AICHE G-23 PDF

This book focuses on process safety issues in the design of chemical, petrochemical, and hydrocarbon processing facilities. The scope of this volume includes avoidance and mitigation of catastrophic events that could impact people and facilities in the plant or surrounding area. The scope is limited to selecting appropriate designs to prevent or mitigate the release of flammable or toxic materials that could lead to a fire, explosion and environmental damage. Process safety issues affecting operations and maintenance are limited to cases where design choices impact system reliability.

The scope excludes:

• Transportation safety
• Routine environmental control
• Personnel safety and industrial hygiene practices
• Emergency response
• Detailed design
• Operations and maintenance

These Guidelines highlight safety issues in design choices. For example, Chapter 12, Electrical Hazards, covers the safe application of electrical apparatus and the reliability of power supplies in the process environment required for plant safety, but does not address detailed design of the electrical supply or distribution system required to operate the plant.

It is clear that choices made early in design can reduce the possibility for large releases and can reduce the effects of releases. When considering the variety of mitigation measures used to reduce the severity of the effects of a release, it must be remembered that most of the methods suggested (dikes, curbs, etc.) must also be provided by the designers; if s too late to build them after the release.

The ideas presented here are not intended to replace regulations, codes, or technical and trade society standards. Specifically, implementation of these guidelines requires the application of sound engineering judgement because the concepts may not be applicable in all cases. It is not the intent of CCPS to have the contents of these Guidelines codified.