CERTIFICATIONS
MAKE SURE YOUR ANALYZER HAS THE RIGHT CERTIFICATIONS
Official certifications , approvals and compliances provide the confidence that your analyzer has been fully tested and approved for use in specified conditions , ensuring it will meet safety requirements and perform to the required level .
EXAMPLES OF MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS FOR GAS ANALYZERS :
ATEX
An internationally recognized certification covering two European Directives for controlling explosive atmospheres . ATEX 95 is specifically directed at equipment and systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres . These hazardous atmospheres are divided into zones according to the likely presence of a potentially explosive atmosphere being present in the gas :
• Zone 0 – explosive mixture is continuously present or present for long periods ( Class I Division 1 in North America )
• Zone 1 – an explosive mixture is likely to occur in normal operation ( Class I Division 1 in North America )
• Zone 2 – an explosive mixture is not likely to occur in normal operation or , if it occurs , will only exist for a short time ( Class I Division 2 in North America )
Equipment with official ATEX / Ex approval has been fully tested and found to be intrinsically safe in the intended zone of operation .
Assessments of electrical equipment and components , typically related to safety . IEC 61010-1 specifies general safety requirements for test , measurement , and process control equipment , along with laboratory instrumentation . IEC 61326-1:2012 specifies requirements for immunity and emissions regarding electromagnetic compatibility ( EMC ) for electrical equipment .
The UK Environment Agency ’ s Monitoring Certification Scheme ( MCERTS ) provides a route to compliance with European Directives that regulate industrial emissions . It is built around International and European standards , to ensure that monitoring data is of a high level .
QAL1
An internationally recognized German standard for performance testing of automated measuring systems used for the purpose of monitoring emission limit values at plants and incinerators . It is based on the European EN 15267 Air Quality standard for certification of automated measuring systems .
Safety Integrity Level ( SIL ) is a measurement of performance required for a safety instrumented function . It is defined as a relative level of risk reduction provided by a safety function , or to specify a target level of risk reduction . In the European functional safety standards based on the IEC 61508 standard , four SILs are defined . SIL is determined based on several quantitative factors in combination with qualitative factors such as development process and safety life cycle management .
P10