Identifying Hurricane-Induced Hazardous Material Release Scenarios in a Petroleum Refinery

The Tenure Trap

“…Although rare, releases of hazardous chemicals triggered by natural hazards have occurred on numerous occasions in the United States, as documented by Cruz, Steinberg, and Luna (2001) and others. On the basis of a survey of emergency managers in all 50 states, Showalter and Myers (1994) found 77 incidents of hazardous materials releases caused by natural hazards-principally, hurricanes and floods (42 of the 77 events).…”

Consideration of natural hazards in the design and risk management of industrial facilities

“…For wind loadings, most states in the US refer to ASCE guidance (ASCE 1998) which requires designs for the 50-year wind speed with an importance factor for structures containing hazmats which results in the equivalent of a 500-year wind speed for these structures (Cruz et al 2001). Oil refineries and petrochemical facilities also follow the ''Wind Loads and Anchor Bolt Design for Petrochemical Facilities'' published by the ASCE in 1997 which provides a state-of-the-practice set of guidelines for determination of wind-induced forces and the design of anchor bolts for petrochemical facilities.…”

“…Under the Seveso II Directive industrial facilities that store, use or handle dangerous substances are required to set out a major-accident prevention policy, write and submit a safety report, and establish emergency plans to be implemented in the event of an accidental release of a chemical (Cruz et al 2001). As with the United States regulations, the Seveso II requirements are usually met by an industrial facility by creation and implementation of the safety report, which typically includes identification of hazards, implementation of adequate safety measures to prevent chemical accidents, and establishing emergency response plans.…”

“…These two items are of particular importance when addressing Natech risk reduction. Several researchers have noted that domino effects may be more likely during natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, than during normal plant operation (Lindell and Perry 1997;Steinberg and Cruz 2005;Cruz et al 2001). The likelihood of domino effects will depend, among other factors, on the proximity of vulnerable units containing hazardous substances within or at a neighboring establishment (Khan and Abbasi 1996).…”

Accidental Releases of Hazardous Materials and Relevance to Terrorist Threats at Industrial Facilities

“… By definition, natechs are associated with a coincident natural hazard event, so resources must be shared between responses for both events. Hazmat response is also compromised because site access and supportive infrastructure are limited by the effects of a large natural disaster (see Lindell andPerry 1996, Steinberg andCruz 2004 for discussion of effects of earthquakes, and Cruz et al 2001, Santella et al 2010 for effects from hurricanes). Response may also be complicated by uncertainty as to whether new releases or physical hazards are imminent, e.g., from earthquake aftershocks.…”