What is ATEX? - guidelines

ATEX is a common synonym for the European Union's ATEX directives. The name is derived from the French term "ATmosphère EXplosible." It includes the explosion protection directives 2014/34/EU for equipment and 1999/92/EC for work areas. ATEX directives are prepared by the Director General of the EU Commission for Enterprise and Industry in cooperation with member states, standardization organizations (CEN, CENELEC) and so-called "Notified Bodies" such as BAM, PTB or TUEV to name examples. Products complying with the requirements of the ATEX 114 directive can be recognized by an additional sign in combination with the CE marking.

The ATEX 114 Directive (2014/34/EU) describes for all European Union member states the minimum safety requirements that explosion-proof equipment must meet. In the Netherlands, this directive has been included in the Commodities Act in the Explosion-proof Equipment Decree. This describes that explosion-proof equipment must meet certain safety requirements. To show that the equipment is safe to use, it must have the 'Ex logo' as shown below:

Products certified under the ATEX 114 directive are very diverse. They may include enclosures, connectors, gasoline pumps, measuring and control equipment, pumps, valves, power supplies, generators, transformers, batteries, switches, motors, cameras, alarms, computers and many other products. Precisely because it is so diverse, many standards have been established for different so-called protection modes. This sometimes makes it complex because there is no straightforward product standard as there is with many other CE directives.

Upon successful certification of equipment, the manufacturer receives an ATEX certificate and an evaluation report demonstrating that a product is safe to use in certain categories of explosive environments. The certification process in most cases must be carried out by an EU notified body (Notified Body).

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