Transportation risk assessment methodology for hazardous materials to improve urban disaster prevention

Abstract

The transport of hazardous materials presents a strong inherent risk, in particular when industrial buildings are located in urban areas. In this chapter, we presented a methodology for risk assessment in order to prevent disasters. In the first stage, we proposed the use of geographic information systems to detect conflict areas. In the identified hotspots on the hazardous materials transport route, we performed a simulation with ALOHA and analyzed the vulnerability by an index of social vulnerability. Finally, this information was integrated using a simple formula for risk estimation. As a specific case, we applied it to methanol transport in La Plata, Argentina. By implementing this strategy, we detected areas associated with higher risks, which may coincide either with both areas of high or low threat, understanding that vulnerability deserves a mitigation approach to prevent future disasters.