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Posted By Baskaran Kumarasamy
Hi all,
I would like to know any potential hazards involved in using digital camera in a Zone 2 area. Or should it necessarily be a flame proof one? I am not convinced that flash from camera or battery could be potential hazards. Any way i would like to hear your opinions on this please.
Regards,
Baskey
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Posted By Dave Adams MIOSH
There is a theoretical risk (mainly from the battery - have you noticed that Ex rated stuff has screw down battery compartments) and DSEAR does tell us that equipment needs to be rated for zoned areas. If you absolutely need to do photography in zoned areas then use the equipment under a hot work or use of non-flameproof equipment permit. As part of this assessment you may need to make provisions like move & seal containers, drain vessels, monitor atmosphere with an LEL meter, etc., etc.
Dave
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Posted By John Webster
I'm with Dave on this one. As Ex rated electrical equipment is a requirement for Zoned areas, then ordinary gear just cannot be used without a permit. This is not usually a problem to work with in a Zone 2 area. The permit will ensure that no other work is going on in the area which could lead to an explosive atmosphere, and ensure that your photography is stopped should a dangerous situation arise. In most places in my experience you will just need to carry a gas monitor, and keep the control room informed of where you are. Some installations do have uv flash detectors, designed to spot electrical arcing. These will need to be disabled for flash photography.
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Posted By gham
Baskey
Zone 2: An area in which an Explosive Gas/air mixture is NOT likley to occur in normal operation and if it occurs, it will exist only for a short time. Ref IP/APEA
See section 3.1 of BS EN60079-10:1996
In the case of maintenance activities other than those of normal operation, the extent of the zone may be affected but it is expected that this would be dealt with by a permit-to-work system. In a situation in which there may be an explosive gas atmosphere, the following steps should be taken: a) eliminate the likelihood of an explosive gas atmosphere occurring around the source of ignition, or b) eliminate the source of ignition. Where this is not possible, protective measures, process equipment, systems and procedures should be selected and prepared so the likelihood of the coincidence of a) and b) is so small as to be acceptable. Such measures may be used singly, if they are recognized as being highly reliable, or in combination to achieve an equivalent level of safety.
I hope that helps:-)
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Posted By Frank Hallett
Hi Baskaran
You don't identify under what circumstances you need to take photos; but the immediately preceding post is very useful.
Undertake a RA that identifies how and under what circumstances you could be exposed to an explosive atmosphere and put suitable controls in place.
You may find that exercising simple permit controls for Zone access and atmospheric contamination and simply sealing the camera battery compartment shut so that it cannot fall open [and therefore potentially initiate a spark as the battery terminals are exposed] could be sufficient provided the camera itself is in a clearly undamaged condition.
It may also turn out that you need an EX rated camera; the RA is the means to identify which.
Frank Hallett
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Posted By L Jervis
Hi
I work for a company which manufactures aerosols. We operate a site policy where by a camera cannot be used on site unless you have a permit. Our aerosol filling line is a zone 2 area, common measures which would be taken when using a camera in this area include carrying a gas monitor and not using the flash. Although another reason why we have do not use flash lights in this area is because we have suppresion systems sensitive to flash lights.
I have been speaking to our site expert who says if a flammable atmosphere was present a flash would be enough to create a spark, or if the camera was just dropped it could also spark. But by carrying a gas detector you are alerted to leave the area if this occurs.
Hope this is of help
Lisa
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