4. Directives, guidelines and standards
In the last few years static electricity as an ignition source of explosive atmospheres has become more important, particularly in Europe, where the ATEX Directives for manufacturers of equipment [16] and producers of goods [17] have to be implemented now. According to these Directives particularly, non-electric ignition also sources such as static electricity have to be considered in every hazard analysis [18]. In addition, the publishing of the new CENELEC report [6] and the new German guidelines [7] have alerted industry to the ignition hazards associated with static electricity.