JMurph1094 Control Measures Flashcards
ATEX equipment inspection
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.
Any work carried out on ATEX equipment should be?
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: The CoSHH Store on the East side of the Plant Workshop requires some improvements for the storage of flammable liquids. Vents and shelving
Containers inside that were partially obstructing the ventilation points should be moved to different parts of the shelves.
Ex signage should be fitted to the door and the enclosure should be zoned as a Zone 2 Hazardous Area.
Refilling of the 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 4500L Red Diesel tank on the North side of the Plant Workshop 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: Most of the current CoSHH cabinets are being used incorrectly. The issues consist of shelving fitted upside down, products stored in the bund area, flammables and corrosives stored together, product containers with no lids on, the inside of the doors used for testing spray paints and the cabinet sides have been crudely modified with ventilation grills.
As the cabinets have been modified with high level ventilation, it is considered they are no longer compliant with BS 14470. The relative densities of the vapours of all the products stored in each individual cabinet would need to be known for ventilation to be effective. Products with vapours which are heavier than air would need low level ventilation to be effectively removed from the cabinet. If ventilation is required it should be in the form of a factory made option.
Any cabinets which have not been modified can be rearranged so products are stored correctly and safely following HSG 51 guidance.
Cabinets which have been modified or spray painted should be replaced and all employees using the products stored given training on CoSHH and DSEAR Awareness.
Scenario: There are some improvements regarding the storage of flammable/compressed gas cylinders to the East of the Fabrication Building.
The Propane and Acetylene gas cylinders are stored together in the same cage and are too close to the building.
An Inert Gas cylinder is stored in the same cage as the Oxygen cylinders and are too close to the building.
The Inert gas cylinder cage is too close to the building.
A steel plate has been placed over the metal grating base in the Oxygen cylinder cage which will now collect water during inclement weather.
Cages should be at least 4m from buildings and perimeter fences.
Incompatible gases must be separated, Propane cannot be stored with Acetylene and Oxygen cannot be stored with Inert gases. Cages must have a separation distance of at least 3m, if this cannot be achieved, a 215mm blast wall which extends above the tallest cylinder must be installed.
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.
Cylinders should be protected from direct sunlight.
Vehicles should not be parked within 5m of these cages.
Cages should be locked with suitable warning and Ex signage (for flammables) fitted.
Cages should be protected from vehicle impact.
Basic training
DSEAR Awareness Training should be given to a number of site staff, starting with the Depot Manager. Gas Safety training should also be considered for SHES Personnel or other relevant staff.
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
Why MSDS?
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.
Scenario: Gas hoses on the Oxy-Acetylene set within the Fabrication Building were secured together with gaffer tape in one area, this practice is considered highly inappropriate as should hot slag/sparks land on the hoses, it cannot fall through and could burn a hole in the pipe.
Purpose made hose clips should be used to secure the hoses but still give a suitable separation gap for anything to fall through.
Welding equipment should?
Welding equipment should be subject to periodic safety inspections/testing by a competent third party contractor.
Grinding was being carried out in the Fabrication Building with sparks being ejected away from the work area onto a CoSHH Cabinet.
Purpose made screens which extend to the floor should be used to keep grinding sparks within the immediate work area. Any leaks from Propane cylinders could easily be ignited by them.
Red Diesel tank and HVO
Once the Red Diesel supplies from the front underground tank are fully depleted, the tank must be fully cleaned out before being filled with an alternative fuel such as HVO.
Each underground fuel tank has a vent pipe which extend from below the ground to a height of approximately 4m, the pipes are not identified as to which vent is for which tank and no Ex signage is in place at the point of potential vapour release (top of vent).
Fit Ex signage (as per below example) onto the vent pipe as close to the top as possible.
Scenario: There is a natural gas supply to the premises which is now only used for heating purposes within the office building. Some years ago, the heaters within the workshops were gas fed but this is no longer the case. The assessor questioned if the lines within the workshop areas had been purged, if not the lines could still be full of gas. This should be clarified as soon as possible.
The isolation point is in an enclosure down a small alley on the West side of the offices, access was not achieved. The gas pipe is not identified with contents or direction of flow.
The gas pipes should be fitted with identification pipe banding as per the below example. Banding should be evenly spaced out along the pipe where access allows.
