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

Mun Seob Ahn, Hyo Eun Lee, Kwang Soo Cheon, Huoung Gi Joo, Ochang Chemical Safety Community and Bu-Soon Son
Additional contact information
Mun Seob Ahn: Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., 146, Gwahaksaneop 4-ro, Ochang-eup, Chongwon-gu, Chongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28121, Korea
Hyo Eun Lee: Department of Health Science, Korea University, Anam-ro 145, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Korea
Kwang Soo Cheon: Ministry of Environment, Chemical Safety Management Department, 417 Daehak-ro, Youseoung-Gu Daejeon 34142, Korea
Huoung Gi Joo: Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., 146, Gwahaksaneop 4-ro, Ochang-eup, Chongwon-gu, Chongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28121, Korea
Ochang Chemical Safety Community: Ochang Chemical Safety Community, 146, Gwahaksaneop 4-ro, Ochang-eup, Chongwon-gu, Chongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do 28121, Korea
Bu-Soon Son: Department of Environmental Health Science, Soonchunhyang University, 22, Soonchunhyang-ro, Sinchang-myeon, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do 31538, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-14

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.

Keywords: quantity of chemicals requiring preparation; pool fire; vapor cloud explosion (VCE); Areal Location of Hazardous Atmosphere (ALOHA); Korea Off-Site Risk Assessment Supporting Tool (KORA); flammable substances; risk management plan (RMP); process safety management (PSM) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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