Inherent occupational health assessment during preliminary design stage

Chemical process routes can already be assessed as early as in the development and design phases. Process screening should not look at economic and technical aspects only, but also the safety, health, and environmental performances. In this paper, a method called the Health Quotient Index (HQI) is presented for the preliminary process design phase. The HQI provides a simple approach to quantify workers' health risk from exposure to fugitive emissions e.g. in petrochemical plants. The method utilizes process data from flow sheet diagram, which is already available at the preliminary design stage. Since the mechanical details of the process are still unknown, a database of the precalculated fugitive emissions for typical operations in chemical plants was created to simplify the assessment. The HQI can be used to rank alternative process concepts or to quantify the risk level of processes. As a case study, six process routes for producing methyl methacrylate are discussed. Three health indexes are compared in the case study. The HQI is able to highlight the difference of hazard levels between the routes better as a result of more detailed assessment of the exposures.     

Inherent risk assessment—A new concept to evaluate risk in preliminary design stage

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) has been a very popular and useful methodology which is widely accepted by the industry over the past few decades. QRA is typically carried out at a stage where complete plant has been designed and sited. At that time, the opportunity to include inherent safety design features is limited and may incur higher cost. This paper proposes a new concept to evaluate risk inherent to a process owing to the chemical it uses and the process conditions. The risk assessment tool is integrated with process design simulator (HYSYS) to provide necessary process data as early as the initial design stages, where modifications based on inherent safety principles can still be incorporated to enhance the process safety of the plant. The risk assessment tool consists of two components which calculate the probability and the consequences relating to possible risk due to major accidents. A case study on the potential explosion due to the release of flammable material demonstrates that the tool is capable to identify potential high risk of process streams. Further improvement of the process design is possible by applying inherent safety principles to make the process under consideration inherently safer. Since this tool is fully integrated with HYSYS, re-evaluation of the inherent risk takes very little time and effort. The new tool addresses the lack of systematic methodology and technology, which is one of the barriers to designing inherently safer plants.     

A semi-quantitative methodology for risk assessment of university chemical laboratory

University chemical laboratory is a high-risk place for teaching and scientific research due to the presence of various physical and chemical hazards. In recent years, university chemical laboratory accidents occur frequently. This urges the need to enhance university chemical lab safety. A semi-quantitative methodology comprising Matter-Element Extension Theory (MEET) implemented with Combination Ordered Weighted Averaging (C-OWA) operator is proposed to assess the risk of a university chemical laboratory. First, an index-based risk assessment system of university chemical laboratory is built by identifying various risk factors from a system perspective. Then, C-OWA operator is used to calculate the weight of assessment indices, whereas MEET is employed to determine the correlation degree of assessment indices. Finally, the comprehensive risk of university chemical laboratories is assessed, and some safety measures are proposed to reduce the risk of university chemical laboratories. The applicability of the proposed methodology is tested using a practical case. It is observed that the methodology can be a useful tool for risk assessment and management of university chemical laboratories.     

An approach for risk reduction (methodology) based on optimizing the facility layout and siting in toxic gas release scenarios

In this work, a new approach to optimize facility layout for toxic release is presented. By integrating a risk analysis in the optimization formulation, we propose a safer assignment for facility layout and siting. Accompanying with the economical concepts used in a plant layout, the new model considers the cost of willing to avoid a fatality, i.e. the potential injury cost due to accidents associated with toxic release near residential areas. The proposed formulation incorporates a real meteorological data to calculate the injury risk through the probit model and Monte Carlo simulation using dense gas dispersion modeling (DEGADIS). The overall problem was initially modeled as a disjunctive program where the coordinates of each facility and cost-related variables are the main unknowns. Then, the convex hull approach was used to reformulate the problem as a Mixed Integer Non-Linear Program (MINLP) that identifies potential layouts by minimizing overall costs. This approach gives the coordinates of each facility, and estimates for the total length of pipes, the land area, and the selection of safety devices. Finally, the 3D-computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to compare between the initial layout and the final layout. Moreover, analyses of separation distances fr2om hazard facilities and hindrance effects will be discussed based on the approach used in this work.     

CFD simulation study on gas dispersion for risk assessment: A case study of sour gas well blowout

Compared with general blowout, the process of sour gas well blowout is more complex. The exchange of gas state is affected by many factors, and the consequences of the accident are serious. It is difficult to find out the rule of gas dispersion and predict the distribution of toxic gas. Fluent code was used to model the sour gas dispersion in the atmosphere after well blowout. The “12.23” sour gas well blowout, which was happened in Kai County, Chongqing, Sichuan, China, was the research background. The blowout accident model was set up to simulate the real process. Models were built based on real topography. Wind speed and atmospheric stability of the day which the accident happened were set as the operation conditions, and the composition, injection rate, and temperature of the gas at the actual time were set as the boundary conditions of numerical simulation. The analysis of gas dispersion based on simulation results conducted from two aspects, height and dispersion time. A comparison of field data with simulation data demonstrated that CFD technology can be an effective aid to describe the process of sour gas dispersion and can also predict the tendency of gas dispersion and gas distribution. Furthermore, it can provide guidance on design emergency response zone (ERZ).     

A methodology for enhancing the reliability of expert system applications in probabilistic risk assessment

In highly complex industries, capturing and employing expert systems is significantly important to an organization's success considering the advantages of knowledge-based systems. The two most important issues within the expert system applications in risk and reliability analysis are the acquisition of domain experts' professional knowledge and the reasoning and representation of the knowledge that might be expressed. The first issue can be correctly handled by employing a heterogeneous group of experts during the expert knowledge acquisition processes. The members of an expert panel regularly represent different experiences and knowledge. Subsequently, this diversity produces various sorts of information which may be known or unknown, accurate or inaccurate, and complete or incomplete based on its cross-functional and multidisciplinary nature. The second issue, as a promising tool for knowledge reasoning, still suffers from lack of deficiencies such as weight and certainty factor, and are insufficient to accurately represent complex rule-based expert systems. The outputs in current expert system applications in probabilistic risk assessment could not accurately represent the increasingly complex knowledge-based systems. The reason is the lack of certainty and self-assurance of experts when they are expressing their opinions. In this paper, a novel methodology is presented based on the concept of Z-numbers to overcome this issue. A case study in a high-tech process industry is provided in detail to demonstrate the application and feasibility of the proposed methodology.     

Survey-based analysis on the diffusion of evacuation advisory warnings during regional evacuations for accidents that release toxic vapors: A case study

This paper analyzes the diffusion of evacuation advisory warnings during regional evacuations for accidents that release toxic vapors. Investigations results on the propagation of evacuation advisory warnings in the ‘4.16’ chlorine release and the explosion accident at Chongqing Tianyuan Chemical Factory in China, and a comparison analysis of the evacuation notification process of six typical leakage accidents are presented in this paper. After conducting the evacuation notification investigation on the ‘4.16’ accident, in which 401 valid questionnaires were collected from people who should have evacuated during the accident, the methods and channels of the evacuation notification, the notification efficiency, and the actual response efficiency of the recipients after the issuing of the evacuation advisory warnings were analyzed. A comparison analysis of the evacuation notification process is performed by analyzing six typical leakage accidents, and basic principles of evacuation notification for a regional evacuation for toxic vapor release accidents are proposed.     

An uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of dynamic operational risk assessment model: A case study

In Dynamic Operational Risk Assessment (DORA) models, component repair time is an important parameter to characterize component state and the subsequent system-state trajectory. Specific distributions are fit to the industrial component repair time to be used as the input of Monte Carlo simulation of system-state trajectory. The objective of this study is to propose and apply statistical techniques to characterize the uncertainty and sensitivity on the distribution model selection and the associated parameters determination, in order to study how the DORA output that is the probability of operation out-of-control, can be apportioned by the distribution model selection. In this study, eight distribution fittings for each component are performed. Chi-square test, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and Anderson-Darling test are proposed to measure the goodness-of-fit to rank the distribution models for characterizing the component repair time distribution. Sensitivity analysis results show that the selection of distribution model among exponential distribution, gamma distribution, lognormal distribution and Weibull distribution to fit the industrial data has no significant impact on DORA results in the case study.     

Operational risk assessment: A case of the Bhopal disaster

Accidental releases of hazardous chemicals from process facilities can cause catastrophic consequences. The Bhopal disaster resulting from a combination of inherently unsafe designs and poorly managed operations is a well-known case. Effective risk modeling approaches that provide early warnings are helpful to prevent and control such rare but catastrophic events. Probability estimation of these events is a constant challenge due to the scarcity of directly relevant data. Therefore, precursor-based methods that adopt the Bayesian theorem to update prior judgments on event probabilities using empirical data have been proposed. The updated probabilities are then integrated with consequences of varying severity to produce the risk profile.This paper proposes an operational risk assessment framework, in which a precursor-based Bayesian network approach is used for probability estimation, and loss functions are applied for consequence assessment. The estimated risk profile can be updated continuously given real-time operational data. As process facilities operate, this method integrates a failure-updating mechanism with potential consequences to generate a real-time operational risk profile. The real time risk profile is valuable in activating accident prevention and control strategies. The approach is applied to the Bhopal accident to demonstrate its applicability and effectiveness.     

A new methodology for risk evaluation taking into account the whole life cycle (LCRA): Validation with case study

The life cycle of a product is generally characterized by the main following stages: raw materials acquisition, manufacturing, processing and formulation, distribution and transportation, use, re-use, maintenance, recycle and waste management. As regards the process, the following stages are usually distinguished: raw materials acquisition, process manufacture, use and dismantling at the end of the lifetime. Considering the life cycle concept in a risk analysis approach requires the adjustment of the classic risk analysis methodology. In order to build up this new methodology called LCRA (Life Cycle Risk Assessment), we relied on the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, which allows the assessment of the potential environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a system. Once these adjustments made, this new methodology LCRA is explained and applied to two energy pathways (or life cycles): hydrogen (produced from the biomass) and gasoline pathways.     

A risk assessment methodology for high pressure CO2 pipelines using integral consequence modelling

This paper presents a risk assessment methodology for high pressure CO₂ pipelines developed at the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) as part of the EU FP7 CO2Pipehaz project. Until recently, risk assessment of dense phase and supercritical CO₂ pipelines has been problematic because of the lack of suitable source term and integral consequence models that handle the complex behaviour of CO₂ appropriately. The risk assessment presented uses Phast, a commercially available source term and dispersion model that has been recently updated to handle the effects of solid CO₂. A test case pipeline was input to Phast and dispersion footprints to different levels of harm (dangerous toxic load and probit values) were obtained for a set of pipeline specific scenarios. HSL's risk assessment tool QuickRisk was then used to calculate the individual and societal risk surrounding the pipeline. Knowledge gaps that were encountered such as: harm criteria, failure rates and release scenarios were identified and are discussed.     

A CFD based explosion risk analysis methodology using time varying release rates in dispersion simulations

A full probabilistic Explosion Risk Analysis (ERA) is commonly used to establish overpressure exceedance curves for offshore facilities. This involves modelling a large number of gas dispersion and explosion scenarios. Capturing the time dependant build up and decay of a flammable gas cloud size along with its shape and location are important parameters that can govern the results of an ERA. Dispersion simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) are generally carried out in detailed ERA studies to obtain these pieces of information. However, these dispersion simulations are typically modelled with constant release rates leading to steady state results. The basic assumption used here is that the flammable gas cloud build up rate from these constant release rate dispersion simulations would mimic the actual transient cloud build up rate from a time varying release rate. This assumption does not correctly capture the physical phenomena of transient gas releases and their subsequent dispersion and may lead to very conservative results. This in turn results in potential over design of facilities with implications on time, materials and cost of a project.In the current work, an ERA methodology is proposed that uses time varying release rates as an input in the CFD dispersion simulations to obtain the fully transient flammable gas cloud build-up and decay, while ensuring the total time required to perform the ERA study is also reduced. It was found that the proposed ERA methodology leads to improved accuracy in dispersion results, steeper overpressure exceedance curves and a significant reduction in the Design Accidental Load (DAL) values whilst still maintaining some conservatism and also reducing the total time required to perform an ERA study.     

Inherent safety concept based proactive risk reduction strategies: A review

The growing scale and complexity of process industries have brought safety, health, and environmental issues to the forefront. As a result, proactive risk reduction strategies (RRSs) are commonly employed to address these issues by reducing the frequency or mitigating the consequences of potential incidents. Among these strategies, inherent safety, which is a proactive measure of loss prevention and risk management, is considered to be the most effective method. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of RRSs for achieving inherency, as well as techniques for evaluating the performance of inherent safety, health, and environmental aspects. Background information is presented, including the development and implementation of the inherently safer process design, as well as the approaches for achieving inherently healthier and environmentally friendlier processes. Subsequently, the execution approaches and practical applications of other RRSs are discussed to highlight the distinctiveness and benefits of inherent safety. Next, this study examined the characteristics of inherency assessment tools (IATs) based on available information at different process stages. Furthermore, the evaluation methods and historical development of IATs are investigated from the perspectives of safety, occupational health, and environmental considerations, followed by a statistical analysis of IATs. It is concluded that the no-chemical hazards-based IATs have not been extensively studied yet, which may improve the safety level of process plants from the perspective of comprehensive inherency risk reduction. As a way forward, future research opportunities are proposed to promote the implementation of greater optimized risk management.     

A systemic methodology for risk management in healthcare sector

The recent biomedical, technological, and normative changes have led healthcare organizations to the implementation of clinical governance as a way to ensure the best quality of care in an increasingly complex environment. Risk management is one of the most relevant aspects of clinical governance and approaches put forward in literature highlight the necessity to perform comprehensive analyses intended to uncover root causes of adverse events.Contributing to this field, the present paper applies Reason’s theory of failures to work out a systemic methodology to study risks impacting not only directly but also indirectly on patients. Also, the steps of such approach are organized around Human Reliability Assessment phases, in order to take into account the human component of healthcare systems. This framework is able to foster effective decision making about reducing failures and waste and to improve healthcare organizations’ maturity towards risk management.The developed methodology is applied to the pharmacy department of a large Italian hospital. An extensive validation in different healthcare settings is required to fully prove benefits and limitations.     

Qualitative Assessment for Inherently Safer Design (QAISD) at preliminary design stage

Conventional hazard evaluation techniques such as what-if checklist and hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies are often used to recognise potential hazards and recommend possible solutions. They are used to reduce any potential incidents in the process plant to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) level. Nevertheless, the suggested risk reduction alternatives merely focus on added passive and active safety systems rather than preventing or minimising the inherent hazards at source through application of inherently safer design (ISD) concept. One of the attributed reasons could be the shortage of techniques or tools to support implementation of the concept. Thus, this paper proposes a qualitative methodology that integrates ISD concept with hazard review technique to identify inherent hazards and generate ISD options at early stage of design as proactive measures to produce inherently safer plant. A modified theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) hazard review method is used in this work to identify inherent hazards, whereby an extended inherent safety heuristics tool is developed based on established ISD principles to create potential ISD options. The developed method namely Qualitative Assessment for Inherently Safer Design (QAISD) could be applied during preliminary design stage and the information required to apply the method would be based on common process and safety database of the studied process. However, user experiences and understanding of inherent safety concept are crucial for effective utilisation of the QAISD. This qualitative methodology is applied to a typical batch reactor of toluene nitration as a case study. The results show several ISD strategies that could be considered at early stage of design in order to prevent and minimise the potential of thermal runaway in the nitration process.     

Improvement of integrity management for pressure vessels based on risk assessment - A natural gas separator case study

The process of oil and gas processing plant is complex, the types of pressure vessels are rich, and the functions are critical. However, the working medium is mostly untreated medium, and the hazard factors are complex, which poses a threat to the safe production of oil and gas processing plant. Based on PDCA cycle, this paper establishes a six-step links of integrity management for sustainable improvement of pressure vessels. The typical failure modes of pressure vessels are determined, and the fishbone diagram of risk factors under each failure mode is compiled. Risk quantification and classification of pressure vessels based on failure modes (RBFM) is innovatively proposed. Avoiding incalculable failure frequency index, the process quantification of failure possibility is formed according to the development of hazard factors. A failure consequence calculation model based on the leakage affected area was established. Combined with the failure probability level and risk level, the hierarchical inspection strategy for pressure vessels under different failure modes is established. Finally, the method is applied to the natural gas separator of H processing plant. The research results show that RBFM proposed in this paper can meet the requirements for rapid and accurate risk assessment of pressure vessels in oil and gas processing plant. This paper establishes a safe production barrier for the pressure vessel and improves the intrinsic safety of the equipment.     

基于CFD的毒气泄漏中毒定量评估

针对有关毒气急性中毒研究只能根据经验公式和接触限值划定危险区域进行定性评估的现状,提出结合毒气泄漏CFD数值模拟与中毒剂量反应模犁进行中毒定量评估的方法.通过CFD计算泄漏毒气的实时浓度场,根据浓度场和暴露时间确定人员暴露剂量,最后根据剂量反应模型确定人员死亡百分比.以某硫黄回收装置的硫化氢泄漏为例,建立CFD模型.设置距地面高1.5 m,与泄漏源水平距离分别为100 m、200 m、300 m、400 m、500 m的5个监测点作为工作人员的急性中毒地点.模拟分为构建初始风场、硫化氢泄漏及随风场扩散3个阶段,根据CFD求解得出的监测点的硫化氢实时浓度场并结合中毒剂量反应模型对监测点人员中毒死亡风险进行定量评估.研究表明,基于CFD的毒气泄漏中毒定量评估技术能对泄漏区域任意位置、任意时刻的人员中毒风险进行定耸评估,弥补了目前大多定性评价方法的不足.     

基于秩和比法的突发事件固有风险水平评估

建立突发事件固有风险指标框架,定量评估突发事件固有风险水平。选择自然灾害、事故灾难、公共卫生事件、社会安全事件等四大类突发事件造成的死亡人数和经济损失方面的量化指标,采用秩和比法计算全国31省市区的突发事件相对风险水平,经滑动平均处理后,得到各地突发事件固有风险指数。求解各地突发事件固有风险指数与其累积频率对应的概率单位值的回归方程,将其排序分档,可把全国分为高风险、较高风险、一般风险和低风险水平等四类地区。结果表明我国各地区突发事件固有风险水平存在一定的差异,总体呈西高东低分布。突发事件固有风险指数可定量评估各地区的突发事件固有风险水平,突发事件固有风险指标设置合理、方法可行。     

风险严重度指数法在毒气泄漏评价中的应用

为评价某区域或某设备潜在的毒气泄漏事故场景的风险水平,以对不同的风险等级进行风险控制和安全规划,详细介绍了工业事故风险评估方法ARAMIS所采用的风险严重度指数法.首先基于事故频率和后果的风险矩阵选取毒气泄漏事故场景;然后运用毒气当量浓度计算任意暴露时间下不同风险严重度等级所对应的特征距离,并根据同一风险等级内风险严重度指数与距离的线性关系计算任意点的风险严重度指数;最后应用1个实例分析了考虑所研究区域的风向概率后对风险严重度指数的真实影响,便于工厂或企业识别不同的风险等级,进行不同场景下风险水平的对比性研究,为其安全设计及风险分析提供了一种新的评估方法.