Incorporating risk assessment and inherently safer design practices: Into chemical engineering education

The relationship between inherently safer process design and conceptual process development, and how it can be integrated into undergraduate chemical engineering education has been described. Chemical engineering students are required to understand the concepts of risk and hazard to recognize the benefits of inherently safer process design. Risk in chemical process industries can be described as the combination of both the severity of the consequences of an upset scenario and the likelihood of that scenario's initiating cause. Process safety education can serve to reinforce the benefits of beginning to consider the safety implications of the decisions made during conceptual process development. By reinforcing the benefits of making inherently safe design choices during conceptual process development, chemical process engineering students can be better prepared for the challenges of meeting the high standards set by chemical industry.