Other Safety Activities

The physical work conditions are the result of a safety management system and are a visual indicator of a positive culture or lack thereof. No amount of paperwork or policies, meetings, or other safety activities can be said to be working if the physical conditions of the plant are not immaculate. The physical state of the workplace is a reflection of the efficiency of the safety system. 

Always begin in a friendly way when investigating accidents, or near miss incidents, or carrying out other safety activities. Use positive phrases and positive body language. Being open and friendly creates an atmosphere conducive to open heart-to-heart communication for safety. 

For descriptions of other safety activities see the U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA, annual reports titled Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Safety. 

Spent fuel casks are of type B. For the movement of spent fuel, computer tracking systems are used. State radiological safety units are informed of shipments of spent fuel and other high activity radioactive materials so that these units may respond in case of accident. 

The NRC safety goal can be evaluated by comparison to the risks from accidents incurred from other human activities (Eig. 2) (29). The safety goal and the safety record of the nuclear power industry indicate much lower societal risks from commercial nuclear power than from a wide range of other common human activities. 

When used judiciously, the advantages of QRA can outweigh the associated problems and costs. Companies that prudently commission QRAs and conscientiously act on the resulting recommendations are better off for two reasons (1) they have a better base of information to make decisions and (2) their judicious use of QRA technology represents another demonstration of responsible concern for the health and safety of workers and the public. However, companies should resist the indiscriminate use of QRA as a means to solve all problems since this strategy could waste safety improvement resources, diverting attention from other essential safety activities. Once executives are able to interpret and use QRA results, they will appreciate that the quality of their decisions rests largely on their ability to understand the salient analysis assumptions and the limitations of the results. 

Remove or reduce the source Prohibit smoking indoors or limit smoking to areas from which air is exhausted, not recirculated (NIOSH regards smoking areas as an interim solution). Relocate contaminant-producing equipment to an unoccupied, better ventilated, or exhaust-only ventilated space. Select products which produce fewer or less potent contaminants while maintaining adequate safety and efficiency. Modify other occupant activities. 

To assist you in looking beyond this book. Chapter 9 addresses the expansion of process safety management programs and techniques to cover transportation and other business activities requiring environmental, health, and safety control. Chapter 9 also raises some of the issues that readers should consider in implementing process safety management internationally. 

PSM commands a high priority in our industry and our counterparts and competitors are activeiy pursuing PSM initiatives. The primary competitor of one of our divisions has become highiy visible in promoting its PSM system, and several others are active on the topic at conferences and in professional journals. Our safety staff is continuously monitoring new developments and seeking opportunities for information exchange. 

The need for special facilities for work involving neutron activation analysis and radiochemical measurements has been referred to above in Section 4.3.6. Other safety factors may also influence your choice of method. For example, you may wish to avoid the use of methods which require toxic solvents, such as benzene and certain chlorinated hydrocarbons, or toxic reagents, such as potassium cyanide, if alternative procedures are available. Where Statutory Methods have to be used, there may be no alternative. In such cases, it is essential that staff are fully aware of the hazards involved and are properly supervised. Whatever method is used, the appropriate safety assessment must be carried out before the work is started. Procedures should be in place to ensure that the required safety protocols are followed and that everyone is aware of legislative requirements. 

Compared to other risky activities, such as parachuting or motorcycling, risks related to food safety are unique. While some risks can be avoided, food safety-related risks can only be bypassed to a limited extent. Even when a person switches from one product to another, contaminated food still remains harder to avoid than parachuting, especially in the incipient phase where the risk is not yet known to the public and when consumers do not have full control over these risks. 

These risks are, for the most part, large ones, and can be measured directly, by epidemiological studies and also by the activities of actuaries, who find ways to collect statistical data on rates of accidents and other safety risks, and on how they are distributed in populations. All-in-all, the relatively few risks that are large - the major causes of... 

The function of the chemical industry is to turn scientific knowledge into useful products. Like all other human activity, discharging this function requires that companies and people in the industry deal successfully with a wide range of risks. Most of these risks are common to nearly all production activities some are unique to the chemical industry. The successful chemical plant or laboratory safety program must address both the common risks and those which are unique to it, such as ones which arise out of the reactivity, toxicity, or other hazards inherent in many of the industry s processes and products. 

In addition to the need to consider human reactions in designing plants, processes, and equipment, the chemical engineer always will be dealing with people in plant operations. In the chemical industry, most chemical engineers apply their skills in operations, management, safety, loss prevention, and other related activities. 

Energy production as well as other human activities are always connected with risk taking. Radiation, and everything related to it, generates a fear not easily understood. This probably comes from the invisibility of the danger and relation to the bomb. Therefore the safety of nuclear power must be compared with the safety of alternative ways of generating electricity. 

Success stories can show that improved process safety can contribute to increased productivity, cost efficiencies, and reliability. Using metrics to demonstrate the nexus between process safety performance and other organizational objectives only serves to reinforce individual and organizational commitments to process safety. A good process safety system, including appropriate metrics, can help prevent events such as unplanned shutdowns. Decreasing the number of unplanned shutdowns due to equipment failures or processing aberrations are examples of where process safety and other operational activities are linked. Unplanned shutdowns create extra cost and production problems as well as increase the probability of a process safety incident. 

Other OECD activities in the environment, health, and safety areas are concerned with pesticides chemical accident prevention, preparation, and response pollutant release and transfer registers harmonization of regulatory oversight in biotechnology, and the safety of novel foods and feeds. These activities are closely connected with the work in the Chemicals Programme, and are carried out in cooperation with other parts of the OECD and other international organizations. 

The committee s analyses of past chemical events at Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) and Tooele Chemical Disposal Facility (TOCDF) indicate that the cansal factors are similar to those associated with breakdowns of other safety-critical systems. Release of chemical agent may be triggered by equipment design flaws and failures, by procedural deficiencies, and by human actions—i.e., by both latent and active failures (see Chapter 2). 

---