Commission Directive 2004/57/EC
Advice published by the European Commission on the pyrotechnic and
other items that will need to be CE-marked according to the
requirements of European Union Council Directive 93/15/EEC has been
promulgated as Commission Directive 2004/57/EC of 23 April 2004 on
the identification of pyrotechnic articles and certain ammunition
for the purposes of Council Directive 93/15/EEC on the
harmonisation of the provisions relating to the placing on the
market and supervision of explosives for civil uses.
Annex I of Directive 2004/57/EC lists items considered to be
pyrotechnic or ammunition, whereas Annex II lists items where
expert judgement will be used by explosives notified bodies to
determine if the items are within or outside the scope of Directive
93/15/EEC. Both Annexes identify the items concerned by means of
their United Nations (UN) number(1) .
How to Find out if your Product will need to be CE-Marked
To help you to find out if your product will need to be
CE-Marked, Commission Directive 2004/57/EC is available on the Eur-Lex
website on European Union Law.
The criteria that the GB Explosives Notified Body will use when
dealing with items where expert judgement is required are set out
below.
Please contact us if you need any further help or advice.
Expert Judgement Required: Criteria to be used by GB Explosives
Notified Body
Overall approach
- If the item is within Compatibility Group G and it does not
have a dedicated use, the GB Explosives Notified Body (GB ENB) will
consider the item to be a pyrotechnic article and outside the scope
of the Directive and POMSTER.
- If the item is classified 1.4S and it does not have a dedicated
use, GB ENB will make a decision based on the main effect produced
during the functioning of the item. If the main effect is the
production of light, heat or sound, GB ENB will consider the item
to be a pyrotechnic article and outside the scope of the Directive
and POMSTER. If the main effect is explosive, GB ENB will consider
the item to be within the scope of the Directive and POMSTER.
- For items classified 1.4S consideration will be given to
analogies with similar products placed in specific compatibility
groups, e.g. an item could be classified 1.1D or 1.4S depending on
the method of packaging.
Items having a dedicated use
- If the intended use of the item is solely to function an
article or articles within Compatibility Group G (e.g. firework),
GB ENB will consider the item to be a pyrotechnic article and
outside the scope of the Directive and POMSTER.
- If the intended use of the item includes the functioning of an
article within a Compatibility Group such as C or D, GB ENB will
consider the item not to be a pyrotechnic article and within the
scope of the Directive and POMSTER.
- If the intended use of the item (for example, an igniter within
Compatibility Group G) is to function an article or articles
classified 1.4S, GB ENB will make a decision based on the main
effect produced during the functioning of the article or articles.
If the main effect is the production of light, heat or sound, GB
ENB will consider the item to be a pyrotechnic article and outside
the scope of the Directive and POMSTER. If, in any application, the
main effect is explosive, ENB will consider the item to be within
the scope of the Directive and POMSTER.
Reference
(1) United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous
Goods, Model Regulations, Twelfth Revised Edition, United Nations,
New York and Geneva, 2001, ISBN 92-1-139074-5.