. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/N/SWE/27
14 March 2003
(03-1496)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   SWEDEN
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:   The Swedish Work Environment Authority
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:   National Board of
Trade
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Tanks, vacuum tanks,
low pressure gas vessels, pipelines and plants with containment equipment
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Production of certain
vessels, piping and plants  (18  pages, in Swedish)
6. Description of content:   The ordinance concerns design and construction of tanks, vacuum
tanks, low pressure gas vessels and pipelines.  It also concerns design and installation of
userplants containing such equipment and pressure equipment produced according to thedirective of pressure equipment 97/23/EC.  The general requirement is that these shall be
designed, constructed and installed in order to ensure satisfactory safety.  The next level of
requirement is that equipment and plants shal l fulfil the essential safety requirements of
annex I in the directive 97/23/EC.  This applies for instance for vacuum tanks and low
pressure gas vessels with dangerous content and a volume above 1000 litres, for tanks with
dangerous content and a volume above 5000 litres and for pipelines which should have been
classified in category I, II and III, if they had been included in the directive 97/23/EC.  Italso applies for plants assembled by the user which contains mentioned equipment or
pressure equipment of category  I, II and III according to the directive 97/23/EC and plants
containing dangerous fluids in quantities exceeding column 2 in annex I in the directive
96/82/EC on the control of major-accident hazards.  The highest level of requirement is that
scrutiny of design, construction and installation shall be performed by a recognisedthird-party body.  This applies for vacuum tanks and low pressure gas vessels with
dangerous content and a volume above 5000 litres, for tanks with dangerous content and a
volume above 10 000 litres and for pipelines which should have been classified in category
II and III if they had been included in the directive 97/23/EC.  It also applies for plants
assembled by the user which contains mentioned equipment or pressure equipment ofcategory II and III according to the direc tive 97/23/EC and plants containing dangerous
fluids in quantities exceeding column 3 in annex I in the directive 96/82/EC.  Finally there
is a requirement that only companies who have been specially certified by a third-partyG/TBT/N/SWE/27
Page 2
body may perform work (for instance to weld on branches to pipes) on systems which are
not taken out of operati on and made non-pressurised.
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:
The purpose with these ordinances is to preserve regulations for production of object, which
are included in AFS 1999:6 but are not included in the directive 97/23/EC concerning
pressure equipment.  The ordinances AFS 1999:6 from the National Board of Occupational
Safety and Health concerning pressure vessels has to be partially cancelled 2002-05-29,since these ordinances includes regulations for production of object which are included in
EC directive 97/23/EC.  Hazards arising from there content of large amounts of dangerous
substances is the main reason to preserve regulations for such objects that the directive
97/23/EC has excepted since there is no hazard from pressure.  The proposal is however to
modernise these regulations and to harmonise them towards those which apply for such
object which are included in the directive.  Further the ordinances aims to give regulations
for installation of plants under the responsibility of the user, an area which the directive97/23/EC leaves to the member states to regulate by themselves.
8. Relevant documents:   -
9. Proposed date of adoption:  September 2003
Proposed date of entry into force:  January 2004
10. Final date for comments:   19 May 2003
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body: