Ew. Kalkstein et al., SAFETY BENEFITS OF ARC-RESISTANT METALCLAD MEDIUM-VOLTAGE SWITCHGEAR, IEEE transactions on industry applications, 31(6), 1995, pp. 1402-1411
One cause of serious injuries to electrical workers in the petrochemic
al industry is hash burns from arcing faults in medium-voltage metalcl
ad switchgear. First introduced in Europe, are-resistant switchgear de
signs are now being marketed in North America to eliminate this potent
ial cause of injuries by containing the are byproducts and venting the
gases in a safe manner. This paper discusses current worker safety re
gulations, the arcing fault process, standards governing are-resistant
switchgear, and switchgear design, application, and cost/benefit cons
iderations. One manufacturer's experience testing a new arc-resistant
switchgear design is included.