ATEX regulations
ATEX is an abbreviation for "ATmosphère EXplosible", which means "explosive atmosphere" in English. At the same time, ATEX is also the abbreviated designation of the European Directive 2014/34/EU for the distribution of explosion-protected electrical and mechanical equipment as well as components and protective systems. It replaced the former directive 94/9/EU, which was in effect from July 2003 until April 2016, and has since been applied to all new equipment and protective devices.
ATEX 2014/34/EU Article 100a:
Article 100a describes the responsibilities of manufacturers:
- Requirements for equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (e.g. gas detectors)
- Requirements for safety and control devices that are used outside of potentially explosive atmospheres but are necessary for the safe operation of equipment and protective systems (e.g. controllers)
- Classification of equipment into categories
- Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) relating to the design and construction of equipment/systems
To comply with the ATEX Directive, the equipment must:
- Carry a CE mark
- Hold the required hazardous area certification
- Comply with a recognized performance standard (e.g. EN 60079-29-1:2007) for flammable gas detectors (application specific)
- Have an EC Declaration of Conformity confirming that the essential health and safety requirements have been met and that the conformity assessment procedures have been followed
- Have an operating manual conforming to the rules
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