ATEX: Why You Should Be Worried
Understanding the risks associated with explosive atmospheres and the importance of ATEX compliance.
What is ATEX?
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) require employers to control the risks to safety from fire, explosions, and substances corrosive to metals. This places the responsibility firmly on employers.
Equipment used in obvious hazardous locations like flour mills, coal mines, petrochemical plants, and fuel transfer facilities must be certified "intrinsically safe". However, hazardous locations also include places like water treatment plants, tunnels, underground passageways, or any location where a build-up of naturally occurring flammable material (such as methane or dust) could occur.
Understanding ATEX Zones
ATEX 'Zones' classify areas based on the likelihood of an explosive atmosphere being present:
- Zone 0: An explosive atmosphere is very likely.
- Zone 1: An explosive atmosphere is likely.
- Zone 2: An explosive atmosphere is unlikely.
Equipment is marked with its suitability for specific zones, e.g., Ex ia for Zone 0, Ex ib for Zone 1, and Ex ic for Zone 2. Identifying which locations fall into which zones is crucial.
Gas Groups and Temperature Classifications
Consideration must also be given to the types of gases likely to be encountered. Equipment marked as Group IIB must not be used in Zones with hydrogen or acetylene, which require at least Group IIC certification.
Equipment also has a temperature classification, specifying the maximum surface temperature that could arise due to a fault. For example, equipment coded T2 could potentially get hot enough to ignite gasoline. Equipment coding of T4 is generally considered acceptable for most gases, but Carbon Disulfide requires T6.
Gas Groups and Typical Gases:
| Gas Group | Typical Gases |
|---|---|
| IIA | acetone, ammonia, benzene, butane, ethanol, gasoline, methane, naphtha, propane and similar gases |
| IIB | Group IIA plus ether, ethylene, acetaldehyde, cyclopropane and similar gases |
| IIC | Group IIB plus hydrogen and acetylene |
TPI 9085Ex Smart Vibration Analyser
Test Products International (TPI) offers the TPI 9085Ex Smart Vibration Analyser, featuring triple certification for simplified compliance.
The TPI 9085Ex is Group IIC IECEX/ATEX certified for Zone 0, with North American approval for Class 1, Division 1. This makes it certified for use in ANY hazardous location, with ANY gas group, ANYWHERE in the world.
The device offers on-meter analysis for machinery faults like unbalance, misalignment, looseness, and bearing wear. It features a colour OLED display and Bluetooth communications. The TPI 9085Ex also includes colour-coded alarms and zoomable on-screen vibration frequency plots with cursor readout. It can store up to 1000 machines, each with up to 10 measurement points, with full waveform and frequency spectrum (FFT) capture.
The included free-to-use VibTrend PC-based trending and reporting software provides features such as automatic email notification of alarms and report generation for a Condition Based Maintenance strategy. Routes and readings can be transferred to/from the TPI 9085Ex via Bluetooth using the free TPI Bridge App on a smartphone or tablet.
This allows service personnel to receive routes and return readings regardless of their location.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact TPI Europe's head office:
- Phone: +44 1293 530196
- Website: www.tpieurope.com
- Email: sales@tpieurope.com
