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Published June 20, 2017 | public
Book Section - Chapter

A Systematic Framework for Root-Cause Analysis of the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Using the AcciMap Methodology

Abstract

According to the US Energy Information Administration [1], the natural gas industry supports 33% of electricity generation in the US. Despite this critical role, the importance of safety and safety culture in the natural gas industry has not been adequately highlighted. The absence of strict regulations and lack of attention towards precautionary measures have allowed the industry to persevere with insufficient urgency for implementing innovative technologies and safety-first protocols. On October 23, 2015, the Aliso Canyon natural gas accident highlighted how the lack of regulatory oversight in a low probability, high consequence industry could have such impactful and unpredictable repercussions. This paper analyzes the concatenation of events that led to the Aliso Canyon gas leak. It adopts the AcciMap methodology, which was originally introduced by Rasmussen in 1997 as an accident investigation framework, to conduct a systematic root-cause analysis and capture different involved socio-technical factors that contributed to the leak.

Additional Information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG. First Online: 20 June 2017.

Additional details

Created:
August 21, 2023
Modified:
January 14, 2024