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Summaries of EU Legislation

  • Archived: true

    • Road safety: transportable pressure equipment

    The purpose of this Directive is to harmonise the conditions for transporting pressure equipment by road and by rail throughout the Community. Harmonisation enhances the safety of transportable pressure equipment approved for the transport of dangerous goods and also ensures the free movement of such equipment within the Community

    ACT

    Council Directive 1999/36/EC of 29 April 1999 on transportable pressure equipment [See amending acts].

    SUMMARY

    This Directive aims to enhance the safety of transportable pressure equipment* in the context of the transport of dangerous goods by road and by rail. This promotes the free movement of such equipment within the European Community (EC).

    Scope

    Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC deal with the and the transport of gods by road and the transport of goods by rail. These directives provide for conformity assessment procedures which are applicable to certain transportable pressure equipment.

    This Directive applies to all new transportable pressure equipment used for the transport of dangerous goods and falling within the scope of Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC. It applies to:

    • the placing on the market of new transportable pressure equipment as from 1 July 2001;
    • the repeated use and periodic inspection of new transportable pressure equipment as from 1 July 2001;
    • the repeated use, periodic inspection and reassessment* of conformity of transportable pressure equipment which meets the technical requirements laid down in Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC;
    • gas cylinders bearing the conformity marking laid down in Directives 84/525/EEC, 84/526/EEC and 84/527/EEC.

    For some equipment (pressure drums, bundles of cylinders and tanks), application of the Directive was put back to 1 July 2005 (Commission Decisions 2001/107/EC and 2003/525/EC).

    Free movement

    Member States may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service of transportable pressure equipment that complies with this Directive.

    Exemptions and derogations

    The Directive does not apply to:

    • aerosol dispensers and gas cylinders for breathing appliances;
    • equipment placed on the market before 1 July 2001 which does not comply with the requirements of Directives 94/55/EC and 96/49/EC;
    • equipment used exclusively for the transport of dangerous goods between Community territory and third-country territory.

    Conformity assessment and re-assessment

    Conformity with the provisions of this Directive for the placing on the Community market of new equipment is assessed by a notified body*.

    Conformity with the relevant provisions of this Directive for the placing on the national market of new equipment can be assessed by an approved body*.

    Marking

    Transportable pressure equipment that complies with the provisions of this Directive should bear a mark.

    Safeguard clause

    Member States may restrict or prohibit the placing on the market, transport or use of transportable pressure equipment if this equipment is liable to endanger the health or safety of persons, domestic animals or property.

    Key terms used in the act

    • Transportable pressure equipment: all receptacles (cylinders, tubes, pressure drums, cryogenic receptacles, bundles of cylinders as defined in Annex A to Directive 94/55/EC
    • Approved body: an inspection body recognised by the national competent authority of a Member State. The approved body must form a separate and identifiable part of an organisation involved in the design, manufacture, supply, use or maintenance of the items it inspects.
    • Notified body: an inspection body designated by the national competent authority of a Member State. A notified body must be independent of the parties involved and therefore provide "third party" inspection services.
    • Reassessment: the procedure for subsequent assessment, at the request of the owner or his authorised representative established in the Community or of the holder, of the conformity of transportable pressure equipment already manufactured and put into service before 1 July 2001 or, in the case of Article 18, within two years of that date.

    References

    Act

    Entry into force

    Deadline for transposition in the Member States

    Official Journal

    Directive 1999/36/EC

    1.06.1999

    1.12.2000

    OJ L 138 of 1.6.1999

    Amending act(s)

    Entry into force

    Deadline for transposition in the Member States

    Official Journal

    Directive 2001/2/EC

    17.1.2001

    1.7.2001

    OJ L 5 of 10.1.2001

    Directive 2002/50/EC

    26.6.2002

    1.1.2003

    OJ L 149 of 7.6.2002

    RELATED ACT

    IMPLEMENTING DECISIONS

    Commission Decision 2003/525/EC of 18 July 2003 deferring the date of implementation of Council Directive 1999/36/EC for certain transportable pressure equipment [Official Journal L 183 of 22.7.2003].

    Commission Decision 2001/107/EC of 25 January 2001 deferring for certain transportable pressure equipment the date of implementation of Council Directive 1999/36/EC [Official Journal L 39 of 9.2.2001].

    IMPLEMENTATION REPORT

    Report from the Commission, of 9 September 2005, on the application by the Member States of Council Directive 99/36/EC on transportable pressure equipment [COM(2005) 415 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

    PRESSURE EQUIPMENT

    Directive 97/23/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 May 1997 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning pressure equipment [Official Journal L 181 of 9.7.1997]. This Directive aims to harmonise the provisions of Member States’ national legislation concerning pressure equipment posing a pressure hazard.

    TRANSPORT OF DANGEROUS GOODS

    Directive 2000/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2000 on minimum examination requirements for safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail or inland waterway [Official Journal L 118 of 19.5.2000].

    Council Directive 96/35/EC of 3 June 1996 on the appointment and vocational qualification of safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterway [Official Journal L 145 of 19.6.1996].

    AEROSOL DISPENSERS

    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 [Official Journal L 96 of 9.4.2008].

    Council Directive 75/324/EEC of 20 May 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers [Official Journal L 147 of 9.6.1975].

    Last updated: 01.08.2008

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