Abstract
Roughly half of the scenarios identified in Process Risk Analysis are fires and explosions of gases, vapors or combustible dusts. These involve ignition sources including electrical equipment, hot surfaces, friction, incandescent substances, gas compression, ionizing radiation, static electricity etc. To judge whether the risk of a given scenario is acceptable or not, it is necessary to estimate the Severity of the consequences of an unwanted event for man and the environment, and the Probability of occurrence of the scenario.
This paper presents the semi-quantitative method used within Solvay to estimate the frequency of all types of ignition sources in such scenarios and to judge whether the risk level is acceptable or not.
