Safety at work: personal protective equipment PPE (amend. Directive 89/686/EEC)

OBJECTIVE: to abolish the requirement to indicate on each item of PPE (personal protective equipment) the year in which the 'EC' marking was affixed. This administrative simplification will cut PPE manufacturing costs by 5% without affecting the level of safety (the date of obsolescence and the lifetime of the protective equipment subject to ageing are retained). COMMUNITY MEASURE: Directive 96/58/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, amending Directive 89/686/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment (PPE). SUBSTANCE: abolition of the requirement to indicate on each item of PPE the year in which the 'EC' marking (i.e. the year of manufacture of the PPE) was affixed, since this indication: . is not a factor beneficial to the safety of the user of the equipment, . might be confused with the date of obsolescence which must be affixed to PPE subject to ageing. DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE: 7 October 1996 DEADLINE FOR TRANSPOSITION INTO NATIONAL LEGISLATION: 1 January 1997. �