Intrinsic Safety and Hazardous Location Specifications & Devices

Intrinsically safe (or “I-safe”) devices are used in industrial environments where flammable gases, combustible dusts, or ignitable fibers create the potential for fire and explosion. Intrinsically safe equipment is defined as “equipment and wiring which is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy under normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in its most easily ignited concentration.” ( ISA-RP12.6) This is done by limiting the amount of power available to the electrical equipment in the hazardous area to a level below that which will ignite the gases.

There are three necessary conditions which must be present in order to have a fire or explosion – fuel, oxygen, and ignition. In an intrinsically safe system, we assume the fuel and oxygen are present, but we cap the electrical or thermal energy of a particular instrument loop, so it can never be great enough to cause ignition. This prevents the electrical devices from creating arcs, sparks, or heat that could ignite the explosive substances.

Industries in which intrinsically safe devices might be necessary include chemical, oil, and gas industries. Applications where I-safe devices are used include inventory, shop floor data collection, work-in-progress, and shipping/receiving. Intrinsically safe devices include the Intermec 730 I-Safe and the LXE MX5 I-Safe handheld computers.

Intrinsically Safe Devices

A device that is deemed “intrinsically safe” has been designed and certified to eliminate (or encapsulate) any components that produce sparks or heat that could ignite flammable gasses, dusts or fuels present in an environment. The presence of an IS rating on a device; however, does not mean that the device is safe for use in all areas where flammable materials are present. It is critical that you understand your environment and the IS ratings so that you accurately pair the appropriate IS rated tool to your flammable environment.

Intrinsically safe equipment must be labeled as such; with the exact IS rating for the equipment, the name of the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory that tested it and a certification string detailing the types of threats for which the device is safe.

LXE MX5 I-Safe

The MX5 I-Safe is LXE’s toughest Windows based handheld computer, designed for extreme environments, and certified for non-incendive electrical equipment for use in Class 1, Division 2 hazardous locations. The MX5 I-Safe boasts the industry’s leading water seal rating, and can easily withstand multiple drops from six feet. The MX5 I-Safe’s powerful XScale processor and CE.NET operating system ensure a mobile logistics computing solution designed to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s mobile enterprise.

See also

• Fujifilms Case Study
• Intrinsically Safe Overview PDF

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