Road Transport Of Hazardous Materials Research Articles

A new hybrid MCDM approach for mitigating risks of hazardous material road transportation.

Given the ongoing development of the global economy, the demand for hazardous materials, which serve as essential components for numerous industrial products, is steadily increasing. Consequently, it becomes imperative to devise a methodology for mitigating the risks associated with the road transportation of hazardous materials. The objective of this study is to establish an integrated quality function deployment and multicriteria decision-making (QFD-MCDM) framework and identify the pivotal factors that propel Industry 5.0 (I5.0), thus fortifying supply chain resilience (SCR) and ameliorating the hazardous material transportation risks (HMTR). These measures encompass various strategic areas, including "establish a safe and inclusive work environment", "customized products and services", "enhance production flexibility and strengthen control redundancy", and "real-time data collection and analysis". By adopting these measures, enterprises can lead to sustainable and stable business operations. The findings of this study demonstrate the synergistic potential of integrating I5.0 and SCR in effectively mitigating HMTR. Additionally, these findings offer valuable insights and practical implications for enterprises across diverse industries.

Is the analysis of territorial compatibility in the vicinity of road hazmat transport routes a necessity for developing countries? A case study of Romania

The way dangerous goods are transported on roads within the European Union is regulated by international agreements that have been transposed into national legislation. Unlike European policies that focus on preventing major accidents involving dangerous substances in the industry, the component of territorial planning in areas exposed to technological hazards is not given similar attention when it comes to transport routes of dangerous goods. Since both the transport of hazardous materials and the activities of large industrial operators involve the handling of the same types of dangerous substances, they share similar associated hazards. Within this framework, a question arises as to whether decision-makers should accord greater consideration to the land use policies in the areas adjacent to transportation routes. In this study, the case of Romania was analyzed in detail, with the objective to firstly identify some particularities in how the primary road infrastructure is developed in relation to other European countries. Since the territorial compatibility near large industrial operators is established based on specific regulations at the national level, but there is no similar regulation for the transport of dangerous substances, another objective was to adapt and implement a methodology for the analysis of the territorial compatibility in the proximity of the national roads network. The proposed methodology utilizes open-source data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for analysis. It also involves the extensive application of existing rules on territorial compatibility for technological risks, specifically in the context of hazmat transport. The results of this study indicate that the primary road transport network in Romania has different characteristics compared to that of other countries, which determines a higher level of exposure to the hazards specific to the road transport of hazardous materials. Additionally, from an analysis of gasoline and diesel transport on national roads and the implementation of a territorial compatibility matrix, we observed instances of territorial incompatibility in the current state, particularly in areas close to the road, especially for scenarios with a relatively high accident frequency. Thus, the way future large road infrastructure development projects address risks related to dangerous goods transportation and the implementation of environmentally conscious land management strategies can contribute to society's sustainable development.

Real-Time Risk Assessment for Road Transportation of Hazardous Materials Based on GRU-DNN with Multimodal Feature Embedding

In this paper, a gated recurrent unit–deep neural network (GRU-DNN) model integrated with multimodal feature embedding (MFE) is developed to evaluate the real-time risk of hazmat road transportation based on various types of data for contributing factors. MFE was incorporated into the framework of a deep learning model in which discrete variables, continuous variables, and images were uniformly embedded. GRU is a pre-trained sub-model, and the DNN is able to directly use the relative structure and weights of the GRU, improving the poor classification and recognition results due to insufficient samples. Additionally, the model is trained and validated based on hazmat road transportation database consisting of 2100 samples with 20 real-time contributing factors and four risk levels in China. The accuracy (ACC), precision (PR), recall (RE), F1-score (F1), and areas under receiver-operating-characteristic curves (AUC) of the proposed model and other commonly used models are compared as performance measurements in numerical examples. Finally, Carlini & Wagner attack and three defenses of adversarial training, dimensionality reduction and prediction similarity are proposed in the training to improve the robustness of the model, alleviating the impact of noise and error on small-sized samples. The results demonstrate that the average ACC of the model reaches 93.51% and 87.6% on the training and validation sets, respectively. The prediction of accidents resulting in injury is the most accurate, followed by fatal accidents. Combined with the RE of 89.0%, the model exhibits excellent performance. In addition, the proposed model outperforms other widely used models based on the overall comparisons of ACC, AUC, F1 and PR-RE curve. Finally, prediction similarity can be used as an effective approach for robustness improvement, with the launched adversarial attacks being detected at a high success rate.

Risk assessment of hazardous materials transportation: A review of research progress in the last thirty years

In recent years, hazardous materials transportation accidents occur frequently, causing huge casualties and property losses. Risk assessment of hazardous materials transportation has been constantly investigated by researchers and decision-makers. In order to study the research progress of risk assessment of hazardous materials transportation, so as to better reveal relevant problems. This review systematically analyzes the existing literature, from 1991 to 2020, on risk assessment models and methods of hazardous materials transportation, and segregates the relevant studies based on unimodal and intermodal transportation systems. Additionally, an example is considered to analyze the characteristics of each risk assessment model of unimodal transportation, and a novel detailed classification is proposed for the risk assessment problems. The results indicate that the research on the risk assessment model of road transportation of hazardous materials is comprehensive, whereas that based on the railway and intermodal transportations is deficient. In comparison with the traditional risk assessment model, the conditional value-at-risk model presents a flexible decision-making framework for decision-makers and controls risk preference between risk neutrality and risk aversion. Owing to the difficulty in achieving door-to-door railway transportation and the increased risks associated with the intermodal transportation, the conclusion that the risk of railway and multimodal transportation of hazardous materials is lower than that of road transportation is not universal. Transport operators and governments can combine the advantages of different transportation modes, such as low risk, low cost, high flexibility, and high reliability, to achieve public safety and improve the competence of the system. Based on the proposed classification, this review identifies the existing trends and research gaps and summarizes future research directions. • Development process of risk assessment models is summarized. • Advantages and disadvantages of various transportation modes are outlined. • Characteristics of the unimodal transportation risk assessment model are analyzed using an example. • New classification for unimodal transportation is proposed.

Severity analysis of road transport accidents of hazardous materials with machine learning

Objective The aim of this study was to explore a suitable method for analyzing road transport accidents that involve hazardous materials and to explore the main factors that influence the occurrence of accidents of varying severity. Methods The 2015–2019 reported crash data from the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China were obtained, and road transport crashes involving hazardous materials were extracted as the analysis data. The dataset was classified into three injury severity categories: property damage only (PDO), injured (INJ), and fatal (FAT). A statistical model and three machine learning-based models were developed: a random parameters logit model (RPLM), multilayer perceptron (MLP), decision tree C5.0 (C5.0) and support vector machine (SVM). The four models were trained/estimated using the training/estimation dataset, and the best model was used to model accidents of the three different severity levels. The main factors that influence the occurrence of accidents at each crash severity level were obtained. Results C5.0 had the best modeling performance. The direct accident form (DAF), indirect accident form (IAF) and road segment (RS) were determined to be the critical determinants of PDO accidents. The DAF, IAF, road type, RS and time had a substantial effect on INJ accidents. The DAF, IAF, hazardous material type (HMT) and road surface condition were important factors in the occurrence of FAT accidents. Conclusions Different data have unique characteristics, and the best modeling and analysis method should be chosen accordingly. The safety of road transport of hazardous materials in China is poor, and the losses caused by accidents are substantial. Strengthening the monitoring of travel speed and travel time; improving driver safety awareness, driving skills and the ability to mitigate emergencies; improving the configuration of vehicle safety equipment and the linkage with the control center and rescue center; improving the environmental differences between inside a tunnel and outside a tunnel; reducing the design of long downhill and steep slope sections; reducing the transport plan in unsafe environments; and improving the ability of road management to mitigate bad environments can be effective measures to reduce the severity of road transport accidents involving hazardous materials.

Experimental research in the fire resistance of the double-frame container

During the road transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat), container was usually used to protect the inner package from accidents. The conventional container is a sandwich-framed construction. When it was subjected to car fire, the combustible materials such as poly-foam interlayer would burn up in few minutes. Once the hazmat leaked out, it could result in the great loss of the public and environment. In this paper, a double-frame container mechanism was firstly proposed for loss prevention. In order to investigate the heat conduction pattern and the effect of interlayer thickness, the two-dimensional (2D) Finite Element (FE) model was developed. Based on the numerical results, the interlayer thickness was defined as 155 mm considering the ignorance of sealing. Furthermore, two small-scale containers whose interlayer were ceramic fiber and phenolic foam separately were manufactured. Pool fire experiments were carried out to evaluate the fire resistance of the mechanism and compare the insulation of the interlayer. Results show that the construction of the container remained complete after about 30-min fire exposure. The maximum temperature inside was below 100 °C during the burning process. When the fire burnt down, the temperature inside increased to 110 °C and then declined gradually during the 1000-min cooling process. Additionally, although the thermal insulation of the container with phenolic foam is relatively better, the ceramic fiber is much more suitable for the interlayer considering the sealing of the container and the stability in heat. In summary, the double-frame container could protect the product inside from car fire. It could be beneficial for the fire-resistant design of much bigger containers, which might be widely used for loss prevention in hazmat transport.

Hazards of the Road Transportation of Hazardous Materials

Abstract A lot of substances and items are transported by road, sea, rail and air every day. The biggest hazard is created by the transportation of hazardous substances with flammable, caustic or toxic properties. The hazard level increases if such substances are transported through densely populated areas. Traffic intensity, the technical condition of vehicles, drivers’ errors or ignorance and non-compliance with legal regulations are examples of factors that can lead to potential failures in the transport sector. Accidents can cause an uncontrolled release of dangerous gases or liquids, resulting e.g. in environmental degradation or a hazard to humans. The article presents the issues related to the hazards presented by road transportation of hazardous materials. Examples are shown of potential effects of accidents and hazard zones arising due to a release of selected hazardous substances, such as chlorine, ammonia, petrol, diesel oil or LPG.

Two new approaches for the bi-objective shortest path with a fuzzy objective applied to HAZMAT transportation.

This work proposes two algorithms to the Bi-objective Shortest Path (BSP) problem, considering a fuzzy objective. Such approaches originally extend two classic label setting algorithms to solve BSP, in particular, the first one using a modified Gandibleux revision of Martin's algorithm and the second one based on the A* algorithm acceleration technique. The proposed extensions differ from the previous classic approaches for two main aspects: the two methods solve BSP problems with a linear objective function and a min-max objective function; the max-min objective considered in the BSP is a fuzzy objective function. This latter aspect represents the main contribution of this paper. The proposed approaches, applied to the selection of paths for the road transport of hazardous materials, generate the set of Pareto optimal solutions among which the decision makers have to evaluate the trade-off between paths with minimum cost and paths with minimum (or min-max) risk. In this paper, a real life case study related to the delivery of petrol from a depot to refueling stations is finally illustrated to compare the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

Pattern of safety risk assessment in road fleet transportation of hazardous materials (oil materials)

PurposeOne of the most important problems in the road fleet transportation of hazardous materials is truck accidents in which the main influential factors are the type of truck and its safety conditions. This research aimed to propose the pattern of assessing safety risk of road fleet transportation of hazardous materials and classifying trucks with a safety approach. Design/methodology/approachIn this research, first the safety risk contributing factors (SRCFS) and sub-safety risk contributing factors (Sub-SRCFS) of road oil trucks were identified using job hazard analysis (JHA) method and finalized by expert consensus. Thereafter, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) was employed in order to weigh the determined SRCFS and Sub-SRCFS. Finally, the safety risk assessment pattern in road oil truck was presented considering failure modes and effect analysis (FMEA) approach. FindingsThe results showed that the most important SRCFS in the road fleet of hazardous materials transportation in the carrier and tank groups were “technical characteristics of the carrier” and “technical characteristics of the tank”. In addition, the most important Sub-SRCFS included unsuitable inspection of the truck (tank and carrier), poor brake system, and lack of the strength of front and rear shields of the carrier. Originality/valueThe results showed that the main causes of increased accident risk are the lack of use of front and rear shields, brake system and inappropriate inspections. The lack of systematic inspection can be the most important case to increase the risk of road transport of hazardous materials.

A Survey on Accidents in the Road Transportation of Hazardous Materials in São Paulo, Brazil, from 1983 to 2015

A survey on 4,638 accidents in the road transportation of hazardous products in São Paulo, Brazil, between 1983 and 2015 registered by Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (CETESB; average of 140.5 accidents per year) was conducted. This study aimed to present the evolution and the recent scenario of accidents involving transportation of hazardous products in a locality in the southern hemisphere. The research method adopted was documentation through data collection in the CETESB database and data analysis through descriptive statistics and f-N curves for societal risk. We concluded that: (i) there is a higher concentration of accidents from 10:00 am to 10:59 am; (ii) there is a coincidence between areas of greater urbanization and industrial vocation with areas with the greater concentration of accidents (Unidades de Gerenciamento de Recursos Hídricos (UGRHI) of Alto Tietê, with 26.5% accidents); (iii) tipping over is the main cause of accidents (33.78%); (iv) flammable liquids are the product most frequently involved in accidents (40.25%); (v) soil is the most impacted element (86% of accidents with impact to some medium); and (vi) the expected value is 36 accident victims per year. Our study highlights the need for continuous improvements in the information system and integration between agents to reduce the number of accidents of this type.

Scope for Developing Accident Causation Model of Road Transportation of Hazardous Materials

Scope for Developing Accident Causation Model of Road Transportation of Hazardous Materials

Towards a spatial data infrastructure for technological disasters: an approach for the road transportation of hazardous materials

Spatial data have been used for the environmental monitoring of the consequences of accidents that involve the transportation of hazardous chemical products. This spatial data infrastructure (SDI), which was created for the sharing and use of spatial data, is limited by the absence of policies to support its establishment. The main objective of this study was to explore the use of social network analysis (SNA) as a tool to identify spatial data sharing between organizations involved in the management of accidents related to road transport of hazardous materials (RTHM). In addition, to discuss the existing policies and institutional agreements, and to initiate a conceptual SDI framework for RTHM sector. In this context, the institutions that are involved with RTHM were identified and information concerning their interest in the use and sharing of spatial data via a SDI was collected through interviews and consolidated. The interviews were at 39 institutions with representative employees. The interview data were tabulated and entered into the UCINET software (2000 version) to calculate metrics of centrality. From the SNA, the flow of data among the participating institutions was identified through the visual representation of the spatial data sharing and use networks. Subsequently, the existing institutional agreements for spatial data sharing were analyzed and discussed. The compiled results enabled the proposal of a conceptual SDI framework to support the management of disasters involving RTHM, based on the application of SNA theory, and the development of a methodology that supports the analysis of interactions among the various actors of an SDI. The purpose is to facilitate the formulation of policies for the sharing of spatial data for decision-making and preventive disaster management. The results indicate that the 39 institutions share spatial data, but this sharing is not always predetermined by formal agreements. Furthermore, there is a strong demand, by the institutions involved in the management of RTHM accidents, regarding legal mechanisms governing the sharing of data for the purpose of producing maps that help to describe actions of preparedness, prevention, management and immediate relief involving RTHM incidents. Finally, it was possible to propose a conceptual framework with data that is considered essential for creating an SDI for RTHM.

Improving security in road transportation of hazardous materials

A great variety of hazardous materials (HazMat) are transported by road and, with a few exceptions, no particular restrictions are posed to their routes and no surveillance is exerted during their trip. On the other hand, it is recognized that the potential consequences of an accident involving these materials may be severe or even catastrophic. Such road tankers may therefore represent an attractive target for terrorists, as also recognized by the A.D.R. regulation, which identifi es some high consequences dangerous goods (HCDG) classes, requires the adoption of security measures and lists the essential elements to be included in the security plan, which should be prepared when transporting such materials. However, as a matter of fact, the HCDG list includes practically all fuel tankers (gasoline, LPG, kerosene, etc.) so that providing all these vehicles with proper security devices may be impracticable and rather expensive; moreover, workers’ privacy should be safeguarded. The present work focuses on critical security issues to be addressed when transporting HCDGs and considers some devices and procedures aimed at reducing the risk. The complexity of the system can be modulated based on the available resources and specifi c circumstances (type of dangerous good, route features, and others). An attempt is also made to further subdivide HCDG classes into three large groups, based on the type of consequence (fi re, overpressure and missiles, toxic cloud) and on the expected impact areas associated with a deliberate release of the product into the environment. This will allow to properly scale the complexity of the proposed security apparatuses and procedures.

Towards a decision support system, application: itinerary road modification for road transport of hazardous materials

In the risk classification, road transport of hazardous materials is one of the major technological risks. In fact, their transport exposes the population to pollution, explosion and fire which could lead to wildlife catastrophic impacts. The aim of the current study is to identify the least risky routes in Oran urban areas, and define first a mapping of dangerous roads, based on a decision support system. Also, using complementary methods issued from systemic approach of hazard science, we analyse the security degree of these roads.

A survey on hazardous materials accidents during road transport in China from 2000 to 2008

A study of 322 accidents that occurred during the road transport of hazardous materials (hazmat) in China from 2000 to 2008 was carried out. The results showed an increase in the frequency of accidents from 2000 to 2007 and a decline in 2008. More than 63% of the accidents occurred in the eastern coastal areas, 25.5% in the central inland areas, and only 10.9% in the western remote areas. The most frequent types of accident were releases (84.5%), followed by gas clouds (13.0%), fires (10.2%), no substance released due to timely measures (9.9%), and explosions (5.9%). The spatial distribution, the causes and consequences of the accidents related to the population (e.g., number of people killed, injured, evacuated, or poisoned), and environment elements were analyzed. Finally, conclusions are drawn concerning the need to improve certain safety measures in the road transport of hazmat in China.

Finding minimum and equitable risk routes for hazmat shipments

This paper deals with the generation of minimal risk paths for the road transportation of hazardous materials between an origin–destination pair of a given regional area. The main considered issue is the selection of paths that minimize the total risk of hazmat shipments while spreading the risk induced on the population in an equitable way. The problem is mathematically formulated, and two heuristic algorithms are proposed for its solution. Substantially, these procedures are modified versions of Yen's algorithm for the k-shortest path problem, which take into due consideration the risk propagation resulting from close paths and spread the risk equitably among zones of the geographical region in which the transportation network is embedded. Furthermore, a lower bound based on a Lagrangean relaxation of the given mathematical formulation is also provided. Finally, a series of computational tests, referring to a regional area is reported.

Risk management of road and rail transport of hazardous materials in Sicily

Abstract A Transportation Risk Analysis (TRA) tool has been used to accurately assess the risk associated to a variety of road and rail transportation cases representative of hazardous materials transport by land in Sicily. Due to the high risk level, some risk mitigation options have been investigated: the possibility of changing route and/or transport modalities have been examined for each transportation activity, all the combinations of road, rail and intermodal (road+rail) transport have been calculated and that minimising the risk has been identified with the aid of the TRA tool.

Risk analysis for road and rail transport of hazardous materials: a GIS approach

Abstract An approach to transportation risk analysis for road and rail transport of dangerous goods is proposed, which is based on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to manage territorial information, coupled with a product data bank in a risk evaluation tool. Such an approach enables to accurately take into account the local data affecting risk analysis, such as population, accident rate, and weather conditions along all the route, by means of a system which can be easily updated. The resulting risk evaluation tool assists in the step of route identification and allows to rapidly perform an accurate transportation risk analysis, for a single transportation event as well as for multiple substances, trips and itineraries.

Risk analysis for road and rail transport of hazardous materials: a simplified approach

A simplified approach to transportation risk analysis for road and rail transport of dangerous goods is proposed, which is based on the use of a product databank, containing the impact areas for a number of pre-selected accidental scenarios, and on the selection of a few typical average values of the involved parameters, relevant to the type of transport activity and to the route. Such an approach enables also a non-specialist to very rapidly perform a transportation risk analysis, obtaining both individual and societal risk measures for the study case(s): the results may be used to support a decision making process, and/or as a basis for a more in deep analysis.