Safety Distances - Definition and Values-Paper

In order to facilitate the introduction of a new technology, as it is the utilization of hydrogen as anenergy carrier, development of safety codes and standards, besides the conduction of demonstrativeprojects, becomes a very important action to be realized.Useful tools of work could be the existing gaseous fuel codes (natural gas and propane) regulating thestationary and automotive applications.Some safety codes have been updated to include hydrogen, but they have been based on criteria and/ordata applicable for large industrial facilities making the realization of public hydrogen infrastructuresprohibitive in terms of space.In order to solve the above mentioned problems, others questions come out: how these safety distanceshave been defined? Which hazard events have been taken as reference for calculation? Is it possible toreduce the safety distances through an appropriate design of systems and components, or through thepredisposition of adequate mitigation measures?This paper presents an analysis of the definitions of ?safety distances? and ?hazardous locations?, aswell as a synoptic analysis of the different values in force in several States for hydrogen and naturalgas. The above mentioned synoptic table will highlight the lacks and so some fields that need to beinvestigated in order to produce a suitable hydrogen standard.