Risk Analysis Application to Hazardous Material Transportation Modes

Abstract

Hazardous material transportation is a significant issue in relation to both environment and humanity. In recent years, studies and attempts to minimize the risks of hazardous material transportation or selection of transportation mode to reduce potential hazards have increased. This study aims to evaluate the hazards arising from each stage of hazardous material transport modes and the risks arising from these hazards with an integrated approach simultaneously. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is used to evaluate hazardous material transportation modes with their stage components; probabilities of potential hazards are calculated for the risks arising from those hazards and evaluated with The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. Last, to determine the critical levels of transportation modes, calculated risk scores and parameters that affect those transportation modes, such as speed, cost, and capacity, are assessed with Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and DEMATEL approach. Ultimately, critical levels of transportation modes are ranked as highway, marine and inland, airway, and railway.