La prévention dans la conception des stockages et entrepôts de stockage

L'activité de stockage et d'entreposage, même à l'époque de l'objectif du " zéro stock ", reste une activité omniprésente dans le cycle de vie de tout produit et notamment des produits dangereux. En dehors du risque de dissémination directe du produit toxique dans l'environnement (air, eau, sol) par suite d'une fuite d'un réservoir ou d'une inondation par exemple, le risque au stockage des produits toxiques est principalement lié à la combustibilité plus ou moins importante des produits concernés. En effet, l'activité d'entreposage ou de stockage induit des potentiels calorifiques souvent élevés, compte-tenu des densités de stockages couramment pratiquées (1 t /m2 et au-delà dans certains entrepôts spécialisés tels que les magasins de grande hauteur). Une bonne gestion des risques passe impérativement par une bonne politique de prévention et une adéquation des moyens additionnels de protection. Les aspects organisationnels seront également de première importance au cours de l'exploitation

Experimental approach of the fire hazard in closed spaces : laboratory and full-scale tests

This presentation is intended to open technical discussions at the workshop devoted to fire testing and modelling with regard to the specificity of the fire hazard in various enclosures that are liable to drive the fire scenario (tunnels, warehouses, technical rooms, underground structures). More particularly, the paper outlines INERIS views on the role that can be played by fire tests, from lab-scale to real scale, at the light of a brief historical review and from its own experience. The purpose is illustrated by a number of examples where INERIS has contributed to analyse or solve fire problems, evaluate fire protection systems or potential consequences to the environment or more generally understand related phenomena that can be encountered in closed structures. Eventually, the paper stresses the opportunity and advantages from conjugated use of testing and modelling techniques

Incendie et risque toxique : pour une stratégie préventive et prévisionnelle sur site industriel

II convient en tout premier lieu de rappeler que la toxicité des fumées d'incendie est la première cause de décès des Sapeurs-Pompiers qui sont victimes du feu en milieu confinés (selon les statistiques de la NFPA [14]). Sur le site industriel, la toxicité redoutée pour l'environnement, n'est pas, a contrario de la situation en secteur bâtimentaire, principalement liée à l'émission de monoxyde de carbone, mais résulte de la présence dans l'industrie de matériels et matériaux composés d'éléments chimiques sources potentielles de nuisances tels que l'azote, le chlore, le soufre, le phosphore, les éléments métalliques... . Ces éléments chimiques engendrent de nombreux polluants atmosphériques spécifiques (NOX, HC1, HCN, SO2, H2S, esters phosphoriques, mercaptans, acides halogènes, acroléine...) aux effets parfois très redoutables à faible concentration (quelques parties par millions [31])

Effects of the generic nature of polymers on their fire behavior

International audienceFire behavior of four aliphatic and two aromatic C, H, O, N, S, and Cl atom containing polymers has been examined. Experiments were performed in three ASTM E 2058 Fire Propagation Apparatuses. The differences in the ignition behavior of polymers were found to be mainly due to differences in the ignition temperature. Chemical effects appear to contribute about 25 % towards the ignition resistance of the polymers. For thermoplastics, formation of polymer melt and its burning as a pool fire was found to increase the fire intensity by factors of two to four. The combustion efficiency and generation efficiency of CO2 were found to decrease and the generation efficiencies of CO and smoke were found to increase by changes in the generic nature of the polymers (aliphatic to aromatic to halogenated). About four times as much carbon atoms in the polymers converted to smoke than converted to CO. Large-scale fire propagation behavior of polymers was characterized by a Fire Propagation Index (FPI). The FPI values of melting type thermoplastics (showing rapid-fire propagation behavior) were high, whereas they were low for the engineered charring type and halogenated polymers (showing either slow or decelerating fire propagation behavior)

Heptane fires tests with forced ventilation

International audienceHeptane fires used in EUREKA 499 were designed by France and Austria. They were managed by the French group, with an active participation from Austria. One of the main objectives of France contribution in EU 499 program was the thermo-mechanic measurements related to well characterized fire

Learning of the root factors of incidents potentially impacting the biofuel supply chains from some 100 significant cases

International audienceA biofuel is most often defined as a liquid or gaseous fuel used for transport purposes that can be produced from biomass substrates or bioresources. There are numerous potential supply chains for the production of biofuels, depending on feedstock, conventional or advanced processes, and final end use. AH stakeholders involved in the promotion of more sustainable biofuels highly welcomed the area of industrialization of so called 2nd génération type of biofuels. However existing facilities producing 1st génération biofuels, i.e. bioethanol from sugar based or cereal plants and biodiesel from vegetable oils and fats, hâve sharply increased in number in récent years, allowing for a reasonable survey of safety issues from incidents. Hazards hâve been identified throughout the entire supply chain from crop production until end use: thèse hazards are mostly linked to physical and chemical properties of products (feedstock, Chemicals used at the conversion step, biofuels and their by-products...) as well as to some equipment. Incidents involve fire and explosion scénarios, equipment ruptures, steam release, derailment with leakage associated or not with fires and explosions, and environment contamination

Risk analysis of fireworks transport in cargo container ships

International audienceThe study deals with the analysis of the most suitable configuration for positioning the fireworks containers in the cargo ship in order to minimize the risks for the ship in case of an accident (transmission of fire or deflagration originating from containers filled with fireworks devices to other containers or arising from other containers to the those containing fireworks)

Pyrotechnie : une évaluation des risques

Depuis une dizaine d'années, la pyrotechnie tend à se démocratiser, comme en témoigne le développement du marché des artifices de divertissement pour le grand public en France. Elle touche de même l'ensemble de la population dans des applications comme les équipements de sécurité des véhicules automobiles de type airbags ou prétensionneurs de ceinture de sécurité. En effet, ces équipements mettent en oeuvre des matériaux énergétiques adaptés au temps de réaction, extrêmement court, nécessaire à leur bon fonctionnement

Biodiesel : a case study of the impact of new rules regarding the classification and labelling of physical and chemical properties of chemicals

International audienceBiodiesel and any co-products or intermediate chemicals produced and used from the biodiesel industry fall under the scope of the regulation related to chemical substances. Today, there are approximately 120 plants in the EU producing annually up to 6,100,000 tonnes of biodiesel, mainly located in Germany, Italy, Austria, France and Sweden. The criteria and methods for classification of physical hazards of substances and preparations used so far in the European Union were defined since 1967 in 67/548/EEC Directive so called "substances Directive" and in 1999/45/EC Directive, dealing with preparations. The European regulation 1272/2008 so called 'CLP - Classification, Packaging and Labelling' came into force on 2009 and introduced new rules on classification and labelling for substances and mixtures (hazard categorisation, labelling, MSDS ...). The impact of these new rules on the biodiesel and co-products is specifically investigated

An analysis of some practical methods for estimating heats of combustion in fire safety studies

The theoretical (net) heat of combustion of materials is a basic information important for fire safety studies. This paper is a review of existing methods ranging from use of tabulated data to calculations relying on more or less sophisticated engineering correlations based on the elemental compositions of materials and in some cases on their chemical structures. The presentation emphasises only those calculation methods that allow user-friendly estimations of the heats of combustion, that is to say when at most a simple datasheet processor is the only tool required. Empirical correlations developed in early times of combustion science by Dulong (France), Boie (Germany) and some others are examined here in the context of fire engineering. More recently proposed predictive methods of heats of combustion in fire or chemical engineering background, taking account of structural effects of the molecules on their heats of combustion are then presented and compared. Finally, consideration of the relevance and accuracy of the listed methods is provided and commented either by comparison of literature and calculated values, either by reference to measured data obtained by use of conventional oxygen bomb calorimetry