Explosion Prevention and Protection

The following steps are required to draw up an explosion protection concept as required under the Gefahrstoff-Verordnung (German Ordinance on Hazardous Substances) and the Betriebssicherheitsverordnung (German Ordinance on Industrial Health and Safety):

• Carry out risk assessments to assess the probability of an explosion occurring and its impacts
• Define the necessary zone divisions including signposting all the accesses to areas where an explosive atmosphere can occur
• Select suitable devices, protection systems and technical measures
• Define the required work instructions (SOP’s) and training courses to ensure employees’ safety in the workplace
• Nominate a coordinator who is responsible for external contractors and visitors

The following are the main documents and data required to draw up the explosion protection document:

• Piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID)
• Data sheets for all the devices installed (device category, group, protection level, temperature class, etc.)
• MSDS’s
• Process description, including parameters and conditions
• Plant layout plan (top view)
• Documentation of the installed technical safety systems and devices
• Documentation of the organisational structure of the plant: organigrams, names of departments, responsible persons (leaders) of processes and / or departments