Sira Test and Certification offers a hazardous area classification service to help meet the requirements of the forthcoming European Directive on Worker Protection
In 2003, the Worker Protection Directive (92/99/EC) will come into effect.
With it will come the legal requirement for classification of hazardous areas across Europe.
The dangers of siting electrical apparatus in areas where explosive mixtures of flammable materials and air could occur are covered by this legislation.
Many factories, plants and sites are already classifying their hazardous areas and limiting and restricting the use of equipment in those potentially explosive atmospheres in compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Already, many organisations working in the petrochemical industry, in mining, chemicals, and power stations, and in some pharmaceutical and water industry environments, are accustomed to zoning their areas of work in accordance with this legislation.
Sira Test and Certification, the long-established specialist in calibration, testing and certification, offers a full hazardous area classification service from its Hazardous Area Centre in Chester. The service is intended to allow customers to utilise Sira's expertise in the ATEX 137 directive by commissioning support and project management to help with their hazardous area classification.
The classification of hazardous areas is a multi-stage project, taking into account a large number of factors and requiring both expertise and interpretation of the various Codes of Practice, as well as a number of extremely in-depth calculations relating to each individual site.
Sira offers its customers a full service to help the employer meet the legal obligations, including the assessment of their site's Sources of Hazard and likelihood of sources of ignition, classification of the area into zones and marking all points of entry, as well as producing and maintaining documentation.
Sira offers customers the support required to zone their sites, by area.
This then leads to a clear classification of areas into: Zones 0 and 20 - potentially explosive atmosphere is continuously present or for long periods.
Zones 1 and 21 - potentially explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation. Zones 2 and 22 - potentially explosive atmosphere is unlikely to occur and will exist for only a short time.
The process of area classification requires full analysis of properties of materials, of the equipment and conditions and site layout, as well as ventilation.
Sira's capabilities extend to assignation of a team, meetings, reviews, calculations of hazards and full area classification review.
