Process Hazard Reviews

The use of any of the above techniques demands knowledge, experience, and flexibility. No prescriptive set of questions or key words or list is sufficient to cover all processes, hazards, and all impacted populations. As a research chemist reviews a chemistry and its potential application, there are advantages to maintaining an open mind when applying the various techniques designed to open up avenues of thought. The reader is referred to Chapter 7 for additional information and direction on the choice of process hazard review techniques. 

During process hazard reviews, evaluate each safety critical device or procedure to see if the device or procedure can be eliminated by applying inherently safer principles. Consider the existing plant, the next plant, and the plant after next. 

During process hazards reviews (such as HAZOP), inherent safety concepts are also considered. Mistake proofing the design should receive attention and each safety critical device (last line of defense) and safety critical procedure should be examined to see if there is a way to eliminate the need for the device or procedure. 

Implementing an inherent safety review process is one mechanism companies can use to institutionalize inherent safety. The review process should integrate well with company systems for process safety management, new product development, and project execution. Safety, health, and environmental considerations in the new product or process development effort can be strengthened via the introduction of the inherent safety review. Companies may also build inherently safer design concepts into their existing process safety management system and process hazard reviews. 

Hofmann, J.M., 1985, Chemical Process Hazard Review , Am. Chem. Soc. Sympos. Ser., Chapter 1. 

Burk, Arthur F., 1992. "Strengthen Process Hazards Reviews," Chemical Engineering Progress, June 1992, pp. 90-94. 

PROCESS HAZARD REVIEWS, IN PILOT PLANT SAFETY... 

Process hazard reviews, in pilot plant safety, 18 733 Process hazards analysis of, 21 861 control of, 21 861-863 preventing, 21 832-846 Process industries, weighing in, 26 248 Processing... 

This excellent, 44-page Canadian booklet [18] lists 58 references covering, but not limited to Emergency Planning, Process Hazards Reviews, Fault Tree Analysis, Evaluation of Toxic Vapor Cloud Hazards. 

Systematic process hazards reviews during design, start-up, and routine operations. 

What If/Checklist. The most frequently used method of process hazard review, the what if/checklist, is effective in reviews of relatively uncomplicated processes from raw materials to final product. The team formulates and answers What if questions at each handling or processing step to evaluate the effects of component failures or procedural errors. They use a checklist to ensure that all important subjects are addressed. This method should be used as the first step in all process hazard reviews. 

Burk, A. F., "What-If/Checklist - A Powerful Process Hazards Review Technique", AIChE Summer National Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA., August 18-21, 1991. 

This is also a good mechanism for doing a complete process review. If the project has had a thorough process hazards review, it means the process is very well understood. This is critical for the overall success of the project. 

Brannegan, D. P., Hazards Evaluation in Process Development, Chemical Process Hazards Review, p. 18. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1985. 

Assurances that new and existing chemical processes are conducted safely have never been more needed. Public awareness of the effects of chemical exposure has increased since the early 1970s. Although the initial focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was on safety, clearly the emphasis now is on health. People at all levels of society are concerned about exposure to chemicals and the possible short- and longterm effects of chemicals on human health. The effects of chemicals on the environment from past or present waste sites, accidental releases or spills, and fires and explosions are reported daily in the news media. Control of all chemical processes to avoid accidental discharges and/or upsets that lead to fires, explosions, and environmental release is essential in the laboratory, the pilot plant, and the manufacturing plant. Chemical process hazard reviews are necessary at each step in the development of a process to ensure that the process can be controlled and conducted so as to minimize the risks to personnel, property, and the environment. 

The purpose of the symposium upon which this book is based was to provide a forum for the exchange of information on chemical process hazards reviews by industrial research and development chemists, chemical engineers, and safety professionals. The chapters in this text are representative of the subjects presented at the symposium and are provided to give wider dissemination and availability of this information. 

Most major chemical and pharmaceutical companies today have developed systematic methods of evaluating new (and in many cases, old) processes and materials for the hazards attendant to their manufacture. The degree of urgency in establishing a chemical process hazard analysis function has often been dictated by some untoward event (usually within the company). It is to the prediction and control or elimination of unplanned reaction events to which the chemical process hazard review must address itself. 

The challenge that faces chemical researchers, development chemists and engineers, manufacturing chemists and engineers and the staff functional professionals associated with chemical processes is formidible. It is one that requires more and better information about chemical processes to meet today s regulatory demands and both public and private expectations for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Organized and systematic chemical process hazard reviews are necessary to meet these demands. 

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