A brief look at
ATEX and its
impact in the US
What is “Intrinsically
Safe?”
Intrinsic safety is a protection
standard employed in potentially explosive atmospheres.
Devices that are certified as
“intrinsically safe
to be unable to release sufficient energy, by either thermal
or electrical means, to cause
ignition of flammable material
(gas, dust/particulates).
Intrinsically safe standards
apply to all equipment that can
create one or more of a range
of defined potential explosion
sources:
Electrical sparks
•
Electrical arcs
•
Flames
•
Hot surfaces
•
Static electricity
•
Electromagnetic radiation
•
Chemical reactions
•
Mechanical impact
•
Mechanical friction
•
Compression ignition
•
Acoustic energy
•
Ionizing radiation
•
” are designed
What industries are
intrinsically safe
products designed f
etro-chemical
P
•
Oil platforms and refineries
•
Pharmaceutical
•
Bulk materials (e.g. grain)
•
Mining
•
Pipelines
•
Any environment where
•
explosive gases are present
or?
What organizations
are defining intrinsically
safe standards?
ATEX
The primary intrinsically safe
standard has been set in the
European Union with the
Directive 94/9/EC, commonly
called ATEX (“Atmosphères
Explosibles,” French for explosive atmospheres). The stated
goal of the guidelines is to
“help ensure the free movement of products in the
European Union” by “minimizing the number of safeguard
clause applications, at least
those originating from divergent interpretations.” ATEX
is intended to serve as total
harmonization directive, laying
down essential health and
safety requirements, and
replacing existing divergent
national and European legislation which covers the same
subjects.
The A
in place as a voluntary standard since March 1, 1996. The
rules are mandatory on electrical and electronic equipment
for use in environments subject
to explosion hazard sold in the
U as of July 1
E
IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is
responsible for setting international standards for electrical
technology. Its technical committee T
explosion protection for electri
cal apparatus. It has introduced
a procedure, the IECEx Scheme,
which is intended to become a
globally recognized test and
ertification proc
c
explosion protection.
EX rules ha
T
, 2003.
1 deals w
C3
edure for
ve b
ith
een
Application Note
The objective of the IECEx
Scheme is to facilitate international trade in electrical
equipment intended for use in
explosive atmospheres by:
reducing testing and certifi-
•
cation c
reducing time to market
•
providing international
•
confidence in the product
assessment process
providing one international
•
database listing
The IECEx has not yet been
ratified.
Factory Mutual
In The United States, Factory
Mutual Research, managed by
Factory Mutual (FM) Global, is a
not-for-profit scientific and
testing organization that has
tested and certified over
40,000 products in the last 165
years. FM Research has set certification guidelines for
equipment used in potentially
explosive atmospheres.
NEC
The NFPA (National Fire
Protection Association)
National Electrical Code
known as the NEC, is the basis
for all electrical codes in the
United States
and related product markings
for hazardous areas are c
in NEC 500 and 505. These are
similar to, but not exactly the
same as, those in A
OSHA
H
S
O
Health Administration of the
-
U
.S. Department of Labor) par-
ticipates in the
Cooperation on Workplace
Safety & Health
ect of the U.S. DOL, OSHA, and
the EU European Agency for
Health and Safety at W
osts to manufacturers
. Classifications
cupational Safety &
c
A (O
US-EU
. This is a proj-
TEX.
70,
, also
overed
ork
. The
From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library
goal is to promote sharing of
information on current safety
and health topics of c
ommon
interest.
Intrinsic safety is covered
under Regulations (Standards 29 CFR), Hazardous (classified)
locations 1910.307 and
1926.407. OSHA references the
NEC guidelines for determining
the type and design of equipment and installations which
will meet this requirement.
There are no global intrinsically safe standards or
ertifications.
c
Who is affected by the
ATEX intrinsically safe
standards?
Currently the standard affects
only manufacturers who are
selling product into the
European Union (EU) that are
intended for environments
subject to explosion hazard.
Considering the joint effort of
OSHA and the EU, the longterm effect of ATEX may be a
global standard to which all
manufacturers would need to
comply.
What is the impact of
ATEX on manufacturers?
For manufacturers selling
devices designed to be used in
potentially explosive env
ments into the EU, they will
need to redesign the devices to
meet the standard and ha
those devices certified that
they meet the regulations.
Manufacturers not selling
product in the EU are not
impacted.
2 Fluke Corporation A brief look at A
iron-
ve
T
Why is there so much
interest in intrinsically
safe products now?
The new ATEX regulations
have focused attention on the
issue of providing intrinsically
safe products in potentially
dangerous environments.
However, there has already
been a great deal of attention
placed on workplace safety by
regulatory groups as well as
manufacturers.
Fluke has always focused
strongly on safety in all its
products. The company has
sought industry-wide protection measures to help ensure
safe working conditions and
product specifications for electrical technicians, whatever the
field in which they work.
The Fluke 707Ex mA
Calibrator is the first test tool
from Fluke developed specifically for use in hazardous
environments such as petrochemical plants, oil platforms
and refineries and other locations subject to risk of
explosion.
The ATEX-compliant 707Ex
mA Calibrator is compliant in
relation to Zones 1 & 2 as
defined by CENELEC (the
European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardization,
which is rec
as the European Standards
Organization in its field). In
these zones hydrocarbons
and/or gases may be present
during either normal or abnormal operation, respectively.
This means that in Zone 1
potentially explosive atmospheres ma
casionally, while in Zone 2
oc
they may be present only
rarely and w
duration.
EX and its impact in the US
ognized by the EC
e present
y b
e of a short
ill b
707Ex: Intrinsically Safe mA Calibrator
N.I. Class I Div 2 Groups A-D T4
II 2 G EEx ia IIC T4
ZELM 02 ATEX 0120 X
Ta = -10 °C to +50 °C
718Ex: Intrinsically Safe
Pressure Calibrator
I.S. Class I Div 1 Groups A-D T4
AEx ia IIC T4
II 1 G EEx ia IIC T4
KEMA 04 ATEX 1061
Ta = -10 °C to +55 °C
725Ex: Intrinsically Safe
Multifunction Calibrator
I.S. Class I Div 1 Groups B-D 171 °C
AEx ia IIB 171 °C
II 1 G EEx ia IIB 171 °C
KEMA 04 ATEX 1303X
Ta = 0 °C to +55 °C
Fluke. Keeping your world
Fluke Corporation
PO Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206
Fluke Europe B.V.
PO Box 1186, 5602 BD
Eindhoven, The N
For more information call:
In the U.S.A. (800) 443-5853 or
ax (425) 446-5
F
In Europe/M-East/Africa (31 40) 2 675 200 or
ax (3
F
Canada (8
Fax (905) 890-6866
Other countries (425) 446-5500 or
Fax (425) 446-5116
Web access: http://www.fluke.com
©2004 Fluke Corporation
Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Printed in U.S.A. 10/2004 2096417 A-US-N Rev C
up and running.
etherlands
6
1
1
1 40) 2 675 222
00)-36-
LU
F
KE or
. All rights reser
ved
.