The impact of the IECEx Scheme on the global availability of explosion protected apparatus-update 2000 (parts I-III)

The IECEx Scheme provides a structured system to achieve global acceptance for explosion protected equipment for hazardous locations. Scheme members declare that they will abolish national differences for product requirements in their countries during the coming years. The international scheme will greatly impact the free trade of explosion protected apparatus needed for the petrochemical and chemical industry if the scheme members recognize and accept harmonized worldwide IEC standards. The goal is to develop and maintain uniform product evaluation to protect users against products which are not in line with the required level of safety. The critical aspects are identified by a comparison of advantages and disadvantages of such a scheme. The experience with the European system of Notified Bodies and harmonized CENELEC standards is a good basis for consideration during the phase of establishing the IECEx Scheme. The result of fast introduction of IEC standards can be visualized by specifying possible conflicts in the national regulations. The updated version for 2000 includes the latest perspectives from QAS and PTB (regarding an overview of the scheme), from UL (regarding a US Perspective) and from LCIE (regarding a European perspective), in addition to now also being expanded to address Russia and Ukraine, instead of Canada. Furthermore the author list is opened up to a greater number of experts concerning these issues. The intention is to get a better understanding about these markets which are now accessible after a long period of isolation.