Fire and explosion
Fires and explosions are the cause of most deaths and property damage in MVR. Mostly, they involve the mishandling of petrol when draining fuel tanks and lines but incidents have also occurred during ‘hot work’ (any process which generates flames, sparks or heat) repairs on diesel tanks (see further information below) or the inappropriate use of paints/thinners e.g. to light rubbish fires. Make sure you use safe methods of work with flammable materials and high temperatures.
Some dos and don'ts
- Use a proprietary fuel retriever/adaptor when draining petrol from tanks and lines
- Store containers of flammable liquids in a safe place
- Before carrying out any ‘hot work’ on drums or other containers that may contain vapours such as petrol, diesel, paints, solvents etc carefully consider the risks. Safer options include using cold cutting/repair techniques and replacing rather than repairing.
- Where ‘hot work’ on a tank or drum is necessary, reduce the risks by emptying, cleaning, gas-freeing or inerting.
- Don’t drain petrol over or close to pit or drain
- Don’t smoke, weld or carry out other ‘hot work’ while handling petrol or flammable paints/thinners
- Don’t use petrol/thinners to burn rubbish or unwanted materials
