Sustainability of process industry: The elements of Natech events triggered by lightnings

Lightning strikes, a prominent meteorological event, pose a significant risk of triggering technological disruptions (Natech) within the process industry. To understand better this phenomena, an analysis focused on past lightning-triggered events was carried out, examining open-source industrial accident databases to compile a dataset of 689 records. Quantitative analysis unveiled that over 80% of these events were Incidents and Loss of Containment. Notably, 83.3% of these events occurred during spring and summer, indicating a seasonal pattern. Vulnerability was highest in the Chemical and Petrochemical sector, followed by Storage and Warehousing. Storage equipment accumulated about 40% of the events, followed by electric equipment and electronic devices at 21%. Fire scenarios predominated at 56%. Roughly 70% of triggered scenarios involved substances classified as physical hazards according to GHS. Event tree analysis indicated that direct industrial structure impacts accounted for 36%, while an indirect pathway contributed to 12% of classifiable records. Bayesian network analysis enabled the derivation of conditional probabilities for final scenarios based on equipment and macro-sectors. Estimated losses underscored the adverse consequences of lightning-triggered Natech events, highlighting their major impact affecting both the safety and the environment. The results are relevant in the context of climate change where meteorological events may become more critical.