The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

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InterpretationN.I.

This section has no associated Explanatory Memorandum

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 1978 Order” means the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 M1;

“the 1994 Directive” means Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres M2;

“the 1996 Regulations” means the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 M3;

“accreditation certificate” means a certificate, issued by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service M4 or a national accreditation body in another [F1relevant state] , attesting that a conformity assessment body meets the notified body requirements;

“ATEX Directive” means Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres (recast) M5;

“attestation of conformity” means a declaration of conformity required to be drawn up in accordance with regulation 7(3) (EU declaration of conformity and CE marking);

“authorised representative” means a person appointed in accordance with regulation 17(1);

“CE marking” means a marking which takes the form set out in Annex II to RAMS (as amended from time to time);

“competent national authority” means an authority having responsibility for enforcing the law of a [F2relevant state] which implements the ATEX Directive;

“component” means any item essential to the safe functioning of equipment and protective systems but with no autonomous function;

“conformity assessment” means the process demonstrating whether the essential health and safety requirements relating to a product have been fulfilled;

“conformity assessment body” means a body that performs conformity assessment activities, including calibration, testing, certification and inspection;

“distributor” means any person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market;

“economic operator” means a manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor;

“equipment” means machines, apparatus, fixed or mobile devices, control components and their instrumentation and detection or prevention systems which, separately or jointly, are intended for the generation, transfer, storage, measurement, control and conversion of energy or the processing of material or both and which are capable of causing an explosion through their own potential sources of ignition;

“equipment category” means the classification of equipment, within each equipment-group, specified in Annex I to the ATEX Directive (as amended from time to time), determining the requisite level of protection to be ensured;

“equipment-group I” means equipment intended for use in underground parts of mines, and in those parts of surface installations of such mines, liable to be endangered by firedamp or combustible dust or both, comprising equipment categories M 1 and M 2 as set out in Annex I to the ATEX Directive (as amended from time to time);

“equipment-group II” means equipment intended for use in other places liable to be endangered by explosive atmospheres, comprising equipment categories 1, 2 and 3 as set out in Annex I to the ATEX Directive (as amended from time to time);

“essential health and safety requirements” means the requirements set out in Schedule 1 (Essential health and safety requirements);

“EU declaration of conformity” means a declaration of conformity required to be drawn up in accordance with regulation 7(1)(a) (EU declaration of conformity and CE marking);

“European Commission” means the Commission of the European Union;

“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland;

“explosive atmosphere” means a mixture with air, under atmospheric conditions, of flammable substances in the form of gases, vapours, mists or dusts in which, after ignition has occurred, combustion spreads to the entire unburned mixture;

“harmonised standard” has the meaning set out in point 1(c) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European standardisation M6 (as amended from time to time);

“importer” means any person who—

(a)

is established within the [F3relevant market] ; and

(b)

places a product from a [F4market outside the relevant market on the relevant] market;

“intended use” means the use of a product prescribed by the manufacturer by assigning the equipment to a particular equipment-group and category or by providing all the information which is required for the safe functioning of a protective system, device or component;

“make available on the market” means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the [F5relevant] market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;

“manufacturer” means a person who—

(a)

manufactures a product, or has a product designed or manufactured; and

(b)

markets that product—

(i)

under that person's name or trade mark; or

(ii)

uses such product for that person's own purposes;

“market surveillance authority” has the meaning set out in regulation 51 (Designation of market surveillance authority);

“national accreditation body” has the meaning set out in point 11 of Article 2 of RAMS (as amended from time to time);

“notified body requirements” means the requirements set out in Schedule 2 (Notified body requirements);

“Official Journal” means the Official Journal of the European Union;

“place on the market” means make a product available on the [F6relevant] market for the first time;

“potentially explosive atmosphere” means an atmosphere which could become explosive due to local and operational conditions;

[F7“product” means a product to which these Regulations apply, in accordance with regulation 3;]

“protective systems” means devices other than components of equipment which are intended to halt incipient explosions immediately or to limit the effective range of an explosion or both, and which are separately made available on the market for use as autonomous systems;

“putting into service” means the first use of a product by an end-user within the [F8relevant] market, for the purposes for which it was intended;

“RAMS” means Regulation (EC) 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 M7;

“recall” means taking any measure aimed at achieving the return of a product that has already been made available to the end-user;

“relevant conformity assessment procedure” means a conformity assessment procedure referred to in regulation 39 (Conformity assessment procedures);

“relevant economic operator” means, in relation to a product, an economic operator with obligations in respect of that product under Part 2;

[F9“relevant market” means—

(a)

the market in Northern Ireland; and

(b)

the markets of the EEA states;

“relevant state” means—

(a)

Northern Ireland; or

(b)

any EEA state;]

“technical documentation” has the meaning given in regulation 6 (Technical documentation and conformity assessment);

“technical specification” means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by a product; F10...

[F11“UK(NI) indication” means the marking in the form set out in Schedule 1 to the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (UK(NI) Indication) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020;

“United Kingdom Accreditation Service” means a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales under number 03076190; and]

“withdraw” when used in relation to a product, means taking any measure aimed at preventing a product in the supply chain from being made available on the market.

(2) In these Regulations, a reference to a product being “in conformity with Part 2” means that—

(a)the product is in conformity with the essential health and safety requirements; and

(b)each relevant economic operator has complied with the obligations imposed on them under Part 2 which shall be satisfied at or before the time at which they make the product available on the market.

(3) In these Regulations (except in Part 4 (Notification of conformity assessment bodies) and Schedules 2 (Notified body requirements) and 3 (Operational obligations of notified bodies)), “notified body” means—

(a)a notified body within the meaning set out in regulation 42 (Notified bodies); or

(b)a notified body under the laws of any other [F12relevant state] which implement the ATEX Directive.

(4) In regulations 10(1) and 24(1) (Monitoring) and Schedule 1 (Essential health and safety requirements), “risk” means a risk which could arise from lawful and readily predictable human behaviour.

(5) In the other provisions of these Regulations, “risk” means a risk—

(a)which could arise from lawful and readily predictable human behaviour; and

(b)which may result in harm to any of the following interests—

(i)health and safety of persons, in particular workers;

(ii)domestic animals; or

(iii)property.

F13(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) The Interpretation Act [F141978] M8 shall apply to these Regulations F15....

Textual Amendments

F1Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (10.8.2023) by The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/861), regs. 1(b), 3(1)(a)

F2Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (10.8.2023) by The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/861), regs. 1(b), 3(1)(b)

F3Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (10.8.2023) by The Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/861), regs. 1(b), 3(1)(c)(i)