97498 - Risk and Safety

Academic Year 2021/2022

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be aware of the chemical risk and of the best practices for its assessment and management. She/he will know the most critical hazards of chemical substances for the health and the safety of people and for promotion of a healthy and safe production and use of chemicals.The student will be able to: 1. evaluate the chemical safe and health procedures in laboratory and industry; 2. implement a correct and benign relationship between producers and customers; 3. propose solutions fo an efficient management of the chemical risk.

Course contents

RISK AND SAFETY

This CU is composed of three modules:

(1) Health and Safety in Chemistry

The module is designed to help students improve their knowledge and awareness of chemical safety. Students will identify the hazards associated with the chemicals, will learn safe working practices, and ultimately leave the course with an enhanced ability to assess risk, so they can identify the risks and adopt safe working practices.

(2) Risk Management

Risk management framework and risk management processes, including the ISO 3100 in the context of organizations, and environmental risk management, as set up by health and environmental agencies. Identification of chemicals of concern, the physic-chemical properties affecting their emission, environmental fate, exposure and effect in human health and ecosystems. Hazard identification, exposure assessment, risk characterization, risk communication, and risk minimization. Deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment (modelling with Oracle’s Crystal Ball), characterization of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis.

(3) Safety in the use of Chemicals

The module will give to the student key concepts about:

- Controlling the use of chemicals.

- Control of the illicit use

- Control of misuse of chemicals. Prior Inform Consent, PIC Regulation

- Promoting the safety uses of chemicals: Responsible Care and OPCW Convention.

- Implementing Product Stewardship in a company “Know your client”.

CHEMICAL SAFETY

This CU is composed of three modules:

(1) Chemical Reactivity Hazards

Recognize and manage reactive chemical hazards and show how uncontrolled chemical reactions in the industry or laboratory can lead to serious harm and introduces key concepts for avoiding unintended reactions.

(2) Chemical Process Safety

The module will start with an Introduction of the risk assessment of a chemical process. There will be a Review of the 4 thermodynamic principles, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics.

We will see in detail the following topics: Risk assessment of a raw material; literature approach, theoretical calculations, software and interaction matrix; Thermal safety: what does it mean? Heat balance, pressure and temperature trend, Semenov diagrams, reaction enthalpy

Risk assessment of a chemical process; adiabatic temperature rise, maximum temperature of the synthesis reaction and adiabatic induction time. Severity and probability assessment.

(3) Social Perception of the Chemical Risk: Societal risk perception of chemical risk: “psychometric paradigm”, cultural theory and social amplification theory; Social amplification and social attenuation of risk; Studies on consumers’ risk perception of products (food, cleaning and washing products, etc.); Biases, heuristics and public attitudes, informational versus affect-based approaches; “Chemophobia” and laypeople knowledge about toxicology: predictors and outcomes; Risk communication in industries and organizations; Health and safety communication in industries: pictograms and warnings

Readings/Bibliography

Slides will be available for students.

Teaching methods

The Course Unit is divided in three modules. Each module is organized in theoretical classes where main concepts are explained, as well as tutorial classes with discussion of case-study examples.

Assessment methods

Each module is assessed through a written assignment, or group assignment, or Individual report of a given problem related to the module content, or power point presentation of an assigned topic, including a report on literature research.

The Course Unit grade will be the arithmetic mean of grades from the three modules.

Office hours

See the website of Daniel Sainz Garcia

See the website of Luis Miguel De Amorim Ferreira Fernandes Nunes

See the website of Maria Eugenia Anta Espada