Building Siting Screening Criteria for Structural Failure Hazards to Occupants

Abstract

Evaluation of occupied buildings for accidental explosion hazards at petrochemical facilities is a vital part of a process safety program and is a key element of facility siting. In some cases, buildings may be screened out prior to performing structural blast evaluations due to minimal exposure to blast loading. Defining a minimum blast load in which a specific type of building may be screened without structural assessment is left to the owners or their engineering consultants. Determining when a structural assessment for blast hazards is necessary is a critical safety decision. Currently, API-752 does not include a blast load value that can be used for screening out building types without the requirement for structural assessment. Other publications provide pressure- based benchmarks for screening either for buildings in general or for specific types of buildings. This paper reviews industry guidance and makes recommendations for building blast-screening for consideration in the next revision of API-752.