UNDERSTANDING INTRINSIC SAFETY

• Intrinsic Safety (IS) is an approach to the design of equipment going

into hazardous areas. The idea is to reduce the available energy to a
level where it is too low to cause ignition. That means preventing
sparks and keeping temperatures low.
• The alternatives are to design systems so oxygen is excluded (by
purging with inert gas) or to isolate possible sources of ignition. This
can be done either by putting equipment in enclosures strong enough
to contain an explosion or by moving it outside the hazardous area.
 WHEN IS INTRINSIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT
NECESSARY?

• Whenever equipment is being installed in an area where combustible

material is present it is essential to take steps to minimize the risk of
ignition.
• It is not sufficient to just use IS certified components, but requires
that the whole system to be designed accordingly.
• An exception to the need for certification is made in the case of
“simple apparatus”. This is the term used for very low power or
passive devices that will not cause ignition. Good examples are
thermocouples and RTD’s.
 HOW DOES INTRINSIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT WORK?

• Avoiding ignition entails minimizing both the available power and the
maximum temperatures.
• Defining the maximum level of available power is complex, but in
general terms can be considered as meaning voltage less than 29V
and under 300 mA.
• A simpler view is to say that power must be less than 1.3 W.
WHAT TYPES OF INTRINSIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT ARE AVAILABLE?

• A wide range of industrial equipment, such as:

flashlights
cameras
gas detectors
even radios, are available in intrinsically safe forms.

• In terms of instrumentation the biggest need is for pressure and weight

measurement. Temperature measurement generally meets the “simple apparatus”
rule although temperature transmitters may be needed to send thermocouple
signals over longer distances.
 LOAD CELL
PRESSURE TRANSMITTER
 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

• It helps ensure a safe work environment and protects those nearby

from explosion risks.
• It avoids the cost and bulk of explosion proof enclosures. Additional
cost savings accrue from the ability to use standard instrumentation
cables.
• Maintenance and diagnostic work can be performed without shutting
down production and ventilating the work area.
• Insurance premiums may be lower as a result of the reduction in risk.
 HAZARDS
• A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans,
property, or the environment.
• Hazards can be dormant or potential, with only a theoretical
probability of harm.
• If there is no possibility of a hazard contributing towards an incident,
there is no risk.
 CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS
• One key concept in identifying a hazard is the presence of stored
energy that, when released, can cause damage.
• Stored energy can occur in many forms: chemical, mechanical,
thermal, radioactive, electrical, etc.
• Another class of hazard does not involve release of stored energy,
rather it involves the presence of hazardous situations.
• Examples include confined or limited spaces, oxygen-depleted
atmospheres, awkward positions, repetitive motions, low-hanging or
protruding objects, etc.
 CHEMICAL HAZARDS
• Liquids such as acids, solvents especially if they do not have a label
• Vapors and fumes
• Flammable materials

ROUTES TO EXPOSURE
• Ingestion
• Inhalation from fumes
• Absorption
• Poisoning
• Explosion
 TOXICITY

• Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of

substances can damage an organism. Even chemicals with low toxicity can be
deadly in the quantities used in manufacturing.
• Most exposure to high toxicity chemicals occurs from inhalation.
• Process design needs to consider the elimination or substitution of the most
hazardous compounds, prevention of releases, containment, disposal, ventilation,
and emergency procedures.
• Acute Effects
Symptoms that develop rapidly, usually as a result of short-term exposure. These
effects can be a result of oral, dermal, gas, vapor, dust, or mist inhalation.
• Chronic Effects
Symptoms that develop over a long period of time, often as a result of long-term
exposure. Example: Cancer
• LD50
Lethal dose at which 50% of test animals are killed. Indicates acute effects only,
expressed in mg/kg body mass
• Threshold Limit Value (TLV) or Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
Concentration the average worker can safely be exposed to for 40 hr/week
 FLAMMABILITY

• Flammability is the measurement of how easily a material will burn or ignite,

resulting in a fire or combustion.
• A fire requires three things: fuel, oxidant, and source of ignition (or auto-
ignition).
• Possible sources of ignition at a chemical facility should be assessed and
eliminated; this include electrical equipment such as motors or actuators, open
flames from furnaces, incinerators or flare stacks, and undefined sources such as
matches, lighter or mobile phones (Biegler et al., 1997).
• Flash Point- function of vapor pressure; lowest temperature at which
the material will ignite from an open flame

• Auto-ignition temperature- temperature at which the substance

ignites in air spontaneously

• MSDS information

• Flammability limits- highest and lowest concentrations in air (NTP) at

which a flame will propagate through the mixture
 FIRE PROTECTION
Fire protection is best accomplished by containing flammable materials. Other tactics
include:

• Inerting- an inert gas is added to reduce the oxygen concentration below the minimum
oxygen concentration (MOC) at which explosions can occur
• Reducing static electricity- by installing ground devices or using antistatic additive to
increase conductivity
• Explosion-proof equipment- designed to absorb shock after explosion and prevent the
combustion from spreading.
• Flame arrestors- specified on vent lines of equipment that contains flammable materials
to prevent a flame from propagating back from the vent
• Sprinkler systems