Whether occurring accidentally or through acts of terrorism, catastrophic chemical releases must be identified early in order to mitigate their consequences. Continuous sensor monitoring can detect catastrophic chemical releases early enough to curb extreme amounts of damage. In several notable instances, such monitors have not been used appropriately, or have fallen short of what they should have been capable of delivering. This book provides the technical background and guidance needed to get the most from this emerging technique and details the essentials of preparing any workplace from falling victim to a gas-leak catastrophe.

In keeping with a congressional mandate (Public Law 104-484) and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the United States is currently destroying its chemical weapons stockpile. The Army must ensure that the chemical demilitarization workforce is protected from the risks of exposure to hazardous chemicals during disposal operations and during and after facility closure. Good industrial practices developed in the chemical and nuclear energy industries and other operations that involve the processing of hazardous materials include workplace monitoring of hazardous species and a systematic occupational health program for monitoring workers' activities and health. In this report, the National Research Council Committee on Review and Evaluation of the Army Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program examines the methods and systems used at JACADS and TOCDF, the two operational facilities, to monitor the concentrations of airborne and condensed-phase chemical agents, agent breakdown products, and other substances of concern. The committee also reviews the occupational health programs at these sites, including their industrial hygiene and occupational medicine components. Finally, it evaluates the nature, quality, and utility of records of workplace chemical monitoring and occupational health programs.

This updated version of one of the most popular and widely used CCPS books provides plant design engineers, facility operators, and safety professionals with key information on selected topics of interest. The book focuses on process safety issues in the design of chemical, petrochemical, and hydrocarbon processing facilities. It discusses how to select designs that can prevent or mitigate the release of flammable or toxic materials, which could lead to a fire, explosion, or environmental damage. Key areas to be enhanced in the new edition include inherently safer design, specifically concepts for design of inherently safer unit operations and Safety Instrumented Systems and Layer of Protection Analysis. This book also provides an extensive bibliography to related publications and topic-specific information, as well as key information on failure modes and potential design solutions.

This book presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Health, Safety, Fire, Environment, and Allied Sciences. It highlights latest developments in the field of science and technology aimed at improving health and safety in the workplace. The volume comprises content from leading scientists, engineers, and policy makers discussing issues relating to industrial safety, fire hazards and their management in industry, forests and other settings. Also dealt with are issues of occupational health in engineering, process and agricultural industry and protection against incidents of arson and terror attacks. The contents of this volume will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers alike.

Handbook of Fire and Explosion Protection Engineering Principles: for Oil, Gas, Chemical and Related Facilities is a general engineering handbook that provides an overview for understanding problems of fire and explosion at oil, gas, and chemical facilities. This handbook offers information about current safety management practices and technical engineering improvements. It also provides practical knowledge about the effects of hydrocarbon fires and explosions and their prevention, mitigation principals, and methodologies. This handbook offers an overview of oil and gas facilities, and it presents insights into the philosophy of protection principles. Properties of hydrocarbons, as well as the characteristics of its releases, fires and explosions, are also provided in this handbook. The book includes chapters about fire- and explosion-resistant systems, fire- and gas-detection systems, alarm systems, and methods of fire suppression. The handbook ends with a discussion about human factors and ergonomic considerations, including human attitude, field devices, noise control, panic, and security. People involved with fire and explosion prevention, such as engineers and designers, will find this book invaluable. - A unique practical guide to preventing fires and explosions at oil and gas facilities, based on the author's extensive experience in the industry - An essential reference tool for engineers, designers and others facing fire protection issues - Based on the latest NFPA standards and interpretations