Appleton :: Can You 'Mix' Zones and Divisions
Many applications questions emerged from the 1996 CEC® Code's acceptance of the Zone classification method for hazardous locations. Can an existing classified location be reclassified? Could areas classified according to the new Zone method be adjacent to those classified by Divisions? Can Zones exist within Divisions?
To clarify some of these issues, the NFPA Standards Council issued Temporary Interim Amendments (TIAs) in July 1996. Affecting Articles 500-2, 505-3, and 505-5, the TIAs themselves require some clarification.
"Can I mix Zone and Division?"
The TIA to 505-3 offers this guideline: Without any overlap, you can place a Zone
2 area adjacent to a Division 2 area; but under no circumstances can you place a Zone 0 or 1 (the most stringent of IEC classifications)
adjacent to a Division 1 or 2 area.
"Is it possible to reclassify by Zone?"
The same TIA to 505-3 indicates that you may reclassify Class I, Division 1 or Division 2 areas as Zones - provided that all of the area affected by the gas or vapor source is reclassified.
"What about my area classification drawings?"
If a hazardous area in your plant will be classified under the new Zone system, yet adjacent to an area classified by the traditional Division model, the TIA to Article 500-2 gives your code enforcer license to require a classification drawing representing both areas.
"Does the Zone system still group Acetylene and Hydrogen as IIC?"
No. The TIA for Article 505-5 now makes an exception for products suitable for Hydrogen but not Acetylene. These products are classified as Group IIB+Hydrogen.
This is only a brief introduction to a much larger explanation. For more information about how the NFPA Standards Council's TIAs affect your business, contact Appleton.
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