BHOPAL

OUTCOME
Differentiate safety and health
Type of hazard
Major hazard in chemical industry
Past industrial accident
To know is to survive and to ignore
fundamentals is to court disaster
H.H. Fawcett and W.S. Wood, Safety and Accident Prevention in chemical operation,
New York, Wiley, 1984.
Safety vs health
Safety Health
A state of environment A state of the individual
Typically injured related (not
only)
Typically disease related (but
not only)
Does not include positive
health
Includes positive health
External Internal
Occupational safety the protection of
people from physical injury
Occupational health the protection of the
bodies and minds of people from illness
Term Definition
Accident undesired event giving rise to death, ill health, injury, damage
or other loss
Incident event that gave rise to an accident or had potential to lead to
an accident (not all incidents propagate into accidents)
(An incident where no ill health, injury, damage, or other loss
occurs is referred to as near-miss)
Near miss an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or
damage but had the potential to do so.
Hazard source or situation (chemical or physical) with a potential to
cause harm, injury or damage to either human, property or the
environment or some combination of these.
Risk combination of the likelihood (probability) of a specified
hazardous event occurring and its consequence(s)
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Hazard definition
Unsafe condition and unsafe acts that
could potentially cause accidents/ harm
Unsafe act
A violation of an acceptable safe
procedure which could permit the
occurrence of an accident
A hazardous physical condition or circumstances
which could directly permit the occurrence of an
accident.
This could be the result of an unsafe act by
someone
Example of unsafe act:
Operating without authority
Failure to warn or secure
Operating at improper speed
Making safety devices inoperable
Using defective equipment
Using equipment improperly
Failure to use PPE
Improper loading, placement
Servicing equipment in motion
Example of unsafe condition:
Inadequate guards or protection
Defective tools, equipment
Congestion, bad housekeeping
Inadequate warning system
Fire and explosion hazards
Hazardous atmospheric condition
Excessive noise
Inadequate illumination or ventilation
IDENTIFY UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS; AND POSSIBLE
TYPES OF ACCIDENT
Categories of hazards
Chemical
Thermodynamics
Electrical & electromagnet
Health
External
Mechanical
Biological
examples
Chemical hazards
Acidity
Alkalinity
Corrosivity
Explosiveness
Flammability
Toxicity
Asphyxiation
Compressed or
liquified gas
Dust
Oxidizers
Thermodynamics
hazards
High pressure
Vacuum
Heat transfer
High temperature
Low temperature
Fluid jets
examples
Electrical &
electromagnet
hazards
High voltage
Radiation
Static electricity
Electrical current
Poor insulation
Health hazards
Noise
Pollution
Vibration
Radioactivity
Temperature extremes
examples
External threats
Accidental damage by
missile and vehicles
Act of God and natural
causes
Abnormal
environmental
extremes
External interference
Instability of structures
External releases of
energy or toxin, etc.
Mechanical hazards
Mechanical energy
Stresses
Impact and forces
Contact laceration
Biological hazards
Parasites
Viruses
Bacteria
fungi
Examples of Physical Hazards
Excessive noise Excessive vibration Inadequate
lighting
8/09/2014
Slip hazard Tripping hazards Exposure to radiation
Major Hazards in Process
Industries
Toxic Release
Fire
Explosion
Hazard from Toxic Substances
There are no harmless substance,
only harmless ways of using substances
Toxicants
A chemical agents
A physical (dusts, fibers, noise, and radiation)
agents, e.g. asbestos
Toxicity is a property of toxicant that describe
its effect on biological organism.
Toxic hazards is the likelihood of damage to
biological organism based on exposure
resulting from the use/transport/storage of the
toxicants (hazardous material).
Hazard from Toxic Substances
Effects that are Irreversible
Carcinogen-cause cancer
Mutagen-cause chromosome (gene) damage
Teratogen- cause birth defects
Effects that may or may not be irreversible
Dermatotoxic affects skin
Hemotoxic affects blood
Hepatotoxic- affects liver
Nephrotoxic affects kidneys
Neutotoxic affects nervous system
Pulmonotoxic- affects lungs
Fire
Jet Fire
Flash Fire
Pool Fire
A jet fire is the combustion of material
emerging with significant momentum from
an orifice, from a source under pressure,
e/g. a flammable liquid or gas is ignited
after its release from a pressurized,
punctured vessel or pipe.
The pressure release generates a long
flame which is stable under most
conditions.
The duration of a jet fire is determined by
the release rate and the capacity of the
source.
Flame length increase directly with flow
rate.
Crosswinds affect flame length.
An increase in crosswind velocity causes
the flame to bend over quickly and be
convected by the wind.
The flame length increases with crosswind
velocity.
A jet flame is similar to a Bunsen burner
flame
Jet Fire
Flash Fire
Flash fire is the non explosive combustion of a
vapour cloud resulting from a release of flammable
material into the open air, which, after mixing with air,
ignites.
Combustion in a vapour cloud develops an explosive
intensity and attendant blast effects only in areas
where intensity turbulent combustion develops and
only if certain conditions are met.
Where these condition are not present, no blast
should occur.
The cloud than burns as a flash fire, and its major
hazard is from the effect of heat from thermal
radiation.
Flash Fire
POOL FIRE
A pool fire is the combustion of
flammable vapor evaporating from a
layer of liquid at the base of the fire.
It occurs on ignition of an accumulation
of liquid as a pool on the ground or on
water or other liquid.
A steadily burning fire is rapidly
achieved as the vapor to sustain the
fire is provided by the evaporation of
the liquid by heat from the flames.
Pool Fire
Types of Explosion
Mechanical Explosion
Chemical Explosion
Vapour Cloud Explosion
Confined
Unconfined
BLEVE
mechanical Explosion
Explosion due to overpressure of
materials stored in a container.
Result from sudden failure of a vessel
containing high pressure non-reactive
gas
Chemical Explosion
Deflagration
Low level explosion
The reaction move front moves at
speeds less than the speed of sound in
the unreacted medium
Detonation
High level explosion
Highly turbulent combustion
Very high flame speeds
Extremely high pressures >>10 bars
The reaction move front moves at speeds greater than
the speed of sound in the unreacted medium
Vapor Cloud Explosion
The most dangerous and destructive explosions in
the chemical process industries
Steps of explosion
Sudden release of a large quantity of flammable vapor
Dispersion of the vapor throughout the plant while
mixing in the air
Ignition of the resulting vapor cloud
Any process containing quantities of liquefied
gases, volatile superheated liquid or high pressure
gases is considered good candidate for VCE
Phillips Pasadena, USA
23rd Oct. 1989
23 Deaths 130 Injuries
Vapour Cloud explosion
Loss US$ 500 Millions
BLEVE
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BLEVE is a consequence of holding a pressurized
flammable liquids above its boiling point.
Causes of BLEVE
The immediate cause of the BLEVE is
rupture of the container. If the pressure
inside the vessel exceeds the outside
strength of the walls the vessel will fail.
If the vessel is overfilled and expansion
(due to boiling of liquid) results in a heavy
hydrostatic pressure.
If the vessel is weakened by mechanical
damage or by high temperature resulting
from immersion in a fire then failure can
occur.
Mechanism of BLEVE
When BLEVE is initiated, the
liquid boils off rapidly
producing a reaction which
turns parts of the ruptured
vessel into rockets which
can travel 2500 ft or more.
The liquid can take fire if it
is flammable and burning
material can spread over a
large area. If the gas or
liquid mixes with air a
vapour cloud explosion can
occur.
Past major industrial disasters :
-Flixborough, England 1974
-Bhopal, India 1984
-Seveso, Italy 1976
-Piper Alpha, 1988
Flixborough, England 1974
The Flixborough disaster was an
explosion at a chemical plant close
to the village of Flixborough England
on 1 st June 1974.
It killed 28 people and seriously
injured 26
Two months prior to the explosion, a
crack was discovered in the number 5
reactor.
It was decided to install a temporary 50
cm (20 inch) diameter pipe to bypass the
leaking reactor to allow continued
operation of the plant while repairs were
made.
The sketch of the repairs was made only
on the floor using chalk without
supervision from an experienced
engineering personnel.
Bhopal, India 1984
Contaminated methyl isocynate (MIC)
caused runaway reaction.
Vapor released through pressure relief
system but scrubber and flare system not
working. 25 tons of MIC vapor released.
Toxic cloud spread nearby town killing
2500 civilian, injured more than 20,000.
No plant workers were injured or killed.
No plant equipment was damaged.
Seveso, Italy 1976
Reactor out of control, produced more side
product, TCDD (dioxin - more than originally
designed for).
Vapor TCDD released to atmosphere
through relief system and heavy rain washed
into soil.
TCDD is toxic to man and other species can
contaminate drinking water.
Piper Alpha, 1988
Worst offshore disaster ever that left
167 died
Causes of accident
Accidents have direct, indirect and root
causes
Direct cause attribute to equipment
failure or unsafe operating conditions
Indirect cause not as readily apparent
and can generally be tied to some human
failure
Root cause result of poor management
safety policies, procedures or decisions
Direct Causes
Indirect Causes
(Symptoms)
Root Causes
Management Safety Policy & Decisions
Personal Factors
Environmental Factors
Unsafe Act
Unsafe Condition
Unplanned Release of Energy
and/or
Hazardous material
ACCIDENT
Personal Injury
Property Damage
EXAMPLE
A drowning accident occurred during an open
swim period. Approximately 100 children (5-16
years old) were in and around a pool (3ft-9ft
deep). An older child unknowingly pushed 5
years old into deep water. The pool was
relatively crowded and the 5 years old kid
slipped under the water without being noticed
by other including the lifeguard.
List out the facts of the accident occur, the
immediate causes and root causes. List out
what you can propose for corrective action?
Engineers professional ethics
Fundamental principles
Engineers shall uphold and advance the
integrity, honor and dignity of engineering
profession by :
- using knowledge & skill for
enhancement of human welfare.
- honest and impartial and serving with
fidelity to public, employers, clients.
- striving to increase competence and
prestige of engineering profession.
Lives, injuries, damages to plant
and equipment
Loss production
Increased costs
Insurance, medical, rehabilitation,
training and retraining
Lowering of workplace morale
Substantial loss of market share
Profitability