SANS 10108:

Section 4.1.1 The relevant national legislation (see foreword) on hazardous locations requires the employer to classify potentially hazardous locations.

Annex B.1: The information provided through demarcation should identify the location as hazardous and should define the hazard level

Electrical Machinery Regulations (2011):

Section 9. (1) “Every employer or user shall identify all hazardous locations and classify them in accordance with the relevant health and safety standard incorporated into these Regulations under section 44 of the Act.”

Section 9. (2) “No person may use electrical machinery in locations where there is danger of fire or explosion owing to the presence, occurrence or development of explosive or flammable articles, or where explosive articles are manufactured, handled or stored, unless such electrical machinery, with regard to its construction relating to the classification of the hazardous locations in which it is to be used, meets the requirements of the safety standard incorporated for this purpose in these Regulations under section 44 of the Act.”

Section 9. (3) “Every employer or user referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be in possession of a certificate in a form acceptable to the chief inspector, which has been issued by an approved inspection authority and in which it is certified that the electrical machinery referred to in subregulation (2) has been manufactured and tested for the groups of dangerous articles in accordance with the relevant health and safety standard incorporated into these Regulations under section 44 of the Act: Provided that in lieu of such certificate an inspector may approve permanent labelling on such machinery, which label shall contain all the relevant information.”

Section 9. (8) “The employer or user shall cause all electrical machinery in a hazardous location to be visually inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding two years, or any other interval approved by the chief inspector after a risk assessment has been conducted by a person who is competent to express an opinion on the safety thereof: Provided that installed intrinsically safe equipment may in lieu of a test be verified in terms of the approved design.

National Code of Practice for Electrical Machinery in Hazardous Locations

Annex A.1 “In South Africa, all explosion protection equipment (EPA) used in underground mines (Group I) and on the surface (Groups II and III) shall be covered by an IA certificate. This includes machines; to qualify for certification a machine shall be made up of equipment with valid certification. The requirements given in A.2 to A.19 cover the validity of IA certificates.”Section 3.1.20.1 and 3.1.20.2 “certified intrinsically safe electrical system: intrinsically safe electrical system for which a certificate has been issued confirming that the electrical system complies with the relevant system standard”“Intrinsically safe electrical system intrinsically safe loop assembly of interconnected items of electrical apparatus, described in a descriptive system document, in which the circuits or parts of circuits, intended to be used in an explosive atmosphere, are intrinsically safe circuits”