Update on AIChE’s Center for Chemical Process Safety

Thomas W. Carmody

Director of CCPS

AIChE, 345 E. 47th St., New York, NY 10017

CCPS, a Directorate of AIChE, was formed in 1985, shortly after the tragic incident in Bhopal, as the chemical engineers recognized the need for a cooperative effort to focus on technology and management practices for improving process safety.

prevention and mitigation of major chemical accidents, particularly those with large scale “over the fence” potential to affect nearby people and communities. The CCPS Charter is as follows:

0 to establish and publish the latest scientific, engineering, and technical management practices (not

to encourage the use of such information by broad dissemination through publications, seminars,

to advance the state-of-the-art in engineering practices through research in prevention and mitigation

to develop and encourage the use of educational curricula which will improve the safety knowledge of

We were organized and staffed to provide information and conduct research on issues relating to

standards) for prevention and mitigation of major incidents involving toxic and/or reactive materials.

symposia, and continuing education programs for engineers and managers.

of catastrophic 6, vents.

undergraduate engineers.

environmental protection transportation safety on-site personnel protection, chronic health issues lohbying with legislators or regulators

Most of you are quite familiar with our activities so I will not list all of our projects. However, if you are not familiar with CCPS operations, copies of our 1989 CCPS Annual Report, our 1990 CCPS Catalog, and our current List of Frojects out into 1993 are available at our New York Office.

I’d like to tell you about the quality of our products, and give you a few current statistics which give a measure of our operations.

Sometimes we art: not satisfied with the speed with which we put out our Guideline Series of Books. However, we have been pleased with the ever improving quality of these publications. The following quotations will demonstrate this: Mr. James Makris, Esq., Director of Chemical Emergency Preparedness, and Prevention Office, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, CCPS Sponsors Meeting, October 27, 1988, has stated: “Sound scientific and engineering information holds the key to improved safety. And CCPS is filling the gaps with its series of Guidelines and research projects.”

Topics excluded, for the time being at least, are:

Plan+/Opemtions Progress (Vol. 9, No. 3) July, 1990 141

Dr. Frederick A. Lercari, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, State of California, Guidance for the Preparation of a Risk Management and Prevention Program (RMPP Program) has stated: “CCPS is leading the world in production of state-of-the-art guidelines for hazard investigations and evaluations, establishing process safety guidelines, and developing and improving chemical plant safety procedures.”

Dr. J. Donald Millar Assistant Surgeon General, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has stated: “The CCPS Undergraduate Engineering course material, the 90 homework problems present a balanced perspective to teach students the paramount importance of considering principles of occupational safety and health and more specifically prevention engineering.”

These accolades do testify to the quality of CCPS publications. Our Guidelines’ Subcommittees deserve the full credit for attaining this quality. They are made up of technical experts from Sponsor Companies who are producers and users of chemicals-not contractors or consultants. The work of each Guideline Subcommittee is acknowledged in each Guideline. Members of a Subcommittee and their organization &liation are listed. Since these individuals are among the outstanding experts in the U.S., relative to the area covered by the Guideline, the comprehensiveness and integrity of the work is assured. Government agencies, in particular, recognize this product as being of high quality and essentially void of conflict of interest, for instance, no single producer or user opinion is dominant and no organization who markets a product or service in the area of discussion is part of the Subcommittee.

How is CCPS proceeding overall? The following statistics show how our level of activities has grown. Remember we started in 1985 with no Sponsors, zero funds and zero projects.

Sponsors Annual Budget Special R&D Fund 1989-1990

Subcommittees G/L Projects in progress G/L Projects completed Sponsor Volunteer Support CCPS staff Technical Meetings Continuing and other

Education

58 (7 net new ones) $1,000, OOo $150,000 to $500,00O/year

18 on 31 projects 21 8 Over 150 individuals 1 full time plus 12 part time 1-2 per year 1-2 new courses per year

government and Sponsors

Looking ahead, we have projects scheduled into 1993. Hopefully, these figures give you a rough idea of

Finally, I would like to touch briefly on our Technical Management Program for Chemical Process Safety. our present level of operation.

At the request of EPA, we have recently participated in two OECD Workshops dealing with Emergency Response, Major Accident Prevention, and Research in both areas. OECD, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is striving to put out an advisory document to their members dealing with these issues.

In our presentation, we noted that to some the category of process safety management systems may not seem an appropriate area for process safety emphasis or for R&D.

To emphasize our feeling about the importance of process safety management, we quoted an individual from one of our Sponsors on the general issue of process safety research. This gentleman has a flair for getting his point across. He says:

what does need saying very loud and clear to prevent people flying off in all directions is that the vast majority of catastrophic incidents are due to two reasons. One old, one new.

one is that we are simply not doing the things we know we ought to be doing!!!

management, e.g., quality control, inspections and tests, procedures and training, management of change, etc., than researching new ways of prevention and mitigation.”

As you will be learning from Sandy Schreiber (page 143, this issue) CCPS may not totally agree with the above quote, but we do fully subscribe to the major importance of Chemical Process Safety Management in the Process Safety Program. Indeed, CCPS has a major multi faceted effort in this area.

“I don’t think we need to explore all the research opportunities to prevent catastrophes, but I suggest

The new one is that we are handling dangerous materials in larger quantities than ever before. The old

We would get a far better return for our money and effort if we focussed on good process hazards

Incidentally, OECD did spend considerable time discussing Process Safety Management.

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