ABEBA ESD & ATEX Footwear

Ignition source electrostatic dischargeThe electrostatic discharge is caused by an imbalance of potentialon charged objects or people. A human body which is notprovided with an ATEX/ ESD-shoe can be charged up to severalkilovolts (kv). This generated charge can be decreased by theuse of ateX/ eSD-shoes. One way to estimate the risk of electrostaticdischarge is to evaluate the minimum ignition energy(Mie) of the explosive atmosphere. the Mie - measured inmillijoule (mJ) - is a parameter to describe the ignition sensitivity of anexplosive atmosphere. 3 kv is needed to cause a noticeable sensationto a person. This is similar to an ignition energy of 0.7 mJ. Thereare explosive substances, for example Benzol, that may explode atan energy of only 0.2 mJ.Walking testThe experience shows that it is not enough just to control the resistancevalue of the ATEX/ ESD-shoes. To assure a suffi cient protectionagainst the static charge of employees, we recommend toadd the walking test (according to EN 61340-4-5, charge must bebelow 100 V) to complete your security program for explosive areas.If ATEX/ ESD-shoes are used the following facts should be considered:Effective ATEX/ ESD-protection is only assured by using ATEX/ESD-shoes in combination with an ESD-fl oorDirt or dust on the outsole may lead to an isolating layerOrthopaedic insoles and modifi cations must not affect theresistance of the shoe