Fire and Explosion control:

statuary provisions

By
P C Kataria
(Jt Chief Controller Of Explosives)
North Circle – Faridabad
25-4-2006
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 Petroleum and explosives safety
organization – Set up
 Head office-Nagpur-(CCE)
 Circle offices- (JT CCE)-Mumbai, Calcutta,
Agra, Chennai, Faridabad)
 Sub circle offices situated in the states-
Headed by Dy CCE
 Factory attached offices-5 HE factories,
headed by CE
 Testing station at Gondkheri-Nagpur, headed
by Dy CCE

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ACTS & RULES ADMINISTERED

 1.Explosives act 1884

 Explosives rules 1983
 Gas cyl. Rules 1981
 SMPV(U) rules 1981
 Notification no. GSR 625 (E) Dtd 7-8-83
regarding Acetylene 2.Petroleum act 1934
 Petroleum rules 2002
 Inflammable substances act 1952
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Definitions under pet. Act

 Liquid Hydrocarbons or any inflammable

mixture containing liquid HCs
 Pet. Class-A: Flash point below 23 deg. C
 Class-B: Above 23 but below 65 deg. C
 Class-C: Above 65 but below 93 deg. C
 Petroleum above 93 deg. is excluded from
the provisions of lic. for storages etc.

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 Control over petroleum
 Import, transport, storage as per the
provisions of the Petroleum rules2002
 To be imported at prescribed places only
 Only approved receptacles, tanks, pipelines,
transport vehicles to be used
 Production, Refining and blending of
petroleum can be done only under licence
 All receptacles of pet. Cl-A will be displayed
conspicuously with the name of product

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 Exemptions under Pet Act
 Quantity exempted from licence
Sec-8: Class A- upto 30 lts,
Sec-7(i):- Class B- upto 2500 lts(NB)
sec-7(ii):- Class C- upto 45 KL provided the
provisions of rule 138 are observed.
 Sec-10:- No lic. Required for import/ transport
by Rly. Administration as a carrier
 Defense forces for storages in their
installations

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Restrictions on Delivery and dispatch:
Rule-3
 Delivery only to the holders of lic. Or his authorized
agent or the persons authorized to store without
licence
 No lic. for delivery to Railways/port and defense
establishments
 Pet. Cl B upto 15000 Lts in approved containers may
be dispatched to unlicd. Persons provided a DCP FE
is carried for qty. above 2500 lts.
 Delivery of SKO to the person licd. In form XVIII for
decantation into containers provided prior
arrangements have been made by him for disposal
into containers in lots upto 2500 Lts.
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Approval of containers Rule 4-13
 Containers above 1 Lt-cl A and 5 Lt-cl B/C
shall be of the type approved by CCE
 Type appl. Require drawings showing
design, material/method of const., cap.& two
samples of containers with fee of Rs1000/-
 Class-A containers shall be of GI/tinned, rust
proofed Iron or steel provided glass bottles
upto 2.5 Lts for lab chemicals can be used

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Approval of containers Rule 4-13
contd.
 Name of Pet and warning shall be displayed
 Class B containers shall be of iron or steel
 Containers shall be leak proof and securely capped
 Air space of 5% for cl-A and B and 3% for C is
required
 Empty receptacles to be kept securely until cleaned
gas free
 No hot repairs until certified gas free by competent
person

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Rules-62 to 86 Transport by land vehicles-1
 Lic. Required for tank vehicles for clA & B
petroleum
 Fabrication/mounting to be done by comp.
persons approved by CCE
 Net carrying cap. Tank- cl-A 97% & cl-B 98%
 Net carrying cap of TT not to exceed 25kl and
refueller as 50kl
 Loading/unloading to done in licd. Premises
 Engine to stop &battery cut off and wheels
secured by efficient brakes
 Max. carrying cap. Diff. of unladen wt. and
GW permitted under transport. Regulations. 10
Rules-62 to 86 Transport by land vehicles-2

 Precautions against contamination of one product to

other
 Precautions against static charges by earthing,
proper use of dip rod, no splash filling & pipelines to
be earthed
 Engine air intake provided with flame arrestor
 Parking to be 9mts away from source of fire
 FE to be carried on tankers
 Tankers to be free from leaks
 No hot work until gas freed and cleaned dry

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 Rules 102 to 115 Electric installation
 Hazardous area classification-rule 104
1. Zone “0” area: vapors continuously present
2. Zone “1” vapors under normal operating cond.
3. Zone “2” vapors under abnormal op. cond.
 “0” area, Intrinsically safe circuit to be provided
 “1” area, flame proof electrical installation
 “2” area, Non sparking apparatus
 No portable electric lamp or apparatus other than
approved by CCE shall be used in hazardous area

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 Rules 102 to 115 Electric installation
Contd.
 Earthing and bonding of all electric systems &
equipment's, structures, non-current carrying
metallic parts, apparatus and other metallic
object efficiently earthed.
 The resistance value for electrical system 4
ohms & non current carrying metallic objects
as 10 ohms.
 Maintenance of electric and earthing systems
 Certificate of electric installation in
hazardous area by a competent person to be
retained upto 6 months
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 Rules 116-135
Petroleum Storage requiring licences

 No lic. for storage in well headed tanks and

as transit cargo within port
 No smoking in places other than authorized
 Scale of FF as per OISD-117 norms
 Adequate FE and all persons trained for their
operations
 Supervision of installation under experienced
person conversant with rules and cond. of lic.

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 Rules 116-135
Petroleum Storage- Encl walls

 No water accumulation in enclosures of the

tanks
 Encl. Level above surrounding GL
 Drain pipe fitted with valve operated from
outside
 All drainage valves kept closed except when
water is drained
 Encl. Walls maintained so as not to have
cracks and holes at pipe/cables entry points

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 Petroleum storage

 Fencing of 1.2m high for Service Stations and

1.8m for other installations to be provided
 Height of tank not to exceed 20m or 1.5 times
of its Diameter, whichever is less.
 Capacity of each A/G tank to be marked
conspicuously

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 Refuellers for Aircrafts
 License form-XIX
 Person conversant with conditions of lic employed
for driving the licensed vehicle
 Licensed vehicle conforms to Third schedule under
PR
 Vehicle to carry at all times
1. A FE of 9 Lts kept in unlocked position
2. An electrically cont. hose with couplings
3. At least 5m long cable with clips at ends

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 Refuellers for Aircraft's
 The parking place and filling point observes 4.5m
within fencing
 It can be parked in RO also with above cond.
 A 9m clearance from Protected Works during re-
fuelling of aircraft
 Before re-fueling ensure wheels secured by
brakes/chassis bonded with aircraft
 No hot work repairs without cleaning and cert. By
comp. Person
 No alterations without prior approval of Lic. Authority
 Accidents to be reported to LA and nearest PS
immediately

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 Bulk storage- enclosures
 Embankment wall not more than 2m high with
at least 60 cm flat top
 Ground inside Encl. Wall not lower than
surrounding
 Drainage controlled by valve accessible
under fire condn.
 For 2 or more tanks in same encl., total cap of
tanks not to exceed 60,000kl for fixed roof
and 1,20,000kl for floating roof tanks.For
combination cap. Limit upto 60.000kl only

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 Bulk storage- enclosures-contd.

 For cl A&B the encl. Cap is 100% of largest

tank after deducting vol. Up to ht. Of encl.
Wall
 Where only cl-C is stored the ht. Of encl.
Shall not be less than 1m
 The space within encl. Shall be kept
clean/clear
 All surface water from drainage through oil
interceptor

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Safety distance: Table-1
(Total qty of cl-A&B exceeds 5000KL & Tank Dia is
more than 9M)
 Tank to boundary fencing: A-20, B-15 & C-
4.5m
 Storage shed -fencing: A&B-15m, C- 4.5m
 TLP…………..: A&B-15m, C- 3m
 FLP pump A&B.………|: 3m
 Tank to tank A&B: .5D or d, if comes to less
than 15m then min. of 15m or .5D shall be
followed
 Cl-C tank to cl-A&B: 6m
 Tanks C to C: nil
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Table 2- ID between tanks cl A&B
(Above 5000kl dia more than 9m)
Tanks Dia upto 50m
 Floating roof- (D+d)/4

 Fixed roof (Cl-A&B pet): (D+d)/4

 Class C: (D+d)/6

Tanks having Dia more than 50m

 Floating roof : (D+d)/4

 Fixed roof (Cl-A&B pet): (D+d)/3

 Class C: (D+d)/4
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Table 3- Total Qty of A/G cl-A&B tanks
upto 5000kl, dia less than 9m
 CL-A tank to fencing- 15m
 CL-B tank to fencing- D or min 4.5m
 CL-C Tank to fencing- .5D min 3m
 TLP-fencing: A-9m, B-4.5m, C-3m
 Storage/filling shed-fencing: A-9m, B-4.5m, C-3m
 Tank cl-A to tanks of class A- .5D or 6m, cl B&C- .5D
 Tank cl-B to tanks of class A- .5D or 6m, cl B&C- .5D
 Tank cl-C to tanks of class A- .5D or 6m, cl B- .5D c-
nil

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 ACCIDENTS PROFILE-1
 Accidents in storage installations are rare which is creditable
to India looking at the size of installations
 Accidents at Retail outlets take place during decanting by TL,
the following are the main reasons.
1. Leaky hose pipes at filling and manifold areas
2. No couplings to hoses
3. Dip pipes of tanks kept open during filling
4. Smoking
5. Hammering of defective couplings at fill points
6. Outsiders entering the filling area
7. Improper earthing
8. Road accidents caused by leaks and fire

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ACCIDENTS PROFILE-2

 Unattended pumping- HPC Jaipur major

depot Yr.2000- a very heavy leak of
HSD due to overfilling, product leaked
upto 100M from A/G tank and came
outside the enclosure wall due to holes
in enclosure. Precautions saved fire.
 More than 60kl of naptha leaked into
river due to overflow in filling operation
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ACCIDENTS PROFILE-3
 Location: Unprotected Railway sidings
 1986-Karimnagar AP
 BPC railway siding had a deep U/G pump room for
siding
 Heavy rains caused inundation of pumps & motors
 Water removed & motors being cleaned for re-start
by a mechanic
 A passerby while smoking made enquiries with
mechanic, against his warnings, caused explosion
and fire. Mechanic died after two days
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ACCIDENTS PROFILE-4
 Location: Panipat Refinery expansion project
 OWS for expansion being constructed and one
section was still incomplete
 For this gap manual pumping arrangement was made
whenever drain was full up to a level
 Qil water mixture due to overflow leaked on the
ground and got ignited when preparation for hot work
on overhead pipeline (4 to 6M high) was in progress.
The fire was extinguished within 10 mts. by the FF
team of refinery.
 A welder tied with a life jacket on the pipeline was
trapped and died of sever burn injuries. Others
without safety belts escaped with burn injuries.
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Physical properties of some prodocts
Sp. Gr. Flammability
limit in air %V
Liquid Vapor LEL UEL
MS .69 to 3-4 1.4 7.6%
0.77
HSD 0.81 0.91 0.5 5%
SKO 0.8 4.5 0.7 5%
ATF 0.8 <1 0.6 8%
Naptha 0.69 2.5 to 1.1 5.9%
to .78 4.8
Hexane 0.7 3.0 1.2 6.9%
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Physical properties of some prodocts
Auto Flash B Pt Freezi
Ignitn pt. range ng pt.
MS 280 -46 30-215 -40
HSD 256 32-96 150- -18
400
SKO 210 43-72 150- -30
300
ATF 228- >-30 122- -
246 288
Naptha 277 -20 35-205 -
to50
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Hexane 245 -26 63-70 -40
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