A health and safety explosion

Published: Commercial Vehicle Workshop 

With flammable materials, fumes and gases commonplace, the commercial workshop is high risk when it comes to fires and explosions.  Peter Purdom, director of health and safety experts, xCenta Solutions, looks at such risks in the commercial vehicle repair sector.

Fire and explosion are one of the HSE’s top four priorities within our industry. The nature of commercial vehicle repair work means that the combination of flammable liquids and ‘hot work’ makes for a potentially explosive working environment. Indeed, fires and explosions are the main cause of property damage in the motor vehicle repair sector, as well as being responsible for a number of the serious and fatal injuries that the industry has seen over the last few years.

Therefore, effective health and safety policies and procedures for fire and explosions are not only essential for staff well-being, but also the whole business. The financial implications, not only in insurance and rebuilding costs, but also loss of revenue, would be astronomical if the building was gutted by fire and out of operation for weeks or months.

One of the common causes of fire or explosion comes from carrying out ‘hot work’ on drums tanks and other containers that have vapours such as petrol, diesel or paints etc. without carefully considering the risks involved or seeking alternative safer options such as cold cutting.

The dangers of not carrying out a careful assessment can be seen in the following incident where an HGV diesel tank had split along the seams and it was decided to repair it by brazing. The tank was emptied using a hand-pump but not cleaned or gas-freed, which left flammable particles within the tank. In the subsequent explosion and fire ball, the person carrying out the repair suffered the full force of the explosion and extensive burns.

Some common dos and don’ts when it comes to working with flammable materials are:

DO - Use a proprietary fuel retriever/adaptor when draining petrol from tanks and lines; store containers of flammable liquids in a safe place; consider the risks before carrying out any ‘hot work’ on drums or other containers that may contain vapours; explore safer options such as cold cutting/repair techniques and replacing rather than repairing; where ‘hot work’ on a tank or drum is necessary, reduce the risks by emptying, cleaning, gas-freeing or inerting.

DON’T - Don’t drain petrol over or close to pit or drain; don’t smoke, weld or carry out other ‘hot work’ while handling petrol or flammable paints/thinners; don’t use petrol/thinners to burn rubbish or unwanted materials.

Health and safety is often common sense, requiring employees to think before they act. But with senior management bearing responsibility for those that work for them, ensuring every effort is made to improve awareness and harbour a culture of health and safety first is a must. This will benefit the business on a number of levels, including employee safety, reduced risk to property and protecting against prosecution or fines should the worst happen. With explosions and fire one of the most serious of risks, this is one area that senior managers should prioritise for long-term prosperity.

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