The document discusses guidelines for limiting damage from explosions in industrial facilities handling explosive materials. It notes that explosions can cause significant damage and injury. The main guidelines covered include using venting to safely relieve explosive pressures, sizing vents according to standards from NFPA or FM Global, and using blast-resistant construction where needed to protect buildings and personnel. Explosion venting and blast resistance are required by building codes to provide protection from explosions.

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Alcan Packaging
FM 1-44 DAMAGE LIMITING CONSTRUCTION

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Burnt vehicles and debris left by hydrocarbon vapor
explosions that killed 15 workers at the BP Texas City refiner
y March 23, 2005.

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Oct. 6, 2005: Huge flames rise from the
Formosa Plastics manufacturing complex in
Point Comfort.

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Fire rages at the Marcus Oil facility on evening of
Dec. 3, 2004 following powerful tank explosion.

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Smoke billows from heavily damaged Formosa
Plastics plant following April 23, 2004 explosion.
Photo: Kevin German/The State Journal-Register
.

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Asheville Press
dryer after
explosion 2008

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Introduction
• Fire, explosions and environmental pollution are
the most serious "unpredictable" life affecting and
business losses having an impact on industries
today.
• Accidents:
Most accidents can be thought of as non-
preventable, all accidents are in fact preventable.

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The main cause of accidents
or failures can be:
• Ignorance
• Economic Considerations
• Oversight and Negligence
• Unusual Occurrences

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Ignorance
• Incompetent design, construction or inspection occurs.
• Supervision or maintenance occurs by personnel
without the necessary understanding.
• Assumption of responsibility by management without
an adequate understanding of risks.
• There is a lack of precedent.
• There is a lack of sufficient preliminary information.
• Failure to employ competent Loss Prevention
professionals.

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Economic Considerations
• Initial engineering and construction costs for
safety measures appear uneconomical.
• Operation and maintenance costs are
unwittingly reduced to below what is
necessary.

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Oversight and Negligence
• Unethical behavior occurs.
• Professional engineers and designers commit
errors.
• Contractual personnel or company supervisors
knowingly assume NO risks.
• Lack of proper coordination in the review of
engineering designs.
• Failure to conduct prudent safety reviews or
audits.

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Unusual Occurrences
• Natural catastrophes - earthquakes, extreme
weather, etc.
• Political upheaval - terrorist activities.
• Labor unrest, vandalism.

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Fire and Explosion Protection
Engineering Role
• is not a stand alone discipline,
• should be an integrated aspect of how a facility is
designed arranged and constructed.
• Should be integral with all members of the design
team, be it structural, civil, electrical, process, etc.
Risk engineer should mainly be in an advisory
role.
• In addition Risk Engineer must have expertise in
hazard, safety, risk and fire protection principles
and practices applied to the petroleum or other
related industries.

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Risk Management and
Insurance
• The four methods, in order of preference
are:
– Risk Reduction
– Risk Avoidance
– Risk Insurance
– Risk Acceptance

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Reduction of Risks
• Design, construction and maintenance of the
workplace (e.g. fire-resistance, explosion relief)
• Design, assembly, construction, installation,
provision, use and maintenance of suitable work
processes, including all relevant plant, equipment,
control and protection systems
• The application of appropriate systems of work
including: written instructions, permits to work and
other procedural systems of organizing work

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FM 1-44
This data sheet provides guidelines for the design and
construction of building components for rooms or
buildings where a combustion explosion (deflagration)
hazard exists.
Recommended combinations of vent area and design pressures
for pressure-resistant construction are
addressed for gas/air deflagrations. The criteria varies
depending on the degree of hazard of the fuel(s)
involved. For criteria on combustible dusts, refer to Data
Sheet 7-76, Prevention and Mitigation of Combustible
Dust Explosions and Fires.

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Not Covered in 1-44
• This data sheet does not cover explosion
• suppression systems or protection against a detonation (see Section
3.2.1). Space separation or blast
• resistance of structures exposed to vapor cloud explosions (VCEs);
boiling liquid, expanding vapor explosions
• (BLEVEs); reactor excursions or other large overpressure events are
also beyond the scope of this data
• sheet (see Data Sheet 7-43/17-2, Loss Prevention in Chemical Plants;
Data Sheet 7-44/17-3, Spacing of
• Facilities in Outdoor Chemical Plants; and Data Sheet 7-45,
Instrumentation and Control in Safety
• Applications, for additional details). For protection against
detonations, refer to Data Sheet 7-16, Barricades.

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A. The issue of venting violent overpressures is a critical
one for owners of facilities where potentially explosive
atmospheres, materials, and processes exist. Recent
statistics indicate that the average damage due to
explosions in industrial establishments is approximately
$3.4 million, compared to $210,000 for an average fire.
The possibility of an explosion occurring must be seen as a
real concern considering only three common elements
must be in place for an event to occur: ignition source, a
fuel, and confinement. If something can burn, it can likely
explode.
Q. Why use explosion venting?

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Q. Where are they required?
A. Any facility where potentially explosive atmospheres
exist requires explosion venting. Facilities handling
hazardous materials are required by numerous building
codes to provide adequate safeguards against explosions.
The following code and guideline authorities specify the
requirements for explosion venting and set standards of
protection that must be met.

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Q. How do I size my vents?
A. Either the NFPA Guideline 68
for Venting Deflagrations or the
Factory Mutual 1-44 Damage
Limiting Construction document
may be used. They offer formula
approaches to determine the
appropriate vent area for low
strength enclosures.

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Q. When I calculate the vent area, it turns out that I
don't have enough wall available. What can I do?
A. Consider reorienting your room so that the long wall is an
exterior wall.
Relocate the room to an outside corner so that two exterior walls
are available.
Locate the room as an extension off an exterior wall to allow for
three exterior walls.
Consider venting through the roof as well as the wall(s).
As room surface area plays a key role in the vent area
calculation, consider reducing room size or height.
Similarly, within the vent area formula, if the strength of the
pressure resistant structure is increased the required vent area is
reduced.

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Q. What is the difference between FM and
NFPA?
A. The Factory Mutual Research Corporation is an organization
financially supported by three Industrial Risk Insurance Companies.
FM's research, engineering, education, testing, and approval are aimed
at the risk reduction and property protection of its policyholders
through the setting and implementation of construction and operation
practices.
The National Fire Protection Association is an independent
organization whose interest is the development of codes, standards,
recommended practices, and guides for the education and furthering of
fire safety practices in North America and around the world. Members
include individuals, corporations, trade, or professional associations,
institutes, fire departments, fire brigades, and any other private or
public agencies desiring to advance the purposes of the association.

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Blast walls
• N.F.P.A. 30, as interpreted by FM, requires
rooms and buildings to be blast rated up to
100 lbs. per square foot.

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Blast doors

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100 lb Blast Doors