Introduction to Chemical Safety in Chemical and Process Industries

Accidental events in chemical and process industries may have catastrophic consequences. The present chapter aims at discussing the hazards and risks in chemical and process industries, where chemical species are used and/or transformed. After defining the concept of chemical risk, the possible accidental events in the process industry are presented based on their probability of occurrence. Some examples of relevant chemical accidents that occurred in the past are thoroughly discussed further. Safety measures (i.e., preventive and protective procedures) in safety and process industries and primary and secondary reactions are also described. Finally, a screening method capable of providing a hazard evaluation by calculating the power released during the thermal decomposition of a substance (i.e., the CHETAH method) is presented.