Webinar: Occupied buildings risk assessment

using Phast and Safeti

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Your host and presenter(s)

Jessica Pertolaw James Pickles

Marketing and Communications Manager, Product Owner Phast, Safeti and
Plant software, Digital Solutions Safeti Offshore, Digital Solutions

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Agenda (Why, How, What)

 Summary of a well known accident (Why)

 Provide background on standards/guidance for the location and design of occupied buildings (How)

 Describe the metrics that can be used to inform decision making (How)

 Using Phast and Safeti for Occupied Buildings Risk Assessment (What)

 Show the features in Phast and Safeti that enable such studies to be done efficiently (What)

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Summary of a well known accident

 Explosion and fire at Texas city refinery in 2005

 Temporary trailers located 150 feet from the

isomerization unit – the source of the accident

 These trailers were used by personnel preparing for a

turnaround at a separate part of the refinery

 15 fatalities from the accident, all of whom were

located in or around the trailers

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Summary of a well known accident

 Investigation carried out by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) revealed:

 “Occupied trailers were sited too close to a process unit handling highly hazardous materials .”

 “The trailers did not need to be located as close as they were to the process areas in order for workers to
perform their job duties.

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Summary of a well known accident

 This area was “viewed as an appropriate location

to site trailers to be used during
turnarounds…largely for reasons of convenience.”

 “A series of emails circulated [questioning]

whether changes were needed in turnaround
trailer siting practices, or whether explosion-proof
turnaround trailers should be used.”

 “no evidence was found to indicate that this issue

was resolved.”

Investigation Report, Refinery Explosion and Fire, US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

March 2007

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Summary of a well known accident

 API 752 (Management of Hazards Associated With Location of Process Plant Permanent Buildings) was
recommended to be updated to address trailer siting (or for a new standard to be issued)

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Background on standards/guidance

 API 752: Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Permanent Buildings
 API 753: Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Portable Buildings

 Chemical Industries Association: Guidance for the location and design of occupied buildings on chemical
manufacturing sites (“CIA guidance”)

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Background on guidance

 API:
– Provides guidance for managing fire, explosion and
toxic risk to onsite personnel located in new and
existing buildings intended for occupancy.
– Rigid structures intended for permanent use in fixed
locations – covered by API 752.
 CIA:
– Provides guidance on the location and design
requirements of occupied buildings on chemical
manufacturing sites which process or store
hazardous materials capable of presenting a threat
of fire, explosion or toxic gas to the building
occupants

– Covers permanent and temporary buildings

– Portable buildings specifically designed to resist
significant blast loads and intended for permanent
use in a fixed location – covered by API 752.

– All other portable buildings – covered by API 753.

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Buildings intended for occupancy

 API:  CIA:
– A building is intended for occupancy if it has – A building shall be considered as intended for
personnel assigned or is used for a recurring group occupancy if (1) it has personnel assigned, (2)
personnel function there is evidence of current occupation (e.g.
– Examples: personal effects, desks with chairs, PC, radio,
kettle, etc.), or (3) it is used for a recurring
– Buildings which may become occupied during
personnel function (e.g. changing, training)
emergencies
– Examples:
– Conference rooms
– Canteens
– Control rooms
– Conference rooms
– Field operator buildings
– Control rooms
– Guardhouses
– Labs, workshops
– Labs
– Offices
– Offices
– Training rooms
– Training rooms

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Guiding principles
 API:
– Locate personnel away from process areas
– Manage the use of buildings intended for occupancy
in close proximity to process areas
– Design, construct, install, modify and maintain
buildings intended for occupancy to protect
occupants against explosion, fire and toxic material
releases
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 CIA:
– Wherever possible, locate people away from
chemical process and storage unless their
presence is required for safe, effective operations
– Control the risks during storage and all operation
phases by efficient and effective PSM
– Ensure that on-site buildings are located and
designed to minimise the risks to the occupants
by:
– Carrying out an appropriate risk assessment for
the buildings
– Applying the results of the risk assessment to
the design and continued operation of the
buildings
Assessment approaches

 API:  CIA:
– Consequence based – Hazard [consequence] based
– Risk based – Risk based
– Spacing tables – Simple approach
– Exceedance curve approach

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Consequence/hazard-based approach

 Requires a building to be designed to withstand the worst-case consequence

– Blast load (overpressure, impulse)
– Thermal radiation and exposure time
– Flammable or toxic gas ingress

Consequence-based

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Risk-based approach

 Requires a building to be designed to withstand consequences that are predicted to occur more frequently
than a pre-defined value (e.g. 10-4 per year, 10-5 per year)
 Or for individual risks to be As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP)

 API:
– Group risk and individual risk
 CIA:
– Simple approach
– Exceedance curve approach

Consequence-based

Risk-based

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Spacing table approach

 Relevant only for API

 Can be used where the only potential consequences are fires
– If explosions are possible, spacing tables cannot be used.
 Where this approach is used, building location is assumed to be adequate when the specified separation
distance is met or exceeded.
 Effectively a consequence based approach, since the spacing tables are based on potential consequences and
do not consider frequency

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Considerations for explosions

 Blast curve techniques such as the TNO multi energy method or Baker-Strehlow-Tang (BST) method for
explosion consequences
 CFD used less frequently for occupied buildings assessment but is an option where more detail is required
 Building damage assessment
– Charts for representative buildings can be used to link blast loads to damage
– Detailed structural analysis
 Occupant vulnerabilities
– How vulnerable are occupants to the building damage

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Considerations for explosions

Vulnerability = individual probability of fatality

Example in Safeti
- Overpressure only
- Overpressure and impulse

Guidance for the location and design of occupied buildings on chemical manufacturing sites, Chemical Industries Association

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Considerations for fires

 Primarily concerned with jet fires and pool fires

 Fireballs and flash fires outside buildings are typically short duration and not normally considered in occupied
buildings risk assessment
 Occupant vulnerabilities
– How vulnerable are occupants to the building damage
– Consider the building type (concrete structure with no windows might offer good protection)
 Need to decide on a strategy:
– Design a building so it provides a shelter from fire
– Evacuate the building in the event of fire
 Design considering length of time personnel are required to stay in the building, since fire scenarios might
impede escape

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Considerations for toxics

 Perform toxic dispersion modelling

 Consider either:
– Toxic concentration/dose external to the building (which could impair escape)
– Toxic concentration/dose inside the building
 Occupant vulnerabilities
– Concentration of toxic material inside the building and the exposure time
 Need to decide on a strategy:
– Design a building so it provides a shelter from toxic materials
– Evacuate the building in the event of toxic release

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Portable / temporary buildings

 API 753
– Siting portable buildings near congested volumes from 7,500 to 1,000,000 ft3.

 Boundary between Zones 2 and 3 based on:

– TNO multi energy curve 7
– 0.6 psi overpressure
 Boundary between Zones 1 and 2 based on:
– TNO multi energy curve 5
– 0.9 psi overpressure (with a minimum of 330 ft)

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Portable / temporary buildings

 CIA
– Same approach as for permanent buildings (consequence or risk based)
– Design considerations:
– Minimum amount of glass, firmly fixed and laminated, or covered in shatter resisting plastic film
– Emergency exits which open outwards and clearly designated
– Preferably single storey
– Suitable fire alarms and to ensure occupants can hear other site alarms

– Portable (temporary buildings) should not become permanent by default

– A clear, written permit system
– Periodic review
– A defined end date
– Extensions must be evaluated and justified
– Special training instructions

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How can Phast be used?

 Consequence-based assessment
– For permanent buildings
– Review the consequence results to determine the effects at the buildings
– If building location is known, use effect contours* to determine required blast resistance
– If building blast resistance is known, use effect contours* to determine possible locations

– For portable buildings:

– Determine 0.9 and 0.6 psi zones from consequence results
– Effect contours* for 0.9 psi and 0.6 psi (to determine boundaries of Zones 1, 2 and 3)

– Example…

* 3D extension licence required.

dnvgl.com/phast-explosion-webinar

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk-based assessment
– Setup the QRA model
– LSIR contours
– PLL
– Risk ranking points for the existing buildings or for the
possible locations for new buildings
– Risk effect levels* for a range of hazardous effects

– Example: four possible locations for a new building, or…

– …four existing buildings

* 3D extension licence required.

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How can Safeti be used?

 QRA model:
– Not covered in this webinar, except…

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk-based approach

 LSIR contours for quick comparison of locations

 Useful for simple risk-based approach in CIA guidance

 Example…

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How can Safeti be used?

 Potential Loss of Life (PLL)

 Accounts for number of people in each building

 Useful for prioritization of one building over another

 Example…

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk ranking points (RRP)

– Estimates and comparison of individual risk
– Single / multiple* vulnerability types
– Example…

* 3D extension licence required.

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk ranking points (RRP)

– Thermal radiation and explosion overpressure exceedance curves*
– Shows the spectrum of thermal radiation and explosion overpressure at the building…and the corresponding
likelihood
– Example…

* 3D extension licence required.

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk effect levels

– Frequency contours for a given effect
– Effect contours for a given frequency
– From the contours on the map, users can quickly see where buildings can be located…or…
– …for a given location, what consequences should the building be able to resist should have.

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk effect levels

– Effect contours for a given frequency – Frequency contours for a given effect

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk effect levels

– Can be used to determine:
– An appropriate location for a new building where the design (e.g. blast resistance) is known
– The design (e.g. blast resistance) of a new building where the location is known
– Whether existing buildings are designed sufficiently

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How can Safeti be used?

 Risk effect levels and risk ranking points combined

– Estimates for the frequency of exceeding the
various effects

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Summary of risk-based approach in Safeti

1. Setup the QRA model (not covered in this webinar)

2. Define building types, buildings and corresponding
vulnerabilities (note, 3D licence)
3. Define risk ranking points per building / building
location
4. Review LSIR contours and IR ranking grid, based on
relevant building vulnerability, to determine individual
risk for building occupants
5. For the chosen location (or for each building, where
multiple buildings are assessed), produce exceedance
curves to determine the blast load and thermal
radiation resistance required to meet the design
criterion, e.g. 10-5 per year)

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Thank you

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