A hazardous location is defined as an area in which an explosive gas atmosphere or combustible dust is present, or may be expected to be present, in quantities that require special precautions for the construction, installation and use of equipment.
So, how do we classify hazardous areas?
An area is classified based on the assumption that flammable gases, vapours, ignitable liquids or combustible dust may be present, and that there is a potential source of release. These classified areas can only be certified by a fire master, environmentalist or risk manager in accordance with site specific regulations.
Now, let’s zoom in on hazardous gases
Three components are required for a fire or explosion to occur:
- Oxygen
- Flammable substance
- Ignition source
Gases and vapours fall into three specific zones:
As you can deduce, zone 0 is the most severe zone, as it has the highest probability of a flammable atmosphere being present. Equipment for this zone needs to be very well protected against any potential source of ignition.
Verification of equipment (EPE) for the different zones can be classified as follows:
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into flammable and hazardous substances in next month’s newsletter!
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