DAILY EX - 20 SEPTEMBER 2026

⚡DAILY EX - 20 SEPTEMBER 2026

Explosion Protection | Overnight & Recent Developments

▶️ KEY DEVELOPMENT - ATEX HARMONISED STANDARDS

The EU has updated the harmonised standards supporting ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU.

EN IEC 60079-28:2026 - protection of equipment and transmission systems using optical radiation - has been added to the harmonised standards framework. The previous EN 60079-28:2015 reference is scheduled for withdrawal, with the transition deferred until 4 March 2028. (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32026D1967&utm)

Why it matters:

This is more than a standards-library update. Manufacturers, ExNBs and operators using optical equipment should identify affected certificates, specifications and installed equipment early rather than waiting for the transition deadline.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32026D1967&utm

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▶️ IECEx - BEIJING 2026

The IECEx Annual Meetings concluded in Beijing after a week covering assessor activities, ExSFC, ExTAG, ExPCC, the Industrial Symposium and ExMC.

The schedule illustrates something sometimes overlooked in industry: IECEx is considerably broader than equipment certification. It connects equipment, service facilities, personnel competence, testing laboratories, certification bodies and the operational rules behind the schemes. (https://www.iecex.com/resources-and-news/meeting-and-events/2026-annual-meetings-of-the-iecex-system/?utm)

Operational Ex point:

A certificate is only one piece of the Ex lifecycle. Competence, installation, inspection, maintenance and repair determine whether the certified protection is actually preserved in service.

https://www.iecex.com/resources-and-news/meeting-and-events/2026-annual-meetings-of-the-iecex-system/?utm

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▶️ STANDARD WATCH - DUST AREA CLASSIFICATION

IEC 60079-10-2:2026 is now the current international edition for classification of areas containing explosive dust atmospheres.

One sentence in its scope deserves particular attention: its examples assume that effective housekeeping is implemented to prevent dust-layer accumulation. (https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/90124?utm)

That creates a very practical Operations question:

Does the condition assumed by the HAC still exist on the factory floor?

If housekeeping deteriorates, dust layers accumulate or production changes increase releases, the issue is no longer simply cleanliness. The assumptions supporting the explosion-protection assessment may have changed.

https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/90124

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▶️ GOOD ENGINEERING PRACTICE - THE Ex REGISTER

A useful Ex Register should not only answer:

“What Ex equipment do we have?”

It should help Operations answer:

Can I safely continue operating it today?

Certificate → equipment identification → location/HAC → protection concept → special conditions → inspection status → defects → corrective action → modification/repair history.

The difference is important.

An asset list records equipment.

An Operational Ex Register supports decisions.

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▶️ OPERATIONAL Ex USE CASE - TEMPORARY PRODUCTION CHANGE

Production wants to introduce a different powder into an existing process.

The equipment has not changed.

The room has not changed.

The motors have not changed.

So can production simply start?

Not necessarily.

Different powder → different explosibility characteristics → potentially different dust-cloud/layer behaviour → different HAC assumptions → different ignition-risk conclusions → potentially different equipment suitability.

Head of Operations decision:

Do not ask only “Has any equipment changed?”

Ask:

“Has anything changed that formed part of the demonstrated Ex-safe condition?”

That is where MoC becomes an explosion-protection barrier.

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▶️ INCIDENT WATCH - ENERGY STORAGE

Another fire occurred at the Moss Landing battery-storage site in California while remediation from the major 2025 incident continues. Authorities issued a temporary shelter-in-place order; the operator said the latest event involved batteries that remained energised at the facility. (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/moss-landing-battery-plant-fire-22439178.php?utm)

This is primarily a battery/fire-safety event rather than a conventional ATEX/IECEx case, but it carries a useful process-safety lesson:

shutdown does not necessarily mean hazard removed.

Residual energy, damaged equipment and changing conditions during recovery can create a completely different risk profile from normal operation.

For Ex facilities, the same principle applies during shutdowns, maintenance and incident recovery.

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▶️ STANDARD WATCH - IEC 60079-0

IEC 60079-0:2026 Edition 8 was published in June, replacing the 2017 edition as the latest IEC edition of the general equipment requirements.

It covers the fundamental construction, testing and marking requirements on which the individual Ex protection concepts build. (https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/71519?utm)

IECEx has also published the corresponding 60079-0 Edition 8 Test Report Form, meaning the certification infrastructure is already moving with the new edition. (https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/114659)

https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/71519

▶️ TODAY’S Ex QUESTION

Walk into one hazardous area in your plant.

Pick one Ex asset.

Can somebody show you, within a few minutes:

its certificate → special conditions → installation record → latest inspection → outstanding defects → modification/repair history?

If not, the problem may not be the equipment.

It may be the information barrier around the equipment.

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DAILY Ex

Standards | ATEX | IECEx | Operations | Incidents | Engineering | Certification | Competence | Inspection | Repair | Lessons Learned

Explosion protection is not something completed at the design stage. It is a condition that Head of Operations and team has to preserve every day.