The safety of gas systems in the event of seismic events, second Boldrin Group.
With Seismic Device born as a division of NRG Tech in 2012, we have chosen to tackle the complex and extremely fascinating world of seismic safetyThe seismic safety management system of the plants.
According to data from expert seismologists, there are at least 20.000 earthquakes every year. In the last 500 years, some XNUMX million people have lost their lives due to earthquakes and seaquakes. These are shocking figures, especially considering that most deaths are caused by buildings collapsing or tremors leading to explosions.
And the situation is only set to worsen, given that millions of people live and work in large earthquake-prone cities.
The seismic situation in Italy
Italy is an earthquake-prone country. Anyone building or restructuring must comply with specific earthquake regulations, designed to protect the lives of the people living there.
In line with the latest international regulations, Italy provides technical standards according to which a building must be able to withstand minor earthquakes without any serious damage, and stronger earthquakes without collapsing or causing casualties.
In 2003, the Italian Government set out the criteria for a new national earthquake classification system, based on the most recent studies and assessments of seismic risk. Seismic risk is the probability that a given area will be affected by an event exceeding a certain threshold of intensity or magnitude, in a certain time interval (usually 50 years).
1 Zone – It is the most dangerous area, where earthquakes of catastrophic magnitude can occur
2 Zone – There is a high probability of strong earthquakes in this area
3 Zone – Strong earthquakes can occur in this area but the event is rare.
4 Zone It's the least dangerous area. Earthquakes are rare.
Boldrin Group's intervention to support seismic safety
The aim of Seismic Device – set up as a division of NRG Tech in 2012 – is to tackle the complex and extremely interesting matter of seismic safety.
Complex, because it is governed by very specific stringent regulations, both as regards constructing and maintaining buildings and plants.
Interesting, because it provides another opportunity for us to bring order to chaos, creating tools and solutions to monitor structural and seismic movements and gas leaks, both remotely and in real time.
Discover ours
Case History
Regulations
Le NTC2018 identify the minimum seismic vulnerability indices that must be reached in the event of improvement of historic properties and adaptation of existing school buildings. Anci summarizes the main innovations contained in the new NTC (decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure 17 January 2018). In addition to the minimum seismic vulnerability indices for existing schools and historic buildings, which we will examine in more detail below, the note from the Anci summarizes the other contents of the new NTC (decree of the Ministry of Infrastructure 17 January 2018): general technical construction criteria for the design, construction and testing of buildings and for their consolidation, general criteria for the safety verification of buildings, investigations on soil and rocks and technical specifications for the design, construction and testing of earth support works and foundation works; general criteria and technical specifications for the design, construction and testing of special works and the protection of buildings from fires.
NTC 2018 Official Journal
CIG Guideline nr. 13 (November 2014 edition)
Seismic risk affects vast areas of the national territory. Current legislation imposes precise obligations on gas transport and distribution companies, in order to guarantee the operation of the managed infrastructures which, in
in the event of seismic events, they must suffer limited damage, so as not to compromise the safety of the people involved and to allow the affected populations to quickly return to normality.
- Contents Updated overview of the legislation applicable to the gas sector;
- Specific criteria to be followed in the design of new gas pipelines;
- Parameters for the vulnerability and risk analysis of existing networks and systems;
- Responsibilities of the various interested parties (gas companies, public bodies, customers) Interventions by
include in the action plans and related priorities; - Specific technical solutions and possible operational methods for risk mitigation;
- Applicability of emergency management methods Learning verification test.
The document produced aims to offer an initial contribution to those who work in planning interventions on hospital assets, summarizing the fundamental dimensions of the analysis and offering some references for further knowledge to support choices and behaviours. For a community hit by a seismic event, the hospital, a macrostructure crowded with thousands of people with very different reactive capacities, is one of the most exposed and sensitive locations, but it is also a vital organ, which, in conditions of stress, is required to respond promptly and effective to contain the damage of seismic trauma. If the hospital is able to absorb the shock force of the earthquake and continue to offer medical comfort, the community finds one of its cornerstones, on which to demonstrate its reaction and recovery. The appropriate protection of a nerve center such as a hospital is correlated to the level of available knowledge: the prediction of performances, structural and otherwise, differs based on the magnitude and frequency of expected seismic events, the resistance capabilities of the components and systems, both building and plant engineering, deviate from the hypotheses of the models the more these simplify the existing reality.
With THE “SEVESO DIRECTIVE”
III” – LEGISLATIVE DECREE 26 JUNE 2015, N°105 Community Directive 2012/18/EU (Seveso III) on the control of the risk of major accidents associated with dangerous substances has also been implemented in Italy. This directive relating to the control of the danger of major accidents entirely replaces directives 96/82/EC (so-called “Seveso II”) and 2003/105/EC and the related transposition decrees, legislative decrees 334/99 and 238/05.
The updating of community legislation on the control of the danger of major accidents connected to certain dangerous substances is mainly due to the need to adapt the regulations to the recent change in the classification system of chemical substances.
This change was introduced by Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures, in order to harmonise the identification and cataloguing system.
of chemical products within the European Union with that adopted at international level within the UN (GHS – Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals).
Many storage facilities for flammable and chemical products, as per Annex C of this Legislative Decree, appear to be lacking in the aspects listed below:
- 1.2 – historical analysis of accidents;
- 3.1 – shortage of Ceraunian weather data;
- 3.2 - seismic risk analysis, conducted in the same way as incidental analysis, with the objective of establishing whether the possible seismic vulnerability of the buildings and installed structures could lead to an increase in the incidental scenarios already identified, or whether it leads to new ones, or whether would result in the outage of systems and protection devices that could affect these scenarios.
EN 81-77 standard with the publication of the new elevator classification standard regarding the EN 81-77 standard promoted by CEN/TC10 - which deals with the standardization of elevators for the European Union, the topic has become even more relevant , sadly too neglected in recent years, relating to the lift with reduced seismic vulnerability. An even more sensitive topic if we consider countries like Italy, and mentioning only Europe, Greece, Romania, Portugal, Turkey or some areas of Spain and France. This regulation requires that the lift be conceived, designed and produced taking into account the seismic level of the area in which it is installed
The Fire Department has published the technical guide entitled "Guidelines for reducing the seismic vulnerability of fire-prevention systems.” (ed. December 2011). This is a tool created with the aim of providing the minimum seismic safety requirements deemed necessary to obtain installation conditions and characteristics that guarantee the safety of people, the maintenance of functionality and prompt post-system restoration.
Official Journal of 29/10/2003 Ordinance of the President of the Council of Ministers 3274/2003
First elements regarding general criteria for the seismic classification of the national territory and technical regulations for constructions in seismic areas.
The art. 2 paragraph 3 cites : “It is mandatory to carry out checks, to be carried out by the respective owners, in accordance with the provisions set out in the aforementioned annexes, both of buildings of strategic interest and of infrastructural works whose functionality during seismic events takes on fundamental importance for civil protection purposes, both of buildings and infrastructural works which can take on relevance in relation to the consequences of a possible collapse. The verifications referred to in this paragraph must be carried out within five years from the date of this ordinance and primarily concern buildings and structures located in seismic zones 1 and 2, as defined in Annex 1".
All public places of aggregation such as hospitals, shopping centres, cinemas, supermarkets, nurseries, schools, museums, hotels, restaurants, sports halls, stadiums, theatres, post offices, gyms, churches, places of worship, are interested in a periodic check of the load-bearing elements of the building with structural assessments by qualified professionals (structural engineers).
To date despite this ordinance dates back to 2003, we note the fact that our country still lacks a "consciousness civil”. The same people in charge of these structures do not realize that they are primarily the ones involved in the event of disasters and/or calamities of both a seismic and hydrogeological nature.
Links
NRG TECH
https://www.nrgtech.it
EMCS-CSEM
https://www.emsc-csem.org/#2
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF GEOLOGISTS
https://www.cngeologi.it
CIVIL PROTECTION
https://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GEOPHYSICS AND VOLCANOLOGY
https://www.ingv.it/it/
ISI – ITALIAN SEISMIC ENGINEERING
https://www.ingegneriasismicaitaliana.com/it/3/homepage/
