Explosion risk assessment - an important chapter of the explosion protection document

Abstract

In order to improve the safety and health protection of workers who may be exposed to a potential risk due to explosive atmospheres, in every industrial area where such atmospheres may occur, the employer shall ensure the development and updating of a document called Explosion Protection Document. The main chapter of this document is the Explosion Risk Assessment. Risk assessment is a complex process that involves identifying the risk, analyzing the risk and estimating the risk, the main purpose of assessing the level of risk being to establish the necessary protection measures to reduce it to acceptable levels. This paper identifies the factors that may influence the level of risk of explosions in the workplace in order to establish the protection measures required to reduce the risk to acceptable levels. Explosion risk assessment must be performed by competent persons with knowledge of technical, electrical and mechanical engineering and who understand the general principles of explosion protection.