Value Conflicts in Designing for Safety: Distinguishing Applications of Safe-by-Design and the Inherent Safety Principles.

Britte Bouchaut,Lotte Asveld,Alexander Vlierboom,Ulf Hanefeld

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041963

Britte Bouchaut, Lotte Asveld + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041963

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Abstract

Although both the Inherent Safety Principles (ISPs) and the Safe-by-Design (SbD) approach revolve around the central value of safety, they have a slightly different focus in terms of developing add-on features or considering initial design choices. This paper examines the differences between these approaches and analyses which approach is more suitable for a specific type of research—fundamental or applied. By applying the ISPs and SbD to a case study focusing on miniaturized processes using Hydrogen Cyanide, we find that both approaches encounter internal value-conflicts and suffer from external barriers, or lock-ins, which hinder implementation of safety measures. By applying the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), we gain insight in the matureness of a technology (thereby distinguishing fundamental and applied research) and the extent of lock-ins being present. We conclude that the ISPs are better able to deal with lock-ins, which are more common in applied research stages, as this approach provides guidelines for add-on safety measures. Fundamental research is not subject to lock-ins yet, and therefore SbD would be a more suitable approach. Lastly, application of either approach should not be associated with a specific field of interest, but instead with associated known or uncertain risks.

Highlights

Mohamed-Bassem AshourOne of the most acknowledged values in the fields of chemical engineering, biochemistry and biotechnology is safety
This paper aimed to define the differences between the Inherent Safety Principles (ISPs) and SbD and to shed light on which approach would be better applicable to what type of research: Either applied or fundamental research
We identified internal conflicts and external lock-ins that called for some value trade-offs

Summary

Introduction

Mohamed-Bassem AshourOne of the most acknowledged values in the fields of chemical engineering, biochemistry and biotechnology is safety. To ensure (bio)chemical processes to be acceptably safe for society, animals and the environment, multiple approaches have been developed over the last decades Examples of such are the 12 principles of Green Chemistry [1,2], Safety. The Safe-by-Design (SbD) approach, which is derived from the notion of inherent safety, has been gaining foot in the field of nanotechnology [7,8], biotechnology and synthetic biology [9,10] over the last decade. Both approaches revolve around measures for safety, the derived measures differ to some extent. As the ISPs provide add-on safety measures [5,11], Received: 7 December 2020

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