Our White Papers

Fragment projection following vessel burst scenarios is a potential cause of domino effect and escalation in the Chemical Process Industry (CPI). This proposes a risk-based missile impact domino effect analysis based on current research and published literature.

The major concerns for anyone involved with risk assessment related to explosions is to estimate the explosion wave shape and the overpressure and impulse as a function of distance from the explosion.

This manuscript introduces the Single Degree Of Freedom (SDOF) approach for predicting the response of structures being impacted by an explosion. The concept of pressure-impulse diagrams is introduced and identified as a valuable tool to be used during the analysis of results generated during the development of a risk-based quantitative assessment.

This manuscript describes a risk-based approach with the aim to identify which occupied buildings in a process facility could be impacted by thermal radiation due to fires. This approach complies with API Recommended Practice 752 and 753 criteria and it consists of the following two steps:

A detailed risk-based approach is proposed for addressing flammable and toxic dispersions impacting occupied buildings. The approach is based on the results from a complete quantitative risk-based assessment, which provides the following information per each outcome impacting the target location under analysis:

The primary purpose of this paper is to provide tools, guidance and criteria for finding and appropriately using failure rate data needed to perform a risk-based quantitative analysis, as it is critical to understanding of failure rates, their origin and limitations.

All phases during the development of a risk-based quantitative assessment are important. However, hazard identification is a key step; a discipline that “establishes the game rules” and can be considered as the foundation for risk management; i.e., if a hazardous scenario is ignored, it will not be evaluated, directly affecting risk estimation results for realistic decision-making.

The Process Safety and Loss Prevention field was born out of the need to avoid personnel injury, i.e., workforce and public, property damage, environmental impact and operation interruption (i.e., economic impact, due to several relevant accidents during the last 50 years, e.g., Bhopal, Seveso, Buncefield, Flixborough, etc.).

Risk-based quantitative assessment is accepted as a process safety management tool in many countries throughout the world. Risk-based legislation is implemented by national governmental bodies.

Safe design ― design that effectively minimizes the likelihood of process accidents and mitigates their consequences ― has long been a priority in the process industries. Today, process industry companies need to be certain that their stakeholders have confidence in how they manage the environmental, health and safety implications of industrial activities.

Security threats can come from internal or external adversaries. Internal threats include disgruntled employees and/or contractors, or employees forced into cooperation by threat of extortion or violence. External sources include criminals, extremists or terrorists.

Building a strong process safety culture is about more than just rules and regulations; it is about nurturing a shared commitment to responsibility and accountability within every team member. This paper explores what process safety culture means for new professionals

This paper outlines one organization’s efforts on enhancement of their process safety management systems. In this case study the original process safety systems were established to support and drive risk management and compliance in response to American Chemical Council’s Responsible Care initiatives preceding U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) process safety management (PSM) and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Risk Management Plan (RMP).

To reduce time to market, the industry is putting out new products at a faster rate and outsourcing more activities than ever before. Time is of the essence. Therefore, technology transfer during product development, whether within and between companies, needs to work perfectly the first time, exceed expectations, and meet regulatory compliance.

Facility siting has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years and is an important aspect of process safety for plant personnel and their contractors. In December 2009, API issued the Third Edition of the Recommended Practice 752, “Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Permanent Buildings,”