Integrated Risk Assessment Methodology Research Articles

An Integrated Risk Assessment Methodology of In-Service Hydrogen Storage Tanks Based on Connection Coefficient Algorithms and Quintuple Subtraction Set Pair Potential

At present, there have been a number of hydrogen storage tank explosions in hydrogen filling stations, causing casualties and property losses, and having a bad social impact. This has made people realize that the risk assessment and preventive maintenance of hydrogen storage tanks are crucial. Therefore, this paper innovatively proposes a comprehensive risk assessment model based on connection coefficient algorithms and quintuple subtractive set pair potential. First of all, the constructed index system contains five aspects of corrosion factors, material factors, environmental factors, institutional factors and human factors. Secondly, a combined weighting analysis method based on FAHP and CRITIC is proposed to determine the weight of each indicator. The basic indicators influencing hydrogen storage tanks are analyzed via the quintuple subtraction set pair potential and full partial connection coefficient. Finally, the risk level and development trend of hydrogen storage tanks in hydrogen filling stations are determined by a combination of the three-category connection coefficient algorithms and the risk level eigenvalue method. The results of our case analysis show that the proposed risk assessment model can identify the main weak indicators affecting the safety of hydrogen storage tanks, including installation quality, misoperation and material quality. At the same time, it is found that the risk of high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks is at the basic safety level, and the development trend of safety conditions holds a critical value. The evaluation results can help establish targeted countermeasures for the prevention and maintenance of hydrogen storage tanks.

An integrated risk assessment methodology based on fuzzy TOPSIS and cloud inference for urban polyethylene gas pipelines

Due to the superior performance of polyethylene (PE) gas pipes, an increasing number of PE pipelines are being used in urban areas. However, PE gas pipelines are basically located in densely populated areas with high consequences. Once a leak occurs, combustion and explosion accidents can easily happen causing a major threat to human life and property. Furthermore, the assessment results of the common risk assessment methods often have great uncertainty and deviation. It is difficult to accurately identify the main indicators that need priority management. To address these problems, this paper proposes a novel methodology by integrating a fuzzy TOPSIS model and cloud inference for conducting risk assessments of urban PE gas pipelines. The developed methodology is composed of two branches. In the first branch, a rapid risk assessment model for PE pipelines is established to determine whether there are some special emergency situations, which can be directly identified as high risk. In the second branch, a detailed risk assessment process is adopted to obtain the final result, which mainly includes risk factor analysis, risk status assessment and risk classification. Among them, risk factor analysis is used to establish a risk index system and develop a risk index management strategy by means of mathematical statistics and the fuzzy TOPSIS analysis method. The risk status assessment is used to determine the final risk value based on the virtual cloud and fault tree analysis, which is mainly realized by the triangular fuzzy number, structural entropy weight method and backward cloud transformation algorithm. Finally, the risk assessment results of PE gas pipelines are clearly presented in the form of cloud inference, and the final risk classification is determined. The case study shows that the pipeline in this section is at the medium risk level, and the management of time-related indicators and third-party damage is given priority. The result is consistent with the actual situation, which verifies the effectiveness and practicability of the methodology.

Collection of human and environmental data on pesticide use in Europe and Argentina: Field study protocol for the SPRINT project.

Current farm systems rely on the use of Plant Protection Products (PPP) to secure high productivity and control threats to the quality of the crops. However, PPP use may have considerable impacts on human health and the environment. A study protocol is presented aiming to determine the occurrence and levels of PPP residues in plants (crops), animals (livestock), humans and other non-target species (ecosystem representatives) for exposure modelling and impact assessment. To achieve this, we designed a cross-sectional study to compare conventional and organic farm systems across Europe. Environmental and biological samples were/are being/will be collected during the 2021 growing season, at 10 case study sites in Europe covering a range of climate zones and crops. An additional study site in Argentina will inform the impact of PPP use on growing soybean which is an important European protein-source in animal feed. We will study the impact of PPP mixtures using an integrated risk assessment methodology. The fate of PPP in environmental media (soil, water and air) and in the homes of farmers will be monitored. This will be complemented by biomonitoring to estimate PPP uptake by humans and farm animals (cow, goat, sheep and chicken), and by collection of samples from non-target species (earthworms, fish, aquatic and terrestrial macroinvertebrates, bats, and farm cats). We will use data on PPP residues in environmental and biological matrices to estimate exposures by modelling. These exposure estimates together with health and toxicity data will be used to predict the impact of PPP use on environment, plant, animal and human health. The outcome of this study will then be integrated with socio-economic information leading to an overall assessment used to identify transition pathways towards more sustainable plant protection and inform decision makers, practitioners and other stakeholders regarding farming practices and land use policy.

An integrated risk assessment for maintenance prediction of oil wetted gearbox and bearing in marine and offshore industries using a fuzzy rule base method

This article presents an integrated risk assessment methodology for maintenance prediction of oil wetted gearbox and bearing in marine and offshore machinery with emphasis on ship cranes. Predictive maintenance uses important parameters measured in the equipment to ‘feel’ when breakdown is eminent. This type of maintenance intends to make interventions on machinery before harmful events may occur. This article assesses the risk levels of bearing and gearbox, which are the most sensitive components of the ship crane using fuzzy rule–based judgement for common elements and their sources. This will provide the ship crane operators with a means to predict possible impending failure without having to dismantle the crane. Furthermore, to monitor the rate of wear in gearbox and bearing of a ship crane, the ship crane reliability, and a trend to provide an operational baseline of data that will help the engineers to detect abnormal wear rates as they develop, is established. Within the scope of this research, a risk assessment model is developed for determining the risk levels of a crane’s components and recommending solutions using all the diagnostic capability obtainable for effective condition monitoring of the gearbox and bearing in ship cranes.

Research on Health Risk Assessment Methodologies of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill

Health risk assessment (HRA) methodologies of three stages of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWL), including operation period, maintenance and management period after closure, and usage period without any restricted limits were built in this paper. The major exposure pathways to environmental contaminants were considered: inhalation of gas and dust during operation period, and ingestion of four food pathways categories (plant foods, meat, milk, and fish), groundwater and dust during usage period without any limits. The endpoints of HRA of MSWL are individual lifetime carcinogenic risk for all the carcinogenic chemical contaminants, and hazard index (HI) for all the non-carcinogenic chemical contaminants to the landfill worker (only at the operation period), and to the public near to the landfill (at all the three stages) respectively. The parameter values of calculation model are conservatively chosen. This is the first time in China that an integrated risk assessment methodology for landfill gas and leachate is attempted to develop. HRA methodologies will facilitate rapid estimation of the risk level of MSWL.

Assessing the Risk Relative to Indoor Environment Quality in Education Buildings

The study involves the risk factors analysis for indoor environment quality in education buildings with high occupancy, in terms of the occupants’ vulnerability, but also in terms of the effects of environmental factors on the constructive elements. Integrated risk assessment methodology for environment quality has to establish clear assessment methods, verification and validation of models, identifying factors that influence the environment quality and the possibility of improving their effects. This paper presents the application results of risk assessment methodology concerning the health and intellectual performance of occupants caused by indoor environmental quality for an education building. Are taken into account the results obtained from systematic measurements, over a specified period, of higrothermal parameters and of CO2 content in atmosphere, in a classroom. The analysis conclusions allow some recommending solutions for the risk reduction through constructive measures and improvement of way it is used.

Integrated Risk Assessment for WFD Ecological Status classification applied to Llobregat river basin (Spain). Part II — Evaluation process applied to five environmental Lines of Evidence

Many indicators and indices related to a variety of biological, physico-chemical, chemical, and hydromorphological water conditions have been recently developed or adapted by scientists in order to support water managers in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) implementation. In this context, the achievement of a comprehensive and reliable Ecological Status classification of water bodies across Europe is hampered by the lack of harmonised procedures for selecting an appropriate set of indicators and integrating heterogeneous information in a flexible way. To this purpose, an Integrated Risk Assessment (IRA) 2 2 IRA: Integrated Risk Assessment. methodology was developed based on the Weight of Evidence approach. This method analyses and combines a set of environmental indicators grouped into five Lines of Evidence (LoE), i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Physico-chemistry and Hydromorphology. The whole IRA methodology has been implemented as a specific module into a freeware GIS (Geographic Information System)-based Decision Support System, named MODELKEY DSS. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the four supporting LoE (i.e. Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Physico-chemistry and Hydromorphology), and includes a procedure for a comparison of each indicator with proper thresholds and a subsequent integration process to combine the obtained output with the LoE Biology results in order to provide a single score expressing the Ecological Status classification. The approach supports the identification of the most prominent stressors, which are responsible for the observed alterations in the river basin under investigation. The results provided by the preliminary testing of the IRA methodology through application of the MODELKEY DSS to the Llobregat case study are finally reported and discussed.

Integrated risk assessment for WFD ecological status classification applied to Llobregat river basin (Spain). Part I—Fuzzy approach to aggregate biological indicators

Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements and recommendations for Ecological Status (ES) classification of surface water bodies do not address all issues that Member States have to face in the implementation process, such as selection of appropriate stressor-specific environmental indicators, definition of class boundaries, aggregation of heterogeneous data and information and uncertainty evaluation. In this context the “One-Out, All-Out” (OOAO) principle is the suggested approach to lead the entire classification procedure and ensure conservative results. In order to support water managers in achieving a more comprehensive and realistic evaluation of ES, an Integrated Risk Assessment (IRA) methodology was developed. It is based on the Weight of Evidence approach and implements a Fuzzy Inference System in order to hierarchically aggregate a set of environmental indicators, which are grouped into five Lines of Evidence (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Physico-chemistry and Hydromorphology). The whole IRA methodology has been implemented as an individual module into a freeware GIS (Geographic Information System)-based Decision Support System (DSS), named MODELKEY DSS. The paper focuses on the conceptual and mathematical procedure underlying the evaluation of the most complex Line of Evidence, i.e. Biology, which identifies the biological communities that are potentially at risk and the stressors that are most likely responsible for the observed alterations. The results obtained from testing the procedure through application of the MODELKEY DSS to the Llobregat case study are reported and discussed.

Risk assessment of landfill disposal sites – State of the art

A risk assessment process can assist in drawing a cost-effective compromise between economic and environmental costs, thereby assuring that the philosophy of 'sustainable development' is adhered to. Nowadays risk analysis is in wide use to effectively manage environmental issues. Risk assessment is also applied to other subjects including health and safety, food, finance, ecology and epidemiology. The literature review of environmental risk assessments in general and risk assessment approaches particularly regarding landfill disposal sites undertaken by the authors, reveals that an integrated risk assessment methodology for landfill gas, leachate or degraded waste does not exist. A range of knowledge gaps is discovered in the literature reviewed to date. From the perspective of landfill leachate, this paper identifies the extent to which various risk analysis aspects are absent in the existing approaches.

ARAMIS Project: An Integrated Risk Assessment Methodology that Answers the Needs of Various Stakeholders

The ARAMIS European project started in January 2002. Its overall objective was to build up a new Accidental Risk Assessment Methodology for Industries that combined the strengths of both deterministic and risk-based approaches. It was co-funded under the 5th EC Framework Program and involved 15 partners and 10 European countries. Three years after, the objective is reached and the methodology is ready to be used. The paper intends to give a very general description of t and, above all, to show how it answers the needs of various stakeholders concerned by the safety of industrial plants. ARAMIS is divided into six major steps, which will be described shortly in this paper. They are detailed in several papers presented in the same SAFE 2005 conference by the main partners of the project. The potential end users of ARAMIS are mainly the industry, the competent authorities and the local authorities. If all of them have an interest in the same risk management process, their needs are slightly different. Their expectations are detailed and the way ARAMIS brings an answer is explained in this paper.