The main activity of the Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine (Lorraine Collieries), employing 23,000 operatives and executives, is coalmining. The coke production is carried out by two coke oven plants with a workforce of respectively 747 and 552 workers. The coal coking process entails the emission of noxious products such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from the ovens. The influence of...

AIMS To evaluate the incidence risk of lymphohaematopoietic cancers for the 1986-94 period in Cornigliano, a district of Genoa (Italy), where a coke oven is located a few hundred metres from the residential area. METHODS The whole of Genoa and one of its 25 districts (Rivarolo) were selected as controls. The trend of risk around the coke oven was evaluated via Stone's method, while the geogra...

The blast-furnace process consists of a large number of processes that are physicochemical, thermal and mechanical interconnected processes. In addition to main processes consisting of iron oxides reduction, pig iron and slag melt creation, also realised are fuel combustion, gas flow, charge and melt flow, dissociation and other reactions in the solid and liquid phases. Inputs to the blast-furn...

DNA repair is an essential mechanism for cells to maintain their genomic integrity under endogenous or exogenous assault. Reduced DNA repair capacity (DRC) is associated with increased risk for several environmentally related cancers. The micronucleus in peripheral lymphocytes has been validated as a biomarker of chromosomal damage, increasing cancer risk in human populations. We hypothesized t...

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the levels of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their relationship with oxidative DNA damage among Vietnamese coke-oven workers. METHODS We collected urine from 36 coke-oven workers (exposed group) at the beginning and end of the shift on 2 consecutive days. We also collected urine from 78 medical staff (control group). Information was col...

Mathematical model for a pilot scale iron ore pellet induration furnace has been developed which considers the process of induration including the reactions of limestone, magnetite and coke. The differential equations of energy, mass and momentum are solved simultaneously. The profiles of temperature, pressure and concentration are obtained. Performing separate experiments on sub processes; dry...

Fluidized bed was employed to investigate propane steam reforming over Ni-K/CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, SEM, TG/DTA, and N2 adsorption-desorption tests. Effects of promoters, space velocity, temperature, and steam/propane (S/C) ratio on propane conversion, H2 yield, H2/CO ratio, and stability were studied and discussed. The experiments were carried out under cond...