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Consultant Stanley Grossel reviews Guidelines for Chemical Transportation Safety, Security and Risk Management, 2nd Ed.

| By Chemical Engineering

Guidelines for Chemical Transportation Safety, Security, and Risk Management, 2nd Edition. By the Center for Chemical Process Safety/AIChE. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Web: wiley.com. 2008. 166 pages. $125.00

Reviewed by: Stanley S. Grossel,

Process Safety & Design Consultant, Clifton, N.J.

Hazardous chemical transport poses significant public health and environmental risks. In 1995, the CCPS published “Guidelines for Chemical Transportation Risk Analysis.” The book reviews risk analysis techniques used to evaluate chemical transportation operations. The new edition serves as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, the 1995 edition, and the earlier guidelines are included in CD form along with four other appendices. The new publication addresses transportation security and risk management broadly and provides tools and methods for a wider range of transportation professionals and stakeholders. In particular, it introduces qualitative and practical techniques for identifying and managing higher-level risk issues that balance safety and security. Together, the two books can help effectively analyze and manage chemical transportation risk.

Chapter one introduces transportation risk management, as well as key stakeholders in the supply chain and risk management process. Chapter two discusses baseline programs for safety and security management for all modes of hazardous material transport that need to be in place prior to a risk analysis.

Risk assessment fundamentals are discussed in Chapter three, as is a protocol for conducting transportation risk assessments. Chapter four focuses on qualitative and semi-qualitative techniques that can be used to analyze the safe transport of hazardous materials. Chapter five provides an overview of quantitative risk analysis (QRA) techniques for evaluating hazardous materials transportation issues, including data sources and requirements, analysis techniques, and the generation and interpretation of quantitative risk results.

Chapter six presents current security guidelines and regulations, and a methodology for adapting and applying security vulnerability assessment (SVA) techniques designed for fixed chemical facilities to account for the differences specific to transportation. Risk reduction strategies are discussed in Chapter seven, which provides guidance on developing risk reduction strategies and highlights the factors that influence the different types of safety and security measures that can be selected and ultimately implemented. The book concludes with tips for keeping risk management practices current with changing trends and regulations. It is an excellent information source for those involved with chemical transport safety.

          
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