The German Institute for Standardization (DIN) recently submitted a proposal to the International Organization for Standardization for a new field of ISO activity on the subject of potentially explosive atmospheres. The DIN proposal suggests that there’s an urgent need to harmonize existing national and regional standards about non-electrical aspects of explosion protection at the international level. The scope of activity as defined in the proposal is standardization in the field of explosion prevention and protection, and the introduction of standards relating to test methods for determining the flammability characteristics of substances, for equipment and protective systems for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, equipment and systems for explosion prevention and protection, and terminology in the field.

An explosive atmosphere could be present in a variety of different places where flammable substances are used, including paint spray booths, near fuel tanks, in sumps, or anywhere there’s aerosols, vapors, mists, gases or dusts. Electrical and non-electrical equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres must be designed and constructed to minimize or eliminate the risk of explosion.

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