Accidents in facilities for storing hazardous materials

Abstract

The vital elements of numerous industrial plants include the process equipment which, depending on the nature of the technological process, can be exposed to internal pressure in the general case of a variable size. The typical examples of process equipment are available at LPG stations (distribution centers), fuel tanks, gas boilers, combustion plants, etc. Practical experience and the analysis of the cause of accidents have shown that damage to process equipment is most often followed by the explosions of the tanks in which the flammable substances, such as LPG, petrol, diesel and jet fuel, oils, etc. are stored. The explosion of a tank cannot occur spontaneously, but only results from external factors. This means that the explosion of process equipment is preceded by the primary events whose harmful effects are manifested through the following phenomena: the weakening of the strength of a tank, an increase in pressure above the nominal value, or a combination of the two preceding cases.

Keywords

• risk assessment, accidents, hazardous materials, process equipment, domino effect, BLEVE