Plants safety Issues

As of the early 1990s, annual worker fatalities ran about 9 per 100,000 employees annual lost-time disabling injuries ran about 4,000 per 100,000 employees (1). Property losses increased fourfold from the 1970s (2). The trends in fatalities and property losses can probably be ascribed to the increasing complexity and productivity of the highly automated chemical plants, where personnel are isolated from processes. Whereas exposure to health and safety hazards maybe reduced, the ability of experienced operating personnel to sense process problems and to correct these problems frequently is decreased. Another aspect of process management which has tended to increase hazards is the effort to reduce the formation of wastes and undesired by-products. This effort requires dose approach to temperature and pressure limits, at which points loss of control can be catastrophic (see Process control). Process and plant safety issues have been discussed (3—8). 

The system was described il last month s IAEA international conference on current nuclear power plant safety issues by Cianrd Petrangeli, director, inspections division. Central Directorate for Nuclear Safety ... 

Safety culture is that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in (nganizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues leeeive... 

During the operational phase, it is necessary to ensure that the functional safety of the computer based system is maintained both during and after modifications. As mentioned in para. 4.24, adequate change control procedures which deal specifically with plant safety issues should therefore be in place. It is also important that the safety impact of the modifications be analysed by personnel from appropriate disciplines. In this respect, modifications to computer based systems are no different from other plant modifications. However, there are certain specific issues that apply uniquely to computer based systems and their software, and these are addressed in this section. 

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Guidelines for Nuclear Power Plant Safety Issue Prioritization Information Development, USNRC Report, NUREG/CR-2800, February 1983. 

The development and improvement of scientific-technical level of NDT and TD means for safety issues is connected with the necessity to find additional investments that must be taken into account at the stage of new technogenic objects designing, when solving new arising problems in social, economic, ecological and medical safety. It is not accidental, that the expenses for safe nuclear power plants operation cover 50% of total sum for construction work capital investments. That is why the investments for NDT and TD have to cover 10% of total amount for development and manufacturing of any product. 

Nuclear Reactors. Nuclear power faciUties account for about 20% of the power generated in the United States. Although no new plants are plaimed in the United States, many other countries, particularly those that would otherwise rely heavily on imported fuel, continue to increase their nuclear plant generation capacity. Many industry observers predict that nuclear power may become more attractive in future years as the price of fossil fuels continues to rise and environmental regulations become more stringent. In addition, advanced passive-safety reactor designs may help allay concerns over potential safety issues. 

You should consider obtaining internal and external quality assurance reviews of the study (to ferret out errors in modeling, data, etc.). Independent peer reviews of the QRA results can be helpful by presenting alternate viewpoints, and you should include outside experts (either consultants or personnel from another plant) on the QRA review panel. You should also set up a mechanism wherein disputes between QRA team members (e.g., technical arguments about safety issues) can be voiced and reconciled. All of these factors play an essential role in producing a defendable, high-quality QRA. Once the QRA is complete, you must formally document your response to the project team s final report and any recommendations it contains. 

CFR50.54(f) states that the licensee must submit individual plant examinations (IPE) of nificant. safety issues to justify continuing operation of a reactor facility. The NRC issued leric... 

Two studies resolved the Unresolved Safety Issue A-44, "Station Blackout." The first siudy, The Reliability of Emergency AC Power Systems in Nuclear Power Plants," when combined uh die lelevant loss-oToffsite-power frequency, provides estimates of station-blackout frequencies lor 18 nuclear power plants and 10 generic designs. The study also identified the design and operational features most important to the reliability of AC power systems. The second study, "Station Blackout Accident Analysis" (NUREG/CR-3226), focused on the relative importance to risk of laiion blackout events and the plant design and operational features that would reduce this risk. 

Emrit, R. et al., A Prioritization of Generic Safety Issues, NUREG-0933 suppliment. Reassessment of the Technical Bases for Estimating Source Terms, Draft, May 1985. Baranowsky, P.W., Evaluation of Station Blackout Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants, May 1985. 

Generally, the plant engineering function is responsible for overall plant safety, as well as all compliance issues. The plant engineer must adapt to the constantly escalating federal, state and local regulations that govern these compliance issues. 

Control systems will play a key role in future distributed plants ]139,145]. As a rule of thumb, plants will be smaller and simpler, but the control systems will be much more advanced, of a standard not known today. Plant personnel for operation and managing will ultimately no longer be required, except for start-up, shutdown, and services. This is a shift from a regulatory to a servo role, supported by a sophisticated sequence control. Control is needed for safety issues, operability, and product quality control. Sensors have a central role to provide the information needed for control and modeling and simulation is needed for process models. 

One of the most obvious benefits of plants is the potential for production scale up, leading to the production of virtually limitless amounts of recombinant antibody at minimal cost Plants are easy to grow, and unlike bacteria or animal cells their cultivation is straightforward and does not require specialist media, equipment or toxic chemicals. It has been estimated that plantibodies could be produced at a yield of 10-20 kg per acre at a fraction of the cost associated with production in mammalian cells [2,18] The use of plants also avoids many of the potential safety issues associated with other expression systems, such as contaminating mammalian viruses or prions, as well as ethical considerations involving the use of animals. 

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sets standards for food safety and inspects meat, poultry, and egg products produced domestically and imported. The Service inspects animals and birds at slaughter and processed products at various stages of the production process, and analyzes products for microbiological and chemical adulterants. FSIS also informs the public about meat, poultry, and egg product food safety issues. FSIS works with the Research, Education and Economics mission area on food safety research issues and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on instances where animal diseases impact food safety. FSIS also facilitates the management of US activities pertaining to the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international organization created by the United Nations, to promote the health and economic interests of consumers while encouraging fair international trade in food. 

Relevant safety issues arising in the design and operation of high-pressure plants are addressed in Chapter Seven. After a general section where testing procedures, safe plant operation, and inspection are summarized, two examples are dealt with in detail dense-gas extraction units and polymerization reactors. 

The main noneconomic barriers to scrap tire combustion are the time required for permitting a plant and the concerns of neighbors regarding environmental, health, and safety issues. Because of the test bums required and time delays in permitting, many cement plant and pulp and paper mill operators hesitate to change their operation for the small savings realized by burning scrap tires. 

The main noneconomic barriers to a tires-to-energy plant are the time required for permitting a plant, and the concerns of neighbors regarding environmental, health, and safety issues. 

A number of issues need to be resolved when dealing with batch reactors in industrial applications, ranging from design and planning of the plant to scheduling, optimization, and performance achievement of batch operations. Performance is usually specified in terms of productivity of the plant, safety of operations, and quality of final products. In order to meet such requirements, several problems need to be addressed ... 

Overcoming a Health/Safety issue in the manufacture of a betamethasone intermediate from Diosgenin in Mexico City, and the evaluation of newer raw materials derived from plants. 

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