The ATEX Directives: Explosion safety and regulation - An update on the European approach

On July 1, 2003 a transitional period has ended and two European directives became fully active: • Directive 1999/92/EC - • Directive 94/9/EC These directives have an impact on both companies with an explosion hazard (gas, vapor, mist or dust explosions) and on manufacturers of equipment intended to be used in explosive atmospheres. The directives had to be incorporated into the national law of each member state of the European Union no later than July 1, 2003. They are examples of achieving a common European market. In this paper, the background of the European ATEX Directives will be discussed and the impact on the users and manufacturers of equipment intended to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres will be highlighted. By adding some experiences after the introduction of the ATEX regulations, this paper forms an update on the paper presented at the 19th Annual CCPS International Conference in Orlando, FL, in 2004.