The Making Available on the Market and Supervision of Transfers of Explosives Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

SUB-PART B: CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT

Presumption of conformity

31.—(1) A civil explosive which is in conformity with a harmonised standard, or part of such a standard, the reference to which has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, is to be presumed to be in conformity with the essential safety requirements covered by that standard, or that part of that standard.

(2) The presumption in paragraph (1) is rebuttable.

Conformity assessment procedures

32.  For the assessment of conformity of a civil explosive, the manufacturer must follow one of the following procedures referred to in Annex III to the Directive (as amended form time to time)—

(a) EU-type examination (Module B), and, at the choice of the manufacturer, any of the following procedures—

(i) conformity to type based on internal production control plus supervised product checks at random intervals (Module C2);

(ii) conformity to type based on quality assurance of the production process (Module D);

(iii) conformity to type based on product quality assurance (Module E);

(iv) conformity to type based on product verification (Module F);

(b) conformity based on unit verification (Module G).

EU declaration of conformity

33.  The EU declaration of conformity for a civil explosive must—

(a) state that the fulfilment of the essential safety requirements has been demonstrated in respect of the civil explosive;

(b) contain the elements specified in the relevant modules set out in Annex III to the Directive (as amended from time to time) for the relevant conformity assessment procedure followed in respect of the civil explosive; and

(c) have the model structure set out in Annex IV to the Directive (as amended from time to time).

CE marking

34.—(1) The CE marking must be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the civil explosive.

(2) Where it is not possible or warranted, on account of the nature of the civil explosive, to affix the CE marking in accordance with paragraph (1), the CE marking must be affixed to—

(a) the packaging; and

(b) the accompanying documents.

(3) The CE marking must be followed by the identification number of the notified body which carried out the relevant conformity assessment procedure for the civil explosive, where that body is involved in the production control phase.

(4) The identification number of the notified body must be affixed—

(a) by the notified body itself; or

(b) under the instructions of the notified body, by the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s authorised representative.

(5) In the case of a civil explosive—

(a) manufactured for the manufacturer’s own use;

(b) transported and delivered unpackaged or in a Mobile Explosives Manufacturing Unit for its direct unloading into the blast-hole; or

(c) manufactured at the blasting site which is loaded immediately after being produced (in situ production),

the CE marking must be affixed to the accompanying documents.