Is the control room in your facility located close to the tank farm? Is any occupied or functionally significant buildings close to a Maximum Credible Loss Scenario? Is your cylinder storage shed close to the drum filling area?
If you have wondered about this ever, then you should read this article to understand Facility Siting. Some incidents from the past have cleared the importance of facility siting in a plant.
The Flixborough explosion in 1974, where cyclohexane explosion shattered control room windows, collapsed its roof and demolished the brick-constructed main office block. Twenty eight people died, and thirty-six were injured in this accident out of which Eighteen of the fatalities were in the control room. Fortunately, over 200 fatalities were averted as the incident took place on Saturday when the main office block was unoccupied.
The Phillips disaster of 1989, where 40000 kg (85000 lbs) of a mixture of ethylene, isobutane, hexene and hydrogen was released and exploded. The second explosion involved BLEVEs of two isobutene storage tanks and the third explosion was the catastrophic failure of the ethylene plant reactor. The explosions killed 23 employees and injured 314.
Texas 2005 explosion, where 15 workers in or near trailers sited to the west of the ISOM unit (where the explosion took place) were killed by blunt force trauma resulting from being struck by structural components of the trailers.
More recent news was the Explosion in Dhule, Maharashtra, India, where the initial fire due to drum leakage lead to multiple cylinders explosion. At least 13 people were killed and 60 people were injured in this incident. https://scroll.in/latest/935798/maharashtra-eight-dead-after-cylinder-explosion-at-chemical-factory-in-dhule
Facility siting involves the assessment of the possible impacts of fire and explosion on personal safety, structures, and equipment. It also covers the possibility of a toxic substance such as gas, vapour or smoke ingress into buildings and their effects.
Facility siting addresses the issues including:
I hope the importance of facility siting is well understood. You can share your thoughts and comments on the post.
Connect with me for any help related to Process Safety or any suggestions on himanshuchichra@gmail.com
If you have wondered about this ever, then you should read this article to understand Facility Siting. Some incidents from the past have cleared the importance of facility siting in a plant.
The Flixborough explosion in 1974, where cyclohexane explosion shattered control room windows, collapsed its roof and demolished the brick-constructed main office block. Twenty eight people died, and thirty-six were injured in this accident out of which Eighteen of the fatalities were in the control room. Fortunately, over 200 fatalities were averted as the incident took place on Saturday when the main office block was unoccupied.
The Phillips disaster of 1989, where 40000 kg (85000 lbs) of a mixture of ethylene, isobutane, hexene and hydrogen was released and exploded. The second explosion involved BLEVEs of two isobutene storage tanks and the third explosion was the catastrophic failure of the ethylene plant reactor. The explosions killed 23 employees and injured 314.
Texas 2005 explosion, where 15 workers in or near trailers sited to the west of the ISOM unit (where the explosion took place) were killed by blunt force trauma resulting from being struck by structural components of the trailers.
More recent news was the Explosion in Dhule, Maharashtra, India, where the initial fire due to drum leakage lead to multiple cylinders explosion. At least 13 people were killed and 60 people were injured in this incident. https://scroll.in/latest/935798/maharashtra-eight-dead-after-cylinder-explosion-at-chemical-factory-in-dhule
Facility siting involves the assessment of the possible impacts of fire and explosion on personal safety, structures, and equipment. It also covers the possibility of a toxic substance such as gas, vapour or smoke ingress into buildings and their effects.
Facility siting addresses the issues including:
- Review of spacing between process units and equipment as per standards.
- Identification of hazardous scenarios that could have significant effects on occupied or functionally significant buildings.
- Review of domino effects (consequences and risk) where Domino effect is the potential for an incident to propagate from one area to another separate area.
- Review of impact on emergency response items such as Shelter-in-place, Temporary Refuge, Assembly Point/ Muster Points, Fire Hydrant and monitors, Evacuation routes, etc.
I hope the importance of facility siting is well understood. You can share your thoughts and comments on the post.
Connect with me for any help related to Process Safety or any suggestions on himanshuchichra@gmail.com
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