Intrinsically Safe (ATEX) Radio

Intrinsically Safe (ATEX) radios are designed to prevent the possibility of sparks being generated by high electric fields, intermittent electrical connections, such as changing a battery or if a unit is dropped, and any other incidence that could create an ignition source. Intrinsically safe radio is intended specifically for use in hazardous environments, such as oil refineries, chemical plants and flour mills where the presence of inflammable gases or explosive dust creates a danger for any normal radio or electrical equipment.

ATEX radios and equipment are defined as "equipment and wiring which is incapable of releasing sufficient electrical or thermal energy under normal or abnormal conditions to cause ignition of a specific hazardous atmospheric mixture in its most easily ignited concentration." (ISA-RP12.6)

Basically this means that ATEX keeps a unit's electrical and thermal energy to a level that is so low it cannot cause ignition in a hazardous atmosphere.

Since July 2003, when the ATEX Directive (94/9/EC) came in to force, it has been mandatory for all equipment that has been designed for use in hazardous environments in the European Community to meet the new ATEX Standard.