Can earthquakes trigger serious industrial accidents in Italy? Some considerations following the experiences of 2009 L'Aquila (Italy) and 2012 Emilia (Italy) earthquakes

The earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, provoking the accident at the nuclear plant of Fukushima, highlighted, unequivocally, as strong seismic events can provoke major accidents. On the other hand the damage observed in recent earthquakes in Italy (L'Aquila, 2009 and Emilia, 2012) pointed out the high seismic vulnerability of industrial plants. This paper provides an analysis on the possibility that earthquakes can trigger serious industrial accidents (Na-Tech risk), referring in particular to the Italian territory, where many Seveso establishments are located. The results show a high risk and suggest that urgent preventative actions are needed. For this purpose, a change of the seismic safety paradigm, moving from the classical sectorial and reductionist approach to the holistic and interdisciplinary one, is required.