Explosion Protection Document (EPD)
The Explosion Protection Document (EPD) is the basic safety document which is crucial for all operations where substances capable of forming an explosive mixture with air are present.
The Explosion Protection Document (EPD)is one of the mandatory documents for all employers whose employees carry out activities in premises where they can be endangered by explosion or its consequences. The obligation to draw-up such Document is specified in the Government Regulation (GR) No. 406/2004 Coll., and/or European Directive 99/92/EC.
What is good to know
- EPD preparation is the obligation of the employer. I.e., not of the technology supplier, technology owner or its operator (the facility can be owned by a legal entity different from the employer).
- EPD must be in writing, complete, and up-to-date.
- EPD must be revised regularly - upon any significant changes to the operation and further in regular intervals, usually every 12 to 24 months
- EPD existence for given operation is verified by the State Labour Inspection Office.
- Most employers have the EPD drawn-up by experts
More about EPD
Does not relate only to explosion
Although the document name contains the word “explosion”, it relates to far more than just that. Explosion is usually the consequence of various non-standard operating events which have the nature of an accident – leakages of substances out of technology or packages, formation of initiation sources – sparks, flames and hot surfaces, detection instrumentation failure, etc.
The Explosion Protection Document must cover also the causes for explosive atmosphere formation, causes of initiation sources occurrence, and their prevention. EPD thus also deals with the issues of fire protection and prevention of environmental accidents.
Top level document
As the EPD deals with the most serious type of operating event (explosion), it must consider much broader range of risks and propose the most complex protective and preventive measures. From the legal perspective, it of course does not replace the fire protection documentation or records on determination of external influences, however, on the practical side, it amends and further elaborates the above-mentioned documents.
All media and technologies
The Explosion Protection Document deals with gases, vapours and flammable liquids, as well as flammable or explosive dust. You are thus not required to draw-up special documents for example for flammable liquids warehouses and other for grinding materials.
EPD does not relate to
The Explosion Protection Document is not required in cases when the quantity of flammable or explosive substances is so small that they cannot form a hazardous explosive atmosphere in practice or in cases when the situation does not require any additional measures. Generally, this means the explosive atmospheres with the volume of dozens of litres in case of flammable gases and vapours of flammable liquids or dozens to hundreds of litres in case of explosive dusts.
EPD is also not required for operations expressly listed in GR 406/2004 Coll.:
- premises for treating patients
- equipment for combustion of gaseous fuels (boilers, furnaces, gas flow-heaters, heaters). Caution: the equipment for treatment and distribution of gaseous fuels, e.g. the pressure regulating stations, main shut-off valves, regulating runs, etc., are not excluded.
- premises storing explosives and chemically unstable substances
- mining activities and activities subject to the State Mining Administration of the Czech Republic
- means of transport