Abstract
This paper aims to assess the risks of storage tank accidents and identify proper countermeasures. For these purposes, the causes and scope of tank accidents were discussed, and the scope of risk assessment was expanded from accident possibility and consequence severity to the hazard degree and vulnerability of the hazard-affected bodies. Then, the risk of storage tank accidents was evaluated from three aspects: accident possibility, hazard degree and vulnerability. Then, several risk control measures were put forward with the aim to control the hazard sources, block the propagation path and decrease vulnerability. After that, the proposed measures were validated through a case study on an oil tank farm of a coastal refinery in China. Specifically, a full-surface fire was simulated on one of the oil tanks in the tank farm, the effects of the fire on the adjacent tanks and pipe rack were observed, and several countermeasures were proposed to minimize the hazards. The research findings shed new light on the understanding and prevention of storage tank accidents.
