Manufacturing facilities are no less than war zones – they have difficult workplace conditions like explosive atmosphere, flammable & toxic gasses and combustible substances. A few more hazardous than others are like Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Chemical plants & Power plants. Such a high-risk workplace environment is safeguarded by mandatory health & safety risk assessments, certifications, safety gear, rules & regulations. It ranges from what kind of devices can be used on-site to the gear worn by the workers.
An ATEX certification for your equipment can be a gamechanger. This article tried to address the most common questions around ATEX certification.
What is an ATEX Certification?
ATEX stands for ATmosphere EXplosible.
It certifies equipment & protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. It categorizes equipment based on its protection against turning into an active ignition source. Here are the two European Directives for certifying equipment that is declared ‘intrinsically safe’ in the explosive atmospheres
- Directive 1999/92/EC (also called ‘ATEX 153’ or the ATEX Workplace Directive)
- Directive 2014/34/EU (also called ‘ATEX 114’ or ‘the ATEX Equipment Directive)
The ATEX 2014/34/EU is the new accepted safety standard for testing & certifying equipment intended to be utilized in potentially explosive environments in the EU, post a 2015 Legislative change.
The ATEX certification covers explosions from flammable gas/vapours and combustible dust/fibres (which can also lead to explosions)
Here are how zones for flammable gas/vapour (a potentially explosive atmosphere consisting of air with a mix of toxic substances in the form of mist/vapour/gas) are classified for ATEX certification:
- Zone 0 – A place where a potentially explosive atmosphere is present continuously or for long periods.
- Zone 1 – An area in which a potentially explosive atmosphere is likely to occur occasionally.
- Zone 2 – A place where a potentially explosive atmosphere is not expected to occur usually, but if it does happen, it will persist for a short period only.
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