Safety at waste and recycling industry: Detection and mitigation of waste fire accidents

Muhammad Asim Ibrahim; Anders Lönnermark; William Hogland

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2022.02.004

Safety at waste and recycling industry: Detection and mitigation of waste fire accidents

Waste Manag. 2022 Mar 15:141:271-281. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.02.004. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Authors

Muhammad Asim Ibrahim¹, Anders Lönnermark², William Hogland³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Sweden. Electronic address: asim.ibrahim@lnu.se.
² RISE, Research Institutes of Sweden AB, Sweden. Electronic address: anders.lonnermark@ri.se.
³ Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Sweden. Electronic address: William.hogland@lnu.se.

PMID: 35158312
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.02.004

Abstract

In this study, NASA's VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) fire hotspots and data of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), collected between 2012 and 2018, was integrated to characterize waste fire incidents that were detected by VIIRS and reported to MSB (DaR), detected by VIIRS but not reported to MSB (DbNR) and that are reported to MSB but not detected by VIIRS (RbND). Results show that the average number of open waste fire incidents per million capita per year (AFIPMC) in Sweden, for the period 2012-2018, ranges from 2.4 to 4.7. Although a weak correlation exists (r = 0.44, P = 0.1563, one tailed) between years and number of fire incidents (MSB + VIIRS fires), a continuous increase in number of fire incidents was recorded between 2014 and 2018. It is concluded that the use of satellite data of fire anomalies, in-combination with the use of incident reports, will help in formalizing more reliable and comprehensive waste fire statistics. Another focus area of the article is to consolidate the recommendations and routines for safe storage of waste and biofuels and to present the lessons that can be learnt from past fire incidents. The article also discusses the technical, political, economic, social, and practical aspects of waste fires and provide a baseline for future research and experimentation.

Keywords: Fire hazard; Safe storage; Waste emissions; Waste fire; Waste industry; Waste management.