(Natural Hazards Triggering Technological
Accidents)
I believe
it is good, before I start my article, to explain the meaning of the words OECD
and NATECH.
OECD
: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
(A useful
definition for) NATECH: A “Natech” accident is a “chemical accident” caused by
a natural hazard or a natural disaster. “Chemical accidents” include accidental
oil and chemical spills, gas releases, and fire or explosions involving hazardous
substances from fixed establishments (e.g. petrochemical, pharmaceutical,
pesticide, storage depot), and oil and gas pipelines.
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| http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/5523450134/ |
Now let’s get
started.
Not many
people and not many facilities are aware of the impact natural hazards could
have on environment and on people’s life. This theme as well as the strong
connection between natural events and potentially dangerous technology-related-facilities,
was the subject of a workshop
held 23rd - 25th May 2012 in the Congress Zentrum in Dresden (Germany).
The city of
Dresden, severely damaged by the flooding in August 2002, wants to be as much
as possible prepared in case a new flooding should occur, a possibility that seems
to be not so remote as one could imagine.
The continuous
and quick climate changes the world is facing in the last few years, leave no
doubts that new and more frequent
weather-related events could occur.
Let’s think
at the hurricanes and tornados that created above the ocean near Africa move
towards the American’s states, or at the frequent earthquakes that are hitting the north of Italy since the beginning of this
year, or at the earthquake that hit Japan and Fukushima last year, causing a
nuclear power disaster. Nevertheless, countries like the Philippines are
continuously subjected to natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano
eruptions, floods are part of the daily life.
What would
happen if these natural hazards, whose strength goes well beyond the human
control, would hit and destroy facilities engaged in working and storing
chemical or toxic substances?
What would
happen to the population living there, to the fields, the rivers, the flora and
the fauna of these places and to the whole eco-system?
Are the
facilities involved in producing and/or storing dangerous substances aware of
these risks? And most important of all, are they ready to cope with natural
events (or even with bush fire), whose destroying power could go beyond our prediction?
Disappointingly,
the present situation is not as good as we could expect. Many facilities
involved in producing or transforming dangerous substances, would not be able
to cope with natural hazards whose strength is stronger than usual. In other
words, they are not ready to face a potential (not-yet-experienced)-natural
disaster.
Most of these
facilities have been built many years ago in respect of the various needs and requirements
of the time. In the course of the years, however, things have changed and they are
going to change further. These facilities, therefore, need to be put in
“safety”, need to re-think at the dangerousness of the substances on the view
of present and forecasted future natural hazards.
Natural
hazards do not make any difference among OECD member countries and not OECD member
countries, therefore, these problems are of same relevance for all countries.
At the end
of a very interesting and well organized workshop some conclusions and recommendations
on Natech Risk Management were drawn:
- Methods
and tools for industrial Natech risk analysis and territory mapping with help
of GIS (Geographic Information System) for identification and monitoring of
Natech risk locations are extremely important
- Elaboration
of guidance, strength co-operation and experience exchange among OECD member countries and not OECD member
countries have to be promoted
- Environmental
insurance against Natech Risk for facilities and installation already existing
and/or in construction is of great relevance
- Natech
risk analysis should be taken into consideration when locations for new
facilities are chosen
New
scenarios open in front of our eyes, a lot of work needs to be done and an even
stronger co-operation among experts, governments and facilities needs to be
promoted and supported. The earth belongs to all its inhabitants and it is in
the interest of all to protect it and to keep it as safe as possible.
Interesting
could be to give a look also to:
