Looking Beyond ALARP

The concept of ALARP (that risks should be As Low As Reasonably Practicable) is unique amongst the World's legislations and has served us well. However, in striving to make specific industrial risks ALARP we sometimes increase other risks. For example, after the Flixborough explosion the manufacturing process was replaced by a less hazardous one, using a raw material manufactured elsewhere by an equally hazardous process. Similarly, when extra equipment was proposed to decrease the amount of benzene vapour discharged to plant environments it was alleged that, on average, we could expect more people to be killed constructing the new equipment than would ever be saved by the reduction in the concentration of benzene vapour. Other examples are described. ALARP has served us well for many years but the time has come to move on and supplement it by considering also whether or not there is a not increase or decrease in safety.