Quantifying the health risk of chemicals in a drilling rig fluid supply company in southern Iran using WASPAS-IVIF and SQRA methods

Abstract

Background: Chemical industries are among the process industries and have many risks that can lead to catastrophic and irreparable consequences. The current research analyzed the health risk of chemicals in a company supplying chemicals to drilling rigs using WASPAS and SQRA methods in 2022. Methods: The basic information of the materials used was collected based on intuitive methods, document review, MSDS of chemicals, processes, efficiency, and exposure to chemicals. In the SQRA risk assessment, hazard rate (HR) and exposure rate (ER) factors were calculated based on information related to acute toxicity, LD50, and LC50. The developed version of WASPAS-IVIF has been used to prioritize the health risk of chemicals. 10 process safety experts were used for scoring. Risk assessment calculations were done in the Excel2016 software environment, and the data fuzzification process was in Fuzzy Toolbox in the Matbal2019a software environment. Findings: The results of the health risk assessment of chemicals using the SQRA method, out of 45 chemicals, 34 were evaluated as having no health risk potential. The health risk level for Acetone, Calcium Chloride, CITRIC ACID, Fuel Oil, and Naphthalene is low. For biocide, n-Butyl, ammonium nitrate, and xylenes are at medium level, toluene at a high level, and Benzene at a very high level. The results of the WASPAS-IVIF evaluation also show that Benzene is the most critical risk factor in the chemical storage of drilling fluids, with a coefficient of 0.828. Conclusion: This research showed that the health effects caused by exposure to chemicals used in the drilling industry are worrying.

Keywords

• health risk
• chemical industry
• sqra
• waspas
• drilling industry