You don’t need to be working directly in process safety to be aware of, and perhaps even worry about, possible releases of hazardous chemicals. If you work at a facility – plant, pilot plant, or laboratory – with hazardous chemicals you should know: (1) loss of containment (LOC) of the wrong materials can be bad – potentially very bad; (2) how loss of containment of hazardous materials can be prevented; and (3) how to respond or evacuate if a loss of containment occurs. The results can range from minor to catastrophic: serious injuries, fires and explosions, environmental damage, and significant impacts on production or research activities.
Process safety programs exist to help prevent and mitigate the effects of loss of containment and other potentially hazardous events associated with the use and storage of toxic, flammable, and reactive chemicals and other hazards. Even if your facility is not covered by process safety management (PSM) federal/state/local regulations, application of appropriate process safety systems can be very important if process hazards are present. In many cases, even small releases can lead to serious consequences. This paper discusses some of the most important process safety systems to help reduce the risks of loss of containment incidents.