Post-disaster assessment of toxic cloud dispersion after an industrial accident in Catalonia/Spain (2016-06-27)

<br>
Activation date: 2016-06-27 <br>
Event type: Other <br>
<br>
Activation reason: <br>
This activation concerns the monitoring of a toxic cloud in the hours following a chemical explosion on February 12th, 2015 in Igualada, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. The accident at Simar SA company (distribution and logistics of chemicals) was the result of an explosive chemical reaction, resulting from a mixture of Nitric acid with ferric sulfide and a third substance which has not been determined. The chemical reaction between these elements resulted in explosion and release of a toxic cloud. Civil Protection was forced to isolate 60,000 citizens of the Igualada and neighboring towns Òdena, Jorba, Vilanova del Camí, Santa Margarida and Sant Martí de Tous.Products requested were for overview (1:20,000) and detailed (1: 4,000) maps of:Reference mapLand Use/Land CoverToxic cloud concentrationToxic cloud total columnExposure of population &amp; assets to the toxic cloud: derived from overlaying the spatiotemporal model maps with census &amp; geospatial data.The toxic cloud maps were provided at 30 minute intervals from the time of the explosion until the complete dissipation of the toxic cloud (from 10:00 to 14:00). These were generated from the coupled FLEXPARTWRF model. <br>
<br>