RAGAGEP UPDATE

Douglas Reindl, Director, IRC

2016 IRC R&T Forum
 What’s the point?

• Process safety information

• (d)(3)(ii) The employer shall document that equipment complies
with recognized and generally accepted good engineering
practices.

• Mechanical integrity
• (j)(4)(ii) Inspection and testing procedures shall follow recognized
and generally accepted good engineering practices.
• (j)(4)(iii) The frequency of inspections and tests of process
equipment shall be consistent with applicable manufacturers’
recommendations and good engineering practices, and more
frequently if determined to be necessary by prior operating
experience.
Relevant standards - big picture
Section VIII
B31.5 –
Div. 1 –
ASME Pressure
Refrigerant
Piping
Vessels

Standard 15 –
Safety Standard
ASHRAE for Refrigeration
Systems

Standard 2 - Standard
Standard 1 - Standard
IIAR Definitions
Equip, Design,
& Installation
3 - Valves 4-
Installation

Standard 5 - Standard 7 –
Standard 8 -
IIAR (cont) Start-up and
Commissioning
Operating
procedures
Decommissioning

3
Principal Codes & Standards for Ammonia
Refrigeration
• ASME
• B&PV Code (Pressure vessels)
• B31.5 (Refrigeration Piping)
• IIAR
• IIAR 1, IIAR 2, IIAR 3, IIAR 4,
IIAR 5, IIAR 7, IIAR 8
• ASHRAE
• Standard 15, Standard 34
• Codes
• International Mechanical Code or
• Uniform Mechanical Code
• Other State & Local Codes

RAGAGEP

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 IIAR 2
Purpose:
to specify minimum requirements for the safe design of
closed-circuit ammonia refrigeration systems

Scope:
Applies to closed-circuit refrigeration systems using ammonia
as a refrigerant.

Excludes: ammonia absorption, replacements of machinery,

equipment, or piping with functional equivalence, and existing
systems
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 IIAR 2

• Contents:
• Part 1 – General
• Part 2 – Design and installation
considerations affecting construction
• Part 3 – Equipment
• Part 4 - Appendices

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 IIAR 2
Table of Contents
1. Purpose, scope, applicability
Part 1
2. Definitions
3. Reference standards
4. Location of ammonia refrigeration machinery
5. General system design requirements
6. Machinery rooms Part 2

7. Refrigeration equipment located in areas

other than machinery rooms

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 IIAR 2
Table of Contents
8. Compressors
9. Refrigerant pumps
10. Condensers
11. Evaporators
12. Pressure vessels Part 3
13. Piping
14. Packaged systems & equipment
15. Overpressure protection devices
16. Instrumentation & controls
17. Ammonia detection and alarms
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 Select definitions
• Machinery room
“An enclosed space that, where required by this standard to contain
equipment, must comply with the requirements set forth in Chapter 6.”
• Equipment
“An assembly, subassembly, accessory, or
component of a refrigeration system.”
• Principal machinery room door
“A door leading to the exterior of the machinery room designated by the
owner or designee as the primary emergency egress door from the
machinery room, which has required placarding.”

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 Select definitions
• Monitored
“A means of continuous oversight, such as notification of staff, a third-
party alarm service, or a responsible party.”
• Restricted
“Describes a premises or piece of equipment that is permitted to be
accessed by authorized personnel and specifically excludes public
access.”
• Authorized personnel
“Persons who, by virtue of their training and job description, have been
specifically granted permission to enter a restricted area, specifically
granted permission to perform restricted tasks or both.”

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Egress & Doors NOT COMPLIANT

• IIAR 2 (2014)

From machinery room to From production to

• §6.10.1 - General production. machinery room.

• For machinery rooms greater than 1000 sq ft, requires at least two
exit doors
• Doors shall be separated by a horizontal distance equal to or greater
than half the maximum horizontal dimension of the room
• All portions of the machinery room shall be within 150 ft of an exit
door
• §6.10.2 – Door Features
• Self-closing and tight-fitting with panic hardware and door hinged to
swing in the direction of egress for occupants leaving the machinery
room
 Machinery rooms

• Room access
• IIAR 2 - §6.3.4
• Access…shall be restricted to authorized
personnel. Signage on door shall comply with §6.15

• Protection from physical damage

• IIAR 2 - §5.17.1
• Where ammonia-containing equipment is installed in a location subject
to physical damage, guarding or barricading shall be provided.

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Machinery Room Ventilation
 Emergency ventilation
• Exhaust requirements
• Machinery room exhaust shall
• vent to the outdoors not closer than 20 ft from a property line [6.14.3.4]
• discharge vertically upward with a minimum discharge velocity of 2,500
ft/min at the required emergency ventilation rate [6.14.3.5]
• Power
• Emergency ventilation shall be powered independently of
equipment within the machinery room [6.14.7.3]
• A monitored location shall be notified upon a loss of power to
the emergency ventilation system [6.14.7.4]

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 Temperature control
• Room temperature limit
• Air flow required to limit room temperature dry bulb to 104°F
based on 1% design dry bulb [6.14.6.1]
• A reduced temperature control ventilation is permitted where
a means of cooling is provided or room electrical equipment
is designed to operate at an elevated temperature [6.14.6.1]

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 Machinery room ventilation
• Inlet air
• Make-up air provided to
• maintain machinery room under negative pressure not greater than 0.25
in H2O, relative to adjacent areas [6.14.5.1]
• prevent short-circuiting of make-up air directly to exhaust [6.14.5.2]
• positioned to draw in uncontaminated outdoor air [6.14.5.4]
• motorized dampers, if used, shall fail open on a loss of power [6.14.5.6]
 Ventilation testing
• Testing
– A schedule for testing the mechanical ventilation system
shall be established based on manufacturers’
recommendations, unless modified based on documented
experience. Testing shall include operation of the
ventilation system based on ammonia detection at and by
manual control switch [6.14.8.1]
– … the mechanical ventilation system shall be tested at
least twice per year [6.14.8.2]
 Ammonia detection

IIAR 2-2014
• 6.13.1 Ammonia detection and alarm
Machinery room shall be provided with ammonia detection and alarm in
accordance with Sections 17.2-17.6 and provide the following:
1. At least one detector shall be provided in room or area
2. Detector shall activate an alarm that reports to a monitored location
so that corrective action can be taken at a concentration of 25 ppm
or higher
3. Audible and visual alarms shall be provided inside the room to warn
that access to the room is restricted to authorized and emergency
personnel. Additional audible and visual alarms shall be located
outside of each entrance to the machinery room.
 Ammonia detection
IIAR 2-2014
• 6.13.2 Alarm response
6.13.2.1 Below 25 ppm – no alarm

6.13.2.2 At or exceeding 25 ppm, activate visual indicators and audible

alarms. Allows automatic reset if concentration drops below 25
ppm

6.13.2.3 At or exceeding 150 ppm, activate visual indicators and

audible alarms and activate emergency ventilation when
required by 6.14.7. Once activated, ventilation shall continue
to operate until manually reset by a switch located in the
machinery room
 Ammonia detection
IIAR 2-2014
• 6.13.2 Alarm response

6.13.2.4 At concentrations that exceed the detector’s upper detection

limit or 40,000 ppm, whichever is lower, activate visual
indicators and audible alarms, emergency ventilation in
accordance with 6.14.7. Once activated, ventilation continues
to operate until manually reset by switch in the machinery
room. In addition, automatically de-energize: refrigerant
compressors, refrigerant pumps, and normally-closed
automatic refrigerant valves that are not part of an emergency
control system.
 Emergency controls
• IIAR 2-2014
• Clearly identified emergency shut-off switch with tamper-resistant
cover adjacent to the designated principal machinery room door.
Switch provides off-only control of refrigerant compressors,
refrigerant pumps, and normally-closed automatic refrigerant valves
located in the room. Function of switch shall be clearly marked by
signage near controls. [6.12.1]
• Clearly identified control switch for emergency ventilation with
tamper-resistant cover adjacent to the designated principal
machinery room door. Switch provides on/AUTO override capability
for emergency ventilation. Function of switch shall be clearly
marked by signage near controls. [6.12.2]
 Safety systems
• Eye-wash & shower stations
• Each machinery room requires access to at least two
eyewash/safety showers – one located inside and one located
outside machinery room [6.7.1]
• Additional eyewash/showers units located in the machinery
room with a path of travel no more than 55 ft [6.7.1]
• Path of travel shall be unobstructed with no
intervening doors [6.7.2]
• Eyewash/shower installations shall comply with
ISEA Z358.1
 Where do I relieve ammonia?

• Pressure relief devices discharging vapor to

atmosphere
• No less than 15 ft above grade [15.5.1.2]
• Not less than 20 ft from windows, ventilation
opening/intakes, or building exits [15.5.1.2]
• Not less than 7.25 ft above roof occupied solely for service
and inspection [15.5.1.3]
• Not less than 7.25 ft above platform surfaces such as upper
condenser catwalks that are occupied solely for service and
inspection [15.5.1.4]
 Where do I relieve ammonia?
• Pressure relief devices discharging vapor to
atmosphere
• Termination directed upward and arranged to avoid
spraying on persons in the vicinity [15.5.1.5]
• Discharge piping shall have a provision for draining
moisture from the piping [15.5.1.6]

Drip pocket
QUESTIONS?