Risk analysis for equipment and protective systems

intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres

Jean-Philippe Pineau

To cite this version:

Jean-Philippe Pineau. Risk analysis for equipment and protective systems intended for use in
potentially explosive atmospheres. ATEX Workshop, May 2002, Bruxelles, Belgium. <ineris00972366>

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Risk analysis for equipment and protective systems intended for use in
potentially explosive atmospheres
J . P. Pineau, INERJS, BP.2, 60550, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France, tel 333 44 55 65 14, fax 333 44 55 66 00,
email [email protected]
EU Directives 98/37/EC (machinery directive) and 94/9/EC (ATEX 100a) have to be applied by manufacturers
of equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. These Directives
include Essential Safety Requirements and place an onus on manufacturers to carry out a risk assessment for the
intended use of their equipment. In order to help manufacturers in this task, the European Standards
organisation, CEN, TC 305 has mandated its WG 4 (terminology and methodology) to write a standard on the
risk assessment of equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. The
RASE project was set up as a prenormative research work to define the requirements for developing such a
standard as specified in the dedicated call of the European Commission's Standards Measurement and Testing
programme concerned with subjects relating to the standardisation activities of CEN - Explosive atmospheres risk assessment of unit operations and equipment. The project (December 1997-May 2000) was co-ordinated by
INBUREX with the participation of FSA Germany, INERIS France, HSE England, NIRO Denmark and CMR
Norway. Since March 2000, WG 4 (TC 305) is actively involved in preparing the final draft of this standard.
This paper describes the objectives and the results obtained to date in RASE project and in WG4. An outline is
given of the contents of the standard being developed for the risk assessment of equipment and protection
systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Keywords: risk assessment, explosive atmospheres, equipment, protective systems
INTRODUCTION

The Essential Safety Requirements relating to EU Directives 98/37/EC (machinery directive) and 94/9/EC
(ATEX 100A) are to be applied by manufacturers of equipment and protective systems intended for use in
potentially explosive atmospheres. Current standards (e.g. EN1127-1 and 2) only consider the basic concepts
and methodology dealing with explosion prevention and protection respectively for groups II and I equipments.
There is a lack of a common methodology which can be used by manufacturers facing the design of the wide
variety of equipment and protective systems (both electrical and non-electrical) intended for use in explosive
atmospheres.
CEN/TC305 has mandated (december 1994) its working group 4 (terminology and methodology) to write a
specific European standard dealing with risk assessment of equipment for use in potentially explosive
atmospheres before end 2001. This means that there is an urgent need for a standard on risk assessment.
In order for manufacturers to meet the Essential Safety Requirements, it is necessary that they carry out a risk
assessment of their products including its intended use. Current Risk Assessment Methodology standards, for
example EN 1050, provide a good general overview of the techniques and the concepts involved for application
of the machinery directive. However they need to be extensively and clearly extended to cover the specific
situation and problems associated with risk assessment of equipment and protective systems intended for use in
potentially explosive atmospheres.
Thus it is necessary to develop a flexible and comprehensive unified methodology that will assess the process
parameters including those of equipment and protective systems to identify the hazardous situations and evaluate
the risks. This methodology needs to provide a link between the risk, its severity and probability of occurrence
and the consequences whilst allowing the evaluation of mitigating effects arising from both the design and
construction of the equipment and also the provision of additional protective systems (risk reduction).
The RASE project was set up to meet the requirements for developing such a standard as specified in the
dedicated call of the European Commission's Standards Measurement and Testing programme concerned with
subjects relating to the standardisation activities of CEN - Explosive atmospheres - risk assessment of unit
operations and equipment.
The objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive flexible Risk Assessment Methodology for
identifying potential hazardous situations in equipment such as reactors, dryers, mixers, storage systems
intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres in various industries (chemical, oil, food and provender,
metallurgy etc.).
The developed Risk Assessment Methodology will help manufacturers of such equipment fulfil their obligations
under the ATEXlOOa (Equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, 94/9/EC) Directive, i.e. it will be
related to the equipment groups and categories defined in this Directive and has been produced in a form that

can be readily discussed as an input for a European Standard. The project has been developed to ensure a close
relationship with the work performed in CEN/TC305 and CENELEC/TC31, the European Standards bodies
concerned with this topic.
As a consequence of this scientific objective, the following technical objectives will be achieved:

harmonisation of a comprehensive approach of hazardous situations between manufacturers, consultants,

competent authorities and users.
the user should consider the safety in operational conditions on the basis of risk assessment performed at the
design stage by the manufacturer.
estimation of the residual risk (if any)
improvement of the choice of equipment referring to safe operating conditions
reduction of production losses during operation (including malfunction) of the equipment and total loss of
equipment from an accidental explosion
use of the results of the application of the risk assessment for the training of operators of equipment.

As the proposed project has been planned to be accomplished in close co-operation with CEN/TC305 and
CENELEC/TC31, the end result has been a methodology that can be used as an input for the work to be
performed by CEN/TC305/WG4 which will enable manufacturers to simply and quickly assess the risks
associated with the intended use of their products, thus contributing to the improvement of Health, Safety and
Environment in Europe.
The work (WI 00305061) mandated to WG 4 in TC 305 is concerning a methodology for risk assessment of
equipment and protective systems for intended use in potentially explosive atmospheres.
The proposed scope is the following :
This standard will give guidance on risk assessment related to dangerous (hazardous) situations arising from
potentially explosive atmospheres.
This includes :

The evaluation of the likelihood and consequences of an explosion

The mitigation of explosion effects

The selection of equipment and/or protective systems (including components)

The information for safe use and maintenance.

I WORK PROGRESS IN RASE PROJECT (December 1999-May 2000)

A draft version of a risk assessment methodology which can be used by manufacturers of equipment designed
for use in potentially explosive atmospheres was produced in May 2000.
This methodology was established as an end product after completion of four discrete work packages :

Inquiry on Current Experience from Manufacturers (and Users)

Development of Risk assessment methodology
Application of the methodology for various types of equipment and protective systems
Final improvement of the methodology.

1.1 Inquiry on Current Experience from Manufacturers

The starting point has been the existing experience of manufacturers and users. An inquiry was carried out
through questionnaires (respectively for manufacturers and users). Included in these questionnaires were aspects
such as the intended use, the level of training of operators, the degree of automation of the equipment, the choice
of safety measures used, the severity of harm, the probability of occurrence of hazardous situations, the
reliability data of equipment and safety measures, the efficacy of the safety measures, the maintenance, the
lessons learnt from accidents, the knowledge of existing national regulations, standards and codes of practice,
the safety rules specified in the instructions for use and whether and how manufacturers currently carry out risk
assessments.

These questionnaires were translated into French, German, Danish and Norwegian and sent to firms in England,
Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The distribution was
mainly to manufacturers (mainly non-electrical but also some electrical) as well as to some users of equipment
for use in both gas and dust explosive atmospheres. Both large and small companies were approached as well as
Engineering Contractors. Unfortunately due the time constraints of the project, it was not possible to cover
Southern European countries.
Approximately 200 responses were received and the results reported using an Excel spread sheet specially
developed to aid with the evaluation of the results. The main conclusions that can be drawn from this survey
were:

most respondees have little awareness of the European Directives dealing with potentially explosive
atmospheres, however the majority are aware of national legislation in this field.

in many instances, manufacturers do not consider that it is their responsibility to define hazardous zones and
assess risks, however customers specifications are taken into account. They do not seem to use the results of
any risk assessment which would appear to contradict the response that the majority consider 'intended use'.

the risk of occurrence of explosive atmospheres is assessed by Users with a large diversity of methods. Both
potential gas/vapour and dust explosive atmospheres are taken into account. For this risk assessment, topics
such as flammability and explosivity characteristics of products, hazardous areas classification, protective
and preventive methods are considered.

1/3 of manufacturers are aware of accidental explosions involving their equipment.

1/2 of users had had explosions in their plant ; protective systems were present in the majority of these
incidents.

a large variety of safety measures were used by users however surprisingly such safety measures were
chosen as a result of a risk assessment in only 50% of the cases.

with respect to efficacy, there were a lot of standards used by manufacturers either related to the equipment
in general and for specific protective measures but only 50% of the users said that they received such
information.

ca. 8 5 % of the users consider reliability of equipment and protective systems as a part of their risk
assessment whereas only ca. 50% of manufacturers consider this aspect.
The questionnaires identified that both manufacturers and users are still looking for suitable tools to use for risk
assessment.
Additionnally, incident data have been collected and evaluated to determine relevant aspects which would have
a bearing on the proposed risk assessment methodology. The review included approximately 750 dust explosion
accidents and 20 gas explosion incidents.
The investigation revealed the following with respect to the cause and effects of dust explosions:

26 % of the accidents are caused by human action (based on German records, UK records indicate that only
7 % of the accidents are caused by human action)

28 % of the accidents are caused by poor design

12-14 % of the accidents is caused by poor maintenance

2-7 % of the consequences of the accidents were worsened due to human action

in 19-21 % of the accidents poor design can be pointed out as a factor for worsening the effects

it was found that in almost all cases knowledge of ignition properties of the respective dusts would not have
been able to prevent the accidents from happening. Explosion protection was applied in many cases but
worked satisfactory in only a fraction of the cases that it was applied.
With respect to the causes of gas explosions it was found that:
33-67 % of the accidents can be attributed to human action (respectively offshore and onshore)

both offshore and onshore design errors are responsible for approximately 33 % of the accidents
poor maintenance appears to be responsible for 11 and 17 % of the accidents occurring offshore and
onshore respectively however, 46 % of the accidents concerned mechanical failure.
> in all investigated gas explosion accidents the design was too poor to withstand the gas explosion effects.
Overall the review showed that important issues in risk analysis are: human factor, plant design and maintenance
and that these factors should be taken into account in the development of the risk assessment methodology.

1.2 Development of Risk Assessment Methodology

According to the responses to the questionnaires and the types of equipment involved, a review was carried out
of existing methodologies for risk assessment which will enable a methodology to be developed so that it is
flexible enough to be simply applied to the equipment considered but comprehensive enough to deal with the
above mentioned aspects. The objective is the development of integrated explosion safety through the choice of
reliable and effective safety measures.
The review of existing methodologies considers not only current European standards but also national standards,
guidelines and current practices. In addition accident literature was reviewed to ensure that any lessons to be
learnt are incorporated in the methodology. The scope of the risk assessment methodology was based on the
requirements identified from the responses to the questionnaire.
The results of the review of existing methodologies for risk assessment together with the responses from the
questionnaire and the review of gas and dust explosion incidents that have occurred allowed to develop a
methodology which is flexible enough to be simply applied to the equipment considered but comprehensive
enough to cover all aspects required by the Directives.
The scope of the methodology has been extensively discussed by the project partners. In particular, the intended
breadth of application of the methodology i.e. whether it is intended just for simple pieces of equipment or also
for more complex assemblies of apparatus was a difficult point to resolve. Limiting the scope of application to
simple single items of equipment has the advantage that the resulting methodology would be relatively simple to
describe, however, this will prevent from a fulfilling the requirements of the project which specifically states that
the methodology should be applicable to all equipment which fall under the ATEX 100a directive. At present the
methodology attempts to cover all equipment covered by the ATEX 100a Directive. It is primarily targeted at
design and manufacturing however it also covers uses of equipment to ensure a common format/language
between the two aspects. Often the severity/consequences of an incident can only be defined by the user and a
link is needed between these aspects.
The methodology concentrates on risk analysis i.e. hazard identification, risk estimation and risk evaluation and
also includes details of the relevant tools/techniques which can be used. In addition, ways to identify possible
deviations have also be included. Risk reduction, which is not a part of risk assessment has not be included,
however, a section on risk reduction options analysis has been included to ensure that the risk assessment
considers the effect of any risk reduction measures that were taken. An extensive list of existing risk assessment
techniques has been included with a short description of each and reference to more detailed information.
It became apparent that a critical stage in the process of risk assessment was the definition of the scope of the
intended use of the equipment being studied. The methodology includes a novel procedure for the preparation of
an 'Equipment/Process Flow Diagram' to ensure that the intended use of the equipment is correctly defined.
This procedure helps specify the conditions within the equipment during its use by the inclusion of energy (i.e.
temperatures, pressures etc.) levels for each phase of the equipment's operation which are then used to
consider/define the status of the materials being handled and the equipment itself. Such a flow diagram not only
helps to define the intended use but is also used as the key part of the iterative risk assessment process.
A large amount of effort has been expended in trying to achieve both a clear logic flow through the risk
assessment procedure and also the arrangement of information in a structured way. Logic diagrams have been
included to make the methodology more useable. Flow charts for deciding the which data/tests are required for
gas/vapour flammability properties and for the explosibility of dusts have been developed and included.
The methodology provides ways to consider the risk of damage to people, the environment and property and a
separate section has been included discussing residual risk. In order to help the user of the methodology, tables
with a prescribed format have been included for recording the results of the hazard identification step and also
the new 'Function/State Analysis' step. These also help achieve data transparency between manufacturer and
user. Although quality assurance is not felt to be a part of the methodology, the specific requirements for
documentation which have been included would allow an audit of the results to be carried out where necessary.
The final document will contain examples of the use of the methodology and will include information to help
manufacturers classify their equipment as defined in the 94/9/EC Directive.

1.2.1 Contents of the proposed standard

The proposed methodology has been written in the format of a standard and its contents are shown in Table 1.
The Introduction outlines the requirements of both the Machinery and ATEX 100a Directives in terms of
producing a safe machine and describes the applicability of each Directive. Thus in order to comply with the
Essential Health and Safety Requirements of the Machinery Directive, it is necessary to comply with the ATEX
Directive. If there is an explosion risk which is outside of the scope of the ATEX Directive then the original
Machinery Directive will apply. Following a brief description of explosion risk and the influencing factors in
section 4, the main body of the proposed standard is contained in section 5 which describes the proposed risk
assessment methodology.

0
1
2
3
4
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
6

Introduction
Scope
Normative references
Definitions
Aspects on how to influence explosion risks
Risk assessment procedure
Determination of intended use (Functional / State-Analysis)
Hazard Identification
Risk Estimation
Risk Evaluation
Risk Reduction Option Analysis
Methods and/or techniques that could favourably be applied
Informative Annexes
Annex I
Equipment characteristics
Annex II
Operational aspects and influences
Annex III
Human factors and organisational aspects
Annex IV
Risk estimation and evaluation
Annex V
List of risk assessment techniques
Annex VI
Examples: Application of risk assessment methods
Table 1 : Contents of proposed standard on Risk assessment of equipment
1.2.2 Risk Assessment procedure
A risk assessment methodology needs to consider all risk factors including unexpected parameters. The
methodology needs to answer the following basic questions:
< What do we know? What is the risk?

Do we have an incident waiting to happen?

What action can we take?

What can go wrong? What are the potential consequences?

How likely is it to happen?

What is the chain of events which could lead to harm?

> Can we tolerate the potential consequences at the estimated likelihood?
< What are the benefits and costs of alternative technologies?
For the purpose of the proposed standard, risk assessment comprises in principle four steps following the
determination of intended use and the methodology proposed follows this sequential approach:

Determination of intended use (Functional / State-Analysis)

< Identification of hazards, hazardous situations and hazardous events
< Risk estimation (consequences / likelihood)

Risk evaluation
< Risk reduction option analysis.
The first three steps of risk assessment (determination, identification, estimation) are often referred to
collectively as risk analysis. Risk assessment is an iterative process. If, after risk has been evaluated, the decision
is made that the risk needs to be reduced it is necessary to re-estimate the risk. A decision can then be made as to

whether the measures taken have reduced the risk to an acceptable level. It is also essential to check that the
measures used to reduce risk have not themselves introduced any new hazards. Therefore a feedback loop from
Risk Reduction Option Analysis to Hazard Identification has to be made.
1.2.3 Determination of intended use (Functional / State-Analysis)
As mentioned above, the trials of the methodology with manufacturers showed that this aspect was often poorly
defined particularly in terms of nature of the explosive atmosphere that may be present. A functional state
analysis procedure has therefore been developed by the project team and included in the proposed standard.
In this respect it is an advantage to establish an Equipment / Process Flow Diagram in the light of a Functional /
State-Analysis with the inclusion of energy levels (i.e. temperatures, pressures etc.) for each phase of the
equipment's operation. Such a diagram helps the assessor to consider and/or to define the status of the materials
being handled and the status of equipment itself, see Figure 1.
In addition, such a flow diagram not only helps to define the intended use but also can be used as the key part of
the iterative risk assessment process. It refers the ATEX product characteristics to energies involved and/or the
operating state as well as the physical state of the substance. Thus the analyst is able to determine what, why and
how things can happen, especially when dealing with complete machines or more complex products. The
diagram is based on the fact, that any ATEX product has limits to its functionality and to its use, especially the
intended use, its lifetime and space it occupies (configuration). These limits form part of constituent elements or
parameters which need to be taken into account in any phase of the Functional/State-Analysis. These constituent
elements could serve as a screen to register, for example,

phases of equipment life

limits in terms of use, time, space

accurate definition of the function

selection of material used to construct

combustion properties
When defining those limits, the following items have an important impact, for example, in terms of use, time
and space:

intended use

product, capacity, load rate of utilisation, foreseeable misuse

life time

abrasion, corrosion, parameters of process like ageing by temperature, pressure, vibration, characteristics of
substances, maintenance, change of use, change of environment

configuration

range of movement, space requirement, location, volume, confinement, weight, kind of interconnections,
etc...

physical state
of the substance

unit operations

energies/
operating state

solid, grains,
dusty, gaseous,
liquid, emulsion,
paste-like

grinding, mixing,
fluidizing, spraying,
drying, evacuating,
storing, transporting

dynamics, statics,
pressure,
temperature

input
solid

S1

E1 heating

dusty

S2

E2 cooling

liquid

S3

paste-like S4
Sn

S: physical state of the substance

A...XYZ: unit operations
E: energy/operating state
V: linkage (depending on function/depending on effect)
Figure 1 : Functional Analysis of Unit Operations

1.2.4 Identification of hazards, hazardous situations and hazardous events

There is rarely, if ever, a single cause of a hazardous situation or hazardous event. Although the immediate cause
may be a simple hardware failure or operator error, other events will have also occurred which contribute to the
development of the accident. Such events include undetected failure of protective systems, ergonomie problems
or an organisation in which safety is not given priority.
In many ways, hazard identification is the most important part of any risk assessment. In order to successfully
carry out this step the previous step must have accurately defined the equipment in sufficient detail. Once a
hazard has been identified, the design can be changed to minimise it, even though the degree of risk may not
have been estimated. A full understanding of the equipment intended use and foreseeable misuse is of prime
importance during this step.
A project or a process has an acceptable safety design when one judges that adequate preventive or protective
measures have been taken. The term "adequate measures", refers to generally accepted safety, engineering,
scientific, production, operational, and maintenance procedures with view to the location in which the risk might
occur.
The main aim of hazard identification is that all possible hazards are found and none are missed. This may be
facilitated by the use of more than one method and/or technique. The main output from the hazard identification
stage is a numbered listing of hazardous events recorded as in Figure 2, which could result from the equipment
involved and is used as an input to the risk estimation stage.
Hazard identification can also produce subsidiary outputs, for example, a list of possible protective measures
against the hazards which have been identified. Such lists can then be used in the risk evaluation and risk
reduction steps.
In the assessment of the combustion properties and the likelihood of occurrence of a hazardous explosive
atmosphere logic diagrams are useful tools and several have been included in the proposed standard, for
example, for flammability limits or relevant data characterising the behaviour of the explosive atmosphere, and
for the exclusion of ignition sources.
Re
f

Location
of
Explosive
atmosphere
outside
Mixture with for a short
period only filling part
air of
flammable
gas

Explosive
atmosphere

Cloud of
combustible
dust

Frequency
of
Release

Present
frequently
in normal
operation

inside
elevator
housing

Potential
of
Ignition
source
stirrer
motor
surface

Friction
sparks in
bucket
elevator

Occurrence
of
Ignition
sources
during
malfunction
(overload)

buckets
rubbing on
housing

Probability
Effectiveness
of
of ignition
Ignition
sources
sources
likely to
High;
occur during
as surface
malfunction temperature
> ignition
temperature
likely to
Low;
occur
Due to slow
occasionally bucket speed
in normal
operation

Figure 2: Example of Hazard Identification Record Form

The ignition capability of the ignition sources should be compared with the ignition properties of the flammable
substances. The likelihood of occurrence of the effective ignition sources is assessed following EN 1127-1 and 2
taking into account those that can be introduced e.g. by maintenance and cleaning activities.
1.2.5 Risk Estimation
In principle, Risk Estimation shall be carried out for each explosion hazard or every hazard event by determining
the elements of risk after Hazard Identification. The risk associated with a complete machine or process is
derived from a combination of these individual risks. Risk in terms of explosion safety is fundamentally made
up of two elements: the severity of the possible harm and the probability of occurrence of that harm.

The seventy or consequence of an explosion can often be adequately characterised however the probability of its
occurrence is usually more difficult to quantify.
Risk is usually expressed in one of 3 ways:

Qualitatively for example as high, medium, low tolerable, intolerable, acceptable;

Quantitatively by calculating the frequency or probability of some determined event occurring;

Semi-quantitatively where elements of risk such as consequence, exposure and likelihood are given a
numerical score which are then combined in some way to give a pseudo-quantitative value of risk which
allows risks to be ranked one against another.
In many situations it is not possible to exactly determine all the factors that effect risk, in particular those which
contribute to the likelihood of a specified event occurring. Thus risk is often expressed in a qualitative rather
than a quantitative way.
Severity can be expressed as defined levels, one or more of which can result from each hazardous event. Thus in
terms of injuries, damage to health or system damage severity can be expressed as shown in Table 2.
In order to estimate the frequency of each severity level a screening technique can first be applied to determine
the probability of each hazardous event in terms of both the occurrence of an ignition source and the explosive
atmosphere. The frequency of occurrence can be qualitatively expressed as shown in Table 3:

Definition

SEVERITY LEVELS
CATASTROPHIC

DEATH OR SYSTEM LOSS.

MAJOR

SEVERE INJURY, SEVERE OCCUPATIONAL

ILLNESS, OR MAJOR SYSTEM DAMAGE.

MINOR

MINOR INJURY, MINOR OCCUPATIONAL

ILLNESS, OR MINOR SYSTEM DAMAGE.

NEGLIGIBLE

LESS THAN MINOR INJURY, OCCUPATIONAL

ILLNESS OR SYSTEM DAMAGE.

Table 2 : Definition of severity levels

In order to estimate the frequency of each severity level a screening technique can first be applied to
determine the probability of each hazardous event in terms of both the occurrence of an ignition source and the
explosive atmosphere. The frequency of occurrence can be qualitatively expressed as shown in Table 3.

FREQUENCY

Specific Individual Item

(ignition source)

Inventory
(explosive atmosphere)

FREQUENT

Likely to occur frequently

PROBABLE

Will occur several times in life of an Will occur frequently

item

OCCASIONAL

Likely to occur sometime in life of

an item

Will occur several times

REMOTE

Unlikely but possible to occur in

life of an item

Unlikely but can reasonably be

expected to occur

IMPROBABLE

So unlikely, it can be assumed

occurrence will not be experienced

Unlikely to occur, but possible

Continuously present

Table 3 : Qualitative Description of Frequency

The risk levels represent a ranking of the risk which enables an evaluation of what further actions are needed if
any. Four risk levels are used ranging from ' A ' representing a high risk level to ' D ' a low risk level. The matrix
linking frequency and severity is shown in Table 4.

Severity

Frequency of
Occurrence
Catastrophic

Major

Minor

Negligible

Frequent

Probable

Occasional

Remote

Improbable

Table 4: Frequency-Severity Matrix relating to risk levels

1.2.6 Risk Evaluation
Following the estimation of the risk, Risk Evaluation is carried out to determine if Risk Reduction is required or
whether the required degree of safety has been achieved. It is evident that if the risk estimation results in a risk
level of A, the risk is so high as to be intolerable and additional risk reduction measures are required. Similarly a
risk level of D can be considered to be acceptable and no further risk reduction is required. Thus the risk can be
described either as 'Intolerable' - if the risk falls into the first ranking then appropriate safety measures must be
taken to reduce the risk, or as 'Acceptable' - if the risk falls into the second category then no Risk Reduction is
required and the Risk Assessment is complete.
Risk levels B and C are intermediate levels and will normally require some form of risk reduction measures to
make the risk acceptable. However, the degree of these measures will be smaller and in the case of a risk level C,
organisational risk reduction measures will often be sufficient.
Alternatively the process of Risk Evaluation can be carried out by comparing the explosion risks associated with
equipment and unit operations with those of similar equipment. In this case it is essential that the following are
comparable:

hazards and elements of risk

type of equipment, its technology and operational limits

intended use and the conditions of use

The application of the comparison method does not preclude the need for conducting a Risk Assessment for the
specific conditions of use.
1.2.7 Risk Reduction Option Analysis
Risk can seldom in practice be reduced to zero except by eliminating the activities, however, risks can often be
further reduced. Options which address the hazardous events that make the greatest contributions to the total risk
have the greatest potential to reduce risk. Effectiveness in reducing risk always starts with changes to the design
concept, i.e. an inherently safe design.
Once the risk has been estimated and evaluated the risk reduction option analysis leads to the final decision as to
whether or not the solution found reduces the risk to an acceptable level. This decision includes both the
technological and economical point of view based on an appropriate classification of equipment category. If not,
the iterative process has to repeated after amending the safety concept. It is necessary to deal with residual risks
after all measures have been taken to reduce the probability and consequence of a specific hazardous event. The
residual risks are those against which risk reduction by design and safeguarding techniques are not, or not
totally, effective.
The user of the equipment must be informed about residual risks. Instructions and warnings, for example,
prescribe the operating modes and procedures to overcome the relevant hazards.
In many cases, it is unlikely that any one risk reduction option will be a complete solution for a particular
problem. Often, a combination of options are needed to get positive effects on safety.

1.2.8 Methods and/or techniques that could favourably be applied

The proposed standard also includes a section describing the different methods that are available for risk
assessment and their applicability to different situations. There is no golden rule as to which method and / or
technique ought to be adopted. Figure 3 gives some typical consideration in selecting type of analysis and depth
of the study.

By using more than one technique the possibility of overlooking any relevant hazards is minimised. However,
the additional time employed in using more than one technique needs to be balanced against the increased
confidence in the results.

A ';
s

\ 1: v.-

"

il

> . 1 . W

- i

" -

.! .

" i -'

t.

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<> i ri

w !: .

le .-.si ,1
1 \

_ii i

,,

i -,

"

." v.

s1

.[

' ! ! v.- I C

! 0 i. J

Yi
:

s i

.' i > i \

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Figure 3 :Typical considerations in selecting type of analysis and depth of the study
1.3 APPLICATION OF THE METHODOLOGY FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF EQUIPMENT AND
PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS
Six

<

<
'

examples were extensively developed :

exhaust system of gas engine
paint spray booth
oil seed extraction unit
protective system : an explosion venting door.
pneumatic powder transfer system
spray dryer for milk.

During these trials many manufacturers found that the document contains a great deal of useful information but
from a practical point of view it was difficult to navigate. It was not easy to read, too extensive, doesn't spell out
in word of one syllable what manufacturers have to do, what is link between methodology and directives etc. In
applying the methodology it was found that the sections on risk estimation and evaluation were not consistent
and required further development.
However following the application of the methodology with the help of the project partners, it was found that
the use of the proposed pro formas helped to clearly summarise the results. Similarly, the methodology provided
a good framework to pull together existing safety studies forcing the consideration of the intended use /
limitations of the machines.
It was clear from the trials that had been carried out that most manufacturers found the methodology difficult to
use. This in part reflects the complexity of the subject but also because the manufacturers have little idea what is
involved in carrying out a risk assessment and what they have to do to meet the requirements of the Directives.
When guided through the process by project participants, it was clear that the methodology produced a
satisfactory risk assessment with the advantage of the results being transparent.

1.4 COMPARISON OF RESULTS AND IMPROVEMENT OF METHODOLOGY

The above mentioned trials have shown that the basic framework of the developed methodology is suitable and
that when the suggested proformas are used for recording the results, the risk assessment which has been carried
out can be clearly followed. However it is clear from the trials that manufacturers have extreme difficulty in
applying the methodology. This is partly to be expected as the subject of risk assessment is extremely complex
and it is unlikely that someone without experience in the field can simply take the proposed draft and directly
apply it to their problem.
In order to improve the 'useability' of the methodology the project team has decided to develop and include a
'User-Guide' which will contain detailed examples of the use of the methodology for assessing the risk
associated with different types of equipment, unit operations and protective systems. Once this is completed, the
revised draft will be considered as the input for CEN TC305.

WORK PROGRESS ON RISK ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY IN CEN TC 305, WG4

Since mid 2000, four meetings were held with the active participations of representatives of the following
countries : France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, after a call for experts in the 15 EU countries.
A rearrangement of the the existing RASE project was proposed by experts and is under discussion.
The existing document should be adapted to be aligned with ISO/IEC guide N 51 " Safety aspects. Guidelines
for their inclusion in standards.
The standard will follow the iterative process of risk assessment as given in EN 1050 Risk assessment used
for the requirements of machinery directive (and used in the RASE project).
Further to discussions on the various parts of the RASE project, a revision of the work item dealing with risks
assessment will be submitted for acceptance at the next CEN TC 305 plenary meeting in November 2002.

3 CONCLUSIONS

The RASE project is finished since May 2000 and has successfully achieved its objectives. A methodology for
the risk assessment of equipment and unit operations intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres has
been developed. It is based on the results of a review of existing methodologies for risk assessment together with
the responses from a questionnaire of manufacturers and users on their current experiences and a review of gas
and dust explosion incidents that have occurred. The draft methodology has been tested with six manufacturers
and the results from these trials have been used to produce a methodology which is flexible enough to be simply
applied to the equipment considered but comprehensive enough to cover all aspects required by the Directives.

As the project is being carried out in close co-operation with CEN/TC305 and CENELEC/TC31, the end
methodology is now an input for the work under progress by CEN/TC305/WG4 which will enable
manufacturers to simply and quickly assess the risks associated with the intended use of their products, thus
contributing to the improvement of Health, Safety and Environment in Europe.
Acknowledgements
Part of the work described RASE project) in this paper was partly funded by the European Commission under
contract number SMT4-CT97-2169. The author acknowledges the contributionsby the coordinator of the RASE
project and by colleagues from the other project participants namely, FSA Germany, HSE England, NIRO
Denmark and CMR Norway without whom this project would not have been possible. INERIS and the previous
organisations funded also this project.
Another part of the work is under progress in CEN, TC 305WG4/subgroup 3 and the author acknowledges the
contributions by the members of this group.

References
Machinery Directive 98/37/EC
ATEXlOOa (Equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres) Directive94/9/EC
EN 1127 - 1 Explosive atmospheres - Explosion prevention and protection Part 1 : Basic concepts and
methodology
EN 1050, 1996 Safety of machinery - Risk assessment
R.L. Rogers N. Maddison A risk assessment standard for equipment for use in potentially explosive
atmospheres : The RASE project IchemE HAZARDS XV Symposium Manchester 4-6 th April 2000
R.L. Rogers Risk assessment of equipment : a manufacturers obligation The RASE project Process Safety and
Industrial Explosion Protection, 27 th -29* March 2001 International ESMG Symposium, Nurnberg, Germany
J.P.Pineau European standardization in the non-electric field, Work Progress in CEN TC 305 , WG 4
" terminology and methodology "VDI Berichte NR 1601, 2001, p 97-99
J. P. Pineau Risk analysis for equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive
atmospheres, International seminar on explosion safety in hazardous areas, November 15th, 2001, Cork, Ireland.