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Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC

Brief History

The Commission's proposal was submitted to the Council of Ministers on 15 July 1993 and was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 29 May 1997. It came into force on 29 November 1999.

Subject area

The directive covers pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0.5 bar. Pressure equipment means vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories. Assemblies means several pieces of pressure equipment assembled to form an integrated, functional whole.

Intention of legislation

To remove technical barriers to trade by harmonising national laws of legislation regarding the design, manufacture, marking and conformity assessment of pressure equipment.

It does not deal with in-use requirements which may be necessary to ensure the continued safe use of pressure equipment.

Coverage

It covers a wide range of equipment such as, reaction vessels, pressurised storage containers, heat exchangers, shell and water tube boilers, industrial pipework, safety devices and pressure accessories. Such equipment is widely used in the chemical, petrochemical, biochemical, food processing, refrigeration and energy industries and for power generation.

Exclusions

There are some specific exclusions such as:

• equipment within the scope of other directives (e.g. simple pressure vessels, aerosols, parts for the functioning of vehicles);

• equipment covered by the international conventions for the transport of dangerous goods and

• equipment for which the pressure hazards are low and are adequately covered by other directives (such as the Machinery Directive, Low Voltage Directive and Medical Devices Directive).

Implementation

The Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2001) were laid on 19 July 1999 and came into force on 29 November 1999. The Regulations (ISBN 0-11-082790-2) are available to download from The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI)or they can be ordered from The Stationery Office .

Guidelines for the appointment of conformity assessment bodies are available, quoting reference URN99/1051, from publications@berr.gsi.gov.uk or downloadable from the right.

Enforcement

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the enforcement of the UK Regulations.

Related Regulations

The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations will cover in-use requirements and other aspects not covered by the Pressure Equipment Regulations and the Health & Safety Executive should be contacted for further information.

Stakeholder Reports

Stakeholder reports are aimed at all sectors of the industry; from manufacturers to end-users to consultants. They contain not only summaries of meetings and activities attended by the Department at national and European levels but also a range of news relevant to the sector. They will also be used to call for responses to consultation and feedback on any outcomes. As well as downloading the reports direct from this website, we send out email alerts whenever a new report and associated documents are uploaded.  To subscribe to this service, please send an email to the contact details below.

Guidance/Further information

You can place online orders for our comprehensive guidance booklets on Pressure Equipment and Simple Pressure Vessels, which are also available for download from the right.

European Guidelines & Further Information. Guidelines on various aspects of the Directive have been agreed between the Commission, Member States and European Trade Associations. These guidelines help to ensure consistency of interpretation across the Community but they do not have legal standing.

These guidelines, along with details of harmonised product and material standards, European Approval of Materials and all European Conformity Assessment Bodies currently notified are available from the Commission Pressure Equipment Directive website.

Helpful guidance on the main concepts of New Approach directives can be found in the Guide to the implementation of directives based on the New Approach and the Global Approach, published by the European Commission.

The EU website on Directives and Standards provides details of all harmonised standards. 

Contact

Andrew Lunnon

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Bay 384, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET

Tel 020 7215 0158, Fax 020 7215 2635
mailto: andrew.lunnon@bis.gsi.gov.uk

Please note that we can generally only offer advice on policy interpretation; if you require complex technical advice, please contact one of the Pressure Equipment Conformity Assessment Bodies (experienced companies who carry out conformity assessment procedures). A list is available from the right.