Explosion Proof Hazardous Locations

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Classes

Class	Hazardous Material in Surrounding Atmosphere
Class I	Hazardous because flammable gases or vapors are present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures.
Class II	Hazardous because combustible or conductive dusts are present.
Class III	Hazardous because ignitable fibers or flying’s are present, but not likely to be in suspension in sufficient quantities to produce ignitable mixtures. Typical wood chips, cotton, flax and nylon. Group classifications are not applied to this class.

Some typical Class I locations are:

Petroleum refineries and gasoline storage and dispensing areas;
Offshore Platforms;
Dry cleaning plants where vapors from cleaning fluids can be present;
Spray finishing areas;
Aircraft hangars and fuel servicing areas; and
Utility gas plants and operations involving storage and handling of liquified petroleum gas or natural gas.
All of these are Class I, gas or vapor, hazardous locations. All require special Class I hazardous location equipment.

Some typical Class II locations are:

Grain elevators;
Flour and feed mills;
Plants that manufacture, use or store magnesium or aluminum powders;
Producers of plastics, medicines and fireworks;
Producers of starch or candies;
Spice-grinding plants, sugar plants and cocoa plants; and
Coal preparation plants and other carbon handling or processing areas.

Some typical Class III locations are:

Textile mills, cotton gins;
Cotton seed mills, flax processing plants; and
Plants that shape, pulverize or cut wood and create sawdust or flyings.

Divisions

In addition to the types of hazardous locations, NEC also defines the conditions under which these hazards are present. NEC specifies that hazardous material may exist in two different kinds of conditions which can be described as either normal conditions or abnormal conditions.
The Division defines the probability of hazardous material being present in an ignitable concentration in the surrounding atmosphere.

Division	Presence of Hazardous Material
Division 1	The substance referred to by class is present during normal conditions.
Division 2	The substance referred to by class is present only in abnormal conditions, such as a container failure or system breakdown.

Groups

Nature of Hazardous Substances. The group defines the hazardous material in the surrounding atmosphere.

Group	Hazardous Material in Surrounding Atmosphere
Group A	Hydrogen, fuel and combustible process gases containing more than 30% hydrogen by volume or gases of equivalent hazard such as butadiene, ethylene, oxide, propylene oxide and acrolein.
Group B	Hydrogen, fuel and combustible process gases containing more than 30% hydrogen by volume or gases of equivalent hazard such as butadiene, ethylene, oxide, propylene oxide and acrolein.
Group C	Carbon monoxide, ether, hydrogen sulfide, morphline, cyclopropane, ethyl and ethylene or gases of equivalent hazard.
Group D	Gasoline, acetone, ammonia, benzene, butane, cyclopropane, ethanol, hexane, methanol, methane, vinyl chloride, natural gas, naphtha, propane or gases of equivalent hazard.
Group E	Combustible metal dusts, including aluminum, magnesium and their commercial alloys or other combustible dusts whose particle size, abrasiveness and conductivity present similar hazards in connection with electrical equipment.
Group F	Carbonaceous dusts, carbon black, coal black, charcoal, coal or coke dusts that have more than 8% total entrapped volatiles or dusts that have been sensitized by other material so they present an explosion hazard.
Group G	Flour dust, grain dust, flour, starch, sugar, wood, plastic and chemicals.

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IECEx

Shield Air is also currently working with a registered, Notified Body organization toward product or “type” certifications for compliance with IEC Ex standards and regulations.

NFPA

Also within our specialties is pressurization/purge operation for a “control room” under NFPA 496, Chapter 7 regulations. (See below for more details or follow the link provided for a copy of the code.)

NEC

Our specialty is manufacturing or modifying equipment for use in hazardous (classified) locations (aka, “hazloc” for short) as defined by NFPA 70, NEC Article 500. (See below for more details or follow the link provided for a copy of the code.)

ASHRAE

All of our manufacturing begins with compliance to ASHRAE standards for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment for general purpose (non-hazardous) applications.

Intertek

For the North American and other markets, many of our Birdwell products are certified with Intertek an OSHA accredited, Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

CSA Certification

For the North American and other markets, many of our Marc products are certified with CSA Group an OSHA accredited, Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

Barry Loder

PRESIDENT & CEO

Mr. Loder brings more than 30 years of financial, strategic planning, and business development expertise to the company. Mr. Loder has served as both CEO and CFO of numerous companies. Mr. Loder was a co-founder and CFO of Republic Waste, a Fortune 500 company. Mr. Loder has also focused on corporate finance, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and IPO’s.

Mr. Loder also serves as a strategic advisor for companies in the petrochemical industries.

Additionally, Mr. Loder holds an MBA from Houston Baptist University, a Graduate Certificate of Leadership from Rice University and is a Texas certified public accountant.

Marc Climatic Controls

Originally founded in 1978 as Marc Climatic Controls, Inc. the Marc product line represents Shield Air’s pre-engineered environmental control equipment, modified for use in a variety of hazardous and industrial applications. Innovation and flexibility allow our Marc products to be applied across a variety of projects the world over. These products are installed and operated globally in refineries, petrochemical plants, offshore oil and gas facilities and similar industries worldwide; applications range from large buildings such as switchgear buildings and motor control centers to smaller buildings and enclosures such as control rooms and analyzer shelters.

Many of our Marc products (with few exceptions) are certified by OSHA accredited, Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), CSA Group for compliance to US and Canadian standards and bare the cCSAus mark of conformity. This certification ensures safe operation of the equipment in its designed application.

The Birdwell Company

Our Birdwell product line represents Shield Air’s engineered environmental control equipment, custom built for performance from heavy duty, corrosion resistant materials for hazardous and industrial applications. The Birdwell Company was originally established in 1959 as a commercial air conditioning installation and service contracting company and quickly transitioned into manufacturing reliable, custom HVAC equipment for the prominent oil and gas industry in Houston, Texas. Since that time, our Birdwell products have been manufactured for use by many major oil, gas, chemical, and refining companies world-wide. The robust design (including corrosion resistance, safety, and reliability) has proven itself in a wide range of additional applications to oil and gas including: pulp and paper mills, large power and equipment buildings, steel mills, computer rooms, U.S. armed forces field use, and numerous others.

Many of our Birdwell products (with few exceptions) are certified by OSHA accredited, Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), Intertek Laboratories for compliance to US and Canadian standards and bare the cETLus mark of conformity. This certification ensures safe operation of the equipment in its designed application.