Non-sparking tools are made of materials that do not contain iron (non-ferrous metals) and therefore the risk of a spark being created while the tool is in use is reduced. Non-sparking tools protect against both fire and explosion in environments that may contain flammable liquids, vapors, dusts or residues. When working in confined spaces and areas where flammable gases or dusts are present, using a non-sparking tool is the best practice.
For more information, please visit Non-Sparking Cutting Tools.
Common materials used for non-sparking tools include brass, bronze, copper-nickel alloys, copper- aluminum alloys or copper-beryllium alloys. Beryllium alloys are less favorable due to the potential toxicity of beryllium dust. Non-metals such as wood, leather and plastics can also be used to create non-sparking tools.
Some common tools that are available in a non-sparking option include hammers, axes, pry bars, chisels, utility knives, mallets, pliers, screwdrivers, sockets and wrenches. Non-sparking polypropylene shovels are often used for hazardous material spill clean-up.
Because non-sparking tools are non-ferrous, they are softer than standard tools which are usually made of a high strength alloy steel. This may cause non-sparking tools to wear more quickly than their steel counterparts.
Regulations and Compliance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration&#;s (OSHA&#;s) Hand and Portable Powered Tools and Equipment standard [29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) .242(a)] states &#;Each employer shall be responsible for the safe condition of tools and equipment used by employees, including tools and equipment which may be furnished by employees.&#; Maintaining non-sparking tools in a safe condition is vitally important.
Ampco Safety Tools, a leading manufacturer of non-sparking tools, offers common-sense guidelines for proper use and maintenance of non-sparking tools:
OSHA&#;s information booklet titled &#;Hand and Power Tools&#; (Document ) states: &#;Iron or steel hand tools may produce sparks that can be an ignition source around flammable substances. Where this hazard exists, spark-resistant tools made of non-ferrous materials should be used where flammable gases, highly volatile liquids, and other explosive substances are stored or used.&#;
In the Confined Space standard, 29 CFR .146 Appendix D &#; Confined Space Pre-Entry Check List, under section 9 &#; Equipment, reference is made to having &#;All electric equipment listed Class I, Division I, Group D and Non-Sparking Tools.&#;
In response to the toxicity of beryllium and potential exposure in the workplace using copper-beryllium alloy non-sparking tools, OSHA has recently issued new standards to control exposure to all beryllium and beryllium compounds:
These standards target employees exposed to beryllium or beryllium compounds that can be inhaled. The objective of the standards is to prevent chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. If conditions exist where non-sparking tools can produce particles small enough to be inhaled such as grinding (sharpening, removing burrs or mushroom heads), sanding, chipping, drilling or heating of the non-sparking tool further action may be needed under these new rules. Refer to the OSHA beryllium landing page for more details.
There are many standards for Hand Tools that manufactures follow. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Committee B107 establishes safety considerations for the hand tool family and includes:
Buying tools that meet the ANSI B107 series of standards is assurance that you can expect a high level of performance and safety from these tools.
Selection of Non-Sparking Tools
In general, non-sparking tools should be used in any environment where ignition sources are a concern. Applications include, but are not limited to:
Selection of the appropriate tool for the task is vital. Tools must be used only for the purpose for which they were designed. The Hand Tool Institute (HTI) offers many safety education materials that aid in proper tool selection on their Safety Education Program web page.
Commonly Asked Questions
Q: How do I store and maintain my non-sparking tools?
A: Keep non-sparking tools clean and free of ferrous metal contamination which can reduce their non-sparking ability. Avoid contact with acetylene which can form explosive acetylides, especially in the presence of moisture. If damage has occurred to the striking face of hammers or to the edge of chisels, the tools should have the faces and heads redressed. Do not store hammers and other hand tools fitted with wooden handles in places where the handles may dry out and shrink. This will increase the risk of the handle breaking or the head becoming loose.
Q: Why does a non-sparking tool specify that it is beryllium free?
A: The non-sparking tool industry is sensitive to the potential toxicity of beryllium dust, mist, and fumes that may occur while working with the softer metals in a non-sparking tool. Other non-sparking metals do not carry that same concern.
Sources
29 CFR .242(a)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Hand and Power Tools, Document ,
Ampco Safety Tools
Hand Tools Institute
The information contained in this article is intended for general information purposes only and is based on information available as of the initial date of publication. No representation is made that the information or references are complete or remain current. This article is not a substitute for review of current applicable government regulations, industry standards, or other standards specific to your business and/or activities and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers with specific questions should refer to the applicable standards or consult with an attorney.
Source: Grainger Know How &#; https://www.grainger.com/know-how
In this episode of the Dust Safety Science Podcast, Hector Maggi, Managing Director of TFT-Pneumatic, based out of Houston, Texas, discusses the design and use of non-sparking tools in hazardous areas. While explaining how they work and what their primary applications are, he answers the following questions:
What is a non-sparking tool?
What applications are non-sparking tools used in?
How do these tools stay spark-free?
Are there any auxiliary features that can also be used?
How are the non-sparking tools certified?
What is the price difference between sparking and non-sparking tools?
Hector explained that non-sparking tools do not generate the heat, energy or temperature to create an ignition, making them appropriate for use in hydrocarbon-rich environments and/or dust-explosive environments, depending on the certification for the tool.
He presented the example of a sparkless grinder.
&#;With a regular grinder, (when) you start grinding down, eventually that part is going to get very, very hot. The part where the grinding disc is touching the surface may be 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or over 100 degrees Celsius. Sparks fly out and the further they fly, the hotter they burn. So if that spark is flying out six meters, 18 feet or so, that spark may generate in excess of degrees Celsius, which is well over degrees Fahrenheit.&#;
With a sparkless grinder, otherwise known as a certified cold work grinder, the temperature will not get hot enough to ignite hazardous areas.
Hector confirmed that these tools can be used for any kind of material removal.
Want more information on Non-Sparking Tightening Tools? Feel free to contact us.
&#;You have grinding, you also have cutting, so those types of tools are good to be used for cutting off a flange, cutting off bolts.&#;
He added that they are excellent surface prep tools and can be certified to perform in facilities that generate combustible dust. This includes sugar mills, paper mills, and other sites where the prospect of hot work arouses concern because a permit is required and the site may have to be shut down for days at a time.
&#;That shutdown by itself is extremely costly,&#; he explained. You&#;re not only having the loss of production, but you&#;re having a loss of income. And a lot of people tend to think, &#;Well, it&#;s normal, you have to do that type of work in order to keep the facility operational.&#; But the reality is that if you&#;re able to minimize that downtime while still being safe, you&#;re able to maximize your efficiency.&#;
Hector recalled one natural gas company that wanted to replace a firewall. It was welded on but would have to be cut off. Shutting it down would have cost millions of dollars, so Hector&#;s company recommended that they use cold cutting tools to remove the wall and bolt it back on afterwards instead of welding it. This strategy saved the client a lot of money.
&#;Generally speaking, not requiring a hot work permit is tremendously advantageous,&#; he pointed out. &#;Not only on the safety side but also on the efficiency and the cost-savings. It&#;s actually our best selling point.&#;
He recounted another incident, this one in a facility in the Gulf of Mexico.
&#;(They) decided that it was okay to perform a cutting job on a pipe. That pipe previously had hydrocarbons, so they had all their locks and safety measures in place, but somehow one of the contractors decided that it was okay to clear a lock and they removed a tag lock. They opened up a valve while the guys were cutting with a traditional grinder. So the moment that the product hit the sparks, the whole thing ignited. There were multiple people killed.
&#;Had they been using our tools, the sparkless grinders, they would have realized that there was a large amount of hydrocarbon fuel coming out of the pipe. And sure, there would have been an incident, but not one that would have ignited the source and killed (people).&#;
Hector emphasized that the tools are low-speed grinders with a maximum rotating speed of RPM. They also use a proprietary tungsten-based alloy instead of abrasives and have patented cutting shapes so that the teeth don&#;t hit the same point or area twice.
&#;By minimizing friction, we minimize temperature, and by minimizing both of them, we really minimize the possibility of an ignition source.&#;
They remove material on contact and last much longer than a traditional carbide tip, being capable of man-hours of continuous work.
TFT Pneumatic grinders are certified without the use of water. Its cutting systems require a bit of water in the form of a nozzle spray, and it is only used when cutting into pipe.
&#;By having a little bit of water, what we&#;re trying to do is to minimize any kind of friction between the material and having that lubrication in place essentially prevents it from happening,&#; Hector explained. &#;So we&#;re taking a very proactive approach, and the chances of it happening are slim. And I mean really, really slim.&#;
Hector admitted that it is difficult to get a certification on this type of machine.
&#;We were the company that broke through on this instance, close to 20 years ago. And the interesting thing about it is that in the US, there are no mechanical risk ignition considerations in the regulations. So we actually were able to break through in Europe. Europe was the first place that considered mechanical risk ignitions, as a potential ignition source. And that was the way that we were able to get our tools certified, back in the day.&#;
He explained that all tests were done using stoichiometric values, which are essentially the perfect mixture between air and the combustible substance, in pressure-controlled environments.
&#;We tested all sorts of different ignitable materials. We tested from natural gas, methane, and acetylene, which is about as volatile as it gets. And in every single case, through a very long and tedious process, we were able to do the material removal: the cutting, grinding, surface preparation. That was many, many years ago. And up to this date, we&#;re coming up on 20 years, and working daily worldwide, we have never managed to create an ignition.&#;
&#;An angle grinder will run about a few thousand dollars and a roughly comparable pneumatic grinder may run $. So it may be about double the cost of that traditional grinder,&#; Hector conceded. &#;But it comes with the added safety of being certified and it&#;s designed specifically to work on demand. It&#;s a very tough, heavy-duty industrial tool. Our file may go for $700, $800, $900. It varies depending on the size. The difference, as I mentioned, is that (a regular file) may last for 15 minutes. Ours may last man hours.&#;
Although non-sparking tools are a bigger investment, they improve safety levels on the job and even save money in the long run.
&#;I wouldn&#;t be able to even guess the cost of shutting down a silo for days at a time, or shutting down a sugar mill,&#; Hector said. &#;If you add up the costs of that shutdown, we&#;re incredibly cheaper. Most of the comments that we get from the customer are along the lines of, &#;You guys saved us a ton of hours. You guys saved us a ton of work, and you guys saved us hard money.&#;&#;
If you would like to discuss further, leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also reach Hector Maggi directly:
: [ protected], [ protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hector-maggi-198a/
If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our &#;Questions from the Community&#; page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode.
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DSS099: Design and Use of Non-Sparking Tools in Hazardous Areas with Hector Maggi
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