DSEAR / ATEX Risk assessment
Our extensive experience in the industry allows us to deliver risk assessment to help you comply with the DSEAR / ATEX regulations 2002.
It is a requirement that all work premises undertake a risk assessment covering processes that may involve the use of materials that could cause a risk of harm to employees from fire, explosion or energetic releases. This covers flammable gases, solvents, vapours, dusts, incompatible chemicals and self-heating (spontaneous ignition). The risk assessment must cover a number of areas:
- Hazard identification to identify the potentially hazardous materials used in the workplace.
- Material Safety Data Sheets, involves gathering information on the identified hazardous materials through published information, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and specific dust explosion testing results. You need to assess all the processes where hazardous materials are used to determine all the potential sources of ignition.
- Sources of Ignition, you need to evaluate the risk of an ignition and the effects on personnel, plants items and the process.
- Process control, which involves assessing existing process control measures and recommend any improvements required to comply with DSEAR /ATEX
- Hazard Mitigation to assess existing fire and explosion protection measures and recommend any improvements required to comply with DSEAR / ATEX
Many companies are aware of the explosion risks associated with gases and vapours. What is less understood is the explosion risk caused by airborne dust and powder igniting causing a so called 'Dust Explosion'. BRE can assist in assessing this risk and can undertake dust explosion testing of your powders to enable suitable protection measures to be fitted to your process. This may take the form of explosion venting, explosion suppression or explosion containment.
The following are some examples of explosible dusts and powders which may be found in the workplace.
| Acrylic Polymer | HDPE |
| Aluminium Dust | Hydroxy-methyl-phenylpyraolidone |
| Amino Alcohol | Leather Dust |
| Bronze Powder | Liquorice Powder |
| Carbon Black | Melamine Dust |
| Carbon Fibre Dust | Paper Dust |
| Cereal Flake Dust | Paraformaldehyde |
| Coal Dust | Pharmaceutical Powders |
| Coke Dust | Phenolic Resin |
| Composite Dust | Phenylpyrazolidone (PHN) |
| Curry Powder | Pigment Powder |
| Dimethyl-phenylpyrazolidone (DPP) | Plastic Dust |
| Dried Sewage Sludge | Polyelectrolyte Powder |
| Fibre Insulation | Potato Starch |
| Flour | Refined Sugar |
| Glass Fibre Polyurethane | Resin Dust |
| Grain Dusts | Sodium Flurbiprofen |
| Gum Arabic | Sulfuramide |
| Tea | Wood |