Effect of transport mode on the risk from handling chlorine at a major industrial facility in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

The HSE makes routine use of its computerised quantified Risk assessment tool (RISKAT) in order to assess the risks from mayor industrial hazards. In recent years attention has been directed towards the transport of danguerous substances and consequently the HSE has developed a transportation version of RISKAT. This paper describes the application of Transport RISKAT to a case study in which the overall risks from a major industrial facility handling chlorine have been assessed. A novel feature of this study is the inclusion of the delivery system into the assessment, and the comparison of two transport modes - road and rail. The proposed switch from rail to road transport significantly reduces the risks from site operations. The study therefore addresses two questions has any transfer of risks onto the transport system taken place, and if so, are the overall risks reduced as a result of the switch in mode?. The report includes that although litte evidence for a transfer for risks associated with the site to risks associated with the transport system was found, there was a considerable degree of incertainty in the final risk estimates. Therefore, further investigation into the relative probability of road and rail tanker breaches is recommended in order to enable definitive conclusions to be drawn (AU)