Risk Analysis for a Research Laboratory

 

Summary

Risk analysis, Risk management is defined as "all initiatives that will succeed in improving and maintaining occupational safety measures within an organization." The purpose of occupational health and safety risk management is to gather the most valid and accurate information available regarding the causes of work accidents and occupational diseases and the factors affecting them in order to create an effective safety network to prevent the emergence of hidden hazards. Good risk analysis carries significant value in terms of protection from potential accidents and enables the identification of hidden hazards and the implementation of effective safety measures. In this study, risk analysis and its application were performed in a sample research laboratory using L-Matrix and HAZOP risk assessment methods. The laboratory was investigated from an occupational health and safety perspective and necessary measures were attempted through the applied risk analysis method. Within the scope of this work, potentially hazardous situations were first identified, a risk table was prepared, and necessary methods to address these risks were investigated. A floor plan was drawn for the safe evacuation of the laboratory in the event of an emergency. Since no risk analysis study conducted in any university or laboratory registered in Turkish literature was found, and also due to the requirements of Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, the importance of such a study is high. In universities classified as low-hazard work sectors, but in laboratories that are highly hazardous, conducting such studies is very important and necessary, yet remains a topic requiring further attention.

Introduction and Objective

Risk is expressed as "the probability of an undesired event occurring during a certain period or under certain conditions, frequency and probability according to environmental conditions." It is also defined as "a combination of the probability of an event occurring and its consequences" [1]. Sometimes a hazard is expressed as the effect on health rather than actual harm or danger. For example, the disease tuberculosis (TB), while referred to by some as a hazard, is generally the bacteria causing TB that is considered a "hazard" or "hazardous biological agent." Examples of hazards and their effects are given in Table 1 [1].

Table 1. Examples of Hazards and Their Effects

Risk is the chance or probability of experiencing an adverse health effect if a person is harmed or exposed to a hazard. It can also be applied to situations involving loss of property or equipment [1].

Risk = Probability of Occurrence × Consequence

Factors affecting risk level are:

• How much is a person exposed to a hazardous situation or event? • How is a person exposed to the hazard (e.g., steam, skin contact, inhalation)? • How severe are the effects under the exposure conditions?

Hazards in a workplace are classified as follows:

• Biological - bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, birds, animals and humans, etc. • Chemical - depends on the physical, chemical and toxic properties of the chemical. • Ergonomic - repetitive movements, improper workstation setup, etc. • Physical - radiation, magnetic fields, excessive pressure, noise, etc. • Psycho-social - stress, violence, etc. • Safety - slip/opening hazards, inadequate machine guarding, equipment failures or malfunctions. Risk analysis is conducted in two important ways: qualitative and quantitative risk analysis. The purpose of conducting a qualitative risk analysis is to provide security against accepted risks and to increase the awareness of management, team members, and all personnel vulnerable to them. This risk analysis method is designed to identify problems seen as project management obstacles, but has the potential to be precise risk factors. A detailed qualitative analysis will also direct resources more sensitive to such risks. The aim is to identify corrective measures that may be included to limit or eliminate the causes of such risks and to ensure that these safety measures become part of the risk-dependent analytical protocol as a reference for the future. Quantitative risk analysis focuses more on the implementation of safety measures established to protect against each identified risk. Using a quantitative approach, an organization can produce a very precise analytical interpretation that clearly shows which risk resolution measures are most appropriate for various project needs. This makes the quantitative approach preferred by many management teams, as risk assessments emphasize the use of tools such as measurements, can be clearly represented in empirical forms such as percentages or probability charts [2]. There are many risk assessment methods in the literature. These include Preliminary Hazard Analysis-PHA, Job Safety Analysis-JSA, What-If Hazard and Operability Studies-HAZOP, Risk Assessment Decision Matrix, Fault/Logic Tree Analysis (FTA/LTA) and Event/Decision Tree Analysis (ETA/DTA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis - Failure Mode and Critical Effects Analysis (FMEA-FMECA), SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), Monte Carlo Method, Risk Assessment Decision Matrix.

1.1. Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP)

Hazard and Operability Studies or HAZOPs have been widely used to examine what effects deviations in chemical processes may have on a process. The basic assumption when performing a HAZOP is that when there is deviation from normal conditions, normal and standard conditions are safe and dangerous. A HAZOP can be performed at any stage of a project, although it is most useful in later stages of design. Parameters may be flow, level, pressure, concentration, or temperature. Guide words are used to identify possible deviations. HAZOP is a structured and systematic technique for system review and risk management. In particular, HAZOP is typically used as a technique to identify potential hazards in a system and identify operational problems that could lead to unsuitable products. HAZOP is based on a theory that assumes risk events are caused by deviations from design or operational intentions. The identification of these deviations is facilitated by using clusters of "guide words" as a systematic list of deviation perspectives.

The objectives of HAZOP are:

• Identification of all deviations from the intended operation of the system: their causes and all hazards and operability problems associated with these deviations, • Decision on whether actions are needed to control hazards and/or operability problems and, if any, identification of ways in which the problems could be resolved, • Identification of situations where an immediate decision cannot be made and determination of what information or actions are needed, • Ensuring that decided actions are followed through, • Informing operators of hazards and operability problems. HAZOP was developed taking into account the specific potential hazards of the chemical industry. This system analyzes the flow of products, auxiliary systems, raw materials and auxiliary materials. The purpose of HAZOP is to measure the effect resulting from deviations of different physical parameters governing a process from their nominal values. Guide words used in this method include less, none, reverse, more, low, high. HAZOP is also described as a systematic brainstorming action using specific guide words. These guide words are flow, pressure, temperature, viscosity level, composition, reaction, time and sequence. After this step, the source of the problem is identified and solution proposals are presented.

1.2. Risk Assessment Decision Matrix: L-Type Matrix Method

A risk matrix is a matrix used to define various risk levels as the product of harm probability categories and harm severity categories during risk assessment. This is a simple mechanism to increase the visibility of risks and assist management decision-making. Although many standard risk matrices exist in different contexts, individual projects and organizations may need to develop their own risks or adapt an existing risk matrix [3-5]. As a qualitative risk analysis method, the L-type matrix was used in this project. Within the scope of this study, first potential hazards were identified and the consequences of these hazards, possible risk situations were identified. The risk table provided to resolve these risks and necessary methods were investigated. Although a risk table was created, risks were defined and categorized. These categories were transferred to the risk table as hygiene and occupational schema, machinery and hand tools, electrical, chemical, and psychosocial factors, and each was scored in terms of probability and severity assigned to its risk category. These categories are shown in detail in Table 4 of our previous article [6]. The multiplication of probability and severity values gives the risk value. According to the L-type risk matrix, these risk levels were categorized as negligible, low, medium, high, very high, and intolerable [7]. The purpose of this study is to conduct risk analysis work using different methods to investigate hazards according to occupational health and safety requirements in a sample research laboratory and take necessary measures. For this purpose, risks were determined in terms of the probability of an uncontrolled event occurring and the probability of the consequences of this event resulting. Two different risk analysis methods (L-matrix and HAZOP) were applied to the laboratory's experimental setups, reactors, chemicals, and physical conditions.

2. Results and Discussion

In this study, the laboratory was examined from an occupational health and safety perspective and necessary measures were taken for the implementation of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety. Potential hazards and risky situations were identified, risk tables were created, and necessary actions were implemented to eliminate these risks. Risks are determined in terms of the probability of an uncontrolled event occurring and the probability of the consequences of this event resulting.

Risk = Probability × Severity

The above relationship is used in both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods are the two main method groups for risk analysis. A purely qualitative risk assessment is essentially task and/or hazard analysis performed with some relative judgments made to categorize hazards. A task analysis must examine each task in the operation. First, potential hazards and potential accident initiators caused by hazards are identified. Accident initiators can be human error, equipment failure, or natural events. The frequency and consequence of each accident scenario are then estimated on simple relative scales such as Low-Medium-High. In quantitative risk assessment, the risk in each scenario is estimated numerically, and the analysis not only allows the analyst not to determine risk only according to all scenarios in the system, but selected absolute risk on whatever scale is measured. These determinations can be made objectively using numerical scales. Risk ratios are divided into three main categories (Table 2). In this study, all risks and risk scores in a sample research laboratory are presented in Table 6 according to information obtained from Table 4 and Table 5 in our previous article [6].

Table 4. Classification of Risk Ratios

Subsequently, risks were applied to the L-type matrix. Risks were labeled in Table 4 and the risk distribution in the laboratory was observed. According to the L-type matrix, the risk matrix distribution was created and this matrix is shown in Table 4 and 5.

Table 5. Probability and Frequency

Table 6. Risk Distribution

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is an important component of product management and occupational health and safety. Workers and emergency personnel are intended to have procedures for safely handling or processing this substance and to contain information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects. Aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment and spill procedures [7, 8]. SDS formats may vary from source to source in a country depending on national requirements. Safety data sheets (SDS) were obtained for all chemicals used in the laboratory and the laboratory was equipped with documents that could be consulted in dangerous situations. To properly store chemicals, hazard symbols were determined using the chemical safety data sheet and chemicals were labeled as explosive, irritant, oxidizing substances, highly flammable, extremely flammable, hazardous, toxic, poisonous and environmentally harmful as shown in Table 8. According to these symbols in the storage matrices in Table 7, chemicals were stored in the laboratory.

Table 7. Storage Matrix

Table 8. Hazard Symbols (Pictograms)

Additionally, gas cylinders (hydrogen, oxygen, air and nitrogen) for hazardous situations were secured to the wall and ergonomic conditions were improved. However, the working area was not elevated to the desired level due to the physical condition of the laboratory, as seen in the floor plan. On the other hand, fire extinguishers and blankets are provided in laboratories for potential fires. Eye wash stations and personal protective equipment were obtained to prevent damage from splashing or spilling of chemical substances [8]. A floor plan was drawn to facilitate evacuation of the laboratory in emergencies (Figure 1). Emergency telephone numbers, waste inventory, and instructions for the use of analytical equipment were created for emergencies.  

Figure 1. Floor Plan

References

1. http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/hazard_risk.html. 2. http://www.brighthubpm.com/risk-management/33403-qualitative-and-quantitative-risk-analysis. 3. http://www.safetyshare.org/documents/sec3.pdf 4. Arben Mullai, Risk Management System – Risk Assessments Frameworks and Techniques, Dagob Publication Series 5, 2006. 5. Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), Practical Approach to Hazard Identification for Operations and Maintenance, 2015. 6. Occupational Health and Safety Law in TURKEY, Act No. 6331, 20.6.2012, http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4. detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=92011 7. David J. Leggett, Lab-HIRA: Hazard identification and risk analysis for the chemical research laboratory, Part1 and Part 2, 2012. 8. Zakzeski, J. Improving Engineering Research Laboratory Safety by Addressing the Human Aspects of Research Management, Journal of Chemical Health & Safety, May 2009. 9. https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/pictograms/index.html       Dr. Canan Uraz Ege University Faculty of Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering