SAFETY Arc Flash 101 All you need to know to protect yourself from the deadly threat “Treatment for those that survive an incident can require years of skin grafts, hospital stays and rehabilitation” hen it comes to industrial safety, all of Wus understand the importance of wearing a hard hat, protective gloves or steel toe-capped boots. In fact, most employers wouldn’t dream of letting teams on-site without adequate protection, and working individuals are more than clued up when it comes to the latest safety requirements. However, the same can’t be said when it comes to the potentially fatal risk posed by Arc Flash – a relatively misunderstood, but extremely common type of electrical explosion facing many sectors. PSI met up with Mark Lant, Technical Sales Manager at ProGARM, to find out why an Arc Flash is among the most dangerous risk on any work site, and how you can protect yourself. The UK’s secret killer? While awareness around the dangers of an Arc Flash is on the rise, a concerning number are still unclear on the hard facts. In fact, according to research we conducted with the BSIF, 63% of professionals across the six sectors most at risk (industrial electrical, power generation, rail, utilities, wind and petrochemical) aren’t clear on what Governmental guidelines provide guidance on how to work safely when Arc Flash is a threat, while 80% of those that were aware felt the guidelines were ambiguous. How many Arc Flash incidents are there in the UK each year? Whilst the US has data revealing that there are approximately five to ten Arc Flash incidents per day within the US alone, and that the majority of these events result in injury or a fatality, there isn’t an equivalent set of data for the UK. This is because Arc Flash incidents can be mis-diagnosed as an electrical shock. However, there are significant differences: an electric shock occurs when an individual comes into contact with an electrical energy source. Electrical energy flows through a portion of the body causing a shock. Exposure to electrical energy may result in no injury at all or may result in devastating damage or death. In contrast, an Arc Flash is when an arcing fault releases dangerous levels of radiant energy, which vaporizes metal that spews from the arc. The air is super-heated causing pressure waves that can throw individuals across rooms and create a deadly molten shrapnel. Treatment for those that survive an incident can require years of skin grafts, hospital stays and rehabilitation. They may never recover sufficiently to regain their lifestyle. How can installers protect themselves? While there is no way to be fully protected from an arc flash incident, protective clothing can prevent the most fatal of consequences. However, it’s not just protective outerwear that is needed to ensure protection, as the material worn beneath an Arc Flash protective jacket is just as crucial as outer clothing. While the outer garments are key components for providing protection, they are not enough to match the risk posed to an operative’s safety and effective base layers are needed to defend against the risk of an Arc Flash. The flames caused by an Arc Flash may not actually come into contact with skin through the protective outer layers, but the extreme heat from the event can melt the materials used to manufacture everyday undergarments, including nylon, cotton, and polypropylene. This will inflict burns and potentially cause non-Arc Flash protective undergarments to melt into the skin underneath their PPE, potentially causing skin infections. As well as this, it’s crucial to make sure that protective clothing is comfortable. All too often, PPE clothing is worn incorrectly because an item is too bulky or rigid, making it all too easy to roll sleeves up or undo a jacket, which seriously compromises the safety of the individual against Arc Flash. To overcome these issues, it’s important to ensure that comfort is at the forefront of any Arc Flash protection innovation, to guarantee that the garment’s protection level isn’t compromised through incorrect use, offering the wearer the ultimate level of protection without obstructing day to day tasks. 46 www.psimagazine.co.uk
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