Technological Advancements in Hazardous Materials Evacuation Planning

1996 ◽  
Vol 1522 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Abkowitz ◽  
Eric Meyer
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Evacuation Planning ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Improvement Strategies ◽  
Potential Improvement ◽  
Evacuation Plan ◽  
Planning Methodology

The development and implementation of a methodology by which evacuation planners can assess the sufficiency of their current evacuation plan, identify inadequacies, and define and evaluate potential improvement strategies are discussed. Such goals are accomplished through innovative uses of information technology and the development of a modeling environment that builds on previous work by introducing more representative and efficient algorithms. The new evacuation planning methodology is subsequently applied to a fixed facility incident scenario to demonstrate its applicability to present practice. In this context, several important conclusions are reached, illustrating the importance of having this type of decision-support tool available. Advancements made to the state of the art are assessed and further research needs in this critical and emerging field are identified.

Risk Comparison of Transporting Hazardous Materials in Unit Trains versus Mixed Trains

2017 ◽  
Vol 2608 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Traffic Density ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Hazardous Materials Transportation ◽  
Traffic Demand ◽  
Transportation Risk ◽  
Rail Line ◽  
Train Length

This research developed an integrated, generalized risk analysis methodology for comparing hazardous materials transportation risk in unit trains versus mixed trains for the same amount of traffic demand. The risk methodology accounted for FRA track class, method of operation, annual traffic density, train length, speed, point of derailment, the number and placement of tank cars in a train, tank car placement, tank car safety design, and population density along the rail line. With these inputs, the methodology estimates train derailment rate, the probability of tank car derailment and release, and release consequence by train configuration. The analysis showed that tank car positions could affect the risk comparison between unit trains and mixed trains in transporting hazardous materials. In particular, if all tank cars were in positions that were least prone to derailment, distributing tank cars to many unit trains could reduce the overall risk. Otherwise, consolidating tank cars into unit trains could lead to a lower risk. The methodology has been implemented in a computer-aided decision support tool that automatically calculates the risk values for various track, rolling stock, and operational characteristics.

Bridges in Fire: State-of-the-Art and Research Needs

2013 ◽  
Vol 353-356 ◽  
pp. 2263-2268
Author(s):  
Yong Jun Liu ◽  
Qi Liu ◽  
Fu Chun Song
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Fast Heating ◽  
Bridge Collapse ◽  
Bridge Structures ◽  
In Fire

During lifetime of a bridge, it may be subjected to many hazards, in which one of the most severe hazards is fire. In recent years, due to rapid development of transportation systems, as well as increasing transport of hazardous materials, bridge fires have become a concern. Bridge fires caused by crashing of vehicles and burning of gasoline are much more severe than building fires and are characterized by a fast heating rate and a higher peak temperature which could lead to bridge collapse. Bridge failures during a fire can result in the disruption of commerce and services, and most importantly the loss of human life. This paper presents an overview of bridge fire incidents, provides a state-ofthe-art review of studies on bridges in fire, and identifies the research needs in the future for protecting critical bridge structures.

Accident-Cause-Specific Risk Analysis of Rail Transport of Hazardous Materials

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (10) ◽  
pp. 176-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Tejashree Turla ◽  
Zhipeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Hazardous Materials ◽  
Transportation Safety ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Track Geometry ◽  
Transportation Risk ◽  
Hazmat Transportation ◽  
Train Length

Rail plays a key role in the transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat). Improving railroad hazmat transportation safety is a high priority for both industry and government. Many severe railroad hazmat release incidents occur because of train accidents. The Federal Railroad Administration identifies over 300 accident causes, including infrastructure defects, rolling stock failures, human factors, and other causes. Understanding how hazmat transportation risk varies with accident cause is a key step in identifying, developing, evaluating, and prioritizing cost-justified accident prevention strategies, thereby mitigating hazmat transportation risk. The objective of this paper is to develop an integrated, generalized risk analysis methodology that can estimate accident-cause-specific hazmat transportation risk, accounting for various train and track characteristics, such as train length, speed, point of derailment, the number and placement of tank cars in a train, tank car safety design, and population density along rail lines. Using the two major causes of accidents on freight railroads—broken rails and track geometry defects—as an example, this paper demonstrates a step-by-step analytical procedure and decision support tool to assess how accident frequency, severity, and hazmat transportation risk vary by accident cause. The research method can be adapted for risk analysis at corridor- or network-level accounting for other accident causes.

A protocol for sampling pastures in hill country

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 203-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.J. Hutchinson ◽  
D.R. Scobie ◽  
J. Beautrais ◽  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
G.M. Rennie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Sampling ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Accurate Estimate ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Hill Country

To develop a protocol to guide pasture sampling for estimation of paddock pasture mass in hill country, a range of pasture sampling strategies, including random sampling, transects and stratification based on slope and aspect, were evaluated using simulations in a Geographical Information Systems computer environment. The accuracy and efficiency of each strategy was tested by sampling data obtained from intensive field measurements across several farms, regions and seasons. The number of measurements required to obtain an accurate estimate was related to the overall pasture mass and the topographic complexity of a paddock, with more variable paddocks requiring more samples. Random sampling from average slopes provided the best balance between simplicity and reliability. A draft protocol was developed from the simulations, in the form of a decision support tool, where visual determination of the topographic complexity of the paddock, along with the required accuracy, were used to guide the number of measurements recommended. The protocol was field tested and evaluated by groups of users for efficacy and ease of use. This sampling protocol will offer farmers, consultants and researchers an efficient, reliable and simple way to determine pasture mass in New Zealand hill country settings. Keywords: hill country, feed budgeting, protocol pasture mass, slope

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