What are intrinsically safe cables?

Intrinsic safety is a protection technique for the safe operation of electrical and electronic equipment in hazardous areas where any ignition source needs to be eliminated.

Electrical cables are essentially sealed and so may be regarded as intrinsically safe in certain applications if protected from damage, external electrical or magnetic fields (EMI), and isolated from non-intrinsically safe circuits. The junctions and switches pose a potential hazardous ignition point in these environments and circuits.  Intrinsically safe cables are usually coloured blue so as to identify the potential risk of the electric circuit and the need for special consideration. The cables are often protected by tough sheathing materials such as polyurethane to prevent any mechanical damage which could compromise electrical safety. Examples of intrinsically safe cables include the French Standard NF M87-202 instrumentation cables.

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