Position paper on the CE-marking of sanitary and building valves

Position paper on the CE-marking of sanitary and building valves Last update: 26/06/2013 Verband Deutscher Maschinenund Anlagenbau e.v. (German Engineering Federation) Professional association Valves Chairman: Dr. Achim Trasser Managing director: Wolfgang Burchard Lyoner Strasse 18 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Telephone +49 69 6603-1242 Telefax +49 69 6603-1634 E-mail armaturen@vdma.org Internet www.vdma.org/armaturen VDMA Technology for humans

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The content has been carefully created and to the best of our knowledge. The VDMA assumes no liability of any kind for possible erroneous or ambiguous representations. Last update: 26/06/2013 VDMA

VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 3 Content 1. Introduction 4 2. CE marking 5 3. Construction Products Regulation 6 3.1 General requirements for buildings 6 3.2 Hygiene aspects 6 3.3 Construction Products Regulation and CE marking 7 4. Harmonised standards 8 4.1 Relevance 8 4.2 Responsibilities 8 4.3 Current status 9 5. Summary 9

4 VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 1. Introduction CE marking was created to ensure the free movement of goods safe for the end user within the European economic area. The marking serves as evidence that a product was manufactured in accordance with all of the relevant EU directives and ordinances. CE marking for this is not to be understood as a seal of quality but rather as a type of passport for merchandise traffic in Europe. In accordance with EU Construction Products Regulation 305/2011, the manufacturer declares with the marking that the product meets the applicable requirements defined in the Community harmonisation legislation concerning the affixation of the marking. As products coming into contact with drinking water, sanitary and building valves are affected by the Construction Products Regulation, which supersedes the Construction Products Directive as of 01 July, 2013 and applies bindingly for all EU states. It specifies that the manufacturer assumes responsibility for the conformity of the product with its declared performance by attaching the marking. What does this mean for manufacturers of sanitary and building valve? To what extent are they affected by a requirement to provide their products with CE markings? The German trade association of valve manufacturers uses the present position paper to comment on these questions and describe the consequences for sanitary and building valve manufacturers.

VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 5 2. CE marking The general principles of CE marking are described in Regulation 765/2008 of the European Parliament and the council held on 9 July 2008 on the regulations for accreditation and market surveillance in connection with the marketing of products and for the annulment of Council ordinance (EWG) No. 339/93. They are located in Section IV, Article 30: (1) The CE marking shall be affixed only by the manufacturer or his authorised representative. (2) The CE marking as presented in Annex III shall be affixed only to products to which its affixing is provided for by specific Community harmonisation legislation and shall not be affixed to any other product. (3) By affixing or having affixed the CE marking, the manufacturer indicates that he takes responsibility for the conformity of the product with all applicable requirements set out in the relevant Community harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing. (4) The CE marking shall be the only marking which attests the conformity of the product with the applicable requirements of the relevant Community harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing. (5) The affixing to a product of markings, signs or inscriptions which are likely to mislead third parties regarding the meaning or form of the CE marking shall be prohibited. Any other marking may be affixed to the product provided that the visibility, legibility and meaning of the CE marking is not thereby impaired. (6) Without prejudice to Article 41, Member States shall ensure the correct implementation of the regime governing the CE marking system and take appropriate action in the event of improper use of the marking. Member States shall also provide for penalties for infringements, which may include criminal sanctions for serious infringements. Those penalties shall be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and constitute an effective deterrent against improper use.

6 VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 3. Construction Products Regulation The Construction Products Directive will be superseded by the Construction Products Regulation on 1 July 2013: Regulation (EU) No. 305/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council on 9 March 2011 for defining the harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and for the annulment of Council Directive 89/106/EWG. This makes the legal text binding for all EU states; a conversion (and possibly a modification) by national lawmakers is not possible. 3.1 General requirements for buildings The Construction Products Regulation also applies for products coming into contact with drinking water. The general requirements for buildings are described in Annex 1: 1. Mechanical strength and stability 2. Fire protection 3. Hygiene, health and environmental protection 4. Safety and accessibility during using 5. Noise insulation 6. Energy-savings and heat insulation 7. Sustainability of natural resources 3.2 Hygiene aspects Sanitary and building valves are particularly affected by Item 3 (hygiene, health and environmental protection), according to which the building must be designed and constructed in such a way that it endangers neither the hygiene nor the health and safety of workers, residents or neighbours throughout its entire service life and that it doesn't excessively affect the environmental quality or climate throughout its entire service life neither during usage nor demolition, particularly due to the following effects:

VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 7 This particularly involves: a) Release of toxic gases; b) Emission of hazardous substances, volatile organic compounds, greenhouse gases or hazardous particles in the indoor or outdoor air; c) Emission of hazardous rays; d) Release of hazardous substances into the ground water, sea water, surface water or soil; e) Release of hazardous substances into the drinking water or of substances which negatively affect the drinking water in another manner; f) Improper drainage of waste water, exhaust gas emission or improper disposal of solid or liquid waste. g) Moisture in parts of the building or on surfaces in the building. 3.3 Construction Products Regulation and CE marking The Construction Products Regulation expressly refers to CE marking. According to Para. 30, it should be attached to all construction products for which the manufacturer has created a performance declaration pursuant to this ordinance. If no performance declaration was created, then the CE marking should not be attached. The CE marking is the only marking of conformity of the construction product with the declared performance and compliance with applicable requirements relating to Union harmonisation legislation (Para. 31). About the performance declaration: If a construction product is covered by a harmonised standard or corresponds to a European Technical Assessment ETA which was created for this product, then the manufacturer will create a performance declaration for the product when it is launched on the market. He thus assumes responsibility for the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance - Article 4 (2). According to statements by the EU commission, the manufacturer is not obliged to make a European Technical Assessment after 01 July 2013 if the project is not

8 VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING included in a harmonised standard. It can sell its products without a performance declaration and without a CE marking.

VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING 9 4. Harmonised standards Regulation 765/2008 (s. pg. 5) and the Construction Products Regulation require the fulfilment of Harmonisation legislation" as the basis for CE marking of products. European harmonised standards are the pre-condition for this; the Construction Products Regulation lists this point in more detail. 4.1 Relevance According to the ordinance, technical barriers in the building sector may only be eliminated by harmonised technical specifications which are used to evaluate the performance of construction products. Section 11 explains: For the evaluation of the performance of construction products with respect to their essential features, these harmonised technical specifications should include tests, computation processes and other methods which are defined in the harmonised standards and European assessment documents. For this purpose, the member states must adapt the procedures which they use in their building requirements and other national regulations regarding the essential features of construction products to the harmonised technical specifications (Para. 12). 4.2 Responsibilities The Construction Products Regulation requires not only harmonised standards but also defines who is responsible for them: The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) are recognised as the organisations responsible for defining the harmonised standards in accordance with the general guidelines signed on 28 March 2003 for the collaboration between the commission and these two organisations. 4.3 Current status There are currently no harmonised standards (yet) for water-bearing valves in the hygiene sector. The responsible CEN committees are working on an umbrella or common standard which is not yet expected to be concluded. This must generally

10 VDMA POSITION PAPER CE MARKING contain ALL requirements affecting the respective product. It is also necessary to coordinate the test methods since different national regulations exist in each case. 5. Summary The Construction Products Directive will be superseded by the Construction Products Regulation on 1 July 2013. This makes the legal text directly binding for all EU states; a conversion (and possibly a modification) by national lawmakers is not possible. This gives new life to an old question: Is the CE marking of sanitary and building valves allowed? Because the Construction Products Regulation also applies for products coming into contact with drinking water. It defines the general requirements for buildings which also include hygienic aspects. These explicitly include, in accordance with Annex 1, Art. 3e, the Release of hazardous substances into the drinking water or of substances which negatively affect the drinking water in another manner. No harmonised standards, however, exist (yet) in the drinking water hygiene sector. A common or umbrella standard is currently being developed to change this. It is intended to harmonise differing standards and set uniform standards. CE marking of sanitary and building valves will not be permitted and the creation of a performance declaration not required until this is in place. Contact partner: Stefan Oberdörfer Fachverband Armaturen im VDMA 60528 Frankfurt am Main Tel.: 069 / 6603-1238 Fax: 069 / 6603-2238 E-Mail: stefan.oberdoerfer@vdma.org