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The manufacturing industry is challenged everyday by hazards which could lead to devastating consequences. Specifically, the pharmaceutical industry is under the spotlight in term of hazard assessment due to the nature of work involved, materials handled and quality of products. In order to address the workplace safety of the pharmaceutical industry, an analysis on previous accidents was done in this paper to serve as benchmarks and potential learning lessons to avoid future recurrences. The purpose of this study is not only to analyze the accidents which shook the industry but also to find the underlying root causes which are often disregarded by process hazard analysis techniques or by investigation reports. To address these concepts, a broad literature review was conducted on all hazard types which could be manifested in the pharmaceutical industry, along with the listing of widely renown events which occurred across several locations and timelines. My research continues by addressing the main causes as reported by global agencies and databases responsible for workplace safety such as OSHA, eMARS, Fiercepharma and so on. The analysis part began when I raised the purpose of the root cause analysis as a powerful technique to list all possible causes of an accident especially when combined with the Ishikawa Diagram which I also generated for each of the 3 accidents presented. Statistically, the leading cause of workplace accidents is the lack of hazard awareness by employees based on the reports available in the OSHA database in the range of 2002 to 2022. Based on my further analysis, even though the reported causes of certain explosions were reported as dust accumulation, leaks or overheating, underlying causes can be directed towards human behaviors resulting from the lack of hazard training and routine inspections. The final part is a brief introduction to the revolutionary concepts of Industry 4.0, Maintenance 4.0 and Pharma 4.0 where I explained the use of Digital Twins in the chemical industry and the possibility of integrating this concept in the pharmaceutical manufacturing. The purpose is not only to predict the exact maintenance period of equipment which result in optimized process but also the safety of employees due to the simulation of chemical reactions by varying chemicals, process parameters and conditions. Further research can address the lack of reporting on pharmaceutical manufacturing accidents and a feasibility study and framework on the applicability of digital twins in the pharmaceutical sector to reduce the frequency of accidents by increasing human awareness of hazards through simulations and predictive maintenance.

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At European level, fire safety legislation falls entirely within the competence of the Member States (MS), unlike the Construction Products Regulation and the harmonised Eurocodes. The consequence of this European approach has led to the development of different perspectives regarding fire safety legislation that are being used by the MS. On the other hand, fire safety legislation in each MS is being composed in a different way. Besides national regulations, fire safety legislation may be shaped on other levels as well such as on regional level, by the mayor on municipal level or by the fire department. Due to the shared objective of obtaining an adequate level of safety in all MS, and given that serious fire accidents have occurred in the recent past, the decentralised approach to fire safety has been criticised. In terms of the fire safety of buildings, one can say that the EU does not provide a comprehensive approach. The lack of a framework to address fire safety legislation in a harmonised manner is recognised, as well as the need to do so equally in all Member States. Secondly, a growing need for harmonious cooperation between MS, and the joint resolution of fire safety problems in buildings is tangible. This raises the question as to whether or not there is an overlap of fire safety legislation between the various MS and how the differences and similarities are reflected. In this research, an attempt is made to shed light on these unanswered questions. A comparative study between Belgium, The Netherlands and France will reveal the similarities and differences between these countries with the aim of encouraging the harmonisation of fire safety legislation of buildings on European level. The emphasis of the aspects examined is placed on the passive fire protection requirements with specific attention to compartmentation, evacuation and building elements such as structural elements, walls, (interior) doors, ceilings and facades. Increased risk profiles will not be included in this research. Specifically, this concerns schools, hospitals, industries, and underground car parks. On the basis of an analysis of the national legislation of these three countries, a comprehensive table was established for each country containing all passive fire protection requirements of buildings. Subsequently, an overall table was drawn up covering all three countries. The results show that there are large differences in the harmonisation of national fire safety legislation, that each country has a different classification, that the fire resistance values (REI values) are not uniquely used in countries and that differences exist between a comparative table across the three countries. The overall table shows that the emphasis is different across countries on certain aspects. Finally, the recommendations give a direction as to how harmonisation of fire safety legislation in Europe can be promoted. Remarkably, the shortcomings of the prescriptive approach, such as the over-regulation of some aspects, and the complicated explanations of some articles, become apparent here as well.

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Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are containers that can store large amounts of energy and are of paramount importance for the industry, with major applications in the transportation, telecommunication and grid energy storage fields. However, recent accident examples indicate the risk associated with the high energy density of BESS, such as the fire at the power plant of Drogenbos (Belgium) in 2017. Failure of BESS can be caused by thermal runaway, which is the release of a significant amount of heat, and can lead to a fire or even an explosion, under certain conditions. The conditions that exist during a battery explosion can be simplified and represented in a first stage as a hydrogen explosion in an enclosed space containing obstacles. In this master thesis, a CFD simulation for this case is conducted using the OpenFOAM software. During the computational simulation, all the elements of the problem formulation are interlinked forming a network of parameters and models that have to be selected and defined appropriately to guarantee the accuracy of the results. The process involves thermophysical properties and modelling of turbulence and combustion which are the first parameters to be specified. Regarding the numerical part, discretization and numerical methods together with a grid dependency study are examined. The investigated explosion characteristics are the temperature, the pressure and the flame velocities. Moreover, a comparison of turbulence models is conducted, namely k-ε, k-ω and k-ω SSTLM models. The interpretation of the results is based on validation procedures which include comparison with literature studies and values obtained from three ignition points in the domain. The results are proved to be stable with varying initial turbulent values and numerical methods, whereas they are sensitive when laminar flame models and ignition parameters change. The simulation reveals convergence problems with small variations in the thermophysical values of verb|janaf| equation and the numerical parameters, as the timestep. The fields of the temperature and laminar flame velocity resulted overestimated in reference to literature studies, but two out of three ignition points showed consistent numerical values. The turbulent flame front followed the same pattern for the different ignition points and the maximum values were in the suggested bibliographic interval. As for the generated overpressure, three mixtures with different equivalence ratio were investigated and presented similar profiles with values close to the reference ones. Finally, the comparison of the turbulence models showed that k-ε and k-ω SSTLM converge for the temperature, the pressure and the laminar flame velocity, while k-ω model exhibits higher values. As a conclusive statement, the OpenFOAM software is a promising tool with elevated accuracy and large applicability, however the learning curve is steep due to the limited documentation.

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Het welzijn van werknemers tijdens het uitvoeren van hun werk is een belangrijk aspect in elke onderneming. Toch gebeuren er op de werkplaats nog steeds veel arbeidsongevallen. Het aantal arbeidsongevallen waarbij elektriciteit aan de basis ligt, is over de jaren heen zelfs toegenomen. Om deze stijgende trend een halt toe te roepen, is de verplichting tot het uitvoeren van een risicoanalyse op elke elektrische installatie in het leven geroepen. Ondanks de regelgeving omtrent elektrische installaties en veiligheid zijn er nog steeds onduidelijkheden en gevaren verbonden aan elektrische installaties die zouden vermeden kunnen worden. In dit werk worden de verschillende interpretaties van de regelgeving rond elektrische installaties en risicoanalyses onderzocht. Dit onderzoek gebeurt aan de hand van een analyse van verscheidene risicoanalyses. Deze bestudeerde risicoanalyses zijn uitgevoerd door verschillende organisaties en personen met elk een eigen systematiek. Deze analyse geeft de sterke en zwakke punten van alle bestudeerde risicoanalyses weer, als ook de knelpunten van de bestaande risicoanalyses. Uit de analyse kunnen verplichtingen en aandachtspunten opgesteld worden, die kunnen bijdragen tot het opstellen van een kwaliteitsvolle risicoanalyse voor elektrische installaties.

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The European Working Conditions Survey of 2017 reports an increasing trend of occupational exposure to hazardous substances. This includes a 3% increase in handling or being in skin contact with hazardous chemicals. Academic researchers describe chemical research laboratories as dynamic and high risk indoor spaces in which large amounts of hazardous matter is consumed. Organic solvents are the traditional medium in which organic synthesis is practiced. Estimates show that over 80% of the organic waste in synthetic chemistry is attributed to the use of organic solvents and most synthetic chemistry researchers are exposed to those solvents on a daily basis. Systemic health effects associated with exposures to carbon based solvents are of high concern. The Belgian codex on well-being at work requires the performance of chemical exposure assessments to assess the acceptability of risks associated with occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals. In academic research laboratories, qualitative risk assessments are typically performed to minimize risks. As organic synthesis laboratories handle large amounts of organic solvents, one may question the suitability of qualitative risk analyses in the context of chemical exposure. The European Chemicals Agency suggests a tiered approach to quantitatively predict exposure concentrations for different exposure routes. In this master thesis, an exposure measurement survey is performed to examine if the currently applied qualitative risk assessment approach is suitable to ensure acceptable exposures to organic solvents in an academic research laboratory setting. Both dermal and inhalation exposure routes are considered. Moreover, the applicability of chemical exposure assessment tools suggested by ECHA is evaluated. The predictive quality of the tools is examined by comparing the tool estimates with the measured concentrations. Analysis of volatile organic compounds showed that researchers of the organic synthesis laboratory under study are in particular exposed to 2-methylpentane, ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate, ethyl ether, methylene chloride and toluene. Highest inhalation and dermal exposure concentrations are measured for acetone. All daily inhalation exposures are acceptable and the individual substance exposure concentrations are in compliance with their associated regulatory occupational exposure limits according to the statistical test described in the NBN EN 689 standard. In relation to dermal exposure, One-way ANOVA shows that the middle finger and thumb of the right hand are significantly higher exposed to ethanol and the middle finger of the left hand is significantly higher exposed to acetone compared to the concentrations measured on the neck, arm and wrist. Inhalation and dermal exposure estimates are derived for acetone, ethyl ether and methylene chloride. Overall, the exposure estimates are less conservative. However, based on the measured concentrations, ART allows for a Bayesian update of the estimates. In addition, 8-hour TWA estimates of ART can consider up to four different exposure scenarios. This way, the tool can take into account the dynamic nature of the academic research environment. As a result, ART is suggested to complement the qualitative risk assessment approach of the organic synthesis laboratory.