An analysis of major accident in the US chemical safety board (CSB) database

Abstract

Accident rate in the chemical process industry (CPI) is high and causing loss of lives, massive property and environmental damage. Continuous improvement on accident knowledge and understanding is vital for process safety. Thus, an initiative to study the latest trends of accident was taken by analyzing 75 completed investigation reports of US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) accident cases occurred in CPI from 1995 to 2011. The result of the analysis shows that the CPI accepted the concept of Prevention trough Design (PtD). However, 71% of accident cases are similar due to incorrect corrective action taken.