A308 Environment, Health and Safety

Problem 1: What Went Wrong?

6th Presentation

Activity Owner: Francis Zheng Inputs by: DENV Team Approved by: Soh Thian Ping (Dr) Module Chair: Jayne Loh

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Today s problem
You watched a video on the Formosa Vinyl Chloride Explosion and were asked to answer the following:
What went wrong? Who was affected by the accident? What are the consequences of the accident? What could have been done to avoid the accident? What could have been done to minimize the impact / consequences of the accident?
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

What do you recognize?

There was a combination of errors that caused the accident to occur. Human error eventually resulted in the accident. The accident had a major impact on the company and employees. The accident could have been avoided.

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

The approach
Find out more about what Environment, Safety and Health (EHS) encompass. List down who / what were affected by the accident and in what way. List down the steps prior to the accident Identify the steps where something was not done right. Brainstorm on how to prevent the errors and hence the accident.
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Safety & Health

Safety:
The condition or state of being safe; freedom from danger or hazard; exemption from hurt, injury, or loss OR The condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury

Health:
The condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially : freedom from physical disease or pain

Occupational Health and safety:

Conditions and factors that affect, or could affect, the health and safety of employees or other workers (including temporary workers and contractor personnel), visitors, or any other person in the workplace
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

How can your Health been affected?

Ill Health:
identifiable, adverse physical or mental condition arising from and/or made worse by a work activity and/or work-related situation.

Occupational Diseases
Examples: Cancer due to exposure to radiation Noise-induced deafness due to long-term exposure to high noise area Examples of activities that negatively affect health: Prolonged use of laptop (poor eyesight) Improper lifting methods when carrying loads (back strain)
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Environment
Environment:
Surroundings in which an organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interaction.

Examples of activities that negatively affect the environment:

Leaving the engine on while waiting in the car Depletion of resources via use of water, electricity Generation of waste (Plastic bags, food packaging etc.) Pouring chemicals down the sink

Why be concerned?
Legislation Increasing consumer concern for the environment Corporate Social Responsibility (Sustainable Development, Reputation)
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

What went wrong?

Tank cleaning for tank 306
Operator flushes water into tank 306 at top level Turned right Tanks instead of goes to Operator grouped in left. Tank level but bottom similar 310 was in 310 to tank manner operation across level. Operator tries to open Drain Valve (DV) and Reactor Bottom Valve (RBV)

Hot vinyl chloride was released from tank to the floor and drain.

Did not Operator by-Safety check why passed safety interlock RVB interlock to openeasily too remained RBV by-passed closed

Safety interlock DV opened but to prevent RBV remained accidental closed opening in place.

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Yellow box- denotes operator s error boxRed box- denotes system s error boxGreen box- denotes good design practices box-

What went wrong?

Tank cleaning for tank 306
Alarm (warning) Vinyl Chloride system in place vapours for emergencies triggered alarm Shift Supervisor (SS) rushes to scene (lower SS did not call for level) SS went to top level to ask operators to open valves Emergency

Vinyl Chloride ignited and exploded violently

Immediate evacuation (there was already a foamy Operator mixture 1.5ft deep remained atlevel) at lower top
level. SS went to lower level via another stairwell

evacuation procedures present? Were the SS and operator staff trained? tried to go to
lower level but were stopped by vapours
Yellow box- denotes operator s error boxRed box- denotes system s error boxGreen box- denotes good design practices box-

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Who s fault was it?

Operators (Employee) Did not identify that tank was indeed in the cleaning cycle Bypassed safety interlock without checking why RBV would not open Did not recognize the dangers and to evacuate in time Shift Supervisor (Employee) Saw the extent of vinyl chloride release but did not call for immediate evacuation Company (Employer) Systems and procedures put in place by the company were insufficient to minimize the potential for human error.

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

When EHS is not considered

Employee
- Loss of income

Employer
Loss of profit (Compensation)
-

Investor/ Client
- Loss of profit - Loss of confidence

- Loss of life - Quality of life affected

- Company s reputation - Lawsuit/ Penalty

Members of Public
- Ill health - Quality of life affected

Who will be affected?

The Stakeholders
Others
- Insurance Company
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Environment
- Pollution - Loss of biodiversity - Depletion of natural resources

What could have done to avoid or to minimize the impact(s)?

Review design and operation of PVC facilities. Chemical processes are to be designed to minimize the consequences of human error Improve control of safety interlocks Thorough evaluate high-risk hazards Consider all consequences in near-miss investigations. Improve emergency actions, including prompt evacuations with periodic drills.
~ Recommendations by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board ~
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Examples of EHS Accidents

Safety and Health
Bhopal Disaster, India (1984)
Company: Union Carbide Corporation's pesticide plant Involved: 40 tonnes of Methyl Isocyanate Gas Leakage Initial death toll: 3800 Total deaths to date: over 15,000 Number affected: Nearly 600,000 $470 million paid in compensation

Environment
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989)
Company: Exxon Mobil Involved: 11 million US gallons oil spill into the sea (41.8 million litres / 17 Olympic sized pools) Approximately 1,300 miles (2,080 km) of coastline was contaminated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales were estimated to be killed. $2.1 billion for the clean-up
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

What have you learnt?

The importance to consider EHS aspects in a company s operations The stakeholders involved for a company s operations Lack of proper EHS planning by employers can lead to a potential accident Human actions can lead to a potential accident Recognise the major EHS accidents
Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Post-Reading Material
TIME Magazine article (17 Dec 1984): India's Night of Death: Bhopal
Adobe Acrobat Document

Copyright 2011 by Republic Polytechnic, Singapore