editorial

atex directive in a nutshell

The danger of an explosion is ever-present in all sorts of industrial and production facilitates
from mining to grain milling and chemical manufacturing to food production. These
explosive atmospheres can be caused by gases, vapors, mist or dust. DSEAR (Dangerous
Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002), defines an explosive atmosphere
“as a mixture of dangerous substances with air, under atmospheric conditions, in the form of
gases, vapors, mist or dust in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the
flammable mixture”.

Whilst not all explosions receive notoriety, most result in economic loss due to downtime, lost
product capabilities, and process equipment destruction or damage. Some explosions injure
or kill workers and non-plant personnel. Statutory requirements by ATEX in the European
Union mandate the use of explosion protection.

ATEX (formed by “ATmosphère EXplosive” or Explosive Atmosphere in English) is the name

given to the two European Union legislation directives which were created for controlling
explosive atmospheres across Europe. They are
1. Directive 1999/92/EC or ATEX 153 for the plant owners/employers defining the
workplace conditions and
2. Directive 2014/34/EU or ATEX 114 for the manufacturers of equipment and protective
systems.

1. Directive 1999/92/EC-ATEX 153

This directive, also referred as ATEX 153 or the Workplace Directive, defines the minimum
requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk
from explosive atmospheres. The plant owner/employer must assess the specific risks
associated with ATEX, taking into account the probability that explosive atmospheres will
occur or persist.

The plant owner/employer must consider the likelihood that sources of ignition, including
electrostatic discharge, may be present and become active and effective. All the facilities, the
substances used, the processes and their possible interactions, as well as the extent of the
foreseeable consequences should be taken into account. The zoning and marking of the at
risk areas, where explosive atmospheres may form also needs to be executed.

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An Explosion Protection Document which outlines the results of the risk assessment is
required and in accordance with the requirements of law, personnel with specific expertise in
this area must carry out the assessment of the explosion risk (which includes the classification
of the areas, the creation of an explosion protection document and support the selection of
the installations and respective equipment).

2. Directive 2014/34/EU-ATEX 114

Directive ATEX 114 or the Equipment Directive, was established so that suppliers of
equipment and protective systems which are intended for use in potentially explosive
atmospheres such as petrochemical plants, mines and flour mills ensure these systems are
safe. When such equipment is placed on the market in Europe, it must comply with the ATEX
Directive 2014/34/EU.

The equipment is classified into categories by the directive and is verified and certified,
according to European technical standards, by notified bodies. once certified, the equipment
is marked by the 'EX' symbol to identify it as such.

ATEX

Directive 1999/92/EC-ATEX 153 Directive 2014/34/EU-ATEX 114

Workplace Directive Equipment Directive

Risk Analysis Group i: Categories M1, M2

(Explosion Protection Document) or
Zones 0/20, 1/21, 2/22 Group ii: Categories 1, 2, 3

Selection of Equipment Verification of Conformity

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The two directives ATEX 153 and ATEX 114 are linked through the need to reduce the risk of
the occurrence of an explosion in the workplace.

The Explosion Risk Index (Rexplosion), used to quantify the risk, can be calculated by the
Probability of explosion (Pexplosion) multiplied with the Consequences of Explosion/Number of
people in the impacted area (Ec):

Rexplosion=Pexplosion×Ec=PATEX×Pignition×Ec

The Probability of Explosion is the result the Probability of presence of an explosive

atmosphere (PATEX) multiplied with the Probability of presence of an ignition source (Pignition).

Plant owners are obligated to take actions to minimize the risk of a catastrophic explosion
by reducing the Explosion Risk Index. This can be achieved by reducing Pexplosion and certain
actions need to be taken.

The first step is to identify the hazardous places/areas in the plant and classify them in Zones
according to ATEX 153. Zone classification allows the identification of the dangerous areas, i.e.
where fine dust is concentrated in combination with the existence of ignition sources. Certain
actions can then be taken to minimize PATEX and Pignition for example by cleaning an area or
changing a process. The Zoning and the findings of the risk assessment are recorded in the
Explosion Protection Document. The next step is to define the parameters of combustibility
of the dust/gas and in combination with the Zoning, determine where the “high risk” areas
are and decide what protective equipment is required.

Protective equipment which, classified according to ATEX 114, needs to be used in order to
reduce Pexplosion. The types of equipment are separated into two groups:
• Group I is subdivided into two categories M1 & M2, both used in mines, endangered &
likely to be endangered respectively.
• Group II is split in categories 1 to 3 according to the probability of presence of an
explosive atmosphere.

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Zone 0 (gas) The presence of an explosive cat. 1 very high
PATEX very high
Zone 20 (dust) atmosphere is continuous degree of safety
Zone 1 (gas) An explosive atmosphere is likely cat. 2 high degree of
PATEX high
Zone 21 (dust) to occur during normal operation safety
An explosive atmosphere is
Zone 2 (gas) unlikely to occur in normal cat. 3 safe normal
PATEX low
Zone 22 (dust) conditions or occurs infrequently operation
for short periods of time

Once the zones have been identified and classified, the equipment must be selected
based on the hazardous zone, the substances present, the ignition temperatures and the
environmental characteristics of the installation locations and comply with the EU Directive
EU 2014/34/EU.

Ensuring your facility is compliant with the ATEX Directives is a complex process. As a globally
recognized supplier of precision-engineered solutions for fire protection, explosion protection,
overpressure protection and pressure activation, Fike® have been helping to safe-guard
companies for over 70 years. We can provide advice and guidance on how to effectively
protect a plant or facility in relation to ATEX regulations, while delivering harmonious
solutions for both ATEX 114 and ATEX 153. Starting from dust/gas characterisation through
to the implementation of protective solutions, application specialists from Fike can provide
numerous options to customers in accordance with the regulation requirements. The goal
is to make sure that the customer understands every step: the definition of the explosion
danger, the critical infrastructure to be protected, the design and review of the protective
solutions, the explanation of the regulations and the code requirements, the implementation
and maintenance of the protective system.

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