ATEX 94/9/EC guidelines 4th edition

ATEX GUIDELINES

GUIDELINES ON THE APPLICATION OF DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF 23 MARCH 1994 ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES CONCERNING EQUIPMENT AND PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS INTENDED FOR USE IN POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE ATMOSPHERES

4^TH EDITION – September 2012

These Guidelines are intended to be a manual for all parties directly or indirectly affected by Directive 94/9/EC, commonly referred to as ATEX ("Atmosphères Explosibles") Products Directive. Readers' attention is drawn to the fact that this guide is intended only to facilitate the application of Directive 94/9/EC and it is the relevant national transposition of the text of the Directive which is legally binding. However, this document does represent a reference for ensuring consistent application of the Directive by all stakeholders. The Guidelines are intended to help ensure the free movement of products¹ in the European Union² by consensus amongst Member States' government experts and other parties concerned.

 

NOTES

1. These Guidelines have been prepared by the competent services of the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission in collaboration with Member States, European industry, European standardisation and Notified Bodies.
2. The European Commission services will undertake to maintain this Guide. It is our goal to ensure that the information provided is both timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However the Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information in this Guide.

 

This information is:

• of a general nature only and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity;
• not necessarily comprehensive, complete, accurate or up to date;
• sometimes refers to external information over which the Commission services have no control and for which the Commission assumes no responsibility;
• not professional or legal advice.

 

1. All references to the CE marking and EC Declaration of Conformity in this Guide relate only to the Directive 94/9/EC. To place products falling under Directive 94/9/EC on the market in the EU territory all other relevant legislation must be applied.
2. Further guidance, especially concerning specific type of products, can be found on the Commission's website on EUROPA: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/mechanical/documents/guidance/atex/index_en.htm.

 

 

Note to the 4^th Edition – September 2012

This 4^th Edition – September 2012 is the last edition of the ATEX Guidelines on the application of Directive 94/9/EC. On 21 November 2011 the Commission issued a Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres³, within the New Legislative Framework (NLF) alignment package, in order to align the European legislation on ATEX to Decision No 768/2008/EC establishing a common framework for the marketing of products⁴ .

The Proposal is currently under discussion at the European Parliament and the Council and its final approbation is expected by the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013. When the text of the new aligned ATEX Directive is available, new adapted and restructured ATEX Guidelines will be drafted, in view of entry into force of the new legislation.

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¹ For the purpose of this guide the term "product" covers equipment, protective systems, safety, controlling and regulating devices, components and their combinations as they are defined in Directive 94/9/EC.

² According to the agreement related to the European Economic Area (EEA) (Council and Commission Decision 94/1/EC of 13 December 1993 (OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 1) the territories of Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway have to be considered, for the implementation of Directive 94/9/EC, in the same right as of the EU territory. When this term, EU territory, is used in this guide, the same applies to the EEA territory.

³ http://e ur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0772:FIN:en:PDF.

⁴ Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on a common framework for the marketing of products, and repealing Council Decision 93/465/EEC (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 82).

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION

2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ATEX DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC.

3 GENERAL CONCEPTS

3.1 Placing ATEX products on the market 

3.2 Putting ATEX products into service.

3.3 Manufacturer

3.3.1 Use of subcontractor services by a manufacturer

3.3.2 Conformity Assessment Procedures based on quality assurance (Annex IV, Annex VII)

3.4 Manufacturing of ATEX products for own use

3.5 Authorised representative

3.6 Other persons responsible for placing on the market

3.7 Equipment

3.7.1 Potentially explosive atmosphere

3.7.2 "Own" ignition source.

3.7.3 Non-Electrical Equipment

3.7.4 Electrical Equipment

3.7.5 Assemblies

3.8 Protective Systems

3.9 Components

3.10 Safety, controlling or regulating devices as defined in Article 1.2

4 IN WHICH CASES DOES DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC APPLY? 

4.1 ATEX Analysis

4.1.1 What is a potentially explosive atmosphere in the sense of Directive 94/9/EC?

4.1.2 Which kinds of products are covered by Directive 94/9/EC?

4.2 Defining group and category

4.2.1 Group I

4.2.2 Group II

4.2.3 Levels of Protection for various Categories of Equipment

4.3 Risk Assessment for Products

5 EQUIPMENT NOT IN THE SCOPE OF DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC.

5.1 Exclusions based on Article 1.4 of Directive 94/9/EC

5.2 Examples for equipment not covered by Directive 94/9/EC

5.2.1 "Simple" products

5.2.2 Installations

6 APPLICATION OF DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC ALONGSIDE OTHERS THAT MAY APPLY

6.1 Electromagnetic Compatibility 2004/108/EC (EMC)

6.2 Low Voltage 2006/95/EC (LVD)

6.3 Machinery 2006/42/EC (MD)

6.4 Transport of dangerous goods by road 94/55/EC and 98/91/EC (ADR)

6.5 Personal Protective Equipment 89/686/EEC (PPE)

6.6 Pressure Equipment 97/23/EC (PED)

6.7 Simple Pressure Vessels 87/404/EEC

6.8 Gas Appliances 90/396/EEC (GAD)

6.9 Construction Products 89/106/EEC (CPD)

6.10 Marine Equipment Directive 96/98/EC (MED)

7 USED, REPAIRED OR MODIFIED PRODUCTS AND SPARE PARTS

7.1 General

7.2 Definitions

7.3 Reconditioned (or refurbished) products

7.4 Reconfigured products

7.5 Substantially modified products

7.6 Repaired products

7.7 Spare parts

8 CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES

8.1 Products conforming to Directive 94/9/EC

8.2 Exceptional derogations of the Conformity Assessment Procedures

9 NOTIFIED BODIES

9.1 Designation

9.2 Co-ordination and Co-operation

9.3 Subcontracting

9.4 Retention of documentation

9.5 Notified Bodies having knowledge of faulty products* on the market

10 DOCUMENTS OF CONFORMITY

10.1 Documents issued by the manufacturer

10.1.1 EC Declaration of Conformity

10.1.2 Written Attestation of Conformity for components

10.1.3 Documents accompanying the product

10.1.4 Retention of documentation - Quality assurance

10.1.5 Acceptance of test results of manufacturers by a Notified Body

10.2 Documents issued by the Notified Body

10.2.1 Minimum content of a European standardised ATEX Test and Assessment Report

10.3 EC-Type Examination Certificate and the responsibilities of stakeholders

11 MARKING 

11.1 CE Marking

11.2 Supplementary/Specific Marking

11.3 Additional marking for standards

11.4 Marking of components

11.5 Marking of small products

11.6 Marking of assemblies

12 SAFEGUARD CLAUSE AND PROCEDURE

13 EUROPEAN HARMONISED STANDARDS

13.1 European Harmonised Standards published in the Official Journal

13.2 Standardisation Programme

14 USEFUL WEBSITES

ANNEX I: SPECIFIC MARKING OF EXPLOSION PROTECTION (εx) DRAWN FROM DIRECTIVE 84/47/EEC

ANNEX II: BORDERLINE LIST - ATEX PRODUCTS