The Role of Decision Rules on Structural Safety Evaluation Systems
Three steps are involved during an assessment procedure. The first step is to make a diagnosis for possible causes of the damage, the second is to perform a qualitative evaluation including...
Stochastic Risk Assessment for Structural Safety
Through the United States the structural safety of major and/or innovative structures has become a serious concern for engineers and to the general public. The objective of this paper...
Quantifying Quality Improvement Programs
Structural codes are evolving to a limit state design basis in which the safety checks are derived from the underlying probability distributions of strength and loads. An example safety...
Approximate Reasoning in Engineering Decision Analysis
In this paper, the concept and methods of approximate reasoning are reviewed and discussed. The methodology of combining precise results of exact analysis, approximate solutions of exact...
Resolving Reliability Issues for an Offshore Platform Code
A fixed steel offshore platform design specification based on reliability concepts has been developed which could become an alternate to the existing working stress code, American Petroleum...
Efficient Probabilistic Structural Analysis Using an Advanced Mean Value Method
An advanced mean-value (AMV) method for probabilistic structural analysis is presented. This method blends the conventional mean value method with the advanced structural reliability analysis...
Irrigation-Induced Contamination Problems
At the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the San Joaquin Valley of California, severe fish and wildlife problems (waterfowl mortality, embryonic deformities, and reproductive failures)...
Reservoir Safe Yield Evaluation Using Simulation
The safe yield available from surface water impoundments serving the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, was evaluated, and the sensitivity of the reservoir system to several factors was investigated....
Resolution of Conflicts in Superfund Site Cleanups
In this paper, we present the typical sequence of tasks involved in the cleanup of a Superfund site under current regulations and guidance. We then pinpoint the areas where conflicts arise...
Sport Fish Consumption Advisories in the Great Lakes Basin: Assessment of Policy to Protect Human Health
Fish consumption advisories for Great Lakes sport fish are based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tolerance or action levels for...
Rolling Incinerators
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is using a mobile incinerator to clean up a former oil and solvent storage/transfer operation which was badly contaminated. The benefits...
EPA: Siting Permanent Solutions
EPA's SITE (Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation) program is entering its third year. It is designed to speed up hazardous waste treatment technology. The program helps...
Speaking of RISK
With sensitivity, common sense and preparation, an engineer can explain risk effectively and fairly without alienating the public. Risk communicators should use a standard set of terms...
Biological Treatment of Hazardous Wastes
Biological treatment�using nature's bacteria and fungi�sometimes costs as little as 10-20% as incineration. Wastes in any form�solid, aqueous and gaseous�can be treated biologically....
Skytrain Crosses the River
The cable stayed bridge that will carry Vancouver's light rail line across the Fraser River is the world's longest such bridge built solely for mass transit....
U.S. Embassy In Moscow: A Structural Stalemate
The fate of the nearly finished American embassy in Moscow should be decided by next fall. In the meantime, it stands empty. On April 15, 1987, Congress made public a National Bureau of...
CADD Adds Safety to the Ryan
Computer aided design and drafting (CADD) was used to plan safety improvements for the Dan Ryan Viaduct, a two mile expressway in Chicago. Some 17 accidents per day took place along the...
Roads for Sale
Due to the decline in available federal revenue for transportation facilities, privatization is becoming a common alternative to project financing. A case study of a public/private partnership...
Current Issues in Asbestos Removal
Asbestos is responsible for more worker deaths than any other substance used in the construction industry. This fact has prompted major regulatory changes during the past fifteen years....
Accommodation of Trucks on the Highway
Safety in Design
This book contains the papers presented at the symposium on accommodation of trucks on highways held in Nashville, Tenn., May 11, 1988. The papers address highway factors that contribute...
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