Preface to Solicited Letters
to the Editor Regarding
Inherent Safety
Several experts in the area of inherent safety were
asked by the PSP editors to define inherent safety and
Ó 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers
DOI 10.1002/prs.10179
Published online 1 November 2006 in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com).
Definition of Inherent Safety
To the Editor:
According to the 1996 Edition of the concept
book Inherently Safer Chemical Processes—A Life
Cycle Approach, published by Center for Chemical
Process Safety (CCPS):
 ‘‘Inherent Safety is a condition in which the hazards
associated with the materials and operations used
in the process have been reduced or eliminated,
and this reduction or elimination is permanent and
inseparable.’’
 ‘‘Inherently Safer Design is a way of thinking about
the design of chemical processes and plants that
focuses on the elimination or reduction of the haz-
ards, rather than on management and control.’’
Inherent Safety (IS) is a well-recognized process
safety concept; a collection of basic strategies
focused on process safety improvement through
the reduction of hazards. ‘‘Hazard’’ is defined as a
physical or chemical characteristic that has the
potential for causing harm to people, the environ-
ment, or property. The IS concept is based on the
belief that if one can eliminate or moderate the
hazard, not only is the risk reduced, it may also be
possible to remove the risk altogether from consid-
Ó 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers
DOI 10.1002/prs.10168
Published online 30 October 2006 in Wiley InterScience
(www.interscience.wiley.com).
Process Safety Progress (Vol. 25, No.4)
give some examples. The genesis of the requests is
the known confusion about a very important subject.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
eration. Alternatively, an inherently safer system
would make the hazard less likely to be realized
and less intense if there is an accident.
IS includes four basic strategies for engineers to
apply for process safety and risk management of
chemical manufacturing plants: substitution, mini-
mization, moderation, and simplification. These
four strategies could be independent ideas or they
may relate to one another, depending on the case
by case situation. There is no defined and agreed
upon way to consider them in a formal analysis
methodology. Engineers are encouraged to con-
sider them to the extent possible, but given the in-
numerable situations where they may be applied
there cannot be a rule on what is an adequate con-
sideration of IS.
The CCPS published the concept book Inherently
Safer Chemical Processes—A Life Cycle Approach,
which was written to clarify IS and to help provide
examples. Today it remains one of the leading practi-
tioners’ guides to understanding and applying inher-
ent safety concepts. It is the leading reference men-
tioned in various regulatory actions and proposed
actions.
David Moore, PE, CSP
President and CEO
AcuTech Consulting Group
Alexandria, VA 22311
dmoore@acutech-consulting.com
December 2006 263