Workplace safety and OSHAAwarenessFoundationAvailable in English · Spanish

Static Ignition Hazards: Bonding and Grounding to NFPA 77

Stopping static electricity from igniting flammable liquids, vapors and combustible dusts

Duration: 1 hour
Modules: 3
Final exam: 70% to pass
Certificate: No expiry

$59

Before you buy: what your employer must also provide

Your employer must still train you on your site's transfer points, containers, bonding and grounding equipment, hazardous area classification, written static control procedure and emergency action plan, provide the PPE hazard assessment for your tasks, and give you the chance to ask questions of someone who knows the site.

Lifetime access to the course and your certificate
Verifiable Certificate of Completion. Certificate does not expire.
3 exam attempts
Progress saved to your account on every slide
The full course, every module, quiz and the final exam, is available in Spanish. Choose your language inside the course at any time.

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About this course

Most solvent vapors ignite at less than 1 millijoule, an energy below what a person can feel. A liquid flowing through a hose, a solvent falling into a drum, powder sliding into a hopper or a person taking off a jacket can store many times that. Static ignition is the cause behind drum-filling flash fires, tank truck loading fires and dust collector explosions, and the control is simple when it is done every time: bond, ground, fill from the bottom and keep insulators out. This course teaches how and why.

You will learn where charge is generated in industrial processes, why nonconductive liquids such as toluene and hexane hold charge while alcohols and ketones let it go, how flash point and the GHS flammable liquid categories in 29 CFR 1910.106 define the vapor risk, what minimum ignition energy means for vapors and dusts, and the kinds of discharge NFPA 77 describes. You will learn the difference between bonding and grounding, what makes an adequate path and how it is verified, the bonding requirement in 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii) and OSHA's conditions for plastic containers, NFPA 77 dispensing practice, container, hose and filter rules, grounding of spray booths and electrostatic spraying equipment under 29 CFR 1910.107, static controls in combustible dust processes under the standards consolidated into NFPA 660, grounding of people, and hazardous location awareness under 29 CFR 1910.307. The final module covers the site static control procedure, inspection and testing, training, what to do when a clamp is missing, reporting, flash fire response, contractors and four scenarios from an electronics cleaning bench, a tank truck rack, a powder coating booth and a drum-filling line.

The course is for anyone who transfers or dispenses flammable liquids, from isopropyl alcohol at an electronics bench to solvents, fuels and coatings in plants, labs and paint shops, for anyone who handles combustible dust, for maintenance staff who install and inspect grounding, and for EHS coordinators and supervisors who write and audit the procedure. It builds on the PlanetISO Chemical Handling in Electronics Manufacturing and Hazard Communication and GHS courses. It is a workplace safety course, not an electronics ESD course: the PlanetISO ESD Awareness course covers protection of electronic components.

What this course does not cover. It is general awareness training. Your employer must still train you on your site's transfer points, containers, bonding and grounding equipment, hazardous area classification, written procedure and emergency action plan, provide the PPE hazard assessment for your tasks, and give you the chance to ask questions of someone who knows the site. NFPA 77 is a recommended practice and your site's procedure sets the acceptance values. This course does not make anyone OSHA certified, and OSHA does not approve training providers. State-plan states may have additional requirements, and employers outside the US follow their own regulations. The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion for the online instruction, with lifetime access to the course. The certificate does not expire.

What you will be able to do

Explain how static charge is generated by flowing liquids, powders, belts and people, and why nonconductive liquids hold charge while conductive liquids relax.
Relate flash point, flammable range and the 29 CFR 1910.106 flammable liquid categories to static ignition risk, and explain minimum ignition energy for vapors and dusts.
Distinguish bonding from grounding, describe an adequate path and how it is verified, and apply the bond, ground, open, transfer sequence.
Apply the bonding requirement of 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii) and NFPA 77 dispensing practice to drums, safety cans, IBCs, plastic containers, hoses and filters.
Describe the grounding requirements of 29 CFR 1910.107 for spray booths and electrostatic spraying, and the static controls used in combustible dust processes.
Recognize Class I and Class II hazardous locations under 29 CFR 1910.307 and the footwear, garment and device rules that apply inside them.
Carry out the operator's pre-transfer check, stop and report when a bond or ground is missing or unverified, and respond correctly to near misses and flash fires.

Course outline

1
How static electricity ignites liquids, vapors and dusts
Where charge comes from in industrial processes, why some liquids hold it and others let it go, flash point and the flammable range, minimum ignition energy, the kinds of discharge, where incidents happen, and how this differs from electronics ESD.
About 20 minutes, then a module quiz
2
Bonding, grounding and the other controls
Bonding against grounding, what makes an adequate path and how it is verified, the bond then ground then open sequence, dispensing rules, containers, hoses and filters, inerting, dust controls, grounding people, electrostatic spraying and hazardous area awareness.
About 20 minutes, then a module quiz
3
Procedures, inspection, scenarios and your responsibilities
The site static control procedure and who owns it, inspection and testing of bonding and grounding systems, training and PPE, what to do when a clamp is missing, reporting, flash fire response, contractors, four scenarios and the worker's short list.
About 20 minutes, then a module quiz
Final examination and certificate
10 questions drawn from the course bank. Score 70% or higher to receive your Certificate of Completion.

Who it is for

Operators who transfer or dispense flammable liquids: solvent cleaning in electronics, laboratories, paint and coating booths, fuel handling, chemical and pharmaceutical plants
Powder coating, woodworking, food, plastics and metal powder workers who handle combustible dust
Maintenance staff who install, inspect and test bonding and grounding systems, conductive hoses and flooring
EHS coordinators, process safety engineers and supervisors who write, train and audit the static control procedure
Tank truck drivers, contractors and stores staff who load, unload or move flammable liquids on site

Prerequisites

None. The PlanetISO Chemical Handling in Electronics Manufacturing and Hazard Communication and GHS courses are useful companions.

Questions

Is this the same as ESD training for electronics?

No. Electronics ESD training, such as the PlanetISO ESD Awareness course, protects components from discharges of 100 volts or less that a person cannot feel, using wrist straps, dissipative surfaces and shielding packaging. This course protects people and plant from static discharges with enough energy to ignite flammable vapor or combustible dust, using bonding, grounding, container and dispensing rules, hazardous area controls and procedures. The physics overlaps; the controls do not. If you handle both electronics and solvents, you need both.

Does this course make me OSHA certified?

No. OSHA does not certify workers in static control or flammable liquid handling and does not approve training providers. You receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion for the online instruction. Your employer must add site-specific training on your transfer points, equipment, procedure and emergency plan, and OSHA has said that online training alone, without interaction with a knowledgeable person, does not meet its training requirements.

Does the course cover hazardous area electrical classification in depth?

No. It explains at awareness level what Class I and Class II locations and Divisions 1 and 2 mean under 29 CFR 1910.307 and NFPA 70, and why only approved equipment, footwear and garments go inside them. Classifying an area and selecting equipment is an electrical engineering task. Shock and arc flash from powered equipment are covered in the PlanetISO Electrical Safety Awareness (NFPA 70E) course.

What resistance should a bond or ground measure?

Your site's written procedure sets the acceptance value, the test method and the frequency, and that value governs. NFPA 77 provides the guidance behind it: a metal to metal bond path normally measures well under 10 ohms and a higher reading points to a loose, corroded or broken connection, a path to ground of 1 megohm or less is adequate for static dissipation, and a verified ground point is one with a resistance to earth below 1 megohm. If your procedure does not state a value, ask your EHS coordinator rather than choosing one yourself.

Which edition of NFPA 77 does the course follow?

NFPA 77, Recommended Practice on Static Electricity, 2024 edition, which superseded the 2019 edition. It is a recommended practice, not a code, so it is not enforceable on its own. OSHA treats it as recognized good practice and can cite static hazards under 29 CFR 1910.106, 1910.107 or the General Duty Clause, section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act. The course also refers to NFPA 30 (2024), NFPA 660 (2025 edition, which consolidated the combustible dust standards including NFPA 652 and 654), NFPA 70 Article 250 and API RP 2003 for petroleum operations.

What certificate do I receive?

You receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion showing the course title, your name and your exam result. It does not expire. It is evidence of the classroom portion of training for your records. It is not an OSHA, NFPA or insurer certification.

How long do I have access?

Lifetime access to the course and your certificate. You can revisit any module and download your certificate at any time.

What happens if I fail the exam?

You have 3 attempts. Each attempt draws a different 10-question set from the bank of 20, and module quizzes can be retaken without limit to prepare.

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About this course

What you will be able to do

Course outline

How static electricity ignites liquids, vapors and dusts

Bonding, grounding and the other controls

Procedures, inspection, scenarios and your responsibilities

Final examination and certificate

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