TABLE OF CONTENTS An essential feature of the learning process in safety and loss prevention is the study of case histories.
The powerful impact of the internet has changed the way we obtain our information on process safety as well as everything else. In recent years, various governmental agencies and private organizations have improved our access to details of recent and past case histories. A number of websites provide a narrative of the event, the technical reasons for the accident as well as the management system shortcomings and valuable lessons learned. Written report sometimes supported by graphics and photos are often published by various agencies and provided on governmental websites. There are also university and corporate organizations that collect incidents and publish on their websites.
Since about 1996, the US Environmental Protection Agency under the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention has investigated and reported on many high profile US chemical plant and refinery case histories. As a result of these investigations, some Alerts focusing on certain type of incidents have been developed. EPA reports are available at the following internet website: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/ceppoweb.nsf.
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) matured in the late 1990s and their mission is to promote the prevention of chemical accidents. The focus of the CSB is on-site and off-site chemical safety, determining causes and preventing chemical-related incidents, fatalities, injuries, property damage and enhancing environmental protection. The CSB started investigations on selected important chemical plant and refinery incidents in about 1998, and also provide...
