Preventing Sparks from Flying

When handling combustible liquids or powders, operators are faced with an invisible, often underrated risk: electrostatic discharges, a potential source of sparks that can ignite explosive atmospheres. In order to prevent this, and to enable the safe handling of hazardous substances, R. Stahl (Germany) offers the new type 8485 and type 7485 grounding monitoring devices. These units ensure the safe elimination of electrostatic charges during the loading and unloading of tank vehicles such as tank trucks or tank wagons. Unlike simple earthing cables, this solution continuously monitors the connection between the grounding monitoring device and the grounded object. Impaired or broken con-nections due to cable damages or operating errors are detected and signalled to the operator via a red indicator lamp. Additionally, two relay contacts allow for an automatic interruption of the loading process. Furthermore, the new ground-ing devices also enable users to differentiate between the connection of the clamp with tank trucks and the connection with the loading equipment, thus considerably reducing the risk of operator errors.