Industrial accidents triggered by flood events: analysis of past accidents.

Industrial accidents triggered by natural events (NaTech accidents) are a significant category of industrial accidents. Several specific elements that characterize NaTech events still need to be investigated. In particular, the damage mode of equipment and the specific final scenarios that may take place in NaTech accidents are key elements for the assessment of hazard and risk due to these events. In the present study, data on 272 NaTech events triggered by floods were retrieved from some of the major industrial accident databases. Data on final scenarios highlighted the presence of specific events, as those due to substances reacting with water, and the importance of scenarios involving consequences for the environment. This is mainly due to the contamination of floodwater with the hazardous substances released. The analysis of process equipment damage modes allowed the identification of the expected release extents due to different water impact types during floods. The results obtained were used to generate substance-specific event trees for the quantitative assessment of the consequences of accidents triggered by floods. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.