Major Accident Disasters and Their Management

The recent offshore accidents at the Macondo and Montara fields in the US and Australia have demonstrated the importance of learning from major accident precursors in order to appraise the risk potential involved in critical offshore operations. This is fully realised by the Petroleum Safety Authority in Norway, which has a specific requirement for such learning in its regulations. However, an unfortunate practice has been developed by the major players in the Norwegian offshore industry, whereby potential is severely and systematically downplayed, probably to limit the negative exposure if the actual potential consequences were known. The present article analyses 45 major accident precursor investigations in order to demonstrate the effect of downplaying the potential of major accidents. It demonstrates how the risk potential classified in investigation reports has a random relationship to the more objective risk potential, as shown in the national risk indicator project conducted by the Petroleum Safety Authority. This is further demonstrated by comparing company investigations with authority investigations in four cases where parallel investigations were performed.

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Communication about major accident hazards: credibility of qualified informers in an Italian city

Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/09653569510082641 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 4-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marco Lombardi

Keyword(s):

Italian City ◽

Major Accident

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Major accident reporting system: Lessons learned from accidents notified by G. Drogaris, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, 1993, 248 pages, price Dfl 290.00/US$ 165.75, ISBN 0-444-81665-8

Journal of Hazardous Materials ◽

10.1016/0304-3894(94)80051-0 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 333-334

Author(s):

G Bennett

Keyword(s):

Reporting System ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Major Accident

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Risk Mutability Analysis and Pre-Control of Dynamical System

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.533.360 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 533 ◽

pp. 360-364

Author(s):

Ji Qi ◽

Zhong Yi Zheng ◽

Jian Min Li

Keyword(s):

Dynamical System ◽

Structural Stability ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Decision Makers ◽

System Structure ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽

Catastrophe Model ◽

Major Accident

Based on systematical research on catastrophe theory, system dynamics is a general theory to describe dynamical systems with the goal of achieving structural stability and dynamic stability. In this paper, catastrophe model of dynamic system is established and elements of the system are defined as well. Conditions for system structure mutating are also defined via analysis on dynamism, fuzziness and mutability of system structure. In view of the fact that modes and strength of disturbance or damage to system structural stability are two decisive factors for major accident occurrence and consequences, the course of disturbance or damage can be deemed as the process of quantitative evaluation of major accident risks. Hence, by adopting combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and with the help of simulation technology, decision-makers can do researches on engineering, social and economic systems to make scientific and effective pre-control.

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