Certain industrial production and treatment processes have a potential for the formation of ignitable or explosive atmospheres. These can originate from flammable vapors, gas or dust mixing with air to form a dangerous, combustible cloud.
The affected hazardous locations require intrinsically safe instrumentation to mitigate the risk of ignition and explosion. Across the globe there are several international certification standards in place that define the requirements for hazardous area equipment, e. g. UL Class 1, IECEx and ATEX.
See below for a list of our certified instruments. Additional detailed information is available on the related product pages.
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Hazardous Locations – Overview of Classes, Divisions and Zones
Class/Div
The Class/Div directive is important for North America and Canada. There are three hazardous location classes which refer to the type of hazard:
- Class 1: The hazard is a flammable vapor.
- Class 2: The hazard is a flammable dust.
- Class 3: The hazard is a flammable fiber, or other “flyings”.
In addition, divisions and zones refer to the constancy and/
or level of the hazard:
- Division 1 or Zone 0: The hazard is continuous.
- Division 1 or Zone 1: The hazard is intermittent.
- Division 2 or Zone 2: The hazard is present only under abnormal conditions.
IECEx
An IECEx Certificate of Conformity attests that a sample of the Ex product, described on the Certificate, has been independently tested and found to comply with the International Standards listed in the Certificate. It also attests that the manufacturing site has been audited to verify that the manufacturer’s quality system meets IECEx requirements.
ATEX
The ATEX (ATmosphères EXplosibles) directive is important for Europe (EU-directive 94/9/EG). It describes what equipment and work environment is allowed in an environment with an explosive atmosphere:
- Zone 0: A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air of dangerous substances in the form of gas, vapor or mist is present continuously or for long periods or frequently.
- Zone 1: A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air of dangerous substances in the form of gas, vapor or mist is likely to occur in normal operation occasionally.
- Zone 2: A place in which an explosive atmosphere consisting of a mixture with air of dangerous substances in the form of gas, vapor or mist is not likely to occur in normal operation but, if it does occur, will persist for a short period only.