Newson Gale

A U.S Chemical Safety Board investigation into a catastrophic fire, causing the destruction of a chemical distributor’s storage and packaging facility in Des Moines, Iowa, identified the uncontrolled release of an incendive static spark discharge as the source of ignition. The fire resulted in the evacuation of local businesses and significant business interuption costs for the company involved.

The fire originated in the packaging area of the facility and was caused by an uncontrolled discharge of static electricity when a 300 gallon (1100 litre) intermediate bulk container (IBC) was being filled with ethyl acetate.

The CSB’s investigation concluded that an incendive static spark ignited the vapours emanating from the IBC.

The investigation report stated that the IBC, the pump and the weighing scales on which the IBC had been situated were all grounded, however, the nozzle filling the IBC contained isolated conductive parts.

Static electricity accumulated on the isolated component and when enough potential difference occured between the nozzle and IBC, the static electricity discharged to the ground connected IBC, igniting the flammable ethyl ether atmosphere.

The ignition of the flammable atmosphere caused the filling nozzle to dislodge itself from the IBC and it continued discharging the ethyl ether into the fire, spreading to the rest of the storage area which contained flammable and combustible materials.

Click on link to view the CSB Report.

Controlling Static Hazards:
To prevent uncontrolled discharges of static electricty all conductive parts of the system, including the container being filled, pipes, pumps and nozzles, should be properly grounded to international guidelines (NFPA 77 and CENELEC CLC/TR:50404).

Material defined as conductive or static dissipative within potentially flammable or explosive atmospheres should be used wherever possible.

Filling flow rates should be controlled and splash filling should be avoided (guidance notice 51a issued by the Solvent Industry Association provides advice on this).

Only equipment certified for use within flammable/explosive atmospheres (for example equipment approved by ATEX/FM/CSA) should be used.

The free Newson Gale Grounding and Bonding Applications Handbook provides illustrations of best practice solutions to a broad range of static hazards.

Bond-Rite REMOTE GRP indicator station

The Bond-Rite REMOTE range has been enhanced with the addition of wall-mounted glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) indicator stations, for installation in hazardous processing areas.

The GRP indicator station is suitable for mounting in processing areas that do not require anti-contamination or anti-corrosion capability. The well established stainless steel indicator stations will continue to be available to cater for hygenic and corrosive environments.

The new GRP indicator station carries the same circuit-monitoring electronics and green flashing LED of the current Bond-Rite range, informing operators when a safe ground connection has been established with process equipment at risk of accumulating hazardous levels of electrostatic charge.

With the recently enhanced PCB boosting the useful lifetime of the battery, the battery-powered unit provides a good alternative to intrinsically safe (IS) mains-powered units requiring only two changes a year when used for up to six hours a day and can be installed and operational in less than 1 hour.

Both the battery-powered and IS/mains-powered Bond-Rite Remote with GRP indicator station are ATEX certified and can be mounted in Zone 0, 20, 1, 21, 2, 22 areas and IIC gas environments.

All Bond-Rite REMOTES are supplied with ATEX and FM approved two-pole clamps and Hytrel cable.

The heavy duty clamp is fitted with a special jaw grip able to clamp onto virtually any surface, including field-installed grounding rods.

Bond-Rite EZ with medium duty X45-IP

The Bond-Rite EZ portable static grounding and bonding assembly is now available equipped with the option of Heavy Duty and Medium Duty Stainless steel clamps.

This robust clamping mechanism, combined with sharp tungsten carbide teeth, penetrates through even the heaviest build-up of paint, coatings, corrosion, or other insulating deposits.

The EZ clamp  is a self-contained, easy-to-use device that provides, and continuously verifies, a low-resistance bonding connection.

In service it signals the existence of a safe connection to ground - less than 10 ohms - through a flashing green LED indicator on the handle of the monitoring clamp.

There are numerous operations in industry, transportation and emergency response where it is necessary to establish a low-resistance bond or connection to a local ground point, especially where vehicles such as vacuum trucks or a variety of other mobile or portable equipment are employed.

The self-contained Bond-Rite EZ is available in a range of options, with 5m or 10m retractable Cen-Stat cables, or with portable cable reels with up to 100ft capacity.

The Bond-Rite EZ is ATEX  certified as intrinsically safe and suitable for use in all flammable gas, vapour and combustible dust atmospheres. It also carries the equivalent FM and CSA approvals for all hazardous locations.

The recently enhanced PCB now enables the battery to power the EZ for up to a year (based on typical cycle of 3hrs use per day over a five-day week).