A newly published International Standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides guidelines for the major safety issues that should be considered in the design, packaging, and installation of gas turbine applications.
ISO 21789:2009, Gas turbine applications – Safety, provides guidance for safety-related control and detection systems and essential auxiliaries for all types of open-cycle gas turbines – where air is taken in from the atmosphere and discharged back into the atmosphere, cooling naturally after it exits the engine. The standard covers turbines used in both onshore and offshore applications, including floating production platforms.
Both risks to humans and risks to the environment are addressed in the standard, which details possible significant hazards associated with gas turbines and specifies the appropriate preventative measures for reducing or eliminating them.
The standard can also be used by designers and manufacturers as a reference to facilitate compliance with relevant safety requirements set by key European directives for gas turbine applications related to machinery, atmospheric explosives (ATEX), and pressure equipment. Methods for compliance are also provided for certain safety requirements of European legislation related to the workplace, electromagnetic compatibility, pollution prevention, environmental noise, classification, and packaging and labeling of dangerous substances.
ISO 21789:2009, Gas turbine applications – Safety, was prepared by Technical Committee (TC) 192, Gas turbines. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the official U.S. member body of ISO, holds the TC 192 secretariat, with administrative responsibility delegated to Siemens Power Generation, Inc. USA. Benjamin Wiant (Siemens) serves as the TC 192 Chair. ASME, an ANSI member and accredited standards developer, serves as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) administrator to TC 192, carrying U.S. positions forward to the committee.
For more information on ISO 21789:2009, see the ISO news item.
