Structural issues in seismic risk assessment of existing oil storage tanks

Large regions in many countries are exposed to earthquakes, thus seismic risk evaluation is a relevant issue and requires specific knowledge development and integration between different skills. Failure of critical constructions can have direct and indirect influence on public safety; in fact, pollution or damages due to explosions can be related to collapse of industrial facilities. In the present paper, after a review of available data concerning industrial plants in Italy with specific reference to their exposure to earthquake actions, the main aspects related to structural design and seismic evaluation of existing facilities for oil storage are discussed and the main features of probabilistic procedures able to give fragility curves of structures and components to be used in seismic risk assessment are outlined.