million). While increasing the tax on diesel fuel, the government failed to introduce a purchase tax on highly polluting sports utility vehicles (SUVs), which use diesel. Environmentalists had hoped for such a tax, which the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government tried unsuccessfully to introduce, because of the growing popularity of SUVs. Despite some positive signs in the budget, environmentalists remain skeptical about the government’s attempts to reduce coal use. The UPA government established eight missions under its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), but Jaitley’s budget speech mentioned only one of them – the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture. Its funding is to be reduced by 80 percent this year, from 15 billion rupees to 3 billion rupees. Agriculture is cited by experts as a primary source of greenhouse gas emission in India because of paddy cultivation of rice, which produces methane through extended flooding of fields and the use of cows to farm small plots of land. Farming is also highly at risk from climate change impacts, particularly changing rainfall patterns, floods, drought and storms. "This government is not at all concerned about the environment or climate change” pointed out an environmentalist. Activists are also concerned that the government is proposing a law allowing it to acquire and sell farmland and forest from national wildlife sanctuaries for real estate or infrastructure development, without seeking the consent of farmers or forest dwellers• 93 News Digest News Digest Stress, mood swings lead to overeating females gives rise to irregular menstruation, facial growth, hair fall and PCOS, Said experts. RaySafe i2 Personal Dosimeter staff Monitoring System Products in this Category Regular Barrier 56-603: This rugged mobile barrier can easily fit into the most confining of spaces and provides exceptional visibility. RaySafe i2 real-time display features By tapping the dosimeter name on the touch screen you can access more detailed information about the personal dose history: Deluxe Barrier 56-616, 56-617: The large 48-inch wide, shatter-resistant CLEAR-Pb Lead-Plastic window provides unrestricted visibility and maximum protection for two or more people. 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This Stainless Steel Hardware Mobile Barriers are the perfect fit in any imaging room due to their 30 inch width and easy maneuverability. •A dose dashboard with total dose history and trip meters R Nuclear Medicine Barrier 56-602: Specifically designed shorter and wider for shielding nuclear medicine personnel from patient-emitted radiation. aySafe i2 is an active dosimetry system that gives real-time insight about personal radiation exposure, as well as access to time stamped dose data. By providing easily accessible information about radiation exposure, RaySafe i2 allows medical staff to immediately change their behavior in order to minimize their radiation dose. Ultra Barrier 56-616/56-617: Provides full-body protection to groups of medical personnel assisting in or observing a procedure. 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It shows real-time dose data from all dosimeters in range. The color indication (red, yellow, green) gives the individual user insight about the current dose exposure and the possibility to act accordingly. The accumulated dose per individual user is displayed next to the color indication bars. Eye-catching and durable • Easy to handle with sturdy casters •CLEAR-Pb Lead-Plastic Mobile X-Ray Barriers Model RK2 Prescription Radiation Goggles viewing area. This product offers our standard high quality, distortion-free SF-6 Schott glass radiationreducing lenses with .75mm lead equivalency. The Model RK2 fits best for Medium to Large style heads. 0.75mm Lead Equivalency Schott • SF6 Radiation Protective Lenses • Alpha, beta, gamma contamination surveillance P hillips Model RK2 radiation protective goggles feature vented side ports to reduce fogging and neopreme foam that protects against splashing and sweat. The flame-resistant elastic headband is adjustable, making for a comfortable fit, while the large lens pocket allows for a maximal 94 • SPECS • Frame Size: 58-22-ADJ • Weight: 70g radiation and • Works with the RDS-31 iTx to wireless transmit both probe and main detector data T hese attachable smart radiation probes expand the capabilities of the RDS-31 to include detection of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation and contamination. They allow the RDS-31 to adapt to a wide range of applications and industries. •CE Certified •Rx Frame• Safety Messenger | May 2015 for • Plug and play functionality •Vented Sideports to Reduce Fogging The RaySafe i2 dose manager is advanced software for analyzing, reporting and archiving dose information. The software handles multiple dosimeters and can retrieve dose information from multiple real-time displays through the hospital network or via USB storage• PRODUCT FEATURES •Adjustable Elastic Strap • RaySafe i2 dose manager RDS-31 External Alpha, Beta, Gamma Probes FEATURES • RaySafe i2 dosimeter • •Compatible with rotary patient cradles • • Detailed views presenting time stamped dose history • Major components of the system: CLEAR-Pb Lead-Plastic Special Procedures/ Anesthesiology/O.R. Personal X-Ray Protection Mobile Barriers: Provides upper-body shielding and crystal-clear visibility during cardiac catheterization and special procedures. •Annual personal dose and dose in relation to a configurable yearly limit The active dosimeter measures and records the radiation in every second. Dose data is transferred wirelessly to the real-time display. The dosimeter is maintenance-free, easy-to-use and can be personalized with different names and colors. Model 56-664 Key Features •Provide full body shielding PRoducts PRoducts CLEAR-Pb Mobile Barriers Safety Messenger | May 2015 These probes are appropriate for use in: •Nuclear Power • Military & Homeland Security •Laboratories and Education •Industry and Manufacturing • Healthcare• 95 Emergency Response Kit Survey Meter w/dual detectors F or disposal or management of radiation waste and low-level radioactive items a broad selection of "bag-out" bags. These bags are extra heavy-duty, and they are available in three different materials to accommodate any application: polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PU), and polyvinylchloride (PVC). T he ERK-525 is a complete, portable radiation monitoring system designed to measure a broad range of radioisotope contamination under field conditions. The system contains a state of the art, microprocessor based digital display meter that auto ranges and can detect most of the common alpha, beta & gamma radiation that is likely to be present in an emergency situation. The DSM-525 is a dual probe survey meter that measures contamination and dose levels from micro-R to 200 mR/hr levels of gamma isotopes (Based on 137-Cs calibration). These bags are also color-coded to differentiate primary radioactive waste from buffer-area waste. In addition, there are polyurethane bags with built-in HEPA filters for maximum compaction. Extra Packaging is one of the leading manufacturers of waste transport products and waste transportation liners. All bags are printed one color in Magenta with the Trefoil Symbol and the words "CautionRadioactive Waste" or similar• Radiation Area Monitoring System PRoducts PRoducts Radiation Packaging Stock Sizes Radiation Safety Large Bins with Wheels The instrument and accessories are contained in a very durable water resistant carrying case for easy storage and portability. The ERK-525 does not require changing probes to obtain the full operational benefits of the system; the user needs only to turn the selector switch to the desired probe and the rest of the operation is automatic• Mobile Phone Radiation Protection ‘Nightholder’ The ‘Nightholder’ is also an eye-catcher for your bedside table with a smart design produced from brushed stainless steel. Electro -polishing prevents static and the varnish protects against fingerprints. To charge your mobile, pull the charging cable through the gap in the base. The product measures ca. 10 x 12.5 x 20.5cm (4” x 5” x 8”) (W x H) and Weighs ca. 950g (2 lbs). The product is made in Austria• Pre-printed Tough-Spots, radiation hazard warning O ffered in a wide range of measurement ranges, the AMP series of area radiation monitors provide real-time remote radiological measurement. Featuring waterproof probes and with available cables anywhere from 25 to 350 feet in length, they can safely measure in areas where high radiation could otherwise compromise meter electronics. Product Features •Rugged construction, waterproof detector housing and cable • Quick-disconnect connectors allow customization of cable length and facilitate easy decontamination • Built in communication port for use with WRM2 EXT transmitter •User-selectable internal alarm thresholds• 96 R adiation Safety Large Bins with Wheels are cleaver scientific storage boxes manufactured with hinged lids and accommodate interchangeable inserts to hold microtubes, centrifuge tubes, scintillation vials, universals, cryotubes and falcon tubes. Also available is a range of floor-standing and bench-top bins with anti-slip feet and hinged lids, which serve as an ideal solution for short-term storage of radioactive waste or radioisotopes. Both the Beta and Gamma storage bins are available in five sizes, and the two largest bin models have wheels for easy transportation. Optional heavy duty drawstring bags may also be purchased• Safety Messenger | May 2015 W ith the ‘Nightholder’, you can leave your mobile phone by your bed every night. Leave your mobile phone switched on and just place it in the 20.5cm (8”) high metal tube, with the mobile screen facing away. Your radiation exposure will be reduced by 75%. The uncovered side guarantees undisturbed reception. Also perfect to use your mobile phone as an alarm clock. Radiation is blocked by the metal structure. The blocked-off side acts as a radiation reflector. Both effects influence the direction of the discharged radiation. Safety Messenger | May 2015 T he convenient and printed 3/8" diameter Tough-Spots save time when labeling and organizing samples. Radiation warning symbol makes labeling hazardous samples easy• 97 Readers Page Safety Messenger is Unique! Air Safety is a Rising Concern Now-a day we see there are a growing number incidents and accidents in the airline sector. Is it that our systems are advanced so much or it has become so complicated to manage? Today, we have large numbers of airlines owned by public and private sectors of each country. But are we still way back in keeping those safety standards for safe air travel? The growing number of air crashes and deaths should be an eye-opener for every countries air operations. The air travel is considered to be the safest travel, so it is necessary that this assumption is not altered. Just as the some of the articles of April issue of Safety Messenger Magazine has mentioned our air travel safety norms and regulations needs constant updating. Experts in this field should regularly monitor any loopholes in safety standards and the safety of every passenger to be confirmed. To attain this objective every staff in the air travel profession should be trained and keep justice to their profession and to the passengers who rely on them for their travel safety. The efforts of Safety Messenger Magazine is appreciable that it is trying to focus the prime concern of life on earth i.e., safety. Rarely do we find magazines with such informative articles. It is a magazine worth reading and needs to reach on to more hands. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Juhu- Mumbai Healthy Way of Living needs to be practiced! In a world, that is fast changing and after a fast culture, health is becoming a negligible factor. People are becoming only money makers that they forget to live a happy and healthy life. The result is that the money made is being spent in hospitals and for treatments. It is not just something that employees can handle, but every employer should take care of the well being of their employees, if they are working for you. You can include some recreational activities and occasionally some physical activities for the employees to relieve their tension and strain. Sitting glued to one’s seat and computer doesn’t mean that it will increase the productivity. In turn small intervals and communication can create a healthy atmosphere within every organization. If for an employee, it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be considerative of their health. If we are not taking care of our own health, then who will take care of it? Each one of us needs to practice a healthy way of living, eating, drinking and sleeping. We must find time to exercise and practice simple healthy steps even while at work. We have plenty of health magazines available for our information. Safety Messenger is one such magazine vivid in focusing the safety and environment topics too. The magazine is keeping up the trend of health topics. Good attempt. Keep it up. K.G Vasudev, Varkala, Trivandrum 98 Study helps in growing, for this a student needs more exposure and knowledge. It was during one my visits to our college library that I happened to notice and read the magazine “Safety Messenger”. At first I felt there is nothing to entertain. Later on I realized there are some topics that will help me in my study and the future. The magazine looked full with information and yes, it is informative! For a student like me, it is really useful. As I looked in more detail I understood that the magazine is covering three main topics i.e health, safety and environment. So I feel that this is a magazine that every student must have in their reading list. The magazine’s HSE Training section will help those who want to pursue a course in this area. Also, the articles on health are really helpful in understanding various diseases that we often go unnoticed. Safety is of prime importance in our life, so is the protection of the environment where we live. I liked the highlighted subjects of the SAFETY MESSENGER, which is rarely found in most common magazines. Greeshma P., Kalady, Cochin Impressive coverage of aviation safety The coverage of aviation safety in the last issue of Safety Messeger was topical and made interesting reading. The analytical features and recaps were excellent. Congrats for the editorial team's efforts. The articles and features assumed more importance in the backdrop of the latest aviation mishaps including the Germanwings tragedy in the Alps. Since India is still opening up its skies for private carrrier's operations, it is of paramount importance that the safety standards of Indian avaiation should be upto world standards. Let these and other issues highlighted by Safety Messenger serve as an eyeopener. Capt. Philip Rodrigues, Kolkatta Readers opinions, suggestions and criticisms as very valuable to us. Please feel free to share your views in the 'readers page' exclusively kept for Safety Messenger readers. Send your mail to [email protected] Editor Safety Messenger | May 2015 KERENG/2014/59456 Safety Messenger Price: Rs.150/-
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