Natural hazard triggered technological accidents, or Natech accidents, occur when natural events affect industrial sites that process, store or handle hazardous substances, potentially causing the release of hazardous chemicals, fires or explosions. Even relatively common hazards such as lightning can have serious consequences for hazardous installations, people and the environment.
Managing these risks requires strong governance and effective risk management by industry and public authorities. This requires understanding site vulnerabilities and changing hazard patterns, including those influenced by climate change, and applying sound technical risk assessment to help ensure the safe and reliable long term operation of hazardous installations.
What types of natural hazards can trigger technological accidents at hazardous installations and how can these interactions lead to releases of hazardous substances or other major consequences? How might changing hazard patterns, including those influenced by climate change, affect Natech risk over time? How can leaders in industry and public authorities strengthen governance, risk awareness and organisational arrangements to better prevent, prepare for and respond to Natech events?
This webinar introduced the joint guidance Managing Risks from Natural Hazards to Hazardous Installations: A Guide for Senior Leaders in Industry and Public Authorities, developed by the OECD, the European Commission Joint Research Centre and the UNECE. This guidance aims to support senior leaders to in self-assessing how prepared their organisation is to manage Natech risks effectively.
The webinar also shared practical perspectives in managing Natech risks, featured a national strategy from Colombia, implementation insights from industry and a forward-looking perspective on emerging risks from academia.
