Primer on Spontaneous Heating and Pyrophoricity
NOT MEASUREMENT SENSITIVE DOE‐HDBK‐1081‐2014 Supersedes DOE‐HDBK‐1081‐94 DOE HANDBOOK PRIMER ON SPONTANEOUS HEATING AND PYROPHORICITY U.S. Department of Energy FSC‐6910 Washington, D.C. 20585 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. This document is available on the Department of Energy Technical Standards Program Web page at: http://www.hss.doe.gov/nuclearsafety/ns/techstds/ Key words: Alkali Metals , Aluminum, Arsine, Calcium, Class D Extinguishing Agents, Coal Storage, Combustible Metals, Diborane, Fire, Hafnium, Heating, Hydrazine, Hydrocarbons, Hypergolic, Hypergolic Reaction, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Metals, Microbial Heating, NaK, Organic, Oxidizer, Phosphine, Phosphorus, Plutonium, Potassium, Pyrophoric, Pyrophoricity, Pyrophoric Gases, Pyrophoric Reagents, Silane Specific Area, Sodium, Sodium‐Potassium, Specific Surface Area, Spontaneous, Spontaneous Combustion, Steel, Super Oxides, Thorium, Titanium, Uranium, Water Reactive Metals, Zinc, Zirconium FOREWORD The Primer on Spontaneous Heating and Pyrophoricity is approved for use by all DOE Components. It was developed to help Department of Energy (DOE) facility contractors prevent fires caused by spontaneous ignition. Spontaneously ignitable materials include those that ignite because of a slow buildup of heat (spontaneous heating) and those that ignite in air (pyrophoricity). The scientific principles of combustion and how they affect materials known to be spontaneously combustible are explained. The fire hazards of specific spontaneously heating and pyrophoric materials are discussed as well as techniques to prevent their ignition. Suitable fire extinguishing agents are included for most materials as well as safety precautions for storage and handling. The DOE Primers are fundamental handbooks on safety‐related topics of interest in the DOE Complex and are intended as an educational aid for operations and maintenance personnel and others who may have an interest in this topic.
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