HAZARDOUS LOCATIONS ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ELECTRIC CODE In North America the standard reference documents for electrical installations are the National Electric Code (NEC) for the USA and the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) for Canada. Electrical Equipment used in Ordinary, Wet and Hazardous (or Classified) Locations must be 'listed' by an accredited approval agency for use in the intended location. The hazardous locations include areas in which flammable, combustible or ignitable substances may occur in hazardous amounts. The NEC and CEC codes allow two methods of categorising Hazardous Locations, which are Class and Division, and Class and Zone. Electrical Apparatus approved for use in Hazardous Locations must be categorised with an Equipment Class and suitable for a specified Division and Gas Group. Their classification is made in line with the amount of combustible materials as :- The major Approvals bodies authorised for investigation or assessment of electrical equipment include Underwriters Laboratory (UL) , Factory Mutual Inc (FM) & Canadian Standards Association (CSA) . In some cases, Electrical equipment may also need to meet certain Marine Standards and comply with the requirements of the US Coast Guard 14 CFR . It should be noted that the information provided here reflects the current position but since the NEC and CEC codes are being continuously reviewed and developed, there may be other changes in process which will affect some of the rules and regulations referenced herein which are understood to be correct at the time of going to print.