Inherent Safety

Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has a new safety video that examines the concept of inherent safety and its application across industry: “Inherently Safer: The Future of Risk Reduction” stems from an explosion in 2008 that killed two workers and injured eight others at the Bayer CropScience chemical plant in Institute, WV. The video is available to stream or download on and may be viewed on the CSB’s YouTube channel,

In the video, CSB Chair Rafael Moure-Eraso discusses the findings from CSB’s investigation and the catastrophic consequences that the explosion could have had on the surrounding community. The video discusses the four main components of inherently safer design:

1. Substitute: Replace one material with another that is less hazardous.
2. Minimize: Reduce the amount of hazardous material in the process.
3. Moderate. Use less hazardous process conditions such as lower pressures or temperatures.
4. Simplify. Design processes to be less complicated, and therefore less prone to failure.

As Moure-Eraso says near the end of the video, “The principles of inherently safer processing can be an effective way for chemical companies to eliminate or reduce hazards, prevent accidents and protect nearby communities."