Catastrophic release

American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice. In 1990, the American Petroleum Institute issued a recommended practice on Management of Process Ha2ards (35). The stated objective was to help prevent the occurrence of, or minimi2e the consequences of, catastrophic releases of toxic, flammable, or explosive materials. 

Catastrophic release Under OS HA PSM and EPA RMP, it means a major uncontrolled emission, fire, or explosion, involving one or more highly hazardous chemical substances (per OSHA) or regulated substances (per EPA) that presents serious danger to employees in the workplace (per OSHA) or imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and the environment (per EPA). 

Critical Equipment Equipment, instrumentation, controls, or systems whose malfunction or failure would likely result in a catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals, or whose proper operation is required to mitigate the consequences of such release. (Examples are most safety systems, such as area LEL monitors, fire protection systems such as deluge or underground systems, and key operational equipment usually handling high pressures or large volumes.)... 

Beyond these indirect costs, there are future costs associated with new or more stringent variations of existing environmental legislation. We also need to recognize that all operations, especially those within complex industry sectors like petrochemicals, carry liabilities and exposures to potential catastrophic releases. Systems do fail for a variety of reasons, leading to unplarmed and sometimes innocent mistakes, that may result in third-party exposures for environmental damages or health risk exposures. These costs are related to legal fees, loss in consumer confidence, and subsequent losses in market shares for the products a company sells, as well as the clean-up associated with the spill or release. 

The employer investigates incidents that result in, or could result in, a catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals. An incident investigation is initiated as soon as possible, but before 48 hours following the incident. An incident investigation team is established to consist of one or more experts in the process involved, and accident investigation. The report prepared at the conclusion of the investigation includes at a minimum ... 

Catastrophic Release - A major uncontrolled emission, of hazardous material that presents serious danger to workers or the public. 

Johnson, D. M., M. J. Pritchard, andM. J. Wickens. 1990. Large scale catastrophic releases of flammable liquids. Commission of the European Communities Report Contract No EV4T.0014.UK(H). 

The hazards of tliis arrangement arise from the possibility of a catastrophic release of the contents of the holdup tank into tlie atmosphere. A... 

The regulation states The employer shall investigate each incident which results in, or could reasonably have resulted in, a catastrophic release of highly hazardous chemicals in to the workplace. ... 

Table 64.2 provides examples of hazardous chemicals that require investigation when a catastrophic release occurs or when one could have happened. These OSHA guidelines should be used in conjunction with site-specific procedures. For a complete listing of the reportable chemical used in your plant, refer to the site Hazardous Materials Policy and Procedure Manual. 

An explosion is the sudden, catastrophic, release of energy, causing a pressure wave (blast wave). An explosion can occur without fire, such as the failure through over-pressure of a steam boiler or an air receiver. 

The EPA Risk Management Plan (RMP) defines a worst-case scenario as the catastrophic release of the entire process inventory in a 10-min period (assumed to be a continuous release). The dispersion calculations must be completed assuming F stability and 1.5 m/s wind speed. As part of the RMP rule, each facility must determine the downwind distance to a toxic endpoint. These results must be reported to the EPA and to the surrounding community. 

Implement a program to define and record information on reactive incidents that OSHA investigates or requires to be investigated under OSHA regulations. Structure the collected information so that it can be used to measure progress in the prevention of reactive incidents that give rise to catastrophic releases. 

There are OSHA standards designed to protect employees from acute chemical hazards resulting lfom reactive incidents-including fires, explosions, and toxic releases. The Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires chemical manufacturers to evaluate chemicals produced or handled in their workplace and to communicate the hazards associated with the products they produce via labels and MSDSs. The standard also requires all employers to provide information to employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they could be exposed. The PSM Standard (29 CFR 1910.119) requires employers to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of highly hazardous chemicals, including highly reactive chemicals. 

The PSM Standard is a performance-oriented standard that requires the employer to prevent catastrophic releases from covered processes by executing a 14-element safety program. All processes with highly hazardous chemicals are required to have a management system that addresses each element of the standard. 

OSHA PSM-covered facilities are required to investigate each incident which resulted in, or could reasonably have resulted in a catastrophic release of a highly hazardous chemical in the workplace (29 CFR 1910.119 [m] [1]). At the conclusion of an incident investigation, the company is required to prepare a report on the factors that contributed to the incident. At present, OSHA does not require submittal of these incident reports. However, mandatory submission of the reports would increase available data and thus improve the capability of identifying or tracking reactive incidents. 

Figure 3.49 summarizes the oxygen isotope curve for the last 65 Ma. The most pronounced warming trend is expressed by a 1.5%o decrease in 8 0 and occurred early in the Cenozoic from 59 to 52 Ma, with a peak in Early Eocene. Coinciding with this event is a brief negative carbon isotope excursion, explained as a massive release of methane into the atmosphere (Norris and Rohl 1999). These authors used high resolution analysis of sedimentary cores to show that two thirds of the carbon shift occurred just in a few thousand years, indicating a catastrophic release of carbon from methane clathrates into the ocean and atmosphere. 

When a labile compound is catastrophically released to an environmental system, why does its removal typically show a lag period ... 

The intent of the mechanical integrity section of the OSHA Process Safety Law is to prevent or reduce catastrophic releases. [1] An equipment classification system is a requirement of the law. Earlier in the chapter, a simple system involving three classes was previously defined. Here are the highlights of that section specifically for pressure vessels and storage tanks. 

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