CLASSIFICATION OF LOCATIONS FOR ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS IN GAS UTILITY AREAS

Gerry Pickens

Atmos Energy
810 Crescent Centre Drive
Franklin, TN 37067

The National Electrical Code (NEC) defines Class II Locations

hazardous locations as those areas "where fire or The second type of hazard listed by the National
explosion hazards may exist due to flammable gases Electrical Code are those areas made hazardous by
or vapors, flammable liquids, combustible dust, or the presence of combustible dust. These are referred
ignitable fibers or flyings." to in the Code as "Class II Locations." Finely
pulverized material, suspended in the atmosphere,
A substantial part of the NEC is devoted to the can cause as powerful an explosion as one occurring
discussion of hazardous locations. That's because at a petroleum refinery. Some typical Class II
electrical equipment can become a source of ignition locations are:
in these volatile areas. Articles 500 through 504, and
510 through 517 provide classification and  Grain elevators;
installation standards for the use of electrical  Flour and feed mills;
equipment in these locations. The writers of the NEC  Plants that manufacture, use or store
developed a short-hand method of describing areas magnesium or aluminum powders;
classified as hazardous locations. One of the purposes  Producers of plastics, medicines and
of this discussion is to explain this classification fireworks;
system. Hazardous locations are classified in three  Producers of starch or candies;
ways by the National Electrical Code: TYPE,  Spice-grinding plants, sugar plants and
CONDITION, and NATURE. cocoa plants; and
 Coal preparation plants and other carbon
Hazardous Location Types handling or processing areas.

Class I Locations Class III Locations

According to the NEC, there are three types of Class III hazardous locations, according to the NEC,
hazardous locations. The first type of hazard is one are areas where there are easily-ignitable fibers or
which is created by the presence of flammable gases flyings present, due to the types of materials being
or vapors in the air, such as natural gas or gasoline handled, stored, or processed. The fibers and flyings
vapor. When these materials are found in the are not likely to be suspended in the air, but can
atmosphere, a potential for explosion exists, which collect around machinery or on lighting fixtures and
could be ignited if an electrical or other source of where heat, a spark or hot metal can ignite them.
ignition is present. The Code writers have referred to Some typical Class III locations are:
this first type of hazard as Class I. So, a Class I
Hazardous Location is one in which flammable  Textile mills, cotton gins;
gases or vapors may be present in the air in sufficient  Cotton seed mills, flax processing plants;
quantities to be explosive or ignitable. Some typical and
Class I locations are:  Plants that shape, pulverize or cut wood and
create sawdust or flyings.
 Petroleum refineries, and gasoline storage
and dispensing areas;
 Dry cleaning plants where vapors from
cleaning fluids can be present; Hazardous Location Conditions
 Spray finishing areas;
 Aircraft hangars and fuel servicing areas; In addition to the types of hazardous locations,
and the National Electrical Code also concerns itself
 Utility gas plants, and operations involving
with the kinds of conditions under which these
storage and handling of liquefied petroleum
hazards are present. The Code specifies that
gas or natural gas.
hazardous material may exist in several different
 All of these are Class I . . . gas or vapor . . .
kinds of conditions which, for simplicity, can be
hazardous locations. All require special described as, first, normal conditions, and,
Class I hazardous location equipment.
second, abnormal conditions.
In the normal condition, the hazard would be The only substance in Group A is acetylene.
expected to be present in everyday production Acetylene makes up only a very small percentage of
operations or during frequent repair and maintenance hazardous locations. Consequently, little equipment
activity. is available for this type of location. Acetylene is a
gas with extremely high explosion pressures.
When the hazardous material is expected to be
confined within closed containers or closed systems Group B is another relatively small segment of
and will be present only through accidental rupture, classified areas. This group includes hydrogen and
breakage or unusual faulty operation, the situation other materials with similar characteristics. If you
could be called "abnormal”. follow certain specific restrictions in the Code, some
of these Group B locations, other than hydrogen, can
The Code writers have designated these two kinds of actually be satisfied with Group C and Group D
conditions very simply, as Division 1 - normal and equipment.
Division 2 - abnormal. Class I, Class II and Class III
hazardous locations can be either Division 1 or Group C and Group D are by far the most usual
Division 2. Class I groups. They comprise the greatest
percentage of all Class I hazardous locations. Found
Good examples of Class I, Division 1 locations in Group D are many of the most common flammable
would be the areas near open dome loading facilities substances such as butane, gasoline, natural gas and
or adjacent to relief valves in a natural gas station, propane.
because the hazardous material would be present
during normal plant operations. In Class II - dust locations - we find the hazardous
materials in Groups E, F, and G. These groups are
Closed storage drums containing flammable liquids classified according to the ignition temperature and
in an inside storage room would not normally allow the conductivity of the hazardous substance.
the hazardous vapors to escape into the atmosphere. Conductivity is an important consideration in Class II
But, what happens if one of the containers is leaking? locations, especially with metal dusts.
You've got a Division 2 -abnormal - condition . . . a
Class I, Division 2 hazardous location. Metal dusts are categorized in the Code as Group E.
Included here are aluminum and magnesium dusts
So far we've covered the three types of hazardous and other metal dusts of similar nature.
locations:
Group F atmospheres contain such materials as
 Class I - gas or vapor carbon black, charcoal dust, coal and coke dust.
 Class II - dust, and
 Class III - fibers and flyings. In Group G we have grain dusts, flour, starch, cocoa,
and similar types of materials.
And secondly, kinds of conditions:
Review
 Division 1 - normal conditions, and
 Division 2 - abnormal conditions. Let's quickly review. Hazardous locations are
classified in three ways by the National Electrical
Code: TYPE, CONDITION, and NATURE.
Now let's move on to a discussion of the nature of
hazardous substances.
There are three types of hazardous conditions: Class I
- gas and vapor, Class II - dust, and Class III - fibers
Nature of Hazardous Substances
and flyings.

The gases and vapors of Class I locations are broken There are two kinds of hazardous conditions:
into four groups by the Code: A, B, C, and D. These Division 1 - normal, and Division 2 - abnormal.
materials are grouped according to the ignition
temperature of the substance, its explosion pressure,
And finally, there is the nature of the hazardous
and other flammable characteristics.
substance . . . where we find Groups A, B, C, and D
in Class I locations, and, in Class II locations: Groups Hazardous Location Equipment
E, F, and G
Sources of Ignition
Let's illustrate our Code "translation" with an
example. How would we classify a storage area Now that we've completed our Code translation,
where LP gas is contained in closed tanks? LP gas is we're ready to move to the next part of our discussion
a Class I substance (gas or vapor). It's Division 2 - hazardous location equipment. To do this, let's first
because it would only be in the atmosphere if an take a look at the ways in which electrical equipment
accidental rupture or leakage occurred, and it is can become a source of ignition. There are three of
Group D material. them.

Natural Gas facilities would be classified as Class I, Arcs and sparks produced by the normal operation of
Division I or II, Group D equipment, like motor starters, contactors, and
switches, can ignite a hazardous location atmosphere.
The table below summarizes the various hazardous (classified)
locations
The high temperatures of some heat-producing
equipment, such as lamps and lighting fixtures, can
ignite flammable atmospheres if they exceed the
ignition temperature of the hazardous material. The
National Electrical Code requires special marking of
heat - producing equipment with temperatures above
100oC (212oF).

Electrical equipment failure is another way an

explosion could be set off. A burn out of a lamp
socket or shorting of a terminal could spark a real
disaster in a hazardous location.

Equipment Design and Construction

Now let's get down to specific hardware and how it is
*NOTE: Electrically conductive dusts are dusts with designed and constructed to be suitable for hazardous
a resistivity less than 105 ohm-centimeter. locations, specifically, with those designed for Class I
gas or vapor applications.
Classification of Locations In Gas Utility Areas
The first requirement for a Class I enclosure is
strength. The enclosure must be strong enough to
The best resource for classifying natural gas utility
contain an explosion within. The walls must be thick
areas would be AGA Catalog # XL1001 enough to withstand the internal strain. It has to be
“Classification of Locations for Electrical explosion-proof in case gas or vapors get inside.
Installations in Gas Utility Areas”. This document Secondly, it must function at a temperature below the
discusses the classification of areas based on the ignition temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.
characteristics of the flammable gas, dispersion,
normal and abnormal conditions, ventilation, air The equipment must also provide a way for the
currents and many other factors. Of special interest burning gases to escape from the device as they
expand during an internal explosion; but, only after
are the recommended distances given in Appendix C.
they have been cooled off and their flames
An example is shown here "quenched." This escape route for the exploding
gases is provided through several types of flame
paths.

One type is the ground surface flame path. Here the

surfaces are ground, mated, and held to a tolerance of
15 ten-thousandths of an inch. This permits gases to
escape, but only after they've been sufficiently
cooled, so they won't ignite the volatile surrounding need for heavy explosion-containing construction, or
atmosphere. flame paths. This difference explains why Class I,
Division 1 equipment can be called explosion-proof,
Another kind of flame path is the threaded flame and Class II equipment is called dust-ignition proof.
path. After an explosion, the gas travels out the Class II equipment has a different set of
threaded joint . . . but as it does, it cools off. requirements:

Exploded gases may also escape around the shafts of  It must seal out the dust.
operators used in the enclosure. But, here again, close  It must operate below the ignition
tolerances are used to quench the burning gas. temperature of the hazardous substance.
 It must allow for a dust blanket. That is, the
Examples of two flame paths are shown below. build-up of dust collecting on top of the
device that can cause it to run "hot" and
ignite the surrounding atmosphere.

For Class III equipment, there is very little difference

in the design from Class II. Class III equipment must
minimize entrance of fibers and flyings; prevent the
escape of sparks, burning material or hot metal
particles resulting from failure of equipment; and
operate at a temperature that will prevent the ignition
of fibers accumulated on the equipment.

There are many enclosures, devices, and fixtures

suitable for all three classes. This simply means that
it meets the specifications for each individual type. A
Class I device which could contain an explosion of a
specified gas would also have to prevent dust from
entering the enclosure to be suitable for Class II. The
close tolerance of the flame path which cools the
burning gases is also close enough to exclude
explosive dust so that a gasket would not be needed.

You can see how important it is to make certain that Proper installation of hazardous location equipment
all flame paths are protected during installation and calls for the use of seals. Special fittings are required
maintenance, and even during handling, shipping, to keep hot gases from traveling through the conduit
and storage of explosion-proof material. Even slight system igniting other areas if an internal explosion
damage to a flame path can permit burning gases to occurs in a Class I device. They are also needed in
escape, igniting the surrounding atmosphere. Also, all certain situations to keep flammable dusts from
cover bolts must be installed for the same reason. A entering dust-ignition-proof enclosures through the
single missing bolt could allow the release of flaming conduit. As shown in the figure below, when arcs and
gases. sparks cause ignition of flammable gases and vapors,
the equipment contains the explosion and vents only
In designing equipment for Class I, Division 1 cool gases into the surrounding hazardous area.
locations, it is assumed that the hazardous gases or
vapors will be present and eventually seep into the
enclosure, so there is a very real chance for an
internal explosion to occur.

In the case of Class II, however, the assumptions are

different and so the design is different. In Class II,
the explosive dust is kept away from equipment
housed within the enclosure so that no internal
explosion can take place and there is no longer any
 pressure - FOUR TIMES the maximum anticipated
pressure of 250 psi.

Wiring Methods

Class I, Division I

Wiring methods in Class I, Division I areas must

comply with the following:

 Threaded rigid metal conduit

 Threaded steel intermediate metal conduit
 Type MI cable with termination fittings
approved for the location
 All boxes, fittings, and joints must be
Sealing fittings are designed to be filled with a threaded for connection to conduit or cable
chemical compound after the wires have been pulled. terminations and must be explosion proof.
As the compound hardens, it seals passageways for  Nonmetallic conduit is permitted when
dusts and gases. As encased in concrete a minimum of 2 inches
shown in the figure thick and buried 2 feet. Nonmetallic conduit
above, in each conduit must transition to metal conduit 2 feet
run entering an before emergence.
enclosure for switches,
circuit breakers, fuses, Class I, Division II
relays, resistors, or
other apparatus which
may produce arcs, Wiring methods in Class I, Division II areas must
sparks, or high comply with the following:
temperatures within
Class I locations, conduit seals shall be placed as  Threaded rigid metal conduit
close as practicable and in no case more than 18  Threaded steel intermediate metal conduit
inches (457 mm) from such enclosures. Again,  Enclosed gasketed busways
consult the Code for specific rules for the use of  Enclosed gasketed wireways
seals.  Type PLTC cable
 Type ITC cable Type MI, MC, MV or TC
Rigorous standards for hazardous location equipment cable
have been set. Nationally Recognized Testing  Boxes, fittings, and joints are not required to
Laboratories conduct actual explosion tests under be explosion proof.
laboratory conditions. For each Class I enclosure they
experiment with different mixtures of gas and air . . . Intrinsically Safe Systems
from very lean mixtures (a small percentage of gas)
to very rich mixtures (a high percentage of gas) until The theory behind intrinsic safety is to ensure that the
they find the one that creates the greatest explosion available electrical and thermal energy in the system
pressure. To pass inspection, the equipment must not is always low enough that ignition of the hazardous
only prevent the ignition of the surrounding atmosphere cannot occur. This is achieved by
atmosphere, but also be able to withstand a ensuring that only low voltages and currents enter the
hydrostatic test where oil is pumped into the hazardous area, and that all electric supply and signal
enclosure at high pressure to test the limits of its wires are protected by Zener safety barriers.
strength. The device will not pass unless it can resist Sometimes an alternative type of barrier known as a
rupture at four times the maximum pressure found in galvanic isolation barrier may be used.
the explosion tests. For example, if explosion testing
shows a maximum pressure for a junction box of 250
In normal uses, electrical equipment often creates
pounds per square inch (psi), to get approval, the box
internal tiny sparks in switches, motor brushes,
must be able to withstand 1,000 psi of hydrostatic
connectors, and in other places. Such sparks can
ignite flammable substances present in air. A device cannot be installed in the same conduit as
termed intrinsically safe is designed to not contain nonintrinsically safe systems.
any components that produce sparks or which can
hold enough energy to produce a spark of sufficient
energy to cause an ignition.

Summary

Regardless of the cause of a hazardous location, it is

necessary that every precaution be taken to guard
against ignition of the atmosphere. Electrical
equipment can be a potential source of ignition
through one of three ways:

Most applications require a signal to be sent out of or  Arcs and sparks

into the hazardous area. The equipment mounted in  High temperatures
the hazardous area must first be approved for use in  Electrical equipment failure
an intrinsically safe system. The barriers designed to
protect the system must be mounted outside of the Hazardous location equipment is designed and
hazardous area in an area designated as Non- constructed to eliminate the potential for ignition of
hazardous or Safe in which the hazard is not and will the atmosphere.
not be present.
The National Electrical Code is the "Bible" of the
Equipment which has been designed for and is Electrical Industry, and the primary source of
available for use in hazardous areas with intrinsically reference for hazardous locations. The NEC is also
safe barriers includes: the basis for OSHA standard 1926.407, Hazardous
(Classified) Locations. There are several OSHA
 4-20 mAdc Two Wire Transmitters standards that require the installation of electrical
 Thermocouples wiring and equipment in hazardous (classified)
 RTDs locations according to the requirements of Subpart K,
 Strain Gages Electrical. The NEC should be consulted as a
 Pressure, Flow, & Level Switches supplement to the OSHA standards for additional
 I/P Converters background information concerning hazardous
locations.
 Solenoid Valves
 Proximity Switches
 Infrared Temperature Sensors Recommended reading for this topic:
 Potentiometers
 LED Indicating Lights  National Electrical Code, NFPA 70, Chapter
 Magnetic Pickup Flowmeters 5, Article 500
 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S, Electrical 1910.307
Most of the apparatus that is mounted in the  NFPA 497, "Classification of Gases,
Hazardous area will have to be approved and Vapors, and Dusts for Electrical Equipment
certified for use in the Hazardous area with an in Hazardous Classified Locations"
approved barrier designed for use with that apparatus.  NFPA Handbook, "Electrical Installations in
Some simple devices like thermocouples, RTDs, Hazardous Locations, " by P. J. Schram and
LEDs and contacts can be used in the hazardous area M. W. Earley
without certification as long as it is wired in  NFPA 70E, Chapter 5, "Hazardous
conjunction with an approved barrier. (Classified) Locations"
 NFPA 325, "Fire Hazard Properties of
Intrinsically safe equipment and wiring can be Flammable Liquids, Gases, and Volatile
installed using any of the wiring methods suitable for Solids"
unclassified locations. Conduit for intrinsically safe  ANSI/UL 913, "Intrinsically Safe
systems must be sealed as we discussed above and Apparatus" NFPA 496, "Purged and
 Pressurized Enclosure for Electrical
Equipment in Hazardous Locations."
 American Gas Association Catalog No.
XL1001 “Classification Of Locations For
Electrical Installations In Gas Utility
Areas”, revised by Distribution And
Transmission Engineering Committee,
revised Sept. 2010