Hazardous equipment processes

Passive—Minimizing the hazard by process and equipment design features which reduce either the frequency or consequence of the hazard without the active functioning of any device e.g., the use of equipment rated for higher pressure. 

Process documentation and knowledge Documentation of hazards, equipment design, risk management decision, etc. applies... 

The Chemical Process Industry (CPI) uses various quantitative and qualitative techniques to assess the reliability and risk of process equipment, process systems, and chemical manufacturing operations. These techniques identify the interactions of equipment, systems, and persons that have potentially undesirable consequences. In the case of reliability analyses, the undesirable consequences (e.g., plant shutdown, excessive downtime, or production of off-specification product) are those incidents which reduce system profitability through loss of production and increased maintenance costs. In the case of risk analyses, the primary concerns are human injuries, environmental impacts, and system damage caused by occurrence of fires, explosions, toxic material releases, and related hazards. Quantification of risk in terms of the severity of the consequences and the likelihood of occurrence provides the manager of the system with an important decisionmaking tool. By using the results of a quantitative risk analysis, we are better able to answer such questions as, Which of several candidate systems poses the least risk Are risk reduction modifications necessary and What modifications would be most effective in reducing risk ... 

Members of the update team should review a copy of the initial PrHA and check completion of action items. The team should thoroughly review current PSI and descriptions of all process modifications made since the initial PrHA report was finalized. A thorough review of the PSI is necessary to make sure that the PrHA incorporates any new hazardous materials, process technologies, equipment, and/or operating procedures. Finally, the team should review all findings and resolutions from the initial PrHA to assure that they have been adequately addressed. 

Fixed water spray systems are most commonly used to protect flammable liquid and gas vessels, piping and equipment, process structures and equipment, electrical equipment such as transformers, oil switches, rotating electrical machinery, and openings through which conveyors pass. The type of water spray will depend on the nature of the hazard and the purpose for which the protection is provided. 

This step reviews thefunctional purposes of materials, equipment, processes, and operations - noting obvious inefficiencies in material/water/energy use and gradual pollution, and obvious hazards due to spatial combinations of functions. 

Plant Fireproofing. There is a growing practice in the chemical industry of locating principal equipment out of doors and to enclose only a control room where all instruments and control equipment are centered. The control room should be resistant to potential explosion, fire, and toxicity hazards of processes in the vicinity. Prompt and ordedy shutdown of processes following a serious incident is essential in order to minimize personnel-injury and property-loss hazards (65,66). 

Various standard-setting groups, including NFPA and Factory Mutual, provide guidance for separation of potentially hazardous equipment and processes. Dow achieves adequate spacing between critical process units, and between Dow installations and neighboring properties, by applying the Dow Fire and Explosion Index and a Chemical Exposure Index. 

Identifying the potential hazards (PHA, process hazard analysis, or HAZOP, hazard and operability analysis) during operation must be done from a wide-angle approach dangerous situations can occur due to many root-cause situations other than those specified by, for instance, ASME or PED. Based on the results of the risk assessment, the pressure equipment can be correctly designed and the most effective safety system selected. 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) maintains cooperation between U.S. government and industry on all petroleum-related issues of U.S. concern. The API provides process hazards and process safety seminars, but they are best known to some of us for their valuable publications. The API generates easy-to-read and easy-to-understand technical standards of design and fire protection. They also provide equipment inspection guides that are applicable in most plants. Specific information about their large number of standards can be obtained at their website. 

A fire hazard can be defined as any fluid, product, piece of equipment, process, etc. that has the potential to cause or contribute to a fire. The fuel delivery system is a primary fire hazard because of the potential for a leak of the fuel into the surrounding environment or atmosphere which is almost always air. This is an immediate hazard because of the possibility of an uncontrolled fire or an explosion depending upon the size and location of the leak and the availability of an ignition source. 

Engineering—Process hazard evaluations, process control improvements, turnarounds, and startups all benefit from elective procedures that accurately describe how to operate and maintain process equipment. This book presents the basic methods for ensuring that the procedures are efiective and are reviewed for accuracy. 

Hazardous waste Water Remediation Industrial Services Analytical Services Resource Recovery Waste Management Equipment Process and Prevention Technology... 

Gathering information for process hazard analysis, process technology, and equipment. 

Operate and maintain facility equipment Identify and mitigate safety and environmental hazards Change operating equipment, processes, and personnel Respond to and investigate accidents, upsets, and near misses ... 

What-lf Hazard Analysis. This hazard assessment method utilizes a series of questions focused on equipment, processes, materials, and operator capabilities and limitations, including possible operator failures, to determine that the system is designed to a level of acceptable risk. Users of the What-If method would identify possible unwanted energy releases or exposures to hazardous environments. Bulletin 135 contains procedures for use of a What-If checklist. For some hazards, a What-If checklist will be inadequate and other hazard analysis methods may be used. 

System safety concepts promote the establishment of policies and procedures that are to achieve an effective, orderly and continuous hazards management process for the design, development, installation, and maintenance, of all facilities, materials, hardware, equipment, tooling, and products, and for their eventual disposal. 

A formal hazard analysis of the anticipated operations was conducted using Preliminary Hazard Assessment (PHA) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) techniques to evaluate potential hazards associated with processing operations, waste handling and storage, quality control activities, and maintenance. This process included the identification of various features to control or mitigate the identified hazards. Based on the hazard analysis, a more limited set of accident scenarios was selected for quantitative evaiuation, which bound the risks to the public. These scenarios included radioactive material spills and fires and considered the effects of equipment failure, human error, and the potential effects of natural phenomena and other external events. The hazard analysis process led to the selection of eight design basis accidents (DBA s), which are summarized in Table E.4-1. 

Information about the process must include the information required by the OSH A rule to include data on the chemistry and chemical hazards, the process methodology, and the process equipment. This includes chemistry and chemical hazards information to include physical data, toxicity, permissible exposure limits (PELs), reactivity data, thermal and chemical stability, hazardous effects of mixing with other chemicals, and corrosivity data. 

A temporary notice for isolation provided on equipment, processes, or devices, which outlines specific information, reasons, and contacts for the notice in accordance with an organization s work procedures to prevent their unauthorized operation or to warn individual of potential hazards. They are required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.145 as a means to prevent injury or... 

The discipline of engineering that applies scientific and technical principles to safeguard life, property, loss of income, and threat to the environment from the effects of fires, explosions, and related hazards. It is associated with the design and layout of buildings, industrial properties, structures, equipment, processes, and supporting systems. It is concerned with fire prevention, control, suppression, and extinguishment and provides for consideration of functional, operational, economic, aesthetic, and regulatory requirements. 

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