IEC/TS 60079-48 Ed. 1.0 en:2023 PDF

This part of IEC 60079, which is a Technical Specification, provides guidance for an owner or operator for the use of portable or personal electronic equipment to be used in hazardous areas requiring Equipment Protection Level (EPL) Gb, Gc, Db, or Dc that are not otherwise commercially available with a certificate.

NOTE 1 This document is not intended to be used for certification purposes for equipment to be used in hazardous areas.

NOTE 2 Examples of some of these types of equipment are provided in Annex A.

NOTE 3 EPLs are derived from the hazardous area zones based on an additional risk assessment. The default relationship without a risk assessment in IEC 60079-14 is Zone 1 as EPL Gb, Zone 2 as EPL Gc, Zone 21 as EPL Db and Zone 22 as EPL Dc.

This document does not apply to:
• equipment that is electrically connected to fixed equipment or fixed wiring during use in the hazardous area, for example a lead light connected to the premises wiring system by a plug and socket,
• portable or personal equipment with a certificate for use in a hazardous area,
• transportable equipment,
• portable or personal equipment used in Group I applications,
• battery powered tools, such as drills and saws,
• portable or personal equipment used in areas requiring EPL Ga or Da equipment, or,
• medical devices.

NOTE 4 Devices which are implanted in the body are not exposed to atmosphere and are therefore not subject to hazardous area requirements, for example, pacemakers. The risk from other medical devices external to the body is beyond the scope of this document.

This document does not address other considerations involving the use of portable or personal electronic equipment for other aspects of safety, for example, creation of a distraction from important work tasks, radio frequency interference with measurement and control equipment, or medical issues.

This document supplements the guidance in IEC 60079-14 regarding the use of personal or portable equipment without a certificate for use in hazardous areas.

NOTE 5 IEC 60079-14 requires that equipment with a certificate for hazardous areas should be used where possible and equipment without a certificate for hazardous areas should be subject to a risk assessment.

NOTE 6 It is not a requirement of this document that equipment is evaluated for fault conditions since this would be beyond the ability of the end user assessment.