Five Hyster® lift trucks featuring Pyroban® 2G explosion protection recently passed their Ex-ASA safety audits at a waste management company that provides incineration of hazardous materials and treatment of Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLW).

To help handle flammable material contained in IBCs, drums and other vessels, the company introduced a new fleet of ATEX** compliant Hyster® H2.5FT lift trucks, converted by Pyroban, to its site in 2019. This was the latest generation of Pyroban protected forklifts for the site.

This particular customer site offers the highest levels of compliance and environmental performance to safely and securely destroy solvent residues that cannot be sustainably recovered. It therefore handles high volumes of flammable material and is Top Tier COMAH*.

Due to the nature of the operation, our customer needs the trucks to work within Zone 1 areas, so they were converted with Pyroban’s Euromech™ 2G solution, which is a passive explosion protection system.

Euromech 2G is designed for areas in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air or flammable substances in the form of gas, vapour or mist is likely to occur in normal operation occasionally. The trucks are designed to continue working if there is a release.

Following the complex conversion, the trucks now have explosion proof Exd enclosures for all arcing and sparking components and surface temperature limitation to ensure the motors, engine, brakes, electrics and other components remain below the auto-ignition temperatures (T – Class) of a full range flammable materials. There is frame leakage monitoring, clad forks, Exd or Exe motors, Exi intrinsically safe circuits, engine inlet shutdown valve for automatic and manual shutdown and many more safety features.

EX-ASA

For safety, Pyroban protected trucks should always be maintained to a very high standard. The truck supplier maintains the trucks with engineers specially trained on the Pyroban systems, following the exact schedule and using the correct parts.

Pyroban’s recommended maintenance regime for equipment operating in Zone 1 hazardous areas should be followed to ensure optimum safety through the life of the equipment. This includes a regular safety audit conducted by an independent, specially trained engineer to ensure the equipment is fully protected and working correctly. Passive explosion protection is never ‘fit and forget’.

To support compliance with the ATEX 1999/92/EC*** directive and EN60079-17 standard, Pyroban’s Ex-ASA is a thorough audit where all safety critical components of Pyroban’s explosion protection system are inspected and recorded. This includes Exd enclosures, cables and glands, shutdown devices, conductivity, and fork cladding.

For more information on solutions for your waste management operation with hazardous areas, call the Pyroban team on +44 01273 456825 or email us.