Directive 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

CHAPTER I U.K. SCOPE, DEFINITIONS, PLACING ON THE MARKET AND FREE MOVEMENT

Article 1 U.K.

1. This Directive applies to simple pressure vessels manufactured in series.

2. The following vessels shall be excluded from the scope of this Directive:

(a) vessels specifically designed for nuclear use, failure of which may cause an emission of radioactivity;

(b) vessels specifically intended for installation in or the propulsion of ships and aircraft;

(c) fire extinguishers.

3. For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘simple pressure vessel’ or ‘vessel’ means any welded vessel subjected to an internal gauge pressure greater than 0,5 bar which is intended to contain air or nitrogen and which is not intended to be fired.

The parts and assemblies contributing to the strength of the vessel under pressure shall be made either of non-alloy quality steel or of non-alloy aluminium or non-age hardening aluminium alloys.

The vessel shall be made of either:

(i)

a cylindrical part of circular cross-section closed by inwardly dished and/or flat ends which revolve around the same axis as the cylindrical part; or

(ii)

two dished ends revolving around the same axis.

The maximum working pressure of the vessel shall not exceed 30 bar and the product of that pressure and the capacity of the vessel (PS x V) shall not exceed 10 000 bar.l.

The minimum working temperature must be no lower than – 50 °C and the maximum working temperature must not be higher than 300 °C for steel and 100 °C for aluminium or aluminium alloy vessels;

(b) a ‘harmonised standard’ means a technical specification (European standard or harmonisation document) adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (Cenelec) or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) or by two or three of those bodies upon a remit from the Commission in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services(1) and the general guidelines for cooperation between the Commission, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and those three bodies signed on 28 March 2003.

Article 2 U.K.

1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the vessels may be placed on the market and put into service only if they do not compromise the safety of persons, domestic animals or property when properly installed and maintained and used for the purposes for which they are intended.

2. The provisions of this Directive shall not affect the right of Member States to specify — with due observance of the Treaty — the requirements they deem necessary in order to ensure that workers are protected when using vessels, provided it does not mean that those vessels are modified in a way unspecified in this Directive.

Article 3 U.K.

1. Vessels in respect of which the product of PS x V exceeds 50 bar.l must satisfy the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I.

2. Vessels in respect of which the product of PS x V is 50 bar.l or less must be manufactured in accordance with sound engineering practice in one of the Member States and bear markings as laid down in point 1 of Annex II, with the exception of the ‘CE’ marking referred to in Article 16.

Article 4 U.K.

Member States shall not impede the placing on the market and the putting into service in their territory of vessels which satisfy the requirements of this Directive.

Article 5 U.K.

1. Member States shall presume that vessels bearing the ‘CE’ marking comply with all the provisions of this Directive.

Conformity of vessels with the national standards which transpose the harmonised standards, the reference numbers of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, shall result in a presumption of conformity to the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I.

Member States shall publish the reference numbers of such national standards.

2. Member States shall presume that vessels for which the standards referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 do not exist or in respect of which the manufacturer has not applied or has only partially applied such standards, comply with the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I, where, after receipt of an EC type-examination certificate, their conformity with the approved model has been certified by the affixation of the ‘CE’ marking.

3. Where vessels are subject to other Directives covering other aspects and which also provide for the affixing of the ‘CE’ marking, the latter shall indicate that the vessels in question are also presumed to conform to the provisions of those other Directives.

However, where one or more of those Directives allow the manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which arrangements to apply, the ‘CE’ marking shall indicate conformity only to the Directives applied by the manufacturer. In this case, particulars of the Directives applied, as published in the Official Journal of the European Union, shall be given in the documents, notices or instructions required by the Directives and accompanying such vessels.

Article 6 U.K.

Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the harmonised standards referred to in Article 5(1) do not entirely meet the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I, the Commission or the Member State concerned shall bring the matter before the standing committee set up under Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC, hereinafter referred to as ‘the committee’, giving the reasons therefor.

The committee shall deliver an opinion without delay.

In the light of the committee’s opinion, the Commission shall inform the Member States whether or not it is necessary to withdraw those standards from the publications referred to in Article 5(1).

Article 7 U.K.

1. Where a Member State finds that vessels bearing the ‘CE’ marking and used in accordance with their intended purpose might compromise the safety of persons, domestic animals or property, it shall take all appropriate measures to withdraw those products from the market or to prohibit or restrict their being placed on the market.

The Member State concerned shall immediately inform the Commission of any such measure, indicating the reasons for its decision, and in particular whether non-conformity is due to:

(a) failure to meet the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I, where the vessel does not meet the harmonised standards referred to in Article 5(1);

(b) incorrect application of the harmonised standards referred to in Article 5(1);

(c) shortcomings in the harmonised standards referred to in Article 5(1).

2. The Commission shall enter into consultation with the parties concerned as soon as possible. Where, after such consultation, the Commission finds that any measure as referred to in paragraph 1 is justified, it shall immediately so inform the Member State that took the action and the other Member States.

Where the decision referred to in paragraph 1 is attributed to shortcomings in the standards, the Commission, after consulting the parties concerned, shall bring the matter before the committee within two months if the Member State which has taken the measures intends to maintain them and shall set in motion the procedure referred to in Article 6.

3. Where a vessel which does not comply bears the ‘CE’ marking, the competent Member State shall take appropriate action against whomsoever has affixed the marking and shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof.

4. The Commission shall ensure that the Member States are kept informed of the progress and outcome of the procedure referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.

(1)

OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37.