What best describes inherently safer design?

Inherently safer design refers to an approach that emphasizes the identification and elimination of hazards at the source, rather than relying on protective measures or controls after the potential risks have been identified. This proactive strategy is foundational in chemical engineering and safety design, as it fundamentally seeks to make processes safer by minimizing or removing hazardous materials, reducing the potential for accidents, and lowering exposure to risks.

By concentrating on eliminating or reducing hazards in chemical processes, inherently safer design not only enhances safety but can also contribute to economic and operational efficiencies. This means that processes can be designed to use less hazardous chemicals or operate under safer conditions, which minimizes the likelihood of incidents occurring in the first place.

In contrast, methods that focus on maximizing hazards or post-design risk management do not prioritize safety at the design stage. Emergency response planning, while essential, comes into play after a hazard has been identified or an incident occurs, rather than preventing the hazard from being a risk to begin with. Thus, the focus of inherently safer design is about building safety into the very fabric of the process design itself.