Introduction to eNATECH

A user guide

Necci A., Krausmann E.

2022
This publication is a Scientific Information Systems and Databases report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s
science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. The scientific
output expressed does not imply a policy position of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting
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authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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JRC130281

PDF ISBN 978-92-76-55144-7 doi:10.2760/88277

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2022

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How to cite this report: A. Necci, E. Krausmann, Introduction to eNATECH – A user guide, Publications Office of the European Union,
Luxembourg, 2022, doi:10.2760/88277, JRC130281.
Contents

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................1
Abstract.....................................................................................................................................................2
1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................3
2 eNATECH ..............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 User Interface ...............................................................................................................................4
2.2 User Access ..................................................................................................................................4
2.3 Data Access Types ........................................................................................................................6
2.4 Data Status ..................................................................................................................................6
3 Data Query and Listing..........................................................................................................................7
4 Data Entry ......................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1.1 Date Input ....................................................................................................................... 11
4.1.2 Combo Box Input ............................................................................................................. 11
5 Record Types ..................................................................................................................................... 12
5.1 Natural Hazards ......................................................................................................................... 12
5.2 Sites .......................................................................................................................................... 12
5.3 Natech Accidents........................................................................................................................ 13
5.3.1 Units Involved .................................................................................................................. 14
5.3.2 Event Sequence ............................................................................................................... 14
5.3.2.1 Events ..................................................................................................................... 15
5.3.2.2 Contributing Factors ................................................................................................. 15
5.3.2.3 Substances Involved ................................................................................................. 16
5.3.3 Weather Conditions .......................................................................................................... 16
5.3.4 Emergency Response ....................................................................................................... 17
5.3.5 Consequences.................................................................................................................. 17
5.3.6 Remedial Activities ........................................................................................................... 17
5.3.7 Lessons Learned .............................................................................................................. 17
5.4 Attachments .............................................................................................................................. 17
References ............................................................................................................................................. 19
List of figures ......................................................................................................................................... 20
List of tables .......................................................................................................................................... 21
Annexes.................................................................................................................................................. 22
Annex 1. eNATECH Events and Contributing Factor Classifications ........................................................ 22
Annex 2. Example Natech Accident Record in eNATECH ........................................................................ 27

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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid
Operations (ECHO) which funded the preparation of this user guide in the frame of Administrative Arrangement
“Enhancing the monitoring, early warning and analytic capacities of the Emergency Response Coordination
Centre (ERCC) – 2021/2022”.
The authors also acknowledge their former colleague Dr. Serkan Girgin, now at the University of Twente, who
during his stay at the JRC developed the original design of the eNATECH database and implemented it.

Authors
Necci Amos
Elisabeth Krausmann

1
Abstract
The impact of natural hazards on industrial plants that contain hazardous substances can cause fires,
explosions, and toxic or radioactive releases. Despite a growing body of research and more stringent regulations
for the design and operation of industrial installations, these so-called Natech accidents remain a threat. The
collection and analysis of accident and near miss data is crucial for learning lessons to prevent future Natech
accidents and to better mitigate their consequences.
The quality of Natech accident data in general industrial accident databases is not uniform and frequently lacks
the necessary details which renders their use for meaningful lesson learned studies difficult. In response, the
European Commission Joint Research Centre has developed a dedicated Natech accident database called
eNATECH which reflects the advanced accident representation needed to capture the characteristics of Natech
events.
Access to the eNATECH database is public and free, and registered users can introduce their own accident data
to increase the pool of information available for Natech forensic analysis. This document explains the philosophy
behind the eNATECH data structure and provides short tutorials based on real accident cases to guide users in
browsing the database and in introducing their own accident or near miss data.

2
1 Introduction
The impact of natural hazards on industrial plants, pipelines, offshore platforms and other infrastructure that
handles, stores or transports hazardous substances can cause secondary effects such as fires, explosions, and
toxic or radioactive releases. These so-called Natech accidents are a recurring but often overlooked feature in
many natural disasters and have often had significant human, environmental and economic impacts
(Krausmann et al., 2017). Successfully controlling Natech risk is a challenge, which requires targeted prevention,
preparedness and response. Systematic analysis of the Natech risk, based on a strong understanding of the
impact and damage mechanisms, is a prerequisite for this purpose (Krausmann and Baranzini, 2012).
Despite a growing body of research and more stringent regulations for the design and operation of industrial
activities, Natech accidents remain a threat. This is partly due to the absence of accident data which impacts
the development of dedicated risk reduction measures and the development of scenarios for risk analysis. The
collection and analysis of accident data is crucial for identifying the causes, dynamics and consequences of
past accidents, including the circumstances that facilitated their occurrence. Examples of past Natech accident
analyses using data from various industrial accident databases are Ricci et al. (2021) for Natech accidents from
all reported natural hazards, Misuri et al. (2019) for Natech accidents due to Hurricane Harvey, Necci et al.
(2018, 2019) for storm impacts on onshore hazardous sites, as well on offshore infrastructure, Girgin and
Krausmann (2016) for onshore pipeline Natech events, Krausmann et al. (2011) for Natech accidents due to
earthquakes, floods and lightning. The lessons learned from such accident analyses can be used to prevent
future Natech accidents or to better mitigate their consequences. In fact, one of the reasons that accidents keep
occurring is that lessons from past events have not been learned (Krausmann and Necci, 2021).
Learning lessons requires the systematic collection and analysis of past accident data, including near misses.
The usefulness of the analyses is strongly dependent on the quality of the underlying data. General accident
data has been retrieved from industrial accident databases but the quality of the Natech accident data is not
uniform and often lacks the necessary details for proper analysis (e.g., natural hazard information, such as flood
height or wind speed at the location of the hazardous installation or site). Moreover, natural hazards can cause
multiple and simultaneous Natech accidents which is also not reflected in conventional industrial accident
databases. For this reason, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed the eNATECH
system, a free online platform that hosts a database of Natech accidents and near misses, and that reflects
the advanced accident representation needed to fully capture the characteristics of Natech events (e.g., multiple
accident sequences occurring in parallel or sequentially).
The aim of eNATECH is to systematically collect worldwide Natech accident data and to provide a medium for
searching and analysing Natech accident reports for lessons learning purposes. This document explains the
philosophy behind the eNATECH data structure and provides short tutorials based on real accident cases to
guide users in browsing the database and in introducing their own accident or near miss data.

3
2 eNATECH
eNATECH is an online, collaborative system for the analysis of past accidents and near misses that occurred at
industrial plants due to natural hazard impacts. The system has been operational since 2012 and is publicly
available at https://enatech.jrc.ec.europa.eu. The primary aim of eNATECH is the systematic and structured
collection of data on Natech accidents and near misses that occurred worldwide, and to allow the searching
and analysis of Natech accident reports. The database is oriented toward supporting lessons learned studies.
For this reason, the JRC aims to ensure that the quality of each record is as high and detailed as possible.
The eNATECH database contains four types of records: Natural Hazards, Natech Accidents, Sites, and their
associated Attachments.
Natural Hazard records contain information regarding the natural event that triggered the Natech accident;
Sites records provide information on the industrial site where the accident occurred, and Natech Accidents
contains the description of the accident and its dynamics and consequences. Each record type is described in
detail in Chapter 5.
All registered users can introduce data in eNATECH. In order to preserve confidentiality (if so desired by the
user), eNATECH supports data access restrictions for critical information, such as industrial plant data. User
registration is needed for data entry, and every record is checked by the system administrators before being
published.

2.1 User Interface

eNATECH features a mobile-friendly, responsive user interface. The home page is illustrated in Figure 1. The
home page includes a standard menu at the top with quick access links for signing in, logging out of EU Login
(“ECAS Logout”), as well as legal notice and privacy statements. This menu is permanent, i.e., it is displayed on
all pages of the system. While eNATECH is in principle set up to allow multiple interface languages, only English
is supported currently.

Remark. Default language

eNATECH is a collaborative system, which aims to collect and share knowledge on Natech accidents. For this
purpose, it is good practice to enter and share non-confidential data in English, so that it can be easily
understood by a larger audience.
At the top right of the home page a series of icons are available, each of which is clickable and allows access
to the listing pages of the different records provided in the system. These are: Natural Hazards, Natech Accidents
and Sites. Below the icons, a table lists the most recent Natech accidents sorted in chronological order. For each
event, the table indicates the triggering natural hazard type and name, date and country of accident occurrence,
the industrial site of the accident and the record status (draft, final or published). Users can click on a record in
the table for quick access. At the page bottom some recent scientific articles are shown.

2.2 User Access

It is not necessary to sign in to the system to access information that is public. However, signing in allows you
to create your own records. Therefore, signing in is highly recommended to be able to use all available features
of the system.
Users can sign in to the system by clicking on the "Login" link in the top menu. Once you click the link, you will
be forwarded to the European Commission's user authentication service known as "EU Login". If you already
have a EU Login account, you can use your existing account to login to eNATECH. Otherwise, you can create an
account by clicking the "Create an account" link on the EU Login page and following the instructions. Once you
complete the sign-in process through EU Login, you will be redirected to eNATECH.

Remark. EU Login
If you already signed in to EU Login before using eNATECH, then EU Login will not display the login screen, but
will immediately redirect you to eNATECH by using your active user account. If you have multiple EU Login
accounts (i.e., work-related and personal) and want to use a specific one for eNATECH, first make sure that
you have signed out from your EU Login accounts. Otherwise, EU Login may redirect you to eNATECH
automatically as indicated above, without allowing you to change the account. You can use the "ECAS Logout"
link on the top menu of eNATECH to access the EU Login sign-out page.

4
Figure 1. Home page of eNATECH.

5
The first time you sign in to eNATECH, the system will display a registration form when EU Login redirects you
back to the system. This is the eNATECH registration form. By filling in the form with your information, agreeing
to the terms and conditions, and clicking the "Update" button, you can complete your registration. After
registration and also after all successive logins, your personal page will be displayed which shows your user
information and icons for accessing record listing pages similar to the home page. You can modify your personal
information at any time by clicking on the "Update" button, which leads to the user data entry form.

Remark. Personal information

Your name, surname, and e-mail address are provided automatically by EU Login to the eNATECH registration
form. Therefore, if you need to modify this information you should use EU Login account settings. They cannot
be changed in eNATECH. Your account password is also controlled by EU Login and should be changed through
EU Login, if necessary.

2.3 Data Access Types

Some records available in eNATECH are publicly available to all while access to other records may be restricted
to their creator only. eNATECH features a two-level access control for most of the record types, which includes
the types Public and Confidential. Public records are available to all users, including the ones who did not
sign in, i.e., visitors. Confidential records are only accessible to the users who created these records, i.e., the
owners. The Confidential access level provides confidentiality for records with information possibly considered
as sensitive or which may be protected by copyright, such as Sites and Attachments. Such records can be
protected by using this state. Public and confidential records can only be deleted by their owners. System
administrators can access all records to be able to fulfil their quality control responsibility. In some cases,
administrators may delete a record if it is inaccurate, misleading, offensive, discriminatory, or if it could damage
the image of the JRC or of the European Commission.

2.4 Data Status

The data status allows to identify records that are still incomplete (i.e., for which work is in progress) and those
that are finalised. eNATECH has a three-level status control for most of the record types, which are Draft, Final
and Published.
Information in Draft records is only accessible to the users who created these records, i.e., the owners. This is
the default state while creating new records. The system shows that a Draft record exists to all users, but it
will not disclose its full information. In this state, the data are assumed to be incomplete and the record can
still be edited by its creator. Once the users have completed data entry and are ready to share their data, they
can set the data status as Final.
Setting the record status as Final means that the creator has completed working on the record and wants to
share its content with the other eNATECH users. Setting a record to Final tells the system administrators that
the record is ready for publication. Note that a record in Final state cannot be modified any further by its
creator. Users that wish to change their final content should contact the database administrators at EU-
[email protected] and ask them to change the record status back to Draft. Once a record is set to Final,
the system administrators will examine the record to check that the information provided is correct and
legitimate. If the administrators have successfully verified the content, they will set the record access to
Published.
In the state Published, a record is visible and its information is available in full to all users (logged or otherwise)
that access eNATECH. The record in Published state cannot be modified by its creator. Users themselves are
not allowed to set the data status of their records as Published, only system administrators can do so. Users
that wish to change their published content should contact the administrators at [email protected]
and ask them to change the record data status back to Draft.

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3 Data Query and Listing
By clicking on the icons on the home page you can access the listing pages of the related record types. Although
each listing page displays information on different record types, they have a common interface which is
composed of filters, action buttons, a navigation bar, and a records table. An example listing page is given in
Figure 2.

Figure 2. Example records listing page: Natural Hazard list.

By default, the listing pages list all records available in the system which are accessible by the active user.
Specific records can be searched by using the available filters. Multiple filters can be entered at the same time.
The system applies the logical AND operator to combine the filters; hence, entering multiple filters results in a
more restricted query, usually yielding a lower number of matching records.
In order to perform the query, click on the "List" button after setting the filters. Pressing the "Enter" key on the
keyboard while typing on a textual filter also automatically triggers the query action. Depending on user rights,
a "Create" button might also be displayed next to the "List" button, which leads to the data entry form of the
related record type.
eNATECH features 3 types of generic filters: textual, drop-down list, and date.
Textual filters allow free-text search by using keywords which can be further customized by using special
characters and keyword groups. By default, keywords entered in the textual filters are searched as a whole in
the related data fields of the records. For example, performing a search by entering the keyword degree into
the "Name" filter on the "Units" listing page will return 4 matching records, which are "degree", "degree Celsius",
"degree Fahrenheit", and "degree Rankine". However, the same query with the keyword deg will return no results,
as there are no units in the database which include "deg" as a whole in the name field.
In order to extend the search to partial words, the asterisk (*) character can be utilized at the beginning and/or
at the end of the keyword. The asterisk is regarded as a placeholder for zero or more characters, and therefore
indicates "starting with", "ending with", or "including" criteria, if located at the beginning, at the end, or at both
sides of a keyword, respectively. For example, a query with deg* will return the initial 4 matching records, as
all records including the word "degree" also contain a word starting with "deg".

7
Multiple keywords separated by one or more space characters are combined with the logical OR operator.
Therefore, a query with deg* percent keywords will return 8 records, which include 4 additional records
containing the word "percent": "percent", "percent by volume", "percent by weight", and "percent standard gravity".
Keyword groups that are composed of multiple keywords can be entered using quotation marks to prevent
evaluation as individual keywords. For example, the query with deg* cel* will return 4 degree records
matched by the deg* keyword, as the second keyword cel* does not match any other unit. But, the same
query with the "deg* cel*" keyword group will return only one record which is "degree Celsius", as "degree"
matches the deg* keyword and "Celsius" matches the cel* keyword of the keyword group.

Remark. Order of the keywords

The order of the keywords in a keyword group is important and affects how the keywords are searched. For
example, "deg* cel*" and "cel* deg*" are not identical.

In order to exclude a keyword or keyword group, the minus (-) character can be utilised at the beginning of the
keyword or keyword group. For example, deg* -cel* will return 3 records, i.e., all degree records, except
"degree Celsius" because "Celsius" matches the cel* keyword which is excluded.
By entering multiple keywords or keyword groups and utilising special characters, advanced queries can be
performed easily by using the textual filters.

Remark. Textual filters

Textual filters are case insensitive, i.e., lower case and upper case characters are considered to be identical,
unless the related data field of the record is case sensitive. For example, the degree and DEGREE keywords
return the same results.
Drop-down filters match the records which have the same value in the related data field as the value selected
in the drop-down filter. Usually drop-down filters correspond to the drop-down list input elements of the records
and include the options presented by these input elements.
Date filters match the records with the specified date value in the related date field (see Section 4.1.1 for
more details on the date fields). There are two filters that allow users to select a date range, or just display all
records that are before or after a certain date.
The records matching the filters, if any, are listed on the listing pages in a tabular format. Each row in the table
corresponds to a separate record. Because some queries may match a very large number of records, the results
are tabulated through pagination, i.e., a limited number of records is tabulated based on the active page number
and the number of rows per page (Figure 2).
Above the results table, a navigation bar is provided which includes tools to navigate through the results and
modify how the results are listed. The first item on the navigation bar is an indicator, which displays the total
number of records in the results set. Next to the indicator, a pagination element is provided which shows the
active page and allows navigation through the other results pages.

Hint. Rows per page

The default number of rows per page is 20, which can be changed with the "Rows Per Page" drop-down list
next to the pagination element. Setting a new number of rows per page does not reset the current starting row
number.
Normally, results are tabulated as sorted by the default sorting column of the results table, which depends on
the record type. The sorting column can be changed by clicking on the arrow symbol on top of the column. The
direction of sorting (i.e., ascending or descending) can be specified by clicking again on the column, which toggles
the sorting direction between the ascending and descending orders. The active sorting column is indicated by a
triangle next to the column name, which points up or down for ascending or descending order, respectively.

8
Hint. Local sorting
The sorting settings affect not only the results visible on the active page, but also on all other pages related
to the search, i.e., all results matching the query are sorted accordingly. By clicking the table column labels,
you can also sort the results in the current page locally. Similar to the normal sorting, the sorted column is
indicated with a triangle. Successive clicks on the same label change the sort direction. Local sorting is not
permanent, i.e., the sorting column and direction will reset to the defaults specified in the sorting settings if
the active page is changed or refreshed.

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4 Data Entry
Data entry to the system is implemented using interactive data forms. Once signed in, you can access the
record-specific data entry forms by clicking the "Create" button displayed on the record listing pages. Create
buttons are also displayed for specific record types on the information pages of the related records. For
example, the Natech Accident listing page displays a "Create" button for the Natech Accident record type, which
leads to the Natech Accident data entry form.

Remark. Display of the "Create" buttons

"Create" buttons are only displayed if the user has the right to create an associated record. This means that
the user has to be registered.
The data entry forms include mobile-friendly and responsive input elements, such as text fields, drop-down
lists, and check boxes, which are common to web-based applications. There are also some enhanced input
elements, such as fuzzy number fields (indicated by f ), wiki editors, calendars, and input lists. The forms are
dynamic, i.e., some of the input elements are shown or hidden according to the values of others. Input elements
that must not be left empty (i.e., which are mandatory) are indicated by an asterisk (*) in their labels. Textual
input elements are generally restricted to the entry of specific types of data, such as numbers, dates, or
coordinates. Usually, such elements are indicated with special icons (e.g., f ) appended to the input elements.
An example data entry form illustrating different input elements is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Example data entry form.

Form data is validated on the client-side before submission of the data to the server for processing. If empty
or invalid input data are found, the related input elements are highlighted and error messages are displayed to
indicate the identified errors (Figure 4). Form submission is not possible until all invalid inputs are corrected.
After the submission, form data is also validated on the server side to prevent unauthorised actions and to
perform additional validation which is not possible on the client-side. If all data is found to be valid, it is
processed and the associated action is performed (e.g., the record is created or updated). Otherwise, the form
is re-displayed with the entered data, and invalid input elements are indicated for correction as illustrated in
Figure 4.

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 Figure 4. Example data entry form with invalid input data.

Input elements which are either specific to eNATECH or have some additional features not commonly found are
as follows:

4.1.1 Date Input

Date input provides a calendar window from which you can choose the date easily. In order to display the
calendar window, click the "Calendar" icon next to the input element. By default, the date format (i.e.,
YYYY/MM/DD, DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY) which is used to enter and visualise the dates depends on the
language of the system.

Remark. Default time zone

Dates should be in entered in the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to prevent possible confusion among the
records due to location-specific time zones.

4.1.2 Combo Box Input

Combo box input is a combination of a text input and a drop-down list, which allows the selection of existing
values instead of re-typing manually. By clicking the button next to the input element, text input or drop-down
list modes can be toggled.

Remark. Combo boxes

Because they allow standardisation of data values, the use of existing values through the drop-down list is
good practice for combo box inputs.

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5 Record Types

5.1 Natural Hazards

The Natural Hazards record type included in eNATECH contains information related to past natural events that
triggered one or more Natech accidents. There are several sections with different headers for a Natural Hazard
record (see Figure 5). The first section has no header and regards generic information, such as the type of
natural hazard and the data status. The first header is Location where information about the natural event’s
geographic location is contained. Another header is Occurrence where additional details about the natural
hazard are provided, including the possibility to link the current Natural Hazard record with a triggering Natural
Hazard record. This is meant to connect two Natural Hazard records where one is the product of the other in a
cascade of events (e.g., a tsunami triggered by an earthquake or a flood triggered by a storm). The last section
describes the Consequences where the natural hazard impact is quantified in terms of losses, deaths and the
level of emergency response capability required to cope with the event.
Natural Hazard records are always public.

Figure 5. Example Natural Hazard record.

Attachments can be added to every Natural Hazard record to provide supporting information, such as newspaper
articles, scientific articles, and data sets (see Section 5.4).

5.2 Sites
The Sites record type contains the data related to the industrial sites in which Natech accidents have occurred.
There are several sections with different headers for a site record (see Figure 6). The first section has no header
and regards generic information, such as the name and type of the industrial activity, as well as data access

12
type and data status. The first header is Location where information about the site’s geographic location is
contained. The second header is Site Description that contains details about the site’s activities, and ideally
about the natural hazards known to be present at the site. The last section is Operator and contains information
about the company that operates the site.
Data access can be either Public or Confidential. This option helps to display information about the
accident without sharing the identity of the company involved (only country and industrial activity type of the
site are indicated if data access is chosen to be Confidential).

Figure 6. Example Site record.

Relevant attachments can be added to every Site record (see Section 5.4).

5.3 Natech Accidents

The Natech Accident record type contains information on the causes, dynamics, consequences of and response
to Natech accidents. It also includes lessons learned available for a specific accident. The Natech Accident record
is composed of a number of different sections. The first section (Figure 7) has no header and shows generic
information, such as the record type and date, as well as data status. It also displays the natural hazard and
site associated with the accident.
For every Natech Accident record, users must select a Natural Hazard record and a Site record that are
associated to the Natech accident. In the Natech Accident record creation form, the associated natural hazard
and site can either be chosen from a list of existing records or can be created from scratch. In the latter case,
the newly created records will be selected automatically as Natural Hazard and Site records associated to the
Natech Accident record under creation.
After the general accident information, additional data-entry sections follow, each containing information
relevant for describing the accident in detail.
Data access to the Natech Accident record is always Public. However, depending on user preference, the
Site information linked to the accident record may be public or can be kept confidential.

13
 Figure 7. Example Natech Accident record.

5.3.1 Units Involved

In this section, users can add any unit that was involved in the Natech accident. One or more units can be added,
and for each unit users can indicate the type of unit and its function (Figure 8). This feature allows users to
account for multiple units involved in the Natech accident at the same time. This can occur either when units
are damaged simultaneously or as a result of domino effect.

Figure 8. Example unit data entry.

5.3.2 Event Sequence

This section is a unique feature of eNATECH. It collects information about the Natech accident in the form of
an Event Sequence which consists of multiple Events that constitute the single fragments of accident
information. Together, events tell the story of what happened during the accident. For each Natech Accident
record, one or more event sequences can be indicated. Each event sequence is associated to a unit, and multiple
event sequences may be associated to the same unit. Every event sequence has a name and contains a general
description of what happened (Figure 9).
An event sequence can be the cause or the consequence of another event sequence (e.g., in case of domino
effect). To represent this, each event sequence can be considered as an event in another event sequence (e.g.,
Event Sequence 1 can be the initiator of Event Sequence 2, etc.).

Figure 9. Example event sequence data entry.

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5.3.2.1 Events
The structure of the event sequence resembles that of a bow-tie, in which Events are divided into three
categories: Initiating Event, Critical Event, and Major Event (see an example in Figure 10).
Initiating Events designate all events that concern the direct or indirect consequences of natural hazard action
that lead to equipment or facility damage and loss of containment of a hazardous substance. Initiating Events
comprise, e.g., liquid sloshing, debris impact, tank shell buckling, loss of cooling.
Critical Events are events linked to loss of containment. Typically, there is one critical event per every event
sequence, but there may be more in some cases. Critical Events include liquid release to ground, gas release to
air, release due to overflow, liquid spill on roof, etc.
Major Events categorize the events that follow loss of containment and that lead to major consequences.
Depending on the critical event and on the substance released, such events can be fires, explosions, and
dispersion of hazardous substances in various media (e.g., land, water body, atmosphere).

Figure 10. Event categories: Initiating Event, Critical Event, Major Event.

Users can add any number of events to every event sequence in a Natech Accident record (e.g., the accident in
Figure 10 features 4 major events). Users must select the relevant event sequence, the event category
(Initiating, Critical or Major) and they must select the type of event from a list available through a drop-down
menu. Then a free-text description of the event should be provided. All event types also include the option
“Other” and “Unknown” if the user cannot find the event in the available options list or if the event type is not
known. Figure 11 shows an example event data entry. The event types used for Initiating Event, Critical Event,
and Major Event are shown in Table A1 in Annex 1.

Figure 11. Example data entry for events.

5.3.2.2 Contributing Factors

Contributing Factors describe events that are not part of the event itself, but contribute to the event occurrence.
Examples of contributing factors are, e.g., absence of or inadequate safety measures, corrosion, operator error,
or power loss. For some contributing factors, eNATECH allows users to add a status (Non-existent, Unavailable,
Inadequate, Inappropriate, and Unclear) that specifies the reason why the selected factor contributed to the
accident. An example of a contributing factor with a designated status is “Emergency water system” which can

15
be Unavailable or Inadequate. Other contributing factors do not need a status, e.g., “Loss of electrical
power/short circuit”. The availability of a status option depends on the phrasing of the contributing factor.
Users can add any number of contributing factors to every event. They must select the event sequence, the
event and then the type of contributing factor from a list available through a drop-down menu. A free-text
description of the contributing factor should also be provided. Figure 12 shows an example data entry for a
contributing factor. The types of contributing factors used by eNATECH are listed in Table A2 in Annex 1.

Figure 12. Example data entry for contributing factors.

Remark. Events or contributing factors?

The system provides lists of types of events and contributing factors that are meant to guide the users.
However, in some accidents the difference between contributing factor and event may not be obvious. In these
cases, users should us their own judgement on how to encode the information in the respective Natech Accident
record.

5.3.2.3 Substances Involved

In this section, users can add the hazardous substance(s) that is are involved in the Natech accident (Figure 13).
Each substance added must be assigned to a single event sequence (and therefore to a unit) and its name must
be indicated. The substance identifier, substance quantities (quantity involved in the accident and potential
quantity available for release), storage conditions, as well as a free-text description can also be provided.

Figure 13. Example data entry for substances involved.

5.3.3 Weather Conditions

In this section, users can add information about the weather conditions at the time of the accident. Weather
information includes type of precipitation (if any), wind speed, ambient temperature and humidity.

16
5.3.4 Emergency Response
This section in the Natech Accident record collects information about the emergency response to both the
Natech accident and the triggering natural hazard. In the first part, the section includes a set of specific
statements regarding emergency response for which the user can only select Yes or No, indicating the presence
or absence of a given condition. This also includes statements related to response problems often observed
during Natech accidents. The section continues with two checklists regarding details of the emergency response
resources used and the implemented consequence mitigation strategies. Users can pick any number of items
from both checklists. Furthermore, users are offered textboxes in which they can add additional details to
explain or justify their selection.

5.3.5 Consequences
This record section contains information related to the consequences of the Natech accident, and it is aimed at
the quantification of losses (deaths, injuries, economic losses, environmental impacts, etc.). Users can only enter
a numerical value in the related fields. However, a further description of the consequences and losses can be
provided in dedicated text fields. In addition, there are two checklists related to the environmental zones (e.g.,
freshwater, offshore) and types of built-up areas (e.g., industrial, residential, commercial) impacted by the
accident. General information on experienced community disruption due to the accident can also be provided in
this section.

5.3.6 Remedial Activities

This section collects information on remediation and restoration activities carried out after the Natech accident.
The section is not guided like the previous sections and contains only three text boxes where users can describe
actions taken related to decontamination, remediation and restoration activities, if applicable.

5.3.7 Lessons Learned

This section contains important insights – so-called lessons – from the Natech accident whose consideration
can help to prevent such accidents in the future or to better mitigate their consequences. Although these lessons
are specific to the accident described in this Natech Accident record, they may also be practically applied to
other cases and other sites. This section provides information related to lessons identified with respect to
equipment, human health, organizational aspects, mitigation measures and emergency response.
Like for Natural Hazard and Sites records, attachments can also be added to Natech Accident records (see
Section 5.4).
An example of a full published Natech Accident record in eNATECH that features multiple event sequences, and
initiating, critical and major events, is shown in Annex 2.

5.4 Attachments
The Attachments record type contains files that can be attached to every other record type as supporting
documentation. However, attachments are also a record type on their own and as such can be queried and listed
like any other record type. Attachments usually contain files that are the source of the information included in
the Natural Hazard, Sites, and Natech Accident record, such as reports, journal articles, websites, data sets, etc.
Figure 14 shows an example of an attachment record.
Data access can be either Public or Confidential. This is intended to protect the files and their owners.
Some files may be confidential or they may require payment to get access (e.g., materials subject to copyright).

17
Figure 14. Example of an Attachment record.

18
References
Girgin, S., Krausmann, E. (2016) Historical analysis of U.S. onshore hazardous liquid pipeline accidents triggered
by natural hazards, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries 40, 578-590.
Krausmann, E., Necci, A. (2021) Thinking the unthinkable: A perspective on Natech risks and Black Swans, Safety
Science, 139, 105255.
Krausmann, E., Cruz, A.M., Salzano, E. (2017) Natech risk assessment and management – Reducing the risk of
natural-hazard impact on hazardous installations, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Krausmann, E., Baranzini, D. (2012) Natech risk reduction in the European Union, Journal of Risk Research, 15:8,
1027-1047, DOI: 10.1080/13669877.2012.666761
Krausmann, E., Renni, E., Campedel, M., Cozzani, V. (2011) Industrial accidents triggered by earthquakes, floods
and lightning: lessons learned from a database analysis, Natural Hazards 59, 285-300.
Misuri, A., Moreno Casson, V., Quddus, N., Cozzani, V. (2019) Lessons learnt from the impact of hurricane Harvey
on the chemical and process industry, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 190, 106521.
Necci, A., Tarantola, S., Vamanu, B., Krausmann, E., Ponte, L. (2019) Lessons learned from offshore oil and gas
incidents in the Arctic and other ice-prone seas, Ocean Engineering, 185, 12-26.
Necci, A., Girgin, S., Krausmann, E. (2018) Understanding Natech risk due to storms – Lessons learned and
recommendations, EUR 29507 EN, European Union.
Ricci, F., Casson Moreno, V., Cozzani, V. (2021) A comprehensive analysis of the occurrence of Natech events in
the process industry, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 147, 703-713.

19
List of figures
Figure 1. Home page of eNATECH. .................................................................................... 5
Figure 2. Example records listing page: Natural Hazard list. ........................................................ 7
Figure 3. Example data entry form. ..................................................................................10
Figure 4. Example data entry form with invalid input data. ........................................................11
Figure 5. Example Natural Hazard record. ...........................................................................12
Figure 6. Example Site record. ........................................................................................13
Figure 7. Example Natech Accident record. ..........................................................................14
Figure 8. Example unit data entry. ...................................................................................14
Figure 9. Example event sequence data entry. ......................................................................14
Figure 10. Event categories: Initiating Event, Critical Event, Major Event. .........................................15
Figure 11. Example data entry for events. ...........................................................................15
Figure 12. Example data entry for contributing factors. ............................................................16
Figure 13. Example data entry for substances involved. ...........................................................16
Figure 14. Example of an Attachment record. .......................................................................18

20
List of tables
Table A1. Event classification in use in eNATECH....................................................................22
Table A2. Contributing Factor classification in use in eNATECH. ...................................................25

21
Annexes
Annex 1. eNATECH Events and Contributing Factor Classifications

Table A1. Event classification in use in eNATECH.

Event type Events Initiating Critical Major

Release Gas, vapour, mist, or smoke release to air X

Gas release to water
Liquid release to ground
Liquid release to water body
Liquid release to flood water
Liquid release to groundwater
Liquid spill on roof
Solid release to ground
Solid release to water
Firewater runoff into ground
Firewater runoff into water
Release due to overflow
Other
Unknown

Fire Conflagration X
Pool fire
Jet fire
Vapour cloud fire/ flash fire
Fireball
Fire impingement on other equipment
Fire spread
Other
Unknown

Explosion Pressure burst X

BLEVE
Rapid phase-transition explosion
Runaway reaction explosion
Dust explosion
Explosive decomposition
Vapour cloud explosion
Physical explosion
Detonation
Deflagration

22
 Other
Unknown

Other Other X

Dispersion Chemical in / on water X

Chemical in / on ground
Chemical in air
Combustion products in air
Combustion products in / on water
Combustion products in / on ground
Rapid spread of oil or chemicals due to water
flow
Other
Unknown

Natural Hazard Liquid sloshing X

Sloshing of molten materials
Sparking
Exposure of pipelines / underground tanks
Debris impact
Floating off of storage tanks / equipment
Floating oil in drainage systems due to
inundation
Rapid spread of oil and chemicals due to
water flow
Release due to overflow
Hazardous reaction due to contact with
water
Sinking of floating roofs
Foundation loss due to subsidence / soil
liquefaction
Heat radiation damage
Fire impingement
Over-pressurization
Over-heating
Ember flight due to wildfire
(Self) Ignition due to high temperature
Water intrusion
Expansion due to high temperature
Contraction due to low temperature
Soil liquefaction

23
 Water / mud inundation
Wave slamming
Wind pounding
Other
Unknown

Component Complete collapse X

(Structural)
Partial collapse
Collapse of support columns
Damage to support columns
Damage / deformation of tie-bars
Buckling (tank shell, cylindrical shell,
elephant foot)
Bending of steel frame structure
Overturning / toppling
Inclining / tilting
Dislodging / displacement
Cracking / breaking
Puncture
Instrumentation damage or malfunction
Sparking
Unknown

Component Insulation damage X

(Non-structural)
Roof damage
Puncture
Cracks in the welds of steel tanks
Damage to rails, ladders, vents and other
protruding parts
Damage to emergency equipment
Breaking / tearing of anchor bolts
Dislodging / displacement
Pipe break / damage
Inclining / tilting
Damage to flange connections
Damage to pipe joints
Damage to couplings between tanks and
pipeline
Damage to motors and pumps
Unknown

24
 Building Complete collapse X
(Structural)
Partial collapse
Collapse of support columns
Damage to tie-bars and joints
Inclining / tilting
Dislodging / displacement
Unknown

Building (Non- Insulation damage X

structural)
Roof damage
Wall damage
Damage to electrical and emergency
equipment
Unknown

Lifeline Loss of water X

Loss of cooling / refrigerating capacity
Loss of heating
Loss of process air
Damage to transformer stations and
electrical turbines
Loss of electrical power / short circuit
Unknown

Event Sequence Event sequence X X

Substance Hazardous reaction due to contact with X

water
(Self) Ignition due to high temperature
Over-pressurization
Over-heating
Other
Unknown

Table A2. Contributing Factor classification in use in eNATECH.

Type Name
Equipment Component failure
Equipment Component malfunction
Equipment Loss of process control
Equipment Corrosion / fatigue
Equipment Runaway reaction
Equipment Unexpected reaction / phase-transition

25
Equipment Blockage
Equipment Electrostatic accumulation
Equipment Power interruption
Measure Containment system (e.g. walls, dikes, enclosed room)
Measure Instrument / control / monitoring devices
Measure Emergency water systems
Measure Portable fire extinguishers
Measure Back-up power
Measure Restraining straps or chains
Measure Anchoring mechanisms (e.g. anchor bolts, bracing)
Measure Structural design / retrofitting for earthquakes
Measure Bracing of pipes and connections
Measure Flexible connections for pipes
Measure Strapping and anchoring of emergency equipment
Measure Emergency shut off / safety valves
Measure Alarm systems
Measure Water curtains for hazardous gases
Measure Seismic detectors
Human Operator error
Human Operator health (e.g. death, illness, intoxication)
Human Wilful disobedience
Human Failure to carry out duties
Organisational Management organization
Organisational Management attitude
Organisational Organized procedures
Organisational Training / instructions
Organisational Supervision
Organisational Staffing
Organisational Process analysis
Organisational Design of plant / equipment / system
Organisational User-friendliness (apparatus, system, etc.)
Organisational Manufacture / construction
Organisational Isolation of equipment / system
Organisational Maintenance / construction
Organisational Testing / inspecting / recording
Other Other

26
Annex 2. Example Natech Accident Record in eNATECH

27
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