Publications

Poster

The poster presents the project objectives, its activities and expected outcomes. Each partner has a printed version that is displayed during events and meetings to promote the project.




Leaflet

The leaflet describes the project in a nutshell in an accessible way, providing information about its structure, partnership and expected results. It will be distributed in a printed version during events and meetings.




D2.1 - Literature survey on past accidents

The deliverable D2.1: Literature survey on past accidents is officially out. It compiles past accidents that have induced the formation of a toxic, flammable or explosive gas cloud. The main purpose is to better identify the categories of chemicals the most involved; the main risks generated by the gas cloud dispersion in the air and the consequences of a HNS slick on fire at the water surface as well as the hazard due to a vapour cloud explosion.




D2.3 - Enhancing knowledge and data on gases and evaporators

The mechanisms driving the evaporation and dissolution of a chemical from a slick on water surface were investigated through experimental tests at various scales. This report presents the following results:

  • The physical properties of 6 HNS at i) standard conditions (atmospheric pressure, 20°C and in freshwater) to assess the reliability of data available in literature and ii) various temperatures;
  • The evaporation kinetics of 6 HNS assessed in the laboratory at standard conditions (atmospheric pressure, 20°C and no wind applied) for i) pure chemicals, ii) chemicals spilt at seawater surface and iii) binary mixtures;
  • The impact of wind speed on the evaporation kinetics using the wind tunnel together with the associated vapour mass flow rates from water surface to the air;
  • The dissolution kinetics and the solubility limits of 4 HNS and the mathematical relationships modelling solubility as a function of temperature and salinity;
  • The competition between evaporation and dissolution using Cedre’s chemistry test bench.





D3.1 - Literature review on incidents and pollutants behaviour

A review of existing literature for incidents involving gaseous or volatile HNS, their impacts and available actions to protect the safety and health of local populations has been undertaken to better understand the evidence around these types of incidents and inform proposed guidance and decision-making procedures for planners and responders.

Results indicate that while incidents involving gas and volatile HNS are thankfully not prolific, representing less than 1% to 3% of all maritime incidents, and between 10 to 15% for fires, they do occur, with many occurring in ports or near the shore.

Evidence from published scientific studies identify a number of hazardous gases and volatile HNS commonly associated with such incidents most notably; Ammonia, Chlorine, Hydrogen Sulphide, Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), Acrylonitrile, and numerous volatile hydrocarbons, while dense gas clouds are most commonly associated with releases. Reactive HNS such as fumigants in shipping containers may also present potential risks to crew and the general public.




D4.1 - Explosive and fire risk module

This report presents the results collected in the framework of task 4.1 with the aim at developing tools that would help responders to assess risks in case of an explosion and/or a fire of volatile HNS.

The fire module computes the energy flux as a function of distance to the fire source. It enables to assess the safety distance at which e.g. a boat can approach a fire while keeping the crew safe. The burning rate can also be estimated.

The explosion module computes the overpressure of the shockwave caused by the combustion of a chemical. This overpressure can be very dangerous for people and infrastructure, causing wounds from minor injury to death and destruction of building. The model could be used to predict what could happen in case of the explosion of a stored explosive for instance.

The two models are simplifications of the reality. Their outputs can be useful to provide a rough idea of what could happen in open sea but should always be interpreted keeping the model hypotheses and limitations in mind.




D4.2 - Improving the prediction of HNS concentration in the atmosphere

A new atmospheric dispersion module fully coupled to OSERIT has been developed and several marine processes have been improved. In this report, the improved processes are described and their actual implementation in OSERIT (Oil Spill Evaluation and Response Integrated Tool) is explained.




D6.1 - Communication and capitalisation plan

The Communication Plan describes the procedures, methods and tools to enable effective and consistent communication and capitalisation of the project outcomes to all local, regional, national and international stakeholders. It offers an overview of the communication activities planned in the frameworks of MANIFESTS and describes the tools, the target audience, and the visual identity.