Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog

RECORD NUMBER: 29 OF 2346

Main Title Accident Epidemiology and the RMP Rule: Learning from a Decade of Accident History Data for the U.S. Chemical Industry.
Author P. R. KLEINDORFER ; R. A. Lowe ; I. Rosenthal ; R. FU ; J. C. Belke
CORP Author Wharton School, Philadelphia, PA. Leonard Davis Inst. of Health Economics.; Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. Office of Emergency Management.
Year Published 2007
Stock Number PB2008-114298
Additional Subjects Hazardous materials ; Accidents ; Chemical industry ; Epidemiology ; Statistics ; Data bases ; Process safety ; Reporting requirements ; Risks ; Accident prevention ; Hazardous chemical facilities ; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ; Risk management programs
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
NTIS  PB2008-114298 Some EPA libraries have a fiche copy filed under the call number shown. 07/26/2022
Collation 236p
Abstract
In recent years, the Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center of the University of Pennsylvania has worked under a cooperative agreement with EPA to carry out a program of basic and applied research into chemical facility risk management. This report describes the major findings from all of the accident epidemiology studies conducted under the EPA-Wharton cooperative agreement. For example, during a decade-long period characterized by increasing economic activity and increasing hazard level at RMP-covered facilities, there has been a decline in the frequency of accidents reported by the approximately 10,000 facilities that have been continuously covered by the rule since its inception. Other research findings include a decline in toxic worst-case scenario vulnerable zones and the presence of a 'Texas City effect' in the statistical analysis of accident severity. Accidents with the largest reported consequences (such as the March 2005 explosion at the BP America refinery in Texas City, TX) had a very significant influence on the mean severity of all reported accidents. This finding highlights the importance of preventing low-probability, high-consequence accidents. The study concludes with a discussion of its limitations and suggestions for future research.