WorkSafeBC recently published a new safety bulletin about reducing the risk of pentane gas fires and explosions.
Expanded polystyrene is a synthetic foam material that has a wide range of uses in many industries. Applications include: insulation in buildings (especially cold storage buildings); piping; concrete formwork; wine tanks; wharf and float manufacturing; and applications on movie sets and amusement parks.
EPS foam releases pentane, a highly flammable gas. If the pentane has not completely off-gassed, and the EPS foam is encased within the structure, the pentane becomes trapped. If an ignition source such as a welding torch or drill cuts into the structure, the pentane can ignite and cause a fire or explosion.
[fusion_button link=”https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-safety/hazard-alerts/reducing-risk-of-pentane-gas-fires-and-explosions-for-users-of-expanded-polystyrene-foam?lang=en&origin=s&returnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worksafebc.com%2Fen%2Fforms-resources%23sort%3Drelevancy%26f%3Alanguage-facet%3D%5BEnglish%5D)” title=”” target=”_self” link_attributes=”” alignment=”” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” color=”default” button_gradient_top_color=”” button_gradient_bottom_color=”” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” type=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”” size=”” stretch=”default” shape=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]Download PDF[/fusion_button]