The impact of nature on chemical industrial facilities

Abstract

In this paper, a conceptual framework is developed to improve NaTech safety in the chemical industry. The concept is called EPIC, indicating that emphasis should be put on Education, learning and training, Proactive risk minimization and safety innovation, Intensified informed inspection and analysis, and Cooperation and transparency. Concrete initiatives addressing NaTech for every domain of the EPIC conceptual framework are given. The innovativeness of the EPIC framework resides in the potential of the simultaneous application of initiatives within the four areas of improvement (E, P, I, and C) to make chemical clusters much more resilient with respect to nature-related disasters. As such, the proposed EPIC framework may lead to a much-needed revolution of NaTech safety in the chemical industry.