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DSEAR

Explosion Risk Modelling Consequence Analysis & Process Safety

Expert explosion consequence modelling — blast overpressure calculations, thermal radiation analysis, toxic dispersion modelling and domino effect assessment. Essential for COMAH safety reports, emergency planning zones and major accident hazard management.

Discuss Modelling Needs 0333 3233 785
BlastOverpressure calculations
ThermalRadiation modelling
ToxicDispersion analysis
COMAHSafety report support
Process Safety

When DSEAR Meets Process Safety

A workplace risk assessment is a systematic examination of your work activities, premises and processes to identify what could cause harm to people — and whether you're doing enough to prevent it. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR), every employer must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees and anyone else who may be affected by their work activities.

If you have five or more employees, the significant findings of your risk assessment must be recorded in writing. But regardless of your size, risk assessment is the foundation of every health and safety management system — without it, you're managing safety blind.

RADCaT's qualified health and safety consultants carry out thorough, practical workplace risk assessments for businesses of every size and sector across the UK. We don't produce generic templates — we visit your premises, walk your processes, talk to your team and produce site-specific, task-specific assessments that genuinely reflect your operations and give you a clear, prioritised action plan for improvement.

Whether you need a general workplace risk assessment for your office, a task-specific assessment for high-risk activities in a factory, a site-wide review for a multi-building campus, or a pre-project risk assessment for a construction site — RADCaT delivers expert, HSE-compliant assessments tailored to your industry and your operations.

Buncefield, Flixborough and Texas City all demonstrated what unmodelled explosion risks look like. Quantitative consequence modelling turns theoretical "what ifs" into engineering data that drives real safety investment.

Explosion Risk Modelling from RADCaT
Types of Risk Assessment

Modelling & Analysis Services

Quantitative consequence analysis for major accident scenarios.

Blast Overpressure

Calculation of explosion overpressure distances for VCE (vapour cloud explosions), confined explosions and dust explosions. Damage contours for building design and separation distances.

Thermal Radiation

Modelling of thermal radiation from pool fires, jet fires, fireballs and BLEVEs. Heat flux contours for emergency planning, building siting and escalation assessment.

Toxic Dispersion

Atmospheric dispersion modelling for toxic gas or vapour releases. Concentration contours for SLOT/SLOD, emergency planning zones and shelter-in-place decisions.

Domino Effect Assessment

Assessment of escalation potential between adjacent hazardous installations. Identification of credible domino scenarios and separation distance requirements.

Explosion Relief Design

Specification of explosion relief systems — vent panels, explosion doors, flameless venting — based on calculated overpressure and rate of pressure rise (Kst/KG values).

COMAH Safety Report Support

Consequence analysis and risk assessment inputs for COMAH safety reports. Major accident scenario identification, likelihood assessment and demonstration of ALARP.

Every Industry

Risk Assessments for Your Sector

Every industry has different hazards. We tailor every assessment to your specific sector and operations.

Factories & Warehousing

Machinery, forklift, racking, noise

Transport & Logistics

Depot safety, loading bays, vehicles

Construction

CDM, excavations, heights, demolition

Schools & Education

Classrooms, labs, playgrounds, trips

Care & Healthcare

Patient handling, clinical, infection

Chemical

Process safety, COSHH, DSEAR

Hospitality

Kitchens, fire, slips, public safety

SMEs & Offices

DSE, fire, general workplace

Charities

Events, lone working, volunteers
Our Process

How We Carry Out a Risk Assessment

1

Scenario Definition

We identify credible major accident scenarios based on your DSEAR assessment, substance inventories, process conditions and historical incident data for your industry.

2

Source Term Analysis

We characterise each release scenario — substance properties, release rate, inventory, duration, conditions (temperature, pressure) and containment failure modes.

3

Consequence Modelling

We run quantitative models for each scenario — blast overpressure, thermal radiation, toxic dispersion — producing distance/damage contours.

4

Risk Assessment

We combine consequence data with likelihood estimates to produce risk contours and individual/societal risk assessments where required for COMAH.

5

Reporting & Recommendations

Comprehensive modelling report with scenario descriptions, input parameters, results, contour maps and practical recommendations for risk reduction.

Related Services

Complete Your Compliance Puzzle

DSEAR Risk Assessment

Explosive atmosphere assessment

ATEX Zone Classification

Zone drawings & equipment

Hazard Identification

Substance & ignition mapping

Explosion Risk Modelling

Consequence analysis

Control Measures

Practical risk reduction

DSEAR Training

Staff awareness courses

Compliance Reviews

Ongoing DSEAR monitoring

COSHH Assessments

Hazardous substance compliance

Dangerous Goods

DGSA & ADR compliance

Health & Safety

Workplace risk management

On-Site Training

Delivered at your premises

Chemical Industry

Specialist sector support
Common Questions

Explosion Risk Modelling FAQ

When is explosion risk modelling needed?

For facilities handling large quantities of flammable or toxic substances — particularly COMAH sites requiring safety reports. Also for land-use planning consultations, building design near hazardous installations, explosion vent sizing and emergency planning zone definition.

What is COMAH?

The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015. Applies to sites holding dangerous substances above specified thresholds. Lower-tier sites need a MAPP (Major Accident Prevention Policy). Upper-tier sites need a full safety report including consequence modelling.

What software do you use?

We use industry-standard consequence modelling tools validated against experimental data and accepted by HSE and the Competent Authority for COMAH submissions.

Can modelling reduce my COMAH obligations?

Modelling can demonstrate that actual risks are lower than conservative screening assessments might suggest — potentially affecting emergency planning zone extents and land-use planning advice. It provides the evidence base for proportionate risk management.

What is a BLEVE?

Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion — a catastrophic failure of a vessel containing pressurised liquefied gas (e.g. LPG). BLEVEs produce fireballs with extreme thermal radiation. Modelling determines safe distances and fire impingement protection requirements.

Do you model dust explosions?

Yes. Using substance-specific Kst values (rate of pressure rise) and Pmax (maximum pressure), we model dust explosion consequences in process vessels, ductwork, silos and buildings. Essential for explosion vent design and suppression system specification.

How much does modelling cost?

Based on the number of scenarios, complexity and whether results are needed for COMAH, planning or internal purposes. Contact us for a scoping discussion.

Need Explosion Risk Modelling?

Get in touch for a free scoping discussion about your facility and modelling requirements.

Discuss Modelling Needs 0333 3233 785