A Methodology for Determining Blast and Fire Risk to Safety Critical Equipment in the Chemical and Refining Industries

Abstract

Refineries and chemical plants use a myriad of protective layers around their sources of hazards in an effort to reduce the frequency of catastrophic losses; however, releases of hazardous materials still occur. When such events occur, plants often depend on critical pieces of equipment to safely shut down the plant and prevent escalation. As a result, it is important that this equipment, including the power and electronics to run these systems, survive the events for which they are designed to protect.
Properly protecting and siting this equipment is a key step in ensuring its survivability in the aftermath of a loss of containment event; however, current facility siting methodologies often focus on loss of life or loss of large product inventories. While buildings housing critical equipment may be assessed for consequence or risk, they may not consider the specific vulnerabilities associated with these safety systems. This paper outlines a method of assessing the blast and fire vulnerability, and the blast and fire risk to safety critical systems in the chemical and refining industries, which historically contribute the bulk of accident financial impact. This methodology is used to develop several case studies and offers solutions to improve the availability of these systems in the event of an accident.