Background

All gas cylinders present risk if exposed to fire. The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) are aware of this and have safe methods of dealing with cylinders involved in fires.

Dissolved Acetylene (DA) has a distinct property which requires special precautions. The heat of a fire may initiate decomposition of DA. This is an exothermic (heat creating) reaction which can cause a DA cylinder to reheat after the fire is extinguished. The FRS protocol for dealing with DA usually involves cooling the cylinders for 24 hours and often a hazard zone of up to 200 metres is maintained for this period. Whilst very safe, this can lead to major road and other infrastructure disruption, which may in turn prejudice safety away from the incident.

But the UK protocol is at odds with what previously operated safely in the UK until 2003 and still operates safely in other countries.

DA is the most flexible fuel gas across multiple applications

There are other metal cutting and welding technologies, but none can match the high flame temperature which oxy-acetylene provides or its flexibility across its spectrum of applications. It welds metals other options cannot and it cuts metals more quickly.

When handled, stored and transported correctly, Acetylene is perfectly safe and has been invaluable to industry for over one hundred years. It remains irreplaceable.

What is being done to minimise disruption?

In 2006 the BCGA joined senior representatives from the Fire Service, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), Highways Agency, Police, Network Rail, Transport for London and others, to form a National Stakeholder Group (NSG) to work together on the issue. A profile of the group can be seen – Click here.

What are Acetylene suppliers doing?

BCGA members are co-operating closely and have offered various initiatives to help:-

A new and straightforward advice leaflet has been prepared for DA users – BCGA Leaflet L6. This is free to download. Click the document to the right to download.

New reflective marking is being applied to cylinders, to help the FRS identify DA more easily.

The UK’s DSEAR (Dangerous Substances Explosive Atmospheres) Regulations require users to undertake a comprehensive risk assessment that mandates the use of flashback arrestors (it is not clear that all users are fully aware of DSEAR). BCGA fully endorses the mandatory use of flashback arrestors.

BCGA has developed a simple risk assessment model for oxy-acetylene users – available free to download as TIS15 – Click the document on the right to download.

A full DSEAR risk assessment model is summarized in a new BCGA Guidance Note GN13. Members : click the document on the right to download. Non-members: click here to purchase.

BCGA has agreed with eBay to ban the sale of DA cylinders through their site as a way of restricting access to the product by untrained and unskilled individuals.

BCGA members offer the emergency services expert help at incidents through our Competent Person Scheme.

BCGA has also offered clarification on the potential effects of mechanical impact to DA cylinders, which will help police and Highways agency staff when dealing with road traffic incidents - click here (PDF).

BCGA are helping the Fire Service through hands-on training and provision of training material to hazmat officers within the Fire Service.

Four of the Stakeholder parties agreed to fund research being conducted by BAM, the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, in Berlin. BAM is world renowned in Acetylene science and research. Their task is to find out, with certainty and taking account of all variables – after how many hours of realistic cooling can we be sure that no decomposition can be ongoing and therefore that it is safe to close out an incident completely?

It is expected that this work will deliver useful answers early in 2009.

Doug Thornton – October 2008.