Title
Using GIS to assess the risks of hazardous materials transport in networks
Abstract
Routing hazardous materials (hazmat) wisely, and designing safer networks for doing so, are powerful means to reduce the potential negative impacts of transporting them. A fundamental requirement of route design and assignment is to assess the potential risk imposed by shipments traversing each link in a network. We consider the risks imposed on human populations by airborne contaminants (such as ammonia and chlorine), modelling their dispersion using a Gaussian Plume model. We model the probability of an undesirable consequence (such as injury, illness, or death) as a function of contaminant concentration. We then apply an expected consequence approach, whereby risk is treated as the product of this probability and the population affected. Map algebra techniques, from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allow us to combine concentration mathematically with the population distribution to estimate risk, for a release at any point on a network, for all parts of the study area. Map algebra further allows us to apply these risk estimates to every link in the network.
Year
DOI
Venue
2000
10.1016/S0377-2217(99)00220-9
European Journal of Operational Research
Keywords
Field
DocType
Routing,Hazardous materials,Network design,Risk assessment
Geographic information system,Population,Mathematical optimization,Network planning and design,SAFER,Risk assessment,Risk analysis (engineering),Map algebra,Hazardous waste,Mathematics,Traverse
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
121
2
0377-2217
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
27
2.33
3
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Jianjun Zhang1272.33
John Hodgson2272.33
Erhan Erkut369247.66