WORLD TRADE G/TBT/Notif.98.173
6April 1998
ORGANIZATION
(98-1366)
Committee onTechnical Barriers toTrade
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification isbeing circulated inaccordance withArticle 10.6.
1. Member toAgreement notifying: THE NETHERLANDS
Ifapplicable, name oflocalgovernment involved (Articles 3.2and7.2):
2. Agency responsible: Ministry forDomestic Affairs
Agency orauthority designated tohandle comments regarding thenotification shallbe
indicated ifdifferent from above: National Enquiry Point -ECWTO-TBT Enquiry
Point
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X],2.10.1 [],5.6.2 [],5.7.1 [],other:
4. Products covered (HSorCCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICSnumbers maybeprovided inaddition, where applicable): Article 4.1oftheDecree
ontheDisposal oftheDead bans theuseofsynthetic materials andmetals inthe
manufacture ofcoffins andcasings. Pursuant toparagraph 2,thisbandoesnotapply to
thesynthetic materials included inthepresent Regulation ortotheusesofsynthetic
materials inthemanufacture ofcoffins andcasings.
5. Title, number ofpages andlanguage(s) ofthenotified document: Regulation ofthe
Ministry ofHome Affairs of[date] 1998 Containing anIndication ofSynthetic Materials
withRegard totheManufacture ofCoffins andOther Corpse Casings (Decree onCorpse
Casings 1998); Appendix 1.
6. Description ofcontent: ThisRegulation updates theDecree oncorpse casings of1991.
TheRegulation indicates which synthetic materials orusesthereof arepermitted inthe
manufacture ofcoffins; inconcrete terms, requirements aredrawn upwithregard tothe
useofchipboard inthemanufacture ofcoffins (these areassociated withtheDecree on
chipboards andstandard NEN-EN 120of1991), theuseofadhesives incoffins, the
varnish, handles, decorative screws andother ornaments ontheexterior ofcoffins, the
pillows, interior lining andbottom covering ofcoffins, together with regard tothe
constitution ofprintandsidetape.
./.G/TBT/Notif.98.173
Page2
6. (cont'd)
Requirements arealsodrawn upwithregard tocoverings. Therequirements relate to
permeability, mechanical properties, shape andbiological degradability. Thefollowing
standards areemployed:
-water andgaspermeability measured pursuant tostandard DIN53122 orsimilar
standard;
-tensile strength measured pursuant tostandard DIN 53455 orsimilar standard;
together withastandard onresistance tofolding;
-shape measured pursuant tostandard ASTM: D2732-83 orsimilar standard;
-biological degradability: standard ondegradability measured pursuant tostandard D
5338-92 together withstandard ASTM: D5152-91 orstandard similar tothatwhich
applies totherequirements onconstitution. Thisisassociated withECDirective
94/62/EC onpackaging andpackaging waste.
Casings other than coffins andcoverings designed forthepurposes ofburial or
cremation must comply with therequirements applicable toairpermeability and
biological degradability.
Pursuant toarticle 12ofDirective 83/189/EEC, reference shallbemade tothisDirective
when theMinisterial Regulation isofficially published intheDutch Government Gazette.
7. Objective andrationale, including thenature ofurgent problems where applicable:
Buried corpses decompose bestifaslittleuseaspossible ismade intheburial process of
completely degradable synthetic materials. Itmustalsobeensured thatthematerials used
donotcause excessive environmental damage. Thebasis taken inthisRegulation forthe
approval ofmaterials andusesthereof isthatacorpse, under thecircumstances required
bytheDecree onthedisposal ofthedead, must havecompletely skeletonised within ten
years.
8. Relevant documents: ThedraftRegulation isbased onarticle 4.2.b oftheDecree onthe
disposal ofthedead(Appendix 2).
9. Proposed dateofadoption: 2June1998
Proposed dateofentry intoforce: 11June1998
10. Final dateforcomments: 28May1998
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X]oraddress, e-mail andtelefax number
ofother body: