Chemical reactivity hazard incidents

Review what is known of the chemical reactivity hazards (as well as other hazards) that will need to be contained and controlled in the proposed process. This existing level of knowledge might come from past experience, suppliers, literature reviews, incident reports, etc. 

The purpose of this publication is to contribute to a continued reduction in the number and severity of incidents involving uncontrolled chemical reactions in the workplace. The obj ective of this publication is to convey the essentials of managing chemical reactivity hazards—those elements that are necessary, but not always sufficient, to avoid or mitigate chemical reactivity incidents. Implementing these elements should result in a management system that will, on an ongoing basis ... 

Prevent chemical reactivity incidents by designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the facility in such a way that all chemical reactivity hazards are contained and controlled. 

Chemical reactivity hazards have been involved in some of the most severe industry incidents in history ... 

Three general situations involving chemical reactivity hazards are described in this section. Examples of significant incidents are given for each situation. Additional case histories are summarized in Appendix A-l,... 

Managing chemical reactivity hazards is not a one-time project, review, or audit. It is also not a written program document to put on the shelf and ignore. Managing chemical reactivity hazards is an ongoing effort to protect employees, contractors, customers, the public, environment, and property against the potential consequences of chemical reactivity incidents. 

As the Figure 4.1 flowchart implies, managing chemical reactivity hazards starts with a management system. To prevent incidents, a facility must not only be well designed, but also properly operated and maintained. A commitment to safety from all levels of management is essential, to ensure that all safety aspects receive adequate priority. In practice, conflicts of interest may arise between safety and other goals such as production demands and... 

Case histories of chemical reactivity incidents, such as those in Appendix A-l, are useful in getting needed attention and priority for a chemical reactivity hazard management system. Other companies programs, such as the ones shared on the CD-ROM accompanying this publication, can be... 

It recognizes the importance of managing chemical reactivity hazards to avoid serious incidents. 

The systematic search for all chemical reactivity hazards, beyond the information gained from the sources listed in Section 4.2, should begin with a literature survey of the chemicals to be used and the type of processing, if any, that will be employed. The literature survey might turn up quantitative hazard data or previous incidents. Other information that will be useful later, such as standard practices or model prevention programs, may also be uncovered. 

During facility operation, a chemical reactivity incident or near miss may occur despite all efforts to effectively manage chemical reactivity hazards. An essential element of managing chemical reactivity hazards is to appropriately report and investigate every incident or near miss involving chemical reactivity hazards. By investing the time and effort to determine the root causes and take corrective... 

These goals are listed in the order of importance to a company. Of greatest importance is to get near misses reported so that investigation can be used to learn from the incident. Note that incident investigation techniques are essentially the same whether applied to chemical reactivity hazards or to other hazards. 

General guidelines for conducting process incident investigations are given by CCPS (2003). Specific practices that relate to the nature of chemical reactivity hazards are discussed below. 

Multiple facilities in an organization may have similar chemical reactivity hazards similar storage, handling or processing operations or use similar technologies to control the associated hazards. If so, it may be more efficient for a corporate office or personnel to assume responsibility for some improvement activities such as auditing and research. This can also facilitate communication of incidents and best practices between facilities. 

Occasionally, the U.S. EPA issues a process safety alert or study that is related to chemical reactivity hazards. The following incident summaries are from a Case Study on phenol-formaldehyde reaction hazards (EPA 1999a) and from an Alert urging the use of multiple data sources when developing emergency response strategies (EPA 1999b). 

The MSDS only described the hazards associated with the blended product. Incident responders needed information on the chemical reactivity hazards during the blending process, which were significantly different in this case from the hazards associated with the finished product. 

Change. See Management of change (MOC) Chemical Hazards Response Information System (CHRIS) Manual, 76 Chemical Incidents Report Center (CIRC), 78 Chemical interactions, chemical reactivity hazard, 1,2... 

Near-miss incidents, investigations, 112-113 New management, chemical reactivity hazard management, 28... 

Passive controls, process controls, 97-98 Paterson, New Jersey incident, 160-161 Peroxide formers, screening methods, 46-48 Physical processing chemical reactivity hazard, 8-10,11 screening methods, 36, 41—42 worked examples, 128,129 Polymerizing compounds, screening methods, 55... 

Self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT), screening methods, 56 Self-reactive materials chemical reactivity hazard, 1,2 screening methods, 54-58 Seveso, Italy incident, 4 Seveso II Directive, 5-6,27 Shelf life... 

Spontaneously combustible substances, screening methods, 43 5 Springfield, Massachusetts incident, 7 Startup/full-scale operation, chemical reactivity hazard management, 23-24 Storage... 

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