The integrity of pipelines, valves, vessels and other components made from carbon steel and other metal alloys depends on the material composition being exactly the same as specified, since excessive levels of trace elements, such as chromium, copper, nickel, molybdenum,…
Household items, such as breakfast cereal, flour, corn starch and sugar are so common that many were left surprised after the 2008 combustible-dust explosion at a sugar refinery in Georgia. Heard in much of the early media coverage was the…
Last month, the chemical engineering profession began to feel its first aftershocks from an explosion that occurred nearly two years ago at a plant that most of you would be hard-pressed to recall. The delivery came in an accident report…
Guidelines for Chemical Transportation Safety, Security, and Risk Management, 2nd Edition. By the Center for Chemical Process Safety/AIChE. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Web: wiley.com. 2008. 166 pages. $125.00 Reviewed by: Stanley S. Grossel,…
Security at many U.S. chemical facilities is currently regulated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS; Washington, D.C.; www.dhs.gov) under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard (CFATS). This rule, however, is about to expire this month, October 2009. All expectations…
In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agancy (EPA; Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) announced the winners of the 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. Winners of the Challenge, which promotes R&D of less hazardous alternatives to existing technologies that reduce or eliminate…
By definition, integrated safety instrumented systems (SIS) have the potential to reduce risks. But recent advancement is also enabling the use of more sophisticated instruments and tools that can benefit the process. For these reasons, integrated control and safety systems…
Failure to register under REACH closes EU markets for thousands of chemical substances manufactured or marketed in the European Union, whether on their own, in preparations (formulations) or released from articles (finished products). A key policy objective of registration under…
Substantial technological advances to meet the growing regulatory scrutiny of a wide variety of pollutants have taken place over the past 50 years. In the last few years, the increased complexity in regulations in developed countries has been even more…
The Department of Homeland Security established the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) to impose mandatory security regulations on high-risk chemical facilities. Interpreting and fulfilling the regulations present challenges to security directors, but finding the right guidance and working with a…