COMPARE: an integrated tool for hazard assessment and risk analysis

COMPARE (COMPuter Aided Risk Evaluation) is a prototype of an integrated tool for developing hazard assessment and risk evaluation using various modelling techniques, scenario simulations and spatial analysis. It is a geographical information system (GIS) that integrates modules for data preparation and input, modelling, spatial analysis, and data display. The package can store the geographical information about the site under consideration, the related meteorological data, a detailed plan of the industrial installations, and a data base containing the descriptions of the source points of accidental releases. The user can run a consequence model chosen from the set integrated in the package, with parameters automatically selected by the system. The output is a contour plot of the consequences of the analyzed event on the map of the site. COMPARE has been used to verify compliance of industrial installations with Italian law, as far as relevant risks are concerned.