Glossary · Existing plants and retrofit

Explosion protection document

Also known as: Ex protection document

German: Explosionsschutzdokument

Under Directive 1999/92/EC and, in Germany, § 6(9) of the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (GefStoffV), the explosion protection document is the part of the employer's documented risk assessment that shows the hazards from explosive atmospheres separately: how they were identified and assessed, the explosion protection concept, the zones and the measures and inspections that apply. It must be kept up to date.

Compliance
Technical documentation
EU
German source term

In one sentence

The explosion protection document records an operator's explosion hazards, zones and measures; it must be updated whenever the plant changes significantly.

Example

Twelve years after the document was written, an inspector lays the zone drawing over the hall: the extension and the moved spray booth are missing, so the zones on paper no longer match the zones in the building.

Explained in context

Context cards connect this term with others to answer one question. Also in British English and German.

How it applies

Content: According to § 6(9) GefStoffV the document shows that explosion hazards were identified and assessed, the explosion protection concept, whether and which areas are classified into zones, where protective measures apply, how the requirements for activities in the zones are implemented and which checks and inspections are required.
Updating: Article 8 of Directive 1999/92/EC requires the document to be drawn up before work starts and revised when the workplace, work equipment or organization of work undergo significant changes, extensions or conversions. § 6(10) GefStoffV requires the risk assessment to be updated promptly when significant changes require it. A rebuild is such a change.
Practice: Outdated documents are rarely noticed at the time of the rebuild. They show up years later, when someone compares the zone classification with the hall. Until then nobody did anything wrong — nobody updated the document. Assign the check ("does the explosion protection document have to change?") explicitly as a step of management of change for every conversion.
Protection: An explosion protection document that did not grow with the plant may look sufficient on paper, but it does not protect against the actual hazard. The plant has no grandfathering for an outdated assessment, and the document has none at all.