The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Testing, inspection and certification in Process Safety

Dr Paul Cartwright Managing Director, Explosion & process safety – DEKRA Insight

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Industrial Processes

We are all dependent on industrial processes

(chemicals, medicines, food, built environment…)

Yet, industrial processes are complex….. and carry RISK

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Explosion at sugar plant

• Seveso Italy (1976) >80,000 animals destroyed to protect food chain

• Bhopal India (1984) >3,000 fatalities

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Milestones in process safety

Year Location Event Impact

2000 Enschede (NL) Fireworks explosion 23 dead, 947 injured, 40

hectare area destroyed

2001 Toulouse (FR) Ammonium nitrate

detonation

31 dead, >3000 injuried, 30,000

homes damaged

2005 Texas City (USA) Refinery explosion 15 dead, >170 injured

2005 Buncefield (GB) Explosion & fire

of oil depot

43 injured, 20 large tanks

involved, damage 5 miles away

2008 Port Wenworth

(USA)

Sugar dust explosion 14 dead, 40 injured

2010 Deep Water

Horizon (USA)

Drilling rig explosion

and oil spill

11 dead, 17 injured,

4.9 million Bbl oil spill

2013 West, Texas (USA) Fertiliser plant fire and

explosion

14 dead, 200 injured

1982 : SEVESO Directive – Revised in 1996 & 2012

1985 : Centre for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS)

1992 : European Process Safety Centre established

1992 : US OSHA Process Safety Management ‘PSM’

But the incidents keep happening….

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

How do we stop these disasters happening?

5 © 2013 DEKRA

Process Safety is the discipline devoted to making our plants/ facilities

safe. It relies on:

● Societal pressure

● Legislation (eg SEVESO, ATEX…)

● Professional bodies - guidelines, codes of practice

● Standards organisation (CEN, CENELEC, ISO, ASTM….)

● Enforcement agencies

● 3rd party, independent Expert Organisations, Testing, Inspection &

Certification organisations

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

The role of independent 3rd party Testing, Inspection & Certification organisations:

TESTING

● Materials we process (flammability, reactivity, REACH…)

● Structural integrity of plant

● equipment to be used in hazardous areas…

INSPECT

● hazardous areas

● equipment

CERTIFY

● Management systems

● equipment for use

● training courses/ people…

TIC – bedrock of safe industrial processes

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

TIC work in practice…

7 © 2013 DEKRA

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Final thought

8 © 2013 DEKRA

Our society demands goods, drugs, energy, gasoline and that we dig

things out of the ground

The only safe chemical plant/ pharmaceutical plant/ nuclear installation/

refinery/ mine is one that doesn’t produce anything

Conclusion:

● We must live with (but manage) RISK

● We need legislation, standards, codes of practice, enforcement

agencies….

But that alone is not enough

● Independent Testing , Inspection & Certification organisations and

expertise help provide the assurance that what we think is

happening, is happening.

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety Thank you

Testing, inspection and certification in Process Safety

The Global Experts in Explosion & Process Safety

Towards a safe process plant …

Slide 10 © 2013 DEKRA