New ATEX Directive

Earlier this year we already announced the arrival of a new ATEX directive.

At the end of March, the ATEX 114 (2014/34/EU) was published to replace the ATEX 95 (94/9/EC). This new directive will enter into force on 20 April 2016 and all new explosion-proof equipment (for installation in Europe) must be in compliance with it.

Let us briefly summarise a number of changes for you:

• The EC Type examination certificate (ATEX certificate) has been renamed "EU Type examination certificate".
• The EC declaration of conformity (CE declaration) has been renamed “EU declaration of conformity”.
• All economic operators (= manufacturer, importer and distributor) have to be able to guarantee that they only market products that are in compliance with this directive.

1. The manufacturer draws up the EU conformity declaration, makes sure that it and the installation and maintenance instructions accompany the product, and affixes its (trade) name or brand to the product.
2. The importer must itself verify whether a product satisfies all requirements before marketing it in the EU and affixes its (trade) name or brand to the product.
3. The distributor must also verify whether the CE marking has been applied and whether the product is accompanied by a valid conformity declaration (standards edition!) and the installation and maintenance instructions.

• Notified Bodies will have to meet stricter requirements and must obtain a new accreditation.
• The current certificates remain valid for existing products. In the event of changes or renewals of existing ATEX certificates, however, the new certificate must satisfy ATEX 114.

You can find this ATEX 114 Directive here.