Incident Report

Subject:                  Benchmark study for a flammable liquid depot. A comparison of two risk assessments. 

Date of Email report:   Fri 31/08/2012

Report Detail:

Many Thanks to JOIFF MemberJeanne VanBuren (Marsh)  for passing on this report which JOIFF members may find of interest…

In France and in the Netherlands, regulations apply to determine the risk of companies with toxic, flammable or explosive substances and mixtures to the surroundings. The outcomes of risk calculations are used for permit granting and for land-use planning. The way in which risk is calculated in France and in the Netherlands, differs significantly. The regulatory framework is different and technical hypotheses vary. Nevertheless, the risk outcomes for a fictitious storage depot of flammable liquids show considerable similarity.

This is the result of a study carried out by the French INERIS and the Dutch RIVM. Public authorities can use the findings of this study to evaluate their frameworks for risk calculation. For this study, the risk of a fictitious storage depot of flammable liquids was calculated in accordance with the French and Dutch regulations. Several significant differences were observed. Differences in policy framework involve the norms for

acceptance of risk and the way in which outcomes are used for permit granting and land-use planning. Furthermore, the methodology to be used is laid down in legislation in The Netherlands, while in France the methodology is chosen and justified by the permit-holder. Technical differences relate to the accident scenarios used, the probabilities assigned to these accident scenarios and the size of the area where damage may occur.

The area where vulnerable objects are undesirable and where future vulnerable objects should be avoided is largely the same in the two risk assessments. The area where severe consequences from a potential accident have to be considered is comparable as well.

Additional Documentation:

Benchmark Study Flammable Liquid Depots