Changes in Facility Siting Standards: API 752, 753, & 756

A processing facility falling under the compliance requirements of API Recommended Practices 752, 753, and 756.

In industries where the daily risks of potentially catastrophic events, such as vapor cloud explosions, are a constant concern, there’s no room for compromise – inherently safer design principles, effective hazard identifications and analyses, and adherence to up-to-date industry standards aren’t just important, they’re essential. Since its establishment in 1919, the American Petroleum Institute (API)…

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Industrial Disasters and What Was Learned from Them

A fireball erupts in front of an industrial area. The fire and explosion are indicative of an industrial disaster.

The Lessons Learned from Industrial Disasters The history of human innovation through industry, while remarkable, is not without its pitfalls. Occasionally, progress is marked not by the chiming bells of success but by the thunderous booms of catastrophe. Such is the nature of industrial explosions — devastating, tragic, yet imbued with powerful lessons for the…

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Design for Disaster: How Blast Resistant Buildings Are Saving Lives

Aerial view of BakerRisk’s Wilfred E. Baker Test Facility (WEBTF), where tests for blasts, explosions, and tests for other potential hazards are conducted.

When potentially devastating events like vapor cloud explosions and dust explosions are an inherent daily risk for facilities with flammable and combustible materials, effective pre-incident planning and strategic design principles aren’t an option; they’re a necessity. For these facilities, incorporating blast resistant buildings into the infrastructure is a commitment to safety and resilience. From combustible…

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The Evolution of Risk Management in Process Safety

Two workers assessing risk and safety concerns at a factory in the early 1900s.

Though safety standards today are relatively stringent, they were rudimentary or nonexistent until the last hundred years. Dangerous occupations were performed under perilous conditions, and the workers who did these jobs were frequently harmed or fatally injured while fulfilling their assigned duties. Over time, safety standards have evolved, and even the most high-risk industries have…

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Explosion Research Cooperative: Celebrating 30 Years of Risk Management

Video still of ERC test with text overlayed, "Explosion Research Cooperative".

For the past three decades, the Explosion Research Cooperative (ERC) has been at the forefront of research and proven methodologies to mitigate explosion hazards and consequences. As we celebrate its remarkable 30-year journey, we are sharing some invaluable contributions made by this international joint-industry program to enhance industry’s understanding of explosions, how to prevent accidents and mitigate consequences, and potentially save lives.

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Benefits of Laboratory Analytical and Testing Methods for Forensic Investigations and Failure Analyses

Dr. Sean Berg analyzing material in the BakerRisk Materials Laboratory.

What are the benefits of using a laboratory to systematically and methodically examine recovered evidence of an incident to answer important questions in the course of an incident investigation, forensic investigation, root cause analysis and failure analysis? BakerRisk’s webinar, “What to know about Laboratory Analytical and Testing Methods – Expert Insights and Other Considerations for Forensic Investigations and Failure Analysis” will answer these and other important questions.

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BakerRisk presentations at the 2023 AIChE Spring Meeting and 19th Global Congress on Process Safety

Banner for 2023 AIChE Spring Meeting and 19th GCPS.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is hosting its highly anticipated Spring Meeting and 19th Global Congress on Process Safety in Houston, Texas from March 12-16th, 2023. This conference is a premier event for professionals in the chemical engineering and process safety industries around the world. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in…

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Understanding hydrogen safety challenges and mitigation strategies – BakerRisk white paper series

BakerRisk syngas blast testing at the Box Canyon Test Facility.

Low carbon does not mean low risk! With emerging and re- technologies for low carbon energy resources such as hydrogen and hydrogen carriers taking precedence in energy and governmental focus, considerations for safe operations and handling are of great importance globally in order to protect some of our most valuable resources such as life, assets, the environment, and public safety, to name a few.

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Terminal Risk Management of Capital Projects

A bulk storage terminal in the midst of a hazardous event due to insufficient safety studies

Terminal Risk Management of Capital Projects & Storage Terminals  Practically everything we purchase requires the use of oil at some point. Integral to the global manufacturing process, oil and petroleum products require adequate storage and transportation solutions to ensure they are managed safely — which is trickier than it sounds. The logistics system built around…

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Changes in Facility Siting Standards: API 752, 753, & 756

In industries where the daily risks of potentially catastrophic events, such as vapor cloud explosions, are a constant concern, there’s no room for compromise – inherently safer design principles, effective hazard identifications and analyses, and adherence to up-to-date industry standards aren’t just important, they’re essential. Since its establishment in 1919, the American Petroleum Institute (API)…