It is wise to include this consideration in the planning stages of your
project. The answer to your question, however, is a complex issue that will
force you to evaluate the risk tolerances of the community. The processes in
use at the refinery will have a role to play as well. For instance, a crude
oil tank in someone's backyard is one thing, but a HF alkylation unit is
quite another. 

An RMP would identify the explosion endpoints for the operation's storage
units and this would definitely help the decision making. This can be an
expensive proposition for something you are not required to do, however. 

For discussion purposes I'll throw out the following:
Any refinery being built today by a major oil company would be rated at
500,000 barrels a day. This typically requires significant crude oil storage
of say 15 million barrels. The plant would also require several side-by-side
cracking and alkylation units, cokers, desulfurization plants, desalters,
etc, along with expansive propane and butane storage. 

If one has the real estate to separate these units to prevent a single
catastrophe from involving the next unit, a person might get by with a one
mile buffer between the facility and the nearest priority residence such as
schools, nursing homes, high occupancy offices, apartments, etc. 

I've seen single family residences built right up to the fence, but I don't
recommend it. Besides the threat to the public there's the threat from the
public in terms of tampering and theft. This sort of a buffer distance is
negotiable and perhaps would start at a quarter-mile.

This is far from a thorough elaboration on all the concerns but perhaps will
get the discussion started.

Cheers

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: SAFETY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of lethanh khuong
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 9:40 PM
To: <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0709A%26L%3DSAFETY%26E%3D7bit%26P%3D207651%26B%3D--%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3DUS-ASCII" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a>
Subject: [SAFETY] Safety Zone for an oil Refinery!

Dear Sirs and Madams,
   
  I have been involving the construction works of a Refinery Project in Viet
nam as a safety officer. I have to set up  a Safety Zone around the Refinery
in order to prevent and protect any damages and loss caused by residents or
other outside activities. Particularly, I need to give the figure for local
authorities to provide us the land area surrounding Refinery for the minimum
distance from our Refinery fence to the living residents and Buildings and
others...
   
  So, in term of safety for the Zone around a Refinery. Do you have any
experience to help me or have any standards or regulations metioned about
it. Please kindly share your idea with me!
   
  It's so urgent to me, I'm looking for all your earliest responses!
   
  Thank you very much!
   
  Best Regard,
   
   
   
  Khuong Le Thanh
  HSE Engineer - Dzung Quat Refinery Project
   
  Quang Ngai City - Vietnam
   
  Email: <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0709A%26L%3DSAFETY%26E%3D7bit%26P%3D207651%26B%3D--%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3DUS-ASCII" target="_parent" >[log in to unmask]</a> 
   
   
  
 

       
---------------------------------
Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect.  Join Yahoo!'s user panel
and lay it on us.