Computers are now component and parcel of each enterprise and allow us to perform tasks in a fraction of the time than it would have done years prior to. Nevertheless, there are downsides and whilst most IT systems can appear innocuous, in specific environments they can be a potential hazard.

A spark is generally the trigger for most explosions, specially when electronic equipment is employed in a volatile environment. Wherever a circuit is broken or near to another conductor, it causes a short and electric currents can arc via the air, igniting any nearby combustibles.

At the end of 2005, an electrical fault at one of the world’s leading computer study centres at the University of Southampton began a fire that would lead to £50 million-worth of damage. It took over a hundred firefighters ten hours to bring the eventual blaze under control and whilst it was fortunate that there were no fatalities, 300 staff and study students discovered they had nowhere to work. The University have just reopened in a new £70 million developing but other companies are not as fortunate – almost half of all businesses that are closed by a fire in no way reopen and a third of those that do so, still fail in the following three years.

The law under EU’s ATEX directive does order companies to identify any potential hazardous areas into zones and all personal computer equipment has to be able to operate safely in those environments. Although several of these areas are simply identifiable such as where liquid fuels, flammable gases and explosives are stored explosions and fires can also happen under less obvious conditions, such as where there is a lot of dust or particles suspended in the air. Even areas not deemed hazardous can be at risk from malfunctioning personal computer equipment, particularly when machines are left unattended or switched on for long periods of time. Like the laptop or computer monitor at the newspaper office in Virginia, that was left on overnight and sparked. Whilst not in a particular hazardous location the quantity of newspaper lying around provided sufficient fuel to completely gut the offices of the Carolina Coast and Virginian-Pilot newspapers destroying decades’ worth of records.

Of course there have constantly been solutions to these issues, you can makes certain the region is swept clean every single night but can you be sure a monitor hasn’t been left on and a pile of papers left nearby? Of course specially created, intrinsically safe computers are widely used in highly hazardous areas, but these are costly especially in areas where explosions are deemed unlikely and there is a will need for several machines. Whilst it is certainly much better to be safe than sorry the price can be crippling, specifically if you have to keep upgrading your IT.

Nevertheless, lower-priced alternatives to the conventional intrinsically safe and air-purged laptop or computer systems exist and enables you to use existing PCs and monitors and offers protection specifically in ATEX Workplace Directive’ Zone 2, or areas where explosions, although deemed unlikely, could briefly occur. This permits businesses the freedom to maintain employing their conventional IT and replace and upgrade it as needed – whilst still keeping the exact same enclosure. It also enables piece of mind for those machines that although not in specific hazardous areas are usually left unattended.

Computer Protection