Atexon Oy / ATEX IN PRACTICE

How to comply with ATEX? What procedures we have to go through in our company?

In most dust explosion dangerous facilities dust or saw dust is transferred pneumatically along extraction ducts through filters into a silo. No matter how tight the extraction system is, dust is always being collected in places as several millimetres thick layers and these layers form a dust explosion danger.

As little as 15 grams of saw- or other dust mixed with one cubic meter of air is enough to cause a dust explosion. In practical terms this corresponds to a layer of dust below one millimetre on one square meter area. Dust explosion danger arises when for example wind or other air movement lifts up the dust and at the same time there is a source of ignition, for example spark or static electricity in the same place.

In practise almost every mechanical wood processing facility would fall into the ATEX category. This would mean great investments into EX-certified production machinery. For this reason the common practise is to clean up production facilities well enough and often enough dust collecting places. In this way the ATEX requirements concerning production facilities are fulfilled.

ATEX is a directive and its purpose is to prevent dust explosions. Pneumatic dust- and sawdust extraction ducts transfer the dust through filters into silos or a saw dust containers, which are almost without exception an ATEX place. According to the new ATEX directive the explosion in the filters/silos must be prevented. If the explosion can not be prevented, or if one does not want to try to prevent it, the filters/silo must be placed in a concrete bunker to avoid causing danger to humans or property.

Aspensec offers a good solution to prevent explosions in filters and silos and concrete bunkers are not needed. Aspensec spark detector- and extinguishing system has integrated surface temperature sensors which are a means to prevent fires caused by blower overheating. Dust collected on top of blowers can get fire already at a temperature of below 200 degrees Celsius. Aspensec surface temperature sensors detect the temperature rise caused be a defected part like bearing for example thus preventing saw dust to get on fire.


	Info / ATEX IN PRACTICE

		How to comply with ATEX? What procedures we have to go through in our company? In most dust explosion dangerous facilities dust or saw dust is transferred pneumatically along extraction ducts through filters into a silo. No matter how tight the extraction system is, dust is always being collected in places as several millimetres thick layers and these layers form a dust explosion danger. As little as 15 grams of saw- or other dust mixed with one cubic meter of air is enough to cause a dust explosion. In practical terms this corresponds to a layer of dust below one millimetre on one square meter area. Dust explosion danger arises when for example wind or other air movement lifts up the dust and at the same time there is a source of ignition, for example spark or static electricity in the same place. In practise almost every mechanical wood processing facility would fall into the ATEX category. This would mean great investments into EX-certified production machinery. For this reason the common practise is to clean up production facilities well enough and often enough dust collecting places. In this way the ATEX requirements concerning production facilities are fulfilled. ATEX is a directive and its purpose is to prevent dust explosions. Pneumatic dust- and sawdust extraction ducts transfer the dust through filters into silos or a saw dust containers, which are almost without exception an ATEX place. According to the new ATEX directive the explosion in the filters/silos must be prevented. If the explosion can not be prevented, or if one does not want to try to prevent it, the filters/silo must be placed in a concrete bunker to avoid causing danger to humans or property. Aspensec offers a good solution to prevent explosions in filters and silos and concrete bunkers are not needed. Aspensec spark detector- and extinguishing system has integrated surface temperature sensors which are a means to prevent fires caused by blower overheating. Dust collected on top of blowers can get fire already at a temperature of below 200 degrees Celsius. Aspensec surface temperature sensors detect the temperature rise caused be a defected part like bearing for example thus preventing saw dust to get on fire.