American Journal of Environmental Protection

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Evaluation of Accidental Atmospheric Releases of Chlorine and Butane from a Mobile Source Using ALOHA and MARPLOT

Received: 16 November 2017    Accepted: 24 November 2017    Published: 17 January 2018
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extend of the threat zone of two mobile accidental atmospheric releases of chlorine and butane on the I-95 Highway by estimating the downwind dispersion of the chemical plumes using the numerical model ALOHA (Area Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) and by graphing the boundaries of the threat zone using MARPLOT (Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks). In addition, to assess the risk of exposure at two points of interest from the chlorine accident, and to measure the extent of the flammable zone; the area where a flash fire or a vapor cloud explosion could occur at some point after the release begins, resulting from the butane accident. Moreover, the aim is to study the stability class effect on indoor and outdoor concentrations and its effect on distance of the flammable zones. The paper conclude that the stability class has a significant effect on the prediction of the size of the toxic threat zone under different atmospheric dispersion conditions. In addition, the size of the area impacted after a chemical release depends on the characteristics of the chemical along with the meteorological and atmospheric conditions.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12
Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 6, Issue 6, December 2017)
Page(s) 144-155
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Hazardous, Mobile Accidents, Atmosphere, Chlorine, Risk Analysis, Numerical Model

References
[1] Inanloo B. and Tansel B. (2015). Explosion impacts during transport of hazardous cargo: GIS-based characterization of overpressure impacts and delineation of flammable zones for ammonia, Journal of Environmental Management, 156: 1-9.
[2] EPA U. S. (1999). ALOHA User’s Manual (Technical report). Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Energy Management. [Internet cited 25 Mar 2017]. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/cameo/aloha.htm
[3] Hydro Instruments (2016). Chlorine Handling Manual. 2016. [Internet cited 8 Apr 2017] Available from: www.hydroinstruments.com/files/Chlorine%2520Handling%2520Manual%25202016%252005%252006.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
[4] Inanloo B. Tansel B. Jin X. and Bernardo -Bricker A.(2015). Cargo-specific accidental release impact zones for hazardous materials: risk and consequence comparison for ammonia and hydrogen fluoride. Environment Systems and Decisions, 36 (1): 20–33.
[5] Jones R., Lehr W., Simecek-Beatty D. and Michael Reynolds R. (2013). ALOHA® (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) 5.4.4: Technical Documentation. U. S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS OR&R 43. Seattle, WA: Emergency Response Division, NOAA. 96 pp.
[6] NOAA (2011). Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs). Office of Response and Restoration. [Internet cited 5 Apr 2017] Available from: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/chemical-spills/resources/acute-exposure-guideline-levels-aegls.html
[7] PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration), US DOT (2016). [Internet cited 5 Apr 2017]. Available from: https://phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Files/Hazmat/ERG2016.
[8] Stanley S. Grossel (2008). Evaluation of the Effects and Consequences of Major Accidents in Industrial Plants (Industrial Safety Series, 8), J. Casal. Elsevier B. V., Oxford, UK/Boston, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 21 (4): 490-491.
[9] Tseng J. M., Su T. S. and Kuo C. Y. (2012). Consequence Evaluation of Toxic Chemical Releases by ALOHA, Procedia Engineering, 45: 384-389.
[10] United States Department of Energy (2004). ALOHA Computer Code Application Guidance for Documented Safety Analysis. 2004. Tech. No. DOE-EH-4.2.1. 3. [Internet cited 12 Apr 2017]. Available from: https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/09/f2/Final_ALOHA_Guidance_Reportv52404.pdf
[11] United States Department of Energy (2014). ALOHA. [Internet cited 5 Apr 2017]. Available from: https://energy.gov/ehss/aloha
[12] United States Fire Administration (1998). HAZMAT for First Responders. [Internet cited 8 Apr 2017] Available from: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=1258
[13] United States Fire Administration (2017). Hazmat Intelligence Portal. U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. [Internet cited 5 Apr 2017] Available from: https://hip.phmsa.dot.gov/analyticsSOAP/saw.dll?Dashboard&NQUser=HazmatWebsiteUser1&NQPassword=HazmatWebsiteUser1&PortalPath=/shared/Public%20Website%20Pages/_portal/Yearly%20Incident%20Summary%20Reports
Author Information
  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, USA

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  • APA Style

    Noura Mohammad Al-Sarawi. (2018). Evaluation of Accidental Atmospheric Releases of Chlorine and Butane from a Mobile Source Using ALOHA and MARPLOT. American Journal of Environmental Protection, 6(6), 144-155. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12

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    ACS Style

    Noura Mohammad Al-Sarawi. Evaluation of Accidental Atmospheric Releases of Chlorine and Butane from a Mobile Source Using ALOHA and MARPLOT. Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2018, 6(6), 144-155. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12

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    AMA Style

    Noura Mohammad Al-Sarawi. Evaluation of Accidental Atmospheric Releases of Chlorine and Butane from a Mobile Source Using ALOHA and MARPLOT. Am J Environ Prot. 2018;6(6):144-155. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12,
      author = {Noura Mohammad Al-Sarawi},
      title = {Evaluation of Accidental Atmospheric Releases of Chlorine and Butane from a Mobile Source Using ALOHA and MARPLOT},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {6},
      number = {6},
      pages = {144-155},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20170606.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20170606.12},
      abstract = {The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extend of the threat zone of two mobile accidental atmospheric releases of chlorine and butane on the I-95 Highway by estimating the downwind dispersion of the chemical plumes using the numerical model ALOHA (Area Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) and by graphing the boundaries of the threat zone using MARPLOT (Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks). In addition, to assess the risk of exposure at two points of interest from the chlorine accident, and to measure the extent of the flammable zone; the area where a flash fire or a vapor cloud explosion could occur at some point after the release begins, resulting from the butane accident. Moreover, the aim is to study the stability class effect on indoor and outdoor concentrations and its effect on distance of the flammable zones. The paper conclude that the stability class has a significant effect on the prediction of the size of the toxic threat zone under different atmospheric dispersion conditions. In addition, the size of the area impacted after a chemical release depends on the characteristics of the chemical along with the meteorological and atmospheric conditions.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extend of the threat zone of two mobile accidental atmospheric releases of chlorine and butane on the I-95 Highway by estimating the downwind dispersion of the chemical plumes using the numerical model ALOHA (Area Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres) and by graphing the boundaries of the threat zone using MARPLOT (Mapping Application for Response, Planning, and Local Operational Tasks). In addition, to assess the risk of exposure at two points of interest from the chlorine accident, and to measure the extent of the flammable zone; the area where a flash fire or a vapor cloud explosion could occur at some point after the release begins, resulting from the butane accident. Moreover, the aim is to study the stability class effect on indoor and outdoor concentrations and its effect on distance of the flammable zones. The paper conclude that the stability class has a significant effect on the prediction of the size of the toxic threat zone under different atmospheric dispersion conditions. In addition, the size of the area impacted after a chemical release depends on the characteristics of the chemical along with the meteorological and atmospheric conditions.
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