Vitali MUTAF, assist. lect. within the study program “Fire Safety and Civil Protection Engineering” of the Faculty of Construction, Geodesy and Cadastre, Colonel in reserve, represented the Technical University of Moldova at the UN/OECD Seminar on the aftermath of the 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut, held online on December 14, 2021 – https://unece.org/info/Environmental-Policy/Industrial-Accidents/events/358445.
The cataclysm that erupted on August 4, 2020 in the port of Beirut caused the strongest explosion in history, its impact being felt as far as Cyprus, about 200 kilometers away. The devastating fire blew hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, killing 214 people, injuring more than 6,500, some left with lifelong disabilities, and leaving tens of thousands of people homeless. As the scale of damage, equivalent to the ones of war or natural disasters, has negatively influenced the Lebanese capital, deeply traumatizing a nation and shocking the whole world, the seminar aims to take a look back at the lessons learned, the experiences and best practices in managing the risks of storage, handling and transport of ammonium nitrate in port areas, preventing accidents and mitigating their consequences.
International organizations have presented international tools and recommendations on actions to respond to accidents involving ammonium nitrate. The results of a recent UN/OECD global survey based on information on ammonium nitrate risk management were also made public, which included 101 responses from all five UN regions. The member states and industry associations exchanged information on their experiences, best practices and lessons learned.
As an expert in the Working Group on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, lecturer Vitali MUTAF spoke to the FCGC students of the Master’s program “Fire Safety and Civil Protection Engineering” about the prevention of the accidents in question and the mitigation of their consequences. The course (lectures and seminars) will also include materials on improving hazard and crisis management, developed by the UNECE Working Group – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
RU_UN-OECD seminar in follow-up to the 2020 Beirut port explosion-Agenda
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