Technological Hazards

TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS__________________________________

Mechanism of destruction:-

Explosions cause loss of life, injury and destruction of buildings and infrastructure; transportation accidents will and injure passengers and crew, and may release hazardous and polluting substances; industrial fires can achieve very high temperatures and affect large areas; hazardous substances released into the air or water can travel long distances and cause contamination of air, water supply land, crops and livestock making areas uninhabitable for humans; Wildlife is destroyed, and ecological systems disrupted. Large-scale disasters can threaten the stability of the global ecology.

Parameters of severity:-

Quantity of hazardous substances released; temperature of fire; extent of explosion destruction; area of contamination of air, sea, groundwater; local intensity of contamination (parts per million Becquerel’s/liter for radio-activity)

Causes:-

Fire; failures of plant safety design; incorrect plant operating procedures; failures of plant components; accidental impact; arson and sabotage; earthquakes

Hazard assessment and mapping techniques:-

Inventories and maps of storage locations of toxic/ hazardous substances and their characteristics; common transportation routes for dangerous substances; maps of possible zone of contamination and contamination intensity in the event of a release of any given size; traffic corridors and historical accident records for transportation hazard areas;

Potential for reducing hazard:-

Improved safety star cards in plant and equipment design; anticipation of possible hazards in plant design; fail-safe design and operating procedures; dispersal of hazardous materials; legislation; preparedness planning

Onset and warning:-

Rapid (minutes or hours) or sudden (no warning); industrial plant design should incorporate monitoring and warning systems for fire, component failure and build-up of dangerous conditions; release of pollutants may be slow enough for warning and evacuation