The Pressure Systems and Transportable Gas Containers Regulations 1989

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations impose safety requirements with respect to pressure systems and transportable gas containers which are used or intended to be used at work. They also impose safety requirements to prevent certain vessels from becoming pressurised. Exceptions to the Regulations are set out in Schedule 2 (regulation 3(1)).

Part II of the Regulations imposes requirements on designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers with respect to the design and construction of pressure systems and transportable gas containers (regulation 4(1) to (5)), and imposes a requirement on the employer of a person who modifies or repairs such a system or container to ensure that nothing about the way in which it is modified or repaired gives rise to danger (regulation 4(6)).

Part III of the Regulations applies to pressure systems. The Regulations require the provision of information by designers, suppliers and employers of persons who modify or repair pressure systems (regulation 5(1) to (3)). They also require the manufacturer of a pressure vessel to mark it with specified information (regulation 5(4) and Schedule 4). The regulations prohibit a person from removing such a mark, and from falsifying a mark on a pressure system relating to its design, construction, test or operation (regulation 5(5) and (6)). The Regulations require an employer of a person who installs a pressure system to ensure that nothing about the way in which it is installed gives rise to danger (regulation 6). The Regulations also require the user of an installed system or owner of a mobile system to establish its safe operating limits (regulation 7).

The Regulations require the user of an installed system or owner of a mobile system to have a written scheme for the periodic examination by a competent person of specified parts of the system (regulation 8(1)). Such a scheme must be drawn up or certified as being suitable by a competent person, reviewed by him at appropriate intervals and modified in accordance with his recommendations (regulation 8(2)). It must also contain specified matters (regulation 8(3)). The Regulations require the user or owner to ensure that examinations are carried out within the intervals specified in the scheme (regulation 9(1)). The competent person making such an examination is required to make a written report of it. The report must contain specified information including the date by which any repairs, modifications or changes in the safe operating limits should be made (regulation 9(2) to (5)). The user or owner is prohibited from operating the system after that date unless the repairs, modifications or changes in the safe operating limits have been made or a postponement is agreed pursuant to the Regulations (regulation 9(6) to (8)). If the competent person is of the opinion that the system will give rise to imminent danger unless certain repairs, modifications or changes in operating conditions are made, he is required to make a written report to that effect; and the user or owner is prohibited from operating the system until they have been made (regulation 10).

The Regulations require the user of an installed system or owner of a mobile system to provide for persons operating the system adequate and suitable instructions for its safe operation and for emergency action. The Regulations also require him to ensure that the system is not operated except in accordance with those instructions (regulation 11). The Regulations require the system to be properly maintained (regulation 12). They also require specified documents to be kept (regulation 13).

The Regulations provide that where an installed system is leased or hired out the supplier may agree to be responsible for discharging the duties of the user under specified provisions of the regulations (regulation 3(3) and Schedule 3)).

Part IV of the Regulations applies to a vessel which is constructed with a permanent outlet to the atmosphere or to a space where the pressure does not exceed atmospheric pressure and which could become a pressure vessel if the outlet were obstructed (regulation 14). The Regulations require the user of the vessel to ensure that the outlet is kept open and free from obstruction when the vessel is in use (regulation 15).

Part V of the Regulations applies to transportable gas containers. The Regulations prohibit a person from supplying for the first time, importing or manufacturing and using such a container unless it has either been verified (by a person or in accordance with a quality assurance scheme approved by the Health and Safety Executive) as conforming to a design standard or design specification so approved, or been verified under or conforms with specified Council Directives (regulation 16). Schedule 5 contains provisions with respect to fees for such approvals.

The Regulations require specified checks to be made when transportable gas containers are filled and prohibit the filling of non-refillable containers (regulation 17). They also require containers to be examined at appropriate intervals by a competent person and to be marked with the date of the examination (regulation 18). The Regulations impose requirements with respect to the modification and repair of containers (regulations 19 and 20) and with respect to re-rating (regulation 21). The Regulations require specified documents to be kept (regulation 22).

Part VI of the Regulations provides for a defence for a contravention of the Regulations (regulation 23), for the grant of certificates of exemption by the Executive (regulation 24), for the application of the Regulations to certain activities offshore (regulation 25) and for the repeal, revocation and modification of various enactments and instruments specified in Schedule 6 (regulation 26).

Schedule 1 provides for the coming into force of the Regulations and transitional provisions (regulation 27). Although regulations 8 to 10 (the examination requirements for pressure vessels) and the repeal and revocation of the existing examination requirements (as set out in the Schedule) will not come into force until 1st July 1994 the Regulations provide that the existing examination requirements shall not apply if the user or owner complies with regulations 8 to 10 as if they were in force, provided that notice is given to other persons who would have had duties under those regulations. A person receiving such a notice is required to comply with regulations 8 to 10 as if they were in force.

Copies of relevant documents may be obtained as follows:–

(a) Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID) [ISBN 0–11–550814–7], from Her Majesty’s Stationery Office;

(b) the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code [ISBN 92 801 1125 6], from the International Maritime Organisation, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR;

(c) the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) [ISBN–0–11–550735–3], from Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.