Hazardous Chemical Accidents Research Articles

A multi-objective evaluation method based on connection numbers theory of hazardous chemical accidents emergency medical rescue capability

Background: An objective, comprehensive and scientific evaluation of emergency medical rescue capability (EMRC) is of great realistic significance in assisting the health administrative department to grasp the overall response capability of all emergency medical rescue teams, enabling each team to have a full understanding of its own strengths and weakness and improve itself accordingly. At present, the research on the evaluation of EMRC in Hazardous Chemicals Accidents (HCA) is not systematic and in-depth, and the existing research results also have some shortcomings, such as, the lack of strong theoretical support for the evaluation index system, the relatively single function of evaluation methods, and so on. Objectives: The objective of this article is to research the evaluation index system and a new evaluation method of EMRC in HCA to overcome the above shortcomings. Methods: It establishes an emergency medical rescue capability model by employing the competency model and then constructs the evaluation index system on the basis of the analysis of all the factors of emergency medical rescue capability in hazardous chemical accidents and sets up an evaluation model based on the theory of connection numbers and partial connection numbers. It determines the competence ranking of several emergency medical rescue teams and the competence state of an individual emergency medical rescue team by calculating the connection principal value, and it also predicts how the emergency medical rescue capability will develop based on the values of partial connection numbers. Results: The example shows that the calculation process of this model is relatively simple, and its assessment results are objective and authentic, and moreover, its multi-functions can make up for the deficiency of the simplified function of other evaluation models. Conclusion: This method is scientific and rational to some extent and can provide reference for evaluation problems of the same kind.

Smart Synthetic Path Search System for Prevention of Hazardous Chemical Accidents and Analysis of Reaction Risk

Smart Synthetic Path Search System for Prevention of Hazardous Chemical Accidents and Analysis of Reaction Risk

Applying process mining techniques to improve emergency response planning for chemical spills

To evaluate an implementation process for emergency planning and to assess its effectiveness, a technical method based on process mining is utilized for the first time in hazardous chemical accidents from the perspectives of workflow and organizational structure. The proposed method investigates: (1) how the emergency-response tasks of a target emergency plan are effectively executed; and (2) how the emergency-response actors coordinate and cooperate with each other. For this purpose, a fuzzy mining algorithm was applied to reconstruct the drill process for analysing workflow. Social network mining techniques, namely density, reciprocity, node degree, centrality, and handover of work metrics, were utilized to explore the organizational structure among the actors. By means of emergency-response drills, a pre-defined emergency plan for chlorine release was analyzed, for which mining results were obtained. Regarding the workflow, four deviations were detected from the target emergency plan, which suggest ways of improving the plan rules. Regarding the organizational structure, the most influential actors A1, A5, A10, whose actions directly determined the plan implementation and outcome. The proposed method can facilitate the improvement of existing processes and organizational structures for chemical accident emergency response planning.

An Analysis of Hazardous Chemical Accidents in China between 2006 and 2017

From the perspective of characteristics and causes, probability and forecast, and safety management evaluation, this paper analyzes 3974 hazardous chemical casualty accidents that occurred between 2006 and 2017 in China. The trends, monthly and hourly distributions, lifecycles, chemical and accident types, and the direct and indirect causes of casualty accidents are analyzed first. To estimate the probability of casualty accidents, the Poisson regression model is employed. The time series model is developed to forecast the number of casualty accidents. The safety management of hazardous chemicals is evaluated based on an inverted U-shaped curve that fits the relationship between the number of casualty accidents and petrochemical industry outputs. Moreover, measures for improving the safety management of hazardous chemicals are provided based on the analysis, forecast, and evaluation. The results show that the probability of 200–600 casualty accidents occurring per year in China is 59.10%. Sixteen of thirty provinces are identified as having better safety management with regard to hazardous chemicals.

The Public Willingness to Pay for Reducing the Incidence of Hazardous Chemical Spill Accidents by Half in South Korea

Hazardous chemical spill (HCS) accidents, which occur due to careless workers, transport accidents, etc., can be harmful to humans. Recently, an average of 96 cases of HCS accidents have taken place in South Korea annually. As a result, the government is trying to reduce the incidence of HCS accidents by 50%. Government officials are seeking information about the value that the enforcement of the reduction plan will bring for the public. This knowledge will help government officials decide whether to implement the reduction plan. This article seeks to acquire information about the public willingness to pay (WTP) for the reduction plan, employing the contingent valuation (CV) technique. For this purpose, a total of 1000 households living in South Korea participated in the CV survey in 2017. The data on the WTP were gathered using a dichotomous choice question and analyzed using the spike model. Forty-five percent of the respondents were willing to accept an increase in income taxes to carry out the reduction plan. The mean household WTP estimate was obtained as KRW 3830 (USD 3.41) per annum. The national value expanded from the sample to the population is worth KRW 74.8 billion (USD 66.6 million) per year. This value implies the public value of the reduction plan and can be applied in policy analysis and decision-making concerning the reduction of the incidence of HCS accidents.

Overlapping Analysis of Air Dispersion Simulation for Odor Damage to Estimate the Effect Area in Busan and Ulsan, South Korea

Busan and Ulsan, representative industrial cities in South Korea, have been exposed of hazardous chemical accidents. For this reason, people who live in those areas are enormously interested of the corresponding response. The chemical incidents may cause serious odor and hazardous impacts on neighborhood and surrounding area. The dispersion simulation is the most useful tool for estimating the effect distance of odor or chemical accident. The other studies, there are almost focused on each simulation results using ALOHA, AERMOD, and CALPUFF. The significant problem of these dispersion simulation for this purpose is that they have own advantages and disadvantages. Even though these limitation of each simulation, overlapping analysis has not been studied yet. Therefore, we investigated the overlapping analysis of three simulation outputs by the case study of gas odor accident in the Busan and Ulsan area on July 2016. Keywords: Dispersion Simulation, ALOHA, AERMOD, CALPUFF, Stationary Source, Mobile Source, Odor, Busan, Ulsan

Human and organizational factors in Chinese hazardous chemical accidents: a case study of the ‘8.12’ Tianjin Port fire and explosion using the HFACS-HC

Human and organizational factors have been proven to be the prime causes of Chinese hazardous chemical accidents (HCAs). A modified version of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), namely the HFACS-Hazardous Chemicals (HC), was developed to identify the human factors involved in Chinese HCAs. The ‘8.12’ Tianjin Port fire and explosion, the costliest HCA in recent years, was reanalyzed using this framework, and the results were compared with the official accident inquiry report to determine their differences related to the identification of human and organizational factors. The study revealed that interacting human factors from different levels in Ruihai Company led to this catastrophe, and the inquiry report had limitations in the identification of human factors and the guidance for similar accident prevention. This study showed the applicability of the HFACS-HC in HCA analyses as well as the necessity to recommend this approach for future HCA investigations.

A Study on the Building of Disaster Prevention Platform for Effective Response System to Hazardous Chemical Accidents: Centering on Yeosu Industrial Complex

A Study on the Building of Disaster Prevention Platform for Effective Response System to Hazardous Chemical Accidents: Centering on Yeosu Industrial Complex

Emergency Evacuation of Hazardous Chemical Accidents Based on Diffusion Simulation

The recent rapid development of information technology, such as sensing technology, communications technology, and database, allows us to use simulation experiments for analyzing serious accidents caused by hazardous chemicals. Due to the toxicity and diffusion of hazardous chemicals, these accidents often lead to not only severe consequences and economic losses, but also traffic jams at the same time. Emergency evacuation after hazardous chemical accidents is an effective means to reduce the loss of life and property and to smoothly resume the transport network as soon as possible. This paper considers the dynamic changes of the hazardous chemicals’ concentration after their leakage and simulates the diffusion process. Based on the characteristics of emergency evacuation of hazardous chemical accidents, we build a mixed-integer programming model and design a heuristic algorithm using network optimization and diffusion simulation (hereafter NODS). We then verify the validity and feasibility of the algorithm using Jinan, China, as a computational example. In the end, we compare the results from different scenarios to explore the key factors affecting the effectiveness of the evacuation process.

The key problems in the population exposure assessment of hazardous chemicals accidents

Serious accidents of hazardous chemicals can cause a variety of acute or chronic impairment in human health. The effects of hazardous chemicals on human health can be identified by carrying on population exposure assessment. Through analyzing the domestic and overseas population exposure assessment cases related to hazardous chemicals accidents, we summarized that the base and key of the population exposure assessment were to identify the characteristics of the chemicals , delimit the area and the population exposed to the chemicals, and collect the data of the monitored chemicals and the population health in the polluted area.

Onshore preparedness for hazardous chemical marine vessel accidents: A case study.

Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) are widely transported in marine vessels to reach every part of the world. Bulk transportation of hazardous chemicals is carried out in tank container–carrying cargo ships or in designed vessels. Ensuring the safety of HNS containers during maritime transportation is critically important as the accidental release of any substance may be lethal to the on-board crew and marine environment. A general assumption in maritime accidents in open ocean is that it will not create any danger to the coastal population. The case study discussed in this article throws light on the dangers latent in maritime HNS accidents. An accident involving an HNS-carrying marine vessel in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Yemen became a safety issue to the coastal people of Kasargod District of Kerala, India. The ship carried more than 4000 containers, which were lost to the sea in the accident. Six HNS tank containers were carried by the waves and shored at the populated coast of Kasargod, more than 650 nautical miles east from the accident spot. The unanticipated sighting of tank containers in the coast and the response of the administration to the incident, the hurdles faced by the district administration in handling the case, the need for engaging national agencies and lessons learned from the incident are discussed in the article. This case study has proven that accidents in the open ocean have the potential to put the coastal areas at risk if the on-board cargo contains hazardous chemicals. Littoral nations, especially those close to the international waterlines, must include hazardous chemical spills to their oil spill contingency plans.

AERMOD 모델링 분석을 통한 유해화학물질 누출사고 시 방호활동거리의 적정성 평가연구

AERMOD 모델링 분석을 통한 유해화학물질 누출사고 시 방호활동거리의 적정성 평가연구

Application of ALOHA in Emergency Response for Hazardous Chemicals Accidents

This paper focuses on the study of ALOHA software (Version 5.4.4), and expects to do some help for the rapid and accurate predetermination of involved areas and the efficient organization and direction of evacuation in different areas by the decision-maker who is in charge of the emergency rescue during accidents caused by hazardous chemicals. It may also have the practical application value by offering technical support for the on-spot commander for the purpose of taking effective measures for the emergency response.

Comparing Disproportionate Exposure to Acute and Chronic Pollution Risks: A Case Study in Houston, Texas

While environmental justice (EJ) research in the United States has focused primarily on the social distribution of chronic pollution risks, previous empirical studies have not analyzed disparities in exposure to both chronic (long-term) and acute (short-term) pollution in the same study area. Our article addresses this limitation though a case study that compares social inequities in exposure to chronic and acute pollution risks in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area, Texas. The study integrates estimates of chronic cancer risk associated with ambient exposure to hazardous air pollutants from the Environmental Protection Agency's National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (2005), hazardous chemical accidents from the National Response Center's Emergency Response Notification System (2007-2011), and sociodemographic characteristics from the American Community Survey (2007-2011). Statistical analyses are based on descriptive comparisons, bivariate correlations, and locally derived spatial regression models that account for spatial dependence in the data. Results indicate that neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Hispanic residents, lower percentage of homeowners, and higher income inequality are facing significantly greater exposure to both chronic and acute pollution risks. The non-Hispanic black percentage is significantly higher in neighborhoods with greater chronic cancer risk, but lower in areas exposed to acute pollution events. Households isolated by language--those highly likely to face evacuation problems during an actual chemical disaster--tend to reside in areas facing significantly greater exposure to high-impact acute events. Our findings emphasize the growing need to examine social inequities in exposure to both chronic and acute pollution risks in future EJ research and policy.

APPLICATION OF MODIFIED NANONATURALLY MONTMORILLONITE IN MONOCHLOROBENZENE REMEDIATION IN RIVER WATER

As the inland waterway transportation developed rapidly in China, the frequency of hazardous chemical leakage accidents is increasing every year. Such pollution to inland river environment has become a world-wide issue. Montmorillonite (Mont) is typical 2:1 layer type silicate clay and due to their special structure, it has been used in organic pollution removal process. In order to improve their ability in pollution adsorption, the pillared Mont was made in this work. Since the common toxic structure in most chemical pollutants is the halogen atom-benzene ring part, we select a typical compound Monochlorobenzene (MCB) as the aim contaminant. In this research, the original Mont, Na –Mont, TiO2 and TiO2 –Mont were prepared and used in MCB degradation experiment as catalysts. The influence of catalyst amount, promoter ( H2O2 ) amount, MCB concentration and reaction time to MCB removal rate were studied, respectively in detail.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Maritime Surveillance System of River Reservoir Area

At present, in the processing of ship hazardous chemical accident, rescuers get directly into the scene of the accident for information access, which threaten rescuers’ safety. In order to solve the disadvantages, this paper designs a remote control aircraft carrying camera into the scene. Through the remote control system, with the video image information collection, thereby avoiding the sampling personnel directly exposed to the dangerous chemicals accident condition, which reduce the risk of injuries.

Dynamic Environmental Risk Assessment of Hazardous Chemicals Accidents

Dynamic Environmental Risk Assessment of Hazardous Chemicals Accidents

Study on the Techniques of Responders Dealing with Hazardouse Materials Accidents

This article analyzed the situation of hazardous materials accidents and pointed the basic techniques a fighter dealing with hazardous materials accidents should possess. These techniques include knowledge about characteristics of hazardous chemicals accidents, techniques of on-site control, decontamination, personal protection, and some basic techniques of medical treatment psychological stress treatment. These techniques are sure to be useful to responders to hazardous materials accidents.

Quantitative risk assessment model of hazardous chemicals leakage and application

The hazardous chemical accidents remain a matter of major concern. However, there is a dearth of practical measures about the emergency management of hazardous chemicals leakage. Therefore, in order to provide more accurate management plan, quantitative risk assessment has become a critical issue in chemical industry. The main aim of this study is to quantify the risk of hazardous chemicals leakage, and take precautions against the accidents. In this study, a Fire-Explosion-Poisoning Quantitative Probability Model (FEPQPM) has been established. The paper introduced the probability analysis methods to analyze derivative accidents caused by hazardous chemicals leakage, established quantitative risk assessment models, and made acceptable risk level analysis. This model has been applied to quantitatively assess an enterprise’s storage tank at Changshou Chemical Industrial Distripark (CID) in Chongqing, China. Evaluation results are in line with the actual situation of the CID. It is shown that the probability of poisoning is very large, causing more economic loss than the other two types of accidents, and death toll of leakage accident increases over time, resulting in greater economic losses. The risk level of leakage accident involving poisoning is unacceptable.

Characteristics of hazardous chemical accidents in China: A statistical investigation

Utilizing data from official sources, 1632 hazardous chemical accidents (HCAs) occurring in China (2006–2010) were investigated for statistical characteristics. The following results were obtained: (1) Time volatility: The yearly number of HCAs is shown to be almost constant (with a slightly increasing number of fixed facility HCAs); fixed facility and transportation HCAs do not always follow similar patterns at month and hour-level. (2) Location distribution: There are provincial classifications of HCA materials involved in certain types of industries and the potential for HCAs is highly concentrated in urban areas. (3) Fixed facility type versus transportation type: Explosions represent almost half (48.4%) of fixed facility HCAs followed by releases (41.5%) and fires (10.1%); whereas for transportation HCAs, releases account for 79.6%, then explosions (15.1%) and fires (5.3%). As for domino effects, releases were often the cause of subsequent explosions or fires. (4) Injury versus death: In contrast with other industrial accidents, HCAs result in more severe casualties. For explosion and release HCAs in China, the ratio of death to major injury is quite high, with the exception of fire HCAs. (5) Cause: Concerning immediate causes, human factors account for the majority of HCAs followed by equipment deficiency; environment is also a causative factor. Internal corporate management failures and lack of external government supervision (particularly HCAs occurring in illegal corporations) are both root causes in China. (6)Corporate proneness: Majority of HCAs occur in private corporations; as corporations grow, the occurrence of HCAs are shown to decline steadily then level off, following which they are forecasted to increase again in the “aging stages”, all of which can be explained by Corporate Lifecycles Theory.