Natech risk and management: an assessment of the state of the art |
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| Authors: | Laura J Steinberg Hatice Sengul Ana Maria Cruz |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Southern Methodist University, 3101 Dyer Street, Room 203, Dallas, TX 75205, USA;(2) Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;(3) European Commission, Joint Research Center, Ispra, Italy |
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| Abstract: | The present state-of-the-art for natech risk and management is discussed. Examples of recent natechs include catastrophic
oil spills associated with Hurricane Katrina and hazardous chemical releases in Europe during the heavy floods of 2002. Natechs
create difficult challenges for emergency responders due to the geographical extent of the natural disaster, the likelihood
of simultaneous releases, emergency personnel being preoccupied with response to the natural disaster, mitigation measures
failing due to the effects of the natural disaster, and others. Recovery from natechs may be much more difficult than for
“normal” chemical accidents, as the economic and social conditions of the industrial facility and the surrounding community
may have been drastically altered by the natural disaster. Potential safeguards against natechs include adoption of stricter
design criteria, chemical process safeguards, community land use planning, disaster mitigation and response planning, and
sustainable industrial processes, but these safeguards are only sporadically applied. Ultimately, the public must engage in
a comprehensive discussion of acceptable risks for natechs.
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| Keywords: | Natechs Chemical accidents Industrial accidents Hurricanes Hurricane Katrina Mitigation Response |
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