Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, Third Edition

Chapter 24 Health, Safety, and the Environment

One goal of chemical engineering is to produce goods and services that enhance the quality of life. Chemical engineers have been at the forefront of efforts to improve health (e.g., pharmaceuticals), safety (e.g., shatterproof polymer glasses), and the environment (e.g., catalytic converters). Moreover, throughout the product life cycle, chemical engineers are concerned with potential harm to the health and safety of people and damage to the environment. This chapter focuses on assessment of these potential dangers. Chapter 25 focuses on proactive strategies to avoid them.

Although many of the chemical processing industries regard improvements of health, safety, and the environment (HSE) as ...