Major Accident Hazards Research Articles

Risk analysis of petroleum storage tank based on uncertain data incorporated into mapped Bow-tie to Bayesian network

The petroleum industry has an important impact on the environment, which is why risk analysis for a petroleum storage tank is required in the process industry. However, conducting an exhaustive study is frequently complicated due to the incomplete data based on historical system information, feedback, or test results. The main goal of this study is to develop an innovative framework that integrates the Bow-tie method with MIMAH (Methodology for the Identification of Major Accident Hazards). This approach specifically aims to identify the most critical accident scenario and comprehensively list all realistic causes (basic events) associated with petroleum storage tanks. Acquiring historical data on basic events poses challenges due to the lack, insufficiency, and imprecision of failure data. To address this obstacle and predict the system’s evolution, a combination of established methods for handling uncertainty and multi-criteria decision-making has been proposed. This combination incorporates a modified Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process with Chang’s Extent Analysis Method (FAHP-EAM), fuzzy set theory, and expert elicitation, contributing to an extensive approach for managing uncertainty and making informed decisions in the absence of comprehensive historical data. Furthermore, the Bow-tie model is converted into a dynamic Bayesian network to improve risk analysis by integrating probabilistic reasoning and capturing the dynamic interactions among multiple risk factors. This integrated approach is validated on real scenarios. The utilization of dynamic Bayesian networks further facilitates the suggestion of scenarios to assess the contribution of basic events to the critical event and evaluate the resulting environmental impacts. Finally, the prediction of threat zones for various hazardous effects, such as toxicity, thermal radiation, and overpressure linked to chemical releases following the occurrence of the critical event, is carried out. The risk analysis outcomes from this study offer valuable data for assessment, enabling managers to improve the quality of risk management and formulate effective risk mitigation strategies.

Major Hazard Competent Person Profession in Malaysia: A document analysis of trends and demands

Introduction: The Malaysian Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazard (CIMAH) Regulations introduced in 1996 resulted in the creation ‘Major Hazard Competent Person’ (MHCP) profession. However, after two decades of its establishment, there has been limited study conducted on this specific profession. The objectives of this study are to analyze 1) the trend of application and passing rates of MHCP registrations; and 2) the trend of Major Hazard Installations (MHI) registrations, and its relationship with the available supply of registered MHCP. Methods: The study used a document review approach, involving the extraction, examination, and interpretation of data from both published and unpublished documents by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing both MHCP and MHI registration status in Malaysia. The study looks into data from 1996 (beginning of 1996 CIMAH Regulation) to 2023, though the available data found and analyzed were from 1998 to 2021. Results: The study reveals a concerning lack of growth in the number of professionals being certified as MHCP, despite an increase in the number of MHIs over the past two decades. Potential causes of this shortage identified include a demanding certification process, limited availability of MHCP competency courses, and a lack of clear career paths and growth opportunities in the profession. Conclusion: The inadequate supply of MHCPs could potentially undermine their ability to provide sufficient coverage for MHIs, indirectly jeopardizing the quality of risk management in major hazard facilities. Therefore, there is merit in periodically reviewing the regulations and reforming the MHCP profession in response to changing trends.

Nuclear Meltdown Relocation and Core Catcher Analysis

Nuclear meltdown with the potential human and environmental harm is one of the major accident hazard (MAH) faced by nuclear power plants. Limiting (or entirely avoiding) criticality events are the main design strategies for reactors of generations 3½ and 4 (Gen3½ and Gen4). These include ensuring negative void and negative temperature coefficients (for both moderator and fuel) regardless of operational conditions, which provide a self-regulating mechanism that helps preventing accidents occurrence (i.e., to address safety and reliability aspects of Gen4’s goals). However, in severe accident scenarios (e.g. during loss-of-coolant, LOCA, events) where failure to extract heat from the reactor may lead to core degradation, strategies to mitigate reactor meltdown and relocation are critical in the design of safety protocols. This work aims to numerically investigate core relocation as an integrated multi-fluid and heat dynamics problem in which flow of melted materials (UO2, Zircaloy and graphite) are modelled through interface capturing/tracking methods. Two interface tracking/capturing methods were compared, the level-set volume of fluid method (VOF) in Ansys Fluent, and the compressive advection method (CAM) in Fluidity/ICFERST. Both methods are in good agreement for the core relocation simulation. An in-vessel core catcher (IVCC) of tungsten alloy was also proposed to demonstrate core degradation control strategy through cooling of the melted multi-materials. The IVCC was simulated with a multifluid model in Ansys Fluent, in a specified applied heat flux model. The thickness of the IVCC is 0.20 m and the heat flux used is 600 kW m-2. The tungsten material used was able to withstand both thermal and mechanical loads on the lower plenum by extracting decay heat from the corium.

Consideration of risks to people and the environment related to accidents on natural gas transmission pipelines in LUP and SEA processes in Poland

ABSTRACT This study concerned the integration of gas pipeline safety issue into the LUP (Land Use Planning) and SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment) processes in Poland. It focused on the early stage of natural gas transmission pipeline localisation, i.e. the preparation of land use development plans (the plans) and accompanying SEA documents. It aimed to analyse a set of selected plans and SEA documents taking into account risks to people and the environment resulting from accidents on gas pipelines. The results of the analysis showed that although the Polish legislation defining the content of these documents does not explicitly refer to these risks, they are included, but to a limited extent, in the documents examined. It is proposed to modify the EU and Polish legislation for the control of major accident hazards on gas pipelines. In particular, in addition to the generic-distances approach currently used in Poland for maintaining the separation distances between the gas pipeline and other buildings it is suggested to introduce a risk-based approach to support LUP decisions near gas pipelines in Poland.

Preventing fatal accidents in construction through the management of barriers

The research presented in this article addresses the construction industry's need for a real-time safety performance indicator for use in managing the risk of fatal accidents. It involves the development and testing of an indicator of the availability of barriers against fatal accidents when carrying out construction work. In designing the indicator, knowledge and experience from different fields have been utilized including classic barrier theory, barrier management in major-accident hazard industries, quality management, and safety performance measurement in construction. The main aim of the research has been to evaluate the barrier indicator in practical use. The evaluation is based on results from field tests of the barrier indicator at two construction sites and on data from fatal accidents in the construction industry. It provided support for the assumption in the design of the barrier indicator that a few types of hazards dominate the statistics of fatal accidents. The field tests demonstrated the usefulness of the barrier indicator, both in checking the status of the barriers in individual construction activities and in measuring the overall standard of barriers against fatal accidents on the construction site. The possibilities and limitations of the method are discussed based on general criteria for assessing safety performance indicators. Another aim has been to use the experiences from the field tests as input to the design of a method for barrier management through the phases of a construction project. This work resulted in a model that integrates the barrier indicator and underlying methods and tools into a barrier management system. There is significant potential for effective barrier management by integrating the indicator and associated methods and tools into the management systems in the construction industry utilizing digital technology.

Improving process safety for the operation of Major Hazard Facilities

The discipline of process safety management has proven to be a valuable tool for assisting operators of Major Hazard Facilities (MHF) in focussing on the critically important ‘few’, with a heightened level of scrutiny than that of the ‘many’ lesser critical yet still important elements of a process system. This discipline attracts much oversight, discussion, and enthusiasm from many areas within and outside asset operations teams. Major Accident Hazards may vary in severity and probability throughout the life cycle of existing assets, it is, therefore, important to review these periodically. Clear purpose and definition of Safety Critical Elements (SCE), and in some cases Integrity Critical Elements (ICE), along with intelligent rationalisation of these to reflect the items of legitimate criticality, will allow higher precision and clarity, leading to higher confidence and an improved ability to manage genuine process safety risk. Further improvements can be made through real-time and near-time reporting through risk visualisation bowtie diagrams to ensure hazards can be managed to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) and their status made visible to enable the most effective prioritisation of work which prioritises restoration of the most compromised threat and consequence barriers first.

Control of industrial major accident hazard regulation in Malaysia: second decade in examination

The Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards (CIMAH) regulations was introduced in 1996 to regulate workplaces with hazardous chemicals in their facilities. The Regulations provide a minimum standard to ensure precautionary measures related to major hazard risks are taken. Although the Regulations have been enforced for more than two decades in Malaysia, there have been limited efforts to review related information, trends and data since its inception. The study aimed to provide an overview of the position of CIMAH regulations after two decades of being enacted in Malaysia. Data were extracted from the published and unpublished reports and documentations by Department of Occupational Safety and Health of Malaysia (DOSH), as well as available publications from literary journals. Analysis of the contents revealed three categories of data: i) CIMAH regulations’ administrative governance changes; ii) major hazard industries–categorization and registration trends; and iii) CIMAH regulations’ punitive activities. The findings provide an overview of relevant trends and data related to CIMAH regulations in the past two decades, and may provide stakeholders such as policymakers, practitioners, and researchers a groundwork for improvement initiatives.

Identification of cyber-risks for the control and safety instrumented systems: a synergic framework for the process industry

Malicious interferences to Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) such as the Basic Process Control System (BPCS) and the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) of chemical and process facilities may initiate events with severe consequences such as major accident scenarios (e.g., loss of containment of hazardous substances) and production outages. Existing security vulnerability and risk assessment (SVA/SRA) methodologies, as well as the cybersecurity risk assessment approach proposed by ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards, do not provide any practical method or guideline supporting cyber-risk identification. Moreover, an evident lack of procedures addressing the concrete connection between malicious manipulations of the BPCS and SIS and the impacts on the physical process system that can be initiated, is present in the scientific literature. Given the outlined gap, in the present study, a synergic framework of tools is described and applied to a case study (offshore Oil&Gas platform for gas compression), supporting the systematic identification of the risks that can originate as a result of a malicious interference to the BPCS and SIS. The framework consists of a past incident analysis (PIA) and of two rigorous methodologies, PHAROS, focused on major accident hazards, and POROS, addressing also operability issues. The concept of cyber-attack credibility is here introduced to identify the most credible sets of manipulations based on the score of the plant knowledge level required by the attacker and that of the cyber complexity of the attack pattern, allowing to provide valuable information on how to effectively allocate resources for a more secure network architecture.

Application of GIS for the Control of Major Accident Hazards

The presented study discusses the importance of GIS in assessing the fire and explosion modelling involved in major accident hazards. The simulation of toxic dispersions in the atmosphere is especially dangerous for densely inhabited areas, or close to the sensitive environment, which are called the target systems. Therefore, mathematical-physical predictions from hazard modelling programs such as Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres (ALOHA) have to be combined with a Geographic Information System (GIS) such as ArcGIS. This multidisciplinary approach allows experts to couple the consequences and the target systems in one representation of major accident hazards. This unique combination of the two programs allows us to calculate the consequences to human life for a real accident scenario case study. Description of methodical approach and four accident scenarios are investigated based on ALOHAs models for carbon monoxide release combined with ArcGIS for Liberty Ostrava a.s. as a case study. Keywords: ALOHA; ArcGIS; Carbon monoxide; Major accident hazards; Modelling of release and dispersion.

Determining the Reliability of Critical Controls in Construction Projects

Across the global construction industry, fatalities continue to occur from high-risk activities, where the risk controls have been defined; however, these were unreliable. In the mining industry, Critical Control Risk Management has provided positive results in reducing major accidents, which raises the question, could the Critical Control approach reduce the fatality rate in the construction industry? This study analyzed 10 years of serious and fatal incident investigation reports from four international construction companies to (i) assess the reliability of their Critical Controls (CCs) and (ii) assess the factors that affect the reliability of CCs. The results show the reliability of CCs, measured by implementation and effectiveness, averaged just 42%. Insight into human performance and organizational factors, including risk identification, decision-making and competency, together with supervision, job planning and communication, were identified as opportunities to improve the reliability of CCs. The study used bowtie diagrams with real event data to find the actual CC reliability. This appears to be the first published study that reports on the reliability of critical risk controls in construction. It demonstrates a feasible method for determining and communicating control effectiveness that can be used to deliver meaningful insights to industry practitioners on actual control performance and focus areas for improvement. In addition, actionable findings directly related to individual CCs can be derived that enable the participating organization to focus resources on improving specific verification processes. The results confirm the applicability of CCs for the Major Accident Event hazards analyzed and highlights that further reviews are required on the factors that need to be considered when implementing a CC program. This paper details our methodology and results, to assist others applying CCs as a risk management tool.

Implementation of ARAMIS methodology in the risk assessment of chemical tankers: The case of loading operation

Accident Risk Assessment Methodology for Industry (ARAMIS) has been developed and successfully applied to prevent accidents in the chemical and process industries within the scope of the Seveso-II directive. Chemical tankers aren't subject to obligations of this directive but coincide with it both in terms of chemical products and operational procedures. We aimed to contribute to the search for a proactive approach to risk analysis in chemical-tanker operations by applying ARAMIS for the first time. ARAMIS consists of “Methodology for the Identification of Major Accident Hazards” (MIMAH) and “Methodology for the Identification of Reference Accident Scenarios” (MIRAS). In the MIMAH; we assessed equipment types with Event Tree Analysis (ETA), identified critical events with Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), evaluated hazardous equipment with Vade-Mecum, identified hazards with Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP), and Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA), and we analyzed these hazards with Bow-Tie. In the MIRAS, we calculated the risk factor with the Probability of Failure on Demand calculation for each event using “Offshore REliability DAta” (OREDA), TESEO, BEVI-Guidelines, and assessed the risk with ALARP. The findings showed that ARAMIS can be used in chemical-tanker operations, and risk threshold values were low because of human errors, and basic control systems.

해지드/보우타이 기법의 한계와 개선에 대하여

A HAZID is a brainstorming workshop to identify hazards in an early phase of a project. It should be flexible to capture all probable accidents allowing experienced participants to exploit their expertise and experiences. A bowtie analysis is a graphical representation of major accident hazards elaborating safety measures i.e. barriers. The result of these workshops should be documented in an organized manner to share as good as possible details of the discussion through the lifetime of the project. Currently results are documented using a three-step representation of an accident; causes, top event and consequences, which cannot capture correctly sequence of events leading to various accidents and roles of barrier between two events. Another problem is that barriers would be shown repeatedly leading to a misunderstanding that there are an enough number of safety measures. A new bowtie analysis method is proposed to describe an accident in multiple steps showing relations among causes or consequences. With causes and consequences shown in a format of a tree, the frequencies of having the top event (Fault tree analysis) and various consequences (Event tree analysis) are evaluated automatically based on the frequency of initiating causes and the probabilities of failure of barriers. It will provide a good description of the accident scenario and help the risk to be assessed transparently.

Methodology for Analysis, Assessment and Classification of Major-Accident Hazards (Explosion) in the Case of Explosives Depots

Abstract This paper presents a methodology for the analysis, assessment and classification of explosive hazards in the case of landfills, including the quantification of possible effects on neighborhoods and on human health and the environment.

Development of a risk informed quantitative decision making framework for major accident hazards installations in Sri Lanka

This paper proposes a risk informed decision-making framework for siting Major Accident Hazard Installations in Sri Lanka. It is named the “Upper Bound FN curve” method. Generic failure rate data are utilized as country specific data are not available. FN Curves are derived for each process node of a Major Accident Hazard Installation using different failure rate data sets available in literature. The data sets giving the “worst case” FN Curve for each process node is identified. These FN Curves are called the Upper Bound FN Curves. Using these curves, a composite FN Curve is developed which is compared against the country specific risk acceptance criterion line. If the risk is not acceptable, further safety barriers are introduced. Safety distances are then determined using a scaling factor developed in this study called the relative risk reduction factor (RRRF). The RRRF is determined based on the comparative position of the composite FN curve with respect to the criterion line. The proposed methodology was applied in a case study of liquefied propane storage tank. Guidelines for application of the proposed framework, interpretation of the “Upper Bound FN Curve” method and estimation of safety distances are presented.

Prevention of technological disasters: Adoption of indicative criteria associated with GHS in regulating major accident hazards

The occurrence of a technological disaster could be due to different causes, one of which is chemicals. The major accidents triggered by chemicals, such as the Seveso incident in 1976, the Bhopal incident in 1984, and the recent Beirut explosion in 2020, have had severe impacts on people and the environment. Many countries have established their respective regulatory frameworks to prevent major accident hazards involving chemicals. However, the huge number of chemicals makes it almost impossible to identify and characterise all the chemicals. To manage this problem, the use of indicative criteria that have adopted the GHS (Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) can serve to ensure safety in the handling of chemicals and to prevent major accidents. The indicative criteria are used to group chemicals with the same hazards, which are then assigned threshold quantities (TQ) to assess potential chemical risks. Countries like those in the EU, Singapore, China and Australia have adopted indicative criteria associated with GHS into their respective regulations. However, these regulations are not the same. Thus, by learning about practices adopted by these countries, and also taking into account the GHS implementation, this study proposes adopting indicative criteria and relevant TQs to prevent major accidents. We hope that the proposed indicative criteria will be useful, particularly for developing countries that would like to establish or amend their national legislation to prevent major accidents involving chemicals, because besides lacking information about previous accidents, they may also lack a comprehensive chemical database and experts/resource persons.

Automated well control: A step change in safety

In the oil and gas industry, the operation of drilling is a process which has been manually controlled. Well control is a safety critical function, and it is used to enable safe management of pressures and fluids encountered whilst drilling. Losing well control resulting in an uncontrolled flow of reservoir fluids to surface and subsequent blowout, or fuel fed fire, can occur. The process of controlling this major accident hazard has also been manually controlled and is therefore subject to significant human factors' issues. Each year multiple blowouts and several fatality events happen due to a loss of well control. Traditionally, well control has been completely reliant on a human to identify and react to an influx. However, the human condition means the driller can be distracted, or suddenly influenced by extraneous factors. Overreliance on humans in well control poses a danger to the safety in well operations, because of the inherent and constant exposure to human factors risk. Tasks that require sustained periods of cognitive awareness and reaction can be best performed by an automated process. Other industries have successfully implemented automation to reduce the risks and produce more consistent and efficient outcomes; however, automation of well control has not yet been fully applied. The oil and gas industry can improve from a personnel safety, environmental and reputational perspective. As in other industries, automating the function of well control represents a significant improvement in process safety for drilling operations. With the rapid advancement of technologies associated with simulators and cyber-rigs over the past 20 years, several new technologies have emerged. One of them is a technology which enables automated well control whilst in drilling mode. The Automated Well Control system has been designed to fully automate influx detection and shut-in sequences. Once the system detects the influx, it performs a series of automated operations by taking control of the drilling rig equipment. The drill string is spaced out, top drive and mud pumps are stopped, and the BOP is closed. The system is currently designed for the drilling phase, which also covers initial tripping off bottom and back-reaming, and has been substantially tested against drilling simulators with real drillers. Additionally, a full field trials has been conducted using a conventional land rig which demonstrated the effectiveness of the standard system, proving up the functionality under different operational requirements. A technology qualification exercise was conducted, and the system has received a Technology Qualification Certificate for cyber and traditional rigs. To date, there are around 100 potential modules that can be developed using the same technology to cover every aspect of well construction and decommissioning operations. Existing systems in use on rigs, such as Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) and Early Kick Detection Systems (EKDS), can also benefit from linking directly with the Automated Well Control system to facilitate a fast and effective re-establishment of the secondary barrier. The Automated Well Control and a MPD systems have recently been combined to create the first integrated package to deliver both pressure control and well control in an efficient and less error prone manner. A full rig trial was successfully performed to demonstrate and verify the integration and functionality of both systems. The Automated Well Control technology referred to above has been patented by the UK Patent Office, which recognises its ability to detect the presence of a fluid influx condition in a wellbore, make a decision against criteria to shut-in, and then automatically initiate a well control protocol that results in the safe shut-in of the well. The paper aims to describe the Automated Well Control technology and explain why the system was designed and how it works, highlighting the benefits of automating this safety critical process.

Modelling and Analysis of On-Site Emergency Plan of a Major Accident Hazard in a LPG Bottling Plant

As an organization there is a range of responsibilities and legislation that require you to have a plan to ensure the safety of employees, customers and stakeholders who may be on site when an emergency occurs. Equally important is the ability of facility to react quickly to an emergency, saving time and money in restoring normal business. A well thought out, coordinated response helps prevent personal injury, property damage, and lessen the resulting hazard. When an organization plans on how it will respond to an emergency threatening its operations, it is more likely to survive the incident. During a large-scale disaster, local response agencies may be overwhelmed and unable to immediately respond to the organization site. The modelling and analysis of threats in a plant is not just for post hazard analysis, it includes all the working procedures when a hazard occurs.

What difference has the Cullen Report made? Empirical analysis of offshore safety regulations in the United Kingdom's oil and gas industry

Anecdotal evidence from the United Kingdom's offshore oil and gas industry indicates that risk-based safety regulations, introduced in the aftermath of the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster which killed 167 offshore workers, have improved safety outcomes such as reducing fatalities and dangerous occurrences. However, the empirical dimensions of this supposed improved safety record in the literature is scanty. This paper explores the relationship between the safety regulatory regime and safety outcomes in the UK offshore oil and gas industry from 1995 to 2011 using multivariate regression analysis based on the generalized linear modelling framework. We assess the trend and impact of the regulatory changes implemented through the safety case regulations on major hazard risk indicators such as hydrocarbon releases controlling for technical factors such as type of offshore facility, facility location, water depth, production levels, and external factors such as oil prices, acting as a measure of the prevailing macroeconomic activity level. The results show a statistically significant industry-wide decline in hydrocarbon releases between 1995 and 2011 (average marginal effects), after controlling for location, water depth, installation type, installation age and other factors. This reflects both the commitment of operating companies and the regulator to reducing major accident hazards in line with the principles underlying the safety case regime. Other offshore jurisdictions could focus major accident reduction efforts predicated on goal-setting safety case principles which identify key safety-critical elements of an oil and gas installation and put in place risk-based mitigation measures.

Hazardous industries and distributive environmental injustice in Ahmedabad, India

ABSTRACT Urbanization in India has been characterized by declining environmental quality and increasing class and caste segregations. These trends suggest the need to analyze distributive injustices that situate environmental hazards within urban scale inequalities. Our article seeks to address this need by linking the distribution of industrial facilities classified as Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units with the distribution of socially disadvantaged groups in Ahmedabad, a large metropolis in western India with a long history of industrial development. Using bivariate statistical comparisons and multivariable generalized estimating equations, this study examines whether socially disadvantaged groups are overrepresented in neighborhoods with the highest density of MAH units. Our statistical findings suggest a pattern of distributive environmental injustice based on significantly higher proportions of young children, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and households without assets and amenities in areas with the highest concentrations of MAH units. Overall, this article shows how India's cities pose greater environmental hazards for socially disadvantaged communities, thereby raising concerns about the future of its urbanization.

Evaluation of CFD simulations of transient pool fire burning rates

Fire is the most commonly occurring major accident hazard in the chemical and process industries, with industry accident statistics highlighting the liquid pool fire as the most frequent fire event. Modelling of such phenomena feeds heavily into industry risk assessment and consequence analyses. Traditional simple empirical equations cannot account for the full range of factors influencing pool fire behaviour or increasingly complex plant design. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling enables a greater understanding of pool fire behaviour to be gained numerically and provides the capability to deal with complex scenarios.This paper presents an evaluation of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) for predictive modelling of liquid pool fire burning rates. Specifically, the work examines the ability of the model to predict temporal variations in the burning rate of open atmosphere pool fires. Fires ranging from 0.4 to 4 m in diameter, involving ethanol and a range of liquid hydrocarbons as fuels, are considered and comparisons of predicted fuel mass loss rates are compared to experimental measurements.The results show that the liquid pyrolysis sub-model in FDS gives consistent model performance for fully predictive modelling of liquid pool fire burning rates, particularly during quasi-steady burning. However, the model falls short of predicting the subtleties associated with each phase of the transient burning process, failing to reliably predict fuel mass loss rates during fire growth and extinction. The results suggest a range of model modifications which could lead to improved prediction of the transient fire growth and extinction phases of burning for liquid pool fires, specifically, investigation of: ignition modelling techniques for high boiling temperature liquid fuels; a combustion regime combining both infinite and finite-rate chemistry; a solution method which accounts for two- or three-dimensional heat conduction effects in the liquid-phase; alternative surrogate fuel compositions for multi-component hydrocarbon fuels; and modification of the solution procedure used at the liquid-gas interface during fire extinction.