Chapter 8: The Design of Safe Chemical Reactions: It's No Accident

The requirement for a systematic approach to chemical reaction hazards that is aligned with the process development lifecycle for the pharmaceutical industry is described in this chapter. The discussion includes an overview of what are the major chemical reaction hazards in pharmaceutical chemical development and how they can be identified, assessed and controlled using techniques ranging from simple desktop methods to specialist items of equipment. The main purpose of this chapter is to outline the basic principles involved in reaction hazard assessment for non-specialists in this area, thus giving everyone involved in chemical development activities an overview of this important topic.