Abstract—This work presents a study of accidents with fatalities in biofuel industries. The objective is to present preliminary accident risks associated with biodiesel and ethanol plants. The analysis is based on data occurring from 2003 to November 2013. Data statistical analysis shows that the frequency of accidents in biofuel plants has an increasing tendency, being fires and explosions the main type of accidents that occurred. Index Terms—accidents, biofuel, biodiesel, ethanol I. INTRODUCTION ISK is a multi-attribute quantity expressing hazard, danger or chance of harmful or injurious consequences associated with an actual or potential event under consideration [1]. The objective of this study is to present preliminary accident risks associated with the biofuel sector. The analysis of accident risks is based on data occurring from 2003 to November 2013. The approach used in this study was based on the evaluation of experience with accidents in the past. It is related to the collection of data from different documental sources and the subsequent setting of a database containing general information about adverse events, its consequence, mitigation, causes, and human, environmental and material consequences occurred in biodiesel facilities during the last years. Registered events comprise facilities in United States, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina and some European countries. Manuscript received March 23, 2015; revised April 9, 2015. This work was supported in part by the CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) and SeCTyP (Secretaría de Ciencia, Tecnolgía y Posgrado) of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina. S.S. Rivera is with Engineering Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, CO KFA5502, Argentina (phone: +54 261 4135000 ext. 2135; fax: +54 261 4380120; email: srivera@cediac.uncu.edu.ar). R.D. Calvo Olivares is with CONICET and Engineering Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, CO KFA5502, Argentina (phone: +54 261 4135000 ext. 2100; fax: +54 261 4380120; email: rcalvo@cediac.uncu.edu.ar ). P. Baziuk is with CONICET and Engineering Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, CO KFA5502, Argentina (phone: +54 261 4135000 ext. 2187; fax: +54 261 4380120; email: pbaziuk@cediac.uncu.edu.ar). J.E. Núñez Mc Leod is with CONICET and Engineering Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, CO KFA5502, Argentina (phone: +54 261 4135000 ext. 2135; fax: +54 261 4380120; email: jnmcleod@cediac.uncu.edu.ar). The biodiesel and ethanol accident databases were built through the revision of the following sources [2], [3]: -- Occupational Safety and Health Asministration (OSHA). -- Industrial Fire World. -- Biodiesel Magazine. -- Biofuels Journal and Grainnet. -- Steel Tank Institute. -- Environmental Protection Agency of United Stated. -- Articles in academic journals. -- Newspapers. -- Ethanol Producer Magazine. The focus of the study remained on accidents with fatalities. Comparative analyses of biodiesel and ethanol industries were performed, using aggregated indicators and frequency-consequence curves. II. NATURE OF DATA COLLECTED The data collected were based on [2] y [3]. A total of 211 events were registered and 19 accidents with fatalities were founded (12 Accidents from biodiesel / 7 from ethanol) as is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Overview of the number of accidents for biodiesel and ethanol industries, with fatalities, in the period 2003 to 2013. Fig. 2 shows the number of fatalities worldwide in biodiesel (17 fatalities) and ethanol (8 fatalities) accidents over the time period of 10 years. Assessment of Biofuel Accident Risk: A Preliminary Study Selva S. Rivera, Romina D. Calvo Olivares, Pedro A. Baziuk and Jorge E. Núñez Mc Leod, Members, IAENG R Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2015 Vol II WCE 2015, July 1 - 3, 2015, London, U.K. ISBN: 978-988-14047-0-1 ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online) WCE 2015