Part of the BRE Trust

Managing Industrial Hazards

BRE Fire Research Conference, 9th June 2016

Rob Lucas Fire and Explosion Consultant, Fire Safety Group

– Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations

– Legal requirement

– Flammable gases, dusts, liquids and their vapours

– Identifies and manages hazards

– People safety

– BRE has over 50 years experience

What is DSEAR?

Typical Assessed Areas

Dust Explosions

– Foodstuffs, natural products, metal powders

– High concentrations required (approx. 50g/m3)

– Explosion results in fireball

– Secondary explosions can cause significant damage

Explosive Atmosphere & Contributing Factors

Ignition Sources & ATEX Certification

Explosion Protection Mark

Equipment Group

Equipment Category

Gas Group

Equipment Protection Level

“G” for use in gas/vapour atmospheres

“D” for use in dust atmospheres

Protection Type Code

Design & Mitigation Measures

Gas/Vapour Explosions

– Flammable solvents, gas cylinders, chemical reactions

– Large range of concentrations (Acetylene 2.5 – 100% volume in air)

– Highly explosive

– Pressure wave and secondary fires can cause significant damage

Unsafe Process Control

Fuel Supply

Fuel Outflow

Capacitance Probe

Controller

On/Off Valve

Old Fashioned Safety Culture

Poor Design

Equipment Selection & Modelling

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Buncefield: 10 Years On

Buncefield CAPECO Picked up by DSEAR Assessment?

Year of Incident 2005 2009 NA

Estimated area of vapour cloud (m2) 433,823 129,499 NA

Monitoring System Manual Fully automated YES

Functionality at time of incident Failed Failed YES

High level alarm Not present Not functioning YES

Redundant alarms Not present Not functioning YES

Root Cause

Lack of reliable instruments, no high-

level alarm, inaccurate volume calculation

Lack of reliable instruments, level

sensor failure, high level alarm failure

YES

References

– Sugar Dust Explosion and Fire, Imperial Sugar Company, Investigation Report, February 2009, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

– Caribbean Petroleum Tank Terminal Explosion and Multiple Tank Fires, Final Investigation Report, October 2009, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

– Buncefield: a Decade On, December 2015, The Chemical Engineer

Thank you

Rob Lucas

Fire & Explosion Consultant, Fire Safety Group

T: +44 (0) 1923 664655

E: lucasr@bre.co.uk

W: www.bre.co.uk/fire

BRE, Garston, Watford WD25 9XX, UK