You may well ask “Who Is Responsible for the DSEAR Risk Assessment?” The person who Is responsible for carrying out the DSEAR Risk Assessment for any workplace is a good question. One which may arise when a number of contractors, and sub-contractors operate on a site, where an explosion hazard is present which requires the provision of an assessment.
Who is Responsible?
Under ATEX, and the DSEAR Regulations in the UK. The owner is responsible for the compliance of all their installations and sites with the ATEX Directive, as implemented in the UK within the DSEAR Regulations.
It is assumed that the owner may, of course, delegate his responsibility for the work involved in preparing and maintaining the DSEAR regulations to another responsible person.
Not uncommonly the owner will now ask the following question:
What Can be Left Out from DSEAR Compliant Risk Assessments
For that reason, on this page we outline the scope of the actions needed to comply with these regulations.
The Following Can be Left Out from a Workplace DSEAR Risk Assessment
It is not necessary to consider the following within ATEX/ DSEAR compliance reviews, or within the Explosion Protection Document:-
As permitted by the Regulations, maintenance can be considered as a separate issue and will be covered as necessary by Method Statements and Permits to Work, as appropriate and as part of the Operation and Maintenance Manuals.
Similarly, Health & Safety during construction is the responsibility of the Principal Contractor and Sub-Contractors as appropriate. The zones provided will therefore apply to normal operation, as is required by the regulations.
What it is Essential to Include in ATEX/ DSEAR Risk Assessments?
The DSEAR risk assessment undertaken for this purpose shall consider the following in the context of the normal operation of the plant:-
i. Prevent the formation of explosive atmospheres in the workplace
OR
Avoid the ignition of explosive atmospheres and Control the effects of explosions;
ii. Conduct a risk assessment covering:
● The likelihood of explosive atmospheres occurring and their persistence
● The likelihood of a source of ignition
● The effect of an ignition on plant, personnel and the environment;
iii. Classify the work place into Zones (or state that no hazardous zones exist in which case none of the further actions in this list apply);
iv. Marking of areas with signs at points of entry;
v. Maintenance of an explosion protection document including:-
● risk assessment and identification of zones
● area classification
● maintenance schedules
● documentation of requirements for training staff and instituting a system of permits to work;
vi. Select ATEX 100a compliant equipment according to intended zone.
Source: ATEX DSEAR Guidance HSE
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