Accident simulations of toxic gaseous emissions, fires and explosions in industrial facilities and their effect on a nearby hospital

Abstract

CCSS is a public entity in charge of providing health and social security services for all the people of Costa Rica (anyone). A hospital, that is planned to be developed in the future, is located close to an industrial and residential zone, where there are companies that manage hazardous chemical substances. This situation represents a risk for hospital users and general habitants in case of industrial accidents like toxic gaseous emissions to the atmosphere, fires and blasts. As part of a preliminary investigation and academic exercise, three sites that store this type of chemical compounds near the hospital’s property were defined and designated as Sites A, B and C. At Site A, ammonium hydroxide is stored in 30% (w/w) solution; at Site B, nitric acid is preserved in solution at 70% (w/w) and Site C contains liquefied highly flammable dimethylamine within a pressurized tank. Therefore, considering flammability and storage conditions with the objective of analyzing eventual consequences, seven scenarios of accidents were planned to study and simulate. For this analysis, ALOHA software was applied, using meteorological data from Costa Rica and comparing the results with the corresponding Spanish legislation (“Real Decreto 1196/2003”), due to the lack of this kind of Costa Rican regulations.