2003/43/EC: Commission Decision of 17 January 2003 establishing the classes of reaction-to-fire performance for certain construction products (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2002) 4807)
Date: 2003-01-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bonded wood, building safety, building slab, fire protection, inflammable product, product safety, safety standard, wood fibre

18.1.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 13/35

COMMISSION DECISION

of 17 January 2003

establishing the classes of reaction-to-fire performance for certain construction products

(notified under document number C(2002) 4807)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/43/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 provisions of
the Member States relating to
construction products (1), as amended by Directive 93/68/
EEC (2), and in particular Article 20(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Directive 89/106/EEC envisages that in order to take
account of the different levels of protection for construc-
tion works at national, regional or local level, it may be
necessary to establish in the interpretative documents
classes corresponding to the performance of products in
respect of each essential requirement. Those documents
have been published as the ‘Communication of
the
Commission with regard to the interpretative documents
of Council Directive 89/106/EEC (3)’.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

By way of a harmonised solution, a system of classes
was adopted in Commission Decision 2000/147/EC of 8
February 2000 implementing Council Directive 89/106/
EEC as regards the classification of the reaction-to-fire
performance of construction products (4).

In the case of certain wood-based panels, it is necessary
to use the classification established in Decision 2000/
147/EC.

The reaction-to-fire performance of many construction
classification
products and/or materials, within the
provided for in Decision 2000/147/EC,
is well estab-
lished and sufficiently well known to fire regulators in
Member States that they do not require testing for this
particular performance characteristic.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on
Construction,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

(2) With respect to the essential requirement of safety in the
event of
interpretative document No 2 lists a
number of interrelated measures which together define
the fire safety strategy to be variously developed in the
Member States.

fire,

The construction products and/or materials which satisfy all
the requirements of the performance characteristic ‘reaction-to-
fire’ without need for further testing are set out in the Annex.

Interpretative document No 2 identifies one of those
measures as the limitation of the generation and spread
of fire and smoke within a given area by limiting the
potential of construction products to contribute to the
full development of a fire.

The specific classes to be applied to different construction
products and/or materials, within the reaction-to-fire classifica-
tion adopted in Decision 2000/147/EC, are set out in the
Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

The level of that limitation may be expressed only in
terms of the different levels of reaction-to-fire perfor-
mance of the products in their end-use application.

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989, p. 12.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 62, 28.2.1994, p. 1.

Article 3

Products shall be considered in relation to their end-use appli-
cation, where relevant.

(4) OJ L 50, 23.2.2000, p. 14.

(3)

(4)

L 13/36

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

18.1.2003

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 17 January 2003.

For the Commission

Erkki LIIKANEN

Member of the Commission

The tables set out in this annex list construction products and/or materials which satisfy all the requirements for the
performance characteristic reaction to fire without need for testing.

ANNEX

Classes of reaction-to-fire performance for wood-based panels (1)

Table 1

Wood-based panel products (2)

EN product grade
reference

Minimum density
(kg/m3)

Minimum
thickness (mm)

Class (3)
(excluding
floorings)

Class (4) Floorings

Particleboards

Fibreboards, Hard

EN 312

EN 622-2

Fibreboards, Medium

EN 622-3

Fibreboards, Soft

Fibreboards, MDF

Cement-bonded
board

OSB board

Plywood

EN 622-4

EN 622-5

EN 300

EN 636

Solid wood panels

EN 13353

600

900

600

400

250

600

600

400

400

9

6

9

9

9

9

10

9

9

12

D-s2, d0

D-s2, d0

D-s2, d0

E, pass

E, pass

D-s2, d0

B-s1, d0

D-s2, d0

D-s2, d0

D-s2, d0

DFL-s1

DFL-s1

DFL-s1

EFL

EFL

DFL-s1

BFL-s1

DFL-s1

DFL-s1

DFL-s1

particle-

EN 634-2

1 000

(1) EN 13986
(2) Wood-based panels mounted without an air gap directly against class A1 or A2-s1, d0 products with minimum density 10 kg/m3 or

at least class D-s2, d0 products with minimum density 400 kg/m3.
(3) Class as provided for in Table 1 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(4) Class as provided for in Table 2 of the Annex to Decision 2000/147/EC.
(5) Dry process fibreboard.
(6) Cement content at least 75% by mass.
(7) Oriented strand board.