ARAMIS Project: Reference Accident Scenarios Definition in SEVESO Establishment

Abstract

ARAMIS (Accidental Risk Assessment Methodology for IndustrieS) is an European project aiming to build up a new integrated risk assessment method that will be used as a supportive tool to speed up the harmonized implementation of Seveso II Directive. A part of ARAMIS is devoted to the identification of accident scenarios in process industries. First, a Methodology for the Identification of Major Accident Hazards (MIMAH) is defined. According to a bow‐tie approach, the major accidents are identified through generic fault and event trees. The term “Major Accidents” must be understood as the worst accidents likely to occur on an installation, assuming that no safety systems are installed. Second, a Methodology for the Identification of Reference Accident Scenarios (MIRAS) studies the influence of safety systems placed on the branches of generic trees. The deep study of causes of accidents, probability levels, safety systems effectiveness and safety management efficiency allows us to define Reference Accident Scenarios, representing the real hazardous potential of the installation. This approach is intended to give an acute estimation of the risk level and to promote the implementation of safety systems. Test cases were carried out in five companies across Europe in order to validate the application of ARAMIS.