HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
AND EXPLOSIVE AREAS
Hazardous substances are a significant contributor to the estimated 750-900 deaths and 5,000-6,000 hospitalisations from work-related diseases each year in New Zealand. In Australia, 195 work-related fatalities were recorded in 2022, with many linked to hazardous substances and environments. Ensuring your workplace isn’t contributing to these overwhelming statistics requires an in-depth risk assessment. Strict and complex governance exists around hazardous substances and explosive areas.
TEG Risk provides best practice advice based on years of experience and a deep understanding of the relevant regulations and risks involved
Download our informative guide now: TEG Risk’s Guide to Combustible Dusts
Explosive atmospheres are areas containing flammable substances (defined under the Hazardous Substances regulations) and certain powders or dusts (e.g. flour, starch, milk powder) that are not usually hazardous but can be an explosion risk in certain circumstances.
How We Help You Ensure Safety: Hazardous Substances And Areas
We extensively review your operations and any hazardous substances used. We then provide a breakdown of exactly what needs to be done to mitigate the risk these substances can present if used incorrectly.
We take into account:
- Type of substance
- What it is used for
- How it is handled
- Who is using it (and how they are trained)
- Inventory
- Storage
- Signage
- Hazardous area classifications
- Secondary containment
Our risk management of hazardous substances covers all relevant aspects of operation and compliance with the requirements of the Health and Safety of Work (Hazardous Substances) regulations.
We work with you to identify operational improvements to not only make you compliant, but to reduce the personnel and property risks associated with these substances.
Our hazardous substance assignments include:
- Materials Inventory Registers: creation and auditing.
- Hazardous substance location (HSL): review and auditing.
- HSL specification and scoping for upgrades.
- Materials handling process reviews for risk reduction.
Concerned About Hazardous Areas Hazardous Substances and Combustible Dusts?
Partner With TEG Risk To Ensure Safety For Your Team
We are qualified, with proven experience on client sites, in the risk management of hazardous substances and areas, particularly in the chemical and food and beverage industries.
We have a deep understanding of how different substances impact explosive atmospheres. For over a decade we have accurately classified hazardous areas and provided clear, effective solutions to our clients to mitigate risks in these environments.
Our explosive atmosphere projects include:
- Classification of combustion gas supply lines and new metering locations.
- Characterisation of multiple specialty chemicals and liquids where no safety data existed, which meant we could then accurately classify a hazardous area.
- Characterisation of variable, complex mixtures of combustible dust ingredients to allow hazardous area classification of flavour and ingredient handling and extraction systems.
- Identified best practice for multi-stage powder handling, transferring, processing and storage systems.
Regulations require that areas with potentially explosive atmospheres must be assessed by competent individuals to ensure there are no electrical devices or ignition sources with inadequate protection present.
Call Hamish now: +64 21 910 939, and set up an assessment with our experienced team.
Experts In Hazardous Areas and Substances
Leading the Hazardous Areas and Substances Team is TEG Risk Director Hamish Baker. He has extensive experience as the Environment, Safety, and Health Manager for an international chemical and food additives company in the UK. His background underscores his expertise in managing complex safety and environmental challenges
Hamish has managed Major Accident Hazard sites and their COMAH/SEVESO regulatory requirements, overseeing process safety and occupational health and safety for the storage, processing, and handling of a wide range of hazardous substances according to international best practices.
His background in process engineering further enhances his ability to understand how hazardous substances and explosive atmospheres may impact operations. Additionally, Hamish has completed formal Hazardous Area Classification training through BASEEFA in the UK and holds Unit Standard Certification to Australian standards for hazardous area classification.
- AS/NZS 60079.10.1-2009 Explosive atmospheres – Classification of areas – Explosive gas atmospheres
- AS/NZS 60079.10.2-2016 Explosive atmospheres – Classification of areas – Combustible dust atmospheres
As well as an experienced inhouse team, TEG Risk also has a network of supporting partners and associates who can provide additional related services e.g. detailed design of electrical systems, verification of designs and complete final inspection services.
Contact our hazardous substances and explosive area experts using the short form here:
Meet The Hazardous Areas and Substances Team
Hamish Baker
TEG Risk Director +
Hazardous Substances Team Leader
Keshawa (KC) Senaratne
Senior Safety Engineer +
Hazardous Substances Expert
Name + Name
Safety Engineer +
Hazardous Substances Expert
TEG Risk’s Recent Work In Hazardous Areas and Substances
Project:
Streamlining Machinery Risk Management
Silver Fern Farms
SFF faced a challenge: understanding the risks associated with their machinery and where these risks were located. With risk assessments completed to different standards and formats, and spread across multiple file locations, an up to date, centralised database was non-existent and not all plant had been assessed.
Project:
Safety in Design: Tauriko Greenfield Gib Plant
Winstone Wallboards
WWB planned to construct a large plasterboard plant, however they needed to ensure the highest safety standards were achieved and that the equipment coming out of Europe and North America would comply with NZ standards. Therefore they engaged TEG Risk to apply a Safety In Design approach to the project.
Project:
Reducing Risk
Through Innovation
Sanford
Sanford approached the TEG Risk team of safety engineers to conduct a risk assessment. The risk assessment highlighted the need for a Performance Level ‘d’ safety solution that would stand up to the high-demand hostile environment, with a design that would be re-usable across the entire fleet. Read more now.
