A) provision of a feed gas stream a comprising n-butenes;B) introduction of the feed gas stream a comprising n-butenes and an oxygen-comprising gas into a dehydrogenation reactor and oxidative dehydrogenation of n-butenes to butadiene;C) cooling and compression of the product gas stream b in at least one cooling stage comprising a quenching column and in a compression stage comprising a compressor, with the product gas stream b being brought into contact with at least one circulated coolant;D) separation of incondensable and low-boiling gas constituents as gas stream d2 from the gas stream c2 by absorption of the C4-hydrocarbons in at least one circulated absorption medium;E) separation of the C4 product stream d1 by extractive distillation using a solvent which is selective for butadiene into a stream e1 comprising butadiene and the selective solvent and a stream e2 comprising n-butenes;F) distillation of the stream e1 comprising butadiene and the selective solvent to give a stream f1 consisting essentially of the selective solvent and a stream f2 comprising butadiene;wherein the measures (i) to (iii) below are carried out (i) avoidance of formation of explosive gas mixtures by monitoring of the oxygen concentration in the oxygen-comprising gas streams fed into the dehydrogenation zone and control of the mass flows of oxygen-comprising gas streams and gas streams comprising hydrocarbons in such a way that no explosive gas mixtures can be formed; (ii) interruption of the introduction of the oxygen-comprising gas mixture into the dehydrogenation zone when a limit value for the oxygen concentration in the dehydrogenation gas mixture is exceeded; (iii) carrying out of the steps A) to F) in apparatuses which are configured so as to be explosion-protected, where liquid-conveying pipes are configured so as to be explosion-protected and gas conduits are configured so as to be detonation-protected.