Control Rooms and Operator Shelters – Spacing for control rooms as shown in Tables 1-A and 2-A and as outlined below. Check electrical area classification requirements: Control rooms should be a minimum of 60 m from the property boundary as required per local security regulations. (Refer 2P-001 For Area Classification).
Control Rooms and Operator Shelters | Layout and Spacing of Buildings and Substations
Central Control rooms
Central control rooms should not normally be a part of administration buildings, laboratories, or any other nonrelated structure. If it is necessary to combine a non-blast resistant central control room with a nonrelated structure, the control room must be separated by a 3-hour rated fire wall without any direct access or penetration of the fire wall. The central control room may share switchgear housing with a substation if isolated from the switch gear by a 3-hour rated fire wall and if precautions are taken to limit potential fire exposure associated with the transformers (sloping the ground away from the control room, fire walls between control room and transformers). In the event that a laboratory is located within a central control facility, both the HVAC and drainage systems shall be segregated, in addition to the fire-rated wall.
Central control rooms should be located adjacent to a plant roadway to ensure access during an emergency. One side of the central control room should have an open buffer zone of at least 75 m from process equipment. To reduce hazard in the event of a large vapor or toxic discharge during an
emergency, process units handling toxic materials or flammable liquids or gases at pressures over 3.45 Mpa gage should be located as far as practical from the central control room.
Central control rooms should be located at least 150 m from LPG loading racks or process equipment containing flammable or combustible liquids and/or vapors that could form a vapor cloud upon release (unless blast-resistant construction is utilized) and at least 60 m from all other process equipment
containing hydrocarbons. The 60 m spacing requirement is provided for fire exposure considerations.
Central control rooms, which are built to blast-resistant construction criteria should be located at least 60 m from process equipment containing hydrocarbons.
Central control rooms should be located no closer than 60 m to tanks containing nonheated combustible material. Flammable materials, and crude or heavy oils that are prone to boilover in fire situations should be stored a minimum of 150 m from the central control room.
Central control rooms should be located no closer than 30 m to process area pipeways and main pipeways. The pipeways should contain straight run piping with no valves or flanges within 60 m of the control room. Sections of the pipeway that contain groupings of release sources (such as flanges, vents,
drains, instrument connections) and also contain products that could form a vapor cloud upon release should be located at least 150 m from non-blast resistant central control rooms.
Multi-Unit Control Houses
Multi-unit control houses should not normally be a part of administration buildings, laboratories, lunchrooms, or any other nonrelated structure. If it is necessary to combine a non-blast resistant multi-unit control house with a nonrelated structure, the control house must be separated by a 3-hour rated fire wall without any direct access or penetration of the fire wall. The multi-unit house may share switchgear housing with a substation if isolated from the switchgear by a 3-hour rated fire wall and if precautions are taken to limit potential fire exposure associated with the transformers (sloping the ground away from the control house, fire walls between control house and transformers).
One side of the multi-unit control house should have an open buffer zone of at least 75 m from process equipment. To reduce hazard in the event of a large vapor or toxic discharge during an emergency, process units handling toxic materials or flammable liquids or gases at pressures over 3.45 Mpa gage
should be located as far as practical from a multi-unit control house.
Multi-unit control houses should be located at least 150 m from LPG loading racks or process equipment containing flammable or combustible liquids and/or vapors that would potentially form a vapor cloud upon release (unless blast-resistant construction is utilized) and at least 30 m from all other process equipment containing hydrocarbon.
Multi-unit control houses that built to the blast-resistant construction criteria should be located at least 35 m from process equipment containing hydrocarbons. The 35 m spacing requirement is provided for fire exposure considerations.
Multi-unit control houses should be located no closer than 30 m to process area pipeways and no closer than 9 m to main pipeways if the main pipeways are of welded construction and have no concentrations of flanges or other potential release sources within 30 m of the control house.
Multi-Unit Control rooms
Multi-unit control rooms should not normally be a part of administration buildings, laboratories, lunchrooms, or any other nonrelated structure. If it is necessary to combine a non-blast resistant multi-unit control room with a nonrelated structure, the control room must be separated by a 3-hour rated fire wall without any direct access or penetration of the fire wall. The multi-unit house may share switchgear housing with a substation if isolated from the switchgear by a 3-hour rated fire wall and if precautions are taken to limit potential fire exposure associated with the transformers (sloping the ground away from the control room, fire walls between control room and transformers).
One side of the multi-unit control room should have an open buffer zone of at least 75 m from process equipment. To reduce hazard in the event of a large vapor or toxic discharge during an emergency, process units handling toxic materials or flammable liquids or gases at pressures over 3.45 Mpa gage
should be located as far as practical from a multi-unit control room.
Multi-unit control rooms should be located at least 150 m from LPG loading racks or process equipment containing flammable or combustible liquids and/or vapors that would potentially form a vapor cloud upon release (unless blast-resistant construction is utilized) and at least 30 m from all other process equipment containing hydrocarbon.
Multi-unit control rooms that built to the blast-resistant construction criteria should be located at least 35 m from process equipment containing hydrocarbons. The 35 m spacing requirement is provided for fire exposure considerations.
8.2.2.5 Multi-unit control rooms should be located no closer than 30 m to process area pipeways and no closer than 9 m to main pipeways if the main pipeways are of welded construction and have no concentrations of flanges or other potential release sources within 30 m of the control room.
Process Unit Control rooms
Process unit control rooms should be located at least 60 m from nonassociated process equipment (not a part of the unit being served) that contains flammable or combustible liquids and/or vapors that would potentially form a vapor cloud upon release. Spacing less than 60 m is acceptable if the blast-resistant construction criteria for control rooms is utilized. The 60 m spacing is required in order to protect against a blast in an adjacent unit that could destroy the control room and adversely affect a safe shutdown of the unit served by it. The 60 m spacing requirement also provides greater reliability of the unit in regard to operation after a blast in an adjacent unit.
Process unit control rooms should be located at the periphery of the process unit, should not be clustered in the same general area, and should be at least 35 m from any process equipment containing flammable liquids or vapors. The 35 m spacing requirement to all equipment handling hydrocarbons is
provided for fire exposure considerations as required by local security regulations.
Operator Shelters
Operator shelters should be located at least 15 m from the nearest process unit equipment containing flammable liquids or vapors and 15 m from fired heaters.