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I am referring to the US requirements for "intrinsically safe" ..
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The requirements for intrinsical safety for the North Americas and Europe are not different; the only difference is in the annotation (European 'zone 0' is American 'Division 1').

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.. , I am sure that At 8 V for zone 0 applications the max. allowable current is way over 60 mA. is way beyond the acceptable
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Sorry to say, but: no, you're not. Just as an example: MTL 5022 Ex solenoid driver (EU: zone 0, US: Group 1): 21.4V open clamp voltage, 12.9V at 60 mA max. output current. As you see, it's US certified and drives up to 60mA at 12.9V. You can check that for yourself at any MTL site.

I've been developping Ex-circuits for over 7 years now and due to the upcoming changes in the European legislation with respect to intrinsical safety (ATEX standard) confronted with it on a daily basis. Take it from me that I know what I'm talking about here, even if it's from the back of my head.