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Tank Inspections based on Risk to the Environment <br />Abstract <br />Inspection of storage tanks based on the risk to the environment is important to both the owners <br />of tanks and regulators — although for different reasons. To the owner of tanks, reduced <br />inspections by the addition of safeguards which are extensive enough to reduce or simplify <br />expensive tank inspections makes good business sense. Regulators wish to minimize and <br />eliminate releases. The Steel Tank Institute Standard, SP001, "Inspection of Aboveground <br />Storage Tanks" includes a risk-based inspection schedule. Should not tanks that have these <br />safeguards and therefore are less likely to create a problem be inspected with a lower frequency <br />and intensity than tanks without them? This paper discusses how this inspection standard is <br />intended to be used by facility owners, regulators and professional engineers preparing SPCC <br />Plans. <br />Risk-based Inspections <br />By assessing equipment based on relative risk, an inspection program for any type of equipment <br />can optimize resources (time and money). Traditionally, RBI programs use a "risk ranking <br />matrix" that include the two essential elements of risk — likelihood and consequence. In our case, <br />likelihood relates to the uncertainty associated with a release. Consequence relates to the <br />possibility that an unwanted event can occur, i.e., groundwater contamination or spill to nearby <br />body of water; as well as the extent of the unwanted event. <br />As shown in the diagram below, equipment (such as a tank) is ranked based on the likelihood of <br />its failure along the x-axis and the consequence of the failure along the y-axis. <br />2 <br />