Adrian Robert GLOOR ASTRA, Switzerland

1. Prevention of major accidents in road
transportation of dangerous goods
Adrian R. Gloor
Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO)
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 1

2.  Swiss Major Accidents Ordinance (MAO)
 Dangerous Goods on Swiss Roads
 Risk studies
Content  F/N-Curves and risk criteria
 Evaluation process
 Risk landscape of the Swiss motorway network
 Safety measures
 Impacts/Conclusions
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 2

3. Swiss MAO
 GOAL of Swiss MAO:
•1982 Seveso Directive Anyone who operates installations which, in
exceptional circumstances, could seriously
•1982 Swiss damage people or their natural environment
Environmental must take the measures required to protect the
Protection Act, Art. 10
population and the environment.
disaster prevention
•1986 Schweizerhalle/ “In contrast to the Seveso Directive, the
Sandoz fire accident Swiss MAO includes the transportation of
•1991 Swiss Major
dangerous goods on traffic routes.” !
(Motorways, railways and Rhine river navigation )
Accident Ordinance
(MAO)
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 3

4.  Traffic loads from 2’000 to 140’000 vehicles
per day
The Swiss  0.5% of traffic is transporting dangerous goods
motorway network
• 1799 km network  75% of dangerous goods are combustibles
• 228 tunnels  Densely populated areas in the economic center
• In a rural and urban of Switzerland
environment
„Bern - Basel -
Dangerous Goods Zurich – Lucern“
• 13.6 Mio t / a
• 752 Mio t km / a
!
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 4

5. Accidents
• Dangerous goods
transports include risks
• Major accidents are
rare
• Aversion
• How to prevent? „Bern - Basel -
Zurich – Lucern“
• How to keep on a low
level ?
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 5

6. Open roads Tunnels
Analysis and evaluation of DG risks Analysis and evaluation of DG risks
Owner's summary report Risk study Owner's summary report Risk study
Risk studies
Hs = ASV * AGS * ... Hs = ASV * AGS * ...
• Frequency of accidents
• Standard models for
Art. 3 StFV Art. 8 StFV
damage scenarios
Structural / Operational / Structural / Operational /
- fires technical Organisational technical Organisational
- explosions, BLEVE Safety Restrictions DG Safety Restrictions DG
Drainage
measures measures Convoy
Convoy
- release of toxic gases Crash barrier
...
... ...
- release of water
pollutants
• Tunnels and open ADR 2007 / SDR
roads
„Risks are calculated
in sections of 100 m over
the whole network“ Organisational measures:
Categorisation according to ADR 2007/2009
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 6

7. F/N-Curves
• Frequency (F) of
occurance per year
and 100m Risk is not acceptable
Tr
an
• Damage (N) sit
io na
- fatalities rea
→
as
- polluted se
sm
surface water Risk is acceptable en
t by
t he
- loss of drinking water au
th
o rit
y
Risk criteria
Number of fatalities
• F x Na = k
• Aversion (a) = 2 „Risks in the transition area have to be
reduced, only if it is economically feasible
and reasonable.“
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO
7

8. Evaluation process
„Overall supervision of
• Two stage the process is carried
investigation process out by the Federal office
for the environment
(FOEN) .“
(1)Summary report
(2)Detailed risk studies
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 8

9. „Surface Water“
Risk landscapes
• 90% on a low level
• Hot spots
- urban motorways
- motorways along
rivers and lakesides
- crossing ground
water
areas which are used
for drinking water
supply „Population“
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 9

10. „N02, City of Basel“
Motorways in urban
environment
• Traffic load > 80‘000
vehicles per day
• Population densitiy >
1‘000 persons per km2
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 10

11. „N02, Lake of Lucern“
Surface water
• Traffic load > 40‘000
vehicles per day
• Direct drainage into
surface waters
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 11

12. „N01, interchange
Limmattal
(near the city of Zurich)“
Ground water
• Traffic load > 20‘000
vehicles per day
• Amount of drinking
water used > 2‘500 liter
per minute
• Cover of ground water
carrier partially
permeable and < 10m
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 12

13. „N02, tunnel of St.Gotthard “
Tunnels
• Risks in tunnels
depend strongly on
safety equipment
• Due to high risks 7
tunnels are closed for
transport of dangerous
goods.
(ADR categorie “E“)
E
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 13

14. “FEDRO Standards and
Swiss norms includes the
“state-of-the-art” on safety
Safety measures technology.”
• Structure
“To keep the risks
• Technology low, these must be
• Organization considered
mandatory.”
• MAO risk studies have
a strong influence
on the develeopment
of
motorway standards
and norms
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 14

15. Reinforced guardrails
Additional
Safety measures
• In some cases the E Escape tunnels,
application of closure for DG trucks
standards and norms
does not reduce the
risks sufficiently
Sealing embankment
• Additional safety to protect ground water
measures have to be of as
e nt es h l
taken ipm ervic idua
qu s
“E ncy s e re
Special traffic routing,
reducing accident rates
e
em o c
t
th
erg over isks”
r !
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 15

16.  Awarness of risks on the Swiss motorways and
knowledge on the driving risk parameters
 Guidelines for the development/adaption of norms
and standards in road construction
Impacts
 Continuous reduction of risks through the
Conclusions
• What are the
application of these norms and standards as part
advantages of Swiss
of road maintenance
MAO for motorways ?  Insights for the adaption of the ADR-regulations
“20 years after the introduction of Swiss
MAO, Risk considerations are today an
integral part of Swiss road construction.”
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 16

17. Thank you for your
attention !
Swiss Federal Roads Office FEDRO 17