EPA Perspective on Advances in Process Safety

PresentationEPA is supportive of the concept of "Making Safety Second Nature." Companies should strive to practice safety as a culture, not as something that is done because regulations require it. Elements in the Risk Management Program have broad application to the assessment of, and decisions about, chemical and process hazards, worker and public safety, and environmental protection even before companies prepare Risk Management Plans. Consequently, integration of the RMP elements into company safety, health, and environmental programs can help companies adopt and implement risk-based decisions. Chemical accident prevention is the major goal of process safety management and risk management programs. EPA's accident investigation program goes a long way toward achieving this goal. EPA has a statutory responsibility to investigate major chemical accidents. However, the true potential of accident investigation reports is realized only when the data gleaned from these investigations are used beyond the company fenceline or the process where the incident occurred. Offshoots of accident investigation reports, Chemical Safety Alerts, are issued when EPA becomes aware of a significant hazard and are effective tools industry can use to evaluate potential hazards and to take steps to reduce those hazards