The PHA Report

Once all the data have been evaluated and the PHA worksheet is completed, a formal report should be written documenting the results of the analysis. The narrative report typically includes a summary of all significant findings associated with operational risk. Recommendations for hazard elimination/control are also included in the report as well as suggestions for follow-on analyses. Although not entirely necessary, depending on the nature of the operation, process, or system, it is also useful to include a brief description of the project itself, its purpose and/or function as it relates to overall operations. The PHA/PHL worksheets are usually provided in the report as backup data to verify the report contents. Finally, the PHA report should also include a brief discussion of the methods used to develop the analysis (ETBA, FMEA, checklists, matrices, etc.), so that the reader can validate the report data, if required (Stephenson 1991). 

In an effort to demonstrate the utility of the preliminary hazard list and the preliminary hazard analysis in the initial evaluation of system risk, an example of a simple vapor degreaser in a manufacturing facility will be examined. This illustration will utilize the PHL in the development of the PHA in the method discussed earlier in this chapter. However, it must be noted from the onset that this example is intended to aid 

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Ensure that the manner in which the analysis was conducted conforms to company standards and government regulations, recognizing that, in the worst case situation, the PHA report may wind up as a pivotal document in a court case. 

Have the PHA reports been reviewed to identify events where safeguards include operator intervention and procedural activities involving operators ... 

The PHA is vital because it is the first hazard analysis performed. Ideally the PHA should be conducted in conjunction with the initial design and be completed very early in the design process, when making changes is easiest. The PHA report provides the basis for determining the level of effort for further hazard analyses. 

The information recorded on the PHA worksheet, together with the PHA report, will greatly facilitate the performance of other benehcial system analyses (such as the subsystem hazard analysis, the failure mode and effect analysis, and the operating and support hazard analysis) that may be accomplished during the remaining phases of the product life cycle. 

A small leak in the hydraulic cylinder system would result in a loss of pressure in the cylinder and a subsequent inability to maintain constant cylinder volume. Any damage to the cylinder jack head would cause a leak of hydraulic oil from the cylinder system. Such damage is possible due to an abrupt contact with the plunger mechanism and/or a failure in the neoprene seal between the j ack head and the plunger. The system safety analyst has learned from the PHA report that there is no provision for oil recovery in the event of damage to the jack head. 

When the analysis is complete, the PHA team leader will issue a report with action items. Items required to be done before start-up... 

The toller and their client can work together to identify the appropriate method and detail required for the process hazard analysis. Consider adding a brief statement in the final PHA report documenting why the method was selected. 

PHAs containing carbon-carbon triple bonds synthesized by P. oleovorans and P. putida grown with 10-undecynoic acid (10-UND=) have been reported [64]. The amount of carbon-carbon triple bond could be controlled between 0% and 100%, but the yield of the PHA containing 100% carbon-carbon triple bond was very low. The repeating units formed from 10-UND= were 3-hydroxy-8-nonynoate (3HN=) and 3-hydroxy-6-heptynoate (3HHp=) units in the amounts of 26 mol% and 74 mol%, respectively. The glass transition temperatures of PHAs synthesized from mixtures of NA and UND= increased from -30°C to -20°C as the content of carbon-carbon triple bond increased from 0% to 100%. These polymers were crosslinked when cations such as Co2+ and Pt2+ were added. 

In order to develop a more efficient PHA production process a two-stage continuous culture system was set up. Biomass was produced in the first phase, while in the second stage poly(3HAMCL) was synthesized in the absence of a nitrogen source. A maximum polymer content of 63 % was reached, at a productivity of 1.06 g 1 1 h. This polymer content is the highest reported for poly(3HAMCL) to date [51,52]. 

The development of pharmacotherapy medications for legal drugs like alcohol and nicotine. Is driven primarily by profit motives. In 2001, Pharmacia (which was acquired by Pfizer In 2003), advised Investors that NIcorette currently controls about half of the worldwide smoking cessation market with sales In 2001 of 299 million, (Pharmacia Corporation 2001 Annual Report, http //media.corporate-ir.net/media fiies/NYS/PHA/reports/ ar2001.pdf), A study completed In 1998, valued the smoking cessation market" at 450 million, and predicted It would reach nearly 1,5 billion by 2007, ( The Market for Smoking Cessation Therapies Will More Than Triple Over the Next Ten Years, (1998, June 10), Press Release, Decision Resources, http //www.forces.org/articies/fiies/pharma.htm)... 

Reported efforts on engineering the PHA synthase towards better performance and selectivity in vivo and in vitro were recently assessed in an excellent minireview by Nomura and Taguchi [6]. 

The first demonstration of in vitro P3HB synthesis in aqueous solution was achieved by Gerngross and Martin [35]. The polymer obtained had significantly higher molecular weight than that synthesized in vivo. This is probably due to a lack of a chain termination step of the PHA polymerization under in vitro conditions, similar to a living polymerization. Many other reports followed [27, 36, 38-44] and were extensively reviewed [2, 6, 7, 12, 26-32]. 

These studies employed refinements in analytical methods that allowed the accurate analysis of process flavors for the presence of PHAs. Previous efforts were hampered by the inherently low levels of PHAs in foods in general, and by the lack of a reliable and accurate analytical method. Since the studies reported here were conducted, further refinements have been achieved (e.g. Solyakov et al., 1999 Richling et al., 1999) that permit even more accurate assessments of the presence of PHAs in process flavors. However, the more recent refinements do not significantly change the conclusions from the studies reported here. 

The studies reported here employed a verified, accurate analytical method and demonstrated that process flavors are not likely to be a significant source of PHAs in the human diet. In this study, 90 out of 102 process flavor samples contained no detectable PHAs while only two samples contained trace levels of a single PHA above the limit of detection (50 ppb). Ten samples contained trace levels (<50 ppb) of PHAs, with usually only one PHA per sample. 

Safety documentation and operator training provide the backbone of a strong safety program, and are absolutely essential to maintain a safe combustion working environment. Safety documentation for combustion related processes includes design information, process hazard analysis (PHA) reports, standard operating... 

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