In accordance with the “Regulation on the Protection of Employees from the Hazards of Explosive Environments“, these substances are considered as substances that can create an explosive atmosphere, unless it is proved by research that the mixtures of flammable and/or combustible materials with air will not cause an explosion independently. The locations of these substances should be classified into zones based on the frequency of occurrence of explosive atmospheres and the duration of this atmosphere. These classifications should be specified in the Explosion Protection Document (PKD).

The classification of dangerous places is as follows for gases and dusts.

Ex-proof equipment and protective systems should be used in places where an explosive atmosphere may occur, determined as a result of the evaluations made in the Explosion Protection Document (PKD), and should be selected according to the categories specified in the Regulation on Equipment and Protective Systems Used in Possible Explosive Environments (2014/34/EU).

Ex-proof equipment consists of 3 categories in total. Equipment in the appropriate category for the explosive atmosphere class should be selected.

Zone 0 or Zone 20: Category 1 equipment,

Zone 1 or Zone 21: Category 1 or 2 equipment,

Zone 2 or Zone 22: Category 1, 2 or 3 equipment could be used.

ATEX regulations are basically divided into two. The first of these is the Regulation on Equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (2014/34/EU). The purpose of this regulation is to determine the basic health and safety rules required for safe placing on the market of equipment and protective systems used in potentially explosive atmospheres, as well as the procedures and principles regarding conformity assessment procedures and market surveillance.

The second is the “Regulation on the Protection of Employees from the Hazards of Explosive Environments. The purpose of this regulation is to regulate the procedures and principles regarding the precautions to be taken in order to protect the employees from the dangers of explosive atmospheres that may occur in the workplace in terms of health and safety. Explosion Protection Document (PKD) must be prepared in workplaces covered by the regulation.

When classifying the hazards of explosive atmospheres, it should be classified into zones based on the frequency of occurrence of the explosive atmosphere and the duration of this environment. Hazard classification for each explosive atmosphere should be evaluated in the Explosion Protection Document (PKD). Hazard classes are expressed as zones.

The classification of hazardous areas is as follows for gases and dusts.

Gases: Zone 0, Zone 1, Zone 2

Dusts: Zone 20, Zone 21, Zone 2