Air Medical Evacuations From the German North Sea Wind Farm Bard Offshore 1: Traumatic Injuries, Acute Diseases, and Rescue Process Times (2011-2013).

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was 2-fold: 1) to show emergency-related traumatic injury and acute disease patterns and 2) to evaluate air rescue process times in a remotely located German offshore wind farm. Optimally, this will support methodologies to reduce offshore help time (time from the incoming emergency call until offshore arrival of the helicopter). METHODS: The type and severity of traumatic injuries and acute diseases were retrospectively analyzed for 39 air medevacs from August 2011 to December 2013, and the process times of air rescue missions were evaluated in detail. RESULTS: Forty-nine percent of the medevacs were related to traumatic injuries, whereas 41% were associated with acute diseases and 10% remained unclear. Cardiovascular and gastrointestinal disorders accounted for 90% of internal medical cases. About 69% of the trauma was related to contusions, lacerations, and cuts. The main body regions injured were limbs (∼59%) and head (∼32%). The total rescue time until arrival at the destination facility averaged 175.3 minutes (standard deviation = 54.4 minutes). The mean helicopter offshore arrival time was 106.9 minutes (standard deviation = 57.4 minutes) after the incoming emergency call. In 64% of the medevacs, the helicopter arrived on scene within a help time of 90 minutes. CONCLUSION: A reduction of help time (≤ 60 minutes) for time-critical severe trauma and acute diseases may be anticipated through rapid and focused medical and logistic decision-making processes by the onshore dispatch center combined with professional, qualified, and well-trained flight and rescue personnel.

The role of sea ice in the fate of contaminants in the Arctic Ocean: plutonium atom ratios in the Fram Strait.

Atom ratios of 240Pu to 239Pu in bottom sediments from the Fram Strait are used to provide evidence for the long distance dispersion of Pu in the Arctic Ocean. In particular, low (<0.18) 240Pu/239Pu ratios indicate that plutonium from sources in the Kara Sea and Novaya Zemlya is transported across the basin toward the North Atlantic. The results have implications for the ability of sea ice to incorporate, intercept, and transport contaminants in the Arctic Ocean. They demonstrate that the fates of sea ice and associated contaminants in the Arctic Ocean are closely coupled, with the release of the particulate load and associated chemical species occurring in principal sea ice ablation areas such as the Fram Strait.