Quantitative risk analysis for operational safety in research laboratories

This thesis examines operational safety in academic research laboratories, with a special emphasis on quantitative risk analysis (QRA) methods applied to a lab-scale Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis unit. Despite their limited scale, such facilities can pose substantial hazards due to high operating pressures, flammable gases, and elevated temperatures. By integrating event analysis, Probit modeling, and consequences calculations, the study characterizes the likelihood and severity of accidental releases, highlighting how small deviations in process parameters may rapidly escalate into critical scenarios. A broad theoretical framework introduces key accidents in academic and industrial pilot plants, underscoring the role of human, technical, and organizational factors in major incidents. Methodologies including HAZOP, LOPA, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Event Tree Analysis (ETA) are then presented to assess process deviations quantitatively. Results from the FT pilot plant reveal, for example, that under worst-case conditions (e.g., 180 bar release through a 6 mm orifice), maintaining safe concentrations would require ventilation flow rates exceeding 400 m³/s, an impractical measure that underscores the urgent need for robust prevention and containment systems. Conversely, lower-pressure releases (20 bar, 0.6 mm orifice) may be controlled with more achievable ventilation rates (approximately 1 m³/s), yet still demand vigilance to avoid toxic or flammable accumulations. The study highlights weaknesses in procedural discipline and operator training, frequently observed in research laboratories, as major contributors to incident escalation. Accordingly, practical recommendations emphasize structured SOPs, enhanced real-time monitoring, and fail-safe designs to reduce both accident frequency and severity. By illustrating how risk modeling can guide prevention strategies, this thesis provides a comprehensive approach to laboratory safety that balances experimental flexibility with rigorous process control, ultimately reinforcing a proactive safety culture within academic research environments.

In questo elaborato si svolge uno studio di approfondimento, ricerca e quantificazione della sicurezza all'interno dei laboratori. Inoltre con questa tesi si vuole cercare di valutare i diversi punti di criticità nei diversi laboratori ed evidenziare oltre a questi anche le lacune di nozioni rigiardo alla sicurezza. Inoltre, verrà preso in considerazione un caso specifico per quanto riguarda un impianto pilota. Per questo impianto specifico verrano creati alcuni fault tree analysis e event tree analysis per capire quali siano i diversi punti problematici che possono esserci ed in seguito anche intuire quali possono essere le possibili conseguenze di questi possibili incidenti che possono accadere