Introduction to Fire Safety Management

15.18.4 Adverse or hazardous environments – 
regulation 6
Where it is reasonably foreseeable that electrical equip-
ment may be exposed to adverse or hazardous environ-
ments, it must be of such construction or as necessary 
protected to, so far as is reasonably practicable, prevent 
danger.
This includes exposure to:
➤
Mechanical 
damage
➤
The effects of the weather, natural hazards, temper-
ature or pressure
➤
The effects of wet, dirty, dusty or corrosive conditions
➤
Any fl ammable or explosive substance, including 
dusts, vapours or gases.
In selecting suitable equipment for such hazardous envi-
ronments, reference should be made to the Index of 
Protection Ratings (IP Ratings) which is an internation-
ally recognised system for classifying the degree of pro-
tection provided.
15.18.5 Insulation, protection and placing of 
conductors – regulation 7
All conductors in a system which may give rise to dan-
ger must be either:
➤
Suitably covered with insulating material and pro-
tected to prevent, so far as is reasonably practic-
able, danger or
➤
Have such precautions taken as will prevent, so far 
as is reasonably practicable, danger.
Note:
The precautions that may be required for this 
range from the safe placement of cables as overhead 
cables to formal safe systems of work for high voltage 
switching where the risk of danger cannot be avoided.
15.18.6 Earthing or other suitable precautions – 
regulation 8
Precautions should be taken, either by earthing or by 
other suitable means, to prevent danger arising when a 
conductor other than a circuit conductor which may rea-
sonably foreseeably become charged as a result of either 
the use of or fault in the system, becomes so charged.
A conductor will be regarded as earthed when it is 
connected to a general mass of earth by conductors of 
suffi cient strength and capability to discharge electrical 
energy to earth.