Posted By Alex Ryding Can any of you fine people point me in the right direction of a company that sells/ makes spark free hand tools? We have a new process were installing over the next couple of months and it uses large volumes of solvent; thinking ahead to maintenance, there may be times when we would need to adjust the equipment whilst still full and the best way to approach this is spark free tooling. I’ve assessed the equipment and for infrequent use this is the best way, if we need to empty it we have to transfer the 800litres of IMS it back to 205l drums using a spark free pump, this would increase the area that requires zoning and possibility of spillages. Thanks

Posted By Frank Hallett Why don't you just ask the lovely people that installed your process and provide you with the fluids that create the need for compliance with DSEAR? Faining that, there are several providers like ARCO who will point you in the right direction. Incidentally, "non-sparking" tools are still high on the list of a large number of activities, and not just in big installations that use expolosive substances. Have you really dealt with ALL of the needs identified in L138 & L137 in particular? Without wishing to 2nd guess you and without any real info to go on; your risk assessment and conclusions will need to be extremely thouroughly documented in order to sustain your proposed actions. Let me know if you need more. Frank Hallett

Posted By Tonyg Hi, i also worked in the Petro Chem industry for many years, and at Associated Octel in particular. The anti spark tools were "Telcon" and were used for toluene lines, EDB and other volatile chemical pipelines with low flash points. There are a number of companies that still sell them. Buck and Hickman Ellesmere port, being one of them. Tonyg