Fire & Explosion Protection for Hungarian Oil & Gas Storage

Safeye 703 Open Path gas detection systems were recently integrated in a fire & explosion protection project initiated by the Hungarian government to protect it's oil & gas storage sites.  The requirement for gas monitoring systems is based on the Seveso Directive,.that was a result of the Italian Seveso disaster (On midday of July 10, 1976 an explosion occurred in a TCP (2,4,5-trichlorophenol) reactor in the ICMESA chemical company in Meda, Italy. A toxic cloud escaped into the atmosphere containing high concentrations of TCDD, a highly toxic form of dioxin. Downwind from the factory the dioxin cloud polluted a densely populated area of six kilometres long and one kilometre wide, immediately killing many animals. A neighbouring municipality that was highly affected is called Seveso. The accident was named after this village. The dioxin cloud affected a total of 11 communities.)

The Seveso accident and the immediate reaction of authorities led to the introduction of European regulation for the prevention and control of heavy accidents involving toxic substances. This regulation is now known as the Seveso Directive. This Directive was a central guideline for European countries for managing industrial safety.

The Seveso II Directive (96/82/EC) on the control of major accident hazards defines a number of requirements for the operators of industrial sites using a certain amount of dangerous substances. In particular, the operators of chemical, petrochemical, storage and warehouses, metal refining industries, where the amount of dangerous substances is exceeding the thresholds laid down in annex 1 of the directive have to define a major accident prevention policy, and for the upper tiers to establish a safety report, implement a safety management system and define an internal emergency plan. These requirements aim at preventing major accidents and mitigating their
consequences, for the benefice of the society and the environment.

The SafEye 703 gas detection systems are using RS485 wireless modbus communication to monitor the gasoline storage sites and the gas tank farm and provide continous data input from all the detectors simultaneously.