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Thursday, July 24, 1997
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Lightning strikes high in Northern New Mexico
Lab
video to be shown on KNME Channel 5
IA
Project warns employees of Netscape 'bug'
EPA
reviews Brookhaven National Laboratory
Yabloka
Children's Fund discussed at Kiwanis Club meeting
Lightning strikes high in Northern New Mexico
Outside of Florida, Northern New Mexico's mountains receive the most recorded lightning strikes in the country. And since mid-summer is typically New Mexico's rainy season, people should be particularly aware of the possibility they could be struck by lightning.
A look at statistics on the number of lightning strikes recorded by the Laboratory's lightning detector at Technical Area 6 attests to the increased likelihood of lightning strikes during the summer, according to Jeff Baars of Air Quality (ESH-17).
In May 1996, 405 lightning strokes were recorded. The figure jumped to 15,750 in June and to 56,049 in July. Last August, 32,196 lightning strokes were recorded, Baars said. It dipped to about 7,300 in September, 1,072 in October and 90 last November.
The lightning detector responds to cloud-to-cloud or cloud-to-ground strokes within a 30-mile radius, depending on atmospheric conditions, Baars said. A lightning flash may contain between one and 30 strokes with an average of four strokes per flash, he noted.
According to the National Weather Service, between 1959 and 1993, New Mexico led the nation in the number of lightning deaths per capita with 65.8 deaths per 1 million people. Wyoming, Arkansas, Florida and Georgia followed New Mexico in order. And the NWS said between 100 and 200 people are killed every year from lightning. The national average is 20.1 deaths per 1 million people.
In June 1990, three Lab employees were struck by lightning after they sought shelter under trees during a heavy rainstorm. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the employees should have avoided trees because they are good conductors of lightning.
When the threat of thunderstorms develops, the following precautions should be taken, according to Charlie Liles of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque:
Liles also said individuals should consider learning how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) because people struck by lightning sometimes can be resuscitated.
"It's hard to predict where lightning is going to strike," said Phil Romero of Industrial Hygiene and Safety (ESH-5). "People just need to exercise their judgement and understand that the probability of being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm is relatively high, and they shouldn't take chances. They should seek shelter until the storm passes." Contrary to popular belief, Romero added, lightning can strike twice in the same spot.
Romero said employees and subcontract personnel who work outdoors should be especially alert to the possibility of being struck by lightning. Heavy equipment vehicles and cranes serve as grounding paths for lightning because of their metal construction and girth, he said.
Tall metal poles, trees and structures actually attract lightning and should be avoided, said Romero. "It's more of an awareness thing. Employees need to be aware that if they see lightning even in a remote location, they should take precaution and not expose themselves unduly," he explained.
Romero said Department of Energy regulations require that Lab buildings have lightning protection systems, which are designed to safely dissipate lightning strikes through a grounding path within the facility.
--Steve Sandoval
Lab video to be shown on KNME Channel 5
A Laboratory-produced video documentary on how private companies bring products to market faster and better will be shown at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 on public television station KNME Channel 5.
"Workstories," was produced by Dan Curry of Training and Development (HR-6) and independent Santa Fe film producer Jack Loeffler.
The 47-minute video documentary includes stories from factories to boardrooms about how "concurrent engineering," or simultaneous engineering works, and how these real-life successes can be applied at the Lab and other national labs.
Harley Davidson, OshKosh B'Gosh, Boeing Co., Hughes Missile Systems Inc. and several other major corporations around the country are using "concurrent engineering," Curry said.
Concurrent engineering is the practice of bringing together the various portions of a work product so that everyone is working on the project together -- simultaneously -- thereby improving efficiency, reducing cost and substantially shortening development time.
Curry said "Workstories" is part of a package of videos and a CD-ROM on teaming and concurrent engineering he is producing. He said concurrent engineering has a place in the DOE nuclear weapons complex. "Teaming is becoming an asset that can't be dismissed, even at the nuclear laboratories," he said.
--Steve Sandoval
IA Project warns employees of Netscape 'bug'
The Information Architecture Project is warning employees that there is a JavaScript vulnerability in current versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer that can allow a remote attacker to track what you are doing and capture your passwords, credit card numbers and other information. Details on those affected and what they can do to protect themselves is available online. The IA Project is closely monitoring the situation and will update this information as needed, so periodically check the IA home page.
EPA reviews Brookhaven National Laboratory
The Department of Energy has responded to preliminary findings of a review of Brookhaven National Laboratory by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The DOE also has released the final version of its action plan to improve management at BNL, incorporating public comments on the draft plan. The EPA began reviewing operations at Brookhaven in May in conjunction with the termination of the contractor for the laboratory. More information is available in a DOE news release.
Yabloka Children's Fund discussed at Kiwanis Club meeting
PHOTO: Jim Nesmith, right, of Staffing (HR-5) talks about the Yabloka Children's Fund at a recent Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos lunch time meeting. Next to Nesmith is Carol Wilkinson of Accelerator Maintenance Development (LANSCE-2). The foundation is donating 17,500 syringes and needles to be delivered to Russian childrens hospitals and orphanages next month. The syringes and needles were obtained from MAP International Inc., a not-for-profit Christian relief and development organization, said Nesmith. The Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos made a donation that will be used to purchase additional supplies to send to the Russian orphanages and hospitals. Nesmith, Wilkinson and Ken Bower of Analytical Services (CST-3) helped start the Yabloka Children's Fund to raise money for medical supplies for Russian children in hospitals in Russia (see May 30 Daily Newsbulletin). For more information about Yabloka Children's Fund go to http://www.yabloka.org online. Photo by Mike Kolb, Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office
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