Instruments of Support at Emergency Response Planning in Urban Environment Situated at the Peripheral Area Around Industrial Facilities

Abstract

Abstract Emergency Response Planning for major accidents – toxic gas leaks, fires and explosions – is a powerful tool for the chemical industry today, mainly at large-scale facilities such as oil refineries. This topic has been discussed intensively since a series of major accidents occurred at several places around the world. Organizations, industries and society have been paying close attention to this issue in order to implement the correct actions for dealing with this type of problem. In Brazil, oil refineries are often located in densely populated areas whose residents are vulnerable to major accidents, particularly because of the high-risk industrial activities conducted at these facilities. The preparation of specific Emergency Response Plans for areas surrounding industrial complexes involves fast response systems, with the use of appropriate tools – such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Risk Analyses – supporting decisions that must be taken in critical situations. Consequently, regional mapping that encompasses sets of elements constituting urban environments is very important within the External Emergency Response Planning context. Additionally, modeling critical accident scenarios that affect not only assets, but also employees and neighboring communities, portrays the actual extent of the area affected by the accidents under analysis. By deploying the GIS as tool and modeling critical accident scenarios, georeferenced data can be generated, stored and handled, in addition to presenting the potential of spatial integrated analyses. The inclusion of geoprocessing technology, which is a vital tool for this type of planning, streamlines the integration of these data with quantitative risk analyses, constituting a powerful instrument that examines the composition of critical accident scenarios and their consequences in urban areas and outlying areas around industrial complexes. The integration of these tools is essential as a decision support system for Emergency Response Planning. The use of support tools for dealing with emergency situations is a crucial step for dealing with major industrial accidents. The integrated use of these tools, specially the GIS and Risk Analyses, offers a fresh view of this issue and the science, making approaches to this type of problem more representative. Above all, it examines and quantifies analyses of urban environments around outlying industrial areas, fostering the development of integrated actions that help mitigate widespread impacts caused by industrial activities.