TABLE OF CONTENTS When you have studied this chapter, you will understand:
why process plant risk management is important;
the difference between classical safety management and process risk management;
some of the introductory concepts;
the generic process of management of risks of many types, including process plant risks;
the relationship between risk and reliability; and
the different approaches to management of (a) high risks and (b) those risks that are low but that could have serious consequences if realized.
The escape of toxic methyl isocyanate vapor from the Union Carbide India Limited plant at Bhopal in India on 3 December 1984 was the most serious chemical plant incident in history, causing thousands of deaths and many tens of thousands of severe injuries, many of them causing permanent incapacity.
This and the explosion at the Phillips Petroleum polyethylene plant at Pasadena on 23 October 1989, which killed 23 people and injured hundreds more, alerted management and governments to the need for much more than traditional occupational safety and health programs to provide safety for those working in, or living around, process plants.
However, this was not new knowledge. Major incidents have been occurring around the world for as long as hazardous materials have been processed. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers had for many years been conducting annual loss prevention symposiums, at which papers were presented by U.S. and international speakers addressing the potential for such incidents and exploring the means of preventing them. As a result of earlier incidents in the...
