An Interdisciplinary Approach for Investigating an Accident Originating from Leakage in a Gasketed Bolted Joint

Abstract

We investigate an accident originating from a leak of hydrochloric acid through a gasketed bolted joint of a measuring equipment operating in a Waste Water Treatment System (WWTS). In spite of the simplicity of the failed component and of the fact that the WWTS is not classified as safety critical, the investigation requires corroborating the traditional techniques of risk analysis such as FMECA, Bow-Tie, etc., with non-standard, interdisciplinary techniques such as structural reliability and task analysis. Moreover, the identification of safety barriers for risk reduction requires applying refined modeling approaches, such as atmospheric dispersion modeling and human reliability modeling.