General requirements for the design and dimensioning of establishments are laid down in legislation. Their fundamental principle is that accident prevention measures must be dimensioned to correspond to the risks posed by the handling or storage of chemicals. As a rule, the risks posed by operations must be assessed by operators.
There is quite a large variety of technical regulations and standards available for flammable liquids, LNG and explosives. Compliance with these helps make sure that statutory requirements are met. No such requirements have been set for other chemicals, so decisions regarding these must be made on the basis of risk assessments and general requirements laid down in relevant legislation.
The choice of processes and chemicals creates the foundation for the establishment's risk level. Whenever possible, operators must select the less dangerous of alternative chemicals and processes.
The principles to be applied in establishment area design are the sufficient separation of dangerous activities from other activities and the containment of any potential accidents at the facility to as small an area as possible. Access and operational capacities for the rescue services must also be ensured in the event of an accident.
Choices related to building safety seek to minimise the effects of accidents and enable escape and rescue during accidents. In addition to construction regulations, facilities must meet the special requirements set in chemicals safety legislation concerning issues such as surface materials, pressure release and ventilation.
Equipment and pipelines must be appropriate to the chemicals handled and the operating conditions. The most detailed structural regulations apply to pressure equipment (supervised by notified bodies), but there are also standards for flammable liquid containers.
Safety measures and systems, such as gas control or safety automation systems, must be appropriate in scale to the risks posed by the activity.
System functionality, including during disruptions, must be ensured in design. Various types of risk assessment and risk mapping should be employed to determine foreseeable process incidents. Operators must provide designers with sufficiently detailed information about the properties of the chemicals involved and as well as any special requirements set for them.
Inspections related to the design and manufacture of chemical containers and pipelines are conducted by notified bodies authorised by Tukes.