Council Directive of 20 May 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers (75/324/EEC)

1. DEFINITIONS U.K.

1.1. Pressures U.K.

‘Pressures’ means the internal pressures expressed in bars (relative pressures).

1.2. Test pressure U.K.

‘Test pressure’ means the pressure to which an unfilled aerosol dispenser container may be subjected for 25 seconds without any leakage being caused or, in the case of metal or plastic containers, any visible or permanent distortion except as allowed under 6.1.1.2.

1.3. Bursting pressure U.K.

‘Bursting pressure’ means the minimum pressure which causes the aerosol dispenser container to burst or rupture.

1.4. Total capacity of the container U.K.

‘Total capacity of the container’ means the volume in millilitres of an open container up to the rim of the opening.

1.5. Net capacity U.K.

‘Net capacity’ means the volume in millilitres of a filled and closed aerosol dispenser.

1.6. Volume of liquid phase U.K.

‘Volume of liquid phase’ means the volume of the non-gaseous phases in the filled and closed aerosol dispenser.

1.7. Test conditions U.K.

‘Test conditions’ means the values of test and bursting pressures exerted hydraulically at 20° C (± 5° C).

[F1 1.7a. Substance U.K.

‘ Substance ’ means substance as defined in Article 2(7) of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.

Textual Amendments

F1 Inserted by Commission Directive 2013/10/EU of 19 March 2013 amending Council Directive 75/324/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers in order to adapt its labelling provisions to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (Text with EEA relevance).

1.7b. Mixture U.K.

‘ Mixture ’ means mixture as defined in Article 2(8) of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008.]

[F2 1.8. Flammable contents U.K.

Contents of aerosols shall be considered as flammable if they contain any component which is classified as flammable:

(a)

flammable liquid means a liquid having a flashpoint of not more than 93 °C.

(b)

flammable solid means a solid substance or mixture which is readily combustible, or may cause or contribute to fire as a result of friction. Readily combustible solids are powdered, granular, or pasty substances or mixtures which are dangerous if they can be easily ignited by brief contact with an ignition source, such as a burning match, and if the flame spreads rapidly.

(c)

flammable gas means a gas or gas mixture having a flammable range with air at 20 °C and a standard pressure of 1,013 bar.

This definition does not cover pyrophoric, self-heating or water-reactive substances and mixtures, which shall never be components of aerosol contents.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Commission Directive 2008/47/EC of 8 April 2008 amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, Council Directive 75/324/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers (Text with EEA relevance).

[F3 1.9. Flammable aerosols U.K.

For the purpose of this Directive, an aerosol is considered as ‘ non-flammable ’ , ‘ flammable ’ or ‘ extremely flammable ’ according to its chemical heat of combustion and mass content of flammable components, as follows:

(a)

The aerosol is classified as ‘ extremely flammable ’ if it contains 85 % or more flammable components and the chemical heat of combustion exceeds or is equal to 30 kJ/g;

(b)

The aerosol is classified as ‘ non-flammable ’ if it contains 1 % or less flammable components and the chemical heat of combustion is less than 20 kJ/g;

(c)

All other aerosols will be submitted to the following flammability classification procedures or shall be classified as ‘ extremely flammable ’ . The ignition distance test, the enclosed space test and the foam flammability test shall comply with point 6.3.

1.9.1. Flammable spray aerosols U.K.

In the case of spray aerosols the classification shall be made taking into account the chemical heat of combustion and on the basis of the results of the ignition distance test, as follows:

(a)

If the chemical heat of combustion is less than 20 kJ/g:

(i)

The aerosol is classified as ‘ flammable ’ if ignition occurs at a distance equal or greater than 15 cm but less than 75 cm;

(ii)

The aerosol is classified as ‘ extremely flammable ’ if ignition occurs at a distance of 75 cm or more;

(iii)

If no ignition occurs in the ignition distance test, the enclosed space test shall be performed and in this case, the aerosol is classified as ‘flammable’ if the time equivalent is less than or equal to 300 s/m ³ or the deflagration density is less than or equal to 300 g/m ³ ; otherwise the aerosol is classified as ‘non-flammable’;

(b)

If the chemical heat of combustion is equal to or more than 20 kJ/g, the aerosol is classified as ‘ extremely flammable ’ if ignition occurs at a distance of 75 cm or more; otherwise the aerosol is classified as ‘ flammable ’ .

1.9.2. Flammable foam aerosols U.K.

In the case of foam aerosols, the classification shall be made on the basis of the results of the foam flammability test.

(a)

The aerosol product shall be classified as ‘ extremely flammable ’ if:

(i)

the flame height is 20 cm or more and the flame duration is two seconds or more;

or

(ii)

the flame height is 4 cm or more and the flame duration is seven seconds or more.

(b)

The aerosol product which does not meet the criteria in (a) is classified as ‘ flammable ’ if the flame height is 4 cm or more and the flame duration is two seconds or more.]

Textual Amendments

F3 Inserted by Commission Directive 2008/47/EC of 8 April 2008 amending, for the purposes of adapting to technical progress, Council Directive 75/324/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers (Text with EEA relevance).

[F3 1.10. Chemical Heat of Combustion U.K.

The chemical heat of combustion ΔH _c shall be either determined by:

(a)

acknowledged rules of technology, described e.g. in standards such as ASTM D 240, ISO 13943 86.1 to 86.3 and NFPA 30B, or found in the scientifically established literature;

or

(b)

applying the following calculation method:

The chemical heat of combustion (ΔH _c ), in kilojoules per gram (kJ/g), can be calculated as the product of the theoretical heat of combustion (ΔH _comb ), and a combustion efficiency, usually less than 1,0 (a typical combustion efficiency is 0,95 or 95 %).

For a composite aerosol formulation, the chemical heat of combustion is the summation of the weighted heats of combustion for the individual components, as follows:

where:

ΔH _c

=

chemical heat of combustion (kJ/g) of the product;

w _i %

=

mass fraction of component i in the product;

ΔH _c(i)

=

specific heat of combustion (kJ/g) of component i in the product.

The person responsible for the marketing of the aerosol dispenser has to describe the method used for determining the chemical heat of combustion in a document to be made readily available in an official Community language at the address specified on the label in accordance with point (a) of Article 8(1), if the chemical heat of combustion is used as a parameter for assessing the flammability of aerosols according to the provisions of this Directive.]