Shelter-in-Place: A Cost-Effective Strategy to Protect Your People

摘要

Shelter-in-place or temporary haven processes have been available for many years, along with the know how on assessing plant incident potentials. This paper offers a strategy to match the hazardous vapor release (HVR) potential to the air tightness of the building needed to offer protection from the identified hazards. Several methods are available to assess the HVR potential at a site. The process safety management (PSM) and risk management plan (RMP) standards offer a good start in the identification of potentially hazardous processes. Other processes that do not meet the previous standards' criteria may need to be evaluated based on potential, accident history, or closeness to neighboring communities. The strategy presented in this paper quantifies the hazard and matches the air tightness needed for the building to offer protection of the occupants. It provides temporary havens that meet the needs of the facility in a cost effective manner.