22 +atex

Potentially Explosive
Atmospheres (ATEX)
current legislation and
new developments
Brussels, 10 June 2014

The ATEX Sector
• Mechanical, electrical and telecommunication equipment,
protective systems, devices and components to be used in
potentially explosive atmospheres:
• underground mines
• petrochemical plants
• oil refineries
• filling stations and other places where flammable gases
may be present
• agricultural premises, flour mills, silos and stocking
facilities, where airborne dust can represent a hazard
• etc.
EU legislation:
the ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
• Website on EUROPA:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/mechanical/atex
• Scope:
• Equipment
• Protective systems
when intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere
and
• Devices according to Art. 1(2)
• Components
must comply when placed on the market or put into service
ATEX Directive 94/9/EC
Basic elements
• Text:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/mechanical/documents/legislation/atex
• Definitions: Art. 1(3)

• Equipment
• Protective systems
• Components
• Explosive Atmospheres
• Exclusions: Art. 1(4)
• Installations, Plants and Assemblies:

• subject to workplace Directives (as 1999/92/EC)
and/or national legislation
Equipment: Groups and Categories
• Group I: underground parts of mines

• Category M1: for use in mines endangered by firedamp
and/or combustible dust
• Category M2: for use in mines likely to be endangered by
firedamp and/or combustible dust
• Group II: other places

• Category 1: for use in areas in which explosive atmospheres
are present continuously, for long periods or frequently
are likely to occur
are unlikely or occur only infrequently and for a short period
Essential Health and Safety Requirements
• Legal requirements relating to design and

construction of ATEX equipment (Annex II)
• Common requirements applicable to any ATEX

product + Supplementary requirements for each
specific category/equipment groups and protective
systems
• Based on the principle of integrated explosion safety

(risks assessed and prevented in the design phase)
• Harmonised standards developed in support of the

legal requirements
Conformity assessment: Modules
Council Decision 93/465/EEC Directive 94/9/EC
•Module A - Internal Production Control Annex VIII

•Module B - EC Type-Examination Annex III
•Module C - Conformity to Type Annex VI
•Module D - Production Quality Assurance Annex IV
•Module E - Product Quality Assurance Annex VII
•Module F - Product Verification Annex V
•Module G - Unit Verification Annex IX
Conformity assessment: Notified Bodies
Equipment of Electrical
Category equipment and
Involvement of M1 & 1 ; internal Other
Notified Bodies autonomous combustion equipment of
protective engines of Cat. Category Equipment of
systems M2 & 2 M2 & 2 Category 3
Notified Body involved in
the PRODUCT DESIGN X X
phase
Notified Body involved in
the PRODUCTION phase X X
COMMUNICATION of
TECHNICAL FILE to X
Notified Body
SELF DECLARATION
of the manufacturer X X
Markings
• CE Marking: attests conformity of a

product with the provisions of the
Directive
• Epsilon-x Marking (Hexagon):

specific marking of explosion
protection
• Symbols and Letters (equipment

group and category, gas/dust, etc.)
Working Parties
• ATEX Standing Committee (Article 6(3) and (4)):
Commission and Member States
• ATEX Experts Working Group: Commission, Member

States and Stakeholders (European-wide Standardisers,
Notified Bodies, Industry, Trade Unions, Consumers…)
• ATEX Administrative Co-operation (AdCo) Group:

Member States
• European ATEX Notified Bodies Group (ExNBG):

Notified Bodies
• Technical Committees on Standardisation: CEN TC

305, CENELEC TC 31
Market Surveillance
• General market surveillance obligation: Article 2(1),

Member States shall take all appropriate measures to
ensure that the equipment … may be placed on the
marked and put into service only if … they do not
endanger the health of safety of persons …
• Safeguard clause procedure: Article 7, When a

Member State ascertains that equipment … bearing the
CE marking … are liable to endanger the safety of
persons … it shall take all appropriate measures to
withdraw such equipment from the market, to prohibit
the placing on the market …
How to apply the Directive
• Guidelines on the application of Directive 94/9/EC:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/mechanical/docu
ments/guidance/atex/application
• Consideration Papers by the ATEX Standing

Committee:
ments/guidance/atex/standing-committee
• ExNBG Clarification Sheets noted by the ATEX

Standing Committee:
ments/guidance/atex/clarification
New legislative developments
• Regulation 1025/2012 on European

Standardisation: new procedure for formal objection
against a Harmonised Standard (replacing Article 6(1))
• Draft Regulation on Market Surveillance: new

Safeguard Clause procedure regarding products (going
to replace Article 7)
• Alignment to the Treaty of Lisbon and to the New

Legislative Framework: new ATEX Directive
2014/34/EU
The NLF-aligned ATEX Directive
• Inclusion of Regulation 765/2008 and the main elements of

Decision 768/2008/EC, with no substantial changes in:
• Scope
• Classification of equipment-groups into categories
• Essential Health and Safety Requirements
• Conformity assessment procedures
• Main changes:
• Codification/recast: new denomination (2014/34/EU)
• Harmonisation in terminology, definitions and obligations of
economic operators, Notified Bodies, etc.
• Clarification on the status of products and components
Transitional period and
transposition
• New NLF-aligned ATEX Directive: approved and published

in the OJEU on 29 March 2014
• Transitional period: 2 years (applicable as by 20 April

2016)
• Transposition: based on the substantive contents of the

ATEX Directive 94/9/EC (unchanged) plus the specific
changes from the NLF-alignment
ATEX Contact Point
European Commission
Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry
Unit F/5 - Engineering Industries
BREY 10/160 | 1049 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 29 95941
ATEX functional mailbox: atex@ec.europa.eu

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Potentially Explosive

Brussels, 10 June 2014

• Definitions: Art. 1(3)

• Exclusions: Art. 1(4)

• Installations, Plants and Assemblies:

• Group I: underground parts of mines

• Group II: other places

• Legal requirements relating to design and

• Common requirements applicable to any ATEX

• Based on the principle of integrated explosion safety

• Harmonised standards developed in support of the

Council Decision 93/465/EEC Directive 94/9/EC

•Module A - Internal Production Control Annex VIII

• CE Marking: attests conformity of a

• Epsilon-x Marking (Hexagon):

• Symbols and Letters (equipment

• ATEX Experts Working Group: Commission, Member

• ATEX Administrative Co-operation (AdCo) Group:

• European ATEX Notified Bodies Group (ExNBG):

• Technical Committees on Standardisation: CEN TC

• General market surveillance obligation: Article 2(1),

• Safeguard clause procedure: Article 7, When a

• Guidelines on the application of Directive 94/9/EC:

• Consideration Papers by the ATEX Standing

• ExNBG Clarification Sheets noted by the ATEX

• Regulation 1025/2012 on European

• Draft Regulation on Market Surveillance: new

• Alignment to the Treaty of Lisbon and to the New

• Inclusion of Regulation 765/2008 and the main elements of

• New NLF-aligned ATEX Directive: approved and published

• Transitional period: 2 years (applicable as by 20 April

• Transposition: based on the substantive contents of the

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