Ensuring safe explosives for non-military use

KEY POINTS

The directive lays down manufacturers’, importers’ and distributors’ responsibilities with respect to the trade in commercial explosives.

• Explosives made available on the EU market must bear the CE conformity mark to show that they meet all essential safety requirements under EU law.
• To obtain the CE mark, the manufacturer must carry out a conformity assessment, draw up detailed technical documentation for the products and make sure they are traceable.
• Importers must check whether manufacturers have carried out conformity assessments correctly and inform the national authority appointed to monitor safety if they believe the explosive represents a risk.
• All necessary documentation must be recorded and kept for 10 years.
• Documentation and safety information must be written in a language easily understood by end-users.
• Manufacturers and importers must provide their postal address on the explosive.
• Distributors must check that the explosive bears the CE mark and that it is accompanied by the required documents and by instructions written in a language easily understood by end-users in the country of destination. If they believe the explosives represent a risk, they must inform the national authority appointed to monitor safety accordingly.

The directive also:

• lays down requirements for the bodies carrying out conformity assessments, which must be independent and impartial;
• specifies the steps to be taken by national market surveillance authorities to identify non-compliant products, prevent the import of dangerous products from non-EU countries and take all appropriate corrective action.

The directive repeals and replaces Directives 93/15/EEC and 2004/57/EC as of 20 April 2016. Two implementing acts, adopted while Directive 93/15/EEC was in force, are still applicable:

• Commission Decision 2004/388/EC sets out the model document (known as the intra-Community transfer of explosives document) that must be accepted by the relevant authorities as a valid transfer document to accompany the explosives for transfers between Member States until the explosives arrive at their destination.
• Commission Directive 2008/43/EC introduces a system for identifying and tracing explosives for civil uses. Member States must ensure that businesses in the explosives sector that manufacture or import explosives or assemble detonators mark explosives and each smallest packaging unit with a unique identification.