Search

Natech refers to a conjoint natural and technological hazard or accident. This paper is concerned with Natechs involving hazards arising from the handling, processing and/or storage of hazardous materials, as well as the transportation, of oil and gas by pipeline. Risk management of chemical accident hazards has generally been carried out using industrial risk management regulations and practices, engineering safety codes and standards, environmental regulations, and land use planning. However, there is evidence that existing regulations and practices may not be sufficient if the particular conditions associated with Natechs have not been factored in. Awareness of the need to better address Natech risk has been on the rise; nevertheless, this is not reflected sufficiently in the laws and regulations of individual countries, and a general framework for the governance of Natech risk is lacking. This paper provides an overview of Natechs, their characteristics, and the problems associated with Natech risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced gas leak detection methods in industrial environments are of vital importance as they may translate into a reduction of accidents and increased economic efficiency. This paper proposes the use of different sensors for detecting and localizing leakages remotely, based on the measurement of variables involved when a leak is present. The processing and fusing of thermal, depth and visual images, as well as gas concentration scanning technique, is the proposed method in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety parameters of flammable substances measured by standard procedures are typically adopted for the definition of inherent safe indexes, even if industrial gas, vapour or dust explosions are of concern. However, it is well known that real accidental explosive phenomena are more complex than observed in lab-scale, controlled system. Furthermore, much more severe consequences can be experienced for particular equipment design or fluid-dynamic conditions. This paper proposes new inherent safety indexes for explosion based on recent advancement in combustion-safety and on well known methodologies for consequence analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU project: Early Recognition, Monitoring and Integrated Management of Emerging, New Technology Related, Risks - iNTeg-Risk, has developed a pragmatic and unusual approach for an integrated emerging risk management framework. The main objective was to develop a series of specific innovative solutions by applying good risk management principles and elaborate more generic and integrated solutions which all together enable us to "better understand how to manage emerging risk in a very uncertain and complex world". The paper provides an overview of the different results and tools achieved in iNTeg-Risk project, highlighting some very important achievements regarding emerging risks in the area of process safety such as LNG regasification, remote operations, NaTech events, among others. In order to ensure sustainability of the iNTeg-Risk results, the European Emerging Risk Radar (E2R2) is an initiative envisaged as one of the potential ways by focusing on early recognition, monitoring and management of emerging risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]