Investigation of explosive environment risk in natural gas pressure reduction and measurement stations in terms of occupational health and safety

In the world and in our country, explosive atmosphere is formed due to the materials or chemicals used in sectors such as mining, industry, oil, natural gas, which is the leading sector in both work accidents and employment. The chemical reaction in explosion and fire, which is defined as the chemical reaction that creates a shock wave with the combustion of the flammable substance as a result of the mixture of oxygen and flammable material in a certain ratio, meets with heat, but in the event of an explosion, a shock wave occurs because the progress of the reaction in the mass of the flammable substance is higher than in the fire. In order for the explosion to occur, the amount of fuel in the environment must be in a certain ratio range. The lower limit of this ratio range is called the "Lower Explosion Limit" and the upper limit is called the "Upper Explosion Limit". These values come from the characteristic features of the chemical (Mevlevioğlu, Kadırgan, Çiftçioğlu, 2019). (Brauer, Varma, 1981). (Kaya, Kılıç, Öztürk, 2021). (Tommasini, 2013) Natural gas, which is the source of this study, is the main raw material of various chemical products. It meets a significant portion of the world's energy consumption. Natural gas is the only fuel whose ratio is predicted to increase in the fuel mix among fossil fuels by 2040 (Gazbir, 2020). (Kaya, Kılıç, Öztürk, 2021) In this study, the areas where explosive atmospheres occur in Natural Gas Pressure Reducing and Measurement (RMS) stations are calculated, and the necessary improvements are discussed in order to examine the explosion risk in terms of occupational health and safety and to take explosion protection measures. TS EN 60079-10-1,2015, CEI 31-35 Italian standards were used together while calculating explosive atmosphere. Theses have been prepared in which the subject is evaluated in many sectors where the risk of explosive atmosphere is likely to occur. However, the evaluation of the explosive atmosphere risk in terms of occupational safety at RMS stations has not been the subject of any thesis. (Geng, Murè, Demichela, Baldissone, 2020) In this respect, it is hoped that the analysis, findings and recommendations obtained in this study will be useful in terms of contributing to future studies, as this is the first study in its field in terms of examining the risk of explosive atmosphere in RMS stations in terms of occupational health and safety.