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Case Studies » Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

The challenge

A request was made by RBG Kew to consider compliance with the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) for the organisation’s site at Ardingly, Haywards Heath, West Sussex. The site is a 465 acre country estate with tree collections, woodland, lakes, formal gardens and the Millennium seed conservation centre.

The areas of focus within RBG Wakehurst was the Operations workshops and associated storage areas.

There is storage and handling of flammable materials, with some significant handling of flammable liquid on-site from the (new) fuel dispensing system. There is also a bulk LPG store and additionally, accumulation of some combustible / flammable materials, including waste to consider when completing the DSEAR survey.

The solution provided

An assessment of the site was carried out in compliance with the DSEAR regulations 2002.

Hazardous Area Classification was recorded for those areas where a flammable atmosphere may persist either briefly or for longer periods of time as outlined in the regulations – specifically those associated with extensive fuel handling on site. The key areas being the new fuel storage, gas cylinder stores and flammable liquid stores.

There are around 80 people who attend site, approximately 34 RBG staff and 45 volunteers. The site is open to the public seven days a week, so the full complement of 80 persons may typically report to site at any one time.

A full review of all operations, operational controls and training was undertaken and feedback provided to management. The detailed and critical review identified a number of improvement opportunities for the business. Many being discussed during the survey and then subsequently added to the action plan issued as part of the DSEAR assessment report.