Analysis of Natech Accidents Triggered by Extreme Temperatures in the Chemical and Process Industry

Abstract

The increase both in frequency and magnitude of natural events makes the study of the interaction between natural events and industrial facilities of paramount importance. Natural events may affect facilities leading to major accidents (e.g. explosion, fire, …) and these events are called NaTech (natural hazards triggering technological disasters). Extreme temperatures are one of the causes of NaTechs and the first step in studying their interaction with industrial facilities is given by the historical analysis of past accidents, being essentially the only source of information. To do this, a dataset of 305 past events was collected and analysed in order to highlight the main features of these accidents, such as the trend over the years, the geographical location, the final scenarios and the type of industrial sectors involved.