After World War II, the chemical industry expanded rapidly, producing a new generation of plants bigger than before and operating at higher temperatures and pressures. The result was an increase in fires and explosions. In 1960 the North West branch of the Institution of Chemical Engineers held a symposium, one of the first of its kind anywhere in the world, on ways of controlling hazards. Following this successful conference similar events have been held every few years attracting international contributions and delegates.

The initial conferences were largely collections of research and other technical papers which attempted to understand the reasons behind the fires and explosions in the process industry, but as time has progressed more papers have been given on the preventative side of safety with topics such as inherently safer design, safety management systems, risk assessments and analyses, and the human behavioural aspects of safety in the process industry.

At the suggestion of the Safety and Loss Prevention Special Interest Group committee, papers more than three years old are being made available for free download.

Opinions presented in these papers are the presenters' own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Safety and Loss Prevention Special Interest Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.