(101a) When the House Was a Rockin', Process Safety Came a Knockin'

On June 13, 2013 a catastrophic fire and explosion occurred when a reboiler ruptured at the Williams Olefins Plant located in Geismar, Louisiana. At the time of the incident, the authors were at a neighboring facility leading a risk assessment focused on identifying and managing various business loss scenarios due to internal events and external supply disruptions. As the incident unfolded, the site and community emergency alarm system activated and a mandatory shelter-in-place was initiated by the site emergency response team. This unfortunate incident had minimal impact on our site but resulted in two fatalities, 167 reported personnel injuries, an 18 month plant shutdown, fines, and settlements with injured parties. For the authors, process safety “came knockin” in years prior through responsibility and oversight of high hazard processes, innovation in the development of inherently safer processes, and informal mentorship of young engineers. We intend to share some of our personal experiences, as well as our professional perspectives on how the future of process safety requires more interdisciplinary collaboration to solve complex problems and enhanced business acumen to create and sustain value.