Doc 15/21 – Gaseous Hydrogen Installations

(revision of Doc 15/06) This publication has been prepared for the guidance / best practices of designers and operators of gaseous hydrogen installations.

Doc 26/21 – Permissible Charge / Filling Conditions for Acetylene Cylinders, Bundles, Battery Vehicles

(revision of Doc 26/13) This publication is intended to give the requirements for filling individual cylinders, bundles and battery vehicles containing different porous materials and different solvents. The publication is intended to supplement the existing standards by clarification of their safety philosophy and the method of implementation. It demonstrates the effects of the essential parameters, such as maximum acetylene content, necessary solvent content, acetylene/solvent ratio, acetylene filling tolerance, solvent filling tolerance, free volume in the cylinder, porosity of filler material.

Doc 52/21 – Load Securing of Class 2 Receptacles

(revision of Doc 52/13) Loss of loads can lead to serious accidents. Consequently, the gas industry has to provide shippers with information on the requirements that are necessary for transporting individual gas cylinders, bundles and pallets of gas cylinders and cryogenic receptacles safely. (Referred to collectively as ‘receptacles’).

It is essential to make sure that all loads carried on vehicles are adequately secured so that there is no likelihood of them moving or falling off, which can cause danger to the driver or to the public or a release to the environment.

Proven load securing systems and methods from several Industrial Gas member companies are presented. The theoretical basis for load securing is not covered in detail. See here.

Doc 83/21 – Recommendations for Filling of Cylinders and Bundles with Carbon Dioxide

(revision of Doc 83/08) This publication aims to give recommendations and an overview of the gas industry's current practices to prevent and detect internal corrosion and to avoid overfilling carbon dioxide cylinders and bundles.

Doc 146/21 – Perlite Management

(Harmonised publication- revision of Doc 146/18) This publication provides guidance for reducing the risks of uncontrolled perlite releases and incidents that have potential for serious personnel injury, property damage, downtime, environmental impact, and consequences outside the perimeter of the plant.

It covers the use of perlite in cryogenic enclosures and focuses on safety, perlite handling procedures, and emergency perlite management. This publication is for industrial gas plant manufacturers, owners, and operators of facilities that use and maintain perlite as an insulation medium for cryogenic equipment.

Doc 159/21 – Reciprocating Cryogenic Pumps and Pump Installations for Oxygen, Argon, and Nitrogen

(Harmonised publication, revision of Doc 159/14) This publication is intended to cover cryogenic reciprocating pumps and installations for liquid oxygen, argon and nitrogen. The publication is intended to be used by those who are involved in the selection, design, installation, operation and maintenance of cryogenic pumps.

Doc 190/21 – Plant Integrity Management

(Harmonised publication- revision of Doc 190/14) This publication has been prepared by industrial gas companies to establish a common position and give guidance on plant integrity management. This publication gives general guidance on integrity management of process plants including, but not limited to, air separation plants, HYCO plants, cylinder filling plants, and carbon dioxide, acetylene, and nitrous oxide plants. The goal is to keep hazardous fluids and energy contained in order to maintain safe working conditions for personnel and prevent unacceptable environmental releases.

Doc 236/21 – Best Operations Practices for Filling Plants

Guide on best practices for operations conducted at the Filling Stations and Centres for Cylinder Storage and Distribution.

Doc 237/21 – Safe Operation of Acetylene Generator Systems

This publication is intended to provide general guidelines for safe operation of acetylene generator systems. It is limited to acetylene generation systems using calcium carbide added to water, known as wet generation.

The scope includes the carbide supply from receipt at site to entry into the generator, the generation of acetylene to the pipe leaving the generator, the control of temperature via water supply into the generator, the control of level via the discharge of lime out of the generator and gasholders and buffers.

The scope does not include water utilities, lime handling after discharge from the generator, nor response to emergency or abnormal situations.

TB 40/21 - "EURO 6" Vehicles in ATEX Zones

Due to the high temperatures reached, regeneration of the diesel particulate filter is not authorized in any ATEX zone which can be located in depots, filling sites or customers’ sites. See this Technical Bulletin for more info.

TB 41/21 - Continued Use and Retesting of Bundles of Cylinders not Constructed to EN or EN ISO Standards

This Technical Bulletin describes the use and marking of bundles of cylinders, not constructed to EN or EN ISO Standards

Doc 157/21 – Hygienic Processes for Home Oxygen Respiratory Devices

(revision of Doc 157/09) Requirements described in this document apply to the reprocessing of medical devices for home oxygen homecare therapy that are intended to be re-usable (excluding disposables).

SI 41/21 – Hazard of Oxygen-Enriched Atmospheres in Healthcare Facilities

The potential hazards associated with oxygen-enriched atmospheres are well known and several EIGA publications provide personnel working with oxygen with details of the fire and explosion hazards associated with these conditions.

Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic patients receive High-Flow Nasal Oxygen (HFNO) as an effective means of treatment, capable of delivering an oxygen flow rate of up to 60 litres per minute. As more wards are equipped for oxygen treatment and HFNO treatment, it is possible the ventilation systems will not be able to maintain atmospheres that are not oxygen enriched. See here.

TB 39/21 - Impact on EIGA Members by the ongoing Field Safety Notice of Philips-Respironics (Sound Abatement Foam Degradation)

EIGA wishes to contribute to creating realistic expectations for the practical execution of the Field Safety Notice from Philips-Respironics on their sound abatement foam degradation. TB 39 can be downloaded here

The European "Green Deal" and "Fit for 55"

The European Commission has launched a series of ambitious legislative proposals. These could impact our sector significantly. Four examples are :

• The proposed revision of the "EU ETS" would remove the linking of the refineries benchmark and hence put free allocations for hydrogen production at risk.

• The industrial gases sector has been excluded from the "CEEAG" guidelines for indirect costs compensation.

• In the "Gas Package", there is a risk that the ability to operate own private infrastructure is undermined.

• The "Taxonomy" considers hydrogen, but not air gases.

Over the last months EIGA participated in a record number of official EU consultations, and had meetings with European Commission officials to share our positions.

National Associations were involved, especially on the CEEAG, to have our positions represented as much as possible to the Commission by the Member States. EIGA has further coordinated with key stakeholders on engagement, including the metals and chemicals sectors.

It is still uncertain on how much of the industry arguments will be considered in the final legislative text. But it is clear that the energy and climate ambitions are extremely high.

Doc 75/21 Rev 1 – Methodology for Determination of Safety and Separation Distances

(revision of Doc 75/07 and Doc 75/21) The primary objective of this document is to define a philosophy to determine suitable separation distances for all equipment, pipework and storage to allow member companies to develop consistent standards across the industry.

Doc 102.02/21 - Safety Audit / Assessment Tool – General Site Matters

(Revision of Doc 102/03 Appendix C1,) The former Appendix C1 of Doc 102 – Safety Audit / Assessment Tool for Industrial Gas Cylinder Filling – has been reviewed and published as Doc 102.02. All annexes of Doc 102 are listed in Doc 102.01.

Doc 102.7/21 - Safety Audit / Assessment Tool – Hydrogen Compression, Purification and Cylinder Filling

(Revision of Doc 102/03 Appendix C6) The former Appendix 6 of Doc 102 – Safety Audit / Assessment Tool for hydrogen compression, purification and cylinder filling – has been reviewed and published as Doc 102.07. All annexes of Doc 102 are listed in Doc 102.01.

Doc 197/21 – Liquid Air

(revision of Doc 197/15) Liquid air has properties that differ from those of other cryogenic liquids, such as liquid oxygen or liquid nitrogen, and which can give rise to specific safety hazards.

EIGA has therefore recognised the need for a publication addressing safety in production, storage, distribution, transportation and use of liquid air. It is intended to explain the specific nature of this two-component product and the need for expert involvement in all aspects of production and use of liquid air. General guidelines for the application of liquid air are also covered, but it is not the intention of this publication to review specific applications.

SI 029/21 - Oxygen Deficiency Hazard associated with Hypoxic Fire Suppression Systems using Nitrogen Injection

(Revision of Info 29/12) EIGA is concerned that sufficient guidance is provided on the hazard to people in relation to oxygen deficient atmospheres, the importance of control systems to provide a safe atmosphere and also the health assessment and related controls required to ensure people occupying these spaces are safe.

This information sheet is intended to raise awareness of the asphyxiation risks associated with these systems and does not address the question of fire suppression effectiveness of these systems or other aspects of the design, installation, operation and maintenance of these systems.

This information sheet is intended for manufacturers of oxygen reduction systems and/or suppliers of nitrogen who should ensure that their own organisations as well as their customers are aware of this Safety Information sheet and the EIGA documents on asphyxiation risks and the hazards of inert gases, to determine and implement safety measures to ensure hazards are reduced.

SI-HF 6/21 – Organisation - "Site Emergency Response"

(revision of SI-HF 06/09) Plant managers and employees do everything they can to stop emergency situations such as fires or leaks from happening, but emergencies are still possible on any plant. The plant should have the necessary emergency plans and resources in place: designated workspaces, equipment and people organised to manage the potential emergencies so as to reduce harm to employees and public and damage to facilities. See here.

Awareness Package TP INC 43/21 - Recent Incidents in the Industrial and Medical Gases Industry (SAC 167)

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 are the summaries and photographs of recent incidents discussed at SAC. This publication can be viewed or downloaded on the EIGA Website (restricted to EIGA Members only) by clicking here