Safety distance for Class A factories
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Our company has a distillation workshop classified as Category A, and another workshop, a hydrogenation workshop, also classified as Category A. According to petrochemical regulations, the fire separation distance between workshops of Category A should be 30 meters; however, the distance between our two workshops is only 28 meters. This was detected during a fire safety inspection, and rectification is required. I wonder if there are any other solutions besides moving the workshops?
Add a partition wall in the middle, remove and seal off the door wall on the opposite side; with these measures, the distance can be appropriately reduced.
An explosion-proof wall can be added; are there any relevant standards that confirm the feasibility of this approach?
It is possible to analyze the door and window structures of the two buildings; thereafter, depending on the situation, all doors and windows within 30 meters of the other building can be sealed off to form firewalls, while new doors and windows can be installed at a distance of 30 meters away.
Build a steel roof between the two workshops to connect them into one single workshop
Build a steel roof between the two workshops to connect them into one workshop; this is a good solution as long as the total area of the fire compartment resulting from this does not exceed the allowed limit. If the area exceeds the limit, then all the doors and windows within 30 meters of the taller factory building must be sealed off to create firewalls, which can also help reduce the required fire separation distance.
Was it the original design drawings that called for connecting them into one factory building, or were the safety assessments revised? Adding firewalls in between can reduce the required distance – is there any regulatory support for this?
According to the petrochemical regulations, it refers to the distance between Class A units; maintaining a distance of 30 meters between such units will meet the requirements of the regulations
It’s best to remove one of the sets of devices, thus eliminating the problem once and for all and avoiding the hassle of having to deal with experts by playing it by the book