Process hazards review objectives

The objectives of the Process Hazards Review program at the Du Pont Experimental Station are reviewed. 

The ultimate objectives of the Du Pont Company s Process Hazards Reviews, and Pre-Startup Reviews/Process Hazards Audits, are to ... 

An H RA involves a review of the process design and its control, operation, and maintenance practices. The review is conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in the design and operation of the process unit. The team uses a systematic screening process to determine how deviations from normal operation lead to process hazards. The H RA identifies areas where the process risk is too high, requiring the implementation of safety functions. The team s objective is to reduce the risk to below the owner/operator s risk criteria. 

A review may uncover "common" minor safety hazards that are of the nature of slips, trips and falls. These may be noted and appropriate recommendations made, however the team should strive to avoid undue concentration on these events, as the objective of these reviews are to identify potential major process hazards. 

The first major objective for the inherent safety review is the development of a good understanding of the hazards involved in the process. Early understanding of these hazards provides time for the development team to implement recommendations of the inherent safety effort. Hazards associated with flammability, pressure, and temperature are relatively easy to identify. Reactive chemistry hazards are not. They are frequently difficult to identify and understand in the lab and pilot plant. Special calorimetry equipment and expertise are often necessary to fully characterize the hazards of runaway reactions and decompositions. Similarly, industrial hygiene and toxicology expertise is desirable to help define and understand health hazards associated with the chemicals employed. 

Reducing and eliminating hazards and their associated risks is the second major objective. Applying inherent safety principles early in the product/process development effort provides the greatest opportunity to achieve the objectives of the inherent safety review process for the project at hand. If these principles are applied late in the effort the results may have to be applied to the project after next as the schedule may not permit implementation of the results. 

A fundamental objective of a computer system applied to automate a pharmaceutical GMP operation is to ensure the quality attributes of the drug product are upheld throughout the manufacturing process. It is therefore important that quality-critical parameters are determined and approved early in the validation life cycle. The exercise should be undertaken to a written procedure with base information from the master product/production record file examined and quality-critical parameter values and limits documented and approved for the process and its operation. In addition, the process and instrument diagrams (P IDs) should be reviewed to confirm the measurement and control components that have a direct impact on the quality-critical parameters and data. This exercise should be carried out by an assessment team made up of user representatives with detailed knowledge of both the computer system application and process, and with responsibility for product quality, system operational use, maintenance, and project implementation. This exercise may be conducted as part of an initial hazard and operability study (HAZOP) and needs to confirm the quality-related critical parameters for use in (or referenced by) the computer control system URS. 

Objectives Gather data and discuss secondary waste issues specific to Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF). Tour portions of TOCDF and alocal Utah hazardous waste incineration facility to familiarize committee with processes and practices. Discuss secondary waste regulatory issues with Utah environmental regulatory officials and representatives of Utah s Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC). Review initial findings, discuss report development, make writing assignments, and decide on future activities. 

The purpose of your procedure management system is to define how you will consistently develop, review, approve, implement, maintain, and control your procedures. Describing your procedure managonent system in a written, administrative procedure is a recognized and effective way to clearly establish those instmctions. The procedure manag ent system is based on your available resources (human, technical, and financial) and the hazard potential of the processes involved. Remember, your objective is to achieve a safe, environmentally responsible, quality operation. 

Decontamination is defined as the process of removing or neutralizing a hazard from the environment, property, or life form. The principal objectives of this process are to prevent further harm and optimize the chance for full clinical recovery or restoration of the object exposed to Ae dangerous hazard. The triage process is the initial step taken to meet the primary objectives of a disaster response, which involves sorting the injured by priority and determining the best utilization of available resources (e.g., personnel, equipment, medications, ambulances, and hospital beds). This chapter includes a review of decontamination and mass triage with an emphasis on the research and development needs in these areas of disaster response. 

The implementation of the actions defined in step 6 needs to be monitored and followed by a new cycle of risk review whereby a number of products may have moved in the hazard/ exposure matrix from the black area into the gray or white area. This repetitive process will m e information that is more pertinent available, focusing attention on specific areas and therefore helping to reduce further the risk related to the transport of chemicals. It is expected that this process will result in a decrease in the number of logistics accidents, which could be used as one objective yardstick to measure the improvements achieved. 

Audit is an overview across the organisation of the entire risk management process. It should consider whether the objectives are sufficiently comprehensive to cover all hazards and their effects on all those persons (internal and external) who may be affected. It should include the objectives and management style of the directors and their influence on the safety culture of the organisation. It can use data from the review of performance to assess the strengths of the organisation and those aspects where improvement is necessary. 

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