1979L0196 — EN — 10.10.1997 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 6 February 1979
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning electrical equipment for use in
potentially explosive atmospheres employing certain types of protection
(79/196/EEC)
(OJ L 43, 20.2.1979, p. 20)
Amended by:
OfficialJournal
No page date
►M1 Commission Directive 84/47/EEC of 16 January 1984 L 31 19 2.2.1984
►M2 Commission Directive 88/571/EEC of 10 November 1988 L 311 46 17.11.1988
►M3 CouncilDirective 88/665/EEC of 21 December 1988 L 382 42 31.12.1988
►M4 CouncilDirective 90/487/EEC of 17 September 1990 L 270 23 2.10.1990
►M5 Commission Directive (94/26/EC) of 15 June 1994 L 157 33 24.6.1994
►M6 Commission Directive 97/53/EC of 11 September 1997 L 257 27 20.9.1997
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 6 February 1979
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning
electrical equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
employing certain types of protection
(79/196/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposalfrom the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and SocialCommittee (3),
Whereas national legislation in force to ensure the safety of electrical
equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres differs from oneMember State to another, thus constituting a barrier to trade; whereasthese laws should therefore be approximated;
Whereas CouncilDirective 76/117/EEC of 18 December 1975 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning electricalequipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (
4) has in partic-
ular set out the inspection procedures which this equipment must satisfyin order to be imported, put on the market and used freely afterundergoing the tests and being provided with the mark and markingprescribed;
Whereas Article 4 (4) of Directive 76/117/EEC provides that specific
Directives shall specify the harmonized standards applicable in all theMember States in respect of this equipment;
Whereas Article 5 of Directive 76/117/EEC provides that the specific
Directives shall expressly indicate which provisions may be adapted totechnicalprogress in accordance with the procedure l aid down inArticle 7 of that Directive;
Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 8 (1) and Article 9 (5) of
Directive 76/117/EEC provide that copies of the certificates ofconformity and inspection certificates shall be forwarded to the MemberStates only; whereas, in order to ensure the free movement of thisequipment, the Commission should be able to publish extracts fromthese certificates in the Official Journal of the European Communities;
whereas it is therefore necessary that the Commission should alsoreceive such copies;
Whereas Articles 8 (2) and 9 (6) of Directive 76/117/EEC provide for a
procedure for withdrawing the certificate; whereas the Member States,the Commission and the party concerned should be informed of suchwithdrawaland the reasons therefor,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive shall apply to electrical equipment for use in a poten-
tially explosive atmosphere which employs one or more of thefollowing types of protection:
(1) OJ No C 4, 6. 1. 1978, p. 2.
(2) OJ No C 131, 5. 6. 1978, p. 84.
(3) OJ No C 269, 13. 11. 1978, p. 45.
(4) OJ No L 24, 30. 1. 1976, p. 45.
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— oilimmersion ‘o',
— pressurized apparatus ‘p',— powder filling ‘q',— flameproof enclosure ‘d',— increased safety ‘e',— intrinsic safety ‘i',
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— encapsulation ‘m',— intrinsically safe electrical systems ‘i'.
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B
Article 2
1. Member States may not, on grounds of safety requirements for the
design and construction of electrical equipment, prohibit the sale or freemovement or the use, for its proper purpose, of electrical equipment foruse in a potentially explosive atmosphere which complies with theprovisions of this Directive and of Directive 76/117/EEC, with regard tothe safety features covered by this Directive.
2. With regard to safety features not covered in this Directive,
nationalprovisions shal lcontinue to appl y providing no Communityprovisions exist.
Article 3
For the purposes of this Directive, harmonized standards within the
meaning of Article 4 (4) of Directive 76/117/EEC shall mean thestandards listed in Annex I hereto.
Article 4
1. Electrical equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
shall be subject to the procedures laid down in Article 4 (1) of Directive76/117/EEC. The information communicated to the approved bodies inthe context of these procedures shall be treated as confidential.
2. For the purposes of this Directive, the distinctive Community
mark referred to in Articles 4 (1) and 10 of Directive 76/117/EEC shallconform to Annex II; this mark shall be affixed to each item ofequipment in such a way as to be visible, legible and durable.
3. Member States shall take all necessary measures to prohibit the
use on equipment covered by this Directive of markings or inscriptionslikely to be confused with the mark shown in Annex II.
Article 5
In accordance with Article 5 (1) of Directive 76/117/EEC, the contents
of the harmonized standards referred to in Annex I, and Annex II, maybe amended by following the procedure laid down in Article 7 ofDirective 76/117/EEC.
Article 6
1. Within one month of the date of issue of the certificate of
conformity or inspection certificate, a copy of the certificate concernedshall be forwarded to the Commission, which shall also receive, onrequest, copies of the finaltechnicalspecifications of the equipment andof the inspection records of the tests or inspections which the equipmenthas undergone. This information shall be treated as confidential.
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Article 7
1. If, for the reasons put forward in Articles 8 (2) and 9 (6) of
Directive 76/117/EEC, the body which has issued the certificate ofconformity or inspection certificate withdraws the certificate, it shall
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inform the other Member States and the Commission that it has done so.The grounds for such withdrawal shall be given in detail.►
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2. Such withdrawals, and refusals to issue a certificate of conformity
or inspection certificate, shall be notified forthwith to the partyconcerned, with an indication of the remedies available to him under thelaws in force in the Member States and of the time limits for theexercise of such remedies.
Article 8
Member States shall bring into force the provisions necessary to comply
with this Directive within 18 months of its notification and shall forth-with inform the Commission thereof.
Member States shall ensure that the texts of the provisions of national
law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive are commu-nicated to the Commission.
Article 9
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
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ANNEXI
HARMONIZED STANDARDS
The harmonized standards to which equipment must conform, depending on the type of protection, are
the European standards referred to in the table below.
European Standards
(drawn up by Cenelec, 35 rue de Stassart, B-1050 Brussels)
Number Title Edition Date
EN 50014 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosive
atmospheres — Generalrequirements2 December 1992
EN 50015 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Oilimmersion ‘o' 2 April1994
EN 50016 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Pressurized apparatus ‘p' 2 October 1995
EN 50017 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Powder filling ‘q' 2 April1994
EN 50018 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Flameproof enclosure ‘d' 2 August 1994
EN 50019 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Increased safety ‘e' 2 March 1994
EN 50020 Electrical apparatus for potentially explosiveatmospheres — Intrinsic safety ‘i' 2 August 1994
EN 50028 Electrical equipment for use in potential explo-sive atmospheres — Encapsulation ‘m' 1 February 1987
EN 50039 Electrical equipment for use in potentiallyexplosive atmospheres — Intrinsically safe elec-tricalsystems ‘i' 1 March 1980
EN 50050 Electrostatic hand-held spraying equipment 1 January 1986
EN 50053
(part 1)Hand-held electrostatic paint spray guns with anenergy limit of 0,24 mJ and their associatedapparatus 1 February 1987 (*)
EN 50053
(part 2)Hand-held electrostatic powder spray guns withan energy limit of 5 mJ and their associatedapparatus 1 June 1989 (*)
EN 50053
(part 3)Hand-held electrostatic flock spray guns with anenergy limit of 0,24 mJ or 5 mJ and their asso-ciated apparatus 1 June 1989 (*)
(*) Only the paragraphs dealing with the construction of aparatus, provided for in standards EN 50053, parts 1, 2 and
3.
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ANNEXII