Monday, April 2, 2012

CSB Applauds AIChE Action on Reactive Hazard Awareness


CSB Chair Moure-Eraso and board
member John Bresland applaud
AIChE at 2012 spring meeting
Today at the 2012 AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety, U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chair Rafael Moure-Eraso commended American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) for exceeding CSB’s recommended action that resulted from the board’s 2009 investigation of a fatal reactive chemical explosion at T2 Laboratories in Jacksonville, FL.

CSB recommended that AIChE work with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology to include reactive hazard awareness in college chemical engineering curriculum. AIChE proposed changes to require proficiency in not just reactive chemical hazards but in all chemical process hazards among a broad range of engineering disciplines.

"The status of the recommendation reflects AIChE’s outstanding response that surpassed the objectives envisioned by the Chemical Safety Board,” says Moure-Eraso. “If future chemical engineers are given the proper educational tools, they will be able to more fully comprehend and better manage the hazards in a chemical manufacturing process.”