Chemical Accident Prevention Research Articles

A Hazardous Chemical Accident Prevention Method Based on Event Logic Graph

A Hazardous Chemical Accident Prevention Method Based on Event Logic Graph

A hazardous chemical accident prevention method based on event logic graphs

A hazardous chemical accident prevention method based on event logic graphs

Evaluating the Efficiency of the Process Safety Management System through Analysis of Major Industrial Accidents in South Korea

The process safety management (PSM) system was introduced in South Korea in 1996, wherein a company voluntarily organizes and manages a chemical accident prevention system, which contributes to reducing chemical accidents. However, large- and small-scale chemical accidents occur frequently. This trend necessitates analysis and improvement of the PSM systems. This study aimed to analyze the correlation between major industrial accidents, their main causes, the status of accidents by company size and industry, and the PSM evaluation grade through an analysis of 130 accidents that occurred in the past 17 years (2005–2021). The results showed that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 100 employees accounted for 36% of all accidents, indicating a higher occurrence rate than large companies. Additionally, the proportion of companies with inadequate PSM levels, rated as M-grade (M+, and M−), were 67.0%, suggesting a high probability of major industrial accidents. The results of this study show that a company’s voluntary safety management can be induced by an improved PSM system and management plan, which is expected to prevent major industrial accidents.

A gas detector planning method that considers the area and zone based on the range of influence of chemicals with high vapor pressure

AbstractIn some countries with high population densities including Korea, chemical plants are densely distributed, and strict regulations are imposed. According to the Chemical Control Act, one gas detector must be installed every 10 m indoors and 20 m outdoors around a facility. However, the diffusion of chemicals should be evaluated based on area rather than perimeter. In the US and EU, gas detector locations are selected through chemical accident modeling. Here, we evaluated the feasibility of gas detector installation standards in the Chemicals Control Act by comparing highly volatile and toxic chemicals with sulfuric acid (relatively low volatility). Consequently, we suggested an appropriate installation location and number of gas detectors for initial countermeasures. For nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and hydrofluoric acid, there was a difference in the number of detectors recommended via modeling and the number of detectors legally required. For the mezzanine design, four gas detectors should be installed on each floor in a 5‐story building; however, the modeling results showed that installing one was sufficient. For sulfuric acid with low vapor pressure, it is equitable to install a leak detector rather than a gas detector. Overall, regulations should be continuously evaluated for the response and prevention of chemical accidents.

Failure factor analysis of China hazardous chemicals safety regulation system based on FMEA

AbstractIn order to strengthen research on the identification and classification of the failure factors at the level of government safety regulation, comprehensively and systematically understand the failure of China's hazardous chemical safety regulation system, strengthen the prevention of hazardous chemical accidents, and construct China's hazardous chemical safety regulation system according to the principle of “Safety II”, the three subsystems of the regulation subject, regulatory object, and third‐party institution and their seven functional blocks are determined. Second, taking 26 dangerous chemical accidents as analysis materials, the failure mode and effect analysis method (FMEA) is used to analyze China's dangerous chemical safety regulation system. Nineteen failure modes of China's dangerous chemical safety regulation system are identified and the distribution of failure modes is analyzed and discussed. The results show that personnel failure is the main factor in the failure of the safety regulation system. Good institutional tools help to improve law enforcement work. The coordination between the regulatory agencies has an essential impact on the role of the regulatory body. It is necessary to strengthen the regulation of third‐party institutions.

Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment of Laboratory Work by Fine Kinney Method

In this research, risk analysis and evaluation have been carried out using Fine Kinney method within the scope of occupational health and safety. In the risk analysis made in the laboratory, a total of 50 risks are identified. Accordingly, 10 (20 %) are very high risk, 7 (14 %) high risk, 17 (34 %) significant risk, 15 (30 %) probable risk, and 1 (2 %) acceptable risk degree. It is aimed to take these risks under control in laboratory studies and to minimize their effects. Thus, a culture of occupational health and safety should be established and the rules of occupational health and safety should be implemented without compromise. For these reasons, the rules to be observed in laboratory studies are listed below. Employees or researchers involved in laboratory studies should receive occupational health and safety training and this training should be repeated periodically. Emergency plans that may arise from laboratory studies or that may arise from external sources should be prepared, training should be given to team members who are in charge of emergencies, and drills should be carried out periodically. The chemicals used in the laboratory studies should be stored according to their degree of impact, and necessary records should be taken in cases such as use and transportation. Adequate physical environment conditions should be provided for the personnel working in the laboratory studies. Chemical hygiene programs and accident prevention plans should be implemented to prevent accidents.

Evidence-based accident prevention and its application to hazardous chemical storage accident prevention

Many accidents occur owing to decision-making failures in accident prevention. From an information perspective, decision-making failures in accident prevention are due to a lack of necessary information. Moreover, the research–practice gap is a long-standing and common problem in accident prevention. To solve the abovementioned problems to improve accident prevention, this study proposes a new accident prevention approach referred to as evidence-based accident prevention. This approach emphasizes the use of the best accident prevention evidence in the accident prevention decision-making process. It is regarded as a practical approach to avoid the lack of safety information to improve the quality of accident prevention decision-making and narrow the research–practice gap vis-à-vis accident prevention. First, this paper explains that evidence-based accident prevention is based on accident prevention failures from a safety information perspective. Second, this study proposes a model for evidence-based accident prevention. Finally, this study applies an evidence-based accident prevention approach to the prevention of hazardous chemical storage accidents in a paint manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China, as a case study. This study aims to help researchers and practitioners to understand the evidence-based accident prevention approach and lay a foundation for the future study and practice of evidence-based accident prevention.

2020년 국내 화학사고 조사분석 및 효율적 대응 방안 연구

Gyeonggi-do had an exceptionally high number of accidents among the area based on the chemical accidents (226 cases) that occurred in Korea 2020. And the frequency of accidents were high in order Ulsan, Seoul, Jeonnam, Busan, Jeonbuk, Incheon·Chungnam, Gangwon·Chungbuk·Gyeongbuk, Daegu·Gyeongnam, Gwangju, Daejeon, Sejong·Jeju·Changwon. By month, the largest number of chemical accidents occurred in August, followed by June, July, and September. In this study, the causes of major hazardous chemical accidents were analyzed and the response system was studied. In the future, data sharing and effective prevention, preparation and response strategies could be established for the chemical accident prevention measures.

Routes to failure: Analysis of chemical accidents using the HFACS

Serious and similar chemical accidents frequently occur, which prompts continuous exploration of an effective way to prevent chemical accidents. The purpose of learning from accidents is to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. An in-depth exploration of the causes is a prerequisite to ensure the effectiveness of learning from accidents. The interactions among causes can explain how a particular sequence of events results in an incident with unpleasant consequences. This research aimed to provide a more concrete and intuitive understanding of the interaction of causes and represent the routes to failure, showing how the chemical accidents happened. One hundred one chemical accidents were analyzed through the extended Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) containing manifestations, and the associations between the high-frequency manifestations of adjacent levels were evaluated using Fisher's exact test. 21 groups of significant associations were identified, which clearly show how the manifestations at the upper level of the HFACS predict the adjacent lower level manifestations. A variety of potential failure paths for chemical accidents were presented, which need to be given more attention in developing future preventive measures. This work provides a new perspective and a theoretical basis for the prevention of chemical accidents.

Changes in Risk in Medium Business Plating and Paint Manufacturing Plants following the Revision of the Korean Chemical Accident Prevention System.

Chemical accidents can occur anywhere. The need for chemical management in Korea was realized following the 2012 Gumi hydrofluoric acid accident in 2012. The Chemicals Control Act was enacted in 2015. This system evaluates the risks (high, medium, low) and consequent safety management at all plants that handle hazardous chemical substances. However, the system was criticized as excessive when most plants were designated high-risk without considering their size. Thus, laboratories and hospitals handling very small quantities were subject to regulation. Accordingly, in 2021 Korea revised the system to include off-site consequence analyses and a Korean-style risk analysis. Plants handling very small quantities, such as laboratories and hospitals, were exempt from regulation. In this study, changes in risk were examined for four medium-sized plating and paint manufacturing plants. Under the previous system, all four factories were judged as high-risk groups. In particular, the paint manufacturing plant A, which has an underground storage tank, received a medium risk like the plating plant C, although the possibility of a chemical accident was lower than that of other plants. However, in the changed system, all plants were changed to the low-risk group. In the Korean-style risk analysis, it is possible to see at a glance what is lacking in the plants, such as cooperation between local residents and local governments and the construction of safety facilities according to the type of accident scenario. The revised system is a reasonable regulation for medium business plants.

Ionic liquid-assisted biphasic systems for downstream processing of fermentative enzymes and organic acids

AbstractRoom-temperature ionic liquids (ILs) represent molten salts entirely consisting of ions, usually a charge-stabilized organic cation and an inorganic or organic anion. ILs are liquids at ambient temperature but possess characteristics unusual for the common liquid solvents, such as negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability and most over the ability to mix and match libraries of cations and anions in order to acquire desirable physical and chemical properties [1]. The opportunity to obtain tunable density, viscosity, polarity and miscibility with common molecular liquids gave rise to a variety of applications of the ILs [2] as environmentally benign solvents, extractants or auxiliaries. In particular, numbers of innovations in the methods for recovery and purification of biologically derived compounds involve ILs used solo or partnered with other liquids in biphasic systems [3,4,5]. It should be noted that the ILs are not intrinsically greener than the traditional solvents, given that their production is usually more resource-demanding, but the inherent potential for recycling and reuse, and for prevention of chemical accidents gives the ILs advantages ahead.The present chapter provides a state-of-the-art overview on the basic applications of the ILs in biphasic systems aimed at downstream processing of valuable fermentative products, enzymes and organic acids. Main industrially important enzymes, lipases and carbohydrases, are considered and a description of the IL-assisted aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) and the results obtained in view of enzyme yield and purity is made. ILs serve different functions in the ABS, main phase-segregating constituents (mostly in the IL/salt ABS) or adjuvants to the polymer/salt ABS. Enzyme isolation from the contaminant proteins present in the feedstock can be carried out either in the IL-rich or in the salt-rich phase of the ABS and for the reader’s convenience the two options are described separately. Discussion on the factors and parameters affecting the enzyme partitioning in the ABS with ILs guides the reader through the ways by which the interactions between the IL and the enzyme can be manipulated in favor of the enzyme purification through the choice of the ABS composition (IL, salt, pH) and the role of the water content and the IL-rich phase structure.The second part of the chapter is dedicated to the recovery of fermentative organic acids. Mostly hydrophobic ILs have been engaged in the studies and the biphasic systems thereof are summarized. The systems are evaluated by the extraction efficiency and partition coefficient obtained. Factors and parameters affecting the extraction of organic acids by ILs are highlighted in a way to unravel the extraction mechanism. The choice of IL and pH determines the reactive mechanism and the ion exchange, while the water content and the IL phase structure play roles in physical extraction. Procedures undertaken to enhance the efficiency and to intensify the process of extraction are also looked over.Finally, the experimental holes that need fill up in the future studies are marked. According to the author’s opinion an intense research with hydrophobic ILs is suggested as these ILs have been proved milder to the biological structures (both the microbial producer and the enzyme product), more effective in the organic acid recovery and suitable to perform “in situ” extraction. Extractive fermentation entails validation of ecological and toxicological characteristics of the ILs. The protocols for re-extraction of fermentative products separated by IL-assisted biphasic systems should be clearly settled along with the methods for ILs recycling and reuse. Novel more flexible approaches to process intensification can be implemented in order to adopt the separation by biphasic systems for use in industry.

Increased risk to people around major hazardous installations and the necessity of land use planning in South Korea

Risk management of major hazardous installations (MHIs) is a principal concern due to chemical hazards, both in South Korea and in foreign countries where chemical plants are located. To cope with these risks, various regulatory schemes have been developed for the recognition, prevention, and control of chemical accidents. Despite these efforts, the worst major accident caused by massive (20 t) leakage of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride occurred in Gumi City in 2012. As a result, the location of MHIs associated with the chemical industry became a major concern among the public, relating to the risks to both the public and environment. In this study, the regulatory systems in South Korea are compared with global standards for controlling major hazards, and the adoption of land use planning (LUP) is discussed. Based on population statistics for the last 17 years, the EPA's ALOHA software was used to evaluate the impact of land development and population growth around MHIs through case studies of societal risk changes at five water-treatment plants using Cl2 (chlorine). The total risk at the Cl2 sites increased by up to 3.05 times from 2000 to 2017, demonstrating the necessity of introducing LUP.

West Fertilizer Regulatory Legacy—EPA RMP Amendments

AbstractOn April 17, 2013, a fire and explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company in West, Texas. Twelve emergency responders and three members of the public died. More than 260 people were treated by local hospitals. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigated the incident. The CSB determined that about 40 percent of the 30 tons of fertilizer‐grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) detonated to cause the explosion. The CSB found that there were no effective federal regulations of FGAN in effect at the time of the explosion. They subsequently describe the initial federal response to the explosion as of the date of the CSB report; an Executive Order for, among many other things, modernizing federal policies and regulations surrounding chemical facilities, including those storing FGAN such as West Fertilizer. Presented here is a followup report of this modernization, focusing on the changes that impact process safety. This effort initially took the form of amendments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation 40 C.F.R. § 68 Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions. Following the implementation of the amendments, the EPA subsequently took action to rescind the bulk of the changes.

Feasibility Evaluation of Designated Quantities for Chemicals Requiring Preparation for Accidents in the Korean Chemical Accident Prevention System.

To prevent chemical accidents, the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and the Republic of Korea operate legal systems, such as risk management plans (RMP) and process safety management (PSM), to prevent chemical accidents inside and outside the workplace. The duty to implement chemical accident prevention systems and the criteria for being a target workplace are dependent on the designated quantities of chemicals handled. A chemical accident prevention system is obligatory for storage and handling of legally declared chemicals in the workplace. Benzene, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and ethyl acetate are all flammable materials that are commonly used as solvents in the chemical industry. These substances are grouped into flammable substances groups in the US and the EU, and are managed with the same designated quantities. However, in Korea, the designated quantities are: benzene, 10,000 kg; toluene, xylene, and methyl ethyl ketone, 200,000 kg; and ethyl acetate, 20,000 kg. In order to evaluate the validity of the chemical quantities, fire explosion scenarios during chemical accidents were modeled using two modeling programs, Areal Location of Hazardous Atmosphere (ALOHA) and Korea Off-Site Risk Assessment Supporting Tool (KORA) software, under the same conditions. Similar damage radii were found for the five flammable materials with both pool fires and vapor cloud explosions (VCE). Based on these damage radii, the designated quantities of five substances were calculated and included in the range (10,000 to 13,500 kg). The results show that current designated quantities underestimate chemical substances, and for the prevention of accidents and post-management after chemical accidents, it is necessary to manage flammable substances under one grouping.

A Bayesian network-based approach for the assessment and management of ageing in major hazard establishments

Currently, there is an increasing attention towards ageing of industrial equipment, as the phenomenon has been recognised as a cause of severe accidents, recorded in the last years in many process establishments. Recent studies described ageing through a number of key-factors affecting the phenomenon by accelerating or slowing it down. The Italian Competent Authority for the prevention of chemical accidents (Seveso III Directive) adopted a short-cut method, accounting for the assessment of these factors, to evaluate the adequateness of ageing management during inspections at Seveso sites. In this paper, a Bayesian Network was developed, by using the data gathered during the first application of the short-cut method, with the aim to verify the robustness of the approach for ageing assessment and the validity of the a priori assumptions used in assessing the key-factors. The structure of the Bayesian network was established by using experts’ knowledge, whereas the Counting Learning algorithm was adopted to execute the parameter learning by means of the software Netica. The results showed that this network could effectively explore the complex logical and uncertain relationships amongst factors affecting equipment ageing. Results of the present study were exploited to improve the short-cut method.

Hazardous Chemical Accident Prevention Based on K-Means Clustering Analysis of Incident Information

Hazardous chemicals are inflammable, explosive, and/or toxic and are prone to accidental leakage, fire, and explosion during production, storage, and transportation. It is time-consuming and laborious to study the properties of hazardous chemicals individually for systematic accident prevention because of the wide variety of hazardous chemicals and conditions resulting in accidents. Moreover, accidents have numerous causes, and the relationships among the causative factors are complex. It is a problem that is difficult to accurately identify the effects of correlations among accident factors and determine the laws governing accident occurrence. In this paper, we propose a generic method of hazardous chemical accident prevention based on K-means clustering analysis of incident information to illustrate how to solve the problems. A database of hazardous chemical incidents was constructed, and a K-means clustering algorithm was adopted to classify the incidents. The numbers of occurrences and frequencies of the words in the textual descriptions of the consequences, processes, and causes of hazardous chemical incidents were counted and calculated using a class-based method. For words with a high frequency, risk scenarios were constructed, checklist items of newly revealed dangers were developed, and a system for systematic risk assessment and accident prevention was established. Finally, the information on hazardous material transportation incidents in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration database of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2009 to 2018 had been taken as an example to illustrate the method application. The results demonstrate that the proposed method of hazardous chemical accident prevention can be used to improve accident classification. The classification results make it possible to determine the optimal sequence of key targets on which to focus and the requirements for accident prevention and formulate preventive measures. Thus, they provide a technical basis for accident prevention.

Information Construction for Predicting Accident Risks in Vulnerable Facilities in Prevention of Chemical Terrorism and Accidents

화학사고 관련법이 지속적으로 개정됨에 따라 화학사고에 대한 인식이 높아지고 있음에도 불구하고 화학사고는 끊임없이 발생하고 있으며 그 피해규모는 감소하지 않고 있다. 화학사고를 효과적으로 대응하기 위해서는 화학공정 및 시설에 대한 정보를 빠르게 확보하여 이에 따라 효과적인 대응을 수행해야 하지만, 현재 화학공정 및 시설 정보가 체계적이지 않아 구체적인 방침은 마련되어 있지 않다. 이에 본 연구는 주요 유해화학물질, 화학공정 및 단위시설에 대한 안전조치 정보카드 개발에 그 목적을 두었다. 이를 위하여 사고 사례 및 국내에서 많이 유통되는 화학물질을 기반으로 총 9종의 물질을 선정하였다. 다음으로, 해당 물질을 취급하는 총 51종의 화학공정을 선정하였다. 이에 더하여, 화학사고 위험요인 및 관련정보 등을 도출하였다. 최종적으로, 위의 연구결과를 재조합, 요약 후 핵심 프로세스 정보, 예방 조치 및 대응 방법이 포함된 51종의 화학사고 대응 카드를 제작하였다. 이 화학사고 대응카드는 해당물질 및 시설 등을 취급하는 사업장과 비상기관 대응자에게 좋은 자료가 될 것이다.Despite changes in public perception and continuous revision of laws related to chemical accidents, chemical accidents are continually occurring and the damage scale is not decreasing. In order to effectively cope with chemical accidents, it is required to strengthen the response system for chemical accidents, which quickly obtains information on chemical processes and responds accordingly. The purpose of this study is to develop safety information cards which describe the chemical processes of major hazardous chemicals. A total of nine substances were selected based on the accident history in South Korea. In addition, the accident risk factors and related information for 51 chemical processes and facilities were determined. By reconstructing and summarizing the results, we then produced the “chemical accident response card” for each chemical process containing key process information, preventive measures, and response methods. These cards can serve as useful materials for business sites dealing with hazardous materials and emergency agency staff.

Development of Accident Probability Index Using Surrogate Indicators of Chemical Accidents in Chemical Plants.

To reduce damage caused by chemical accidents, it is important to establish a prevention system for chemical accidents. The first step in the prevention of chemical accidents is to screen the high-risk chemical plants. Risk index, one of the screening methods, can indirectly estimate the risk at each chemical plant. For calculating the risk index, the probability of an accident needs to be estimated, which requires complex calculation and confidential data from plants that are difficult to obtain. Therefore, we developed a new index, the accident probability index, to estimate accident probability in chemical plants using readily accessible data. We conducted a literature survey on the existing risk indices and interviewed chemical experts and government chemical managers to select surrogate indicators related to chemical accidents, and four indicators were chosen: hazardous characteristics of chemicals, handling volume, records of accident frequency, and national accident frequency of chemicals. We calculated the accident probability index for 4520 chemical plants, and index value means was 5.324 (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.156, 7.493). An increase by 10 in the index value denoted a 1.06-fold (95% CI: 1.04, 1.08) increase in the odds ratio for actual accident occurrence. The accident frequency of the fourth quartile of the index value was 4.30 times (95% CI: 1.72, 10.75) higher than those of the first quartile.

Accident Damage Analysis Module (ADAM): Novel European Commission tool for consequence assessment—Scientific evaluation of performance

This paper summarises the scientific evaluation of the performance of a novel modelling tool, the Accident Damage Assessment Module (ADAM), developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (EC) to assess the consequences of an industrial accident resulting from an unintended release of a dangerous substance. The ADAM tool is specifically intended to assist Competent Authorities in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), and their supporting research institutions, responsible for the implementation of the Seveso Directive in their countries, as well as governmental and research organisations of EU Accession and Candidate Countries, and European Neighbourhood Policy countries involved in chemical accident prevention and preparedness. In particular, the tool provides decision-making support to various functions associated with industrial risk management, enforcement and oversight, including risk analysis, land-use and emergency planning, inspection and monitoring, and the preparation and review of safety reports.Consequence assessment models are characterised by high level of complexity and of uncertainty. It is therefore of paramount importance to assess their limits. The scientific evaluation was conducted across the entire consequence assessment cycle, including the source terms and the physical effects calculations associated with the concentration toxics after airborne dispersion, the thermal radiation of chemical fires, and the explosion of vapour flammable clouds. The evaluation described in this paper was conducted on a series of relevant scenarios, by benchmarking the outcome of ADAM with the results obtained by similar software tools and with the experimental data obtained on a series of reference field campaigns, as taken from the literature.

Smart Synthetic Path Search System for Prevention of Hazardous Chemical Accidents and Analysis of Reaction Risk

Smart Synthetic Path Search System for Prevention of Hazardous Chemical Accidents and Analysis of Reaction Risk