Hazardous Area Checklist
-- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 11/1/2000
Since one of the most common pitfalls of hazardous area design is a failure to accurately identify all the hazardous materials that will be in the space and then classify the area accordingly, it's important to approach such projects methodically.
The following is a checklist of design considerations, excerpted from Arcadis Giffels'"Design Guide for Classified Hazardous Rooms":
- Determine what the space will be used for.
- Compile a listing of hazardous products, liquids or gases to be stored or utilized in the space.
- Obtain the hazardous classification or material-safety and data sheets of these elements.
- Go to the appropriate building code and classify the space.
- Use the code to determine the separation requirements of the hazard from the rest of the building.
- Determine if it is possible to utilize mechanical ventilation with good turnover rates in order to address the issue of explosion relief.
- Follow the code to determine design requirements for all architectural, mechanical, fire-protection and electrical systems.
