1,720,969 research outputs found
Risk management and land use planning for environmental and asset protection purposes
Full text linkThe PhD thesis presents a semi-quantitative methodology, developed to increase the efficacy of Land Use Planning related to the Management of risks, in particular as far as it concerns multiple risks impinging on the same territory (Multi-risks).
At the moment, each risk is managed through a dedicated sectorial plan, having its proper procedures and scale, and the only “meeting point” for these plans – at least in Italy - are the Municipal city plans. The Municipalities have to implement the contents related to the various risks and directly intervene on the territory, but the lack of linkage and coordination between the plans and the authorities in charge often makes the emergency management and LUP less effective towards the achievement of a real safety of territories. In addition, the actual legislative framework does not face the possible consequences of risk interactions.
In this context, the objective of the thesis was to develop a simple risk pre-screening tool, expressly designed for local planners, able to point out the areas more exposed to risks and risks interactions, in order to better address the distribution of the municipal resources for further studies and interventions. The local planners that, especially in Italy, have a central role for the risk management of the territory, became the central point for the proposed framework, assuming the role of evaluators, and then decision-makers.
The methodology was developed taking into account the existing experimental frameworks developed for Multi-risks and NaTech events. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were settled in the last years, however the scales and the complex approaches proposed collide with the objectives of this PhD thesis. In fact, few methodologies were elaborated for little scales, and frequently the application of quantitative multi-risk methodologies at a local scale encountered difficulties related to data availability; in addition, all the methodologies require the involvement of experts of several disciplines. These aspects, in particular considering the scarce financial resources of Municipalities, risk to limit the awareness of the importance of a multi-risk approach for LUP planners.
Therefore, a semi-quantitative approach, based on an index scale from 0 to 3 onwards was developed for a direct use from Municipal technicians; the proposed scale is applied to measure both the impact of the risks and risk interaction. The methodology is composed by 4 steps: 1) characterization of the risks; 2) assignation of the ratings to the risks; 3) assessment of binary risk interactions; 4) assessment of the compatibility and planning phase. Each step is accompanied by GIS mapping.
Steps 1 and 2) Risk characterization and rating. The users (local planners) are required to describe the main territorial risks according to 3 macro-categories: Historical Events, Protection Measures and Strengthening Effects. The macro-categories help in majorly focus on the different aspects of the risks, in particular those that could enhance its final impact, or that could have been neglected in the existing plans. Each macro-category is evaluated and rated on the basis of a dedicated guide, developed on the basis of literature data.
Step 3) Risk interaction. The impact of one risk on another one (binary interaction) is assessed in the areas where risks overlay, thanks to a weighted average sum of the values of their macro-categories. An excel table for the application of the formula was developed. The calculation of the interaction vales can be also executed directly through GIS.
Step 4) Compatibility. Territorial and environmental vulnerabilities are classified in compliance with E.R.I.R. national and regional regulations. Then, the compatibility is assessed on the basis of an “alarm threshold”; when highly vulnerable territorial or environmental elements fall down in areas where the risks macro-categories or risks interaction are above 2,5, a potential incompatibility is detected. The Municipalities will have to focus here further studies, and then possible interventions: a collection of the possible actions, extracted from existing Guidelines and Manuals was drafted to guide this process.
An optional step for the compatibility assessment was added to provide the Municipalities with an indicative mapping of the spatial consequences of the interactions involving industrial plants. This is the only step of the methodology that could presents difficulties for not expert users, because it entails the use of two modelling software (ALOHA and HSSM), that simulates the consequences of the releases.
The methodology was tested on two Italian case-studies, two Municipalities affected by multiple types of risks which could interact. Both the territories were connoted by low levels of risk, however the application of the methodology highlighted possible unforeseen problems deriving from the interactions, that currently are not described in any existing sectorial or local plan. Once that the areas more exposed are identified, ad-hoc investigations and actions can be settled to address the problem, on the basis of a guide-line.
The proposed approach demonstrated to be able in identifying and bring multi-risks aspects to the attention of the decision makers; in this way, they have a simple guide to risk that can be integrated with the existing planning instruments to improve the quality of decisions related to risks. Furthermore, local administrators recover a more active role, increasing their awareness about the contents and information of the sectorial plans, but also exploiting their major direct knowledge of the territory. This approach tried to fill two different existing gaps: on one side, the absence of an official and recognized legislation on Multi-risks; on the other side, the difficulties for non-risk experts to effectively use the Multi-risk and NaTech experimental methodologies developed so far now.
The framework developed for this PhD thesis can be easily adapted to LUP procedures of other countries, through a re-construction of the tables that guide the risk-rating; the simple index scale can be easily managed by different types of users. Being the methodology a risk pre-screening, it can be useful in every context in which it is necessary to acquire more information about multi-risks and their consequences, to better define future actions and drive the application of quantitative methodologies
LUP and multi-risk: The mutual influence of natural and anthropic impacts
No full textIn Italy, the different territorial risks are managed through completely separate plans, that the Municipalities (local scale) should apply on their territory with direct interventions; anyway, the current approach, which does not consider the interactions between risks, could decrease the efficiency of the planning and emergency actions. Therefore, the research here exposed, deriving from a PhD thesis, aimed at developing a quick and easy to use methodology, able to identify and rate the main risks which characterize a territory, and to simulate the possible effects of their interaction on the territorial and environmental vulnerabilities. The methodology was tested on the case study of Mantua, where both industrial, seismic and hydrogeological risks are present. Each step of the methodology proceeds simultaneously with a GIS Map, which helps to spatially understand the extension and gravity of each risk
Land use Planning around Major Risk Installations: from EC Directives to Local Regulations in Italy
No full textThis paper offers some reflections regarding the application of regional and provincial laws concerning major industrial risks and urban and land use planning, and focuses on their
application problems and capabilities with reference to some practical cases. The European Directive “Seveso 2” was implemented in Italy with two national laws, and in Piedmont they were enforced with the “Guide Lines for the assessment of industrial risk in land use planning”.
According to the Guide lines, the municipalities had to introduce into their urban and land use planning instruments new criteria for the areas around Seveso plants. The application of the Guide lines requires a multidisciplinary approach but Local authorities are often not sufficiently prepared for this kind of multilevel analysis, because they don’t have the human or economic resources or even the technical abilities necessary to conduct it. As a result, they can underestimate the importance of a correct urban and land planning in the areas around major risk installations
The impact of local regulations on land use planning for seveso sites: SMEs perspective
No full textAccording to the Piedmont Seveso laws, it is compulsory for the Municipalities with a Seveso plant within their territory the drafting of a Technical Document called RIR - Rischio di Incidente Rilevante (Major Risk Accident). The document requires first of all a detailed investigation concerning all the potential dangerous enterprises settled in the district: obviously the Seveso plants, but also all the typologies of production that involve high temperature/high pressure, or employment of radiations and carcinogenic substances. Furthermore, the Municipalities have a to identify another category of plants, which is not specified in the national laws: The "Subthreshold" plants, which hold an amount of hazardous substances equal to 20% of the thresholds fixed by the Decree no. 334/1999 to be identified as a Seveso plant. The process for the identification of non-Seveso plants is based on questionnaires sent to the enterprises: it can be very difficult both for the Municipalities and the companies, because they frequently aren't accustomed to the prescriptions and terms of the Seveso laws. Furthermore, after this step, the Municipalities could require another effort to the plant managers, concerning the adoption of measures for the environmental protection, as prescribed in the Provincial Guidelines. The present paper analyses the Piedmont Seveso laws from an industrial point of view, in order to highlight the difficulties that the application of the Land Use Planning local regulations could find in a complex and multifaceted world of SMEs in a period of economic depression
Local multi-risk screening: The application of a semi-quantitative methodology on an Italian case-study
No full textThe paper presents a semi-quantitative methodology developed to help Italian local authorities in facing multi-risk aspects inside their Land Use Planning practices. The methodology acts as a pre-screening of natural and industrial risks and their possible interactions, with the aim of better addressing the possible LUP interventions to increase the safety. A quick overview of the methodology is provided, together with a significant Italian case study: a small town affected by both industrial and flood hazard, caused by 'minor elements' not sufficiently analyzed in the sectorial risk plans. The proposed methodology was applied to operate an overall analysis of the risks on the Municipal territory, in order to evidence possible interactions enhancing the dangerousness for the vulnerable elements. The last step of the methodology was to signal further studies and interventions to address critical situations; a dedicated questionnaire was developed to examine in depth the predisposition of industrial plants to cause NaTech events
Major risk installations and land use planning: Application of the local authority guidelines in piedmont (Italy)
No full textThe Italian government implemented the European Directive "Seveso 2", concerning the control of major industrial risks, with the 334/1999-Legislative Decree (LD, 1999) on the implementation of 96/82/EC for the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances, which, together with the 09/05/2001-Ministerial Decree on the minimum requirements for land-planning and urbanplanning in areas in the vicinity of major risks installations, introduced land use planning criteria for areas close to "Seveso" type factories for the very fist time in Italy. The "Regione Piemonte" implemented these national laws through guidelines that are known as "Guide Lines for the assessment of industrial risk in land use planning: Strategic Environmental Assessment and Technical Report on Major Industrial Risks". The provincial administrations and municipalities then had to transpose the regional laws into their urban and land use planning instruments. Until now, only the provincial administration of Turin has introduced a variation of the provincial land-use plan (Piano Provinciale di Coordinamento Territoriale), while the municipalities in the province are currently updating their urban plans with the introduction of Technical Reports on major Industrial Risks. The application of these laws requires a multidisciplinary approach: updated and exhaustive knowledge on the hazardous substances handled by the different companies involved in the analysis and on the possible accidents is essential, but the analyst should also be able to use the land-use analysis correctly and interpret the environmental, urban and historical assets which could be considered vulnerable elements in the case of an industrial accident. Local authorities are often not sufficiently prepared for this kind of multilevel analysis, because they do not have the human or economic resources or even the technical abilities necessary to conduct it; as a result, they frequently do not understand the importance of urban and land planning in the areas around major risk installations. This paper offers some reflections regarding the application of regional and provincial laws concerning major industrial risks and urban and land use planning, and focuses on their application problems and capabilities with reference to some practical case
A semi-quantitative risk assessment method in process plants: Huntsman tioxide Europe-Ternate plant experience
No full textThe purpose of the present work was to develop a methodology for the risk assessment in workplace for Huntsman Ternate plant, pursuant the Legislative Decree n. 81/08 and subsequent amendments. Huntsman internal procedure focused on the processes risk management, and it was developed in order to homogeneously classify accident scenarios in all Huntsman plants; but it wasn't effective to assess the hazards related to work operations and workplace. The first kind of events are heavier than occupational accidents, as well as less frequent; therefore, the application of Huntsman procedure as it was would have provoked a loss of significance of results obtained. Thus, it was elaborated a semi quantitative method of risk assessment in workplace, combining the techniques derived by the national regulations and the company procedure, in order to reach a more effective method to evaluate the risks and communicate to the associates the risks evaluation outputs
Municipal Emergency Plans in Italy: requirements and drawbacks
Full text linkIn order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of land use planning and emergency panning
policies and strategies in EU, the Italian regulations and guidelines are used as example to discuss
the distance between the European and national regulation and the disaster management and
post-disaster procedures, that together with the land use planning are often conceived for a
Municipal scale.
Both anthropic and natural risks are dealt with in the emergency planning, but risk information
derive from very diverse sources, with different levels of detail – from the risk assessment of
major risk plants to the representation of risks provided by sectorial plans, each one focused on a
single type of risk (i.e. flood, seismic, fire...). Emergency plans should aim at correlating the various
risk evaluations, thus being able to provide a comprehensive emergency programme, both for
people and territorial safety, but indeed the land use is often regulated by a completely different
legislation and designing system. This lack of linkage between the procedures for Emergency and
for Land Use Planning makes the emergency management less effective towards the achievement
of a real safety of territories, as proved by recent disastrous events in the European territory.
In order to solve these critical issues, the paper aims at providing hints on how to achieve a different approach both in land use and emergency planning, conceiving risk assessment as part of an integrated process composed by many important and interrelated phases, not only postdisaster
emergency, but also structural interventions for the long- term prevention
Implementation of a Natech Vulnerability Index in a Seveso Plant
Full text linkNaTech accidents are a class of cascading events that occur when natural and technological hazards collide.
In the process industry, where multi-hazard substances are used in large quantities, failures due to natural
events can bring simultaneously or sequentially events of acute toxicity, fire, and explosion, which might impact
the population and the environment, also provoking economical losses.
The risk analysis methodology used by the Seveso industry often resulted in scenarios related to NaTech events
being excluded due to their low probability. However, the increasing impacts of climate change may lead to
variations in the recurrence of severe unexpected natural events that will greatly alter the projected frequency
of NaTech events. For this reason, it is critical that decision-makers be adequately informed about potential
NaTech risks and consider them not only in industrial safety reports but also in the provisions of emergency and
city plans. In this paper, a planning tool is used to assess NaTech risk at a Seveso facility that manufactures
lubricating oil additives.
A validated method was used to cross the information among the vulnerable industrial items, the typical damage
modes triggered by the natural hazards, and the hazardous substances involved in the plant. The information
was extracted from the public inventory of establishments at risk of major accidents connected with dangerous
substances, and the safety report that the plant draws up.
The results provide an early warning system to the decision-makers about the NaTech vulnerabilities that
threaten both, human health, and the environment, contributing to increasing their awareness and
preparedness. Further research is required to integrate this kind of analysis with diverse current methodologies
for characterizing NaTech events within territorial and multi-risk approaches
Seveso Directives and LUP: The mutual influence of natural and anthropic impacts
No full textThe Seveso accidents and the subsequent european regulations raised the attention to the land use planning around major risk installations. In the last decades, moreover, the problem of the technological accidents induced by natural disruptive events (Na-tech) acquired an increasing relevance; although several methodologies to assess this kind of risk were developed, their adoption is still not explicitly requested in the regulations, neither related to major risk installations.The Na-tech related methodologies developed so far are mainly devoted to the control of risk from the plant and equipment point of view, while they don't take into account the mutual influence of natural and anthropic impacts on a territory.This paper, thus, starting from the example of Piedmont and Turin guidelines for L.U.P., proposes some actions and a list of preventive and protective measures which could be implemented in the regulations (from supranational to local ones) to constitute a "passive protection" against the technological accidents impacts, also ensuring an increased protection for the environment.The issue of the new national guidelines related to the national implementation of Seveso III directive could open perspectives to introduce a major attention to Na-tech events, at least as far as it concerns their prevention and mitigation
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