New White-Paper Provides Practical Static Electricity Safety Guidelines
Electrostatics is a specialized field involving many interactive variables. It is, then, very it difficult to predict when a flammable or combustible atmosphere is in danger of being ignited by a static electric discharge. An important key to safety in these instances is a thorough, step by step program of prevention.
A newly released white paper from Newson Gale, Inc., aptly titled "You don't have to be a rocket scientist... to guard against static electricity hazards" provides detailed practical guidelines to ensure plant safety for engineers dealing with processes involving flammable or combustible atmospheres.
The paper is now available, free of charge for review or downloading, from the Newson-Gale, Inc. website: www.newson-gale.com/KnowledgeBase/KnowledgeBase.asp. Or, alternatively, go to www.newson-gale.com and click on the "Knowledge Centre" drop-down. No registration is required.
The paper begins by explaining how even seemingly small electrostatic charges that may be created in normal industrial processes can pose a significantly hazard in the presence of flammable or combustible atmospheres. Under these conditions a tiny spark can endanger the safety of plant employees and damage plant equipment. The author then continues with step by step guidelines to guard against this danger through a combination of minimizing the potential for static buildup and providing a safe, sure low-resistance path to ground wherever static electricity might be created.
Four recently released internationally recognized standards intended to limit electrostatic hazards in industrial applications are important tools that the paper recommends. These NAFPA, Cenelec and API standards clearly describe the circumstances in which static electricity may be generated in various circumstances and describe proven means of protecting against them. And, since providing a low-resistance path to ground is the gold standard for preventing accumulation of static electric charges, the paper continues on to discuss the accepted means and materials that can be used to safely "ground" the equipment. Specific typical applications are singled-out for more detailed discussion. These applications include: tanker trucks, railroad tankers, vacuum trucks, operating personnel, portable containers and FIBCs.
