The significance of domino effect in chemical accidents

A historical survey was performed on 330 accidents involving domino effect, occurred in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials; only accidents occurred after 1st-January-1961 have been considered. The main features – geographical location, type of accident, materials involved, origin and causes, consequences, domino sequences – were analyzed, with special consideration to the situation in the developing countries and compared to those from other previous surveys. Among the involved substances, LPG was the most frequent one, followed by liquid hydrocarbons. Process plants (38.5% of cases) and storage areas (33%) were the most common settings; 10.6% of past domino accidents occurred in transfer operations. The ratio between “two-step” and “three-step” domino accidents was found to be 6. A specific analysis of the accidents (84) occurred in the 21st century was performed, comparing them with the total set of accidents. Finally, a set of specific recommendations inferred from the results is provided.     

Prevention and mitigation of injuries and damages arising from the activity of subliminal enterprises: A case study in Slovakia

The paper focuses on risk sources under no legislative pressure in the field of prevention of major accidents. Despite this, they can represent significant sources of risk of accidents.The aim of the paper is to present the results of the risk assessment associated with the operation of enterprises not regulated by the SEVESO III Directive (the so-called subliminal enterprises), to provide information on possible operational problems and to verify the applicability of recognized risk analysis methods for these specific sources of risk. Last but not least, its purpose is to point out that subliminal enterprises, due to their location close to residential areas or areas with a high concentration of population, pose a serious risk to the population.The paper summarizes the results of the quantitative risk assessment of a specific enterprise not included in the Seveso Directive – a filling station. Filling stations are frequently located in built-up areas with a dense coefficient of habitability. Due to their number, location (e.g. close to residential areas), frequency of occurrence of persons in the area and handling of dangerous substances during normal operation, they can have negative or even tragic consequences to the life and health of the population.Due to the non-existent risk assessment methodology for enterprises with subliminal quantities of dangerous substances and the lack of a systematic search for risk sources, a risk assessment procedure for these companies is designed.     

Korean experience of process safety management (PSM) regulation for chemical industry

From the 1960s, Korean industries have been encouraged by the government to nurture heavy and chemical industry and to modernize the economics and industrial structures. The development of chemical industry particularly became the turning point in industrial development, and played a major role in the construction of a new industrialized country. However, the process systems in the chemical industry have become more complex and larger, and the inventories of dangerous chemicals that are produced or consumed have continuously increased. Therefore, the hazards from potential accidents such as fire and explosion or release of toxic chemicals have also increased. In fact, from the end of 1980s to the beginning of 1990s in Korea, a number of major industrial accidents such as ABS extruder explosion, TDI release and dryer explosion, etc. Occurred and caused many fatalities. As the chemical companies recognized the importance of preventing major hazards, PSM system, the prevention of major industrial accidents, was introduced in January 1995 by amending Industrial Safety and Health Act, and it has been enforced from January 1, 1996. According to the law, the business owner of a workplace with hazardous or dangerous equipment shall submit a process safety report to the Government to prevent any accidents, which could inflict an immediate damage on workers or on areas in the vicinity of the workplaces. As a result of PSM implementation for 19 years, chemical accident prevention system has been stabilized and various kinds of effectiveness and desirable customer satisfaction have been made.     

Analysis of the relationship between environmental policies and air quality during major social events

Based on an analysis of major recent social events in China, such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 2010 Shanghai World Expo, 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, and 2014 Beijing Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, mandatory, temporary, and indemnificatory quantitative policies aimed at protecting air quality, which were carried out by both central and local governments, made substantial contributions to changes and improvements in air quality. To some extent, the findings show that command and control measures play a significant role in protecting air quality, while the law and economic and voluntary environmental safeguard measures do not during major social events. Therefore, it reminds us the air quality could and will improve not only during major social events but also in the regular days if we implement appropriate environmental policies and safeguard measures.     

Ageing management and monitoring of critical equipment at Seveso sites: An ontological approach

A safe “ageing” of Seveso establishments is a challenge for both operators and regulators. To this scope, Seveso III Directive required to integrate the equipment integrity issue into the safety management system for the major accident prevention; at the same time, the Italian Authority adopted a short-cut method for a quick ageing evaluation, which awards the application of the best techniques to control integrity and prevent deterioration-related failures. In this paper, the use of the ontology has been proposed to support decision-making about the implementation of technical solutions to control equipment ageing and comply the requirements of the Seveso legislation. To contrast deterioration mechanisms, the rapid development of data intensive smart sensors should be exploited and, in this frame, the automated on-line direct monitoring of equipment conditions, based on innovative low-cost sensors, is a novelty and promising solution. The developed ontology-based system points towards the adoption, when possible, of on-line monitoring. This solution provides much more data than traditional measurements and it is essential for the operators to understand how to merge concurrent information and data and to adequately control equipment deterioration. The ontology-based approach appears a viable solution even for this purpose. To demonstrate its potentiality, a real use-case has been used, where the model has been tested in finding the best technical solutions to improve the ageing management of an atmospheric distillation unit of a refinery in order to comply with safety requirements. A further use-case is given to show how the model can be used to react, after real-time damage signals, to restore safety conditions by means of an adequate decision-making.     

近年全国地表水水质变化特征

采用2012~2020年国家地表水环境质量监测网839个可比断面（点位）数据分析了9年间地表水环境质量变化特征.结果表明,全国地表水环境质量持续改善,Ⅰ~Ⅲ类水质断面比例稳步上升,劣Ⅴ类比例持续下降;主要污染指标氨氮、总磷和高锰酸盐指数的年均值均呈逐年下降趋势,2020年比2012年分别下降75.9%、48.2%和17.5%.广西、海南和宁夏Ⅰ~Ⅲ类水质断面比例保持100%,湖北和江西呈逐年下降趋势,其余省份均呈逐年上升趋势;广西、海南、宁夏、湖南和福建劣Ⅴ类水质断面比例保持为0,其余省份均呈逐年下降趋势;广西、江西的总磷和湖北、海南、辽宁的高锰酸盐指数呈逐年上升趋势,其余省份主要污染指标年均值均呈不同程度下降.十大流域主要江河Ⅰ~Ⅲ类水质断面比例均呈波动上升趋势;劣Ⅴ类比例除浙闽片河流一直为0以外,其余流域均呈波动下降趋势;主要污染指标年均值均呈不同程度下降.2020年,32个重要湖泊中53%处于富营养状态,与2012年相比增加了12个百分点.总体来看,9年间全国地表水水质普遍好转,尤其是"十三五"以来,水污染防治工作取得显著成效,但各省、各流域之间具有差异性,水资源分布不均,水质改善存在不平衡性和不协调性,湖库富营养化趋势不容乐观.未来应统筹水资源、水环境和水生态,在地表水的精准治污和生态修复上着重发力.     

突发事件应急响应规范化势在必行——“7．23”甬温线特大铁路交通事故应急响应反思

本文采用“7．23”甬温特大铁路交通事故应急响应过程中出现的部分情景,按时间序列刻画出因果关系鱼刺图,分析其中应急准备、生命救援、应急指挥和现场保护等几个关键节点显露的现象与原因。认为该事件应急响应活动所出现问题症结之一是缺乏应急救援规范和标准化,映射出某些关键响应行动自由裁量的随意性大于制度规范性。针对突发事件应急响应中涌现出系统脆弱性和我国公共安全管理体系结构性缺陷,作者建议应尽快制修订有关应急准备、应急指挥和事故调查等方面的规程和标准,从制度上规范应急响应行为,提高重大突发事件应对能力。     

Regulations of major accident hazards control in Serbia and their implementation

The paper presents a brief summary of contents and implementation of the current Serbian regulations on the prevention and control of major accidents involving dangerous materials. Further, it discusses issues connected with implementation of the regulation, including inspection, review, and approval of safety reports. This regulation comprises legal requirements and methodological guidelines for risk analysis and preparation of emergency plans. Although the roots of the Serbian regulation are basically in the Seveso I Directive, this study revealed significant differences compared with current regulations and practice in Europe.     

“安全检测及监控”学科的历史任务

就安全检测及监控学科的内涵、外延进行了初步探讨，提出了应用现代科技手段，对 危险源进行监控预警、建立安全生产技术保障体系的设想。     

基于神经网络的重大危险源分级研究

利用人工种经网络系统理论，对重大危险源进行分级研究，介绍了危险源分级网络系统的结构、学习过程和分级方法，并在计算机上进行网络实现与模拟。实例结果表明，利用神经网络方法对重大危险源进行分级是合理可行的，具有一定的实用价值。