1 Flashcards
What is this module?
To develop an understanding of the key role that
process
safety, pollution control and sustainability play in
maintaining the viability of the chemical and process
industries.
Why do you need to learn this?
Has an impact on every aspect of chemical engineering
Duty of care and professional standards
Environmental and safety issues have no boundaries
Benefits of good performance
Risk reduction
Assured compliance
Reduced costs
Improve product quality
Increased staff commitment
Improved community relations
Improved media treatment
Sustainable development
Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A sustainable development is a type of development which provides real improvement in the quality of life, and at the same time, maintains or enhances the vitality of the earth.
Process safety
Process safety is concerned with the control of those accidents which are special and characteristic of the process industries
Sustainable development for businesses
adopting business strategies and activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today whilst protecting, sustaining, and enhancing the human and natural resources
needed in the future.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AIMS
Global – improve economic, environmental & social conditions
Raw materials – most efficient use
Energy – use and manage renewable resources
Waste – reduce/eliminate toxic and harmful emissions, reduce waste
Challenge – alter the conventional design and manufacturing process to incorporate environmental considerations.
Safety
Prevention of accidents by
identification and elimination of
hazards
Hazards
Condition that has potential to
cause harm to people, property or
environment
risks
Measure of harm in terms of
incident likelihood and magnitude of
damage
tort
a wrong for which the law will provide a remedy- most often in the form of damages or injunctions.
tort aim
to fill the gaps where statute law has not explicitly supplied requirements.
The main reasons for civil torts are:
- Negligence – failing to take the care that would normally be expected
- Breach of statutory duty – if a person has suffered due to non-compliance.
- Trespass – unjustified intrusion on land, e.g. unpermitted depositing of waste
- Nuisance – covers all sorts of things like noise, smell, dust, steam etc.
LEGISLATION TIMELINE
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1990 Environmental Protection Act (EPA)
Integrated Pollution Control
BPEO
BATNEEC
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1991 Water Resources Act (WRA)
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1996 Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC)
BAT
BREF
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2007 Environmental Permitting Regulations
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2010 Industrial Emissions Directive (IED)
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2015 Medium Combustion Plant Directive
The IED is based on several pillars
1.
An integrated approach – the permit covers the entire environmental performance of the plant
2.
Use the best available techniques – the permit conditions must be based on the Best Available Techniques.
BREFs should be used as a reference for setting the permit conditions.
3.
Flexibility – allows competent authorities to set less strict emission limit values. For example, the costs of
achieving the emissions levels would be prohibitive. The competent authority should always be able to justify
this decision.
4.
Inspections – mandatory requirements for environmental inspections. The IED requires a site visit at least
every 1-3 years, using risk-based criteria
5.
Public participation – IED ensures that the public has the right to participate in the decision-making process
by having access to permit applications, permits and results of monitoring releases.
BPEO
Best Practicable Environmental Option
BATNEEC
Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive cost
BAT
Best Available Technique
BREF
Best Available Technique Reference Document
when was the Environment Agency established?
1996
Environment Agency responsible for what
Regulating major industry and waste
- Treatment of contaminated land
- Water quality and resources ( they control abstraction of water as well as pollution)
- Fisheries
- Inland river, estuary and harbour navigations
- Conservation and ecology
Environment Agency are in charge of permit enforcement and have several powers, which are…
Enter premises without a warrant, at any time and can employ the police to assist
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Make examinations & investigations as he sees fit
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Direct that locations remain undisturbed for as long as he sees fit
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Take samples, measurements, photographs, etc.
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Take statements, records documents
Take equipment or materials away for examination
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Inspect/copy documents
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Do anything else necessary to perform duties
The main reason you want to keep these guys happy is that they can:
- Issue improvement notice
- Issue prohibition notice ( to stop operation immediately)
- Initiate prosecutions
So how would you upset the Environment Agency?
- Operate a prescribed process without authorisation
- Operate a prescribed process other than in accordance with the conditions of an authorisation
- fail to notify the EA of the transfer of an authorisation
- Fail to comply with an enforcement or prohibition notice
- Fail to comply with an inspector in the exercise of his powers
- Intentionally obstruction an inspector
- Intentionally falsify records or entries
Permit applications contain
a large amount of information, and they can take up to 3 months to be approved. It doesn’t
apply to just new installations, but you have to apply it if you are making a change of modification. They can be very
expensive, so they need to be prepared very carefully
UK Health and safety legislation
1974
Health and Safety at Work Act (HASWA)
2015
Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH)
Health and Safety at Work Act (HASWA)
This Act places a legal duty on employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees, and to ensure that employees and others are kept safe.
Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH)
Take all necessary measures to prevent major
accidents involving dangerous substances
Limit the consequences to people and the
environment of any major accidents which do occur
Most accidents follow a three
step sequence
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Initiation the event that starts the accident
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Propagation the event or events that maintain or expand the accident
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Termination the event or events that stop the accident or diminish it in size
Safety engineering involves working on all three areas to ensure that accidents, once initiated, do not propagate and will terminate as quickly as
Environmental management systems EMS
A system by which a company controls the activities, products and processes that cause or could cause environmental impacts and in
doing so minimises the impacts of its operations
Standards and codes of practice
- BS 7750
- Eco management and audit scheme
(EMAS) - ISO 14000
Family of standards relating to EM
ISO 14001 core set of standards for designing and implementing EMS - BS 8555
Guidance on a phased implementation of an EMS
Tasks within EMS
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Appointing a management representative
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Carry out initial environmental review (EIA, LCA)
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Create an environmental policy
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Identify environmental aspects and legislation
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Decide which environmental aspects are significant
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Set environmental objectives and targets
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Continual improvement and review
Faculty of Engineering and Technology
EMS failure example
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Sellafield UK s largest nuclear facility
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Low level radioactive waste was sent to landfill
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Inadequate management systems in place
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Wrongly configured monitoring system
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Lack of procedures to check monitoring systems
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Fined £ 700,000
Environmental impact assessments (EIA)
Formal process to predict environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program or project prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action
If a development listed on:
Schedule 1, MEANS
EIA required in every case
If a development listed on:
Schedule 2 MEANS
Planning authority has to consider whether it is likely to have significant effects on the environment
EIA Schedule 1
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Oil refineries
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Power station
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Metalworks
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Chemical plants
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Waste disposal
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Water treatment
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Pulp & paper
EIA Schedule 2
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Agriculture
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Food manufacture
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Roads & railways
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Quarries
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Industrial heat and
power
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Ceramic manufacture
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Paint production
EIA Process
1- Screening: Full or partial assessment
2- Scoping: Identify impacts, Identify alternatives
3- Environmental Impact Statement Preparation: Compiling all the information
4- Review: Publicised Consultation period
EIA Scoping Approach
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Description of need
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Description of project
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Description of alternatives
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Relevant institutional information
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Identification of issues
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Description of affected environment
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Impact prediction
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Impact assessment
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Impact mitigation
EIS preparation
Must contain the following:
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A description of the development comprising information on the site, design
and size of the development.
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A description of the measures envisaged in order to avoid, reduce and, if
possible, remedy significant adverse effects.
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The data required to identify and assess the main effects which the
development is likely to have on the environment.
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An outline of the main alternatives studied by the applicant or appellant and
an indication of the main reasons for the choice made, taking into account the
environmental effects.
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A non technical summary of the information provided under paragraphs 1 to
4 of this Part.
WHY IS Monitoring and auditing IMPORTANT?
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To ensure compliance with regulatory requirements
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To take action if unexpected problems or impacts arise
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To provide data to enable an audit to be performed
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To determine the effectiveness of mitigation measures
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Systematic technique to assess the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product s life from cradle to grave
LCA Activity
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Paper cup vs ceramic cup
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Kindle vs paper book
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Paper is it better to recycle or dispose?
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Glass is it better to recycle or dispose?
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Leather shoe vs synthetic shoe
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Nappies disposable vs washable
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Cling film vs foil
Life cycle assessment stages
- Goal and scope definition: Why is the LCA being conducted? What is the
product or products to be studied? What inputs
and outputs will be considered? - Inventory analysis: How much
raw material, emissions, energy? - Impact assessment: What are the impact
scores ’ of the raw materials,
emissions and energy use? - Interpretation: What improvements
can be made? Which is the
most environmentally friendly product/process
route?
Impact categories
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Climate change
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Ozone depletion
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Ionising radiation
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Photochemical ozone
formation
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Particulate matter
formation
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Acidification
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Eutrophication
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Toxicity
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Land stress
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Water stress
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Fossil resources depletion
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Mineral resources
depletion
- What is an Environmental Management System and what is its purpose?
An environmental management system is a system by which a company controls the activities, products and processes that cause or could cause environmental impacts and in doing so minimises the impacts of its operations.
The purpose of an EMS is to provide clear environmental objectives, targets, procedures and practices, roles and responsibilities.
What are the benefits of having an EMS?
- Better regulatory compliance - running an EMS will help ensure your environmental legal responsibilities are met and more easily managed on a day-to-day basis. It makes it very clear to operational staff what is expected or required.
- More effective use of resources - you will have policies and procedures in place that help you manage waste and resources more effectively and reduce costs.
- Marketing - running an EMS will help you prove your business’ credentials as an environmentally aware operation that has made a commitment to continual environmental improvement. They can enhance public relations, reduce pressure from environmental lobbying groups and give better relations with local communities as the business can prove its commitment to environmental management
- Management – Your management have an awareness of baseline environmental position and the environmental effects of the business. They lead to increased confidence of and credibility for owners, shareholders. Increased staff awareness and environmental commitment. integration of environmental considerations into corporate strategies
- Finance - you may find it easier to raise investment from banks and other financial institutions, which are increasingly keen to see businesses controlling their environmental impact
- Increased sales opportunities - large businesses and government departments may only deal with businesses that have an EMS or that are accredited. EMS’s are recognised throughout Europe
- Lighter regulation - even if an EMS is not a regulatory requirement, by showing your commitment to environmental management, you may benefit through less frequent site visits or reduced fees from environmental regulators
What is LCA? Give an example of when this technique could be used.
LCA, or life cycle assessment is a systematic technique to assess the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a products life, from cradle to grave.
LCA has been applied in many ways. It is used for product development, product improvement and product comparison It I used to help develop long term policy regarding material use, resource conservation and reduction of environmental impact. It also provides customers with information about the characteristics of products or materials.
