(57al) What API RP 752 Does Not Tell You – but People Will Ask

John B. Cornwell and Benjamin R. Ishii

Quest Consultants Inc.^®

908 26^th Avenue NW, Norman, Oklahoma 73069, USA

www.questconsult.com

jbc@questconsult.com, bri@questconsult.com

ABSTRACT

Over the past several years, Quest Consultants Inc. has conducted building siting studies per API RP 752 for a range of facilities in the United States and abroad. This paper summarizes several of the issues encountered when applying the guidance provided by API RP 752.

While the API recommended practices may not address the full range of hazards a building occupant could experience, other codes such as 29 CFR 1910 do require their evaluation under the “general duty clause” and the Process Safety Management (PSM) program.

What will be outlined in this paper are the “holes” in the API RP 752 guidance as well as possible approaches to address these missing elements. Questions that are simple to ask (e.g., What happens to your siting study if a new facility moves in just past your fence line?) may be difficult or impossible to answer. However, if an impact is realized, do you have to move your building due to your new neighbor’s operation? This is only one example of a host of scenarios that will be addressed in this paper.

KEYWORDS

Building siting, API RP 752