The European Union ATEX Directive (taken from the terms ATmospheric and EXplosible) was first issued to the member nations in 1999, and has been implemented in stages since 2002 in the UK, with the laudable aim of reducing injury and death in the workplace from explosions.

The order must be: Assessment DSEAR, and I'll explain why in this article.

The final date for implementation after which all workplaces throughout the EU are required to have complied was 30 June this year (2006), and yet this Directive is probably one of the least known, understood and complied with of all the many EU directives implemented to date.

Under ATEX (and DSEAR for us in the UK) there are a number of requirements, but the most important to start with is to train staff in the skills necessary to undertake explosion risk assessments, and then these staff can either carry out the necessary assessments themselves or in turn train their subordinates to do them. Staff ATEX training is the key.

Our experience of the implementation of the ATEX Directive in the UK, where it is enforced under the DSEAR Regulations (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations) is that despite the fact that the deadline for compliance passed more than three months ago there are many companies, even some very large ones, only now beginning to think about the actions they need to take to implement the requirements.

This is surprising as their exposure to insurance claims of negligence must be significant until ATEX training has taken place, and staff can be shown to be implementing the requirements.

They should at least be activelyATEX training their managerial staff to carry out the first stage assessments and an initial Explosion Protection Document, as required by the ATEX Directive itself, and in the UK by the DSEAR. Without this level of progress, if an explosion occurs with injury or death then directors of these companies and their lawyers are surely going to find it very hard to mount a defense against charges of negligence.

The order must be: assessment DSEAR. Assessment then DSEAR compliance will follow once the various actions identified by the assessment have been carried out.

So to summarize:-

DSEAR applies to all dangerous substances at nearly every business, in the UK. All member states should have equivalent regulations in place which implement the ATEX Directive.

DSEAR sets minimum requirements for the protection of workers from fire and explosion risks arising from dangerous substances and potentially explosive atmospheres.

DSEAR complements the general requirement to manage risks under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (UK) and addresses risk to employee safety from dangerous substances, as opposed to risks to health addressed by COSHH.

All aspects of the ATEX Directive and DSEAR finally came into force on 30 June 2006.

If your company is not yet ATEX/DSEAR (UK) compliant the process of compliance should be moved forward without delay.

If your company has carried out all ATEX and DSEAR assessments already, don't forget that things do change in all businesses, so review your compliance regulalrly, in accordance with the regulations.