Introduction to eNATECH

The impact of natural hazards on industrial plants that contain hazardous substances can cause fires, explosions, and toxic or radioactive releases. Despite a growing body of research and more stringent regulations for the design and operation of industrial installations, these so-called Natech accidents remain a threat, according to the report. The collection and analysis of accident and near miss data is crucial for learning lessons to prevent future Natech accidents and to better mitigate their consequences.

The quality of Natech accident data in general industrial accident databases is not uniform and frequently lacks the necessary details which renders their use for meaningful lesson learned studies difficult. In response, the European Commission Joint Research Centre has developed a dedicated Natech accident database called eNATECH which reflects the advanced accident representation needed to capture the characteristics of Natech events. Access to the eNATECH database is public and free, and registered users can introduce their own accident data to increase the pool of information available for Natech forensic analysis. This document explains the philosophy behind the eNATECH data structure and provides short tutorials based on real accident cases to guide users in browsing the database and in introducing their own accident or near miss data.