Atex guidelines

-44-Annex 1DIRECTIVE 94/9/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCILof 23 March 1994on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protectivesystems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheresTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THECOUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,Having regard to the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community, and in particular Article 100athereof,Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),Having regard to the opinion of the Economic andSocial Committee (2),Acting in accordance with the procedure referred toin Article 189b of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community,Whereas it is the duty of Member States to protect,on their territory, the safety and health of personsand, where appropriate, domestic animals andproperty and, in particular, that of workers, especiallyagainst the hazards resulting from the use ofequipment and systems providing protection againstpotentially explosive atmospheres;Whereas mandatory provisions within the MemberStates determine the level of safety to be achieved byprotective equipment and systems intended for use inpotentially explosive atmospheres;Whereas these are generally electrical and nonelectricalspecifications having an effect on thedesign and structure of equipment which can be usedin potentially explosive atmospheres;Whereas the requirements to be met by suchequipment differ from one Member State to anotherin respect of their extent and differing inspectionprocedures;Whereas these differences are, therefore, likely toraise barriers to trade within the Community;Whereas harmonization of national legislation is theonly way in which to remove these barriers to freetrade; whereas this objective cannot be satisfactorilyachieved by the individual Member States;Whereas this Directive merely lays down therequirements vital to freedom of movement for theequipment to which it applies;Whereas the regulations intended to remove technicalbarriers to trade are required to follow the newapproach provided for in the Council resolution of 7May 1985 (3), which requires a definition of theessential requirements regarding safety and otherrequirements of society without reducing existing,justified levels of protection within the MemberStates;Whereas that resolution provides that a very largenumber of products be covered by a single Directivein order to avoid frequent amendments and theproliferation of Directives;Whereas the existing Directives on the approximationof the laws of the Member States to electricalequipment for use in potentially explosiveatmospheres have made positive steps towardsprotection against explosions via measures linkedwith the structure of the equipment at issue and whichhave helped to remove barriers to trade in this area;Whereas, in parallel, a revision and expansion of theexisting Directives is necessary since, moreparticularly, in an overall context, action must betaken to guard against the potential hazards arisingfrom such equipment. This implies in particular thatmeasures intended to guarantee effective protectionof users and third parties must already becontemplated at the design and manufacturing states;Whereas the form taken by the hazard, the protectivemeasures and the test methods are often very similar,if not identical, for both mining and surfaceequipment; whereas it is, therefore, absolutelynecessary to cover by a single Directive protectiveequipment and systems falling within both groups;(3) OJ No. C 136, 04.06.1985, p. 1(1) OJ No. C 46, 20.2.1992, p. 19(2) OJ No. C 106, 27.4.1992, p. 9