Converting Shelter-in-Place Locations to Zero Vulnerability Safe Havens

While it is not uncommon to find shelter-in-place or safe haven locations designated across chemical facilities, what varies is the level of protection offered at these sites. Functionality can range from merely a muster point (shelter-in-place) to a positively pressurized room (safe haven). Either way, when determining the room’s acceptable performance criteria, the industry generally applies ERPG-3¹ or a vulnerability factor. An acceptable vulnerability factor is often deemed the probability of a fatality being less than one percent.
In 2017, MineARC Systems and High Performance Building Solutions (HPBS) began working with a leading energy company to convert five shelter-in-place spaces to safe havens, which included additional life support systems that would ensure zero percent vulnerability. The objective of this paper is to examine the process to harden the space against contaminated air intrusion and what critical life support systems are essential for converting a shelter-in-place location to a safe haven.