Borealis’ process safety goals for 2020 were to:
During 2020, Borealis’ key achievements in process safety were:
Borealis processes large quantities of flammable and/or toxic materials under high pressure and temperatures, which, if not handled properly, could lead to process safety incidents. In a worst-case scenario, leaks, fires or explosions could cause fatalities, both inside and outside Borealis, as well as major environmental impacts. In addition, this could lead to disruption of supply to customers and financial costs. It is therefore of the utmost importance for Borealis to invest in process safety and to properly design, maintain and operate its plants.
The Seveso directive is the main EU regulation dealing with the control of on-shore major accident hazards involving dangerous substances. In line with this directive, Borealis works closely with national authorities and emergency organisations to ensure the safe operation of its plants and maintain a high level of preparedness in case of incidents. The Group also actively supports industry-wide efforts to enhance process safety as a member of the European Process Safety Centre.
To reach Borealis’ objective of achieving zero accidents, the Group launched the Goal Zero programme in 2014. The programme covers both occupational health and safety and process safety, and is a key deliverable of the Group’s Sustainability Strategy. As Borealis employees are encouraged to see Goal Zero as a journey to be taken together, the programme helps establish a collective health and safety mindset.
The Group Process Safety department has developed a process safety management system that enhances risk identification and mitigation. The Group policies that are relevant to Process Safety are the Risk Management Policy and the Responsible Care® Policy. The Risk Management Policy defines Borealis’ risk management framework by providing principles, roles and responsibilities, guidelines for risk assessment, mitigation and reporting. The policy aims to ensure the implementation of sound risk management practices at all levels across the Group.
The Responsible Care Policy statement sets out the guiding principles for the Group-wide implementation of Responsible Care at Borealis. The Executive Vice President (EVP) Base Chemicals and Operations chairs the Group-level Process Safety Committee. The Committee’s members are directors and departmental leaders from all of the relevant operational streams: Group Health, Safety, Environment & Quality, Manufacturing Excellence, Operations Polyolefins and Operations Hydrocarbons, and Project & Expert Support. Each production location also has its own Process Safety Sub-Committee, chaired by a nominee appointed by local management. Its members come from different areas within the location to ensure cross-learning and a link to Group developments.
The Process Safety Committee and Sub-Committees meet regularly to oversee Borealis’ process safety performance and programme, steer the Group’s process safety Goal Zero roadmap, review progress and provide guidance on priorities, key activities and performance measures. Priorities are identified based on reoccurring or severe incidents, leading to a programme being launched to improve performance by multifunctional teams. These teams determine best practice and roll it out in the locations, with support and supervision from Group Process Safety. Group Process Safety also takes an active role in resolving challenges for Borealis’ large growth projects by providing its expertise in an early stage study.
Borealis works with other organisations to help improve process safety standards. Borealis’ joint venture Borouge has its own process safety network and Borealis is sharing best practice in three areas: learning from incidents across borders, defining the minimum process safety design requirements for new plants, and setting minimum competence levels and education programmes related to process safety.
The Group is an active member of the European Process Safety Centre and shares lessons from incidents and supports process safety developments. The Group also takes part in a number of forums related to process safety, such as the High Pressure Safety Conference, Fertilizer Europe, the European Ethylene Producers Conference and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) Plant & Process Safety Network. In addition, the Group exchanges information with other companies to assess the best technical solutions for preventing and mitigating the escalation of major scenarios.
Borealis undertook a wide range of activities during 2020 which were designed to further improve its process safety. In particular:
Both higher severity accidents in Borealis’ locations at Stenungsund and Linz (Austria) were thoroughly investigated and lessons have been created to prevent re-occurrence and to share between different units. Borealis implemented a task force to review all existing processes and the minimum requirements related to production, storage and downstream manipulation steps for ammonium nitrate. The task force continues to work on enhancing the interfaces, for example, with the existing procedures for fertilizer warehouse HSE requirements.
Borealis’ insurance brokers conducted five major insurance surveys and three follow-up surveys during the year (due to COVID-19, three of the major surveys were conducted as physical surveys). All of these audits reassured the Group’s insurance brokers that the Group has a well-managed process to prevent and limit the impact of incidents.
Borealis uses a Loss of Primary Containment Pyramid tool (Figure Borealis’ Loss of Primary Containment Pyramid) to support the monitoring of incidents, ensure they are investigated and that actions are completed in time to prevent reoccurrence.
The pyramid includes the performance of the safety critical processes designed to prevent accidents. This performance is measured using indicators such as the status of safety critical inspections, the testing of critical interlocks and the closure of actions. The leading indicators are followed up annually through a “deep dive” into overall performance and review by the Process Safety Committee. As well as using its own process safety incident rating tool, Borealis also tracks process safety incidents according to European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) standards.
High-severity accidents would include, for example, a large fire or explosion resulting in injuries or fatalities, and significant business loss and impact on the environment.
Medium-severity accidents are those resulting in a loss of containment, with medium consequences for people, planet and profit. A medium-severity accident would normally result in limited possible injuries, easy-to repair damage and a controllable environmental impact.
Low-severity accidents are those where substances are released but which result in a very low to zero impact. In 2020, the Group’s target was to have no high-severity accidents and a maximum of 13 medium-severity accidents, including fires.
In 2020, 1 high-severity accident was reported. 11 medium-severity accidents and 764 low-severity process safety accidents were reported, along with 993 process safety near misses, of which 11 were high potential. As general process safety awareness increases due to Borealis’ educational initiatives and campaigns, more low-severity accidents are being reported. The process safety response rate measures the number of actions closed against the number due to be closed on a 12-month rolling basis. In 2020, the response rate was 92.7% (2019: 92.9%). A total of 1,556 actions were implemented in response to high-, medium- and low-severity accidents.
Borealis had a high severity process safety incident on 9 May 2020 when a fire occurred at the Group’s cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden. No one was injured during the incident and the fire caused damage to a limited part of the site.
There were no violations of the Group’s environmental permits. Borealis has taken all necessary actions to prevent reoccurrence and has conducted a thorough investigation with both internal and external experts to identify the root cause of the incident in close cooperation with the authorities. Preventive actions have been taken before the plant start-up and additional medium to long term improvements are also being planned.
During 2021, Group Process Safety will focus on the following areas:
