OVERVIEW ON HAZARDOUS AREA

Hazardous Area
A hazardous area is an area in which an explosive atmosphere is present or may be
expected to be present in quantities such as to require special precautions for the construction,
installation and use of electrical equipment. (AS/NZS 4761.1:2008)
Types of Hazards
The type of hazard will be in the form of either a gas or vapor.
EVERYONE should be aware of the hazards and risks present in a workplace before
executing the tasks.
ELEMENTS OF FIRE
FIRE TRIANGLE
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model
for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires.
The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to
ignite: Ignition Source, Fuel, and an Oxidizing Agent
(Usually Oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements
are present and combined in the right mixture and a fire can be
prevented or extinguished by removing any one of the
elements in the fire triangle. For example, covering a fire with
a fire blanket removes the "oxygen" part of the triangle and
can extinguish a fire.

STATIC ELECTRICITY
Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material.
The charge remains until it is able to move away by means of an
electric current or electrical discharge. Static electricity is named in
contrast with current electricity, which flows through wires or other
conductors and transmits energy.
Discharge of static electricity can create severe hazards in
those industries dealing with flammable substances, where a small
electrical spark may ignite explosive mixtures.
STATIC ELECTRIC CHARGE
Static electric charge is created whenever two surfaces contact and separate, and at least
one of the surfaces has a high resistance to electrical current (and is therefore an electrical
insulator)
ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE

ESD is the sudden flow of electricity between two electrically charged objects caused by
contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown. The ESD occurs when differently-charged
objects are brought close together or when the dielectric between them breaks down, often
creating a visible spark.
ESD can cause a range of harmful effects of importance in industry, including gas, fuel
vapor and coal dust explosions.
Causes of ESD
One of the causes of ESD events
is static electricity. Static electricity is
often
generated
through
tribocharging, the separation of
electric charges that occurs when two
materials are brought into contact and
then separated.
Examples of tribocharging include:
1. Walking on a rug
2. Rubbing a plastic comb against dry
hair
3. Rubbing a balloon against a sweater
4. Ascending from a fabric car seat
5.
Removing some types of plastic
packaging.
In all these cases, the friction
between two materials results in
tribocharging, thus creating a difference of electrical potential that can lead to an ESD event.
Static electricity is a fact of Life. Youre producing it and discharging it constantly. Moisture
in the air can help it to dissipate, and raising the humidity in your workplace is another very good
measure you can take to reduce the chance of damage caused by ESD. ESD can set off
explosions or fires in flammable environments. Certain operations may give rise to flammable
vapors, and at any time a SPARK from a static charge can cause a major EXPLOSION or FIRE.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or
other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury. The hazards
addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and
airborne particulate matter. Below are the required PPE :
Safety Helmets

Each affected employee shall wear protective helmets when working in

areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects.

Safety Spectacles and Face Shields

Employees or workers must use appropriate eye or face protection

when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal,
liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or
potentially injurious light radiation.
Ear Plugs and Muffs
People should wear a hearing protector if the
noise or sound level at the workplace exceeds 85
decibels (A-weighted) or dB(A). Hearing protectors
reduce the noise exposure level and the risk of
hearing loss.

Hand Gloves
Used when employees' hands are exposed to hazards such as those
from skin absorption of harmful substances; severe cuts or lacerations;
severe abrasions; punctures; chemical burns; thermal burns; and harmful
temperature extremes.

Safety Shoes
It is a a durable boot or shoe that has a
protective reinforcement
in the toe which protects the foot from falling objects or compression,
usually combined with a mid sole plate to protect against punctures
from below. Safety shoes are used on tasks that include the danger of
slipping, falling, rolling or dropping objects on foot, corrosive and
poisonous materials or electricity.

Coverall

This is a type of garment which is usually used as protective

clothing when working. Coveralls must be made of cotton
because other material such as synthetic will cause risk when

working on hazardous areas because synthetic clothing can easily generates static electricity
and produces sparks that may lead to explosion or fire when flammable gas is present.

Safety Considerations before Start of Work

Listed below are the safety procedures and documents needed to ensure safely doing in
every task. The document should be accomplished before or after start of work depending on the
scope of activities.
1. Lock Out /Tag-out
- a safety procedure which is used in industry and research settings to ensure that
dangerous machines are properly shut off and not started up again prior to the completion
of maintenance or servicing work. It requires that hazardous power sources be "isolated
and rendered inoperative" before any repair procedure is started. "Lock and tag" works in
conjunction with a lock usually locking the device or the power source with the hasp, and
placing it in such a position that no hazardous power sources can be turned on. The
procedure requires that a tag be affixed to the locked device indicating that it should not
be turned on.
2. Permit to Work

- a controlling document for all identified hazard and allow specific permits to a
predefined task (Ex. Confined space, working at heights, excavation, electrical
isolation). It is also a administrative control document that describes the measures
needed to perform the given task/work safely. It records control measures to be
taken to make the job safe. (Example: Isolations, PPE, protection guards, etc.)

3. HIRAC (Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Control)

- (HIRAC) are three key steps in the process used in work places to manage health
and safety by focusing on risk. HIRAC is one of the supportive mechanisms which assist to
achieve the highest levels of Occupational Health and Safety performance.
4. HSES (Health, Safety, Environment and Security) Attendance Sheet