International comparison on the application of societal risk criteria

Abstract

Quantitative risk assessment is now a common tool used for planning and approving high-risk process facilities globally. The initial focus was toward individual risk contours as these were easier to apply and communicate, but a number of regulators and companies also wish to see societal risk (SR) results. This is particularly true for offsite risk predictions. There are quite significant differences in the global application and this article summarizes examples from Europe, North and South Americas, and the Middle East. The differences are not only to criteria lines on F-N graphs but also to the definitions of what populations are included and excluded, and this can have a significant, but less obvious, impact on SR results. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2012.