ACCIDENTAL RELEASE OF CHLORINE AND ITS IMPACT ON URBAN AREAS

摘要

Among the possible scenarios of accidental releases of chlorine from high pressure cylinders, this paper considers a typical one for the analysis. The calculated transient mass flow rate of chlorine released from a one-tonne cylinder showed that such an accident takes about 10-minutes to evacuate the cylinder. However, the toxic effect in the surrounding atmosphere continues for a longer period (about 20 minutes). The size and location of the toxic cloud at ground level were predicted as functions of time using an EPA-based dispersion model. The results showed a growth of the toxic cloud for some time beyond which it started to decay. For the typical scenario considered in this study, the most dangerous situation generated a toxic cloud with dimensions of 4000 m and 600 m in the downwind and crosswind directions, respectively.A study of the effects of some meteorological parameters on the size and location of the toxic cloud at ground level was also conducted. In general, it was observed that enhancing atmospheric mixing produced larger toxic zones during the early stages of the release and caused an opposite effect during the later ones. This dynamic data was linked to a GIS environment and the time variant was represented using an animation technique for Al-Ain City, United Arab Emirates. Data base information related to physical urban characteristics and population was immediately obtained for the affected areas.