Within the Context of Seveso II, Importance of Risk-Based Inspection in Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry Özlem ÖZKILIÇ M.Sc., Chemical Engineer

1. Within the Context of Seveso II, Importance of Risk-Based Inspection in
Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry
(XIX World Congress on Safety and Health at Work)
Özlem ÖZKILIÇ
M.Sc., Chemical Engineer
Ministry of Labor and Social Security -Labor Inspector
ASQ- Reliability Expert
Senior Non-Key Expert - EuropeAid Turkey Project -Technical Assistance on Increasing
the Implementation Capacity of the Seveso II Directive Tranning (EuropeAid130724/D
/SER/TR)
After the serious industrial accident happened in Seveso, Italy in 1976, a Directive (82/501/EEC)
has been agreed regarding the accident prevention in industrial installations. Afterwards, two
accidents which happened in Bhopal, India in 1984 and Basel, Switzerland in 1986 have resulted
in the amendment of this directive.
A revised and reviewed Directive on the control of major-accident hazards involving hazardous
substances - 96/82/EC was accepted in 1996 and replaced the Directive 82/501/EEC. Finally,
Directive 2003/105/EC dated 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC on the
control of major-accident hazards involving hazardous substances has been published. The
Seveso Directive has brought about various control obligations concerning the prevention of
major industrial accidents involving hazardous substances. The plants within scope of the Seveso
Directive are obliged to prepare safety reports and emergency action plans.
As it is known, on the issues of prevention of the large industrial accidents arising from industrial
activities, preparedness against the accidents, intervention in case of the accidents occurring and
integrating European Union Council Directive 96/82/EC (Seveso II Directive) with regard to
control of the major accident risk comprising hazardous chemical substance into the legislation in
Turkey, Harmonization Project of the Seveso II Directive was realized by Ministry of
Environment and Forestry of Republic of Turkey. The Regulation on the Control of Major

2. Industrial Accidents was completed and published in the Official Gazette dated August 18, 2010
and No. 27676
Seveso Directive requires the preparation of a Major Accident Prevention Policy. This policy
should demonstrate that all the necessary measures have been taken to prevent major accidents
and limit their consequences to persons and the environment. It recognizes that risk cannot
always be completely eliminated, but there is a inversely proportional relationship between the
risk and the measures taken to control the risk.
Preventing the loss of containment system of hazardous substances is often key to avoid major
accidents. It is therefore necessary to take appropriate measures to achieve adequately continuous
integrity of containment equipment (vessels, tanks, pipework etc.). A suitable scheme of in-
service examination can therefore be an important part of the necessary measures to avoid major
accidents, but is not an explicit requirement of the Seveso regulations.
The Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry is facing tough challenges regarding risk mitigation to
improve safety and reliability on the one hand cost pressure about the risk mitigation measures on
the other hand. However, in most cases the highest risk is mostly associated with a small
percentage of plant items. These potential high-risk components require a greater degree of
attention than others. Knowing which areas to prioritize becomes paramount. Therefore it is
essential to balance inspection costs and risk through the use of an appropriate technology for
inspection and maintenance planning. One of the best methodologies for providing an effective
inspection and maintenance program is Risk Based Inspection (RBI).
Effective implementation of a Risk Based Inspection program extends the operating life of
equipment and piping, safely and cost effectively. RBI is accepted as good engineering
practice for the implementation of inspection and maintenance programs and has its roots in
Process Safety Management and Mechanical Integrity programs. The objective, principals
and practices of Risk Based Inspection are demonstrated and explained.
What is Risk-Based Inspection Why It is Necessary?
The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH or Seveso II) cover the control of
major accident hazards at installations as a whole. Such installations may include atmospheric
storage tanks, process pipework and other equipment containing flammable or toxic and other
hazardous materials.
Risk-based inspection refers to the application of risk analysis principles to manage inspection
programs for plant equipment. RBI has been used in the nuclear power generation industry for
some time and is also employed in refineries and petrochemical plant. The ultimate goal of RBI is
to develop a cost-effective inspection and maintenance program that provides assurance of
acceptable mechanical integrity and reliability.
Causes Of Failure
Any unintentional release of stored energy and/or hazardous contents from a pressure system or
containment constitutes a failure. Failure usually involves a breach in the containment boundary
and a release of contents into the environment. In extreme cases, stored energy may be released

3. as a high pressure jet, missiles, structural collapse or pipe whip and contents may be flammable
and/or toxic.
Root causes of failure of pressure systems, tanks and other containers include:
• Inadequate design and/or material for the loading and operating environment.
• Incorrect and/or defective manufacture.
• Unanticipated in-service deterioration such as corrosion or fatigue cracking.
• System errors in operation or maintenance or over-pressure protection.
• Malfunction of instrumentation, control systems or feed and utility supplies.
• Human factors including deliberate damage.
• External events such as fire, impacts or storms.
Risk Assessment
There are many techniques available for Duty Holders to use to identify accident scenarios. They
differ in the degree of detail to which events leading up to and after the failure are identified and
quantified within a logical structure. The following lists the main specialist techniques that may
be used:
 Hazards and Operability Study (HAZOP)
 Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
 Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
 Event Tree Analysis (ETA)
 Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)
API Publication 581, a base resource document for Risk Based Inspection is an industry specific
document designed to be applied to the petroleum and chemical process areas. According to the
API 581, it recognizes that a RBI program aims to:
 Define and measure the level of risk associated with an item.
 Evaluate safety, environmental and business interruption risks.
 Reduce risk of failure by the effective use of inspection resources.
According to the API 581,the probability of failure is the mean frequency or rate with which the
specified failure event would be expected to occur in a given period of time, normally one year.
The qualitative approach assesses each plant item with a position in a 5 x 5 risk matrix. The
likelihood of failure is determined from the sum of six weighted factors:
1. Amount of equipment within item.
2. Damage mechanism.
3. Usefulness of inspection.
4. Current equipment condition.
5. Nature of process.
6. Safety design and mechanisms.
The consequence of failure is divided into only two factors:

4. a) Fire/Explosion.
b) Toxicity.
The general approach of the quantitative analysis is to first establish details on the process, the
equipment and other pertinent information. Risk is then calculated as the product of each
consequence and likelihood for each damage scenario, the total risk for an item being the sum of
all the scenario risks:
According to the API 581, the risk of failure combines the probability of failure with a measure
of the consequences of that failure. If these are evaluated numerically, then the risk is defined as
the product of the probability of failure rate and the measured consequence.
RiskITEM = Σ RiskS
Process of Risk Based Inspection
Many refining and petrochemical plants struggle with a mountain of process safety and
engineering information. This critical information is often scattered in file rooms, drawers or
legacy applications. Compounding the problem are multiple versions of the same information
housed in maintenance, engineering, safety, operations and other functional areas. What’s more,
the information is often recreated and revalidated over and over again by different disciplines
with different needs.
During the RBI process, engineers design inspection strategies (what, when, how to inspect) that
most efficiently match forecasted or observed degradation mechanisms.
Risk Based Inspection (RBI) schemes are a planning tool used to develop the optimum plan for
the execution of inspection activities. RBI uses the findings from a formal risk analysis, such as a
Corrosion Risk Assessment, to guide the direction and emphasis of the inspection planning and
the physical inspection procedures. A risk based approach to inspection planning is used to:
• Ensure risk is reduced to as low as reasonably practicable
• Optimize the inspection schedule
• Focus inspection effort onto the most critical areas
• Identify and use the most appropriate methods of inspection
RBI provides a logical, documented, repeatable methodology for determining the optimum
combination of inspection frequencies and inspection scopes. RBI objective is to ensure focus of
inspection to areas with high risk, while inspection in areas with low risk will be reduced or
excluded from the normal inspection program and therefore result in significant inspection and
maintenance cost reduction.
CONCLUSION
The concept of risk analysis has been around for a long time and Risk Based Inspection (RBI)
programs have generated considerable interest in industry. Risk-Based Inspection is a process
that identifies, assesses and maps industrial risks (due to corrosion and stress cracking), which

5. can compromise equipment integrity in both pressurized equipment and structural elements. RBI
addresses risks that can be controlled through proper inspections and analysis.
The consequence of failure through the unintentional release of stored energy and hazardous
material is the potential for harm. Duty Holders have a responsibility to assess the potential harm
to the Health and Safety of employees and/or the public, and to the environment from pollution
and other damage. They may also legitimately consider the consequences of failure on their
business, such as the costs of lost production, repair and replacement of equipment and the
damage to of the company reputation.
The inspection program is being developed to reduce that risk. To do this we need to know the
following issues;
 What type of damage to look for?
 Where to look for damage.
 How to look for damage.
 When to look for damage.
An integrated integrity management strategy will contain measures that address and mitigate the
possibility of root causes of failure. Design reviews, manufacturing quality assurance, operating
training, and systems analyses are examples of such measures. In-service inspection is a backstop
to prevent failure when a root cause has led to deterioration from the design intent or the as
manufactured condition.
Although RBI is quite a new concept and not known very well in our country, for the
reasons outlined previously, it should be paid attention and its widely acceptance should be
promoted.
REFERENCES
1. API Publication 581 – Risk Based inspection, Base Resource Document – 1st edition
2000.
2. API Publication 580 – Recommended Practice for Risk Based inspection– 1st edition
2002.
3. HSE, Best Practice for Risk Based Inspection as a part of Plant Integrity
Management, Contract Research Report 363/2001
4. Ramesh J. P., Risk Based Inspection, Middle East Nondestructive Testing Conference
& Exhibition - 27-30 Nov 2005 Bahrain, Manama