Minimum Risk Route Model for Hazardous Materials

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the minimum risk route for transporting a specific hazardous material (HM) between a point of origin and a point of destination (O-D pair) in the study area which minimizes risk to population and environment. The southern part of Quebec is chosen as the study area and major cities are identified as points of origin and destination on the highway network. Three classes of HM, namely chlorine gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and sulphuric acid, are chosen. A minimum risk route model has been developed to determine minimum risk routes between an O-D pair by using population or environment risk units as link impedances. The risk units for each link are computed by taking into consideration the probability of an accident and its consequences on that link. The results show that between the same O-D pair, the minimum risk routes are different for various HM. The concept of risk dissipation from origin to destination on the minimum risk route has been developed and dissipation curves are included.