Journal
BURNS
Volume 41, Issue 3, Pages 497-501Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2014.08.013
Keywords
Burns; Pipelines; Mass casualty incidents; Fire disasters; Emergency systems; Acute care
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Background: Experience indicates that the frequency and impact of petroleum pipeline fires and, explosions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is presently under-represented in the academic literature. Materials and methods: Using adapted PRISMA guidelines, the authors reviewed both PubMed and the LexisNexis Academic news database, which includes periodicals, news transcripts and online reports. Country-by-country searches were conducted for petroleum pipeline fires and explosions in SSA occurring between June 1, 2004 and May 31, 2014. Results: Initial search yielded 5730 ankles from LexisNexis Academic and 3 from PubMed. On further review, a total of 28 separate petroleum pipeline-related incidents causing injuries and/or deaths were identified, 16 of which had not been previously reported in the academic literature. The events occurred in Nigeria (23), Kenya (2), Ghana (1), Sierra Leone (1), and Tanzania (1). A total of 1756 deaths were reported across all events. The most common cause of the original leak was intentional, either from theft or vandalism (13/20, 65%), or by militia activity (2/20, 10%). Conclusions: Fire disasters related to scavenging fuel from petroleum pipelines are common in SSA and cause significant morbidity and mortality. These events require better reporting tools and intervention strategies overall. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that non-academic sources can effectively supplement gaps in the academic literature. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
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