FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

Arc-Flash Hazard Environments Req ire Strin!ent Sa"ety #eas res

Regulations, infrared windows, FLIR training help protect thermographers and other workers at risk
Realizin! the dan!ers and ta$in! the preca tions Over the past two decades, the dangers of arc-flash events and the devastation they can cause have become fairly well understood. As the leader in infrared (IR) camera technology, !IR "ystems believes that perhaps less well understood are the precautions that should be ta#en to prevent such occurrences, or at least minimi$e their impact. !IR infrared cameras are often used to uncover potential arc-flash trouble spots, such as deteriorating electrical connections, that may not be visible to the na#ed eye. %hermographers, electricians, and other wor#ers at ris# need to be familiar with all aspects of the arc-flash phenomenon& what it is, how and why it occurs'and how they can #eep themselves out of harm(s way anywhere this ha$ard is may be present. Short circ it% deadly "orce An arc-flash ha$ard is a dangerous condition associated with the release of energy caused by an electric arc. %he arc consists of energi$ed, ioni$ed plasma that can, within a fraction of a second, reach some of the highest temperatures that occur on )arth'up to *+,,,,- , a temperature at which all #nown materials are vapori$ed. .utting those figures into perspective, the surface temperature of the sun is appro/imately 0,0,,- . Arc-flash incidents can be triggered anywhere electrical systems are present and electrical e1uipment is being serviced or repaired. or e/ample, a short circuit can result when a metal tool is dropped, momentarily reducing or bridging the electrical distance

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

between energi$ed components. Other causes include the careless removal of a metal cover plate3 the failure of a circuit brea#er as it is switched on3 residual moisture in components3 and voltmeter failure or a probe simultaneously touching phase and ground. 4ust and impurities on insulating surfaces can provide a path for current, as can corrosion of e1uipment parts. As with a bolt of lightning, the power of an arc flash is almost beyond comprehension. 5hen it occurs, a massive 1uantity of concentrated, radiated energy e/plodes outward and simultaneously unleashes (2) e/panding pressure waves of gas (an arc blast) that can damage hearing and turn loose metal ob6ects into shrapnel hurtling through the air at velocities greater than 7,, 8.93 (:) a high-intensity flash that can damage eyesight or even cause blindness3 and (*) a superheated gas ball capable of vapori$ing metal and severely burning anyone in the vicinity. Real-&orld conseq ences As the founder and principal engineer of an electrical power system consulting firm in ;olorado, !IR customer <ill 5oods #nows from long e/perience how devastating an arc flash can be. =et even he was ta#en abac# by the conse1uences of an arc-flash incident at a food plant, as captured on film by a security camera and shown at a recent industry conference. >%hree men were wor#ing on a deadline over a three-day wee#end,? he says. >%hey were hurrying to repair a transfer switch that had malfunctioned. One man had his hands up in the e1uipment, the second man was #neeling down ne/t to him with blueprints, and the third man was the supervisor standing behind him and watching. >%he first man caused an arc, and he was pretty much incinerated,? 5oods continues. >%he man on his #nees was engulfed in the fireball and badly burned. %he supervisor' even though he was about @(+? and at least *,, pounds, the shoc# wave was so powerful that it pic#ed him up and #noc#ed him bac# about ten feet.?

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

One master electrician sadly recalls losing a colleague to arc flash when both were 6ust starting out as 6ourneymen many years ago. >It was in one of the local mills,? he says. >9e was standing 2+ feet away, but that wasn(t far enough. =ou can still see the imprint of his shadow on a gla$ed tile wall over at that mill.? So'erin! statistics Arc-flash events are not at all infre1uent3 in the A."., between five and ten occur every day that send their victims to a burn center and, according to one study, result in medical costs of B2.+ million for each episode. %hose statistics do not include victims sent to regular hospitals and clinics, cases that go unreported, or cases in which no one was seriously in6ured. It is estimated that C, percent of electrical in6uries are caused by burns resulting from arc flash and igniting of inflammable clothing. %reatment can re1uire years of s#in grafting and rehabilitation, with no assurance that the victim will ever be able to return to wor# or a normal life. %he arc-flash phenomenon isn(t new3 it has been around as long as electricity has been distributed. Only since the late 20C,s, however, has it been given the attention it deserves, spearheaded in large measure by the petrochemical industry. %oday a number of organi$ations'both government and private-sector'provide regulations, policies, recommendations, and monitoring in order to minimi$e the possibility of arcflash incidents and protect those who wor# in environments where arc flash is li#ely to occur. Re! lations and recommendations our separate industry standards have been established that deal with the prevention of arc-flash incidents&

Occupational "afety and 9ealth Administration (O"9A), 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910, Subpart S

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

Dational ire .rotection Association (D .A) Standard 70, ational !le"tri"al Code D .A 70!, Standard for !le"tri"al Safet# in t$e %or&pla"e Institute of )lectrical and )lectronics )ngineers (I)))) , Standard 1'(), *uide for Perfor+ing ,r" Flas$ Ha-ard Cal"ulations

OSHA 5hile not specifically addressing arc-flash ha$ards, O"9A(s :0 ; R .art 202,, "ubpart ", does set design safety standards for electrical systems. Included are standards for electric utili$ation systems, including all electric e1uipment and installations used to provide electric power and light for employee wor#places. "afety-related wor# practices and maintenance re1uirements, as well as safety re1uirements for special e1uipment, are also covered. .aul ris#, who covers all of ;anada as a roving instructor for !IR "ystems( Infrared %raining center (I%;), comments that O"9A mandates wor#ing in deenergi$ed conditions e/cept under special circumstances, such as when a problem can(t be uncovered by troubleshooting the e1uipment in a deenergi$ed state. >%hey want you to wor# on e1uipment that isn(t energi$ed,? he says. >And yes, that would be ideal. <ut in order for our infrared cameras to wor#, the circuit has to be energi$ed.? Although this situation might appear to be something of a ;atch-::, there are solutions. In particular, infrared windows'such as 9aw# IR E sightglasses'can be installed in cabinet doors or panels, enabling thermographers to do their 6ob safely even in the presence of an energi$ed environment. IR windows will be discussed later in this paper. NFPA ational !le"tri"al Code %he D .A(s Dational )lectrical ;ode was first introduced almost a century ago and has F

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

grown to almost C,, pages. Invariably referred to in the trade as >%he ;ode,? the D); is the standard reference wor# for electricians and is mostly concerned with installation practices. Over the years, the D); has dealt with protection from fire, electrocution, and shoc# ha$ard. Recently, arc-flash safety has been moving into the picture as well. Of particular relevance is the D); re1uirement that ha$ard warning labels be posted on switchboards, panel boards, industrial control centers, and motor control centers to warn wor#ers of ha$ards that might cause serious in6ury or death due to arcing faults. %hese labels must be located where they will be visible to 1ualified personnel before any e/amination, ad6ustment, servicing, or maintenance of the e1uipment is underta#en. FP, 70! Although O"9A sets forth the legal re1uirements, it does not spell out how they are to be implemented. D .A originally developed D .A 7,), Standard for !le"tri"al Safet# in t$e %or&pla"e, as a national consensus safety standard primarily to assist O"9A in preparing electrical safety standards. In effect, O"9A says what to do and D .A 7,) e/plains how to do it. D .A 7,) guidelines provides re1uirements for lash .rotection <oundaries ( .<) related to electrical safety when wor#ing on energi$ed e1uipment. An .< is a distance from e/posed or enclosed live circuitry within which a person could receive a seconddegree burn if an arc flash occurred. %hese boundaries specify safe distances from an energi$ed component in which a wor#er can operate without the use of ..) such as clothing, gloves, tools, face protection, and glasses. A wor#er crossing such a boundary must be 1ualified and wearing appropriate ..). D .A 7,) further specifies the type of ..) to be worn by wor#ers in the vicinity of energi$ed circuitry. %he nature and e/tent of this e1uipment varies with the potential calorie level of radiated energy. Although they are not responsible for selecting appropriate ..) levels, thermographers have to be aware that such a re1uirement +

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

e/ists. In fact, they need to be thoroughly familiar with all D .A 7,) guidelines because, in certain situations, covers must be removed to permit access so that an inspection can be completed. )ven though, strictly spea#ing, companies are not legally re1uired to comply with D .A 7,), they(ll be e/pected to offer a compelling alternative if they choose not to do so. As 5oods puts it, >=ou still have to follow the intent. =ou better be doing so+et$ing that protects your wor#ers.? In short, compliance with D .A 7,) will ensure compliance with O"9A regulations. 5oods also notes that utility companies are currently e/empt from many provisions of both D .A 7,) and the Dational )lectrical ;ode. >%his seems #ind of strange,? he says, >but apparently the idea is that if your 6ob is to produce electricity, you ought to #now something about it.? 9e adds that O"9A is now proposing changes that may re1uire utilities to comply with parts of D .A 7,). I I)))(s ma6or contribution to arc-flash ha$ard safety is its "tandard 2+CF, *uide for Perfor+ing ,r" Flas$ Ha-ard Cal"ulations. As the title suggests, this publication helps facilities personnel calculate the ha$ards of arc flash in different types of e1uipment in various power systems. It provides definitive calculation steps in support of D .A 7,) and outlines a method for calculating the e/pected incident energy level. 5ith this information, a facility owner can ma#e an informed decision about the level of ..) that those who wor# on the e1uipment must wear. rom the results of the analysis, 9a$ardGRis# ;ategories are established, and lash .rotection <oundaries calculated, by D .A 7,). Although applying D .A 7,) and I))) 2+CF practices can(t guarantee that a wor#er will not be in6ured by burns from an arc-flash incident, it has been shown that following these methods plus using appropriate ..) greatly reduces the possibility of burns.

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

(he importance o" PPE .ersonal protective e1uipment'such as clothing, gloves, tools, face protection, and glasses'is intended to protect wor#ers from the most destructive arc-flash events, mainly those that might cause potentially fatal burns to the head and chest. D .A 7,) provides a table of ..) ratings, which are based either on voltage rating (gloves) or thermal rating (cotton and fire retardant clothing). Also included are ..) ratings for various #inds of apparel, chiefly shirts, pants, and underwear. ..) is improving at a rapid pace as new technology is developed and introduced. Red cin! hazard cate!ories and pro'a'ilities A fundamental principle of reducing arc-flash ha$ard categories is to #eep fault currents low. Anfortunately, this may be difficult to accomplish in e/isting plants owing to outmoded design practices of the past. %hese include installing oversi$ed transformers to accommodate future growth that might never materiali$e3 using transformers with the secondary side protected by a primary fuse3 using bolted fault currents (currents with no impedance) for setting brea#er trip points3 and selectively coordinating overcurrent protection, which involves slowing down the circuit-brea#er tripping time. )ngineering techni1ues e/ist that can address such problems. Once an Arc lash 9a$ard Analysis has been completed, it is relatively easy to perform a study of overcurrent protective device coordination to ensure that all devices clear a fault as 1uic#ly as possible. And slow-acting protective devices can be replaced with faster ones. %he main circuit brea#er should trip instantaneously when any fault current is detected. %his can be accomplished in several ways& %he brea#er can be set to instantaneous when wor# is to be performed. A maintenance switch, or a pro/imity or motion detector, can be installed on the brea#er. An optical detection relaying system can be installed. inally, fuses andGor the transformer can be replaced.

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

As important as reducing arc-flash ris# categories is reducing the probability that an arcflash event will occur. A corporatewide arc-flash ha$ard program should be implemented, one that includes ha$ard assessment, documentation, a ..) plan, development of procedures to minimi$e ha$ard, training for wor#ers, and periodic safety audits. .reventive measures that can be ta#en include #eepting energi$ed parts from being e/posed, retrofitting e/posed bus bars with insulated ones, and retrofitting terminal bloc#s with >finger-safe? components. Arc-resistant electrical e1uipment now on the mar#et can redirect the forces associated with an arcing fault to a direction away from where an employee is wor#ing. It should be emphasi$ed that arc-flash ha$ard analysis and safety program development are still in the relatively early stages. A great deal more study and testing remain to be done. One electrician emphasi$es that the best safety procedure is still the simplest and most obvious& >If you(re not 1ualified, and you don(t feel safe, and you don(t have to be there'leaveH? Addin! sa"ety &ith in"rared &indo&s As was stated earlier, O"9A regulations state that personnel should wor# on deenergi$ed electrical circuits whenever possible. %he operation of infrared cameras, however, re1uires that circuitry be energi$ed so that thermographers can perform IR surveys of high- or low-voltage electrical e1uipment cabinets. > !IR infrared cameras can be fitted with telescopic lenses,? comments 5oods, >but someone still has to open up the cabinet. And we don(t want the thermographer unprotected doing that.? An increasingly popular solution is to install infrared windows, such as 9aw# IR sightglasses, so that inspection can be performed with doors and cabinets closed. 9aw#

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

IR sightglasses provide thermographers with a direct line of sight for IR inspections and are also transparent to visible light. In addition, they eliminate the need for having a licensed electrician remove and replace doors and panels for inspections. %he results are significant increases in inspection speed and area coverage, and greater safety for wor#ers. 9aw# IR sightglasses are available with either crystalline or mesh barriers. %he >; > (crystalline) range sightglass can be used indoors or outdoors in either high- or lowvoltage applications, while the >8? (mesh) range sightglass is suitable for indoor, lowvoltage applications. A!-approved and easily retrofitted or installed in new e1uipment, both types provide an all-important physical safety barrier between the inspector(s IR camera and the target. 9aw# IR sightglasses are distributed in the A"A by !IR "ystems. Sa"ety trainin! "or thermo!raphers !IR "ystems is e/tremely concerned about arc-flash ha$ards and the dangers they pose to thermographers. Accordingly, in-depth information about arc-flash ha$ards is an integral part of the curriculum at the company(s Infrared %raining ;enter, where training is conducted by highly 1ualified international thermography instructors. I%; instructor .aul ris# advocates the >buddy system? to his students. >=ou have two thermographers on hand,? he e/plains. >One is dressed in bul#y ..) that almost ma#es him loo# li#e one of those robots from the I@,s. %here(s no way he can possibly operate an IR camera. "o instead he functions as the door opener, and the other does the thermography at a safe distance. One can #eep an eye out for the other. After a certain length of time, they switch off.? ris# offers another suggestion in his classes& >5hether you have a sightglass or not, if you(re planning to open the door, do the fireman tric#. %he fireman will always ta#e his gloves off and put the bac# of his hand on

FLIR Systems: Arc-Flash Hazard White Paper

Bob Hill

the closed door to determine whether there(s a high-heat source on the other side. 5e can accomplish the same thing with our IR cameras. "o as a safety precaution, always measure the temperature of that door.? %he I%; offers training, certification, and recertification in all aspects of infrared thermography use, with facilities featuring e/tensive hands-on laboratories for learning IR applications. It is the only IR training resource to be I"O 0,,2 certified. A lon! &ay to !o 5hile it is encouraging that arc-flash ha$ard has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, there is still a long way to go before this menace can be permanently eliminated. Antil then, more arc-flash e/plosions will occur every day'and, unfortunately, more wor#ers will be in6ured or #illed, and more astronomical medical bills, litigation fees, and production losses will be the conse1uences. !IR "ystems urges thermographers, electricians, and plant managers to thoroughly ac1uaint themselves with all of the various precautions that should be ta#en when wor#ing in a potential arc-flash environment. 5hatever the 6ob, safety comes first.

JJJ

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