Feasibility Evaluation of Designated Quantities for Chemicals Requiring Preparation for Accidents in the Korean Chemical Accident Prevention System

Abstract

To prevent chemical accidents, the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and the Republic of Korea operate legal systems, such as risk management plans (RMP) and process safety management (PSM), to prevent chemical accidents inside and outside the workplace. The duty to implement chemical accident prevention systems and the criteria for being a target workplace are dependent on the designated quantities of chemicals handled. A chemical accident prevention system is obligatory for storage and handling of legally declared chemicals in the workplace. Benzene, toluene, xylene, methyl ethyl ketone, and ethyl acetate are all flammable materials that are commonly used as solvents in the chemical industry. These substances are grouped into flammable substances groups in the US and the EU, and are managed with the same designated quantities. However, in Korea, the designated quantities are: benzene, 10,000 kg; toluene, xylene, and methyl ethyl ketone, 200,000 kg; and ethyl acetate, 20,000 kg. In order to evaluate the validity of the chemical quantities, fire explosion scenarios during chemical accidents were modeled using two modeling programs, Areal Location of Hazardous Atmosphere (ALOHA) and Korea Off-Site Risk Assessment Supporting Tool (KORA) software, under the same conditions. Similar damage radii were found for the five flammable materials with both pool fires and vapor cloud explosions (VCE). Based on these damage radii, the designated quantities of five substances were calculated and included in the range (10,000 to 13,500 kg). The results show that current designated quantities underestimate chemical substances, and for the prevention of accidents and post-management after chemical accidents, it is necessary to manage flammable substances under one grouping.

Implementation of an Innovative Learning Resource with Project to Facilitate Active Learning to Improve Students’ Performance on Chemistry

“…The completeness of the learning tools in the learning resources facilitates students to carry out the project assignments, guide the students to handle hazardous chemicals and guaranteed safety in the laboratory. [45][46][47] Innovative learning resources with projects have been proven effective in improving student's performance, including chemical knowledge and skills. These results reinforce the results of previous studies with PjBL innovations.…”

Assessment of Soil Contamination by Gas Cloud Generated from Chemical Fire Using Metabolic Profiling and Associated Bacterial Communities

“…After sunset, the ground cools down, and the air in touch with the ground becomes cooler increasingly. The relatively warmer air goes upward and the cooler one goes down to the ground [6,7]. Due to this air condition, the inversion layer makes the high concentration of pollutants close to the ground because this inhibits the gas diffusion and elevation to the upper atmosphere and trap the contaminants such as combustion products below the inversion layer.…”

“…This study focused on the toluene fire accident and its influence on contaminated soil. Toluene accidents have occurred most frequently out of using organic chemicals in the industry field, and it is one of the dangerous toxic substances [2,7]. Toluene is a representative hydrophobic organic pollutant and is a long-term source of soil and aquifer contamination [8].…”

Study on Dynamic Probability and Quantitative Risk Calculation Method of Domino Accident in Pool Fire in Chemical Storage Tank Area

“…The CFD method can retrieve the real-time fire scenario, but it requires detailed data as input, and requires a huge amount of calculation, which is difficult to achieve in traditional safety and risk assessment. Therefore, the third probability model method is the most commonly used method for quantifying the risk assessment of a domino accident caused by fire [ 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”