Storage and handling of combustible materials in the case of materials prone to spontaneous combustion
In recent years, and again this year, there have been several reports in the media about waste disposal sites catching fire here and there.
During our work, we encountered an interesting situation in this area.
The treatment, disposal, selective sorting, and recycling or landfilling of residential and municipal waste delivered to landfills is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the environmental protection authority's permit.
The specified fractions delivered to the landfill site must be disposed of in accordance with the aforementioned permit (specific materials may be landfilled; in a specific layer order; with specific compaction; covered with specific covering material, etc.).
It is unfortunate that the aforementioned technology creates a mass of material that is prone to spontaneous combustion in terms of fire safety, and we are talking about hundreds of cubic meters here, not a wheelbarrow full.
In most landfill fires, fire investigations typically identify spontaneous combustion as the cause of the fire. This is not surprising, as there is no technology or equipment in these areas that could be the cause of the fire. More precisely, it is very rare for vehicles used for compaction and transport or faults in the overhead power lines above the landfill to cause a fire in the material deposited in the landfill and require extinguishing. However, the conditions for spontaneous combustion are present.
In the above-mentioned technology, the deposited material contains combustible material and organic components, and during compaction, there remains plenty of air-filled cavities and looser structural space, and the ingress of moisture cannot be ruled out or guaranteed (on the one hand because we are talking about an uncovered open space, and on the other hand because the so-called leachate must be sprinkled back onto the landfill: in accordance with the technological requirements necessary for the decomposition of the deposited materials and the development of landfill gas).
The National Fire Safety Regulations deal with the fire safety of materials prone to spontaneous combustion in a rather „general” manner. They do not provide a specific solution to prevent the process of spontaneous combustion from occurring:
„(4) Materials prone to spontaneous combustion shall not be stored in the same unit as other explosive and flammable materials, or materials that may generate heat, cause fire or explosion when in contact with each other. The temperature of substances prone to spontaneous combustion must be checked daily or, if the properties of the substance so require, continuously, and dangerous heating must be prevented. „
Inspection in accordance with the law can be considered almost continuous: there are practically always workers at the landfill during the relevant period (working hours), and during non-working hours, the security service responsible for protecting the site is required to patrol every two hours, meaning that inspection can be considered continuous.
Taking the above into account, continuous monitoring does not rule out the start of the self-ignition process; at most, the start of the predictable process can be detected at an early stage.
If spontaneous combustion is detected, some kind of intervention is carried out to prevent a surface fire from occurring.
Usually, covering or more concentrated drainage of runoff water is used. It is not really possible to turn the material pile at the landfill due to the amount of material generated by the dumping.
A very complex problem is emerging, for which, in our opinion, there is currently no effective solution based on the following:
– waste produced and generated by the population and public institutions in their daily lives must be transported;
– the delivered waste must be treated and disposed of as outlined above (waste treatment carried out in accordance with official permits);
– the treatment technology itself causes the self-ignition process to develop (we produce a substance that is prone to self-ignition and store it under conditions that promote self-ignition);
– spontaneous combustion cannot be ruled out, taking into account the principles of utilization (the aim is to decompose waste and utilize the biogas produced wherever possible);
The authorities concerned are urging plant operators to find a solution to the fires caused by the above process. The fire department conducts official inspections and may impose fire safety fines or require reimbursement of call-out costs., but does not make any specific proposals.
The environmental protection authority resolved the issue more simply, because according to the relevant legislation, it is actually interested in the details of the fire that enable it to calculate the fine that can be imposed:
„Government Decree No. 306/2010 (XII. 23.)
(2) The incineration of waste in open spaces or in equipment that does not comply with the provisions of the legislation laying down the conditions for the incineration of waste is prohibited, with the exception of the incineration of paper waste generated in households and untreated wood waste that is not classified as hazardous in household equipment. Open-air waste incineration is defined as waste catching fire for any reason, except for natural causes.”
Annex 9 of the same legislation contains the methodology for calculating the fine, according to which:
- Does not prevent the spontaneous combustion or ignition of waste and material storage or waste, and does not provide for extinguishing (for quantities exceeding 10 m3); HUF 500,000
- Failure to prevent the spontaneous combustion or ignition of waste and material storage or waste, or failure to extinguish it (for quantities up to 10 m3); HUF 100,000
A poetic question arises in our minds: How ethical is it?
– that way impose fines, so that the authority that prescribes what material should be stored, how and where, and what technology should be used to do so, is the one that imposes the fines. Ergo, it produces a pile of material prone to spontaneous combustion and stores it in such a way that spontaneous combustion is only a matter of time.
– when the substance handled in accordance with its instructions spontaneously combusts, for the reasons described above, this process cannot be ruled out. Therefore, it also imposes a fine for failing to prevent spontaneous combustion.
Final thought:
The disaster management and environmental protection authorities have not identified any irregularities in the production and handling of the material or in the implementation of the technology used in connection with the landfill fires.
