Intrinsic Safety is a technique used for preventing explosions in hazardous areas. Intrinsic safety is achieved by limiting the energy and surface temperature of a device during normal operation, or during foreseeable fault conditions, to an insufficient level to ignite an explosive environment. The presence of dust, gases, grains and fibres are some of the factors that can lead to ignition. An Intrinsically Safe rating is earned by passing the rigorous approval process of a recognized entity. Upon approval, the exact approved hazardous situations are displayed on the label attached to the unit. The European ATEX approval is accepted in many parts of the world (checking with the end-user customer is the only way to be sure outside Europe). Certification from Factory Mutual (FM) and Canadian Standard Association (CSA) are the most common approval in North America.
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