Reduce toxic hazards using passive mitigation
- ERM-Four Elements, Inc., Columbus, OH (United States)
The primary goal of the Risk Management Program Rule promulgated under Section 112(r) of the 1990 US Clean Air Act Amendments is to prevent the accidental release of those chemicals that pose the greatest threat to the public and the environment, and to encourage emergency preparedness to mitigate the severity of such releases. The Rule requires facility owners to identify, evaluate, and communicate to the public any potential worst-case scenarios that could involve accidental releases of toxic and flammable substances. A worst-case scenario is defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA; Washington, DC) as: {hor_ellipsis}the release of the largest quantity of a regulated substance from a vessel or process line failure that results in the greatest distance to an endpoint. When designing systems to store or process hazardous materials, passive-mitigation methods--those that function without human, mechanical, or energy input--should be considered. Such systems contain or limit a potential release of hazardous materials. And, because they have no mechanical requirements, passive-mitigation techniques are considered more reliable than active methods, such as emergency-shutdown and water-spray systems. Passive mitigation should also be considered when defining potential release scenarios and modeling hazard zones.
- OSTI ID:
- 634608
- Journal Information:
- Chemical Engineering, Journal Name: Chemical Engineering Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 105; ISSN CHEEA3; ISSN 0009-2460
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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