Testing Guide for Fires, Explosions and Runaway Reactions Management
Where flammable (combustible, explosible) gases, liquids/vapors, and powders/dusts, and reactive materials are processed, handled, and/or generated, fire, explosion, and/or runaway chemical reaction hazards exist. These hazards can lead to catastrophic events involving fatalities, injuries, environmental impact, facility damage, and economic losses. In the US alone, each major industrial incident costs an average of $80 million (Ref 1). Largely as a result of the disastrous incidents in Seveso, Italy in 1976 and Bhopal, India in 1984, a number of systems for the management of process safety have been developed and implemented, including the early CCPS process safety management model (1989), Responsible Care code (late 1980’s), OSHA PSM rule (1990), EU’s Seveso I, II, and III directives, CCPS 2007 risk-based PSM mode, as well as numerous company-specific approaches. Although most chemical companies have adopted one or more versions of these models, serious and catastrophic process safety incidents continue to occur (Ref 2)..