2003/190/EC: Commission Decision of 18 March 2003 on the publication of the reference of standard EN 521:1998 "Specifications for dedicated liquefied petroleum gas appliances — Portable vapour pressure liquefied petroleum gas appliances", point 5.7.2.1, in accordance with Council Directive 90/396/EEC (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2003) 711)
Date: 2003-03-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European standard, gas, gas appliance, heating, technical standard

L 74/28

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.3.2003

COMMISSION DECISION

of 18 March 2003

on the publication of the reference of standard EN 521:1998 ‘Specifications for dedicated liquefied
petroleum gas appliances — Portable vapour pressure liquefied petroleum gas appliances’, point
5.7.2.1, in accordance with Council Directive 90/396/EEC

(notified under document number C(2003) 711)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2003/190/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 90/396/EEC of 29 June
1990 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to appliances burning gaseous fuels (1), as amended by
Directive 93/68/EEC (2), and in particular Article 6(1) thereof,

Having regard to the opinion of the Standing Committee set up
in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 98/34/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998
laying down a procedure for the provision of information in
the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on
information Society Services (3), as amended by Directive 98/
48/EC (4),

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 2 of Directive 90/396/EEC provides that gas
appliances may be placed on the market and put into
service only if, when normally used,
they do not
compromise the safety of persons, domestic animals and
property.

Under Article 5 of Directive 90/396/EEC, gas appliances
are presumed to comply with the essential requirements
referred to in Article 3 of that Directive if they conform
to the national standards applicable to them, transposing
the harmonised standards,
the reference numbers of
which have been published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

Member States are required to publish the reference
numbers of national standards transposing harmonised
standards, the reference numbers of which have been
published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Netherlands raised a formal objection in respect of
point 5.7.2.1 ‘appliances fitted to pierceable cartridges’
of standard EN 521:1998 ‘Specifications for dedicated
liquefied petroleum gas appliances — Portable vapour
pressure liquefied petroleum gas appliances’, adopted by

(1) OJ L 196, 26.7.1990, p. 15.
(2) OJ L 220, 30.8.1993, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 204, 21.7.1998, p. 37.
(4) OJ L 217, 5.8.1998, p. 18.

the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) on
21 May 1997,
the reference number of which was
published in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities on 25 July 1998 (5), on the grounds that it does
not fully satisfy the essential requirements of Directive
90/396/EEC.

According to the Dutch authorities, portable (camping)
gas appliances fuelled by liquid petroleum gas (LPG) with
the LPG fed to the burner from a pierceable cartridge
may, if the cartridge is replaced in a way which does not
comply with the instructions for use, become unsafe,
thus possibly resulting in gas leaks and serious burns.
They claim that such behaviour should be foreseen since,
as these applicances are typically used in particular
conditions such as on campsites and in tents for short
periods of the year, not all users systematically read the
instructions for use nor is there enough light to read
them, so that there is de facto a risk that the user will
not insert the cartridge properly.

Under Directive 90/396/EEC all appliances must be
accompanied by instructions
for use and servicing
intended for the user, containing all the information
required for safe use. This implies that a prerequisite for
the safe functioning of appliances complying with the
Directive is that users follow those instructions.

Although the problem raised by the Dutch authorities
stems mainly from users' behaviour, the CEN should
nevertheless, in the light of the evolution of the users'
behaviour and taking into account the particular condi-
tions in which this kind of appliance is likely to be used,
examine the possibility of improving the intrinsic level
of safety in relation to the replacement of gas cartridges.

For this purpose, the Commission will request CEN to
present, within two years, a revised version of EN
this
521:1998.
mandate and depending on its results, possible further
decisions concerning the current version of the standard
could be envisaged.

implementation of

Following

the

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(5) OJ C 233, 25.7.1998, p. 16.

20.3.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 74/29

(9)

(10)

(11)

As regards the request that the presumption of confor-
mity is withdrawn, account should be taken of the fact
that, according to the information received, pierceable
gas cartridges have been in widespread use for more
than 30 years, with about 50 million sold each year
throughout the Community and that the number of acci-
dents that occur in comparison with the number of units
in use is extremely low.

it

should be taken into account

Furthermore,
that
portable (camping) gas appliances necessarily present an
elevated risk in all circumstances, due to the characteris-
tics of the technique used (open flame, hot surface etc.),
so that the risks referred to in the formal objection exist
in all cases where consumers' behaviour does not
comply with the instructions for use.

It must
therefore be concluded, on the basis of EN
521:1998 as well as the information submitted by the
Netherlands, by the other national authorities, by CEN
and by the industry, and after consulting the Gas Appli-
ances Expert Group and the Committee set up by Direc-
tive 98/34/EC, that it would not be consistent with the
principle of proportionality and thus justified to with-
draw the presumption of conformity of point 5.7.2.1 of
EN 521:1998,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The reference of standard EN 521:1998 ‘Specifications for dedi-
cated liquefied petroleum gas appliances — Portable vapour
pressure liquefied petroleum gas appliances’, adopted by the
European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) on 21 May
1997 and published for the first time in the Official Journal of
the European Communities of 25 July 1998, shall not be with-
drawn from the list of standards published in the Official Journal
of the European Union. The standard shall therefore continue to
confer the presumption of conformity to the relevant provi-
sions of Directive 90/396/EEC.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 18 March 2003.

For the Commission

Erkki LIIKANEN

Member of the Commission