Risk assessment regarding electrostatic discharges
According to the Italian Consolidation Act the employer is required to evaluate the risk of lightning strike in order to provide protection against electrostatic discharges. According to art. 80 of the Italian decree-law 81/08 the employer has to take all the appropriate measures in order to safeguard his employees against the risks of direct and indirect lightning strikes. For this reason, he is obliged to carry out a risk assessment and to take all the technical and organisational measures in accordance with the findings of this assessment.
ECO Next conducts risks assessments concerning lightning strikes and deals specifically with the risk assessment procedures pursuant to the new standard IEC/EN 62305-2 in force since March 2013. This is the information required for a correct assessment of the lightning risk:
Generally speaking, lightning protection is achieved by means of an adequate protection system and appropriate measures against electrical discharges. The most suitable protection system can be identified through the relevant features of a building (type of construction, occupants and inventory).
Standard IEC/EN 62305-2 identifies different classifications of lightning events and the possible effects of lightning.
They are identified with the letter S, i.e.:
They are identified with the letter D, i.e.:
They are identified with the letter L, i.e.:
If the calculated lightning risk is lower than the tolerable risk (RT) level, then it is not necessary to install any lightning protection. If this is not the case, appropriate measures are to be adopted in order to bring the risk below the critical value. If several loss types are identified in a building, the risk value must be reduced for each loss type. In any case, in order to fully comply with the legal obligations, it is very important that the employer is assisted by a specialised technician who conducts a correct assessment of the lightning risk.