This European Standard specifies methods for the identification and assessment of hazardous situations leading to explosion and the design and construction measures appropriate for the required safety. This is achieved by: hazard identification; risk assessment; reduction of risk; information for use. The safety of equipment, protective systems and components can be achieved by eliminating of hazards and/or limiting the risk, i. e. by: a) design without using safeguarding; b) safeguarding; c) communication links if necessary to convey information to the user; d) any other precautions. Measures in accordance with a) (prevention) and b) (protection) against explosions are dealt with in Clause 6, measures according to c) against explosions are dealt with in Clause 7. Measures in accordance with d) are not specified in this European Standard. They are dealt with in EN ISO 12100-1:2003, Clause 5. The preventive and protective measures described in this European Standard will not provide the required level of safety unless the equipment, protective systems and components are operated within their intended use and are installed and maintained according to the relevant codes of practice or requirements. This standard specifies general design and construction methods to help designers and manufacturers in achieving explosion safety in the design of equipment, protective systems and components. This European Standard is applicable to any equipment, protective systems and components intended to be used in potentially explosive atmospheres, under atmospheric conditions. These atmospheres can arise from flammable materials processed, used or released by the equipment, protective systems and components or from materials in the vicinity of the equipment, protective systems and components and/or from the materials of construction of the equipment, protective systems and components. This European Standard is applicable to equipment, protective systems and components at all stages of its use. This European Standard is only applicable to equipment group II which is intended for use in other places than underground parts of mines and those parts of surface installations of such mines endangered by firedamp and/or flammable dust. This European Standard is not applicable to: i) medical devices intended for use in a medical environment; ii) equipment, protective systems and components where the explosion hazard results exclusively from the presence of explosive substances or unstable chemical substances; iii) equipment, protective systems and components where the explosion can occur by reaction of substances with other oxidizers than atmospheric oxygen or by other hazardous reactions or by other than atmospheric conditions; iv) equipment intended for use in domestic and non-commercial environments where potentially explosive atmospheres may only rarely be created, solely as a result of the accidental leakage of fuel gas; v) personal protective equipment covered by Directive 89/686/EEC; vi) seagoing vessels and mobile offshore units together with equipment on board such vessels or units; vii) means of transport, i. e. vehicles and their trailers intended solely for transporting passengers by air or by road, rail or water networks, as well as means of transport insofar as such means are designed for transporting goods by air, by public road or rail networks or by water. Vehicles intended for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere shall not be excluded; viii) the design and construction of systems containing desired, controlled combustion processes, unless they can act as ignition sources in potentially explosive atmospheres.