2003 International Industrial Explosion Protection Technical Conference

was held in Shanghai

 2003 International Industrial Explosion Protection Technical Conference Agenda

In this early spring of the first “sheep year” of the new century, 2003 International Industrial Explosion Protection Technical Conference, another grand event of the technical field of industrial explosion protection in China, was held at Hua Xia Hotel in Shanghai on 31 March 2003, which was sponsored by National Supervision and Inspection Center for Explosion Protection and safety of Instrumentation (NEPSI) and Shanghai Inspection and Testing Institute of Instruments and Automatic Systems (SITIIAS), with assistance from Shanghai Research Society of Automatic Control Designing and Shanghai Desheng Migao Elevator Co. Ltd. 

The conference was rendered support from Shanghai Supervisory Bureau of Safe Production and Shanghai Institute of Process Automation Instrumentation (SIPAI).  Mr. Wu Zhengwei, Deputy Director of Shanghai Supervisory Bureau of safe Production, Professor Sun Suping, President of SIPAI, and Professor Wolfgang Hemminger, Director of Thermodynamics and Explosion Protection of PTB addressed the conference respectively at the opening ceremony. They spoke highly of the persistent and effective efforts made by NEPSI in promoting international interchange of explosion protection technology and in popularizing knowledge of industrial explosion protection and safety.

The conference was honoured to have invited five senior experts, who assume high positions at IEC, CENELEC and German Standardization Committee of electrical apparatus for explosive atmospheres, to present reports on analysis and assessment of industrial ignition sources, non-electrical explosion-protected equipment and protective system, and safety management of non-electrical explosion-protected equipment.  More than 90 audiences from designing institutes, manufactories of explosion-protected electrical (non-electrical) equipment, government department responsible for safety, explosion protection testing bodies, labour safety and protection research institutes and safety managing sectors of petrochemical plants throughout the country were present at the conference.

Electrical equipment is a major ignition source that should assume major responsibility for explosion in industrial explosive hazardous areas.  With the rapid development of the explosion protection technology for electrical equipment in the past half century, extensive practice and summing-up have engendered series of technical standards on explosion protection technology for electrical equipment, which laid a foundation for the solution of explosion protection and safety of the electrical equipment used in areas with explosive gas, vapor, dust and fibre.

However, electric sparks and hot surfaces caused by electrical equipment are not the only ignition source of explosion. It is reported that quite a number of explosion accidents were caused by ignition sources resulting from non-electrical factors such as mechanical sparks, hot surfaces, static electricity, electromagnetic radiation and optical radiation in the process of storage, transportation and processing of explosive gas and dangerous powder materials.

2003 International Industrial Explosion Protection Technical Conference is intended to provide an opportunity for Chinese engineering and technical personnel, safety management personnel and equipment manufacturers to get a better understanding of the latest development of explosion protection technology of non-electrical equipment, the management experience of explosion safety of non-electrical equipment in developed countries, so as to get a better knowledge of how to identify ignition sources and how to take corresponding technical safety measures to insure production safety.

The conference was a great success. It is believable that the successful holding of the conference will surely play an important role in promoting better understanding of the latest development of explosion protection technology of non-electrical equipment in the world, speeding up the progress of standardization of non-electrical equipment and further advancing the level of industrial explosion protection technology in China, so as to ensure continuous and healthy development of the national economy.

At the end of the Conference, just after a short presentation of “Global Vision of the IECEx Scheme” by Dr Ulrich Johannsemeyer from PTB, an industry survey regarding IECEx Mark was arranged by the sponsor - NEPSI, an active member of IECEx Scheme, according to the announcement from the secretariat of IECEx Scheme.