Is there such a situation where you are?
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Our tank area is located within the factory. The experts who came to inspect our tank area said that the standard used for the inspection was GB50074 for oil depots. However, clause 1.0.2 of GB50074–2014 states that this standard applies to the design of newly built, expanded, or renovated oil depots. These specifications do not apply to the following storage and transportation facilities for flammable and combustible liquids: 1. Storage and transportation facilities for flammable and combustible liquids within the premises of petrochemical enterprises. Is there such a situation where you are? Is it my understanding that’s wrong?
Your understanding is correct. Basically, the requirements of these standards are pretty similar; if there are no overly extreme demands, it’s fine to follow the experts’ advice. After all, the underlying assumption is that no safety incidents should occur.
But in some cases, you have to consider which standard to apply; for example, what should be the distance between lightning protection grounding points for oil tanks? Some regulations state 30 meters, while some experts say it is 18 meters, claiming that there are regulatory requirements. What are you going to do?
In accordance with the requirements of An Jian Zong Guan San [2013] No. 76, for construction projects involving \"two key areas and one major hazard\", they must meet at least the requirements of the following current standards and specifications, with the strictest safety provisions taking precedence; \"Code for General Layout Design of Industrial Enterprises\" (GB50187)； 2. «Code for General Layout and Transportation Design of Chemical Enterprises» (GB50489) ； 3. Code for Fire Protection Design of Petrochemical Enterprises (GB50160) ； 4. Code for Fire Protection Design of Oil and Gas Engineering Projects (GB50183) ； 5. Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings (GB50016) ； 6. Code for Design of Oil Depots (GB50074) ； 7. \"Code for Design of Detection and Alarm Systems for Flammable and Toxic Gases in Petrochemical Industries\" (GB50493) ； 8. “Guidelines for Safety Design Management of Chemical Engineering Construction Projects” (AQ/T3033)
As required, the fire protection regulations for petrochemical enterprises should be followed, but currently the strictest standards are being applied.
The petroleum depot regulations clearly state that they do not apply to \"storage and transportation facilities for flammable and combustible liquids within the premises of petrochemical enterprises\"; therefore, is it inappropriate to use these regulations in such cases?
In accordance with the relevant hierarchical regulations of **, departmental rules hold a higher status than standards. If Document No. An Jian Zong Guan San [2013] 76 states that it is applicable, then it’s meaningless if the specifications for oil depots clearly state that it is not applicable. In fact, Document No. 3 [2013] 76 issued by the General Administration for Work Safety is quite problematic. There were already various specific regulations established for different industries, and these regulations had achieved good results in practice. Document No. 76 came along and imposed its own set of rules, overriding those existing regulations. According to Article 15 of this document, gas stations should also comply with the \"Code for Fire Protection Design of Petrochemical Enterprises\" (GB50160) at the very least, but in reality, none of them do so.