Plant and Environmental Safety

CPE 624, KJN, Lecture 2, 2015

Public opinion survey:

Would you say chemicals
do more good than harm,
more harm than good,
or about the same amount of each?
(Source: The Detroit News.)

From Chemical Process Safety, Third Edition,

By Daniel A. Crowl and Joseph F. Louvar (ISBN: 0131382268)

Figure 1-5 Results from a public opinion survey asking the question, Would you say chemicals
do more good than harm, more harm than good, or about the same amount of
each? (Source: The Detroit News.)

Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Chemical Process Safety, Third Edition,

By Daniel A. Crowl and Joseph F. Louvar (ISBN: 0131382268)

Figure 1-6 Types of loss for large hydrocarbonchemical plant accidents. (Data from
The 100 Largest Losses, 19722001.)

4
Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Chemical Process Safety, Third Edition,

By Daniel A. Crowl and Joseph F. Louvar (ISBN: 0131382268)

Figure 1-7 Causes of losses for largest hydrocarbon-chemical plant accidents. (Data from
The
100 Largest Losses, 19722001.)

5
Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Chemical Process Safety, Third Edition,

By Daniel A. Crowl and Joseph F. Louvar (ISBN: 0131382268)

Figure 1-8 Hardware associated with the largest hydrocarbon-chemical plant accidents. (Data
from The 100 Largest Losses, 19722001.)

6
Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The most fundamental lesson of Three Mile Island, one

that must be continually emphasized, is that
accidents can happen.
Report by the Energy & Production Congressional Subcommittee,1980

What does this suggest?

Whether its driving while texting, producing sugar with inadequate dust control,
or not putting in that one extra fire control system, humans tend to underestimate
the risks involved in many activities.
7

Introduction to Inherently Safer Chemical Processes

Inherently Safer Plants

Apex, North Carolina
10/06/06
EQ Industrial Services,
Wayne, Michigan owned
facility
Hazardous Waste Facility
burns.
~16000 evacuated because
of chlorine release.
Fire burns to avoid
environmental damage.
If you dont have it, it
cant leak.
9

Inherently Safer Plants

What you dont have, cant leak.

Trevor Kletz
If you develop, design, operate and control a
chemical process such that the consequence is
reduced because of different chemistry, chemicals,
conditions or simplicity, wouldnt the safety of the
plant be improved? Is this better than layers of
protection?

10

Inherently Safer Processes

Process Design

A chemical manufacturing process is

INHERENTLY SAFER
if it reduces or eliminates the hazards associated with
materials and operations used in the process, and this
reduction or elimination is permanent and
inseparable.

11

Inherently Safer Plants

Risk of an Event = Consequence * Probability

Chemical process plants have an inherent risk. Managers of each
site must decide what is a tolerable risk. Risk can be reduced by
reducing the consequence and/or reducing the probability.
**Risk can never be eliminated and many of the potential hazards are not
immediately obvious.

A Hazard is defined as a chemical or physical characteristic that

has the potential for causing harm to people, the environment or
property.
Hazards are characteristic of the materials and chemistry.
Hazards are characteristic of the process variables.
12

Minimizing Risk
To minimize risk while still producing our product, there are two major
paths available:

Process Risk
Management Strategies

Inherent
Passive
Active
Procedural

Inherently Safer
Design Strategies

Minimize
Substitute
Moderate
Simplify

These strategies can decrease either the probability of a given event, or

the consequence of that event, or both
13

Process Risk Management Strategies

Inherent:

Eliminate the hazard by using materials and process

conditions which are non-hazardous

Passive:

Minimizing the hazard by process equipment design

features, which reduce either the probability or
consequence of the hazard without active function

Active:

Using controls, safety interlocks, and emergency

shutdown systems to detect, and correct or mitigate
process deviations (engineering controls)

Procedural: Using operating procedures, administrative checks,

emergency response, and other management approaches to
prevent accidents, or to minimize the consequences of
those accidents (administrative controls)
* Note these are in order of reliability!14

Exercise for 1/22/15

Group with the people sitting next to you and write down a
specific strategy for each type of process risk management for
the following situation:

We wish to produce a polymer product from monomer.

Some reaction pathways are exothermic, and can
runaway.

15

Strategies for Reducing Risk

Solutions
Inherent:

Passive:

Active:

Procedural:

16

Strategies for Reducing Risk

Possible Example Solutions
Inherent:

Choose an atmospheric pressure reaction pathway with no

volatile solvents used on the vapors produced.
(No potential for overpressure.)

Passive:

Choose a reaction pathway which could generate 150 psig

pressure in case of a runaway, but use a vessel designed for 250
psig. (The reactor can contain the accident unless damaged.)

Active:

Run the same reaction in a 150 psig reactor, but use an

interlock to closes feeds if the operating pressure rises a set
amount over nominal operating pressure, and includes a
rupture disk to reduce pressure directing contents to effluent
treatment.

Procedural: The same reactor without the interlock. The operator is

instructed to monitor the pressure and shut down feed in the
case of an overpressure alarm, and direct contents to effluent
treatment. (Human error)
17