JMurp1092 Control Measures Flashcards
Learn the control measure so you can quote it easy without looking.
Scenario: The Flammable Liquid storage area located on the West side of the Grit Blasting area contains factory sealed paints and thinners. It is equipped with an ATEX Certified heater, switch and a light which appeared to be ATEX Certified but could not be confirmed as so due to no visible Ex markings, the glands fitted to the unit were also not confirmed as being ATEX Certified. There is no ventilation or bunding in this room as it is technically part of the metal container.
The lighting needs to be confirmed as being ATEX Certified as so the glands/blanks, if they are not, they should be changed for suitable certified alternatives as soon as possible.
HSG 51 Should be followed in this area, highlighting the need for suitable ventilation and adequate bunding.
Zone 2 signage
Ex signage should be fitted to the door and the room should be zoned as a Zone 2 Hazardous Area.
ATEX Certified equipment assets list.
All ATEX Certified equipment on site should be documented into a specific asset list, with locations and type of equipment noted.
All equipment should be subject to periodic inspections by a competent third party contractor who is competent in the inspection of ATEX Certified equipment at intervals not exceeding 3 years.
ATEX Certified equipment repairs or installations work.
Any work carried out on ATEX Certified equipment on site must only be done by an Electrician or Fitter (for Mechanical ATEX equipment) who is trained and competent in working with ATEX Certified equipment within Hazardous Areas.
An example of the competency training is noted below, for electrical:
Gas and vapours (Ex01 – Ex04) – CompEx
And Mechanical:
https://compex.org.uk/qualifications/ex11-mechanical-non-electrical-equipment/
SCENARIO: To the side of the external flammable liquid enclosure, steel drums are sited on metal bunds to store hazardous waste products such as aerosols, oily rags and used paint pots. The drums were all fitted with lids, but only some were suitably labelled with their content. Some of the drums were compromising the low level ventilation of the enclosure.
All drums should be suitably labelled with their content and should not be sited so that they obstruct the air flow in and out of the flammable enclosure. The drums should be relocated at least 1.5m from the ventilation points.
There should also not be any heat or electrical sources within 3m of the ventilation points.
Containers inside that were partially obstructing the ventilation points should be moved to different parts of the shelves.
Ex signage (as per action 1) should be fitted to the door and the enclosure should be zoned as a Zone 2 Hazardous Area.
Refilling of Diesel tanks
There is no Safe Operating Procedure (SOP) for the refilling of the site Diesel tanks. Section D outlines a series of recommendations.
This should be produced as soon as possible.
Scenario: The internal pumping equipment in the 4200L Diesel tank within the PTS Compound is not ATEX certified.
Although the classification of Diesel only changed from ‘Combustible’ to ‘Flammable’ in 2015, it is still recommended that the pumping equipment is changed to ATEX Certified.
Scenario: The new spray area has been fitted with a series of strip lights in the roof space and along the side concrete walls. Although the area has not been zoned, the lighting units were not confirmed as being ATEX Certified nor were the electrical glands, of which were not suitably installed. It was thought by the business that the units were ATEX Certified but upon visual inspection this could not be confirmed. The units are covered with plastic to protect them from overspray.
The area should be zoned as a Zone 2 Hazardous Area and any equipment inside should be suitably ATEX Certified. All equipment must only be installed and maintained by a competent person trained in working on ATEX Certified equipment.
Scenario: There were numerous containers of flammable liquid stored on work benches and on bunding on the floor in the spray area and not in suitable CoSHH cabinets.
Flammable liquids should be stored away when not in use of after the working day has ended. Cabinets should be compliant with BS 14470.
Scenario: There is a further flammable store in the PTS Compound. The enclosure was sited next to the PTS PortaKabins which was compromising ones sides ventilation. Containers inside were also positioned in front of ventilation points.
There needs to be adequate ventilation space around these types of store which should be at least 1.5m away from other structures.
There should also not be any heat or electrical sources within 3m of the ventilation points.
Containers inside that were partially obstructing the ventilation points should be moved to different parts of the shelves.
Ex signage (as per action 1) should be fitted to the door and the enclosure should be zoned as a Zone 2 Hazardous Area.
There were excessive amounts of Flammable Gas cylinders inside the Fabrication Building which were not in use at the time of the inspection.
When cylinders are not in use, they should be safely stored outside of the building.
There are some improvements regarding the storage of flammable/compressed gas cylinders around the Fabrication Building.
1) The Oxygen and Acetylene gas cylinders for the Large Diameter Pipe Cutting Rig are too close to the building and perimeter fence.
2) Although the main gas cylinder cages on the East side of the Fabrication Building have a 3m distance between ‘cylinders’, not cages, the cages themselves are located too close to the building structure.
3) The water filled protection barriers are considered inadequate considering the size of vehicles which operate in the yard.
4) Cylinders without a foot ring such as Acetylene are sat on directly on the ground, during inclement weather cylinder integrity could be compromised.
5) The cages are not protected from direct sunlight.
1) Cages should be at least 4m from buildings and perimeter fences.
2) To protect the cylinder base from corrosion, they should be raised off the floor slightly by means of a metal grate or the ground should be slightly sloped to allow water during any inclement weather to run away.
3) Cylinders should be protected from direct sunlight.
4) Vehicles should not be parked within 5m of these cages.
5) Cages should be locked with suitable warning signage fitted.
6) Cages should be protected from vehicle impact.
Paint Sprayers and Health, Safety and Environmental to enhance their knowledge should?
All Sprayers and SHES Personnel should receive DSEAR Awareness Training. Gas Safety training should also be considered for SHES Personnel.
An example is hyperlinked below.
DSEAR Training | Online Risk Assessment Course (highspeedtraining.co.uk)
An example of Gas Safety Training is hyperlinked below.
https://www.boconline.co.uk/en/services/safety-training/inhouse-safety-training/inhouse-safety-training.html
Scenario: There were some concerns relating to the grit blasting process.
The grit is used to blast steel/stainless steel piping before it is painted/repainted. The grit itself is potentially not combustible in its raw state, however, the size of some of the granules
(SUPAFINE 0.2 - 0.7mm & SUPA 0.2 - 1.5mm) and their moisture content ‘are’ within the parameters of Combustible Dust.
The floor of the grit blasting area was covered in layers of dust in excessive of 2 inches in some places.
There is no mechanical extraction in the area.
When using the grit to blast metal, a hybrid mix of grit and metal particles are produced with some of the bigger grit particles being broken down thus becoming smaller and producing a potentially combustible dust, so as it could not be definitively confirmed that the dust could be considered a combustible dust by its constitutional make up, it is recommended that physical testing under laboratory conditions to prove if it was combustible or not are carried out.
Mechanical Ventilation is required in the area. If the dust is confirmed as being combustible, any extraction system will need be suitably ATEX Certified and the grit blasting area zoned.
If the dust is confirmed as combustible, an ATEX Certified Vacuum system will be required to clean the area, manual brushing up should be avoided to prevent the formation of dust clouds.
What should businesses do to ensure they understand all the requirements of the products they supply onsite?
The business should ensure that all MSDS’s for all products on site are thoroughly read to ensure the correct firefighting media is available on site and in the vicinity of the relevant product.
