Alpine Technical Services (ATS) offers several versions of gravity-fed cubicle safety shower/eyewash units that are safe for hazardous areas. ATS offers a product with a long and successful history that is designed for safe us in Class 1 Division 1 hazardous areas. The GFTS15AH (AKA GFTS15A in Europe) has long been the standard for gravity-fed safety showers providing protection in explosive areas that are rated Class 1 Division 1 and ATEX Zones 1 and 2.
Hazardous areas can be defined as locations where fire or explosion hazards may exist due to the presence of flammable gases or vapors, flammable liquids, combustible dusts or easily-ignitable fibers or flyings. While flammable gases, vapors and dusts exist in most locations, they are typically only present in minute quantities and/or concentrations. For an area to be classified at “hazardous” for the purposes of explosion or fire hazard rating, the quantities and/or concentrations must be sufficient to create the potential for an explosion.
In North America, the “Class and Division” system has been used for many years to classify hazardous sites. These areas are “classified” based on the different types and severity of hazard produced by the activity and materials present at the site. Hazardous materials are separated into three Classes and Two Divisions. The Classes are based on the type of hazard present as well as the explosive characteristics of the materials present. Divisions are based on the likely occurrence or risk of fire or explosion that the material represents. Canada has a system similar to that of the U.S. A “Zone System” is used in many other parts of the world to classify explosive atmospheres.
GFTS15AH
As a general rule, Class 1 division 1 and Zone 0 Zone 1 classifications identify areas where explosive vapors or gases may exist as a normal part of the work environment, whereas Class 1 Division 2 and Zone 2 classifications identify areas where explosive vapors or gasses may be present only in unusual circumstances, such as an accident.
Class 2 has largely to do with combustible dusts and class 3 has to do with fibers or flyings from activities such as machining.
The ATS GFTS15AH is safely at home in the Class 1 Division 1 and 2 and the Zone 1 and 2 areas. This makes the GFTS15AH a very flexible and useful industrial quality gravity-fed cubicle safety shower and eyewash.
What’s more, the GFTS15AH meets or exceeds all standards for safety showers and eyewashes in ANSI Z358.1 (2014).