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• The most significant dangers, associated with equipment handling/lifting loads, are overturns, collapses and drop loads. • Crane accidents can be more severe if occur in major accident hazard establishments. • Crane accident data to be used to perform complete risk assessments are lacking. • Correlation accident-cause are development using bowtie analyses. The most significant dangers, associated with equipment for handling/lifting loads in industrial contexts, maintenance activities and intermodal transport, are overturns, collapses and load falls. Accidents have a significant potential for injury, death and damage especially in major hazard industries due the potential release of hazardous substances. The literature review shows a lack of data to be used in performing complete risk assessments in sectors where the use of cranes could increase the risk due to the plant operability. The aim of this study is to fill this gap. The analysis of the accident and near-miss reports and the construction of a database have been the starting point of this work. The definition of the correlation accident-cause, by means of the development of bowtie analyses, supports in calculating the accidental rates and in understanding the main improvements to reduce the number of the undesired events, and to support the risk management. Focusing on major accident hazards, the top events have been identified and the bowties have been developed. By using the dataset, quantitative bowties have been provided to the risk analyst for several contexts. A case-study, which is a facility inside a refinery, has been used to quantify the effect due to crane activity inside the establishment in term of frequencies. Data processing is subject to uncertainties of various kinds, linked to technological change, the greater or lesser complexity of regulations and compliance with them. The results have been validated by using a similar dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First systematic investigation on human and organizational factors, maintenance, and accidents in South African CPIs. • Contributes to the significant gap in literature on past accidents in Chemical Process Industries in South Africa. • Provides insights for risk management and safety in the industry, guiding future research and policy decisions. • Emphasizes the importance of multiple independent variables for accident prevention and effective risk management practices. • The study highlighted the importance of practicality in procedures, warns excessive procedures can hinder risk management. Accidents continue to be a major concern in the production, storage, and use of hazardous substances, and accidents have occurred either during maintenance or lack thereof. However, there is limited academic coverage of the initiatives implemented to prevent such accidents in South Africa. In recognition of this gap, the study explored participants' perceptions on the relationship between human and organisational factors, maintenance, and accidents using a quantitative approach on data analysis. A questionnaire was distributed online and used to collect data from employees of a chemical and process industry company in South Africa, with 247 valid responses out of 316 obtained from 450 participants invited to voluntarily participate in the study. The findings of the study revealed several noteworthy correlations. Firstly, there were positive and significant relationships between various factors such as procedure implementation, communication accuracy, communication satisfaction, permit to work system, competency level, and risk management. These factors were found to have an impact on the occurrence and frequency of maintenance-related accidents. Specifically, maintenance activities were shown to reduce the likelihood of accidents, while effective risk management practices resulted in a similar outcome. Additionally, communication satisfaction was found to be associated with improved risk management during maintenance operations. The implementation of a permit to work system was also found to reduce the risk during maintenance and contribute to accident reduction. Furthermore, a higher competency level was found to be associated with effective risk management during maintenance and a decrease in accidents. Lastly, communication accuracy was found to be linked to more effective risk management during maintenance, leading to a decrease in accidents. Based on these findings, it is recommended that companies in the chemical and process industry continue to prioritize human and organization factors as well as maintenance practices to ensure safe and reliable operational performance. By focusing on these aspects, companies can minimize the occurrence of accidents and promote a safe working environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accidental events in chemical industry can cause damages to human health, environment and economy. To prevent such events in industries, it is essential to identify and analyze the past events. To the best of our knowledge, such an analysis has not been done for the French chemical industry sector, which is the second producer in Europe. To fill this gap, 169 events were selected and collected in the French database ARIA (Analysis, Research and Information on Accidents). These events occurred between 1974 and 2014. The causes and consequences of the events were analyzed. The study shows that the causes were mainly related to operator errors. Then, a semi-quantitative analysis of risk was also carried out, based on the frequencies and consequences of the events. This analysis confirms that chemical industry activities present a significant risk. Based on this analysis, national agencies can make some recommendations or rules in order to reduce the number of events in chemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency response planning for major accidents in the chemical industry is essential to protect the public and workers’ health and safety, to reduce the environmental impacts, and to accelerate the resumption of normal operations. So far, much attention has been given to developing and implementing emergency planning in single chemical plants. However in chemical industrial areas – also known as chemical clusters – which consist of a number of different plants, less attention has been given to multi-plant emergency response planning. This paper is aimed at developing a multi-plant emergency response decision tool for chemical clusters in case of major accidents so that not only plant emergency levels but also respective response strategies can be determined. This way, a crisis situation within the chemical cluster can be handled in a much faster way than is the case today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the world especially in China, domino accidents lead to great losses of life and property. The frequency of one LOC, which is hard to estimate, is the key for the current methods. A new methodology called relative risk analysis is presented, which focuses on the discrepancy of potential losses between two domino scenarios. Moreover, the synergetic effects, which can lead to more serious losses, can be taken into account by this method. And the possibility of one specific complex propagation pattern is not necessary. The methodology is based on the damage map which can describe damage levels and impacted region caused by the domino accidents. It can be used to find a much safer layout for the process plants and better emergency plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical industry accident reports provide a wealth of information that can be used to develop lessons learned to improve safety and efficiency of operations at chemical industry facilities. The United States Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is one source of these accident reports. As a part of an investigation and causal analysis process, CSB investigators identify “Key Issues” for each chemical accident. This research evaluated trends in those Key Issues by applying two distinct analyses of these issues. The first analysis assessed the Key Issues naturalistically, as reported by the expert investigation team; however, this result was problematic, as about 2/3 of all Key Issues, as described in the chemical industry accident reports, occurred only once. In the second analysis, the Key Issues were sorted thematically to capture insights from the many single-occurrence issues. This thematic analysis, using categories drawn from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) Process Safety Management (PSM) guidance, allowed for a more comprehensive understanding and grouping of the issues behind the chemical accidents studied. The findings of this research identified several accident themes that can be used to develop a better understanding of chemical industry accidents and potentially improve safety and efficiency of operations at chemical facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Microscopic and mesoscopic approaches are adopted for an evacuation simulation. [•] The simulation has been performed by Cube Avenue and MATSim softwares. [•] Results of two simulation softwares are compared. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The hazardous chemical accidents remain a matter of major concern. However, there is a dearth of practical measures about the emergency management of hazardous chemicals leakage. Therefore, in order to provide more accurate management plan, quantitative risk assessment has become a critical issue in chemical industry. The main aim of this study is to quantify the risk of hazardous chemicals leakage, and take precautions against the accidents. In this study, a Fire-Explosion-Poisoning Quantitative Probability Model (FEPQPM) has been established. The paper introduced the probability analysis methods to analyze derivative accidents caused by hazardous chemicals leakage, established quantitative risk assessment models, and made acceptable risk level analysis. This model has been applied to quantitatively assess an enterprise’s storage tank at Changshou Chemical Industrial Distripark (CID) in Chongqing, China. Evaluation results are in line with the actual situation of the CID. It is shown that the probability of poisoning is very large, causing more economic loss than the other two types of accidents, and death toll of leakage accident increases over time, resulting in greater economic losses. The risk level of leakage accident involving poisoning is unacceptable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• An ontology-based chemical accident database is automatically created/populated. • Concepts are extracted from the eMARS database using Natural Language Processing. • Substance information is enriched with hazardous attributes using web scraping. • Method offers better accident exploration capabilities compared to keyword searches. • A sharable chemical accident data structure for intelligent applications is provided. Accident databases are used to learn from past accidents and avoid future accidents in the chemical process industry. Classical accident databases can be tedious to use because the database entries were written over the years by various persons in different styles. Thus, accident case entries must be interpreted to identify cause-effect relationships and recognize lessons learned. Semantically enriched accident databases can make information retrieval more efficient. In this research approach Natural Language Processing methods are used to extract information from a chemical accident database. Additionally, substance information is enriched using web scraping techniques. Afterwards, a predefined ontology structure is automatically populated with the extracted information. The ontology-based chemical accident database provides additional accident exploration capabilities that can be used by human experts or computer systems. The results indicate that the proposed extraction method is well suited to extract accident information. The ontology is useful to discover causal accident relations due to the semantically described context of accident information. The method described can be adapted to other databases with minor adaptations and refinements. By combining various ontology-based accident databases a human and machine-processable, and sharable knowledge structure can be provided to reuse knowledge across companies and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety risks have become an obstacle to the sustainability of the chemical industry in China since many chemical companies were forced to close down by China's government in the past three years. This study investigates chemical safety in China in order to identify the causes of the major accidents and accompanying casualties, formulating the safety management needs to develop a sustainable chemical industry in China. First, we analyze the evolution and current status of China's chemical industry to identify possible safety issues rooted in the industry. Second, a thorough accident investigation is conducted based on official statistics and collected chemical accidents in China in the period 2004–2019. Furtherly, the main laws, regulations, guidelines, standards and measures related to chemical safety are analyzed and compared with those in Europe. According to analyses related to the chemical industry, chemical accidents and safety legislation and measures in China and Europe, the current problems with respect to chemical safety in China are discussed systematically. Based on research findings, we propose recommendations for the improvement of chemical safety so as to promote the sustainable development of the chemical industry in China. This study also provides basic data and information for future studies on the safety and sustainability of the chemical industry and major accident prevention in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study investigates chemical accidents that occurred between January 2008 and June 2018 in South Korea. • 76.1% of chemical accidents were caused by human error in South Korea. • Large-scale enterprises experienced the largest number of industrial accidents during maintenance work. • Fire and explosion accounted for 72% of all CPI accidents, of which 32.4% were ignited by static electricity. • Chemical accidents mostly occurred in storage tanks, chemical reactors, and mixing tanks. Major accidents in the chemical process industries are relatively rare, but the resulting harm to workers, property loss, business interruption, and the environment are very serious. This study investigates chemical accidents that occurred between January 2008 and June 2018 in South Korea, and proposes ways to prevent similar accidents from occurring by analyzing the main causes of these accidents. Nine core concepts were drawn from the analyses comparing chemical accidents in South Korea: (1) current casualties by type of worker, (2) how the scale of the enterprise affects the disaster, (3) chemical accidents by type of occurrence, (4) analysis of ignition sources, (5) chemical accidents by CPI facilities, (6) human and technical error, (7) chemical accidents by work situation, (8) chemical accidents by non-compliance of process safety management (PSM) standards, and (9) chemical accidents by hazardous materials. Although there have been no recent occurrences of large chemical accidents since 2017 due to various factors, our results indicate that the past frequency of such accidents area serious concern in South Korea. Understanding the root causes of these accidents can help to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents and to strengthen preventative measures in chemical plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]