Natech risk assessment for crude oil storage tanks using fish bone diagram

NaTech triggered by lightning: Novel insights from past events in the process industry

“…Focus on lightning strikes, presents a critical trade-off based on their frequency and catastrophic consequences in the process industry. Several authors agree that lightning strikes focused on storage and processing activities have been the most common cause of accidents triggered by natural hazards presenting severe consequences [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] ]. For example, a previous study found that lightning-caused accidents can cause severe off-site loss of containment of dangerous substances, weighing between 100 kg and 1000 kg 35 % of the time and more than 1000 kg 38 % of the considered 335 events [ 21 ].…”

“…Moreover, the high ignition probability of flammable substances following lightning impact (82 %) [ 18 ], is higher than the ignition for conventional scenarios reported in the literature [ 12 ], which resulted in a relevant number of major fires triggered. Since lightning itself constitutes an ignition source, it is reported as the source of heat for one-third of exterior storage tank fires [ 19 ]. In addition, given its recognized potential to cause cascading effects on nearby equipment [ 22 ], the fire scenarios following lightning impacts on tanks storing flammable chemicals have reportedly constituted a frequent primary cause of the domino effect [ 20 ].…”