Electrical Power ATEX Review

The Risk
The employer is responsible for the safety of his personnel and shall define electrical safety requirements for employee and contractor work places that are necessary for the practical safeguarding of employees during activities such as the installation, operation, and maintenance.
Operational plant in the oil and gas industry (a.o.) may by its nature be surrounded by a hydrocarbon and thus flammable gaseous atmosphere. All electrical, instrumentation and telecommunication equipment installed in such environment shall meet the relevant area classification, (e.g. IP 15, Hazardous Area Classification for Flammable Gases and Vapours). Whereas at initial plant design applicable EX-classified equipment will have been installed, over time inadequate knowledge of maintenance procedures or unlicensed repair may have nullified manufacturer’s certification, jeopardized safety integrity of the installations and insurance cover in case of an incident.
ATEX 137
Since 2004 all European plants are to meet safety measures to protect their personnel from the risk of an explosive atmosphere, (1999/92/EG) better known as ATEX 137. ATEX is an acronym of (French) Atmosphères Explosives. ATEX 137 requires asset owners to prepare and maintain an Explosive Atmosphere Safety Field Master Document, comprising:

• identification and classification of explosives risks;
• area classification based on frequency and exposure time;
• identification of the necessary mitigating measures to ensure a safe working environment.

The difference with previous EX-guidelines like IP15, is that the responsibility is expanded from electrical equipment installed on site with:

• non electrical, mechanical and pneumatic, and;
• Safeguarding systems.

ATEX 95
Since its enforcement all E.C. manufactured EX-classified equipment meets European guideline 94/9/EG, better known as ATEX 95.
As many electrical equipment is procured from the E.C. and employers honor their responsibility to their employees, the combined ATEX safety measures for personnel and equipment are now globally rolled out.
The Process
Especially maturing facilities, through time exposed to multiple plant-changes since its initial construction need to be assessed on their ATEX compliance and limit the exposure of electrical staff during operational activities. Through a field survey and a subsequent study of the findings, the potential risk to staff is recorded based on which a report of mitigating recommendations is issued to the client.
During the field survey, awareness training on the ATEX classifications is provided to operational staff.

• Assessing arc flash hazard levels based on ATEX 137;
• Educating staff on the risks related to explosive atmospheres and identify further training and/or certification needs to prepare them to carry out maintenance on certified equipment;
• Quantifying the risks posed to operators for various operations based on RAM matrix ;
• Helping to reduce these levels of risk through mitigation strategies (other than Personnel Protection Equipment);
• Suggesting possible plant changes to mitigate identified unacceptable risks
• Suggest personnel protective equipment and/or procedures required during a limited number of special activities which cannot be mitigated in a different way.