EMFcomp
RF Ignition Assessments
Could radio waves ignite a flammable atmosphere on your site? We assess the risk to PD CLC/TR 50427.
Gas, fuel, solvents, aerosol propellants: if your site has a flammable atmosphere, radio transmitters are an ignition source you have to consider. Radio-frequency (RF) energy from a phone mast, a broadcast station or a handheld radio can be picked up by metal structures and released as a spark. We assess that risk to PD CLC/TR 50427, the recognised guide to RF ignition of flammable atmospheres.
Gas network sites, process plants, fuel storage, COMAH sites: wherever the flammable atmosphere is, we can assess it. You get a clear answer: no risk, or exactly which transmitters matter and what to do about them. Get in touch today for your free RF ignition consultation.
RF Ignition Risk Assessments
Pipework, cranes, loading arms, storage tanks: large metal structures behave like aerials. They pick up energy from radio transmitters, sometimes from kilometres away. Where two pieces of metal touch or part, during maintenance for example, that energy can jump the gap as a spark. If a flammable atmosphere is present at that moment, it can ignite. The hazard is invisible, and the transmitter causing it may not even be yours.
Under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR), you must assess the ignition sources on your site, and RF is one of them. Many DSEAR assessments say so, then recommend a separate RF ignition assessment because it falls outside their scope. That is where we come in. A chartered RF specialist from EMFcomp identifies every transmitter that could affect your site, works out the power your structures could pick up and compares it with the ignition threshold for your gas group. You receive a report that will stand up in front of any regulator, insurer or client.
Specialist Assessments to PD CLC/TR 50427
PD CLC/TR 50427 is not a tick-box exercise. Applying it properly takes an understanding of antennas, radio propagation and how metal structures pick up RF energy. Few safety consultancies have that, which is why explosion safety assessors often pass this part to a specialist. Choose a poor one and the duty under DSEAR stays with you.
From a single gas installation to a large site near broadcast transmitters and phone masts, every assessment includes a desk study, a site visit and the full calculations. It is led by Dr Richard Findlay, a Chartered Radiation Protection Professional with a PhD in electromagnetics and more than thirty years in the field. EMFcomp is SafeContractor accredited and an Affiliate of the Society for Radiological Protection. We are independent and sell no equipment, so the answer you get is the one the evidence supports.
How an RF Ignition Assessment Works
Every assessment we quote covers the whole job, at a fixed price. First, a desk study: we find every transmitter within the distances the standard sets. Next, a site visit: we check your structures, confirm which antennas are really there and take measurements, because desk searches alone can miss them. Then the full calculations: we work out the power your structures could pick up from each transmitter and compare it with the ignition threshold for your gas group. One report, one price, no surprise second stage. Please get in touch. We would be delighted to hear from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
01How Can Radio Waves Cause Ignition?
Any metal structure can act as a receiving aerial. A transmitter induces RF currents in it, and where there is a break in the metal, such as a flange being parted, a chain touching a hook or a tool touching pipework, a small spark can form. If the spark is strong enough and a flammable gas or vapour is present, it can ignite. PD CLC/TR 50427 sets out how to work out whether that could happen on your site.
02What Is the Legal Situation?
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) require employers to assess the risk from flammable atmospheres and to control ignition sources. Radio-frequency radiation is a recognised ignition source, listed in BS EN 1127-1 alongside hot surfaces, sparks and static electricity. PD CLC/TR 50427 is the recognised guide for assessing it. If a new transmitter appears nearby, the assessment should be revisited. Separately, the people working near transmitters are covered by the CEMFAW Regulations 2016, which we can assess at the same time.
03Who Can Carry Out an RF Ignition Assessment?
UK health and safety law expects risk assessments to be carried out by someone competent. For RF ignition, that means someone who understands transmitters, antennas and field calculations as well as the standard itself. EMFcomp Limited’s RF work is led by a Chartered Radiation Protection Professional, and we have a strong track record of RF ignition assessments on gas network sites.
Bring us in at any stage: a new plant on the drawing board, a DSEAR review, or a mast that has appeared over the fence. Tell us where the site is and which flammable substances you handle, and we will give you a fixed price for the complete assessment. On the site visit, a chartered RF specialist will work alongside your site team and follow your site rules, so the assessment is thorough and the disruption minimal. You have full visibility of the work throughout, with updates whenever you want them. And if a question comes up during or after the assessment, you get a prompt, detailed answer from the expert who did the work.
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2013
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