HV Equipment Discharge in Hazardous Area (Zone-2)

You should have several mitigation procedures already in place for servicing this equipment...

During desalter unit maintenance, electrostatic discharge (ESD) can be a serious hazard, potentially damaging sensitive components and creating safety risks. To mitigate these dangers, proper grounding, anti-static materials, and ESD procedures are crucial. Understanding the potential for ESD and implementing preventative measures is essential for safe and effective maintenance.

Elaboration:

Desalters use high-voltage electrostatic fields to separate water and salt from crude oil. This process can generate significant electrostatic charge, and during maintenance, this charge can build up and discharge unexpectedly. Potential Dangers:

• Equipment Damage: ESD can damage electronic components, including those in control systems, instrumentation, and power supplies.
• Safety Risks: A sudden discharge can create sparks, potentially igniting flammable materials and posing a fire hazard. It can also cause tank pressure increases, blown tank seals, and other dangerous situations.
• Personnel Injury: Personnel working near or within the desalter unit are at risk of burns or shock from ESD.

Mitigation Strategies:

• Grounding: Ensuring the desalter unit, its components, and any work surfaces are properly grounded is crucial.
• Anti-Static Materials: Using anti-static materials for work surfaces, tools, and clothing can minimize charge buildup.
• ESD Procedures: Implementing and training personnel on proper ESD procedures is essential.
• Safe Work Practices: Following lockout/tagout procedures to isolate the unit before work begins, and ensuring the area is free of flammable materials, are crucial safety steps.
• Regular Inspections: Regularly inspecting the desalter unit and its components for any signs of damage or wear that could contribute to ESD is important.
• Proper Handling of Materials: When handling sensitive components, use anti-static wrist straps and avoid touching any electrical parts directly.

By implementing these strategies, the risk of ESD during desalter unit maintenance can be significantly reduced, ensuring a safer and more effective maintenance process.

...together with a Permit To Work procedure and a Hot Work Permit procedure.

As a final stage in the conformance regarding NFPA concern, the task should incorporate and implement the effective Lock Out / Tag Out procedure(s) for everyone's health and safety....

Sure, though such a panel cannot be operated with the enclosure open without a Hot Work Permit and the purge/pressurise equipment interlock bridged-out.

Thanks to all participants for their valuable input, Yes It is evident that with the risk assessment, approved work procedure and with the Hot work permit - source of Ignition, we can discharge high voltge equipment prior to work in hazardous area. Many thanks to all of you again.

I don't think that's exactly what was said.

No where in the code books will it tell you not to stick a flaming sword in your eye, or to not create sparks in a Division 2 environment. These are two events which can create a situation for you commonly described by Darwinism.

The Division 2 area must be rendered non-hazardous, or your method of discharging this equipment must be approved for a Division 2 environment. Anything else is a high risk experiment.