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1.6 Safety measures against explosions
Safety measures against explosions must always be provided for if there are explosive
atmospheres and ignition sources present.
The measures may be of the following types:
A. Technical
B. Organisational
The technical measures against explosions can be divided into:
A1. Technical measures to prevent explosions
A2. Technical measures to protect from explosions
In the EU it is obligatory for employers to adopt safety measures preventing the
formation of hazardous explosive atmospheres. These safety measures are first priority
before other measures.
This means that when workers are protected by barriers, e.g. a concrete wall, this
protection does not substitute the safety measures. The safety measures have to be
applied in any case and the barrier is an additional safety precaution but does not
substitute the measures!
Technical measures to prevent explosions
Prevention measures help to avoid the formation of explosive atmospheres. The
formation can be avoided by the following rules:
• replacing flammable substances with other substances
• keeping flammable substances below lower explosion limit (LEL)
• keeping flammable substances below their flash-point temperature
• limiting the areas where substances may be in contact with air (oxygen)
Safety measures to avoid ignition sources
To avoid the ignition of an explosive atmosphere, it is necessary to identify the
ignition sources present and to adapt the necessary protection measures to such an
extent that no ignition can occur. The use of materials allowed by the Directive 94/9/
CE, which means materials adequate for the type of hazardous zone in which they
are installed, will guarantee that such material does not contain ignition sources.
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