Utilities and Support Systems

During a fire or explosion incident the primarily utilities may be effected in not adequately protected. These utilities may provide critical sendees to emergency systems that should be preserved. The most common services are mentioned below  

Several catastrophic fire incidents in the petroleum industry have been the result of the facility firewater pumps being directly affected by the initial effects of the incident. The cause of these impacts has been mainly due to the siting of the fire pumps in vulnerable locations without adequate protection measures from the probable incident and the unavailability or provision of other backup water sources. A single point failure analysis of firewater distribution systems is an effective analysis that can be performed to identify where design deficiencies may exist. For all high risk locations, fire water supplies should be available from several remotely located sources that are totally independent of each and utility systems which are required for support. 

Communications plays a vital role in alerting and notifying both in facility personnel and outside emergency agencies that a major incident has occurred. Communication systems should not be arranged so a single point failure exists. Of primary concern is the provision of a backup source of power and a remote backup activation and signaling post. 

Floating vessels for offshore operations offer reduced installation costs but also present additional vulnerability factors. All floating structures must ensure buoyancy integrity is maintained otherwise the vessel may sink with catastrophic results. Similarly propulsion are provided at some installations to provided position stability. All major vessels are required by insurance requirements and most marine regulations to maintain buoyancy systems and loss of position stability will impact ongoing operations. Both of these systems can therefore be considered critical support systems and must be evaluated for risk and loss control measures either thorough duplication and protection measures or a combination of both. 

Air intakes to heating and ventilation systems, air compressors for process, instrument and breathing air, and to prime movers for gas compressors, power generation and pumps should be located as far as practical from contamination by dust, toxic and flammable materials release sources. They should not be located in electrically classified areas. If close to possible vapor releases (as confirmed by dispersion analyses( they should be fitted with toxic or combustible gas detection devices to warn of possible air intakes hazards and snutdown and isolate the incoming air ductwork and fans. 

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The most logical suming point in tlie safety design approach is to select a site where tlie number of undesirable weather and topograpltic conditions is limited. Adequate utilities and support systems plus fire protection service arc also required for a safe eiiviromnent. Chapter 5 presented a detailed account of phuit site selection and layout. These features will now be considered from a safety point of view. The following guidelines should be observed in dctcrniining a site tliat is favorable for tlie efficient tuid economical operation of the process. 

The inspection should cover the evaluation and assessment of the documentation, premises, equipment, utilities and materials. It should also cover verification of data and documentation such as results, batch records, compliance with SOP and information submitted on the manufacturing method, equipment and aspects including (but not limited to) validation of the manufacturing process, validation of utilities and support systems, and validation of equipment. 

Utilities and support systems (e.g., HVAC, dust collection, supplies of purified water, steam, compressed air, nitrogen etc.) are qualified and are subject to periodic verification. 

Physical system boundaries encompass the equipment, the interfaces with other processes, and the utility/support systems to be analyzed. Along with the physical system boundaries, analysts should specify the levels of resolution for fault tree events reflecting failures of both equipment and support systems (i.e., major component level, subcomponent level, system level, and subsystem level). For example, analysts may set the level of resolution at the subsystem level (electrical bus, cooling loop) for support systems. 

Utility and HVAC systems are among the easiest to address with respect to revalidation. Their performance is evaluated on a near continuous basis through the collection and testing of samples taken from the system. This affords a direct and ongoing assessment of the system s acceptability for use. Coupled with effective change control, calibration, and preventive maintenance programs, the collected data from the system should support its continued use. The preparation of summary reports on results from the system on a monthly or quarterly basis precludes the need for further evaluation. 

The analyzer in Fig. 10 was the first micro-fabricated DMS analyzer and is shown independent of the housing, ion source, flow and power utilities, and data system. The plates of the units built at NMSU are held between two aluminum (Al) supports with Teflon cushions and insulators between the Al housing and the DMS plates and a 0.5-mm-thick gasket to separate plates and direct gas flow and ion through the analyzer. 

The facility requirements for both service and support elements, as utility and environmental systems together with the personnel support area (change house), chemical laboratory and surveillance area were identified and included within the frame work of the design. 

The service and support area, centrally located in the main building, provides for operational control and support functions such as surveillance, decontamination facilities, utility and environmental systems and chemical laboratories. 

Attention should be paid to classification of clean area requirements taking into account the possible high degree of initial microbial contamination of herbal materials. Classification of premises as applied to sites for the production of other pharmaceutical substances may not be applicable to processing of herbal materials. Specific and detailed requirements should be developed to cover microbial contamination of equipment, air, surfaces and personnel, and also for rest rooms, utilities, ancillary and supporting systems (e.g. water and compressed air). 

BeryUium is important as a sensor support material in advanced fire-control and navigation systems for military heflcopters and fighter aircraft utilizing the low weight and high stiffness of the material to isolate instmmentation from vibration. It is also used for scanning mirrors in tank fire-control systems. 

Through careful management of the reactive pow er. making use of shunt and series capacitors and reactors, we can provide support to an overstressed LT or FIT stipply system, and achieve optimum utilization and a higher level of stability. 

Buoyancy in some form is employed in nearly all categories of underwater and surface systems to support them above the ocean bottom or to minimize their submerged weight. The buoyant material can assume many different structural forms utilizing a wide variety of densities. The choice of materials is severely restricted by operational requirements, since different environmental conditions exist. For example, lighter, buoyant liquids can be more volatile than heavier liquids. This factor can have a deleterious effect on a steel structure by accelerating stress corrosion or increasing permeability in reinforced plastics. 

The effectiveness of a QA-related independent Part 11 audit is dependent on the checklist or audit plan utilized. Here, provided as a model, is a two-part audit checklist. The depth of the evidence and support required is dependent on the results of the risk assessment All high-, medium-, or low-risk systems should be subject to the same general questions. 

From the applied point of view, this reaction can be used to solve some important issues (1) production of organic subproducts (e.g., methanol, carbon monoxide, oxalic acid), which can be used for synthesizing many valuable organic substances (2) manufacture of synthetic fuels or energy-storage media and (3) removal and utilization of carbon dioxide in life-support systems for closed environments of spacecraft or submarines. 

Bis(indolyl)nitroethanes are obtained readily in 7-10 min in high yields (70-86%) on fine TLC-grade silica gel (5-40 pm) by Michael reaction of 3-(2 -nitrovinyl) indole with indoles. The same reaction reported requires 8-14 h for completion at room temperature [77]. Several functionalized resins have been prepared from Merrifield resin via a MW-assisted procedure that utilized mixed solvent system to facilitate the swelling of resins and coupling with microwaves [78], These resins can function as solid supports or polymeric scavengers in solid phase synthesis. 

An analysis of the man-production-environment system reveals that for survival of human beings the CP concept must be complemented by two more lines of action, namely adaptation of human body to life in adverse conditions, and utilization of life support systems. 

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