Safety Analysis for the Chemical Laboratory

Safety analysis is the application of predictive methods to identify, evaluate, and control potential hazards presented by a system or operation, which are above and beyond those controlled by established good practices. It includes initiating events from within a system, including human errors, equipment failures, and unanticipated system behavior, as well as initiating events external to a system (e.g., power failure, external fires), in addition to natural phenomena events (e.g., high winds, earthquake, tornados, flooding, and lightning).A great benefit of safety analysis is that it also provides information on operability, product quality, and other issues so that modifications can be made as necessary to the apparatus, procedures, etc. Such information is obviously useful to know before performing the work so that modifications or other changes can be implemented with minimal impact. Information of this nature is also useful for long-term experiments, high dollar experiments, and operations of particular importance. Safety analysis is imperative for the safety of particularly hazardous operations, in addition to the other practical benefits that it provides.