EPD – applicability

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 must be prepared or ordered by the employer whose employees work in premises possibly endangered by explosion due to presence of substances capable of forming explosive mixture(s) with air.

Why?

The top-level objective of the Explosion Protection Document is to ensure free movement of workers within EU countries so that the same minimum occupational safety level is guaranteed to the employees in all Member States. Each EU Member State can stipulate more stringent requirements for its territory (in its national legislation), however, they may not be lessened below the joint EU level.

Where does this requirement come from?

The obligation to draw-up the EPD is defined in the Government Regulation No. GR 406/2004 Coll.(GR 393/2006 Coll., in the Slovak Republic). In both cases, this is the adopted Directive of the European Parliament No. 99/92/EC.

Employer or operator?

Due to the free movement of workers and the need for protection of their health and lives, the obligation to draw-up the EPD remains with the employer, who does not necessarily have to be the owner of the operated technology or buildings in which the employees work. Should there be more employers present at a single workplace, they must agree which one will draw-up the EPD; such document will then apply to all workers at the same workplace. EPD relates to the particular technology. If, for example, employees of an assembly company work within a power plant premises, they must follow the EPD prepared by the power plant; the assembly company performing one-time works at the premises of other employers is not required to prepare an EPD.

Do I really have to draw-up the EPD?

Are there any substances at the workplaces and in their vicinity that form explosive mixture(s) with air? Is their quantity sufficient for creating explosive atmosphere (approximately 50+ litres of flammable liquids and gases, respectively hundreds of litres of dust or dust deposits)?

If so, it is your obligation to draw-up the EPD (unless you are subject to any of the exactly defined exceptions listed in GR 406/2004 Coll.).

Is your answer “no”? And are you sure you did not forget for example a natural gas pressure regulating station? Warehouse for storing flammable liquids or explosive technical gases? Stock of propane-butane bottles for your handling equipment? Fuel station?

If you still say “no”, you are not required to draw-up the EPD.

And which substances form explosive mixture(s) with air?

It is quite simple in case of flammable liquids and gases - their explosive characteristics are generally known. Any questions can be answered by the Material Safety Data Sheet, chapter 9.

In case of flammable liquids, those capable of forming explosive concentrations of vapours are the liquids with flashing point lower than the ambient temperature or temperature of the technological processes (realistically up to 100°C). Oils, for example, are therefore excluded.

The situation becomes more difficult with dusts. If there are no details in the material safety data sheet, it is useful to check the following overview. And the best thing for you to do is to call us. In most cases, we will specify the explosive properties of dust while you wait and we can add the fire-technical characteristics as the bonus.

Explosive dusts include:

  1. all dusts of organic origin
  2. all solid fuels with the exception of some types of coke
  3. almost all plastics and polymers
  4. almost all composite materials, resins, laminates
  5. some metallic dusts (for example aluminium, magnesium, zinc, titanium), not iron
  6. waxes, paraffin, stearates
  7. flammable minerals (sulphur, coal)

The following dusts are not explosive:

  1. non-flammable minerals
  2. practically all solid oxides (including oxides of aluminium, zinc, magnesium, titanium) Caution! Some gaseous oxides, for example the carbon monoxide, are explosive!
  3. iron modifications (steel, stainless steel, cast iron)
  4. welding fumes (including the fumes from aluminium welding)

If you are not sure, contact us. We will be happy to help.