Arc Flash Extinguished?

A dropped wrench.  A forgotten screwdriver.  A scurrying squirrel.  These are just some of the seemingly insignificant events that can cause an arc flash.  Arc flashes can be devastating.  An arc flash burned the skin off Andy Tomko’s face, removed parts of his ears, and "impaled" metal in his teeth.  An arc flash burned Don Stewart’s pants off the back of his legs and left the skin “literally ... hanging off [his] arms and legs.”

Traditional switchgear is designed to muffle an arcing fault by exhausting its energy through a chimney or plenum.   GE < http://www.geindustrial.com> has developed a system – the Arc Vault™ < http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/Dispatcher?REQUEST=PRODUCTS&pnlid=5&famid=40&catid=82&id=arcvaultPS> – that the company claims will prevent an arc flash from becoming injurious, disfiguring, or fatal by extinguishing it in less than eight milliseconds.

GE’s innovative system appears to embody the principle of prevention through design, a principle that industry should embrace.

Video: GE Arc Vault Protection System Overview  < http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/videos-media/?vuuid=tu2olu82&categoryid=13841>

Video: GE Arc Vault Protection System - see it in action!  < http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/videos-media/?vidego_video_uuid=w1tz6x8j&vuuid=w1tz6x8j&categoryid=13842>

Video: NIOSH Arc Flash Awareness < http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/products/product152.htm>

(Note: BioEchoes supports GE’s concept but cannot endorse the Arc Vault™ itself without further data.)