Rapid Risk Assessment Tool Research Articles

Developing a novel anticipated inherent risk assessment approach applicable in early stages of process design

Inherently Safer Design (ISD), as one of the most fundamental approaches to process safety, focuses on the innate design features. Numerous tools have been developed to assess ISD and risk-based indices are one of the most elevated of them. Existing indices are limited in modelling consequences or are challenging to adapt in terms of probability. This study introduces the Anticipated Inherent Risk Index (AIRI), a robust tool for rapid risk assessment of the worst anticipated scenarios. It incorporates Furthest Effect Distance of the release from the largest connection, by software, and Representative Failure frequency, which is a relative dataset calculated from renown databases. This presents a relative risk map upon major consequences and their likelihood. AIRI applied to a PDH Fractionation Subunits shows that Heat Pump Compressor Suction Drum (AIRI≈3399) in PP Splitter Section, followed by Propylene Trim Condenser (AIRI≈1931) and PP Splitter Reboiler/Condenser (AIRI≈1798) are the equipment with the highest risk. AIRI is a competent tool for early high-level analysis of equipment risk, which gives useful indications on design and how to improve it. This tool also has the potential to be equipped with vaster frequency datasets and effects analysis and to be incorporated into other process safety studies.

Novel insights into myocardial injury, diastolic pathology, and in-hospital mortality: the impact of H2FPEF score in COVID-19 patients

Aims: H2FPEF score is a reliable tool for diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) linked to diastolic dysfunction. Our objective was to explore the correlation between H2FPEF score and in-hospital mortality, as well as parameters previously identified in association with COVID-19, among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: This prospective, single-center observational study included 205 consecutive COVID-19 hospitalized patients. Data regarding patients' clinical status, comorbidities, and drug therapy were extracted from medical histories and records. Afterward, we calculated H2FPEF score for each patient and subsequently grouped them based on the following score categories: low (0-1), medium (2-5), and high (6-9). Logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier survival curve analyses were conducted to assess in-hospital mortality and the presence of an intermediate-to-high H2FPEF score. Results: Death occurred in 46 (22.4%) patients. 79 participants (38.5%) fell into the low-risk category (0-1 points), 108 (52.7%) were classified as intermediate-risk (2-5 points), and the remaining 18 (8.8%) were in the high-risk category (6-9 points). Age, heart rate, body mass index, and co-morbidities exhibited a rising trend with increasing H2FPEF scores (p<0.05 for all). Moreover, an escalation in the H2FPEF category correlated with deteriorated echocardiographic parameters. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that heart rate per minute (OR=1.048, p=0.022), H2FPEF score (OR=1.396, p=0.018), and current smoker (OR=4.569, p=0.050) were independent determinants of in-hospital mortality. ROC curve indicated that the H2FPEF score, with a threshold of ≥2, exhibited good discriminative capacity, demonstrating 80.4% sensitivity and 69.2% specificity (AUC=0.777, p<0.001). The pairwise comparison of ROC curves analysis demonstrated that troponin (AUC=0.819) exhibited better discriminative abilities than both D-dimer (AUC=0.737, p=0.029) and hemoglobin (AUC=0.691, p=0.007) in determining an intermediate-to-high H2FPEF score. Conclusion: COVID-19, recognized for its association with myocardial damage, could emerge as a significant risk factor for the onset of HFpEF. H2FPEF score presents as a straightforward tool for rapid risk assessment upon hospitalization, potentially aiding in the evaluation of the risk for HFpEF development. Its utilization may facilitate early intervention, thereby contributing to a reduction in poor outcomes.

Rapid risk assessment tool (RRAT) to prioritize emerging and re-emerging livestock diseases for risk management.

Increasing globalization and international trade contribute to rapid expansion of animal and human diseases. Hence, preparedness is warranted to prevent outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging diseases or detect outbreaks in an early stage. We developed a rapid risk assessment tool (RRAT) to inform risk managers on the incursion risk of multiple livestock diseases, about the main sources for incursion and the change of risk over time. RRAT was built as a relational database to link data on disease outbreaks worldwide, on introduction routes and on disease-specific parameters. The tool was parameterized to assess the incursion risk of 10 livestock diseases for the Netherlands by three introduction routes: legal trade in live animals, legal trade of animal products, and animal products illegally carried by air travelers. RRAT calculates a semi-quantitative risk score for the incursion risk of each disease, the results of which allow for prioritization. Results based on the years 2016-2018 indicated that the legal introduction routes had the highest incursion risk for bovine tuberculosis, whereas the illegal route posed the highest risk for classical swine fever. The overall incursion risk via the illegal route was lower than via the legal routes. The incursion risk of African swine fever increased over the period considered, whereas the risk of equine infectious anemia decreased. The variation in the incursion risk over time illustrates the need to update the risk estimates on a regular basis. RRAT has been designed such that the risk assessment can be automatically updated when new data becomes available. For diseases with high-risk scores, model results can be analyzed in more detail to see which countries and trade flows contribute most to the risk, the results of which can be used to design risk-based surveillance. RRAT thus provides a multitude of information to evaluate the incursion risk of livestock diseases at different levels of detail. To give risk managers access to all results of RRAT, an online visualization tool was built.

Establishment of a rapid risk assessment system for imported COVID-19 cases

Objective: To develop a rapid risk assessment tool for imported COVID-19 cases and provide reference evidences for prevention and control of COVID-19 at ports. Methods: The information about COVID-19 pandemic and control strategies of 12 concerned countries was collected during July to August 2021, and 12 indexes were selected to assess the importation risk of COVID-19 by risk matrix. Results: The risk for imported COVID-19 cases from 12 countries to China was high or extremely high, and the risk from Russia and the USA was highest. Conclusions: The developed rapid risk assessment tool based on the risk matrix method can be used to determine the risk level of countries for imported COVID-19 cases to China at ports, and the risk of imported COVID-19 was high at Beijing port in August 2021.

Rapid risk assessment framework to assess public health risk of antimicrobial resistance found in foods

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging pandemic and a critical threat to future treatment of even menial infectious diseases. AMR is transmitted between animals, humans and the environment e.g. through consumption of contaminated food. The risk to public health of consuming food AMR bacteria is difficult to assess, and the complexity of the problem renders most existing risk assessment frameworks of limited use for timely risk management.This study developed a rapid risk assessment tool: RRA-AMR-Food for regulators and policy-makers to evaluate whether any risk management is required when a new or critical important AMR-gene is detected in food. The tool consists of two risk criteria: risk of the food type, the risk of the AMR-gene, and two consequence levels: the short term individual risk and the long term community risk. The outcomes are two independent risk estimates: for short term risks and for long term risks, respectively.The RRA-AMR-Food is a practical and user-friendly tool for regulators based on scientific evidence and expertise. It simplifies a very complex system and is only useful for providing initial guidance for risk management and is not a comprehensive risk assessment tool. It may enable risk managers to identify high risk foods that need to be withdrawn from the market in order to protect consumers and public health.

COVID-19 response: effectiveness of weekly rapid risk assessments, Italy.

ProblemAfter Italy’s first national restriction measures in 2020, a robust approach was needed to monitor the emerging epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at subnational level and provide data to inform the strengthening or easing of epidemic control measures.ApproachWe adapted the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control rapid risk assessment tool by including quantitative and qualitative indicators from existing national surveillance systems. We defined COVID-19 risk as a combination of the probability of uncontrolled transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and of an unsustainable impact of COVID-19 cases on hospital services, adjusted in relation to the health system’s resilience. The monitoring system was implemented with no additional cost in May 2020.Local settingThe infectious diseases surveillance system in Italy uses consistent data collection methods across the country’s decentralized regions and autonomous provinces.Relevant changesWeekly risk assessments using this approach were sustainable in monitoring the epidemic at regional level from 4 May 2020 to 24 September 2021. The tool provided reliable assessments of when and where a rapid increase in demand for health-care services would occur if control or mitigation measures were not increased in the following 3 weeks.Lessons learntAlthough the system worked well, framing the risk assessment tool in a legal decree hampered its flexibility, as indicators could not be changed without changing the law. The relative complexity of the tool, the impossibility of real-time validation and its use for the definition of restrictions posed communication challenges.

Development and Validation of a Tool for the Prediction of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Colonization Persistence-the PREVENT Score.

ABSTRACTVancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are nosocomial pathogens with increasing prevalence worldwide. Extensive hygiene measures have been established to prevent infection transmission in hospitals. Here, we developed a predictive score system (the predictive vancomycin-resistant enterococci [PREVENT] score) to identify the clearance or persistence in patients with a history of VRE carrier status at readmission. Over a cumulative 3-year period, patients with a positive VRE carrier status were included. The study population was recruited in two successive time periods and separated into training data for predictive score development and validation data for evaluation of the predictive power. The risk factors for persistent VRE colonization were analyzed in a univariable analysis before development of a logistic regression model based on the potential risk factors. The score points were determined proportionally to the beta coefficients of the logistic regression model. The data from 448 (79%) patients were used as the training data, and those from 119 (21%) as the validation data. Multivariable analysis revealed the following variables as independent risk factors: age of ≥60 years, hemato-oncological disease, cumulative antibiotic treatment for >4 weeks, and a VRE infection. The resulting logistic regression model exhibited an acceptable area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 0.91). The predictive score system had a sensitivity of 82% (95% CI, 65 to 93%) and a specificity of 77% (95% CI, 66 to 85%). The developed predictive score system is a useful tool to assess the VRE carrier status of patients with a history of VRE colonization. On the basis of this risk assessment, more focused and cost-effective infection control measures can be implemented.IMPORTANCE Given the increasing relevance of VRE as nosocomial pathogens worldwide, infection prevention and control measures, including patient isolation and contact precautions, are indispensable to avoid their spread in the hospital setting. In this study, we developed and validated the PREVENT score, a tool for rapid risk assessment of VRE persistence in patients with a history of previous VRE colonization. The score is designed to be easily performed, employing clinical information available in a regular admission setting and immediately providing information to inform the decision of whether to adopt patient isolation and contact precautions during the hospital stay. After validation, the score was shown to accurately identify patients with persistent VRE colonization upon admission, representing a suitable option as (i) a complementary method yielding preliminary results significantly more quickly than culture-based VRE detection techniques and (ii) an alternative strategy for VRE detection in settings in which microbiological VRE screening is not routinely performed due to limited resources.

Development of an electrocardiogram-based risk calculator for a cardiac cause of syncope

ObjectiveTo develop an ECG-based tool for rapid risk assessment of a cardiac cause of syncope in patients ≥40 years.MethodsIn a prospective international multicentre study, 2007 patients ≥40 years presenting with...

Risk assessment of exotic disease incursion and spread.

This Technical Report describes the activities developed in the scope of the EU‐FORA Fellowship, within the work programme of risk assessment (RA) of exotic disease incursion and spread, developed at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR). The programme focused on the work carried out in the Generic risk assessment for introduction of animal diseases (G‐RAID) project, which brings together a number of different generic RA tools from multiple European partners. The aim of the fellowship was to gain understanding of veterinary import risk assessment by using different RA tools and to learn how different algorithms can be used to calculate disease incursion risks. G‐RAID's tools cover a wide range of RA methodologies; from purely qualitative, to semi‐quantitative and fully stochastic quantitative methods, which allowed the fellow to understand a variety of algorithms used to produce the final risk estimate. The fellowship programme provided the fellow with the chance to learn in detail about how generic RAs are performed across Europe, understanding how to deal with the uncertainty and variability involved in RAs and the potential problems of data availability and reliability. The fellow made an inventory of publicly available databases on disease occurrence and international trade that could be used for import RA and assessed their quality and usefulness for the different generic RA tools. The programme also provided the fellow the opportunity to perform several import risk assessments using the RA tools of G‐RAID. She completed a RA on African swine fever using the MINTRISK model developed by WBVR. Furthermore, she assessed the risk of foot and mouth disease introduction using the Rapid Risk Assessment Tool (RRAT) model developed by WBVR and the COMPARE model developed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). To this end, the fellow completed a short‐term visit to APHA, enabling her to have additional training in quantitative RA and to expand her professional network in this area.

Rapid risk assessment for communicable diseases in humanitarian emergencies: validation of a rapid risk assessment tool for communicable disease risk in humanitarian emergencies

Background: Communicable diseases pose a significant risk in humanitarian emergencies. This paper reports on the development and validation of a rapid risk assessment tool for communicable diseases in humanitarian emergencies. Methods: We developed a tool assessing the 20 most critical risk factors for disease outbreaks in humanitarian emergencies. This paper reports on the development and validation of the tool consisting of face and content validation with key informant interviews (n=25) and a reliability validation (inter-rater reliability test) with groups of volunteer aid workers (n=4 groups). Findings: Face and content validation confirmed the importance of rapid risk assessment methods and the suitability and usefulness of the developed tool. Participants without prior health protection experience were able fill in the tool with an accuracy of 81·25% (SD 4.08) across both scenarios (82·35% and 80·15% for scenarios 1 and 2 respectively). Errors primarily occurred when judging the severity of risk factors that could not be captured quantitatively. Revisions of the tool have been made based on the validation process. Conclusion: The tool was successfully validated for the use in different humanitarian emergency settings and is suitable for users with and without experience in health protection.

Zika Virus in Ontario: Evaluating a Rapid Risk Assessment Tool for Emerging Infectious Disease Threats.

To determine the Ontario-specific risk of local and travel-related Zika virus transmission in the context of a public health emergency of international concern, Public Health Ontario (PHO) completed a rapid risk assessment (RRA) on January 29, 2016, using a newly developed RRA guidance tool. The RRA concluded that risk of local mosquito-borne transmission was low, with a high risk of imported cases through travel. The RRA was updated 3 times based on predetermined triggers. An independent evaluation assessed both the application of the RRA guidance tool (process evaluation) and the usefulness of the RRA (outcome evaluation). We conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 7 individuals who participated in the creation or review of the Zika virus RRA and 4 end-users at PHO and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. An inductive thematic analysis of responses was undertaken, whereby themes were directly informed by the data. The process evaluation determined that most steps outlined in the RRA guidance tool were adhered to, including forming a cross-functional writing team, clarifying the scope and describing context, completing the RRA summary report, and updating the RRA based on predefined triggers. The outcome evaluation found that end-users judged the Zika virus RRA as evidence-informed, useful, consistent, and timely. The evaluation established that the locally tailored guidance tool, adapted from national and international approaches to RRAs, facilitated a systematic, evidence-informed, and timely formal RRA process at PHO for the Zika virus RRA, which met the needs of end-users. Based on the evaluation, PHO will modify future RRAs by incorporating some flexibility into the literature review process to support timeliness of the RRA, explicitly describing the limitations of studies used to inform the RRA, and refining risk algorithms to better suit emerging infectious disease threats. It is anticipated that these refinements will improve upon the timely assessment of novel or reemerging infectious diseases.

Assessment of the risk of African swine fever introduction into Finland using NORA-a rapid tool for semiquantitative assessment of the risk.

The NORA rapid risk assessment tool was developed for situations where there is a change in the disease status of easily transmissible animal diseases in neighbouring countries or in countries with significant interactions with Finland. The goal was to develop a tool that is quick to use and will provide consistent results to support risk management decisions. The model contains 63 questions that define the potential for entry and exposure by nine different pathways. The magnitude of the consequences is defined by 23 statements. The weight of different pathways is defined according to the properties of the assessed disease. The model was built as an Excel spreadsheet and is intended for use by animal health control administrators. As an outcome, the model gives the possible pathways of disease entry into the country, an overall approximation for the probability of entry and the subsequent exposure, an overall estimate for the consequences and a combined overall risk estimate (probability multiplied by magnitude of consequences). Model validity was assessed by expert panels. Outside Africa, African swine fever is currently established in Russia and Sardinia. In addition, there have been cases in both wild boar and domestic pigs in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia. Finland has frequent contacts with Russia and Estonia, especially through passengers. The risk of African swine fever (ASF) introduction into Finland was tested with NORA for the situation in December 2015, when ASF was endemic in many parts of Russia, Africa and Sardinia and was present in Baltic countries and in Poland. African swine fever was assessed to have a high probability of entry into Finland, with high consequences and therefore a high overall risk.

Safer lone working: assessing the risk to health professionals

Lone working is increasing in the UK, as care delivery aims to keep people at home. This means that the relative safety of a hospital or clinic with colleagues present is increasingly being replaced by isolated workers in unfamiliar and potentially dangerous situations. Lone workers should be as safe and protected as colleagues who work in a shared base and employers have a legal responsibility to protect lone workers and minimize the risks which may have traditionally been viewed as occupational hazards. This article sets out a rapid risk assessment tool that employees can use to assess the risk of a lone visit on a case-by-case basis, and take precautions accordingly.

Forest Structure and Fire Susceptibility in Volcanic Landscapes of the Eastern High Cascades, Oregon

Abstract: Multidimensional forest health initiatives—those designed to restore and protect forest integrity in the large sense—require, among other things, a better understanding of the relationship between the structure of forests and (1) their susceptibility to wildfires outside the range of natural variability and (2) the level of treatment (if any) required to lower susceptibility into an acceptable range. Within the ponderosa pine zone (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) on the eastern slopes of Oregon's Cascade Range, an average of 86% of trees >5 cm in diameter at breast height (dbh) were less than 101 years old, the density of young trees correlating negatively with the density of old trees (>150 yrs). Species composition differed significantly between age classes: 72% of trees older than 150 years were ponderosa pine, whereas 83% of trees younger than 101 years were either grand fir (Abies grandis [Dougl.] Lindl.) or lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex). Loud Crown bulk density calculated to reflect the multiple canopy layer structure of these stands (CBDm) averaged 0.049 kg/m3, compared to 0.093 kg/m3 using the standard approach ( p < 0.001), indicating that the latter significantly overestimates risk of active crown fire in stands with complex canopy structure. Nevertheless, modeling with CBDm predicts that under severe but plausible weather conditions (late summer fuel moisture and 48‐kph winds) crown kill would exceed 70% on 5 of 14 plots and 50% on an additional 5 plots. Models also predict that thinning trees of <20 cm dbh, coupled with controlled burning to reduce logging slash, would prevent torching (fire moving from the ground into crowns) on all plots, even under extreme fire conditions (low fuel moisture and 80‐kph winds). The amount of thinning required to prevent spread from crown to crown (active crown fire) varied widely among plots and depended on the degree of risk deemed acceptable. The relationship between stand basal area and the critical wind speed required to maintain active crown fire followed a negative power law (r2= 0.92), implying that over certain ranges small changes in basal area result in relatively large changes in susceptibility (assuming that changes in basal area are due to addition or removal of smaller trees). Landsat thematic mapper correlates reasonably well with CBDm ( r2= 0.80) and may provide a tool for rapid risk assessment.

Simple non-invasive assessment of advanced glycation endproduct accumulation

The accumulation of AGE is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic complications of diabetes mellitus and renal failure. All current measurements of AGE accumulation require invasive sampling. We exploited the fact that several AGE exhibit autofluorescence to develop a non-invasive tool for measuring skin AGE accumulation, the Autofluorescence Reader (AFR). We validated its use by comparing the values obtained using the AFR with the AGE content measured in extracts from skin biopsies of diabetic and control subjects. Using the AFR with an excitation light source of 300-420 nm, fluorescence of the skin was measured at the arm and lower leg in 46 patients with diabetes (Type 1 and 2) and in 46 age- and sex-matched control subjects, the majority of whom were Caucasian. Autofluorescence was defined as the average fluorescence per nm over the entire emission spectrum (420-600 nm) as ratio of the average fluorescence per nm over the 300-420-nm range. Skin biopsies were obtained from the same site of the arm, and analysed for collagen-linked fluorescence (CLF) and specific AGE: pentosidine, N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) and N(epsilon)-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL). Autofluorescence correlated with CLF, pentosidine, CML, and CEL ( r=0.47-0.62, p</=0.002). In 32 of 46 diabetic patients (70%), autofluorescence values were above the 95% CI of the mean value in control subjects, and correlated with age, diabetes duration, mean HbA(1)c of the previous year and creatinine levels. The AFR offers a simple alternative to invasive measurement of AGE accumulation and, to date, has been validated in non-pigmented skin. The AFR may prove to be a useful clinical tool for rapid risk assessment of AGE-related long-term complications in diabetes mellitus and in other conditions associated with AGE accumulation.

TORAP — a new tool for conducting rapid risk-assessments in petroleum refineries and petrochemical industries

The use of a new computer-automated tool TORAP (TOol for Rapid risk Assessment in Petroleum refinery and Petrochemical industries) is demonstrated through a rapid and quantitative risk assessment of a typical petroleum refinery. The package has been applied for an appraisal of the risks of accidents (fires, explosions and toxic release) posed by different units of the refinery, and to identify steps to prevent/manage accidents. The studies reveal that TORAP enables a user to quickly focus on the accidents likely to occur, and enables forecasting the nature and impacts of such accidents. This information is directly utilizable in identifying 'soft' spots and in taking appropriate remedial measures to prevent or control accidents. The special attributes of TORAP are: (a) wide range of applications — achieved by incorporating models capable of handling all types of industrial fires and explosions, (b) sophistication — brought about by including state-of-the-art models developed by these authors and others, (c) user-friendliness — achieved by incorporating on-line help, graphics, carefully formatted output, and, above all, an automatic module, with which even a lay user can conduct a risk assessment. The entire package, especially its automatic module, is supported by an extensive knowledge-base built into the software.

TORAP—a new tool for conducting rapid risk assessment in petroleum refineries and petrochemical industries

Abstract The use of a new computer-automated tool TORAP (TOol for Rapid risk Assessment in Petroleum refinery and petrochemical industries) is demonstrated through a rapid and quantitative risk assessment of a typical petroleum refinery. The package has been applied for an appraisal of the risks of accidents (fires, explosions, toxic release) posed by different units of the refinery, and to identify steps to prevent/manage accidents. The studies reveal that TORAP enables a user to quickly focus on the accidents likely to occur, and enables forecasting the nature and impacts of such accidents. This information is directly utilisable in identifying “soft” spots and in taking appropriate remedial measures to prevent or control accidents. The special attributes of TORAP are: (a) a wide range of applications—achieved by incorporating models capable of handling all types of industrial fires and explosions, (b) sophistication—brought about by including state-of-the-art models developed by these authors and others, (c) user-friendliness—achieved by incorporating on-line help, graphics, carefully formatted output, and, above all, an automatic module with which even a lay user can conduct risk assessment. The entire package, especially its automatic module, is supported by an extensive knowledge-base built into the software.

5698667 Pretreatment of wood particulates for removal of wood extractives

Petrochemical industries use hazardous chemicals and processes which have the potential to cause major accidents if human or equipment failure occurs. As most such industries are situated close to densely populated urban or rural locations, especially so in developing countries, it is very important to study the accidents that may take place, and the damage these may cause, so that preventive/mitigative measures may be taken before any tragedy does occur. Such a study would also contribute towards evolving strategies for cleaner functioning of these industries. In this paper we have conducted a detailed risk assessment study of a typical petrochemical industry using the software package MAXCRED recently developed by us. The study has two objectives, (a) to provide a quantitative assessment of the accidents likely to be caused and the damage potential (as inputs for crisis prevention/management) and (b) to demonstrate the viability of MAXCRED as a user friendly tool for rapid risk assessment. It also suggests some measures to control the risk potential. The authors hope that these studies would highlight the severity of risk posed by the industry and would thus generate safety consciousness among plant managers. The studies may also help in developing accident-prevention strategies and installation of damage control devices.

Rapid quantitative risk assessment of a petrochemical industry using a new software package MAXCRED

Petrochemical industries use hazardous chemicals and processes which have the potential to cause major accidents if human or equipment failure occurs. As most such industries are situated close to densely populated urban or rural locations, especially so in developing countries, it is very important to study the accidents that may take place, and the damage these may cause, so that preventive/mitigative measures may be taken before any tragedy does occur. Such a study would also contribute towards evolving strategies for cleaner functioning of these industries. In this paper we have conducted a detailed risk assessment study of a typical petrochemical industry using the software package MAXCRED recently developed by us. The study has two objectives, (a) to provide a quantitative assessment of the accidents likely to be caused and the damage potential (as inputs for crisis prevention/management) and (b) to demonstrate the viability of MAXCRED as a user friendly tool for rapid risk assessment. It also suggests some measures to control the risk potential. The authors hope that these studies would highlight the severity of risk posed by the industry and would thus generate safety consciousness among plant managers. The studies may also help in developing accident-prevention strategies and installation of damage control devices.