John F. Murphy

Beware of the black swan: The limitations of risk analysis for predicting the extreme impact of rare process safety incidents

This article will discuss the concept of the black swan, the extreme impact of rare and unpredictable events, as applied to chemical process risk assessment. Lessons learned from black swan events of the past and the applicability of these lessons to the design and operations of existing and new chemical processing facilities will be discussed. The limitations of layer of protection analysis (LOPA) and other risk analysis tools in predicting black swan events will be examined. The discussion on the limitations of risk analysis will include examples of hazards scenarios where risk analysis tools such as LOPA may not be appropriate.

Labeling of cancer cells with magnetic nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging

The process of invasion and metastasis formation of tumor cells can be studied by following the migration of labeled cells over prolonged time periods. This report investigates the applicability of iron oxide nanoparticles as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent for cell labeling.

An Unexpected Transient Breakdown of the Blood Brain Barrier Triggers Passage of Large Intravenously Administered Nanoparticles.

The highly restrictive blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a critically important role in maintaining brain homeostasis and is pivotal for proper neuronal function. The BBB is currently considered the main limiting factor restricting the passage of large (up to 200 nm) intravenously administered nanoparticles to the brain. Breakdown of the barrier occurs as a consequence of cerebrovascular diseases and traumatic brain injury. In this article, we report that remote injuries in the CNS are also associated with BBB dysfunction. In particular, we show that a focal partial transection of the optic nerve triggers a previously unknown transient opening of the mammalian BBB that occurs in the visual centres. Importantly, we demonstrate that this transient BBB breakdown results in a dramatic change in the biodistribution of intravenously administered large polymeric nanoparticles which were previously deemed as BBB-impermeable.

Black swans, white swans, and 50 shades of grey: Remembering the lessons learned from catastrophic process safety incidents

Last year at the 8th Global Congress for Process Safety, we presented a paper entitled, “Beware of the Black Swan: The Limitations of Risk Analysis for Predicting the Extreme Impact of Rare Process Safety Incidents.” The paper discussed the difficulties of predicting black swan events—rare but catastrophic occurrences which continue to happen in the chemical processing industries despite the focus that has been brought to process safety over the past 30–40 years. Once black swan events occur, after investigations and development of lessons learned, they become white swans. By white swans, we mean these type of events become more predictable and as we do hazard identification and risk analysis we become cognizant of the similar potential scenarios in new plants and plant modifications—at least for a while. This article discusses how white swans slowly become greyer as time goes on if the lessons learned from black swan events are not kept fresh. Examples of black swans that become white swans and then become grey as time goes on will be discussed. Ideas of how to keep the white swans from becoming grey with time, including the key role of Management, will also be discussed.

The black swan: LOPA and inherent safety cannot prevent all rare and catastrophic incidents

This article summarizes the appropriate use of layer of protection analysis and inherent safety to prevent low probability and high consequence accidents.

Initiating events and independent protection layers

Layer of protection analysis (LOPA) is a semiquantitative tool for analyzing and assessing process risk. The tool has grown greatly in popularity and usefulness since the publication of the first CCPS/AIChE guidebook on the subject, Layer of Protection Analysis, Simplified Process Risk Assessment (LOPA). This article is a summary of a new CCPS guideline book that includes the following: Initiating events (IEs). Independent protection layers (IPLs). Criteria for identifying the value of each prospective IE and prospective IPL. Example IE and IPL data.

What I learned as an investigator with the CSB—Effective investigations

After almost 30 years with the Dow Chemical Company and several years in process safety consulting, I had the privilege of working as an investigator with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). During my 5 years at the CSB, I led four major investigations and participated in a total of nine investigations. The investigations ranged from the Reactive Hazard Investigation, which analyzed major reactive chemical incidents in the U.S. over a 20‐year period, to individual incidents that occurred in small, medium, and large companies both inside and outside the chemical processing industries. From these investigations, I have learned about the nature of chemical plant incidents and also learned how to conduct an effective investigation. This article discusses the 10 keys to effective incident investigation with examples from the investigations that I participated in.

Enhancement of the Cell Specific Proton Relaxivities of Human Red Blood Cells via Loading With Gadoteric Acid

Human red blood cells were loaded with gadoteric acid by two different methods. The methods comprised either hypo-osmolar incubation or a hypo-osmolar pulse in the presence of gadoteric acid. The resulting enhancements in proton relaxivities of cell suspensions in 1.4 T were measured and the effect of incubation osmolarity on the resulting proton relaxivity was also studied. The osmotic pulse method was found to yield the greatest cell-specific relaxivity enhancements (71-fold for longitudinal relaxivity and 39-fold for transverse relaxivity). The spatial distribution of the gadolinium within the cells was studied using energy filtered transmission electron microscopy to generate gadolinium M-edge jump ratio images. All surviving cells exposed to gadoteric acid under hypo-osmolar conditions showed enhanced (relative to control cells) and generally uniform intensity within the cells in gadolinium jump ratio images suggesting all cells are susceptible to loading and that the loading is generally spatially uniform within each cell. There was some evidence for a small amount precipitation or aggregation of gadolinium within some cells prepared by the hypo-osmolar incubation method.

The CCPS Chemical Reactivity Evaluation Tool

Incidents involving uncontrolled chemical reactions continue to result in injuries, fatalities, and economic loss and harm in industry. These incidents are often the result of not identifying or understanding the chemical reactivity hazards involved in storage, mixing, or processing operations. The chemical reactivity evaluation tool (RMT) and the Help Guide that accompanies it can be used as an aid in identifying and evaluating chemical reactivity hazards so that they may be effectively avoided or controlled. This paper will describe the RMT and demonstrate its use in identifying reactivity hazards in chemical storage, handling, and processing operations. The RMT and Help Guide are available as a free download from AIChE (www.aiche.org) and search “RMR.”

Women in Process Safety

This article focuses on the careers of 16 women who are leaders in process safety. Through these interviews several common themes evolved. A key one is that this is a level playing ground, women or men have the same opportunities. Second, the entry into this expertise tended to happen after a significant event, and generally, after recognizing the importance of process safety postgraduation. Third, all these women are making important positive contributions to their companies, organizations, and society in general. We are fortunate to have such talented women select process safety as their career focus.