Sri Lanka National Policy on Lightning Protection

Sri Lanka National Policy on Lightning Protecting-NASTEC-2010

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Sri Lanka National Policy

on

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

2006 - 2010

Study Group XIV

NASTEC

Few knows that the glazing momentary brightness followed by the monstrous bellowing that occurs naturally in the atmosphere, the lightning, incurs every year an unbearable loss to the country. Few knows that this loss can be reduced to a bare minimum, by taking proper measures. The few who knows that should do their best to the country without further delay. ~ Study Group on Lightning Protection


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Members of the Study Group

Dr. Chandima Gomes, University of Colombo (Chairman)

Prof. Indra Dayawansa, University of Moratuwa

Prof. Rohan Lucas, University of Moratuwa

Mr. K.R. Abeysinghe, Department of Meteorology

Mr. Nuwan Kumarasinghe, Department of Meteorology

Mrs. Dewasurendra, Sri Lanka Standards Institution

Mr. Kamal Illeperuma, Ceylon Electricity Board

Mr. L.S.B. Karunaratne, Sri Lanka Telecom

Mr. R. Fernado, Engineering Consultant (Ex-CEB)

Mrs. Amali Dasanayake, National Science and Technology Commission

* In addition to the above members, thirty two representatives from the

industrial sector made their feedback and contribution to this document


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CONTENTS

1. Vision and Mission

2. Preamble

3. Need for a National Policy

4. Policy Statements

Policy Statement-1: Safety awareness

Policy Statement-2: Protection of buildings and structures for the safety of occupants and

property

Policy Statement-3: Minimizing adverse effects on industry

Policy Statement-4: Protection of tall structures and safety concerns of neighbourhood

Policy Statement-5: protection of power transmission lines

Policy Statement-6: Protection of High Risk Installation

Policy Statement-7: Sri Lanka standards on lightning protection and installation

Policy Statement-8: Test & Research Facilities and Data Collection,

Policy Statement-9: Local manufacture of equipment

Policy Statement-10: Protection of National Heritage Sites


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1. VISION AND MISSION

Vision

To bring the lightning related deaths, injuries and property damages in Sri Lanka to a nearly

zero level.

Mission

To protect the lives and properties and to safeguard the economy of Sri Lanka from hazardous

and deleterious effects of lightning by educating the public and promoting the practices of

proper lightning protection and safety measures through a national policy of lightning

protection.

2. PREAMBLE

Over the last decade in Sri Lanka, there has been a noticeable increase in the effects of lightning

on industry and civil life. Lightning causes human casualties and ignites fires that may burn an

entire building to ashes. At a lower degree of damage, the lightning current may destroy

electrical, electronic and communication equipment beyond repair. However one of the most

significant losses that lightning may cause as far as industries are concerned is the downtime. A

couple of hours of standstill of normal operation or a loss of some important data stored in a

computer may cause a company a financial loss of several millions. For example, we may

consider the first lightning season of year 2006 which lasted for 2 months from April to May.

During its brief period of activity it cost us 23 reported deaths, more than 35 million worth of

property and an un-estimated amount of money due to downtime and data losses. A country that

is set to achieve rapid industrialization is unavoidably becoming vulnerable to lightning related

hazards due to several reasons. The increasing susceptibility of electrical equipment to

electromagnetic impulses, the widespread use of electrical and electronic appliances and the

changes in the atmosphere due to high rise buildings and artificial activities can be given as

some reasons for lightning hazards.

Lightning may cause damage to buildings and equipment from direct lightning strikes or from

side flashes. The lightning current reaches average peak value of about 30,000 Amperes while

maximum can be about 250,000 Amperes. This enormous current may destroy the entire power

and communication networks in a building including all the equipment connected to the

networks. The high temperature generated by the current that flows in the lines and the sparks

that jump between different parts of the building, may trigger fires that will completely burn out

the installation. Lightning causes damage so quickly that once the building is struck by

lightning, damage to equipment and injuries to persons, will be inevitable.

The lightning currents can also enter into an installation through the service lines such as power,

communication, and cable TV. Once lightning strikes a service line, fractions of the lightning

current enter all the nearby buildings and may destroy the equipment that are plugged into

electrical or electronic communication systems.

Lightning currents that propagate along power and telecommunication service lines can

penetrate into a building. These lines usually stretch a long distance over the land and are

therefore more likely to be exposed to lightning than individual buildings. There are special

devices such as surge diverters or surge suppressors, which prevent these currents from entering

a building.


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3. NEED FOR A NATIONAL POLICY

Every year more than 50 people in this country get killed by lightning. Most of these people

who get killed by lightning are villagers in rural areas who work in open fields. For example, on

the 5th April 2002, five women working in a farm in Moneragala were killed on the spot, as the

tree where they were seeking shelter from a thin drizzle, was struck by lightning. The lives of

these people could have been saved if they were given the correct information about how to

protect themselves from lightning. Apart from human injuries and deaths, another matter of

concern is the innumerable deaths of animals caused by lightning every year.

During the two lightning seasons of the year, valuable property is damaged in the power,

communication and industrial sectors. In addition, the indirect losses due to the downtime,

caused by damaged equipment as well as the loss of data are considerable. There is also

considerable damage reported due to lightning at domestic level.

Another very important concern of lightning protection in Sri Lanka is the lightning safety of

archaeological monuments. Most of these irreplaceable high valued structures are either totally

unprotected or not-properly protected at present. Typically many of these structures are either

erected well above the flat terrain or built on isolated rocks or mountains. Recently many of

these archeological monuments are given shelter with metal roofing erected on wooden poles.

These structures are very vulnerable to lightning, therefore it is necessary to provide them

adequate protect.

Whatever protection mechanism is employed to protect an installation, the product and service

must conform to certain standards. There is a code of practice for Sri Lanka for lightning

protection systems as specified by the SLSI. However, this standard is mainly for buildings and

does not include the tests to be carried out and the outcomes expected. The SLSI standards have

to be improved to cover all aspects of lightning protection systems and equipment. In the

absence of comprehensive Sri Lanka standards, the engineers normally follow other national and

international standards, which are, most often, out dated. Hence, the industrial sector as well as

the general public may not be sufficiently aware of the required levels of protection and

international trends. Therefore, vendors could easily persuade the local dealers to import their

products, which, in some cases, do not comply with accepted standards in many developed

countries. A careful analysis of the present market in lightning protection equipment reveals the

seriousness of the situation. Thus it is essential to conduct regular awareness programs regarding

the products and technologies of lightning protection.

Almost all the products related to lightning protection, currently available in Sri Lanka, have

been produced to withstand the characteristics of lightning currents and lightning generated

fields measured in temperate regions and sub-tropical regions. A considerable number of

scientists believe that characteristics of tropical & oceanic regions may be different to what is

observed elsewhere. However, as very little scientific research has been carried out in the

tropical oceanic regions to analyze lightning data for formal verification, it is important that

such research and analysis is encouraged and supported in order to address the issues related to

lightning damage in this country.

In Sri Lanka, a majority of industries in need of lightning protection do not have adequate

knowledge on the subject of ‘lightning protection’, therefore they have to depend on the

assurance given by the vendors regarding protection devices and installation. Therefore an

independent body needs to be established to investigate the lightning protection equipment and

their installation.


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4. POLICY STATEMENTS

Policy Statement-1: Safety awareness

Deaths and injuries due to lightning will be minimized and public safety is improved by

1. organizing educational and awareness programs for different target groups of the

public

2. including awareness on the concepts of lightning and lightning protection/safety in the

school curriculum

3. publishing literature on lightning, its hazards and precautions in all three languages

4. displaying proper lightning safety instructions at vulnerable locations such as

playgrounds, beaches etc.

The government will sponsor the awareness programs and activities through the relevant

ministries and public institutions.

The government will encourage the semi-governmental and non-governmental

organizations to conduct such programs and activities.

An institutional framework with necessary legislative instruments will be set up and

strengthened to minimize effects due to lightning hazards in Sri Lanka.

Policy Statement-2: Protection of buildings and structures for the safety of occupants

and property

Buildings will be protected against lightning by

1. educating and encouraging the public to adopt proper lightning protection measures

for their buildings

2. making lightning protection, according to Sri Lanka Standards, mandatory for

buildings of both government and public sector, situated at identified areas of high

lightning occurrence density

3. by making lightning protection, according to Sri Lanka Standards, mandatory for

buildings and structures of mass public gathering such as hospitals, schools, stadiums

etc., in all parts of the country.

The government will appoint an authorized body/bodies to make recommendations of

the protection systems and the necessary steps to be taken to minimize lightning

damages to buildings.

Policy Statement-3: Minimizing adverse effects on industry

Damage to electrical, electronic & communication equipment, computer networks and

related systems will be minimized by


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1. educating the engineering and administration communities of the industry to obtain

the most appropriate surge protection solutions for their equipment and network

2. educating the protection equipment manufacturers, importers, designers and

installers to provide the most appropriate surge protection solution for different

requirement

3. encouraging the immediate development of Sri Lankan standards for surge

protection solutions for different sectors of the industry (Power, communication,

Computer network, Data network, PABX system, Electronic Process control

system etc.)

4. appointing authorized body/bodies to check the quality of the protection devices

manufactured, and imported to the country as well as to certify the installation.

The government will take the advice and support of both local and foreign experts in

minimizing the adverse effects on industry due to lightning.

Policy Statement-4: Protection of towers and safety concerns of neighborhoods

The government will encourage the protection of towers and incorporated equipment by

deploying an appropriate lightning protection system.

Safety of the tower neighborhood will be ensured by

1. appointing a committee to investigate the possibilities of increasing lightning

hazards to the neighborhood of the tall structures

2. making effective earthing system mandatory for the tower.

3. enforcing mandatory guidelines to tower owners to protect the neighborhood.

4. appointing an authorized body/bodies to check whether such mandatory codes of

practice are followed.

Policy Statement-5: Protection of power transmission and communication networks

Damage to power transmission networks will be brought down to a minimum level by

1. appointing a panel of experts to investigate the condition of existing lightning

protection systems in the power transmission network

2. implementing the recommendations with immediate effect

3. encouraging engineering institutions to educate the technical communities in

proper practices of earthing and following reputed standards in this regard.

4. encouraging the engineers to maintain regular inspection records.


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Damage to communication networks will be brought down to a minimum level by

1. appointing a panel of experts to investigate the quality of high frequency earthing

systems and communication equipment protection technologies to make

recommendations to the relevant institutions/service providers to uplift the

conditions or rectify problems.

Policy Statement-6: Protection of High Risk Installation

Damage to storage of hazardous materials such as dangerous chemicals, explosives,

petroleum and ammunition dumps etc. and other high risk installations will be brought to

almost zero level by

1. thoroughly and regularly educating the authorities of institutions that store,

transport or use hazardous materials regarding the lightning threats

2. making the highest level of structural protection mandatory to such cases

3. appointing a panel of experts to inspect the lightning protection systems of such

cases on regular basis.

Policy Statement-7: Development of national standards on lighting protection and

installation

Sri Lanka standards/codes for lightning protection systems for buildings/equipment and

their installation will be developed, improved and updated on regular basis.

Sri Lanka national standards/codes should not consider Early Streamer Emission (ESE)

technology or any other unconventional type lightning protection technologies including

into the recommendations until such technologies are scientifically proven and accepted

by the international scientific community.

Awareness programs will be conducted to popularize the standards/codes among the

public.

A committee will be appointed make appropriate parts of the standards mandatory to

relevant parties.

Policy Statement-8: Test & research facilities and data collection,

Test facility services provided to manufacturers and importers of lightning protection

equipment to conform their products to Sri Lankan standards will be enhanced by

1. setting up new laboratories and supporting research institutes to upgrade the

existing laboratories

2. providing training to test facility providers in modern techniques and

methodologies.


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Researchers are encouraged to start/continue research on lightning and lightning

protection in Sri Lanka by providing required facilities and building a research base.

The country will be networked with an island wide lightning detection system so that

lightning nowcasting and data collecting will be possible.

Research groups and institutions that keep data bases on lightning accidents and other

lightning related occurrences will be encouraged to do their work collectively and

scientifically.

Policy Statement-9: Local manufacture of protective devices

Local entrepreneurs will be encouraged to produce lightning protection equipment and

technologies suitable to local conditions and Sri Lankan standards by

1. providing inventors, researchers and entrepreneurs financial grants, working

facilities, market information, foreign training, appreciation and admiration awards

etc.,

2. linking entrepreneurs and researchers on lightning protection through collaborative

programs, forums etc. to share their views, and work experience.

Policy Statement-10: Protection of national heritage sites

Lightning damage free environment is ensured for national heritage sites by

1. appointing a panel of experts to investigate the present situation of sites with

archeological importance

2. designing and implementing protection systems to protect them for a long period

of time

3. inspecting the implemented protection systems on regular basis and documenting

the conditions for long term reference.

Documents

Sri Lanka National Policy on Lightning Protection