GCRI · Biotechnology and Biosecurity

Process and industrial safety engineering for biotechnology and biosecurity

How process and industrial safety engineering is applied in Biotechnology and Biosecurity. Process and industrial safety engineering prevents and mitigates fires, explosions and toxic releases in industrial facilities. It addresses hazards that can affect workers, surrounding communities and connected supply chains.

01Register

Process and industrial safety engineering for biotechnology and biosecurity on the record.

Method recordSTEM method
  1. MethodProcess and industrial safety engineering
  2. Applied inBiotechnology and Biosecurity
  3. Canonical pageSTEM Commons
02Application

What process and industrial safety engineering does here.

Process and industrial safety engineering prevents and mitigates fires, explosions and toxic releases in industrial facilities. It addresses hazards that can affect workers, surrounding communities and connected supply chains. In health and biosecurity and food and agriculture, process safety analysis shows how industrial failures affect health, environment and supply of essential goods. It informs land use planning around hazardous sites. The canonical description is on the STEM Commons.

  1. 01

    Methods used here

    hazard and operability studies; layer of protection analysis; consequence modelling; quantitative risk assessment; safety instrumented system design; management of change.

  2. 02

    Validation

    Safety measures are verified through audits, inspection and proof testing. Incident investigations test whether barriers performed as intended.

03Geography

Environmental exposure in West Africa.

Population density, daytime surface heat and haze over West Africa, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 3

Environmental exposure, for this page

About this layer
Evidence
Estimated
Source
Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University))
Provider
NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University)
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Vintage
null; Census-based estimate, static (2020)
Resolution
about 1 km grid
Uncertainty
Census-based estimate of people per square kilometre in 2020, shown as exposure context; not a count of people affected by any hazard.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed (persistent cloud still leaves gaps)
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
8-day; Satellite 8-day composite; persistent cloud still leaves gaps
Newest at build
2026-09-14
Resolution
about 1 km grid
Uncertainty
Satellite skin temperature of the ground over the 8 days ending on the date shown, a heat exposure indicator; not air temperature, heat index or a heat warning.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed (clouds leave gaps)
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 Deep Blue AOD (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite retrieval; clouds leave gaps
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 2 km grid
Uncertainty
Satellite measure of haze, smoke and dust through the whole air column on the day shown; an exposure indicator, not ground-level PM2.5, an air quality index or a health warning.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed
Source
VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
Provider
NASA LANCE
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite image
Newest at build
2026-10-14
Resolution
about 250 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Observed
Source
VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2) (NASA LAADS DAAC)
Provider
NASA LAADS DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
daily; Satellite radiance, corrected for moonlight and atmosphere
Newest at build
2026-10-12
Resolution
about 500 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite night-time radiance for the date shown; lights are a proxy for electricity use and outages, not a measurement of supply or access.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
Evidence
Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
Source
MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
Provider
NASA LP DAAC
Licence
NASA open data
Vintage
yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
Newest at build
2024-01-01
Resolution
about 500 m grid
Uncertainty
Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
Reached through
gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Environmental exposure, framed on West Africa.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS and VIIRS atmosphere products, NASA LANCE and LAADS DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
  • Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Air quality forecast, 5 days, PM2.5 (CAMS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information 2026.
  • Past year, daily temperature (ERA5 via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
  • Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
  • Optional layers (14 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
  • Aerosol optical depth, daily: VIIRS NOAA-20 Deep Blue AOD, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024

04Data

What the method consumes.

Datasets and records used by process and industrial safety engineering on this platform, with the role each plays and the label its values carry. Sources are listed in the source register.

DataRoleLabel
Process design documentationInputOBSERVED
Incident and near-miss databasesInputOBSERVED
Equipment inspection recordsInputOBSERVED
Chemical property dataInputOBSERVED
Alarm and control system logsInputOBSERVED
05Simulator

SEIR on a network of places.

An outbreak seeded in one place spreads through a small-world network by the share of contacts people make elsewhere; play it to see the order of arrival and how the timing of measures moves the peak. Teaching model with stated illustrative values, not a prediction. The map on this page shows West Africa; the model itself is not tied to a place.

Controls

Basic reproduction number R0
2.5
Latent period
3.0 days
Infectious period
5.0 days
Share of contacts made in other places
8%
Places in the network
24
Measures start on day
40
Contact reduction from measures
40%
Days simulated
240 days

Readouts

Peak new infections
4.63 per 1,000 a day
Day of the peak
72
Share ever infected
59%
Places reached
100%
Reproduction number under measures
1.50
Numbers, methods and sources
DayNew infections per 1,000Cumulative infected (%)
00.000.0
170.080.0
341.250.9
513.545.5
684.6012.6
854.3520.3
1023.7427.2
1193.5333.3
1363.7839.5
1533.7946.0
1702.9851.8
1871.7655.8
2040.8557.9
2210.3758.9
2380.1659.3

Methods

  1. SEIR compartments Kermack and McKendrick (1927), Proc. R. Soc. A 115
  2. Metapopulation coupling by mobility Balcan and others (2009), PNAS 106
  3. Small-world network Watts and Strogatz (1998), Nature 393
  4. Modelling infectious diseases Keeling and Rohani (2008), Princeton University Press
  5. Uncertainty fan (parameter Monte Carlo) Spiegelhalter, Pearson and Short (2011), Visualising uncertainty about the future, Science 333
  6. One-at-a-time sensitivity (tornado) Saltelli and others (2008), Global Sensitivity Analysis: The Primer, Wiley

Data

The model runs on the teaching values set by the controls. To calibrate it for a place, read it against these admitted layers and series, which this page’s map can draw:

  • Cities Natural Earth
  • Airports Natural Earth
  • Major roads Natural Earth
SEIR on a network of places. Illustrative teaching model: it runs on the values set by the controls, not on measured data. Methods: SEIR compartments (Kermack and McKendrick (1927), Proc. R. Soc. A 115); Metapopulation coupling by mobility (Balcan and others (2009), PNAS 106); Small-world network (Watts and Strogatz (1998), Nature 393).
06Validation

How results are checked.

Safety measures are verified through audits, inspection and proof testing. Incident investigations test whether barriers performed as intended.

Natural hazards triggering industrial accidents are often not considered in design. Organisational drift can erode barriers over time.

07Twin and cascade simulator

Build the system model. Run the cascade.

Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Biological hazard standards: the hazards it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Choose the components, pick an initiating hazard and step through the cascade. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every coupling weight is a stated assumption you can change. A teaching model, not a forecast, an assessment or a certification. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.

Controls

  • NS-0 Constitution and principles
  • NS-3 Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)
  • NS-11 Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)
  • NRS-H41 Hazard family: Animal-to-human spillover (NHS-1 health.zoonotic)
  • NRS-H44 Hazard family: Plant disease and pests (NHS-1 health.plant-health)
  • NRS-H43 Hazard family: Livestock and aquaculture epizootics (NHS-1 health.animal-health)
  • NRS-H35 Hazard family: Airborne and respiratory infection (NHS-1 health.respiratory)
  • NRS-H40 Hazard family: Blood-borne and sexually transmitted infection (NHS-1 health.bloodborne)
  • NRS-H60 Hazard family: Supply-chain and flow disruption (NHS-1 sys.supply-chain)

Observation

  • WHO Disease Outbreak News (listed for reference)
  • WAHIS animal health events (listed for reference)
  • GBIF occurrence API and downloads (listed for reference)
  • International Health Regulations capacity and health emergency preparedness
  • Proportion of countries adopting relevant national legislation and adequately resourcing the prevention or control of invasive alien species

Example geography

  • West Africa: 59 hexagonal cells
  • Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
09Methods and evidence

The model, the data and the uncertainty.

The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.

Uncertainty bands

How far the outlook for process and industrial safety engineering for biotechnology and biosecurity could spread, shown as ranges rather than a single line.

Now+5+10+15+20+25+30 yhighlowvery likely rangelikely range
Central estimate
median of the ensemble
Ranges
likely and very likely, in IPCC calibrated language
Ensemble
members, scenarios and initial conditions stated
Read with
the sensitivity of the result to each input
Illustrative ensemble spread on an index scale; the form follows IPCC uncertainty guidance. Not a projection.
FAIR guiding principles · GO FAIR and FORCE11W3C PROV · World Wide Web ConsortiumGuidance on consistent treatment of uncertainties · IPCCCEOS Analysis Ready Data · Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
10Stewardship

Who maintains the method.

Advanced Industry and Robotics stewards process and industrial safety engineering for the Consortium and reviews how it is applied across platforms.

12Questions

Questions and answers.

What are the limits of process and industrial safety engineering in this field?
Natural hazards triggering industrial accidents are often not considered in design. Organisational drift can erode barriers over time.
How are results checked?
Safety measures are verified through audits, inspection and proof testing. Incident investigations test whether barriers performed as intended.
Are the values on this page real?
The data names, roles and checks are real descriptions of practice. The canvas shows a design of the method’s use, not a run; no result is reported here.
Where else is this method applied?
The canonical method page lists every platform that applies it.
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