How to static ground in remote areas?
US Federal and State safety codes (incl. OSHA and NFPA) require that static bonding equipment be used when flammable liquids are being transferred in order to reduce the risk of a static discharge. We've covered all the different ways that you can ground static in indoor and outdoor applications. However, they all had in common that they involve having an established "known ground" point already in place for the static to drain to. What happens if you need to ground static in the middle of nowhere?
Say a fuel tank truck is traveling along the highway and overturns. The flammable fuel may be partially spilled, but it is likely that quite a bit remains in the tank itself. That fuel needs to be removed and put into a serviceable truck for transport. The tool for that job is a vacuum truck to suck out the fuel and place it into another vessel.
Emergency personnel training on the LE-ERK1 Emergency Roadside Static Grounding Kit
Well, if you've been keeping up with our tutorials and education pieces, you'll know that the transfer of liquids through a pipe or into another vessel will generate static electricity. We can't afford to have that static discharge in such a situation. However, you don't have a known ground point to ground the fallen truck, the pump truck and the receiving truck.'
This is where the need for a remote static grounding kit comes from. This kit, called the Emergency Roadside Kit, comes complete with everything you need to set up a remote static grounding operation, including an in-lid set of instructions that you can follow on the roadside. This kit has become so valuable that it is part of the regular training for firefighters at major training institutes across the country.
The essence of the kit is that you need to establish a 'known ground point' in the field, and thus need the right tools to do so. It comes with a sectional ground rod that gets driven into the ground with the included driver/hammer. You can then attach the including clamps and assemblies to drain the static from the affected vehicles to the ground rod that you've just put into the ground.
Accidents such as fuel tank rollovers need to be properly grounded in order to transfer the flammable liquids from one tanker to another. This portable kit allows for Hazmat teams to have a portable, easy to set-up kit containing all the necessary items to eliminate the static discharge from an accident scene in a portable, rugged container.