Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1996/192 |
| Year | 1996 |
1996 No. 192
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996
Made 1st February 1996
Laid before Parliament 5th February 1996
Coming into force 1st March 1996
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to measures relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by that section and of all his other enabling powers, hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation, commencement, extent and revocation
1.—(1) These Regulations, which extend to Great Britain, may be cited as the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 1st March 1996.
(2) The Regulations specified in the first column of Schedule 1 hereto are hereby revoked with effect from the date specified in the second column of that Schedule.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
(a)
(a) the “ATEX Directive” means Directive 94/9/ECof the European Parliament and the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres3; and
(b)
(b) except for the references to the European Communities in the definition of “the Commission” and in relation to the Official Journal, a reference to the Community includes a reference to the EEA, and a reference to a member State includes a reference to an EEA State: for the purposes of this sub-paragraph—
(i) the “EEA” means the European Economic Area;
(ii) an “EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement4; and
(iii) the “EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993.5
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“CE marking” or “CE conformity marking” is a reference to a marking consisting of the initials “CE” in the form shown in Schedule 2 hereto;
“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;
“component” has the meaning given by regulation 3(2)(d) below;
“devices” and “devices referred to in Article 1(2)” have the meaning given by regulation 3(2)(c) below;
“enforcement authority” means the Health and Safety Executive established under section 10 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19746;
“essential health and safety requirements” means the requirements in Annex II of the ATEX Directive which is set out in Schedule 3 hereto;
“equipment” has the meaning given by regulation 3(2)(a) below;
“equipment-category” and “category” in relation to an equipment-group shall be construed by reference to the criteria set out in Annex I of the ATEX Directive which is set out in Schedule 4 hereto;
“equipment group I” means equipment intended for use in underground parts of mines, and to those parts of surface installations of such mines, liable to be endangered by firedamp and/or combustible dust;
“equipment group II” means equipment intended for use in places, other than those which are specified for equipment group I, liable to be endangered by explosive atmospheres;
“explosive atmosphere” and “potentially explosive atmosphere” shall be construed respectively in accordance with regulation 3(2)(f) and (g) below;
“harmonized standard” means a technical specification adopted by the European Committee for Standardisation or the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation or both, upon a mandate from the Commission in accordance with Council Directive 83/189/EECof 28th March 1983 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations7, and of which the reference number is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;
“intended use” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 3(2)(e) below;
“notified body” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 11 below;
“protective systems” has the meaning given by regulation 3(2)(b) below;
“relevant essential health and safety requirements” in relation to equipment, a protective system or device means those provisions of the essential health and safety requirements which are applicable to that particular equipment, protective system or device, account being taken of its intended use;
“responsible person” means, in relation to equipment, a protective system, device or component,
(a) the manufacturer of that equipment, protective system, device or component;
(b) the manufacturer’s authorized representative established in the Community; or
(c) where the manufacturer is not established in the Community and either—
(i) he has not appointed an authorized representative established in the Community; or
(ii) his authorized representative established in the Community is not the person who places that equipment, protective system, device or component on the market,
the person who places it on the market in the community;
“safe” in relation to equipment, a protective system or a device means that, when properly installed and maintained and used for its intended purpose, it does not endanger the health and safety of persons and, where appropriate, domestic animals or property and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“standard” or “standard referred to in Article 5” means a technical specification approved by a recognised standardising body for repeated or continuous application, with which compliance is not compulsory: and, for the avoidance of doubt, this definition includes a harmonized standard or a transposed harmonized standard;
“supply” includes offering to supply, agreeing to supply, exposing for supply and possessing for supply and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly; and
“transposed harmonized standard” means a national standard of a member State which transposes a harmonized standard.
PART II
APPLICATION
Equipment, Protective Systems, Devices and Components
3.—(1) Subject to regulations 4 and 5 below, these Regulations apply to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, devices and components.
(2) For the purposes of these Regulations,
(a)
(a) “equipment” means machines, apparatus, fixed or mobile devices, control components and instrumentation thereof and detection or prevention systems which, separately or jointly, are intended for the generation, transfer, storage, measurement, control and conversion of energy or the processing of material and which are capable of causing an explosion through their own potential sources of ignition;
(b)
(b) “protective systems” means design units which are intended to halt incipient explosions immediately and/or to limit the effective range of explosion flames and explosion pressures; protective systems may be integrated into equipment or separately placed on the market for use as autonomous systems;
(c)
(c) “devices” means safety devices, controlling devices and regulating devices intended for use outside potentially explosive atmospheres but required for or contributing to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems with respect to the risks of explosion;
(d)
(d) “component” means any item essential to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems but with no autonomous function;
(e)
(e) “intended use” means the use of equipment, protective systems, and devices in accordance with the equipment group and category and with all the information supplied by the manufacturer which is required for the safe functioning of equipment, protective systems and devices;
(f)
(f) “explosive atmosphere” means the mixture with air, under atmospheric conditions, of flammable substances in the form of gases, vapours, mists or dusts in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture; and
(g)
(g) “potentially explosive atmosphere” means an atmosphere which could become explosive due to local and operational conditions.
Excluded equipment, protective systems, devices and components
4. These Regulations do not apply—
(a) to the equipment, protective systems and devices specified in Schedule 5 hereto; and
(b) components for the equipment, protective systems or devices referred to in paragraph (a) above.
Exclusion until 30th June 2003 of equipment and protective systems complying with health and safety provisions in force on 23rd March 1994
5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, these Regulations do not apply to equipment or a protective system placed on the market in the Community on or before 30th June 2003 which complies with any health and safety provisions with which it would have been required to comply for it to be lawfully placed on the market in Great Britain on 23rd March 1994.
(2) The exclusion provided in paragraph (1) above does not apply in the case of equipment or a protective system which—
(a)
(a) unless required to bear the CE marking pursuant to any other Community obligation, bears the CE marking or an inscription liable to be confused therewith; or
(b)
(b) bears or is accompanied by any other...
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