Product category:
Machine Safety Components
News Release from: Castell Safety International | Subject: Mechanical and electrical interlocks
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 August 2003
Interlocks enforce radiation safety
Mechanical and electrical interlocks from Castell are safeguarding the operation of a state-of-the-art 30MV cyclotron at the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Mechanical and electrical interlocks from Castell are safeguarding the operation of a state-of-the-art 30MV cyclotron at the Eindhoven University of Technology The cyclotron is managed by Acctec, a commercial arm of the university, and is used for the production of radioisotopes for Amersham Health, a major supplier of radiopharmaceutical products
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 11 Dec 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The cyclotron has been installed under supervision of the Radiation Protection Department, which is responsible for the enforcement of Dutch legislation on radiation safety at the university campus.
The cyclotron's entire safety system has been reviewed in three risk assessment sessions, one of which was devoted to the hardware involved.
Due to their robust design and reliability, Castell's interlocks were selected to meet the high standards required.
Safe operation of the cyclotron is ensured by a PLC-based interlocking system from Honeywell Safety Management Systems, which has been designed and built according to IEC61508 guidelines.
The system regulates conditional access to the vault that hosts the cyclotron, as well as to vaults containing the production equipment.
At the interface between the PLC system and the building hardware, Castell's switches and interlocks are used to implement search procedures of vaults, motor operation of 2.5m-thick concrete vault doors and locking of the doors.
The Castell keys, which are released after the vaults have been sealed and the concrete doors moved into position, are then trapped in the central control panel of the PLC safety system, allowing startup of the cyclotron.
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