Reducing Drinking Water Supply Chemical Contamination: Risks from Underground Storage Tanks

Drinking water supplies are at risk of contamination from a variety of physical, chemical, and biological sources. Ranked among these threats are hazardous material releases from leaking or improperly managed underground storage tanks located at municipal, commercial, and industrial facilities. To reduce human health and environmental risks associated with the subsurface storage of hazardous materials, government agencies have taken a variety of legislative and regulatory actions—which date back more than 25 years and include the establishment of rigorous equipment/technology/operational requirements and facility‐by‐facility inspection and enforcement programs. Given a history of more than 470,000 underground storage tank releases nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to report that 7,300 new leaks were found in federal fiscal year 2008, while nearly 103,000 old leaks remain to be cleaned up. In this article, we report on an alternate evidence‐based intervention approach for reducing potential releases from the storage of petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, kerosene, heating/fuel oil, and waste oil) in underground tanks at commercial facilities located in Rhode Island. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a new regulatory model can be used as a cost‐effective alternative to traditional facility‐by‐facility inspection and enforcement programs for underground storage tanks. We conclude that the alternative model, using an emphasis on technical assistance tools, can produce measurable improvements in compliance performance, is a cost‐effective adjunct to traditional facility‐by‐facility inspection and enforcement programs, and has the potential to allow regulatory agencies to decrease their frequency of inspections among low risk facilities without sacrificing compliance performance or increasing public health risks.     

Performance Management and Occupational Safety

Instructional techniques used by the author to teach a performance management (PM) approach to occupational safety are reviewed. Post-workshop safety programs were implemented at several plants without consultation from a PM specialist; however, the PM strategies were not evaluated systematically unless they targeted vehicle saftey belt use. Thus, a Case is made from starting with a safety belt program, not only because such programs can reduce the most significant cause of lost work time (ie.e., the vehicle crash), but also because the behavior change success of a corporate safety belt program can be readily assessed by company personnel and therefore reinforce the PM approach to occupational safety.     

Strategic implications of consumer food safety preferences

This study examines the tradeoffs consumers are willing to make relative to food safety attributes and other product attributes, such as quality and price, and develops implications for both the government and private sector firms. Conjoint analysis was used to elicit consumers’ preferences for fresh Red Delicious apples. The attributes studied include price, product quality as depicted by the level of defects, a variable representing the level of pesticide usage and the associated cancer risk, and a variable representing different levels of government inspection.The results indicated that most consumers have a strong preference for increased food safety. Government policy options that are explored include stricter production standards, improved regulatory monitoring, and government-defined labels. Private industry options that are examined include grower labels, retailer labels, and third party labels.     

Interpreting MSHA Citations Through the Lens of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems: Investigating Their Impact on Mine Injuries and Illnesses 2003–2010

Since the late 1980s, the U.S. Department of Labor has considered regulating a systems approach to occupational health and safety management. Recently, a health and safety management systems (HSMS) standard has returned to the regulatory agenda of both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Because a mandated standard has implications for both industry and regulating bodies alike, it is imperative to gain a greater understanding of the potential effects that an HSMS regulatory approach can have on establishment‐level injuries and illnesses. Through the lens of MSHA's regulatory framework, we first explore how current enforcement activities align with HSMS elements. Using MSHA data for the years 2003–2010, we then analyze the relationship between various types of enforcement activities (e.g., total number of citations, total penalty amount, and HSMS‐aligned citations) and mine reportable injuries. Our findings show that the reduction in mine reportable injuries predicted by increases in MSHA enforcement ranges from negligible to 18%. The results suggest that the type and focus of the enforcement activity may be more important for accident reduction than the total number of citations issued and the associated penalty amount.     

A Comparison of Product Take‐Back Compliance Schemes

Product take‐back regulation, under which firms finance the collection and treatment of their end‐of‐life products, is a widely used environmental program. One of the most common compliance schemes is collectively with cost allocation by market share. As an alternative, individual compliance scheme is considered. Assuming that firms can choose their compliance scheme, we compare these two schemes with respect to the costs they impose on firms and environmental benefits. We show that high collection targets and large market shares among firms in a collective compliance scheme make it more cost‐effective. From an environmental benefits perspective, the prevailing intuition is that collection rates will be higher under collective schemes but individual compliance will provide more incentive for higher recyclability levels. Our results challenge both of these premises. We identify conditions under which collection rates are higher when firms comply individually and recyclability levels are higher when firms comply collectively and allocate costs with respect to market shares.     

Behavior-Based Safety in a Coal Mine: The Relationship Between Observations,Participation, and Injuries Over a 14-Year Period

Safety is an important topic in the inherently dangerous mining industry. The creation of a behavior-based safety program and improved employee-management relationships reduced incident rates by 50%. The safety program focused on employee observations and oversight from steering committees. This case study suggests that participation rates of 30% could produce mine-wide safety improvement and considers possible explanations in the context of current literature and anecdotal reports.     

Corporate compliance programs: risk management for the future

The Department of Justice has estimated that the government loses $100 billion annually in health care fraud. Consequently, the government's health care fraud enforcement activities with respect to all health care providers and suppliers continue to grow. Last year alone, the government collected more than $8 billion in settlements, fines, and penalties involving health care fraud. Recent settlements with the government have begun to include corporate compliance programs that require continued government oversight of the health care organization as an essential part of the settlement. The first section of this article describes the legal significance of health care companies' having corporate compliance programs. The second section provides a sample list of topics that should be included in any corporate compliance program. Finally, we describe various issues related to the creation and implementation of corporate compliance programs.     

Evaluation of the Consequences of a Cistern Truck Accident While Transporting Dangerous Substances through a Tunnel

The transportation of dangerous substances by truck carriers harbors important safety issues in both road and mine tunnels. Even though traffic conditions in road and mine tunnels are different, the potential geometric and hydrodynamic similarities can lead to similar effects from the uncontrolled leakage of the dangerous material. This work was motivated by the design study of the LAGUNA‐LBNO (Large Apparatus studying Grand Unification and Neutrino Astrophysics and Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillations) project. The considered neutrino detector requires a huge amount of liquid argon, which must be transported down the tunnel. The present work focuses on the estimation of the most credible incident and the resulting consequences in the case of a truck accident in the tunnel. The approach and tools used in the present work are generic and can be adapted to other similar situations.     

Mixed Consequences of Government Aid for New Venture Creation: Evidence from Italy

Most countries have designed programsto stimulate the birth and development of new firms.One of the most important issues in evaluating theimpact of public entrepreneurial policies is toanalyze their influence on the post-entry performanceof the new ventures. This paper examines how the mostimportant government program to encourageentrepreneurship in Italy (the Law 44 program) affectsseveral aspects of the early performance of new firms.A sample of new firms receiving government aid iscompared to a matched sample of new firms notreceiving public assistance, i.e., ``control' firms. The control firms were born in the same year, launchedtheir business in the same geographical area andoperate in the same industry classification. Resultsshow that the public program produces mixed effects.Government aid allows firms to have a higher level oftechnology. However, government funding gives rise toentrepreneurial start-ups, which are not fullyefficient. A discussion of these findings andsuggestions for future research are presented.     

Development of Risk-Based Ranking Measures of Effectiveness for the United States Coast Guard's Vessel Inspection Program

This paper describes the results of an analysis of the effectiveness of the U.S. Coast Guard's efforts to promote the safety of life and property at sea through its program to inspect large, ocean-going vessels. The effectiveness of specific U.S. Coast Guard vessel inspection activities was evaluated using risk-based metrics that linked categories of root causes of accidents to the particular inspection activities designed to reduce the risk of each root cause category. The results demonstrate a risk-based ranking of USCG inspection activities. These metrics, describes as measures of effectiveness (MOEs), yield insights regarding the most beneficial areas in which to concentrate inspection resources. Insights regarding quality of vessel casualty investigation data and database design as related to risk-based importance analysis are also discussed. The MOEs constructed in this study are specific to the USCG's Marine Inspection and Boarding Program, but the methodology of the study is based on sound theoretical principles that are probably applicable to a range of maritime safety activities. Hence the methodology applies equally to other important governmental regulatory programs and can be similarly used to measure their effectiveness and as an aid to decision-making.     

A Theoretical Model of Manufacturing Lead Times and Their Relationship to a Manufacturing Goal Hierarchy*

In recent years, manufacturing firms have realized that a new, higher level of global competition causes them to compete simultaneously on multiple manufacturing goals, such as quality, delivery, cost, and flexibility. In response to this realization, considerable research now focuses on the relationship of manufacturing improvement programs to manufacturing goals. However, to date, this research has not investigated the specific underlying statistical relationships between manufacturing goals and the shop floor. This study investigates manufacturing lead time linkages with manufacturing programs and manufacturing goals. The basic purpose of this study is to understand and explain how programs affect the elements of manufacturing lead time and how manufacturing lead time affects manufacturing goal capabilities. By understanding these linkages, managers can logically trace the effects of specific programs to their eventual effects on manufacturing goal capabilities. This study's most important finding is that statistical variations in the elements of lead time cause a tendency for certain manufacturing goals to be more difficult to control and achieve than others because of canonical relationships of lead time variances. To control these lead time variances, successful firms concentrate their early program targets first on achieving “fitness for use” quality, followed by delivery reliability, short delivery lead time and cost, current product flexibility, and lastly, new product flexibility. This study mathematically illustrates which improvement programs most affect manufacturing goals through their relationship to manufacturing lead time variance reduction. It suggests that firms improve goal performance by initially targeting improvement through setup time reduction programs, defect reduction programs, and preventive maintenance programs, to facilitate quality improvements. By targeting specific programs and their related lead time variances, firms improve their manufacturing facility competitiveness with minimum obstacles.     

Public Perception of the Risks of Floods: Implications for Communication

Floods in the U.S. kill an average of 162 people each year and cause $3.4 billion in property damage. Flood control programs have been successful in lowering, but not eliminating, the risks to lives and property. Since the late 1960s, the federal government has emphasized flood insurance as a primary tool for improving location and flood-proofing decisions, as well as for reimbursing flood losses. Since only 12.7% of houses in flood plain areas are covered by flood insurance, the program has been ineffective. We interviewed people living in three communities that had recently been flooded. Most people had little knowledge of the cause of floods or what could be done to prevent damage. People who work and who are better educated know more and are more likely to have flood insurance. Current government publications about flood risks are not likely to be understood by those at risk. There is little effective communication about the nature and magnitude of the risks and what individuals can do to protect their lives and property and lower their financial risks. The risk management program should both emphasize communication and enforcement of the current law requiring people at risk who hold federally funded loans to be insured.     

Developments in Brazilian food safety policy

Brazil is an important case study of food safety policies because it is the eighth largest economy in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product. Analysis of the policy and quality management initiatives of the Brazilian government shows that recent activities are more strongly oriented toward assuring access to international markets than to assuring the safety of food sold in domestic markets. This orientation has important implications for agribusiness firms operating in Brazil. Consumer awareness and consumer protection activities are increasing within the Brazilian economy, often with government support. However, developments in Brazil's food safety policy are likely to continue to emphasize quality assurance for the export market.     

Policy Incentives for Dangerous (But Necessary) Operations

In industries where firms perform dangerous (but necessary) operations, liability costs—due to potential harm to third parties—can be significant. Firms may therefore find it optimal to exit the market, and this may lead to an inefficiently low number of incumbents. A social planner can discourage exit by offering appropriately designed subsidies. Ex ante subsidies defray the costs associated with making operations safer (e.g., funds to subsidize the purchase of safety equipment). Ex post subsidies mitigate the financial damages caused by an accident (e.g., funds to defray the cost of cleaning up a toxic spill). We consider a model where (i) firms have private information about their ability to improve reliability and (ii) reliability investments are unobservable. We demonstrate that when the social value of reliability outweighs the benefit of increased competition, it is optimal to offer ex ante subsidies alone (i.e., to subsidize the cost of making operations safer). Conversely, when the benefits of competition outweigh the benefits of reliability, a combination of ex ante and ex post subsidies is optimal (i.e., not only to subsidize safer operations, but also to share the costs of a potential accident).     

Radon Risk Information and Voluntary Protection: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

This study examines the perceived risks and mitigating behavior of Maine households who received new information on their exposures to significant health risks from indoor radon. The observed responses of these households illustrate conceptual issues related to designing an effective risk information program. Despite the involvement of generally well-motivated homeowners and well-intentioned researchers and government officials, we conclude that the risk information approach used in Maine failed to induce appropriate, cost-effective voluntary protection. The results indicate that, after receiving radon test results, information on associated health risks, and suggestions on how to reduce exposures: perceived risks tended to understate objective risks by orders of magnitude, and there was no statistically significant relationship between mitigating behavior and objective risks. These results suggest that the formation of risk perceptions and subsequent behavioral adjustments involve complex interactions among information, contextual, socioeconomic, and psychological variables. Therefore, government programs that seek to reduce health and safety risks with information programs, instead of using more conventional enforced standards, must be crafted very carefully to accommodate this complex process.     

Psychosocial variables related to transit safety: The application of catastrophe theory

This research applied a paradigm for the study of occupational safety and health risks in manufacturing settings to the risks associated with urban and regional transit operation. Subjects were 290 transit operators who completed a questionnaire measuring safety management, danger ratings, beliefs about accident control, work experience, physical stress, social stress, anxiety, environmental hazards, transit hazards (assaults and insults upon the operator, the need to reprimand passengers for various infractions, etc.), vehicle crashes and operator injuries, and alcohol and drug use. Principal findings were that operator injuries were most closely associated with transit hazards, which were more frequent at night and on the least desirable routes. Injuries occurred in a climate of elevated stress and anxiety which may have hampered the operators' ability to respond effectively to potentially dangerous situations. The cusp catastrophe model provided a non-linear dynamic explanation for accident occurrence and was more accurate (R = 0.71) for modelling accident incidence than the next best linear alternative (R = 0.51).     

“双随机、一公开”产品质量监管模型研究

在市场监管领域全面推行“双随机、一公开”监管，是党中央、国务院作出的重大决策部署，是市场监管理念和方式的重大创新。本文首次构建“双随机、一公开”产品质量监管的理论模型，理清“双随机”与“一公开”及各参与主体之间的作用关系，分析市场主体名录库和执法检查人员名录库中抽查企业与检查人员的群体行为演化机理，得出针对“双随机、一公开”监管的激励机制。研究发现：通过“双随机”抽取检查人员和抽查企业并“公开”产品质量信息，需配以恰当的激励机制才能有效制约抽检企业的假冒伪劣行为和检查人员的无效抽检行为；当公开声誉较高时，对检查人员实施质检激励或对抽查企业实施质量激励均可以使得系统良性演化，但如果公开声誉较低，需同时对检查人员和抽查企业实施质检与质量双重激励；质检激励机制设计时需对标准质量和假冒伪劣对应的检查人员分别给予质检激励，质量激励机制设计时需对有效抽检和无效抽检对应的抽查企业分别给予质量激励；质检激励和质量激励下系统稳定点的演化轨迹存在很大差异，质检激励先使得检查人员演化到有效抽检，然后通过公开声誉带动抽查企业演化到标准质量，而质量激励先使抽查企业演化到标准质量，然后通过公开声誉带动检查人员演化到有效抽检，如果公开声誉较低，这种传动机制会被阻断导致系统不会演化到理想状态。最后本文为完善和创新“双随机、一公开”监管提出了针对性的政策建议。     

基于Stackelberg博弈模型的化工企业安全生产管理机制治理研究

本文针对我国传统化工企业安全生产管理机制治理存在的漏洞,基于Stackelberg博弈模型,对政府部门与化工企业之间进行动态博弈分析。首先针对政府制定安全生产管理机制的策略、针对化工企业确定产量与安全成本的策略,同时引入政府监管检查概率、社会公众监督举报安全事故的概率,以政府部门的社会效益、化工企业的经营效益为支付,分析政府与化工企业的最优反应函数,构建一种新的安全生产管理机制治理研究模型。研究发现,化工企业投入的安全生产管理费用是单位产量可变成本、被政府查处或被社会公众监督举报概率、平均损失、罚款的递增函数。政府制定的平均罚款金额是平均损失、被政府查处或被社会公众监督举报概率的递减函数。化工企业安全成本与生产成本比例的最小值与投入的最大资金呈正相关,与安全事故造成的损害上限呈负相关。通过对博弈模型进行算例分析,发现模拟结果与研究结果相一致。本文的结论可以看作是对当下提高企业安全生产管理机制合理性与有效性的一种思考。     

Description and Evaluation of an Approach to Implementing Programs in Organizational Settings

A broad-based approach to implementing programs is described and evaluation information is reported from two investigations of its use by program managers in educational organizations. The approach consists of a framework of program implementation factors from which implementation procedures are derived. The procedures then are used by a manager to help facilitate implementation of a program according to plan. In the first investigation, three program managers were trained in the approach to assist them in implementing a behavioral group counseling program in three public high schools. In the second investigation, a program manager was trained to help implement a case management system in an elementary school. Results of both investigations suggest that managers were able to utilize the program implementation procedures, with their respective programs being more completely implemented when the procedures were applied. Reactions aboul the approach obtained from human service program managers, following both investigations, suggest that it may be a worthwhile managerial strategy. Advantages and limitations of the approach are considered and its relationship to organizational behavior management is discussed.     

Safety Regulations and the Uncertainty of Work-Related Road Accident Loss: The Triple Identity of Chinese Local Governments Under Principal–Agent Framework

This study examines how government safety regulations affect the uncertainty of work-related road accident loss (UWRAL) by considering the multi-identity of local governments in the relationship among the central government, the local governments, and enterprises. Fixed effects panel models and mediation analyses with bootstrapping were conducted to test the hypotheses using Chinese provincial panel data from 2008 to 2014. Given the complexity and nonlinear characteristics of road safety systems, a new approach based on self-organized criticality theory is proposed to measure the uncertainty of road accident loss from a complex system perspective. We find that a regional government with detailed safety work planning (SWP), high safety supervision intensity (SSI), and safety information transparency (SIT) can decrease the UWRAL. Furthermore, our findings suggest that SSI and SIT partially mediate the relationship between the SWP of regional governments and the UWRAL, with 19.7% and 23.6% indirect effects, respectively. This study also provides the government with managerial implications by linking the results of risk assessment to decision making for risk management.