New ATEX 17348:2022 Standard for vacuum systems

EN 17348:2022 – What has changed compared to previous directives?

The introduction of EN 17348:2022 has brought about a significant change in the regulation of ATEX-certified cleaners, introducing more specific technical criteria than the generic compliance of the ATEX 2014/34/EU directive. This European directive was the only regulatory reference for the certification of industrial vacuum cleaners intended for explosive environments, defining:

• The essential health and safety requirements for equipment used in potentially explosive atmospheres.
• The equipment categories (Group I and Group II) and their classification based on the required level of protection.
• Product compliance with harmonized standards or a conformity assessment carried out by notified bodies.

However, this directive does not define detailed technical criteria for the design of extractors. To fill this gap, from March 2023 the EN 17348:2022 standard was introduced, which defined specific requirements for ATEX industrial vacuums, introducing more rigorous standards regarding explosion risks inside the vacuum and filtration levels.