The Dangers of Depollution Drip Trays

The Dangers of Depollution Drip Trays
It was initially thought that the provision of drip trays in vehicle depollution bays were a good idea, preventing the spread of spills and making the cleaning up process quicker and more efficient. These large metal trays at the base of a depollution bay collect drips of coolant, oil, brake fluid, diesel, and petrol during the depollution process.
The problem is, however, that petrol vapour also collects in the tray; because this vapour is heavier than air, it sinks to the lowest point and then can’t escape or disperse due to the metal sides (usually around 2” deep). Because petrol vapour is explosive, what at first seemed to be a good idea turns out to be a major hazard to workers using the depollution bay. In addition to this, many manufacturers do not fully understand the legislation surrounding the potential hazards of this explosive atmosphere and cocktail of flammable substances.
The European Directive 94/9/EC, ATEX, or as it’s known in the UK, DSEAR (Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmosphere Regulations) provides guidelines and legislations regarding the safe handling and management of explosive gases. According to this legislation, the UK’s Health & Safety Executive have declared that the area above the drip tray is a permanent explosive atmosphere, due to the fact that petrol vapour is present along with flammable liquids. What’s more alarming is that it is deemed to be a ‘Zone 0’ – the highest graded risk.
One of the leading UK depollution bay manufacturers, AutoDrain, have spent many years researching and testing vehicle depollution equipment and ensure that all of their products are designed in accordance with this legislation. Putting safety as a paramount priority, they strongly recommend that drip trays are not used – their own equipment reflects this; workers using their bays are not at risk from standing on top of a drip tray and the potentially fatal atmosphere that they can create.
In addition to the aforementioned legislative reasons for discarding the use of dangerous drip trays, AutoDrain also state that they do not use drip trays due to potential tripping hazards and other health and safety legislation - which would require breathing apparatus to be used by depollution workers.