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- Electrical
equipment prohibited from the market
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The Belgian Official Journal of 25 August 2004 publishes a short list
of electrical equipment prohibited from the Belgian market. The list
includes mainly household appliances. Click
here to read the communication (Dutch and French only).
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- More
amendments
of the Belgian General Regulation on
Electrical Installations - AREI/RGIE
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One Royal Decree of 5 March 2004 (published on 22 March 2004) and 4
Royal Decrees of 26 April 2004 (published on 26 May 2004) have amended the Belgian General Regulation on Electrical Installations -
AREI/RGIE. These publications follow the issue of drafts in fall
2003. 44 articles are modified as follows:
| Articles |
Main object |
Text |
| 29, 86, 207 and 227 |
Details regarding the IP code, earthing cables and
thermoplastic conduits |
Click
here |
| 3, 22 to 27, 32, 40, 86, 88, 202, 203, 220 and 221 |
Introduction of the notions of very low voltage. New
rules for bathrooms. |
Click
here |
| 28, 47, 192, 196 and 266 |
New rules for the work on electrical installations. |
Click
here |
| 74 and 251 |
Conformity with HD 637. Various prescriptions for
high voltage installations. |
Click
here |
| 15, 18, 66, 76, 77, 80, 94, 120, 169, 175, 181, 190,
199, 207, 236, 239, 240 and 260 |
IPXX-B minimum for plugs. New rules for high power
connectors. |
Click
here |
8 more articles should still be modified according to a draft
published in October 2003. Click
here to read our corresponding news of 23/10/2003.
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In March, Eurostat published a report on the effect of the
enlargement on 15 indicators and on the comparison with the equivalent
US indicators. These indicators cover mainly health and economical
aspects.
Summarising the results is meaningless but the global impression is
that if we become younger our health degrades, if the population grows
by 20% the GDP progresses of 5%, etc. This is not surprising: the new EU
members are poorer and less developed than the old ones.
The comparison with the US is more contrasted. We live longer
in Europe therefore our population is older. We have also a higher
density of general physicians but the incidence rate of some diseases is
much higher in Europe than in the US. This is verified for tuberculosis,
accidents of the circulatory system and cancers. On the other hand, we
have much less transport accidents and men's suicides. The rest is more
in line with what would be expected.
For more details, read the full report in: English,
français
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- CEBEC
launches its new test laboratory
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| On 3 June 2004, Mr. J. Simonet,
Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, officially
opened the new testing facilities at CEBEC headquarter.
This new laboratory responds to an increasing demand of
certification of electrical appliances. It concentrates on the
testing of "low voltage" cables and equipment. |
|
Mr. W. Raes
Alderman of the Anderlecht municipality |
Mr. J. Simonet
Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region |
Mr. D. Hellemans
Managing Director of
SGS Belgium |
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 |
| This new laboratory is part of ALBE,
the Belgian network of laboratories for electrical safety testing.
Globally, that network gathers more than 1000 testing equipment
and calibres covering the widest possible range of tests. |
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For more details, read our last newsletter in: français,
Nederlands
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When is a device a "medical device - MD" according to
Directive 93/42/EEC or an "in vitro diagnostic medical device -
IVD" according to Directive 98/79/EEC?
The answer to that question is not always obvious. There are
borderline issues that require careful consideration.
First of all, to be a MD or an IVD a device must be a
"medical" device: it must serve a medical purpose. Therefore,
devices that only serve, for instance, for law enforcement purposes (alcohol
in blood...) or other non medical purposes (paternity test...) are not
covered by the directives in question.
If the medical purpose is established, how to decide whether a device
is a MD or an IVD? To help answering that question the European
Commission has issued a guidance document: IVD guidances: Borderline
issues - A guide for manufacturers and notified bodies (MEDDEV
2.14/1 rev.1, January 2004, 8 p.). The document is not legally binding
but it gives good indications of what should be expected when such
questions arise.
It is therefore impossible to give a simple rule to decide in
borderline issues. Nevertheless, when a device is used in contact with a
patient, it has a good chance to be a MD.
Click
here to read the full text of the guidance (English only).
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- Another
amendment
of the Belgian General Regulation on
Electrical Installations - AREI/RGIE
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Another amendment of the Belgian General Regulation on Electrical Installations -
AREI/RGIE has been published in the Belgian official journal of 9 March
2004 as the Royal Decree of 10 February 2004.
That Decree modifies the articles 90, 91 and 92 concerning swimming
pools, saunas, fountains and other water pools. It also introduces the
use of very low voltages.
Click
here to read the full text of the Decree (Dutch and French only).
Six Royal Decrees amending 51 other articles are still expected. To
access the draft decrees, read our news of: 24/9/2003
2/10/2003
23/10/2003
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web-site may be reproduced and used provided explicit reference is made to
CEBEC as the information source.
If in doubt, please contact CEBEC.
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