CPE615 PROCESS SAFETY

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to
Process Safety
BY:
NUR SHAHIDAH AB AZIZ

School of Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering
Universiti Teknologi MARA
TOPICS

1.0 Introduction to hazard and risk

1.1 Safety versus health
1.2 Engineers and safety
1.3 Inherently safe plant
1.4 Examples from past industrial accidents:
Bhopal, Flixborough, Piper Alpha and other related accidents
1.5 Root causes of accident
1.6 Immediate causes of accident
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
3
2020 –Philadelphia refinery

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Source: DOSH website
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
Safety?

Is it really important?
How far can you understand?
How about the implementation of any rules or regulation
imposed?

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

Lecture video Chapter 1.1
Hazard and risk

• Hazard
– A condition that has potential to cause damage to people,
property, or to the environment

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

• Risk
– A situation which can pose someone/something to
danger/harm/loss
– a measure of human injury, environment damage or economic
loss in term of both the incident likelihood and the magnitude of
the loss or injury.

– Example of risk calculation;

Risk = Likelihood x Consequence

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

Categories of Hazards
Category Example
Chemical Hazards acidity, alkalinity, corrosivity, explosiveness,
flammability, toxicity, asphyxation.
Mechanical Hazards moving equipment, tripping hazards, impact
and forces
Thermodynamics Hazards high/low temperature, high pressure, vacuum,
heat transfer
Electrical and Electromagnetic high voltage, radiation, static electricity,
Hazards electrical current
Health Hazards noise, pollution, vibration, radioactivity,
External Threats accidental damage by missiles and vehicles,
act of god and natural causes

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Safety versus Health

▪ Health = a state of physical and mental well-being –

including the absence of disease or infirmity.
▪ Safety = the absence of physical or psychological injury
or harm and often extends to the absence of damage
or property
▪ Safety deals with acute effects of hazards
▪ Health issue deals with chronic effects of hazards

▪ Chronic: persistent, prolonged and repeated

▪ Acute: immediate, short term

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

Process Safety - CPE615
ENGINEERS AND SAFETY

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

12
Engineers and Safety

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Engineers and Safety

▪ A requirement for engineering curricular to include safety as a

subject matter.
▪ Health and safety issues must be given great emphasis starting
from the design stage.
▪ Non-compliance with safety standards can severely affect a
company’s bottom line.
▪ Penalties and fines
▪ Worker compensation
▪ Engineers who design the workplace and its equipment or who
manage and supervise workers need to have an understanding of
the safety and health regulation.
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
Process Safety - CPE615
Major Process Industry Accidents:
Accidents Consequences
▪ Fires ▪ Fatalities
▪ Explosions ▪ Injuries
▪ Toxic ▪ Environmental
Releases Damage
▪ Property Damage
▪ Evacuations
▪ Property Losses
▪ Plant Closings
▪ Fines, Lawsuit
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
Process Safety - CPE615
INHERENT SAFETY

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

16
Definition for Inherent

• Definition: Condition of minimum hazard in normal or

reasonably foreseeable use of a product, device,
or process.
• Inherently safe does not mean that accidents cannot
happen in any circumstance.

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

17
• Inherent safety is to develop a process (chemistry and physics)
which is by nature a safer process.
• Usually perform at the earliest stage of process development.
• More tolerant to operator errors , cost effective and abnormal
conditions
• (e.g. smaller equipment, lower T and P operation has lower capital
and operating cost).
• In general, the safety of a process relies on multiple layers of
protection.

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Inherent Safety Concept
• Reduce the risk at early stage of design

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

19
 Major approach to inherently safer
process design

The application of inherent safety is based in the

following keywords
• Intensification (minimize)
• Substitution (substitute)
• Attenuation (moderate)
• Simplification/error tolerance (simplify)
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
20
Inherent Safety Techniques

Type Typical techniques

Minimize ⚫ Change from large batch reactor to a smaller continuous
(intensification) reactor
⚫ Reduce storage inventory of raw materials
⚫ Improve control to reduce inventory of hazardous
intermediate chemicals
⚫ Reduce process hold-up

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

Inherent Safety Techniques
Type Typical techniques
Substitute ⚫ Use mechanical pump seals vs. packing
(substitution) ⚫ Use welded pipe vs. flanged
⚫ Use solvents that are less toxic
⚫ Use mechanical gauges vs. mercury
⚫ Use chemicals with higher flash points, boiling points, and
other less hazardous properties
⚫ Use water as a heat transfer fluid instead of hot oil

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Inherent Safety Techniques
Type Typical techniques
Moderate ⚫ Use vacuum to reduce boiling point
(attenuation and ⚫ Reduce process temperatures and pressures
limitation of ⚫ Refrigerate storage vessels
effects) ⚫ Dissolve hazardous material in safe solvent
⚫ Operate at conditions where reactor runaway is not possible
⚫ Place control rooms away from operations
⚫ Separate pump rooms from other rooms
⚫ Acoustically insulate noisy lines and equipment
⚫ Barricade control rooms and tanks

Lecture video Chapter 1.1

 Inherent Safety Techniques

Type Typical techniques

Simplify ⚫ Keep piping systems neat and visually easy to follow
(simplification and ⚫ Design control panels that are easy to comprehend
error tolerance) ⚫ Design plants for easy and safe maintenance
⚫ Pick equipment that requires less maintenance
⚫ Pick equipment with low failure rates
⚫ Add fire- and explosion-resistant barricades
⚫ Separate systems and controls into blocks that are easy to
comprehend and understand
⚫ Label pipes for easy “walking the line”
⚫ Label vessels and controls to enhance understanding
Lecture video Chapter 1.1
END OF PART 1

Lecture video Chapter 1.1