IEC/Cenelec Hazardous Fundamentals

Last updated: May 31st 2002

By: Robert Johnson, CPMR Source IEC President

Hazardous Area

A hazardous area can be defined as "An area in which flammable substance in the form
of gas, vapor or dust when mixed with the air, is present in such proportions that it can
explode when in contact with an ignition source. This mixture of gas and air in proper
proportions is important in the equation. The mixture must be between the lower
flammable limit and the upper flammable limit in order for an explosion to occur. Most
traditional flammable gases and vapors have limits between 2% - 10% fuel to oxygen
ratios. In order for ignition to occur, a certain amount of energy is needed. The minimum
ignition energy is the smallest possible amount of energy which is converted during the
discharge of a capacitor and is just enough to ignite the most ignitable mixture. The
minimum ignition energy is around 10-5J for Hydrogen.

Area Classification

Hazardous areas are classified with respect to the potential danger of an explosion and
the areas are divided into zones:

• Zone 0: An area in which an explosive atmosphere is continually present or

present for long periods, typically over 100 hours per year
• Zone 1: An area in which an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal
operation, typically between 10 and 100 hours per year
• Zone 2: An area in which an explosive atmosphere is not likely to occur in normal
operations and, if it does occur, will exist for only a short time, typically less than
10 hours per year

Primary Explosion protection

The term primary explosion protection refers to all precautions which prevent a
dangerous, explosive atmosphere from being created. This can be achieved by avoiding
the flammable substances, deactivation, limitation of the concentration, or natural or
artificial ventilation. The various protection techniques listed below employ some of
these protection concepts.

Explosion Protection Techniques

Ex 'o' "Oil Immersion" Protection - EN 50015 This is an old technique primarily used for
switchgear. The spark is formed under oil and venting is controlled. (The use of
hydrocarbon oil has obvious disadvantages and the method of protection is confined to
the remotely hazardous area.) Zone 2 Suitable

Ex 'p' "Pressurized Apparatus" Protection - EN 50016 These are system methods. One
maintains a positive static pressure inside the apparatus and the other a continuous flow
of air or inert gas to neutralize or carry away any flammable mixture entering or being
formed within the enclosure. Essential to these methods are monitoring systems and
purging schedules to ensure their reliability. Zone 2 Suitable

Ex 'q' "Powder Filling" Protection - EN 50017 This involves the mounting of potentially
incentive components in an enclosure filled with sand or similar inert powder and having
a vent. It is primarily of use where the incendive action is the abnormal release of
electrical energy by the rupture of fuses or failure of components such as capacitors.
Usually it is used for components inside Ex 'e' or Ex 'N' apparatus and for heavy duty
traction batteries. Zone 2 Suitable

Ex 'd' "Flameproof Enclosure" Protection - EN 50018 The potentially incentive

components are contained within an enclosure into which the flammable atmosphere
can enter but which will contain any resultant explosion and prevent it's transmission
outside the enclosure. Typically used for switch devices, small breakers, and control
enclosures. Zone 1,2 Suitable

Ex 'e' "Increased Safety" Protection - EN 50019 Normally sparking components are

excluded. Other components are designed to reduce substantially the likelihood of the
occurrence of fault conditions which could cause ignition. This is done by reducing and
controlling working temperatures, ensuring the electrical connections are reliable,
increasing insulation effectiveness, and reducing the probability of contamination by dirt
and moisture ingress. Zone 1,2 Suitable

Ex 'i' "Intrinsic Safety" Protection - EN 50020 The circuit parameters are reliably
controlled to reduce potential spark energy to below that which will ignite the specific
gas mixture. This includes the occurrence of one (b) or two (a) components faults in the
apparatus. It should be noted that this method does not protect entirely against the local
over-heating of damaged connections or conductors and these should be kept sound
and suitably enclosed against damage. Zone 0,1,2 Suitable (Ex ia) or Zone 1,2 Suitable
(Ex ib)

Ex 'm' "Encapsulation" Protection - EN 50028 Potentially incendive components are

encapsulated by a method which excludes the flammable atmosphere and controls the
surface temperature under normal and fault conditions. Zone 1,2 Suitable

Ex 's' "Special" Protection - BASEEFA SFA 3009 - This method, being special has no
definite rules. In effect it is any method which can be shown to be safe in use. Much of
the apparatus having 's' protection was designed with encapsulation and this has been
superseded by EN50028. In addition, the 's' coding is used when apparatus has been
assessed to one of the individual parts of the CENELEC series but does not exactly
comply with it. Because 's' by definition, have a set of rules it will not become part of the
harmonized series of standards. Special protection is likely to emerge is some
apparatus which will be certified in accordance with the ATEX Directive. Zone 0,1,2
Suitable

Ex 'N' "Non-Sparking" Protection - EN 50021 Precautions are taken with connections

and wiring to increase reliability, though not to as high a degree as for Ex 'e'. Where
internal surfaces are hotter than the desired T rating they can be tightly enclosed to
prevent the ready access of a flammable atmosphere into the internal parts. This is the
"restricted breathing enclosure" technique. Its employment also means that high
ingress protection ratings of IP65 and above are built into the design. The Ex 'N' methods
are developed around the use of 'N' equipment in the remotely hazardous area
commonly referred to as Zone 2. Zone 2 Suitable
It is very common to note that many International standard products have multiple
means of protection within one product. For example, light fixtures may be increased
safety (Housing and terminals), flameproof (Disconnect switch), and encapsulated
(ballast). This enables the manufacturer to combine protection techniques that are best
suited for the application. One point to note is that the order of techniques listed on the
label of the product will very often tell the user the construction of the product. For
example, a product listed Eex 'de' would most likely be flameproof with increased safety
components inside. Another product listed Eex 'ed' would most likely be non-flameproof
(Stainless Steel or Glass Reinforced Polyester as examples) with flameproof switches or
components installed inside. Both products would be suitable for Zone 1, but they use
different means of protection to get there. Users can make informed decisions as to
how best to utilize protection techniques that provide a balance between cost,
performance and safety.

Apparatus Grouping

Gases are grouped together based on the amount of energy required to ignite the most
explosive mixture of gases with air. Equipment is classified into groups according to the
gases and vapours for which it is suitable and must be selected with a grouping which
covers the gases and vapours which will be present where it is to be installed:

Group I - Methane - Ignition energy of 320 Micro joules

Group IIA - Propane - Ignition energy of 300 Micro joules (Similar to NEC Group D)

Group IIB - Ethylene - Ignition energy of 160 Micro joules (Similar to NEC Group C)

Group IIC - Hydrogen - Ignition energy of 40 Micro joules (Similar to NEC Group A&B)

Temperature Classification

To ensure that there is no risk of ignition due to hot surfaces, the equipment is classified
with regard to the maximum surface temperature of any part of the equipment while in
operation based on the ambient temperature of 40 C, this is also known as the 'T' rating.
Equipment must be selected with a suitable temperature classification for the gases and
vapours present where the equipment is to be installed.

Temperature Classification T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
Maximum Surface Temperature 450 C 300 C 200 C 135 C 100 C 85 C

What is CENELEC?

CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. It was set up

in 1973 as a non-profit making organization under Belgian Law.

It has been officially recognized as the European Standards Organization in its field by
the European Commission in Directive 83/189 EEC.

Its members have been working together in the interests of European harmonization
since the late fifties, developing alongside the European Economic Community.
CENELEC works with 40,000 technical experts from the 19 European Community
countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom.

What is the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)?

The IEC was founded in 1906 in St. Louis and is presently comprised of 40 countries
including the U.S. Its stated purpose is to establish standards for a wide variety of
electrical products with the intent of encouraging international trade. IEC publications
which deal with explosion protection for electrical apparatus and installations are
developed by the Technical Committee TC31, IEC publications have the status of
recommendations which are used for national and regional standards. The IEC has
introduced a proceedure the so called IEC-Ex scheme intended to become a globally
recognized test and certification procedure in the field of explosion protected electrical
apparatus.

What is Euronorm?

Standards developed by CENELEC applying to apparatus intended for use in hazardous

locations. EN50018 is the EURONORM standard for flameproof equipment.

What is BASEEFA?

(British Approvals Service for Electrical Equipment in Flammable Atmospheres).

BASEEFA is the British national testing and certification authority for use in flammable
atmospheres other than Mining. BASEEFA is the British equivalent to UL.

What is the ATEX Directive?

The ATEX Directive 94/9/EC is a directive adopted by the European Union (EU) to
facilitate free trade in the aligning the technical and legal requirements in the member
states for products intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. It becomes
mandatory for all member countries to comply with the directive on July 1st 2003.

Prior to the introduction of the Directive, most countries within the EU had schemes for
the certification of electrical equipment and required the use of such equipment in
certain locations such as gassy mines. However, there were many anomalies in the
legislation.

Directive 94/9/EC covers equipment. A complimentary Directive, 1999/92/EC, is

specifically concerned with worker safety and places requirements on employers whose
staff may work in an explosive atmosphere.

In many respects the directive simply regularises the existing regime for electrical
equipment for use in explosive atmospheres. However, there are some important
changes - for the first time, non-electrical equipment will be subject to assessment and
(in some cases) certification requirements, and locations affected by dusts are also
included.

What are the specific ATEX marking requirements and how do they differ from the
Cenelec marking information?

Listed below are the traditional marking requirements in force today. The new marking
requirements made mandatory in 2003 are to include the following:

The EX epsilon mark, the CE mark, Suitability for Apparatus Group, Category, Suitable
for GAS/Dust or both & IP rating. An example is shown below:

II 2 GD IP66 T85C EEx ed IIC T6

In many cases, the major manufacturers already have or are in the process of obtaining
ATEX certification. Product lines that Source IEC represents currently have a majority of
products fully ATEX certifiec.

Obtaining ATEX certification entails that a company must have some sort of quality
process such as ISO certification, must have an agent or organization that has a
European contact and meets all the product testing requirements.

What was the impetus behind ATEX?

ATEX was and is a continuum of Cenelec standards but are now addressing issues that
were not addressed with the original EN standards such as dust hazardous. The reason
is to complete remove trade barriers within the European Community.

What are IP Ratings?

Ingress Protection ratings give a user a basis for determing the suitability for a product
depending on the environmental condition the product will be subjected to. A list of the
various ratings are shown below.

First Number Second Number

Protection against solid bodies Protection against liquid

0 No protection No protection
1 Objects greater than 50mm Vertically dripping water
2 Objects greater than 12mm Angled dripping water
3 Objects greater than 2.5mm Sprayed water
4 Objects greater than 1mm Splashed water
5 Dust-protected Water jets
6 Dust-tight Heavy seas
7 Effects of immersion (1 meter)
8 Indefinite immersion
Selection of Electrical Equipment for Hazardous Areas Equipment Certification Marking:

A Traditional Ex Lighting Fixture listed above would be rated EEx edm IIC T4 IP67

E - European Certification Ex - Hazardous Area Equipment d - Protection Method

IIC - Apparatus Grouping T6 - Temperature Classification IP66 - Ingress Protection

What are some of the common European wiring practices in the various industries?

It is very common in the North Sea Offshore market to note the use of braided cables for
typical wiring practices, with a brass EX 'e' or 'd' gland. 95% of the hazardous equipment
used is Ex 'e' increased safety while usually less than 5% of the equipment is 'd'
flameproof. This is due to weight, corrosion resistance and ease of maintenance. In the
onshore market, SWA armoured cable is most frequently used. Again, a vast majority of
equipment is also rated Ex 'e' as opposed to 'd' for the same reasons listed above.

Why are the use of brass connectors so popular with the Europeans in the use of
connectors for hazardous location?

First, Brass is very easy to machine and work with to produce products with very fine
tolerances. Secondly, brass when produced in large amounts, can be just as cost
effective as copper-free aluminum here in the U.S. If you made a comparison of the
various brass MC cable terminators available and compared the price to North
American aluminum connectors, you would find no difference in price. In fact, in some
cases, brass with a nickel plating can be less expensive than the comparable aluminum
gland. Finally, aluminum has been shown to not hold up as well as nickel plated brass
glands in the North Sea and other various offshore markets for many years now.

The CE Mark.. What does it mean to users and manufacturers?

The CE mark is the official marking required by the European Community for all Electric
and Electronic equipment that will be sold or put into service for the first time, anywhere
in the European Community. It proves to the buyer or user that his product fulfills all
essential safety and environmental requirements as they are defined in the so-called
European Directives. The CE markings directive (93/68/EEC) was adopted on July 7th
1993. It amends 12 other directives also part of the EEC.

In return for fulfilling the CE marking requirements, the manufacturer or its agent gets
the opportunity to cover the entire European market using only one approval procedure
for the topics covered in the miscellaneous directives. The member states of the EC
cannot refuse any electronic or electrical product that has been CE marked (unless
fraud suspected).

The manufacturer needs however:

• be European
• or have an official department in the EC
• or have an official agent or representative that is willing to take the liability for
the CE-marking.

Although one CE mark is sufficient for all EC members, their are some restrictions left
over for language variations in user documentation. Be prepared to translate some part
of the safety instructions in the language you are exporting to. The major directive that
exists for hazardous location equipment is Electrical Safety (Low Voltage
Directive)(73/23/EEC) mandatory since January 1st 1997.

AWG vs. MM2 Cable comparison chart

Listed below is a common cross reference chart for converting AWG to MM squared.

AWG Metric AWG Metric

16 1.31 1 42.41
- 1.5 - 50
15 1.65 1/O 53.49
14 2.08 2/O 67.43
- 2.5 - 70
13 2.63 3/O 85.01
12 3.31 - 95
- 4 4/O 107.2
11 4.17 - 120
10 5.261 250 127
- 6 - 150
9 6.631 300 152
8 8.367 350 177
- 10 - 185
7 10.55 400 203
6 13.3 450 228
- 16 - 240
5 16.77 500 253
4 21.15 550 279
 - 25 - 300
3 26.67 600 304
2 33.62 650 329
- 35 700 355
1 42.41 750 380

What are the differences between the AEx marking for North America and the EEx
marking requirements for Europe?

With the introduction of Article 505 in the NEC a few years back, many of the protection
techniques used in International community can be safely used in facilities in the United
States. However, some test standards that are based upon the IEC standards have
been modified in some respects to allow deviations to address North American
concerns. Some of the new testing requirements from ATEX will bring European testing
procedures closer to North American counterparts. In some cases, beyond.The new
marking requirements that will be showing up on many products in the U.S. to comply
with NEC 505 are very similar to the Cenelec marking requirements. An example of a
typical product meeting U.S. specifications might have a marking as followed:

Class 1, Zone 1, AEx e IIC T5

Notice that the big difference is the statement that tells the user which Zone this
product is suitable for which has been missing from the traditional Cenelec marking
requirements. With the advent of the ATEX directive, marking requirements in Europe
will also reflect Zone or Category suitability. The two systems are close, but not
identical.

For more information on your EX questions, please contact Bob Johnson at Source IEC
at (281) 540-9800 or bob.Johnson@sourceiec.com.