Explosive news for compliance with ATEX

Rheinland Group has offered support to comply with the Equipment intended for use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX) Directive 94/9/EC.

TUV International UK - Rheinland Group offers support to comply with the Equipment intended for use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX) Directive 94/9/EC which has been mandatory since July 2003.

ATEX is the composition of the first two letters of the French words ATmospheres EXplosibles.

This directive is a significant development as it also includes protection against explosions caused by dust.

This is crucial as experts estimate that dust clouds of flammable materials cause more explosions than gas.

Such dangerous materials are for example flour, wood or metal dust e.g from magnesium and aluminium.

It should be pointed out that seeking reduction of weight, the automotive industry, for instance, increasingly uses metals like magnesium and aluminium.

The ATEX Directive is also partly based on previous laws which dealt with equipment with potential to cause sparks such as motors and other electrical equipment.

On this account, electrical engineers appreciated the introduction of ATEX.

However, the ATEX Directive does not only cover electrical equipment but also equipment with parts that cause an increase of temperature or static electricity.

Examples are open fires, lamps, equipment for heat treatment etc Consequently, the specialist area of mechanical engineers is affected, too.

This implies that many products that have not been affected previously by specific rules are now covered by ATEX.

However, ATEX is written in an abstract form to cover as many components as possible, which can make it complicated to identify whether a specific product is within the scope or not.

It is the engineer's and the end user's responsibility to interpret the directive and apply it to their individual situation.

If the directive is not applied and if there are any problems, the interpretations are very likely to be thoroughly scrutinised during lawsuits.

The end user is responsible for assessing the risk of the area in which the equipment is used, other companies along the supply chain cannot be held responsible.

Therefore, end users might face prosecution if they do not familiarise themselves with the ATEX Directive.

It should also be kept in mind that there is a changeover period which means that only new equipment needs to comply with the standard but from 2006 onwards all machines will be affected.

The experts of TUV International UK ­ Rheinland Group are familiar with the ATEX directive and are able to provide support.

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