May 2022 VISION!

Published 30 May 2022

Welcome to our industry bulletin – VISION.

So what is VISION?

VISION is our monthly round-up of industry news, projects, videos, technical tips, training information, webinars and career opportunities from Thorne & Derrick. Take a moment to Follow Us on LinkedIn to receive future VISION.

In The News

Nearly 50 killed, hundreds injured in depot blast

Date: 4th June 2022
Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh
Facility: Container Depot

A fire and subsequent explosion at a shipping container depot near Chittagong, Bangladesh killed at least 49 people and injured over 300 more. Many of those killed and injured had arrived at the depot to help extinguish a blaze that had erupted before several containers storing chemicals exploded.

Watch the video ➡

The cause of the initial fire is unknown, however fire officials have said they suspect it may have originated in a container of hydrogen peroxide before it spread to several surrounding containers. Two separate committees – a fire services committee and an industrial safety regulator committee – have been organised to investigate the cause of the fire. Industrial fires are common in Bangladesh, and are often blamed on poor safety regulations.

Hospitals in the area are said to be overwhelmed, with crowds of people waiting in hallways for treatment. Medics have appealed for blood donations and some of the injured have been airlifted to the capital, Dhaka. Many of the injured are said to be in a critical condition and the number of people killed is expected to rise.

At least five firefighters were killed in the blast and several more were injured. Many people are still missing, including journalists who were reporting on the fire before the explosion.

The fire broke out at around 21:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on 4th June and hundreds of firefighters, police and volunteers quickly arrived on the scene. As they tried to extinguish the blaze a huge explosion rocked the site, engulfing many of the rescuers in flames and throwing debris and people into the air.

“The explosion just threw me some 10 metres from where I was standing. My hands and legs are burnt,” lorry driver Tofael Ahmed told AFP news agency.

The army has deployed sandbags to prevent chemicals flowing into the Indian Ocean.

Around 4,000 containers were stored at the depot in Sitakunda, which is 40km (25 miles) from Chittagong – Bangladesh’s main sea port and second-largest city. Sitakunda acts as a transit point for goods travelling through the port.

Bangladesh is a major supplier of clothing to the West and has prospered over the past decade to become the world’s second largest exporter of garments. However, safety regulations are often ignored or poorly enforced, and there have been several large fires and other incidents at factories in recent years.

Read the full article here.

INDUSTRY EVENTs

FAKE PRODUCTS & CERTIFICATES – HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM?

Another Week, Another Exhibition!

Hazardex Ellesmere Port

Terry McDonald and Laura McCabe attended Hazardex Ellesmere Port this month – exhibiting a range of products and solutions to service all your hazardous area requirements.

Terry also delivered his long awaited speech! The speech explored fake products and certificates in the industry, and just how big of a problem this is.

Safety and compliance should always come first but unfortunately there are companies that make cost and profit their priority. There are many examples of fake goods and incorrectly certified products being sold into the explosive atmosphere industry. How big is this problem? How can we all take our share of the responsibility to prevent this? The discussion highlighted some recent examples of fake/non-compliant products and how training and competency levels must improve throughout the supply chain to combat this problem.

Thorne & Derrick featured a range of products at the event, including:

NEW MTH from EXHEAT miniature tank heater for the heating of liquids in hazardous areas – the perfect solution for when space is at a premium.
NEW Mid Power Flood by Raytec designed for new hazardous area installations or to directly replace traditional discharge light sources.
NEW PIR motion detector by SecurEx Technology Ltd for security & access control.

The show was not the only thing that Terry was looking forward to – as he looked for a place to watch the Liverpool match. He was disappointed to learn that the nearest pub was 10 minutes away, so he missed kick off!

CHEM UK

The big day finally arrived!

After preparing for our first ever exhibiting slot at ChemUK it was time to bring Terry McDonald and Morgan Gent to the stand for the big show.

T&D showcased a range of process & electrical heating solutions for commercial, industrial and hazardous area applications including:

Drum Heating Jackets – providing temperature maintenance & rapid heat up of steel & plastic containers (custom & ATEX options available).
Trace Heating Cables – providing process temperature maintenance to pipes, tanks, hoppers, valves and drums – process heating of aggressive organic and inorganic chemicals up to 550°C.
Heated Hoses – flexible transportation of liquid and gas substances without heat loss. Solutions available for use in explosive atmospheres.

We really enjoyed taking part in the expo, catching up with the supply chain and meeting new people in the industry. Special thanks to CHEMUK for hosting a fantastic event!

Let’s Meet

Special thanks to George Mills from VEGA Level and Pressure for visiting our office this month, updating the sales and marketing team at Thorne & Derrick on their recently launched compact radar sensors for non-contact level measurement of liquids and bulk solids in simple applications.

In continuous non-contact level measurement with radar, the sensor sends microwave signals towards the medium from above. The surface of the medium reflects the signals back in the direction of the sensor. Using the received microwave signals, the sensor determines the distance to the product surface and calculates the level from it.

The team at Thorne & Derrick with George Mills from VEGA

The NEW VEGAPULS

VEGAPULS is a new, low cost range of radar level sensors, featuring the VEGAPULS 11, 21 and 31 products.

The VEGAPULS 21 & VEGAPULS 31 sensors are ex approved and are certified to the current ATEX & IEC standards. Particularly suitable for use in water treatment and storage tanks with acids in all industrial areas, or for measuring levels in plastic tanks or IBC container from the outside through the tank wall.

The VEGAPULS 31 model is capable of exact measurement with on-site display and 3-button operation for results independent of medium properties and process conditions.

VEGAPULS Radar Level Sensors

Apprentice Training

Special thanks to Gail Ryder from Abtech for popping into our Chester-Le-Street office providing our apprentice Dylan White with training on their range of electrical enclosures and junction boxes suitable for safe and hazardous areas – including GRP, stainless steel and aluminium.

“It was great to learn about about Abtech Ltd and their range of products! Thank you for coming in”.

A VIEW FROM SITE

Over the years, we’ve been proud to support many distilleries with lighting requirements, particularly with the Raytec range of lighting.

The IrishAmerican Whiskey Distillery have been supplied with the SPARTAN Linear and High-Power Flood luminaires, which now provide the distillery with quality illumination throughout the site. With the distillery being part of the Irish Whiskey tour, all fittings were painted white and supplied with 4,000K LEDs to fit in with the aesthetics of the building. A number of emergency variants were also installed to provide back-up illumination.

Whisky Distillery with Raytec lighting fitted

The SPARTAN Linear Generation II Light Fittings and High-Power Floodlights installed in the distillery.

Raytec SPARTAN Linear are a globally certified (ATEX, IEC Ex & UKEX) range of LED light fittings designed for all new Zone 1 and Zone 2 hazardous area lighting environments or to retrofit existing fluorescent installations; while the High Power Flood is designed for very large and open hazardous areas which require high performance, high reliability, White-Light illumination.

➡ Contact Thorne & Derrick Sales Team for the complete range of Hazardous Area Lighting & ATEX Lights manufactured by Raytec.

PROJECTS & NEWS

Introducing the atex portable vent fan

➡ Watch the brand new video to see how the ExStream fan delivers 50% more ventilation than competitor products – perfect to keep the area cool as well as ventilated in the summer months.

The independently tri certified IECEx, UKEX & ATEX portable ventilation fans are certified to both Electrical & Non-Electrical standards for safe ventilation of hazardous area workplaces and potentially explosive atmospheres – providing a world wide safety solution.

Class Leading Airflow: Up to 7750m3/hr
Robust: Mild Steel or Stainless Steel Casing
Low Power Consumption: <8A FLC
Low Noise Output: 49db
Easy to Use: Plug & Play Fan
Voltage Options: 110V/230V & 3-Phase Options Available

Further Reading |Importance Of Full Compliance & Correct Certification

T&D Developing Bespoke Solutions

HV Link Boxes

Thorne & Derrick have been assisting with the extension and works of the Thames Water Ring Main – Water Supply Infrastructure at the Honor Oak site; supplying HV equipment to engineers involved in the project.

The client required several HV boxes for the linking of cables in a non-hazardous area. We were provided with a portfolio of the current link boxes and cables present at each of the pumps on site, and their current condition.

An example of the current equipment

Size of incoming cables: 3 Core, SWA 3.3kV, 50mm, 70mm and 95mm.

Size of outgoing cables: Single Core Flexis, 25mm to 50mm

Working with Abtech, Thorne & Derrick specified and designed a junction box which would accommodate all cable ranges given across 6 different pumps. The client also required the link boxes to be fitted with Castell Interlocks, which were supplied alongside the box. The 6.6kV link box that was supplied is IP66 rated and measures 510 x 510 x 200mm to suit the application.

➡ Thorne & Derrick supply a range of junction boxes and enclosures suitable for onshore and offshore installation in both Zone 1 & Zone 2 hazardous area locations, and can design the equipment bespoke to your project.

Bespoke Exd Motor Starters

This month, Thorne & Derrick have served an export requirement for a leading supplier of water jetting equipment and technology.

Working with Technor, we developed a bespoke Exd certified motor starter built to the project specification.

ATEX Exd 110kW motor control panel

Certification ATEX / IECEx
Degree Of Protection: IP66
Material: Copper Free Aluminium
Ambient Temperature: -20/+55°C

A design sample showing the internal view of the ATEX Motor Starter

The control panel was supplied in a cast alloy wall mounted enclosure, complete with:

- 1 x Window, for the hours run meter
  1 x Start button
  1 x Stop button
  1 x Emergency stop button
  1 x Certification label
  1 x Set of entries
  1 x Earth stud

Thorne & Derrick are expert suppliers of Explosion Proof Electrical Equipment for hazardous areas and explosive atmosphere applications. This includes a comprehensive range of pre-built or bespoke Explosion Proof Motor Starters for the control of automation, machinery and electrical networks with ATEX & IECEx certification and explosion protection to both Ex d (Flameproof) and Ex e (Increased Safety).

Motor Starters ATEX IECEx Hazardous Area Zone 1 Zone 2

➡ Should you require a bespoke design, contact Thorne & Derrick with your requirements and we will be happy to assist.

Terminology Explained

Every industry has its own language, terms and acronyms. Below is a selection of the common terms in use in the Explosion industry today and how they are employed in current directives.

Ex Specialists

This month’s selections focus on DSEAR, and if you can install ATEX equipment in 2023.

What can sites covered by DSEAR do if the ‘Ex’ equipment they need is not available as ‘UKCA Ex’ next year?

ATEX equipment, in distribution or in stock/stores is already on the market and can be installed (subject to it being to suitable Standards which is a EN/IEC 60079-14 requirement)
Sites operate under DSEAR, not the UKCA legislation which is for manufacturers. DSEAR doesn’t specifically mention ATEX or UKCA (it just says equipment should be selected on the basis of Categories which both ATEX and UKCA use)
Under DSEAR you have always been able to install any type of certified equipment (or even uncertified) if you do an appropriate risk assessment, the requirements are site specific and should be in the site DSEAR Documentation (EPD)
The UK still uses EN/IEC 60079-14 for installation and inspection also it has no special requirements for what certification scheme is used, only that the certificates should be to the latest Standards (many ATEX Certificates are not but all UKCA Ex Certificates will be initially) and that they should always be to the 60079 series of Standards (for example, anything ATEX certified ‘Ex’ is not certified to the 79 series Standards) so just being ATEX didn’t mean you could install it anyway without further assessment.

VISION! BY,

EXPERTS IN EQUIPMENT FOR EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES

LEADERS IN ATEX INNOVATION TO THE HAZARDOUS AREA INDUSTRIES

Thorne & Derrick are leaders in the development and distribution of Product Innovations that deliver significant improvements to clients plant, people and operational safety in the explosive atmosphere industries.

Your proactive problem solvers experienced in succession planning for the replacement of obsolete, non-conformant and legacy equipment in hazardous areas.

Your first-choice provider of innovative and competitive solutions to ensure ATEX & IECEx Compliance for Hazardous Area Electrical, HVAC & Process Instrumentation Equipment to UK and international projects.