1996D0603 — EN — 12.10.2000 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONDECISION
of4October1996
establishing the list of products belonging to Classes A ‘No contribution to fire’ provided for in
Decision 94/611/EC implementing Article 20 of Council Directive 89/106/EEC on construction
products
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(96/603/EC)
(OJ L 267, 19.10.1996, p. 23)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Decision 2000/605/EC of 26 September 2000 L 258 36 12.10.2000
▼B
COMMISSIONDECISION
of4October1996
establishing the list of products belonging to Classes A ‘No
contribution to fire’ provided for in Decision 94/611/EC imple-mentingArticle20ofCouncilDirective89/106/EEConconstruction
products
(TextwithEEArelevance)
(96/603/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988
on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisionsof the Member States relating to construction products(
1), as amended
by Directive 93/68/EEC(2),
Having regard to Commission Decision 94/611/EC of 9 September 1994
implementing Article 20 of Council Directive 89/106/EEC on construc-
tion products(3), and in particular Article 1 (1) thereof,
Whereas Article 3 (2) of Directive 89/106/EEC states that in order to
take account of different levels of protection for the construction works
that may prevail at national, regional or local levels, each essential
requirement may give rise to the establishment of classes in theinterpretative documents and the technical specifications;
Whereas point 4.2.1 of Interpretative Document No 2 ‘Safety in case of
fire’, contained in the Communication of the Commission with regard tothe interpretative documents of Council Directive 89/106/EEC(
4),
justifies the need for different levels of the Essential Requirement as afunction of the type, use and location of the construction work, itslayout, and the availability of the emergency facilities;
Whereas point 2.2 of Interpretative Document No 2 lists a number of
interrelated measures for the satisfaction of the Essential Requirement‘Safety in case of fire’ which, together, contribute to the definition of a
fire-safety strategy that can be developed in different ways in Member
States;
Whereas point 4.2.3.3 of Interpretative Document No 2 identifies one of
the measures prevailing in Member States that consists in limiting the
generation and spread of fire and smoke within the room of origin (or ina given area) by limiting the contribution of construction products to thefull development of a fire;
Whereas the definition of classes of the Essential Requirement depends
partially on the level of such limitation;
Whereas the level of limitation may be expressed only by different
levels of product performance, in the products end-use conditions, inreaction to fire;
Whereas point 4.3.1.1 of Interpretative Document No 2 specifies that to
enable the reaction-to-fire performance of products to be evaluated, aharmonized solution will be developed which may utilize full or bench-scale tests that are correlated to relevant real fire scenarios;
Whereas this solution lies in a system of classes which are not included
in the interpretative document but which were adopted in Decision 94/611/EC;
Whereas in the system of classes contained in Decision 94/611/EC, the
category ‘No contribution to fire’ was established with a view to1996D0603 — EN — 12.10.2000 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 40, 11. 2. 1989, p. 12.
(2) OJ No L 220, 30. 8. 1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 241, 16. 9. 1994, p. 25.
(4) OJ No C 62, 28. 2. 1994, p. 1.
▼B
covering products which do not need to be tested for their reaction to
fire and which are referred to as Classes A in Tables 1 and 2 and,additionally, in Table 1 as ‘list of non-combustible products’;
Whereas Article 20 (2) of Directive 89/106/EEC indicates the procedure
to be followed for the adoption of the provisions necessary for theestablishment of classes of requirements in so far as they are notincluded in the interpretative documents;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance
with the opinion of the Standing Committee on construction,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The materials, and products made from them, that are listed in the
Annex to this Decision, shall, on account of their low level of
combustibility and subject to the conditions also set out in the Annex, be
classified in Classes A1 and Class A1FLas provided for in Tables 1 and 2
of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
For the purpose of this classification, no reaction-to-fire testing of those
materials and products made from them shall be required.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.1996D0603 — EN — 12.10.2000 — 001.001 — 3
▼M1
▼B
▼B
ANNEX
Materials to be considered as reaction to fire Classes A1 and A1FLas provided for in Decision
2000/147/ECwithouttheneedfortesting
General notes
Products should be made only from one or more of the following materials if they are to be considered
as►M1Class A1 and Class A1FL◄without testing. Products made by gluing one or more of the
following materials together will be considered ►M1Class A1 and Class A1FL◄without testing
provided that the glue does not exceed 0,1 % by weight or volume ►M1(whichever is the more
onerous) ◄.
Panel products (e.g. of insulating material) withone or more organic layers, or products containing
organic material which is not homogeneously distributed (with the exception of glue) are excluded from
the list.
Products made by coating one of the following materials with an inorganic layer (e.g. coated metal
products) may also be considered as ►M1Class A1 and Class A1FL◄without testing.
None of the materials in the table is allowed to contain more than 1,0 % by weight or volume
►M1(whichever is the more onerous) ◄of homogeneously distributed organic material.
Material Notes
Expanded clay
Expanded perliteExpanded vermiculiteMineral wool
Cellular glass
Concrete Includes ready-mixed concrete and precast rein-
forced and prestressed products
Aggregate concrete (dense and lightweight
mineral aggregates, excluding integral thermal
insulation)May contain admixtures and additions (e.g. PFA),
pigments and other materials. Includes precast
units
Autoclaved aerated concrete units Units manufactured from hydraulic binders such
as cement and/or lime, combined withfine
materials (siliceous material, PFA, blast furnace
slag), and cell generating material. Includes
precast units.
Fibre cementCementLime
Blast furnace slag/pulverized fly ash(PFA)
Mineral aggregatesIron, steel and stainless steel Not in finely divided formCopper and copper alloys Not in finely divided form
Zinc and zinc alloys Not in finely divided form
Aluminium and aluminium alloys Not in finely divided formLead Not in finely divided form1996D0603 — EN — 12.10.2000 — 001.001 — 4
▼M1
▼B
▼B
Material Notes
Gypsum and gypsum based plasters May include additives (retarders, fillers, fibres,
pigments, hydrated lime, air and water retaining
agents and plasticisers), dense aggregates (e.g.
natural or crushed sand) or lightweight aggregates
(e.g. perlite or vermiculite).
Mortar withinorganic binding agents Rendering/plastering mortars and mortars for
floor screeds based on one or more inorganic
binding agent(s), e.g. cement, lime, masonry
cement and gypsum
Clay units Units from clay or other argillaceous materials,
with or without sand, fuel or other additives.
Includes bricks, tiles, paving and fireclay units
(e.g. chimney liners)
Calcium silicate units Units made from a mixture of lime and natural
siliceous materials (sand, siliceous gravel or rock
or mixtures thereof). May include colouring
pigments.
Natural stone and slate products A worked or non-worked element produced from
natural stone (magmatic, sedimentary or meta-
morphic rocks) or slate
Gypsum unit Includes blocks and other units of calcium
sulphate and water, that may incorporate fibres,
fillers, aggregates and other additives, and may be
coloured by pigments
Terrazo Includes precast concrete terrazotiles and in-situ
flooring.
Glass Includes heat strengthened, chemically tough-
ened, laminated and wired glass
Glass ceramics Glass ceramics consisting of a crystalline and a
residual glass phase
Ceramics Includes dust-pressed and extruded products,
glazed or unglazed1996D0603 — EN — 12.10.2000 — 001.001 — 5