Designing and operating safe chemical reaction processes HSG143
Designing and operating safe chemical reaction processes HSG143
Designing and operating safe chemical reaction processes HSG143
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Health <strong>and</strong> SafetyExecutive(f) the time limits for which the permit is valid; <strong>and</strong>(g) the person in direct control of the work.Further advice on PTWs is available in a HSE leaflet. 48197 You will also need to check the plant is in a <strong>safe</strong> state before bringing it backinto operation. This may mean carrying out various checks or tests, eg pressuretesting.Routine checks/<strong>safe</strong>ty audits198 Active monitoring, before things go wrong, involves regular inspection <strong>and</strong>checking to ensure that the systems <strong>and</strong> procedures you have developed areactually being implemented <strong>and</strong> followed.199 Audits, by your own staff or outsiders, complement monitoring activities bylooking to see if your policy, organisation <strong>and</strong> systems are actually achieving thedesired objectives.200 For example, are your operators aware of the basis of <strong>safe</strong>ty, <strong>and</strong> that thevent installed on the reactor is not there to protect against an exothermic runaway?Why have the operators changed the sequence of valve operations to that stated inthe <strong>safe</strong> <strong>operating</strong> procedures? Is it because they repeatedly have to walk up <strong>and</strong>down flights of stairs to comply with the correct procedure?Emergency procedures201 Initiating emergency procedures at the earliest stage of an incident cansignificantly reduce the impact of an incident on people <strong>and</strong> premises. You willneed, therefore, a written procedure for dealing with any reasonably foreseeableincident, for example fires, spills or leaks. It should cover:(a) raising the alarm;(b) calling the emergency services;(c) evacuating the area <strong>and</strong> providing <strong>safe</strong> havens; <strong>and</strong>(d) tackling the fire or controlling the spill or leak (when it is <strong>safe</strong> to do so).202 If you are a top-tier COMAH site (see Appendix 1), guidance is available onthe details which should be present in your on-site emergency plan. 49 This may alsohelp even if the COMAH Regulations 8 do not apply at your site.203 You need to consider the range of possible events to take into account thefollowing:(a) the nature <strong>and</strong> quantities of the materials involved;(b) the location of the process <strong>and</strong> its design; <strong>and</strong>(c) the people <strong>and</strong> environment, both on-site <strong>and</strong> off-site that may be affected.204 When the fire brigade arrive they will assume responsibility for firefighting<strong>and</strong> rescue operations. They may, at the discretion of the fire brigade incident<strong>Designing</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>operating</strong> <strong>safe</strong> <strong>chemical</strong> <strong>reaction</strong> <strong>processes</strong> Page 38 of 64
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