Feature
Gas Safety In Small Facilities By Adam Pope, Gas Safety expert, Draeger Safety UK
Gas safety is an issue which is relevant to many facilities management professionals. From the use of oxygen and carbon dioxide in hospital settings, carbon dioxide in drinks production, chlorine in leisure centres, hydrogen in the petrochemical industries or carbon monoxide in plant rooms, gas hazards can be present in a broad range of settings.
Gas safety And HVAC systems The wide variety of gases and their different applications,
combined with the potential high-risk nature of the hazards involved, can make gas safety seem like a complicated area of facilities management, and further challenges are also presented by regularly evolving legislation and advice.
As a result, it can be difficult to know the best approach to take to ensure gas safety is being given appropriate consideration, and that it is reliably taken care of, to ensure the safety of workers, and more broadly, of the plant as a whole.
The topic of gas safety can be particularly pertinent in smaller facilities – these could range from an individual plant room or laboratory to a small food manufacturing facility. In such settings, facilities management resources will often be smaller, in stark contrast to, for example, a multinational petrochemical company which may well have a large global facilities management team with specialists in many different areas.
It is not uncommon in such smaller settings for facilities managers to approach the topic of gas safety relying at least in part, on their own knowledge of the topic. However, this approach requires caution, as many commonly thought of ‘facts’ about gas safety may be inaccurate. For example, hydrogen sulphide is well known for its ‘rotten eggs’ smell, so many may imagine a leak would be obvious. This is not always the case: above a certain concentration, hydrogen sulphide damages the nasal receptors, making safe detection impossible without proper monitoring technology.
This type of example serves well to illustrate the importance of partnership working with a gas safety expert, something which can be particularly valuable in smaller settings.
12 fmuk
HVAC systems can be a common source of concern when it comes to gas safety, particularly as an HVAC system provider will often focus only on gas safety in the plant room itself, and may not always consider the full range of issues beyond the confines of this space. As a result, safety measures often focus on increasing ventilation to and from the plant room alone in order to evacuate any noxious gases.
Whilst this is not ‘wrong’, it also fails to recognise the full picture: While the plant room may be a focal point for HVAC, the gases involved (such as natural gas or methane) may be piped for some distance around a facility before reaching their destination. This creates a need for broader and more holistic consideration of gas safety throughout a facility.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
