You are on page 1of 60

BHOPAL

OUTCOME
Differentiate safety and health
Type of hazard
Major hazard in chemical industry
Past industrial accident
To know is to survive and to ignore
fundamentals is to court disaster

H.H. Fawcett and W.S. Wood, Safety and Accident Prevention in chemical operation,
New York, Wiley, 1984.
Safety vs health
Safety Health
A state of environment A state of the individual
Typically injured related (not Typically disease related (but
only) not only)
Does not include positive Includes positive health
health
External Internal

Occupational safety the protection of


people from physical injury

Occupational health the protection of the


bodies and minds of people from illness
Term Definition

Important terminologies
Accident undesired event giving rise to death, ill health, injury, damage
or other loss

Incident event that gave rise to an accident or had potential to lead to


an accident (not all incidents propagate into accidents)
(An incident where no ill health, injury, damage, or other loss
occurs is referred to as near-miss)

Near miss an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or
damage but had the potential to do so.

Hazard source or situation (chemical or physical) with a potential to


cause harm, injury or damage to either human, property or the
environment or some combination of these.

Risk combination of the likelihood (probability) of a specified


hazardous event occurring and its consequence(s)
Hazard definition

Unsafe condition and unsafe acts that


could potentially cause accidents/ harm
Unsafe act
A violation of an acceptable safe
procedure which could permit the
occurrence of an accident

A hazardous physical condition or circumstances


which could directly permit the occurrence of an
accident.
This could be the result of an unsafe act by
someone
Example of unsafe act:
Operating without authority
Failure to warn or secure
Operating at improper speed
Making safety devices inoperable
Using defective equipment
Using equipment improperly
Failure to use PPE
Improper loading, placement
Servicing equipment in motion
Example of unsafe condition:
Inadequate guards or protection
Defective tools, equipment
Congestion, bad housekeeping
Inadequate warning system
Fire and explosion hazards
Hazardous atmospheric condition
Excessive noise
Inadequate illumination or ventilation
IDENTIFY UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS; AND POSSIBLE
TYPES OF ACCIDENT
Categories of hazards

Chemical
Thermodynamics
Electrical & electromagnet
Health
External
Mechanical
Biological
examples
Chemical hazards
Acidity
Alkalinity
Corrosivity
Thermodynamics
Explosiveness
hazards
Flammability
High pressure
Toxicity
Vacuum
Asphyxiation
Heat transfer
Compressed or
liquified gas High temperature
Dust Low temperature
Oxidizers Fluid jets
examples
Electrical &
electromagnet
hazards Health hazards
High voltage
Noise
Radiation
Pollution
Static electricity
Vibration
Electrical current
Radioactivity
Poor insulation
Temperature extremes
examples
Mechanical hazards
External threats Mechanical energy
Accidental damage by
Stresses
missile and vehicles
Impact and forces
Act of God and natural
causes Contact laceration
Abnormal
environmental
extremes
External interference Biological hazards
Instability of structures
Parasites
Viruses
External releases of
Bacteria
energy or toxin, etc.
fungi
Examples of Physical Hazards

Excessive noise Excessive vibration Inadequate


lighting

Slip hazard Tripping hazards Exposure to radiation

8/09/2014
Major Hazards in Process
Industries

Toxic Release
Fire
Explosion
Hazard from Toxic Substances
There are no harmless substance,
only harmless ways of using substances
Toxicants
A chemical agents
A physical (dusts, fibers, noise, and radiation)
agents, e.g. asbestos
Toxicity is a property of toxicant that describe
its effect on biological organism.
Toxic hazards is the likelihood of damage to
biological organism based on exposure
resulting from the use/transport/storage of the
toxicants (hazardous material).
Hazard from Toxic Substances
Effects that are Irreversible
Carcinogen-cause cancer
Mutagen-cause chromosome (gene) damage
Teratogen- cause birth defects
Effects that may or may not be irreversible
Dermatotoxic affects skin
Hemotoxic affects blood
Hepatotoxic- affects liver
Nephrotoxic affects kidneys
Neutotoxic affects nervous system
Pulmonotoxic- affects lungs
Fire

Jet Fire
Flash Fire
Pool Fire
Jet fires
A jet fire is the combustion of material
emerging with significant momentum from
an orifice, from a source under pressure,
e/g. a flammable liquid or gas is ignited
after its release from a pressurized,
punctured vessel or pipe.
The pressure release generates a long
flame which is stable under most
conditions.
The duration of a jet fire is determined by
the release rate and the capacity of the
source.
Flame length increase directly with flow
rate.
Crosswinds affect flame length.
An increase in crosswind velocity causes
the flame to bend over quickly and be
convected by the wind.
The flame length increases with crosswind
velocity.
A jet flame is similar to a Bunsen burner
flame
Jet Fire
Flash Fire
Flash fire is the non explosive combustion of a
vapour cloud resulting from a release of flammable
material into the open air, which, after mixing with air,
ignites.
Combustion in a vapour cloud develops an explosive
intensity and attendant blast effects only in areas
where intensity turbulent combustion develops and
only if certain conditions are met.
Where these condition are not present, no blast
should occur.
The cloud than burns as a flash fire, and its major
hazard is from the effect of heat from thermal
radiation.
Flash Fire
POOL FIRE
A pool fire is the combustion of
flammable vapor evaporating from a
layer of liquid at the base of the fire.
It occurs on ignition of an accumulation
of liquid as a pool on the ground or on
water or other liquid.
A steadily burning fire is rapidly
achieved as the vapor to sustain the
fire is provided by the evaporation of
the liquid by heat from the flames.
Pool Fire
Types of Explosion

Mechanical Explosion
Chemical Explosion
Vapour Cloud Explosion
Confined
Unconfined
BLEVE
mechanical Explosion

Explosion due to overpressure of


materials stored in a container.

Result from sudden failure of a vessel


containing high pressure non-reactive
gas
Chemical Explosion
Deflagration
Low level explosion
The reaction move front moves at
speeds less than the speed of sound in
the unreacted medium
Detonation
High level explosion
Highly turbulent combustion
Very high flame speeds
Extremely high pressures >>10 bars
The reaction move front moves at speeds greater than
the speed of sound in the unreacted medium
Vapor Cloud Explosion
The most dangerous and destructive explosions in
the chemical process industries

Steps of explosion
Sudden release of a large quantity of flammable vapor

Dispersion of the vapor throughout the plant while


mixing in the air

Ignition of the resulting vapor cloud

Any process containing quantities of liquefied


gases, volatile superheated liquid or high pressure
gases is considered good candidate for VCE
Phillips Pasadena, USA

23rd Oct. 1989


23 Deaths 130 Injuries
Vapour Cloud explosion
Loss US$ 500 Millions
BLEVE

B L E V E
O I X A X
I Q P P P
L U A O L
I I N R O
N D D S
G I I
N O
G N
S

BLEVE is a consequence of holding a pressurized


flammable liquids above its boiling point.
Causes of BLEVE
The immediate cause of the BLEVE is
rupture of the container. If the pressure
inside the vessel exceeds the outside
strength of the walls the vessel will fail.
If the vessel is overfilled and expansion
(due to boiling of liquid) results in a heavy
hydrostatic pressure.
If the vessel is weakened by mechanical
damage or by high temperature resulting
from immersion in a fire then failure can
occur.
Mechanism of BLEVE

When BLEVE is initiated, the


liquid boils off rapidly
producing a reaction which
turns parts of the ruptured
vessel into rockets which
can travel 2500 ft or more.
The liquid can take fire if it
is flammable and burning
material can spread over a
large area. If the gas or
liquid mixes with air a
vapour cloud explosion can
occur.
Major disaster

Past major industrial disasters :

-Flixborough, England 1974


-Bhopal, India 1984
-Seveso, Italy 1976
-Piper Alpha, 1988
Flixborough, England 1974

The Flixborough disaster was an


explosion at a chemical plant close
to the village of Flixborough England
on 1 st June 1974.

It killed 28 people and seriously


injured 26
Two months prior to the explosion, a
crack was discovered in the number 5
reactor.

It was decided to install a temporary 50


cm (20 inch) diameter pipe to bypass the
leaking reactor to allow continued
operation of the plant while repairs were
made.

The sketch of the repairs was made only


on the floor using chalk without
supervision from an experienced
engineering personnel.
Bhopal, India 1984

Contaminated methyl isocynate (MIC)


caused runaway reaction.

Vapor released through pressure relief


system but scrubber and flare system not
working. 25 tons of MIC vapor released.

Toxic cloud spread nearby town killing


2500 civilian, injured more than 20,000.
No plant workers were injured or killed.
No plant equipment was damaged.
Seveso, Italy 1976

Reactor out of control, produced more side


product, TCDD (dioxin - more than originally
designed for).

Vapor TCDD released to atmosphere


through relief system and heavy rain washed
into soil.

TCDD is toxic to man and other species can


contaminate drinking water.
Piper Alpha, 1988
Worst offshore disaster ever that left
167 died
Causes of accident
Accidents have direct, indirect and root
causes
Direct cause attribute to equipment
failure or unsafe operating conditions
Indirect cause not as readily apparent
and can generally be tied to some human
failure
Root cause result of poor management
safety policies, procedures or decisions
Management Safety Policy & Decisions
Root Causes Personal Factors
Environmental Factors

Indirect Causes Unsafe Act Unsafe Condition


(Symptoms)

Unplanned Release of Energy


and/or
Direct Causes
Hazardous material

ACCIDENT
Personal Injury
Property Damage
EXAMPLE
A drowning accident occurred during an open
swim period. Approximately 100 children (5-16
years old) were in and around a pool (3ft-9ft
deep). An older child unknowingly pushed 5
years old into deep water. The pool was
relatively crowded and the 5 years old kid
slipped under the water without being noticed
by other including the lifeguard.
List out the facts of the accident occur, the
immediate causes and root causes. List out
what you can propose for corrective action?
Engineers professional ethics
Fundamental principles
Engineers shall uphold and advance the
integrity, honor and dignity of engineering
profession by :
- using knowledge & skill for
enhancement of human welfare.
- honest and impartial and serving with
fidelity to public, employers, clients.
- striving to increase competence and
prestige of engineering profession.
Economics of safety
Lives, injuries, damages to plant
and equipment
Loss production
Increased costs
Insurance, medical, rehabilitation,
training and retraining
Lowering of workplace morale
Substantial loss of market share
Profitability

You might also like