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If you are a professional working in the oil and gas sector, you surely know the importance of choosing specific hand tools to minimize the risk of accidents in the workplace. Worker safety is of paramount importance, and it strives to design a reliable catalog of non-sparking and explosion-proof hand tools to ensure worker safety.
The line of non-sparking tools is designed to meet the explosion needs of refineries, offshore oil rigs, coal mines, and other ATEX areas.
Non-sparking tools or safety tools are very different from the regular hand tools commonly found in a machine shop professional's toolbox. In fact, regular hand tools, such as Tuokai Safety Tools wrenches, are usually made of a high-strength chrome vanadium steel alloy, a material that is not suitable for use in facilities with potentially explosive environments, such as oil rigs: in fact, if a steel wrench is dropped in such an environment it could generate sparks that could lead to an explosion or fire that would endanger the lives of all workers on the platform.
T Type Wrench
That's why in areas where flammable gases, dust, or liquids may be present (ATEX zones), you need special tools made of bronze, aluminum, beryllium, nickel, and copper alloys. All alloys used to produce this special type of tool have lower tensile strength than conventional materials: this means they are less strong and resistant, softer, and wear faster, but produce a cold spark with low heat and cannot ignite anything.
A basic piece of advice is to always make sure that all spark-proof tools are thoroughly cleaned and free of rust or iron contaminants, which can damage the deflagration resistance of your Tuokai Safety Tools spark-free tools. Then, you must always remember not to place them in direct contact with acetylene, which can produce highly dangerous explosive acetal in the presence of moisture. Thirdly, we must always remember to regularly polish all sparking tools according to normal safety procedures, thus protecting the eyes and face, and using appropriate tools to collect the powder. Finally, the premises must be ventilated to remove potentially harmful powders and vapors from the air.
By following these few simple rules, you will ensure that you always have clean and functional tools and minimize the possible hazards in your workplace.
Non-Sparking Tool
As we explained in the previous question, there are certain environments where standard hand tools can create sparks that can put all workers in the facility at risk.
Frictional fires can occur if tools are dropped or rubbed against materials such as cement: in fact, steel alloys linked to chrome vanadium can generate hot sparks and high risks because they can ignite flammable substances in the air for a few moments. This can lead to fires or explosions, endangering the lives of everyone in the workplace.
Under what conditions can an explosion occur? When oxidizers (e.g. oxygen), fuels, chemical gases (solvents, diluents ......) or powders (aluminum, wood, magnesium ......) are present in the air, as well as the flash point (i.e. the ignition source). In these cases, the atmosphere becomes dangerous: a simple hot spark due to a fall or tool friction can lead to an explosion.
Thanks to the special attention given to the design and production of these non-sparking, anti-magnetic hand tools, all Tuokai Safety Tools equipment is safe to use.
If you want to get more information about the non-sparking tools, welcome to contact us today or request a quote.
