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Using the ALARP principle for safety management in the energy production sector of chemical industry

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  • Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim
  • Abrahamsen, HÃ¥kon Bjorheim
  • Milazzo, Maria Francesca
  • Selvik, Jon TømmerÃ¥s

Abstract

In the context of chemical industry, in particular in high hazard industries, the adoption of safety measures is essential to reduce risks and environmental impacts, due to the release of dangerous substances, at level that is reasonably practicable. The ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) principle is broadly used for decision-making in safety management, supported by cost-benefit analyses and the grossly disproportionate criterion, but without paying the proper attention to the decision frame (defined by the level of uncertainty and knowledge of the chemical phenomena, the use of best available technologies, the potential of major losses due to the release of hazardous materials and other items). In this paper, by examining the energy production sector of chemical industry, it will be argued that the decision context makes the application of the ALARP principle not always proper, whereas a dynamic interpretation, in which decisions are made oscillating between two borderlines, where in one case reference is made to expected values and in the other one to the precautionary principle, is more appropriate.

Suggested Citation

  • Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim & Abrahamsen, HÃ¥kon Bjorheim & Milazzo, Maria Francesca & Selvik, Jon TømmerÃ¥s, 2018. "Using the ALARP principle for safety management in the energy production sector of chemical industry," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 160-165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reensy:v:169:y:2018:i:c:p:160-165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ress.2017.08.014
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Langdalen, Henrik & Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim & Selvik, Jon Tømmerås, 2020. "On the importance of systems thinking when using the ALARP principle for risk management," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    3. Jieyin Lyu & Shouqin Zhou & Jingang Liu & Bingchun Jiang, 2023. "Intelligent-Technology-Empowered Active Emergency Command Strategy for Urban Hazardous Chemical Disaster Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-28, September.
    4. Mocellin, Paolo & Pilenghi, Lisa, 2023. "Semi-quantitative approach to prioritize risk in industrial chemical plants aggregating safety, economics and ageing: A case study," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    5. Leif Inge K. Sørskår & Eirik B. Abrahamsen, 2017. "On how to manage uncertainty when considering regulatory HSE interventions," EURO Journal on Decision Processes, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 5(1), pages 97-116, November.
    6. Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim & Selvik, Jon Tømmerås & Milazzo, Maria Francesca & Langdalen, Henrik & Dahl, Roy Endre & Bansal, Surbhi & Abrahamsen, Håkon Bjorheim, 2021. "On the use of the ‘Return Of Safety Investments’ (ROSI) measure for decision-making in the chemical processing industry," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    7. Abrahamsen, Eirik Bjorheim & Milazzo, Maria Francesca & Selvik, Jon T. & Asche, Frank & Abrahamsen, HÃ¥kon Bjorheim, 2020. "Prioritising investments in safety measures in the chemical industry by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    8. Sørskår, Leif Inge K. & Selvik, Jon T. & Abrahamsen, Eirik B., 2019. "On the use of the vision zero principle and the ALARP principle for production loss in the oil and gas industry," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. Hausken, Kjell, 2021. "The precautionary principle as multi-period games where players have different thresholds for acceptable uncertainty," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).

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