HazOp study in a wastewater treatment unit

This paper presents a case study that applies a Hazard and Operability Study (HazOp) into a part of an industrial wastewater treatment plant under construction. The aim of this study is to identify hazardous situations and operational risks before the occurrence of these scenarios, prior to the plant start-up. HazOp is a structured and systematic qualitative examination of a process plant operation, based on guidewords and nodes, that identifies and assess hazardous and risks. Two risk scenarios were identified and analysed by HazOp methodology, resulting in technical recommendations for the management of these risks. These recommendations target safety in plant operations and, since they are suggested prior to the beginning of plant operation, its implementation demands few resources and presents high cost-effectiveness.