A Heuristic Framework for Inherent Occupational Health Assessment in Chemical Process Design

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic heuristic framework to assist process designers and engineers in assessing inherent occupational health during process development and design. Different methods for inherent occupational health assessment are available and can be selected based on the availability of the most comprehensive data at the stage of the assessment. A more detailed and accurate assessment can be performed in the process and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) stage via the Occupational Health Index method (OHI) due to the availability of more precise data on the process (i.e., detailed piping, instruments and equipment). In the event of P&ID is not available, Health Quotient Index (HQI) method can be adopted to assess chronic inhalative health risk due to fugitive emission from process components (e.g., valve, flange, etc.) in the stage where process flow sheet diagrams (PFDs) are already generated. A qualitative health assessment can be conducted using the Inherent Occupational Health Index (IOHI) if the detailed information is still lacking because it only requires the data from process reaction chemistries and the properties of the chemical substances present. It is worth mentioning that the proposed framework acts as a guideline for design engineers in systematically selecting the appropriate index and methodology to assess inherent occupational health in process industry.