About FACTS Online

Database for accidents with hazardous materials or dangerous goods

Accidents involving hazardous materials may have serious consequences for people, the environment and property. So, reducing the incidence of such accidents is very important. One way of doing so is to investigate the causes of previous accidents- the information obtained is used to prevent history from repeating itself by formulating lessons learned or recommendations and to improve emergency response in future accidents.

At the end of the seventies TNO created FACTS, a knowledge database containing information about (industrial) accidents involving hazardous materials which caused, or could have caused, severe damage and danger.
The information stored in FACTS is often obtained from professional sources, such as accident reports made by companies, government agencies (such as CSB, TSB, NTSB, NRC, MARS, ARIA, ZEMA), or from publications in technical periodicals and other literature. Of course, information from a number of sources is confidential. This information is treated with strict anonymity.

FACTS is the most comprehensive database of its kind available on the market today. It contains more than 28,600 descriptions of accidents with hazardous materials. All accidents recorded in FACTS are coded in abstracts so as to make the data available for the purposes of risk and safety management, risk analyses, damage prevention, training and emergency response.
The accidents retrieved from FACTS are presented on three different informational levels. The first level is the ‘accident table’ containing an overview of the main features of the selected accidents. The second level is the ‘accident abstract’, containing coded identification and a description of the accident. The third and last level is the ‘extended abstract’ which, if available, contains the complete textual information about the accident.