• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.62-67
• /
• 2023

Due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, the demand for Information Technology (IT) products is increasing, and their production facilities are expanded. Consequently, the use of harmful and dangerous chemicals are increased, the risk of fire(s) and explosion(s) is also elevated. In order to mitigate these risks, the government sets standards, such as KS C IEC 60079-10-1, and manages explosion-prone hazardous facilities where flammable substances are manufactured, used, and handled. However, using the standards of KS, it is difficult to predict the actual possibility of an explosion in a facility, because ventilation (an important factor) is not considered when setting up a hazardous work environment. In this study, the SEMI S6, Tracer Gas Test was applied to the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) facility, a major part of the display industry, to evaluate ventilation performance and to confirm the possibility of creating a less explosive environment. Based on the results, it was confirmed that the ventilation performance in the assumed scenarios met the standards stipulated in SEMI S6, along with supporting the possibility of creating a less explosive working condition. Therefore, it is recommended to use the prediction tool using engineering techniques, as well as KS standards, in such hazardous environments to prevent accidents and/or reduce economic burden following accidents.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.249-258
• /
• 2019

Acid spill accidents are frequently occurring in Korea with increasing production, use, storage, and transport of acids, accompanying industrialization and economic growth. The acids introduced to the subsurface environments would eventually be neutralized by reactions with geomedia. However, the spatial and temporal extent to which the spilled acids would affect will be dependent on the characteristics of the geomedia exposed to the acids. In this work, sulfuric acid, the most used acid in Korea, was reacted with a set of model geomedia representative of the geology of Korea. The buffering capacity of the model geomedia was determined through batch-type experiments using pH changes as an indicator. X-ray diffraction was used to identify the mineral phases contributing to the acid neutralization. The results showed that sandstone had the largest acid neutralization capacity among the tested geomedia, while kaolinite had the smallest. The findings of this study would contribute to quantitatively assessing the impact of spilled acids on geomedia and hence to predicting the vulnerability of geomedia to the spilled acid.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2021

Semiconductor Photo Resist (PR) automation equipment uses a mixture of several flammable substances, and when it leaks during the process, it can lead to various accidents, therefore, risk assessment is necessary. This study analyzed the frequency of leakage of Acetone and PGMEA used in PR automation equipment and the frequency at which such leakage could lead to a fire accident through the frequency analysis method, and evaluated the need for additional risk reduction measures in the current facility. Based on the process leak data and ignition probability data of IOGP, leak frequency analysis and ignition probability were derived, and the frequency of actual fire accidents was analyzed by combining them. The frequency of material leakage in semiconductor PR process is 7.30E-03/year, and fire accidents can occur by acetone that exists above the flash point when the material is leaked, the frequency was calculated at the level of 1.24E-05/year. According to the UK HSE, for a major accident occurring with a frequency of 1.24E-05/year, it is defined as "Broadly Acceptable", a level that does not require additional measures for risk reduction when it causes 7 or less deaths, and due to the process operated by two people, no additional risk reduction are required.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.8-13
• /
• 2011

All over the nation, a lot of industrial complex utilize gas as their energy source. Possibilities are fire, explosion, and leakage could happen any time in these large complexes. To prevent these tragic accidents and to minimize the damage when the accident occurs, the development of diagnostic technology for these facilities is imperative. The safety check is conducted on an individual and partial basis, currently. Accordingly, the accumulation and improvement of the safety management technology is necessary in order to make all the different checking techniques and management systems compatible, since checking processes, result interpretation techniques, and subsequent prognoses are not the same. The program provides damage scenarios from gas leakage. The output enables policy makers to predict the degree of infliction. Through this program, engineers are able to design an effective gas safety program to operate and maintain ubiquitous gas facilities.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.30-41
• /
• 2017

Although chemical substances have greatly contributed to prosperous human life and industrial development and made a great contribution to humanity, some dangerous substances are harmful to health and the environment. Thus, so long ago developed countries have also established strict safety standards. Korea is growing into a major chemical market, accounting for 3.4% of the global chemical market. The domestic laws related to chemical substances are similar to foreign countries, but there are many differences in detail, posing a lot of risks to safety, health and the environment as well as causing many problems in industry. In order to improve these problems, this study carried out to unify the domestic chemical law and the international standardization system (GHS) and to solve the trade barriers in the export and import by industry. In addition, researchers proposed a unified approach to classification and division of physical hazards, as advanced as developed nations, as a basis for prevention and response to accidents in dangerous goods.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.57-62
• /
• 2011

Modern chemical plants including petroleum refinery and gas industries have evolved into more complex and specialized. In these industrial complexes, it is important to maintain acceptable safety level protecting from various potential disasters caused by fire, explosion and the leakage of toxic materials. Recently possibility and consequence of accidents are increasing in the industrial process. So there is a trade-off between the plant operation efficiency and safety level. In this study SIF(Safety instrument Functions) was incorporated into SIL(Safety Integrity Levels). As a result, the safety level was upgraded by designing resonable allocation of safety instruments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.150-156
• /
• 2018

As the types and usage of chemical increase, modern countries should protect their health and environment from the risk of hazardous chemical. Chemical accidents not only affect humans but also cause huge losses to the environment. Moreover, since its effects do not end in a short period of time, it is necessary to identify the extent of the damage and establish a prevention and response system in advance. In 2015, the Chemical Substances Management Act provided a system for assessing the impact on the people and the environment around the workplace. However, it is difficult to quantitatively evaluate the impact on environmental factors such as vegetation and aquatic, with the current hazard assessment methods. The purpose of this study is to analyze the quantitative risk of environmental receptors. This study improved the existing risk assessment formula by using the environmental vulnerability index and established the end point concentration criterion which can estimate the damage range to environmental media. To verify the results of the study, a virtual accident scenario was selected and a case study was conducted. As a result, the extent of impact on the environmental medium can be calculated, and the degree of environmental risk of the zone can be quantified through the risk analysis considering the environmental vulnerability. This study is expected to increase the reliability of the reliability of the existing risk anaylsis method beacause it is a risk analysis method that can be applied when the environmental factors are absolutely necessary and when the residents and environment are complex.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2016

Aqueous ammonia is widely used in household cleaners, fertilizers and denitrification process. It is usually treated in concentrations from 10 % to 30 %, and release accidents have occurred frequently. In this study, we developed a simplified estimating method and equation to calculate threat zone easily in case of emergency due to release accident of aqueous ammonia. We calculated the consequence distance for toxic endpoints of aqueous ammonia(concentration 10 % ~ 30 %) at different puddle areas($1m^2{\sim}500m^2$) using the ALOHA program. Based on the result, we analyzed the relationship between concentration and puddle area with the threat zone and created the equation.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.232-244
• /
• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to develop a management system for the safe handling of chemicals and related health management based on reporting under the Chemical Control Act (CCA). It is used to search handling information by constructing data linked to the name of companies, chemicals, products, etc. Methods: Due to the differences in submission periods for each reporting regulation of the Chemical Control Act, the data used is as follows: A statistical survey collected 26,222 companies in 2014 and 2016, Pollutant Release Transfer Registers (PRTR) collected 4,234 companies in 2015-2017, performance reports by handlers of hazardous chemical substances collected 14,658 companies in 2016-2018, and declarations for import of toxic chemicals collected 892 companies in 2016-2017. The total information on 36,080 companies is standardized based on company ID, name, business registration number, address, and more. The data were classified into information such as company, chemical, and product name and amounts handled and released, and then extracted according to criteria to establish relationships among classified information. Results: A search service was developed for handling information on chemical substances for reporting data by linking four reporting data: statistical survey, PRTR, performance report by handler of hazardous chemical substances, and declaration for import of toxic chemicals under the CCA. It was composed of five menus to search by regulation type, reporting regulation, companies and chemicals, and system management. Conclusion: It is necessary to use data linked by company, region, and chemical to respond and to prevent chemical accidents. In addition, these items can be utilized to perform handling and safety management of chemicals according to whether regulations under the CCA may be implemented.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.613-619
• /
• 2014

A flare system is a very important system that crucially affects on the process safety in chemical plants. If a flare system is designed too small, it cannot prevent catastrophic accidents of a chemical plant. On the other hand, if a flare system is designed too large, it will waste resources. Therefore, reasonable relief load estimation has been a crucial issue in the industry. American Petroleum Institute (API) suggests basic guidelines for relief load estimation, and a lot of engineering companies have developed their own relief load estimation methods that use an unbalanced heat and material method. However, these methods have to involve lots of conservative assumptions that lead to an overestimation of relief loads. In this study, the new design procedure for a flare system based on dynamic simulation was proposed in order to avoid the overestimation of relief loads. The relief load of a deethanizer process was tested to verify the performance of the proposed design procedure.