Ladies & gents,
Following on from a manual handling issue we had regarding the use of ramps to assist in loading containers, we received offshore a pair of aluminium ramps. A further check revealed we had aluminium ladders on board which were are used for accessing half height containers.
Given that there is plenty research regarding the potential for an ignition source from when aluminium and rusty steel or iron come into contact I need to know what other offshore oil & gas platforms or onshore refineries (anywhere with a potentially explosive atmosphere) have in place to control the use of such equipment. Whether the ignition source is a thermite reaction or caused by aluminium friction would still seem to be in doubt, but historically aluminium step ladders were banned offshore so it has been thought about previously.
I've asked this question via other networks and been deafened by the silence of the replies. No one seems to be willing to tell me how it's controlled elsewhere.
Do you control the use of aluminium equipment ? Are you aware of it's spark potential ? Have I got it wrong, if so why does it appear in all sorts of ATEX and Ex documents ? Do you have a risk assessment for using aluminium equipment ?
I’m really after experiences, ie what do you do, not what you suggest we do.
Hope you can help.
Cheers,
Iain M.

I don't have time to properly look but this might point you in the right direction?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/fo...in/flam-sols/td5_008.htm
Also there is lots of information around on the use on non-sparking tools, I assume the principle is the same?

It's going to depend on various factors, but you need to work out - maximum energy that can be generated vs the ignition energy of the substances and the zone specification.