Which of the following is NOT an example of inherently safer design?

Inherently safer design focuses on strategies that reduce or eliminate hazards at the source rather than merely managing them through control measures or safeguards. The aim is to enhance safety by making changes to processes or materials that lead to a significant reduction in risks.

Using mitigative safeguards involves implementing additional systems or measures to manage risks associated with hazardous processes. While these safeguards are important for safety, they don't fundamentally change the nature of the hazard. Instead, they focus on controlling or containing hazards after they have occurred, which is contrary to the principles of inherently safer design that seeks to minimize or eliminate hazards from the outset.

In contrast, the other options—substituting a less hazardous material, eliminating a process step, and using smaller quantities of hazardous substances—are all direct strategies to reduce risk at the source. These approaches exemplify principles of inherently safer design by either removing hazards or reducing the amount of hazardous material involved in a process, leading to a safer overall system.