Newson Gale

In many branches of industry, hazardous (explosive) atmospheres exist due to the presence of flammable liquid vapours, gases, dusts and fibres. No matter how the explosive atmosphere is classified, it is vital that all potential ignition sources are eliminated, and static electricity is perhaps the most insidious of them all. Static electricity is generated in industry by virtually all operations and processes involving movement – for example product transfer, mixing and size reduction. Fires and explosions can occur as a result of uncontrolled static discharge from plant, people and materials, and these commonly result in civilian injuries and fatalities, as well as significant financial losses in direct property damage and plant downtime.

International codes of practice such as IEC 60079-32-1 provide guidelines for the effective control of static electricity, involving grounding and bonding all conductive and static dissipative plant and equipment in explosive atmospheres to prevent charge accumulation. This may sound simple enough in theory, but in practice is more difficult to achieve if you consider the large number of “static critical” applications commonly found in industry, oftentimes coupled with the presence of non-conductive materials, surface coatings and other insulating substances. Ideally, any control measures used should provide a seamless interface with normal plant operation and involve simple, user-friendly procedures.

To help control these risks, Newson Gale offers a wide range of static grounding and bonding equipment which is made to provide optimum safety in explosive atmospheres and other hazardous operating environments. The Newson Gale range prevents static charge accumulation by using practical and innovative design, and ensures effective static control on three levels: –

• Earth-Rite^® series of static ground indicators and interlock systems
• Bond-Rite^® series of self-testing static grounding clamp units
• Cen-Stat™ series of static grounding and bonding clamps, cables, reels and test instruments

Why compromise on safety? Contact Newson Gale, your Trusted Advisor and manufacturer  of equipment for controlling static electricity in hazardous areas.