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C Fires and Explosions
C.4
Risk Management of Fire and Explosion Hazards
Following the principle of inherent process safety, the following risk management
measures for fire and explosion hazards are suggested in order of decreasing
priority:
1. Prevention or Minimization of Use
• Avoid substances with hazardous physicochemical properties (e.g., explosive
or combustible substances) and mixtures during manufacturing, transportation, storage, etc.
• If some are necessary, minimize the quantity used
2. Compartmentalization
• Separate storage areas from other site activities
• Categorize substances according to hazard classes, e.g., into explosive, oxidizing, flammable according to flash point, fuel consumption, etc.
• Implement separate storage compartments for explosives, substances in pressure vessels, air-reactive or flammable substances, substances that ignite on
contact with water or form flammable gases, oxidizing substances, organic
peroxides, and substances that react violently with water or form corrosive/toxic gases, etc.
3. Inertion
Inertion is understood to mean explosion prevention by reducing the oxygen
concentration to less than 8% by volume. 2
N 2 and CO 2 can be used as inerting gases, but the danger of asphyxiation at
less than 17% oxygen by volume needs to be taken into account. Suppression,
overpressure, or flow methods can be used, and implementing constant oxygen
measuring will ensure that the minimum is maintained. A critical operation is
often the substances’ insertion into or removal from the inerted area.
4. Avoiding Ignition Sources
Combustible substances exposed to air can ignite due to thermal, mechanical,
or electrical energy. Some potential ignition sources are listed in Table C.3
along with corresponding prevention measures. The most important sources of
ignition are electrical devices and installed equipment. Electrostatic discharges
should also be carefully managed and can occur due to frictional effects (charge
2 Less than 6 vol% for especially critical gases, e.g., H 2 and dusts, e.g., aluminum, paraformaldehyde, 2-naphthol, or biphenyl. Unstable gases such as acetylene and ethylene oxide can decompose
exothermically even without oxygen.
C Fires and Explosions
C.4
Risk Management of Fire and Explosion Hazards
Following the principle of inherent process safety, the following risk management
measures for fire and explosion hazards are suggested in order of decreasing
priority:
1. Prevention or Minimization of Use
• Avoid substances with hazardous physicochemical properties (e.g., explosive
or combustible substances) and mixtures during manufacturing, transportation, storage, etc.
• If some are necessary, minimize the quantity used
2. Compartmentalization
• Separate storage areas from other site activities
• Categorize substances according to hazard classes, e.g., into explosive, oxidizing, flammable according to flash point, fuel consumption, etc.
• Implement separate storage compartments for explosives, substances in pressure vessels, air-reactive or flammable substances, substances that ignite on
contact with water or form flammable gases, oxidizing substances, organic
peroxides, and substances that react violently with water or form corrosive/toxic gases, etc.
3. Inertion
Inertion is understood to mean explosion prevention by reducing the oxygen
concentration to less than 8% by volume. 2
N 2 and CO 2 can be used as inerting gases, but the danger of asphyxiation at
less than 17% oxygen by volume needs to be taken into account. Suppression,
overpressure, or flow methods can be used, and implementing constant oxygen
measuring will ensure that the minimum is maintained. A critical operation is
often the substances’ insertion into or removal from the inerted area.
4. Avoiding Ignition Sources
Combustible substances exposed to air can ignite due to thermal, mechanical,
or electrical energy. Some potential ignition sources are listed in Table C.3
along with corresponding prevention measures. The most important sources of
ignition are electrical devices and installed equipment. Electrostatic discharges
should also be carefully managed and can occur due to frictional effects (charge
2 Less than 6 vol% for especially critical gases, e.g., H 2 and dusts, e.g., aluminum, paraformaldehyde, 2-naphthol, or biphenyl. Unstable gases such as acetylene and ethylene oxide can decompose
exothermically even without oxygen.