Explosion-Proof Certification Standards And Systems

In various fields such as oil, chemical plants, mining, emergency fire safety, pharmaceuticals, and food processing, environments susceptible to explosions are common during production, processing, storage, and logistics. To ensure personal and manufacturing safety, electrical products used in these environments require explosion-proof certification.

Define

What exactly is the certification for explosion-proof electrical products? It refers to the accreditation of electrical equipment used in industries like oil, chemical plants, coal mining, light textiles, and grain processing, where explosive gases, dust, or fibers may accumulate.

Each region worldwide has distinct standards and systems for certifying explosion-proof electrical products. Let’s explore some of these global certification systems.

IECEx

The IECEx system, advocated by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), aims to eliminate differences in machinery and services used in explosive environments globally, promoting international trade while ensuring safety. The current standard is IEC 60079.

IECEx certification has become the preferred method for international safety accreditation for products in hazardous areas and is recognized in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States.

Certificates issued by IECEx are automatically uploaded to their website, where manufacturers and end-users can find relevant documentation.

ATEX

The ATEX system, adopted by the European Commission, aims to create a unified market within Europe, removing technical barriers to trade and ensuring the free movement of machinery for potentially explosive environments among member states. This directive covers both mining and non-mining equipment, extends the definition of potentially explosive environments to include dust, flammable gases, vapors, and mists in the air, and stipulates the basic health and safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures for machinery intended for such environments. The current directive is ATEX 100A.

CNEX

China’s CNEX certification system, overseen by the National Supervision and Inspection Center for Explosion Protection and Safety of Instrumentation (CQST), is based on national standards like the GB3836 series. It involves the inspection and verification of explosion-proof performance for a wide range of products, including motors, electrical equipment, lighting, instruments, communication devices, vehicles, and mechanical equipment like elevators and cranes, issuing explosion-proof certificates accordingly.

North Americ

In North America, the prevalent safety system is based on the National Electrical Code (NEC), with UL913 and TIA4950 being the primary explosion-proof standards.

Canada

Canada’s system, overseen by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the country’s largest safety certification organization and a leading standards developer and quality certification body, currently adopts the CSA 60079 standard for explosion-proof certification.