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Understand Hazard & Risk

The foundation of a risk-based approach which will allow an organization to use this information to allocate limited resources in the most effective manner.

Combustible Dust: A Practical Approach to Identifying and Mitigating Hazards

Mar 22, 2010
Richard C. Griffin
Combustible dust hazards are prevalent in many facilities throughout industry, including the chemical process industries. Lack of awareness and control of these hazards has led to numerous catastrophic accidents. Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP has developed a practical approach to identifying...

Lessons Learned from Real World Application of the Bow-Tie Method

Mar 22, 2010
Steve Lewis
The benefits of using bow-tie diagrams for risk management have been realized by organizations world-wide. They provide a readily understandable visualization of the relationships between the causes of business upsets, the escalation of such event to a range of possible outcomes, the controls...

Materials as Inherent Ignition Sources for Dust Explosions During Spray Drying

Mar 22, 2010
Vincent Van den Hoogenband
During spray drying, a solution is dispersed through a nozzle in small droplets to evaporate the water by means of hot air. In a large number of these processes, organic materials are processed so three out of four factors for dust explosions to occur are already present. The only thing missing for...

Ensuring Consistency of Corporate Risk Criteria

Mar 22, 2010
J. Wayne Chastain
The recently published CCPS text Guidelines for Developing Quantitative Safety Risk Criteria makes a strong case for corporations developing risk criteria. One topic addressed in the text is the development of criteria for use in single cause – consequence risk analysis methodologies such as Layer...

Utilizing Integrated Risk Assessment to Maximize Asset Integrity Management

Mar 22, 2010
Steve Soos
The advent of various safety standards like ANSI /ISA 84, IEC 61511, API 14C, API 580 / 581, SAE JA1011, IEC 60330 and PSM guidelines has been a good impetus in improving the availability and reliability of safety systems and processes with an objective to meet the requirements defined by OSHA, EPA...

Practical Issues with Marginally Explosible Dusts - Evaluating the Real Hazard

Mar 22, 2010
Samuel A. Rodgers
A combustible dust can be non-explosible, marginally explosible or severely explosible. With the exception of a few standards with a quantitative perspective (such as NFPA 68), most safety standards and regulations do not differentiate marginally explosible dusts from severely explosible dusts. As...

Modeling Small Releases from Tanks

Mar 22, 2010
Fredrick H. Knack
The methodologies in the chapter on “Dispersion Modeling” in the CCPS book Guidelines for Consequence Analysis of Chemical Releases, provide means for modeling outdoors releases at relatively long distances from a large source. At times it is necessary to model releases at relatively short...

Challenges in Developing and Implementing Safety Risk Tolerance Criteria

Mar 22, 2010
Walter L. Frank
Risk quantification can help in understanding and managing risk. Establishing quantitative risk criteria can be a key component to risk decision-making and many companies use quantitative risk criteria, either formally or informally. The Center for Chemical Process Safety issued its guidance on...

Thermal Stability of Chemicals Based on Kinetics and Vessel Parameters

Mar 21, 2010
Amy Theis
Thermal stability of a chemical mixture or pure material can be evaluated using adiabatic calorimetry. Several calorimetry testing instruments and techniques will be used and compared for a comprehensive evaluation. Results from these tests can be used to determine kinetic parameters which can be...

Chronic Pain Resulting from Your Relief Device Management Systems

Mar 21, 2010
David A. Moore
With the increasing use of Layer of Protection Analysis as a semi-quantitative method of assessing process risk, LOPA practitioners are asked to assign credit to numerous safeguards including relief devices. Relief devices are only as strong as the initial design of the component and the systems...

Is It Really an Independent Protection Layer?

Mar 21, 2010
Arthur M. Dowell
Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) is a simplified chemical process risk assessment tool that is used to determine if sufficient independent protection layers are in place to meet an organization's risk tolerance criteria for a particular hazardous scenario. LOPA can determine how much additional...

Lifecycle Physical Hazards of Polystyrene Foam Board

Mar 21, 2010
Atsumi Miyake
Polymer Foam Boards have been widely used for individual home and general building, from roofs and/or walls down to foundation, for example. On the other hand, these Boards have significant physical hazards, because flammable blowing agent has come to be used, replacing nonflammable CFC chemicals...

Consistent Consequence Severity Estimation

Mar 21, 2010
Angela Summers
LOPA, as a semi-quantitative analysis, often provides inconsistent results. This can be due to physical differences between units but often it is due to team's perceptual differences. Initiating event frequency evaluation using guidance tables is more consistent than consequence evaluation where...

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