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Fire and explosion risk assessments for fuel stores, tank farms, forecourts and depots, carried out by the tank engineers who already work on sites like yours. Hazardous area zoning, ATEX equipment checks and a clear written report with prioritised actions.
What it is
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) require employers to assess the fire and explosion risks from dangerous substances at work, and to control them. Since the flashpoint threshold for flammable liquids was raised to 60 °C, diesel, gas oil and heating oil are classed as flammable liquids, so most sites that store fuel are within scope.
Our DSEAR risk assessments focus on the places where fuels and oils are stored and handled: tank areas, bunds, pump rooms, dispensers and delivery points. Assessing these areas in detail, rather than auditing a whole factory, keeps the work proportionate, quicker to complete and easier to act on.
Already have a DSEAR assessment? We can review it after changes on site, such as a new tank, a new fuel type, new dispensing equipment or a change of use.
Who needs one
If people work where fuels or other flammable substances are stored, delivered or dispensed, a DSEAR risk assessment is part of your legal duties. These are the sites we know best.
Filling stations, service stations and supermarket forecourts, where petrol storage and dispensing always need a recorded DSEAR assessment for the petroleum enforcement authority.
On-site refuelling for haulage, courier, coach and council fleets: bulk diesel tanks, dispensers, AdBlue and the delivery area used by tankers.
Oil distributors and bulk storage sites with multiple tanks, transfer pumps and loading points, where releases, vents and maintenance work need careful zoning.
Hospitals, care homes, data centres and telecom sites with bulk and day tanks feeding backup generators inside or next to occupied buildings.
Petrol for small machinery, red diesel and gas oil tanks, grain dryers and fuel stores in sheds close to livestock, straw and workshops.
Garages, plant hire and maintenance workshops storing petrol, diesel, waste oil and flammable cleaning products, often in the same building as hot work.
What's included
Every DSEAR assessment follows the same structure, scaled to the size of your site. Where the risk is low, the report says so and keeps the actions short.
A common question
Yes. Diesel, gas oil and kerosene are classed as flammable liquids, so they are dangerous substances under DSEAR and need to be covered in your risk assessment.
In practice, the risk depends on how the fuel is stored and handled:
A good assessment reflects this. It doesn't treat a diesel tank like a petrol forecourt, and it doesn't ignore the jobs that change the risk.
How it works
Send us the site address, the fuels and substances you hold and a site plan or photos. We agree the areas to assess and the timescale.
We inspect the storage, delivery and dispensing areas, the equipment and the ventilation, and talk to the people who use them.
We work through the substances, release sources and ignition sources, and produce the zoning drawing where it's needed.
You receive the DSEAR risk assessment, the action plan and, where zones exist, the Explosion Protection Document.
We can review the assessment after any change on site, and help with the actions, from tank repairs to removing redundant tanks.
Why Britteco
We clean, inspect, test, decommission and remove fuel and oil tanks every week, so we understand how they fail and where the real risks are.
If the report calls for work, we can carry it out: tank refurbishment, tank cleaning or decommissioning a redundant tank to reduce the fuel on site.
DSEAR asks for controls that match the risk. We won't over-zone a diesel tank or bury a small site in paperwork it doesn't need.
Related services
FAQ
It is an assessment of the fire and explosion risks from dangerous substances at your workplace, such as fuels, oils, gases and solvents. It identifies the substances, the activities that involve them and the ignition sources, then sets out the controls needed to keep the risk as low as reasonably practicable.
Yes. Under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002, employers and the self-employed must assess the risks from dangerous substances at work. If you employ five or more people, the significant findings must be recorded.
Yes. Diesel, gas oil and kerosene are classed as flammable liquids, so they must be included. Stored at normal temperatures they are a low fire and explosion risk, so the assessment is often short, but heating, misting, pressurised systems and work on tanks increase the risk.
Yes. Any workplace that stores petrol, and any premises where petrol is dispensed into vehicles, needs a DSEAR risk assessment. On a forecourt it covers fuel deliveries, dispensing, repairs, modifications and maintenance.
Hazardous area classification, often called DSEAR zoning, identifies the places where an explosive atmosphere could form and how often. Those places are marked as Zone 0, 1 or 2 on a drawing, and only suitable ATEX equipment can be used inside them.
It depends on the number of substances and storage areas, whether zoning drawings are needed, the size of the site and how much existing information you have. We agree the scope first and give you a fixed quote before we book the visit.
Review it regularly and whenever something significant changes, for example a new tank, a new fuel such as HVO, new dispensing equipment, building work near storage areas, or after an incident or near miss.
A written DSEAR risk assessment with a substances register and prioritised action plan, a hazardous area zoning drawing where zones are needed, and an Explosion Protection Document where the site has zoned areas.
We carry out DSEAR assessments on commercial and industrial sites across England, working from our bases in Banbury and Harrogate.
Get started
Tell us what you store, roughly how much and where. We'll come back with a clear scope and a fixed quote.
