Brief

The client requested seismic risk assessments for critical components within their storage facility.

Project challenge

Italian regulation (OPCM 3274, March 20, 2003) requires seismic verification for buildings and infrastructure whose collapse could have significant consequences.

Additionally, according to Legislative Decree 105/2015 (Seveso III Directive), the operator of an industrial plant must demonstrate that all possible accident scenarios have been identified, including NaTech scenarios (Natural Hazard Triggering Technological Disasters), meaning accidents caused by natural events such as earthquakes.

Earthquakes are particularly important in Italy due to:

• the country’s seismic vulnerability
• the potential impact on industrial facilities, people, and the environment

The UNI/TS 11816-1 (2021) guidelines define how to comply with these requirements:

• first, perform seismic assessments according to current standards (NTC 2018)
• then, use quantitative risk analysis to design appropriate mitigation measures

Solution

Seismic assessments must not only consider buildings, but also:

• process equipment
• anchoring systems
• underground pipelines
• safety systems (both instrumented and non-instrumented)

An earthquake can damage multiple safety barriers at once, increasing:

• the risk of domino effects
• or the severity of accidents

Achieved results

This approach allowed:

• full compliance with client requirements
• completion within deadlines

Most importantly:

Only proper seismic verification allows you to exclude severe scenarios (like total collapse of critical components) from the Safety Report.