Application of Inherently Safer Technology Rules in New Jersey and Contra Costa County, California

Inherent safety technology (IST) has been developed with the goal to reduce or eliminate hazards based on the use of intrinsic properties of chemicals or conditions. After the concept was adopted by Trevor Kletz in the field of chemical industry, CCPS published the book “Inherently Safer Chemical Processes - A Life Cycle Approach,” which developed a roadmap for the application of this technology. Multiple discussions on IST can be found in journal publications and patents and have provided good examples to apply IST in different industries. Since the 9-11 terrorism disaster, multiple federal bills have been proposed to mandate or consider Inherently Safer Design for hazardous chemicals security. However, arguments still exist about the potential economic impacts of mandatory IST initiatives on facilities.

The Inherently Safer Technology (IST) Review Rule was adopted under the Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act (TCPA) program of the state of New Jersey in May 2008. The rule mandates IST reviews of all facilities covered by the TCPA by evaluating the four IST principles: minimization, substitution, moderation, and simplification. The rule requires reviewing and completing a checklist developed under the direction of the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force. Contra Costa County, California is another region in the US that has put an emphasis on inherently safer technologies. Contra Costa’s Industrial Safety Ordinance was effective in January 1999, requiring facilities to consider human factors, security vulnerability analysis, and inherently safer systems. The Department of Environmental Protection recommends three methods that can be employed for IST analysis: (1) reviewing and completing a checklist containing a number of practical inherent safety considerations, (2) avoiding a particular hazard at a part of the process by employing a particular inherently safety strategy and (3) integrating IST into the facility’s PHA study.

This paper will first investigate the IST rules adopted by New Jersey and Contra Costa County, the methodologies that are applied and the rules’ application development. Then an industrial case study will be conducted based on the IST rules to study the effectiveness of the rules and to provide insight for legislation in the future.