(165b) Hindsight Is 20/20: Lessons Learned from Reactive Chemical Incidents

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has investigated two recent incidents involving mixing of incompatible chemicals: AB Specialty Silicones and MGPI Processing. The AB Specialty Silicone incident occurred during processing while the MGPI Processing Incident occurred in a storage tank during off-loading of a chemical. Each of these incidents will be used to identify the potential for a chemical reaction due to material incompatibility.

Based on these incidents that have occurred during the storage and processing of chemicals, recommendations will be provided for best practices regarding hazard identification, relevant process safety information and hazard analysis methodologies. For batch operations, the following items will be covered: methods and considerations for performing a hazard analysis, and resources that can be used in the hazard identification process. This will include the use of a chemical interaction matrix, process and equipment review as well as other guidance and standards. The goal is to understand the potential consequences that can occur from potential reactive chemical situations and identify appropriate safeguards and independent protection layers to mitigate the potential consequences.