Themes: Chemical Accident Risk Research March 2019 Maureen Wood Major Accident Hazards Bureau

Chemical incident fatalities as reported in the media - 2017 Europe sustains a much lower incident rate in relation to its GDP than Africa and Asia (JRC-MAHB - March 2019) … but it is lower in some years than others. There can be substantial fluctuations in chemical accident impacts over many years. Are we doing enough to reduce risk of future chemical catastrophes? And what are we doing about risks faced by our trading partners?

Deaths per year from major EU chemical accidents 2000 - 2016 Toulouse, FR ammonium nitrate explosion (29 deaths) Gorni Lom, BG Demining plant explosion (14 deaths) Ghislenghien, BE Gas pipeline explosion (24 deaths) Enschede, NL Fireworks explosion, (23 deaths) Deaths from chemical accidents on Seveso sites (eMARS, 2019) Deaths from chemical accidents in non-Seveso hazard sources Ajka HU Reservoir spill (10 deaths) Viareggio, IT LPG rail explosion (32 deaths) Modugno, IT Fireworks explosion (9 deaths) Buncefield, UK 11 Dec 2005 (No deaths or injuries) Deaths and injuries are the only impacts consistently and recorded for each accident. EU data only covers Seveso hazard sources.

Injuries and deaths per year from major EU chemical accidents 2000 - 2016 Deaths from chemical accidents on Seveso sites (eMARS, 2019) Deaths from Chemical accidents in non-Seveso hazard sources Injuries from chemical accidents on Seveso sites (eMARS, 2019) Injuries from Chemical accidents in non-Seveso hazard sources Toulouse, FR Ghislenghien, BE Natural gas pipeline explosion 24 dead, 150 injuries Ajka HU Schiltach, DE Nitrogen oxide release 49 injuries Enschede, NL Igualada, ES Nitric oxide release 18 injuries 65,000 shelter-in-place for 8 hours Viareggio, IT Brühl, DE Chlorine leak 39 injuries Risk of injury or other disturbances often gets less attention in presentation of chemical accident statistics. Aggregating non-human health impacts is a challenge.

How can we recognise and assess emerging risks and good practice? Trending topics   Description Ageing of capital and human resources Ageing of equipment, people, procedures, and technologies System complexity An unanticipated interaction of multiple failures in a complex system Increase in outsourcing of personnel Increasing engagement of third party personnel to work in critical functions such as maintenance and operations functions Increased automation of process controls Expanded use of computer technology and software engineering to control processes New products, processes and market demands Renewable energies, biofuels, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries are all examples of sectors in a growth phase where experience on some risk aspects are limited Organisational change Change affecting the entire site or company, e.g., change of ownership, re-organisation, and downsizing of staff Risk governance The government’s performance in implementing and enforcing relevant laws Corporate leadership The ability of the upper management to establish and enforce robust process safety management company-wide Safety culture The attitude, beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to safety in the workplace. The Internet of Things The network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other items that can connect across a local Internet and exchange data

Thank you for your kind attention! Email: maureen.wood@ec.europa.eu Please visit the MAHB Minerva website at https://minerva.jrc.ec.europa.eu Email: maureen.wood@ec.europa.eu 4/5/2019