Reducing risks in hazardous areas
You may work in a relatively safe environment, where your main ‘personal protective equipment’ need is for safety clothing. Spare a thought, then, for people who work in ’hazardous areas’, where a single spark could trigger a fire or explosion.
Manufacturers have developed a wide range of ‘intrinsically safe’ products suitable for ‘hazardous areas’ (or zones), where there might be dangerous concentrations of flammable gases or dust. These are electrical items that are sealed to avoid sparks or excessive heat that could ignite the gases or dust to cause a fire.
Because people’s lives are at risk in these environments, hazardous areas are tightly regulated with a complex array of legislation. There are 22 different kinds of hazardous zones, and products need to comply with the requirements for the appropriate zone. If you get it wrong, and something happens there could be lives at risk and compensation claims may be invalidated.
Keeping up with changes in technology and legislation
Manufacturers have to meet their customers’ demands in several different ways: they need to keep workers safe and productive, comply with legislation, and stay abreast of technical developments.
“A hazardous area is any place in which an explosive atmosphere may occur in quantities such as to require special precautions to protect the safety of workers”
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002
For example, customers expect the latest wireless and mobile technology. However, this brings its own problems: using wi-fi can create an ignition source, so wireless equipment has to be carefully designed to standards suitable for hazardous areas.
Improved technology also means that products have better specifications. Manufacturers can reduce the power usage, so it costs less to run products. For example, most beacons are nowdriven by LED, meaning an average bulb will last for 100,000 hours (around 10 years). This reduces maintenance requirements, saving time, as well as money.
The main European legislation that covers hazardous areas is ATEX, which refers to products for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, gases, vapours or dust. The UK currently conforms with ATEX – but this could change when we leave the EU.
Our range of over 1500 ATEX-approved products, drawn from over 50 trusted suppliers, including CorDEX and Moflash are available for next day delivery wherever you need them.
