API RP 2214:2004 pdf download.Spark Ignition Properties of Hand Tools
1.2 BACKGROUND
As early as 1930, Þre protection engineers in the petroleum industry questioned the justiÞcation for recommending the use of special nonferrous tools instead of ordinary steel tools in petroleum operations. These engineers pointed out that although numerous opportunities existed for the production of sparks from violent contact of steel objects with other steel objects, there was a negligible record of Þres resulting from such a cause. It was therefore illogical to attribute a special hazard designation to steel hand tools. A paper presented at the Group Session on Fire Protection at the Annual Meeting of the American Petroleum Institute in 1941 described a series of tests conducted about 15 years ear- lier. The paper reported that sparks produced by contact of steel with steel, steel with an abrasive wheel, or even steel with power-driven equipment were unlikely to ignite petro- leum vapors. 1 The nature of sparks was discussed, and it was shown that any material harder than steel (even nonsparking material) could produce sparks upon striking steel. The authors concluded that insistence on the use of special non- sparking tools fostered a false sense of security to the detri- ment of other, more important Þre prevention measures. They also concluded that blanket rules covering the use of such tools were unwise and against the best interests of the petro- leum industry.
2.3 OTHER INVESTIGATIONS
Petroleum industry interest in the role of friction sparks in the occurrence of accidental Þres was paralleled by concern in the coal mining industry, since many mine Þres had been attributed to sparks produced by power-driven coal mining equipment. In 1955, the U.S. Bureau of Mines published ÒFrictional Ignition of Gas by Mining Machines,Ó 4 which recounted Þre experiences in U.S. and various European coal mining areas. This paper discussed investigations which demonstrated that ignitions were possible with certain combinations of materi- als and forms of abrasion and impact. It suggested 23 reme- dial measures, none of which involved a restriction on the material used for hand tools. About 1928, the Safety in Mines Research Establishment initiated a continuing program of investigation in Great Brit- ain. F. Powell cited the publications resulting from this pro- gram and 82 other papers in his paper entitled ÒIgnition of Gases and Vapors-Review of Ignition of Flammable Gases and Vapors by Friction and Impact.Ó 5 Only a few of the refer- ences involved hand tools, and Powell avoided drawing any conclusions.