Our client built a brand-new factory in 2021, which included a new gas installation servicing multiple commercial properties to heat both offices, the manufacturing area and warehouse. Finch were engaged following an internal health and safety audit, which highlighted that no assessment under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmosphere Regulations (DSEAR) had been undertaken, and that potentially this had not been considered during the build phase of the factory.
Project Summary
Challenge
The factory itself was a fast-paced environment which had minimal opportunity for downtime with an external gas meter, which fed multiple commercial boilers ranging from 50 KW to 500KW, through a 4” gas riser. There was also an ammonia refrigeration system located at the rear of the factory.
Solution
Finch attended the site and met with the health and safety advisor on site, to assess the equipment, building and procedures against the requirements of DSEAR. This involved calculating ventilation rates, flow rates and looking at various potential release sources of natural gas. IGEM/SR/25 was used to calculate any relevant zones for the meter housing and riser pipework, with IGEM/UP/16 being used to determine whether a safe area for the boilers was possible.
For the Ammonia system ISO 60079 was used to determine the extent of any zones, and the equipment was assessed to make sure that it was appropriately ATEX-rated (a scheme used to certify that equipment is safe for use in potentially explosive atmospheres). This involved analysing P&IDs, and the equipment on site to identify the potential release locations, and pressures so that the extent of the zones could be calculated.
