Towards sharing of data from accidents with chemicals

International audienceFor long, very large accidents occurred in plants where chemicals were processed and stored. Further, transportation and use of chemicals were at the origin of very severe accidents. The manufacture of explosives was certainly the first industry manufacturing chemicals in which very strict safety precautions were take

Analyses d'accidents : une nécessité pour les analyses de danger et l'intervention en situation d'urgence ?

Lors d'accidents industriels mettant en jeu des explosions, des incendies ou des émissions de produits toxiques ou inflammables dans l'environnement, les effets à prendre en compte s'expriment en termes d'impulsions de pression, de projections de débris, de flux thermiques et de rejets de produits toxiques dans l'air, les eaux et les sols. Dans sa première partie, le présent article présente les conclusions consécutives à l'analyse de différents types d'accidents survenus en France et met en évidence l'absence de connaissances suffisantes sur le déroulement d'explosions non confinées ou partiellement confinées et sur les modalités d'émissions de produits toxiques lors d'incendies. La prise en considération de ces accidents et de bases de données sur les accidents permettra aux autorités compétentes, aux industriels, aux assureurs et aux centres techniques intéressés par ces questions de partager leurs expériences. La seconde partie aborde la validation des logiciels commerciaux de calcul des conséquences. La comparaison des résultats de l'examen des logiciels CAMEO 3.0, CHARM 6.1, PHAST 3.0 et TRACE 2.5.4. utilisés pour définir tout ou partie des effets mentionnés plus haut a permis de mettre en évidence la nécessité d'un protocole d'évaluation. Pour un tel protocole sont à retenir : la pertinence des modèles physiques, la convivialité pour l'utilisateur, le caractère adapté des bases de données et du manuel opérateur

Methods applied to investigage the major UVCE that occured in the TOTAL refiner's Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit at La Mède, France

International audienceOn monday November 9, 1992 at 5:20 a.m. a major U. V.C.E, occured in the Gas Plant of the TOTAL refinery's Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit at La Mede, France. The origin was a 25 cm2 break in the 8" by-pass of the absorber stripper column cooler; an amount of about 15 tons of LPG and light naphtha was released within 10 minutes, covering an area of 14000m2 including Gas Plant, cryogenic, propene and Merox units before being ignited on the FCC main furnace

Fruit phenology of citruses, mangoes and papayas influences egg-laying preferences of Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Introduction. African fruit production, as well as regional and international fruit trade, have experienced heavy economic losses over the past decade due to the damage caused by fruit flies, especially B. invadens Drew Tsuruta & White (Tephritidae: Diptera). Bactrocera invadens attacks fruits belonging to numerous botanical families, several of which are of great economic importance. The females of these flies generally lay their eggs in mature fruits, but some can lay in green-immature fruits. Materials and methods. The influence of the species, variety and phenology of fruits on the fruit attractiveness to B. invadens and the elicitation of B. invadens egg-laying behaviour were studied in the laboratory. Fruits harvested regularly during the years 2008 and 2009 from orchards in the Niayes area (Senegal) were exposed to gravid females in cages set for the different factors tested. The exposed fruits were then incubated and the pupae emerging from them were counted. Results and discussion. Bactrocera invadens females laid eggs in ripe fruits. Within the same fruit species, the variety plays an important role in egg-laying preference. Hence, among the mango varieties tested, the Pêche variety hosted the highest number of pupae per fruit, while the Palmer variety hosted the lowest number. Comparison among different fruit species showed that mature papaya was more infested than mature mango or citrus. Furthermore, flies were unable to develop on lime. Conclusion. Our study showed that B. invadens can infest green and ripe host fruits, and even immature abscised fruits. Consequently, management of this pest must include preventive measures in the development and implementation of an integrated management system. (Résumé d'auteur

Assessment of two accidents involving safety devices

International audienc

Assessment of an accidental vapour cloud explosion. A case study : Saint-Herblain, October the 7th 1992, France

International audienceEarly in the morning on October the 7th 1991, the town of Nantes (Westem France) was shaken by a deflagration. This vapour cloud explosion (VCE) occurred m a petroleum depot. This was not the first accident in such a configuration but, probably in France, the one which produced the most extensive damage to the surroundings. For instance, numerous windowpanes were broken in a 2 kilometer radius

Pool evaporation : Experimental tests at medium-scale with gasoline

Pool evaporation is a major source of flammable vapour clouds. Predicting the evaporation rate of a liquid hydrocarbon pool is therefore a key issue of dispersion modelling for safety concerns. This paper presents small- and medium-scale experiments of pool evaporation carried out with liquid hydrocarbons (pentane, heptane), hydrocarbon “gasoline-like” mixtures and gasoline. Liquid mass loss was measured and the evaporation rate deduced with its evolution in time. Other observations are highlighted, regarding the evolution of liquid temperatures, mixture compositions, and scale effects like the influence of pool length on surface evaporation rate. Comparisons with well-known correlations are then shown. The authors finally suggest a new semi-empirical correlation with a set of parameters fitted on the performed experiments

Maîtrise des risques liés aux évènements naturels extrêmes

International audienceThe number and impact of extreme natural events year after year are amplified. Complex systems must be protected against their violence. The process of risk management is a common methodology to different industrial sectors: characterization of extreme natural events, followed by introduction of devices to prevent the impact of extreme natural events, and to manage the crisis. Although legal texts are a common framework, the definition of these devices is specific to each industry that must adapt to the specificity of its activities and their own type of risk. This results in a lack of homogeneity which may limit the effectiveness of the device as a whole.Le nombre et l’impact des événements naturels extrêmes s’amplifient d’année en année. Les systèmes complexes doivent être protégés face à leur violence. La démarche de maîtrise des risques relève d’une méthodologie commune aux différents secteurs industriels : caractérisation des événements naturels extrêmes, suivie d’une mise en place de dispositifs visant à prévenir l’impact des événements naturels extrêmes, et à gérer la crise. Même si les textes légaux sont un cadre commun, la définition de ces dispositifs est propre à chaque secteur d’activité qui se doit de les adapter à la spécificité de son domaine et de sa propre typologie de risques. Il en résulte un manque d’homogénéité qui peut limiter l’efficacité du dispositif dans sa globalité

Fruit phenology of citruses, mangos and papayas influences egglaying preferences of Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Published online: 12 November 2013Introduction. African fruit production, as well as regional and international fruit trade,have experienced heavy economic losses over the past decade due to the damage caused by fruitflies, especially B. invadens Drew Tsuruta & White (Tephritidae: Diptera). Bactrocera invadensattacks fruits belonging to numerous botanical families, several of which are of great economicimportance. The females of these flies generally lay their eggs in mature fruits, but some can layin green-immature fruits. Materials and methods. The influence of the species, variety andphenology of fruits on the fruit attractiveness to B. invadens and the elicitation of B. invadens egglayingbehaviour were studied in the laboratory. Fruits harvested regularly during the years 2008and 2009 from orchards in the Niayes area (Senegal) were exposed to gravid females in cages setfor the different factors tested. The exposed fruits were then incubated and the pupae emergingfrom them were counted. Results and discussion. Bactrocera invadens females laid eggs in ripefruits. Within the same fruit species, the variety plays an important role in egg-laying preference.Hence, among the mango varieties tested, the Pêche variety hosted the highest number of pupaeper fruit, while the Palmer variety hosted the lowest number. Comparison among different fruitspecies showed that mature papaya was more infested than mature mango or citrus. Furthermore,flies were unable to develop on lime. Conclusion. Our study showed that B. invadens can infestgreen and ripe host fruits, and even immature abscised fruits. Consequently, management of thispest must include preventive measures in the development and implementation of an integratedmanagement system