Page 97 - Plant design and economics for chemical engineers

GENERAL. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 75
TABLES
General safety checklist for identifying process hazards (Continued)

2. Food handling, eating, lounge/rest space away from worksite; vending machine sanita-
tion
3. Solid waste collection and handling in-plant
4. Bacterial and insect control
5. Air cleaning where required
6. Sanitary facilities: toilets, washrooms-adequate number, size, and distribution; internal
circular traffic patterns, not in busy areas
7. Personnel services, where required or useful
8. First aid and medical services space, and access
9. Facilities for industrial hygiene staff, laboratories, information handling
10. Space, facilities, fixtures planned throughout plant for health and safety equipment
I. Hazard communication within plant-consistent system of signage, placarding, content
labeling, etc.; planned facilities for MSDS access

of environmental, safety, and occupational health issues into all design stages
leads to the most cost-effective design. Examples of the kinds of interactions
and hazard-control choices that need to be made at the various design stages
are highlighted in the text by Lipton and Lynch.?

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Because of the greater concern for the continued degradation of the environ-
ment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has systematically been
rewriting and tightening many policies and regulations. The EPA has also been
encouraging state and local governments, as well as industry, to take a more
active role in environmental issues. Some of the important issues include the
disposal of wastes, both hazardous and nonhazardous, effluent controls on
wastewater and storm water runoff, and hydrocarbon emissions to the atmo-
sphere. The EPA is also encouraging companies to perform environmental
audits.
Waste disposal is a serious problem for many chemical plants. The EPA
initiative that has greatly curtailed land disposal has had a great effect on waste
disposal. The 1984 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) amend-
ments have also made it more difficult to dispose of solid wastes. In addition,
RCRA required all interim status hazardous-waste facilities to meet ground-
water monitoring and insurance requirements by late 1985. This included
hazardous-waste surface impoundments. Since 1988, a double liner and leachate
collection system have also been required.

IS. Lipton and J. Lynch, “Health Hazard Control in the Chemical Process Industry,” Wiley, New
York, 1987.