Explosion protection ATEX directives

Some years ago, Directive 94/9/EC (the so-called ATEX 100a Directive ), dated 1994-03-23 (following the title in French Atmospheres explosibles. .. and referring to article 100a of the Treaties of the European Community), introduced categories of explosion protected apparatus to give a guideline for their installation with respect to the risks that may be expected in different locations exposed to combustible atmospheres (Table 2.3). 

Incorporating these new philosophies, the EC Directive 94/9/EC, dated 1994-03-23 (the so-called ATEX 100a Directive), covers the field of explosion protection. 

For explosion protected electrical equipment manufactured, type tested, certified and commissioned under the ATEX 100a Directive, the marking described in Table 5.2 shall be added by the marking code given in Table 5.3. The Ex in a hexagon has been taken from the old article 100 directives, whereas the B, C, D or E marks for the generation of Harmonized Norms have been deleted. 

Table 5.3 Marking of explosion protected apparatus according to ATEX 100a Directive (94/9/EC) (this is additional to the EN marking as in Table 5.2)...

Directive 94/9/EC (ATEX 95) to approximate the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres governs requirements for products intended for the use in explosion risk areas. Directive 1999/92/EC (ATEX 137) on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres regulates the minimum requirements for explosion protection at work places and for the safe use of products. The ATEX 95 therefore deals with the properties of the products to be used in explosion risk areas while ATEX 137 regulates their operation and other operational measures for explosion protection. 

As discussed earlier, the European Union has adopted two harmonized directives on health and safety, known as ATEX 94/9/EC (also ATEX 95) and ATEX 99/92/EC (also ATEX 137). ATEX Directive 94/9/EC focuses on the essential safety requirements (SRSs) for products and protective systems for use in potentially explosive atmospheres and the respective conformity assessment procedures. ATEX Directive... 

In 1994 European parliament issued the ATEX directive (145) on the approximation of the laws of the member states, concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. The scope, these regulations specifically require protective systems, intended to halt incipient explosions immediately... 

The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996 were made by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, coming into force on 1 March 1996. They implement the provisions of Directive 94/9/EC, the so-called ATEX Directive, and they will be referred to here as the ATEX Regulations. 

As a further complication, the ATEX Directive, enacted in the UK as The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996 (see Chapter 7) introduced the concept of equipment categories, which will have to be adopted at the end of the transition phase in 2003. In very broad terms these categories are ... 

Drying is an operation that may produce a combustible powder or dust that can cause an explosion under the drying conditions or produce a flammable solvent that may form an explosive vapor-gas mixture. As well as from fluids and gases, hazards can also result from solids. For such conditions, the machines, equipment and protection systems are under EU ATEX lOA Directive 94/9/EC, which is in force since 2003 [7]. There are two main requirements of that directive ... 

ATEX An EU directive that describes the work that maybe safely carried out in an explosive atmosphere. The areas or zones in a process plant are classified according to the type of hazards, the location, and size, and the likelihood of an explosion. It is applied to mining operations, offshore processing, petrochemical plants, and flour mills, where potentially explosive atmospheres may exist. The name is derived from the French title for the EU directive Appareik et systemes de protection pour les atmospheres explosibles. 

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