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Article: PLANT SAFETY - TECHNOLOGY: Motors for hazardous dust environments.
- Article from:
- Process Engineering
- Article date:
- February 5, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Centaur Communications Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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One of the main benefits of the ATEX Directive is the focus that it provides on industrial dust - a potential source of explosions. However, notes Andy Glover of WEG UK, the technical evaluation of safety measures to avoid the risks of dust explosions is both complex and extensive.
There are many factors involved in describing the explosion risk posed by dust, including the areas that are affected by combustible dust and the type, character and particle size of the dust.
According to Glover, it is also important to ask "Is the dust electrically conductive or non-conductive? Will it build up on the product in layers or be present as a cloud surrounding ...