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EIGA is pleased to receive your nominations for our new EIGA Safety Innovation Award 2020.

The EIGA Safety Innovation Award recognises best health and safety practices and is intended to encourage EIGA member companies to promote best practice, learn and adopt new ideas that benefit their business, the health and safety of their employees, contractors and customers and the communities they work in.

A theme or focus area is selected by the EIGA Board each year, and the theme for 2020 is “Safety excellence in maintenance”.

Members who wish to apply for an award are to provide on the application form a description of the accomplishment that identifies why the nominees deserve recognition and how the “project” meets the award criteria. Additional information should be provided.

The award will be granted to the Member Company that is judged to have best met the criteria listed. The award will be presented at the EIGA Summer Session in Valencia in June 2021, where the winner shall be asked to give a short presentation.

The (slightly changed) criteria, as well as the application form, can also be found in Doc 903 EIGA Safety and Environmental Award schemes (see here after login).

All applications for the Safety Innovation Award 2020 should be sent to info@eiga.eu , before 13 September 2020.

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SA 44/20 - Securing of Gas Receptacles for Transport

Ensuring that cylinders and other equipment such as bundles of cylinders are adequately secured during transport is not only a legal requirement, but a cylinder or any other type of receptacle or equipment falling from a vehicle whilst travelling along a road could result in serious injury or death.

This publication can be viewed or downloaded on the EIGA Website (restricted to EIGA Members only, please login first) by clicking here.

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Info 22/20 - Potential Hazards of Quick Release Cylinder Valves Used with Firefighting Gases

(Harmonised publication and revision of Info 22/16) Several incidents with quick release cylinder valves that are used on some firefighting system gas cylinders have been reported.

In all cases, the cause of the incidents was either the unexpected or intentional opening of the valve fitted to the gas cylinder during handling, filling, or venting of the cylinder. The consequences were that the cylinders went out of control after the valve opened.

This publication provides guidelines for the handling of gas cylinders during filling, storage, discharge, maintenance, periodic inspection, and transport equipped with quick release cylinder valves used in firefighting systems.

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Doc 65/20 - Safe Operation of Reboilers/Condensers in Air Separation Units

(revision of Doc 65/13) This harmonised document addresses the operation of the reboilers of air separation plants. It contains a summary of the industrial practices used in their safe application.

It specifically applies to the main reboiler and oxygen product reboilers in which the oxygen concentration is above 75% in the liquid phase. Its guiding principles may be used for other reboilers within air separation plants, including auxiliary vaporizers, guard adsorber vaporizers, argon condensers, and the main reboilers in nitrogen generators.

The purpose of this document is to describe the design and operating practices that shall be followed in the reboiler sections of cryogenic air separation plants. In particular, the potential hazard introduced by hydrocarbons or other contaminants that might be present in the ambient atmosphere is addressed. It is thought that this has been the prime cause of the majority of reboiler incidents that have been reported. This document is based upon the experimental data, operating experience, and design practices of major producers and operators of air separation plants. It is intended for those who design and operate cryogenic air separation plants.

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Doc 67/20 - Carbon Dioxide Cylinders at Users' Premises

(revision of Doc 67/08) This publication gives information and recommendations for safe handling of carbon dioxide cylinders at customer sites. The recommendations given in this publication are intended to be used as a guide for the safe handling of carbon dioxide cylinders at customer sites. It should be read in conjunction with any national legislation relevant to the safe use and storage of carbon dioxide cylinders.

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Doc 78/20 - Leak Detection Fluids with Gas Cylinder Packages

(Harmonised publication) (revision of Doc 78/14) This publication applies to gas cylinder packages. It covers the selection and use of specialized leak detection fluids that are suitable for industrial gases including medical and food gases that have particular compatibility requirements, though it may be used as a guideline when fluids are used for leak detection in other gas applications.

Leak detection techniques have varied from the use of a simple household soap based solutions to specialized leak detection fluids. These specialized leak detection fluids are far superior to household soap based solutions, which could contain contaminants or other detrimental constituents.

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Doc 909/20 - EIGA Cryogenic Gases Couplings for Tanker Filling

(revision of Doc 909/12) This publication (members only) provides design information and drawings for the EIGA cryogenic gases couplings for tanker filling. These couplings are intended for use as the filling connection of all transport tanks and transport tank filling points, particularly where intercompany product transfer can occur. The purpose of having dedicated product tanker fill couplings across the industrial gases industry is to avoid the possibility of filling the incorrect product into a tanker which could lead to the wrong product being delivered. The EIGA Cryogenic Gases Coupling has been developed and tested by the industrial gases industry as a robust fitting to avoid the risk of incorrect filling of product.

The Medical Gases industry successfully ramped up oxygen supply to COVID-19 patients

As a result of the pandemic, medical oxygen demand has risen to unprecedented levels, but industry actions and authority decisions jointly have allowed for a continuous supply of medical oxygen saving lives every single day. The main decisions are summarised here.

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Euros for healthcare

Building on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis, EU4Health is a €9.4 billion dedicated funding programme for 2021-2027 to build resilient health systems in the EU for the future.

The Commission’s new recovery plan, Next Generation EU, will reinforce the Horizon Europe programme with €94.4 billion for health and climate-related research and innovation activities.

The EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, rescEU, will receive €3.1 billion to reinforce the EU’s capacity to respond to large-scale emergencies (including storage capacity, systems to transport medicines, doctors and patients).

EIGA feedback on the "EU hydrogen strategy"

The "EU hydrogen strategy" will explore how clean hydrogen can help reduce the EU economy’s carbon emissions in a cost-effective way. It is in line with the EU’s goal – set out in the European Green Deal – to be climate-neutral by 2050. It should also help the EU recover from COVID-19’s economic impact.

The strategy will explore ways to strengthen the production and use of clean hydrogen, focusing in particular on mainstreaming renewable hydrogen.

Click here to read the feedback EIGA provided to the European Commission.

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EIGA feedback to the EU Clean energy – strategy for energy system integration

This strategy aims to better link the different energy sectors in the EU (electricity, gas, buildings, transport, industry) to help them reduce carbon emissions. This means replacing fossil fuels with renewable electricity, or with other renewable and low-carbon fuels where electrification is not possible, while ensuring energy remains secure and affordable.

The strategy will propose concrete action needed to build a climate-neutral energy system. This will help achieve the climate targets set out in the European Green Deal.

Click here to read the feedback EIGA provided to the European Commission.

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More hydrogen news

Germany plans to ramp up hydrogen production capacity (see Link to Euractiv article on hydrogen strategy, or link to German Hydrogen Strategy (in German), or link to German National Climate Plan),.

At European level, Energy Commissioner Simson stressed the 'central' role of hydrogen (see this Euractiv article ), and the European Commission has stated the need for the gas industry to accelerate the transition towards low-carbon gases as vital for the EU to achieve its 2050 climate ambitions (see Euractiv article).

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Sustainable Finance - Taxonomy

The EU taxonomy agreement has been approved by European Parliament’s Committees. The European Parliament’s plenary is scheduled to vote later this week, clearing the way for publication in the Official Journal. See here for more info.

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Awareness Package TP INC 39/20 - Recent Incidents in the Industrial and Medical Gases Industry (SAC 163)

At each meeting of the EIGA Safety Advisory Council (SAC), the members exchange information on gas industry related incidents (accidents causing injuries, property or environmental damage and near-misses). SAC discusses and analyses these incidents. This information is used by SAC to determine the priorities for safety alerts, safety information, new and revised documents, campaigns etc.

In this Awareness Package (members only) are the summaries and photographs of recent incidents discussed at SAC. Please use this information as you wish, but do not share this report outside your organisation.

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Doc 05/20 - Guidelines for the Management of Waste Acetylene Cylinders

(revision of Doc 05/13) This publication sets out the standards for the safe treatment or disposal of acetylene cylinders and reflects the priority that EIGA gives to the protection of people and the environment. The publication determines the standards to be achieved and describes methods by which these can be achieved. Methods should only be adopted where an equivalence of safety can be demonstrated.

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Doc 84/20 - Calculation of Air Emissions from an Acetylene Plant

(revision of Doc 84/08) This publication and associated .xlsx-sheet, describe a standard method of calculating air emissions from an acetylene plant. The users can input their own information specific to their plant and obtain an estimate of the air emissions, which can be used for permit applications. This publication has an associated excel spreadsheet tool that can be used to calculate the emissions.

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Doc 106/20 - Environmental Issues Guide

(revision of Doc 106/03) This Doc 106 provides guidance on the European legislation concerning the main environmental issues relevant to the Industrial Gases Industry and recommendations on good practices to control the impacts and to comply with the legislation.

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Info TS 01/20 - Transport Safety Information, an Overview

(revision of Info TS 01/13) On the road transportation of gases and equipment can often be the highest risk activity for gas companies and their providers of transport services.

Complying with the legislative and regulatory requirements of operating a transport fleet needs to be supplemented with requirements and guidance specific for the industrial and medical gases industry to prevent one of your drivers or vehicles from being involved in a serious incident. The key issues concerning transport safety have been divided into a series of key topics, one Transport Safety Information document will be published for each of these topics.

The goal is to provide guidelines for managers, drivers and other transport function personnel which, when complied with, can help prevent serious transport incidents. This publication can be viewed or downloaded on the EIGA Website by clicking here

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Info TS 02/20 - Vehicle Rollover and Other Serious Vehicle Incident Prevention

(revision of Info TS 02/13) It is critical that the managers of gas companies and transportation companies ensure that they have processes in place to reduce the risk of rollovers and other serious vehicle incidents, to avoid any impact on human life, human health, material and environmental damages.

Vehicle incident investigations have shown that the majority of these incidents are avoidable. Many of the causes are related to lack of training or knowledge; people’s ability to react to high risk situations; human behaviour, for example non-compliance with rules or safe driving practices; inadequate organisation and management processes.

This Safety Information provides advice on reducing the risk of a vehicle rollover and other serious incidents on the road and is intended for managers, drivers and other transport function personnel who are involved in transportation activities or driver training.

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Info TS 03/20 - Training: Induction and Refresher Training of Drivers, Management and Other Transport Function Personnel

(revision of Info TS 03/13) ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) requires training of persons involved in the transportation of dangerous goods in accordance with chapter 1.3 and training of the vehicle crew according to chapter 8.3.

National road regulations require training for the driver to obtain a licence or permit to operate the type of vehicle used for transport. However, the experience in the gas industry demonstrates that the knowledge and skills acquired from this training need to be supplemented with training specific for the industrial and medical gases industry to ensure the safe distribution of gases.

This Safety Information document gives advice on the type of training drivers and other transport function personnel should receive when working with products of Class 2 of ADR for the industrial and medical gases industry. It is is intended for managers, drivers and other transport function personnel who are involved in transportation activities or driver training.

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Info TS 04/20 - Transport of Gases - Contractor Management

(revision of Info TS 04/14) In the industrial and medical gases industry, the transport of gases to the customers is often carried out by contractors acting as transporters or carriers. In most cases the contractor provides personnel (for example drivers) and certain transport equipment (for example truck, semi-trailer tractor, chassis for swap bodies / containers and driver’s equipment). Hence, the contractor’s personnel are directly responsible for transport safety. The employees of the contractors also act as representatives of the gas companies towards the customers.

For these reasons, it is critical that gas companies choose their contractors diligently, train them for the transport of industrial and medical gases, monitor their performance closely and take action if they perform poorly. This Transport Safety Information provides guidance on the minimum requirements for the selection, qualification, and performance monitoring of contractors that provide equipment, personnel, and services for the transport of industrial and medical gases.

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Info TS 05/20 - Driver Recruitment Process for Bulk and Cylinder Vehicles

(revision of Info TS 05/14) The transport of gases is carried out by drivers from gases companies and/or transport contractors. It is critical for the gas companies and their transport contractors to ensure that the drivers are recruited and managed according to established requirements to minimize risks when driving bulk and cylinder vehicles (>7.5 tons).

This Transport Safety Information gives advice on recruitment of bulk and cylinder vehicle drivers involved in the transportation of gases, whether gas company employees or contractor drivers.

The requirements cover assessment of driving ability at the time of recruitment. Additional assessment on specific delivery equipment such as cranes, tail lifts, mounted forklifts and other product transfer equipment would be conducted only after drivers have received additional training on these aspects. It is intended for managers, supervisors, drivers and other transport function personnel who are involved in transportation activities or driver recruitment.

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Info TS 06/20 - Vehicle Incident Investigation Management

(revision of Info TS 06/14) In the industrial and medical gas industry, road transportation is one of the highest risk activities. Not only can road vehicle accidents result in severe injuries to gas companies’ employees, contractors’ personnel or to third parties, but operations can also be severely impaired. In order to learn from road vehicle incidents that have occurred, they shall be thoroughly investigated, analysed, documented and reported. The objective of these activities is to identify actions that will reduce the risk of these incidents reoccurring.

This Transport Safety Information provides advice on vehicle incident investigation management. This publication does not provide guidance on how to handle vehicle and product recovery after an incident. For information on this topic, see EIGA Doc 81, Road vehicle emergency and recovery.