Quantifying risk: a necessity

Over the past thirty years, a succession of significant accidents involving material and human damage, mostly linked to the expansion of industrial activity, has highlighted the crucial issue of safety.

In 1966, in Feyzin, 18 people died following a BLEVE in several storage spheres. Subsequent accidents at Flixborough (Great Britain) in 1974, Seveso (Italy) in 1976, AZF (Toulouse) in 2001 and, more recently, Buncefield (Great Britain) in 2005 are all reminders of the need for effective methods and tools to assess risks.

In France, regulations aimed at ensuring that industrial companies control their risks have evolved considerably since 2001. Depending on the hazardous nature of their facilities, manufacturers are required to carry out studies demonstrating that they have taken all the necessary preventive and protective measures to ensure...