ATEX & DSEAR Compliance for the Waste Industry in the United Kingdom:

What we can leave out from our reviews

It is not necessary to consider the following within ATEX/DSEAR compliance reviews, or within the Explosion Protection Document:-

As permitted by the Regulations, maintenance can be considered as a separate issue and will be covered as necessary by Method Statements and Permits to Work, as appropriate and as part of the Operation and Maintenance Manuals.

Similarly, Health & Safety during construction is the responsibility of the Principal Contractor and Sub-Contractors as appropriate. The zones provided will therefore apply to normal operation, as is required by the regulations.

What it is essential to include in ATEX/DSEAR Reviews

The DSEAR compliant risk assessment undertaken for this purpose shall consider the following in the context of the normal operation of the plant:-

i. Prevent the formation of explosive atmospheres in the workplace
OR
Avoid the ignition of explosive atmospheres
and Control the effects of explosions;

ii. Conduct a risk assessment covering:

● The likelihood of explosive atmospheres occurring and their persistence
● The likelihood of a source of ignition
● The effect of an ignition on plant, personnel and the environment;

iii. Classify the work place into Zones (or state that no hazardous zones exist in which case none of the further actions in this list apply);

iv. Marking of areas with signs at points of entry;

v. Maintenance of an explosion protection document including:-

● risk assessment and identification of zones
● area classification
● maintenance schedules
● documentation of requirements for training staff and instituting a system of permits to work;

vi. Select ATEX 100a compliant equipment according to intended zone.