Energy Generation - Power Stations
Chemical first aid for power stations, energy generation and water treatment systems
Power stations are among the most chemically intensive industrial facilities in the UK. Regardless of the primary energy source — coal, gas, oil, nuclear, or renewable — the generation of electricity at scale involves complex water treatment systems, large battery backup installations, and regular maintenance operations that bring workers into direct contact with concentrated corrosive chemicals.
Around 80% of the world's electricity is generated via steam turbine plants, which use a closed-circuit water system heated by the primary energy source to create steam that drives a turbine and generates power. Maintaining the quality of water in this circuit is critical — impurities cause corrosion, scale, and equipment failure. Ion exchange systems are used to remove these impurities, and the regeneration of ion exchange columns requires the use of hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, and sodium hydroxide — three of the most corrosive substances handled anywhere in industry.
Condensers, cooling circuits, and heat exchangers require periodic maintenance involving flushing with chemical cleaning agents including bleach, sulphuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide. These maintenance operations are conducted by engineers working in confined plant spaces, often under time pressure and in conditions where access to fixed emergency shower provision is limited.
Large battery rooms are a feature of most power station sites, providing emergency backup power in the event of a primary supply failure. These batteries typically use sulphuric acid electrolytes and require regular maintenance, creating a routine and ongoing chemical splash risk for maintenance engineers.
Water treatment is a further source of chemical hazard on power station sites. Flocculants used for solids removal, water clarification, sludge softening, and lime softening present a specific operational risk beyond direct chemical burns — when spilt, flocculants leave extremely slippery surfaces that dramatically increase the risk of secondary slip and fall injuries. Polycaptor® is the effective solution for flocculant spill management, absorbing the substance and leaving a safe, non-slip surface after use.
For renewable energy generation — wind, solar, and hydroelectric — the primary chemical risks are reduced during operation. However, the manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells involves hydrofluoric acid and other reactive chemicals, and the surface treatment of wind turbine blades involves a range of solvents and resins that carry their own splash hazard profiles.
Diphoterine® provides broad-spectrum active decontamination across all the corrosive chemicals encountered in power generation environments — sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sodium hydroxide are all within its active range. Portable and requiring no plumbing, Diphoterine® wall-mounted stations and DAP units can be placed in ion exchange plant rooms, battery maintenance areas, and chemical dosing points where the risk is highest and fixed shower access is most limited.
Chemicals of note in this industry:
Sulphuric Acid, Hydrochloric Acid, Nitric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite), Flocculants.
COSHH and compliance
Power station COSHH risk assessments must address chemical exposure risks in water treatment plant rooms, battery maintenance areas, and confined maintenance spaces where response time to fixed decontamination provision may exceed the critical 10-second window. Portable Diphoterine® provision directly addresses these locations. Diphoterine® systems conform with EN15154 Parts 3 and 4 — the European Standards for Emergency Eye and Skin Decontamination Equipment.
Contact DipHex on 01622 851000 or at enquiries@diphex.com to discuss provision for your power station or energy generation site.