Safety reaction 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. 

A chemist may think only of optimizing the route of synthesis to avoid a runaway reaction hazard and not consider the safety and design implications of flammable reaction by-products. 

Barton, J.A. and Nolan, P.F., 1991, in Safety in Chemical Batch Reactors and Storage Tanks , Benuzzi, A. and Zaldivar, J.M. (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Services, Dordrecht, pp. 99-124. Barton, J. and Rogers, R. (Eds.), 1993, Chemical Reaction Hazards - A Guide, Inst. Chem. Engrs., Rugby. 

This compilation has been prepared and revised to give access to a wide and up-to-date selection of documented information to research students, practising chemists, safety officers and others concerned with the safe handling and use of reactive chemicals. This will allow ready assessment of the likely potential for reaction hazards which may be associated with an existing or proposed chemical compound or reaction system. 

Full Scale Production—Reevaluation of chemical reaction hazards Newly revealed reactivity hazards from plant operations Management of changes Update of safety procedures as required Ongoing interaction of process safety with engineering, production, economic, andcommercial aspects of the process... 

Bretherick, L., "Chemicals, Reactions, Hazards," in Safety Loss Prevention in Chem. Oil Processing Ind. Symposium, D5 (1989), Singapore. 

The P.I.I.S. developed by Edwards and Lawrence (1993) is intended for estimating inherent safety of reaction hazards in conceotual design stage. The P.I.I.S. is intended for analysing the choice of process route i.e. the raw materials and the sequence of the reaction steps. 

The Chemical Inherent Safety Index deals with the hazards which are related to the chemical properties of substances in the process. The Index has been divided into subindices for reaction hazards and hazardous substances. 

Historical perspective An analysis of thermal runaways in the United Kingdom (Barton and Nolan, Incidents in the Chemical Industry due to Thermal Bunaway Chemical Reactions, Hazards X Process Safety in Fine and Specialty Chemical Plants, IChem 115 3-18) indicated that such incidents occur because of the following general causes ... 

Designing and Operating Safe Chemical Reaction Processes (HSE 2000). Published by the U.K. Health and Safety Executive and directed to small to medium-sized chemical manufacturing companies using batch and semi-batch processes. It addresses chemical reaction hazards and inherently safer processes, hazards assessment, preventive and protective measures, and management practices. 

Barton, J. and R. Rogers (eds.) 1997. Chemical Reaction Hazards A Guide to Safety, 2nd Edition. Houston Gulf Publishing Company. ISBN 0-88415-274-X. 

Barton and Rogers, Chemical Reaction Hazards A Guide to Safety... 

Occasionally, the U.S. EPA issues a process safety alert or study that is related to chemical reactivity hazards. The following incident summaries are from a Case Study on phenol-formaldehyde reaction hazards (EPA 1999a) and from an Alert urging the use of multiple data sources when developing emergency response strategies (EPA 1999b). 

Barton, John, and Richard Rogers, 1997. Chemical Reaction Hazards, A Guide to Safety, Rugby, U.K. Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). 

Hazards of commercial chemical reactions Hazards of commercial chemical operations, Austin, G. T., Chs. 4, 5 in Safety and accident prevention in chemical operations, Fawcett, H. H. and Wood, W. S. (eds), New York, Wiley, 2nd edn., 1982... 

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2001, Report 2001-03-I-GA In a first full scale attempt at a new polymerisation process, the thermally unstable initiator was charged and heated to reaction temperature, but there was then an... 

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