Historical evolution of process safety and major-accident hazards prevention in Spain. Contribution of the pioneer Joaquim Casal

• Published in: Journal of loss prevention in the process industries Vol. 28; pp. 109 - 117
• Main Authors: Planas, E., Arnaldos, J., Darbra, R.M., Muñoz, M., Pastor, E., Vílchez, J.A.
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 2014; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Accident prevention; Accidents; Chemical engineering; Enginyeria química; Fàbriques; Historical analysis; Legislation; Mercaderies perilloses; Mesures de seguretat; Occupational safety; Prevention; Process safety; Química del medi ambient; Risk; Risk assessment; Teaching; Transport; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; Spain; Risk; Process safety; Historical analysis; Legislation; Teaching
• ISSN: 0950-4230; 1873-3352
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jlp.2013.04.005

This paper aims at presenting the evolution of process safety in Spain from various points of view. In first place, a study of the accidents occurred in this country in the process industry and in the transportation of chemical substances is presented. After this, the starting point of the process safety research in Spain and its evolution during the years are explained. The importance of this topic has also been reflected in the chemical engineering studies in some Spanish universities. Therefore, the current status of the studies on process safety in Spain is analyzed in this paper. A section has also been devoted to the process safety in the Spanish industry. An analysis of the related legislation and its implementation in the Spanish process industry is also presented in this paper. Finally, the professional career of Prof. Joaquim Casal, the pioneer in Spain in process safety and risk assessment, is summarized. •We perform a historical analysis of accidents occurred in Spain.•We elucidate the origins of process safety research in Spain.•We revise the current status of process safety courses in the educational system.•We analyze the safety process legislation and its application to the Spanish industry.•We discover Joaquim Casal as the Spanish pioneer and we provide with its main contributions.