An analysis of incidents involving major hazards in the chemical industry

Some problems associated with assessing the safety performance of the Chemical Industry are discussed. Over 170 major incidents involving chemical plants world-wide have been collated and analysed for trends.The number of major incidents and the total number of people killed by such events are rising exponentially. The trend to increased size and complexity of installations does not appear to have led to more severe incidents in terms of deaths, although the analysis has limitations. Financial costs of major incidents are increasing at a rate way ahead of inflation but there is no correlation between these costs and the number of fatalities arising from these incidents. All this, together with additional considerations identified, is considered ample justification for the special attention directed at the study of Major Hazard installations.