S.I. No. 312/1972 - European Communities (Crystal Glass) Regulations, 1972.


S.I. No. 312 of 1972.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (CRYSTAL GLASS) REGULATIONS, 1972.

The Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on a Minister of State by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby makes the following regulations:

1 Citation

1. These regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Crystal Glass) Regulations, 1972.

2 Commencement

2. These regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1973.

3 Glassware

3. These regulations apply to glassware listed under heading No. 70.13 of the Customs and Excise Tariff of Ireland.

4 Labelling and Description

4. No person shall label or describe glassware for the purposes of trade if it does not conform to these regulations and the Annexes thereto.

5 Exception

5. These regulations do not apply to products intended for export from the European Communities.

6 Characteristics of Products

6. A description in column (b) of Annex I shall not be used for a product which does not have the corresponding characteristics specified in columns (d), (e), (f) and (g) of that Annex.

7 Identifying Symbols

7. If glassware bears one of the descriptions listed in column (b) of Annex I it may also bear the corresponding identifying symbol shown and described in columns (h) and (i) of that Annex, but not otherwise.

8 Trade Marks and other Inscriptions

8. Where a trade mark, the name of an undertaking or any other inscription contains, as a main part, as an adjective or as a root, a description appearing in columns (b) and (c) of Annex I or a description liable to be confused therewith, that trade mark, name or inscription shall be immediately preceded by the following, in equally prominent lettering—

(a) the description of the product where that product has characteristics specified in columns (d), (e), (f) and (g) of Annex I;

(b) in any other case, a statement of the exact nature of the product.

9 Form of Label

9. A description and the corresponding identifying symbol given in Annex I may appear on the same label.

10 Verification of Products

10. The methods laid down in Annex II, and only those methods, shall be used to verify that products bearing descriptions and identifying symbols have the characteristics corresponding thereto as specified in columns (d), (e), (f) and (g) of Annex I.

11 Offences

11. A person who contravenes a provision of these regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

12 Offences in Relation to Corporate and Unincorporated Bodies

12. Where an offence under these regulations which is committed by a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any person, being a director, manager, secretary, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of any such body or being any other similar officer of any such body, that person shall also be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

13 Prosecutions

13. Proceedings in relation to an offence under these regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

ANNEX I. LIST OF CRYSTAL GLASS CATEGORIES.

No.

Description of category

Characteristics

Labelling

Explanatory notes

Metal oxides (%)

Density

Refrac-

tive index

Surface hardness

Shape of symbol

Remarks

-a-

-b-

-c-

-d-

-e-

-f-

-g-

-h-

-i-

Cristal Superieur

30%

Description may be freely used, whatever the country of origin or the country of destination

PbO

≥ 30%

≥ 3·00

(x)

Round label Colour: gold.

Cristallo Superiore

30%

1.

Hochbleikristall

30%

Volloodkristal

30%

Full Lead Crystal

30%

Krystal

30%

Cristal Au Plomb

24%

The percentage figure refers to the lead oxide content

Cristallo Al Piombo

24%

2.

Bleikristall

24%

Loodkristal

24%

Lead Crystal

24%

Krystal

24%

Cristallin

Only the description in the language or languages of the country in which the goods are marketed may be used

Vetro Sonoro

Superiore

Kristallglas

3.

Kristallynglas1

Sonorglas2

Crystal Glass, Crystallin

Krystallin

4

Verre Sonore

Exception: On the German market pressed glass containing 18% PbO and having a density of at least 2·70 may be sold under the description "PRESSBLEIKRISTALL" or "BLEIKRISTALL GEPRESST" (in capital letters)

Vetro Sonoro

Kristallglas

Sonoorglas

Crystal Glass, Crystallin

Krystallin

(x) nD > 1·545 as criterion for an additional non-destructive determination of the products (at the time of import).

( 1 ) in Belgium .

( 2 ) in the Netherlands

ANNEX II. METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CATEGORIES OF CRYSTAL GLASS.

1 CHEMICAL ANALYSES.

1.1 BaO and PbO.

1.1.1 Determination of the combination BaO+PbO.

Weigh, to within 0·0001 g, approximately 0·5 g of powdered glass and place in a platinum dish. Moisten with water and add 10 ml of a 15% solution of sulphuric acid and 10 ml hydrofluoric acid. Heat in sand bath until white fumes are given off. Allow to cool and treat again with 10 ml hydrofluoric acid. Heat until reappearance of white fumes. Allow to cool and rinse the sides of the dish with water. Heat until reappearance of white fumes. Allow to cool, carefully add 10 ml of water, then transfer to a 400 ml beaker. Rinse the dish several times with a 10% sulphuric acid solution and dilute to 100 ml with same solution. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Leave to stand overnight.

Pass through a filtering crucible of 4 porosity, wash first of all with a 10% solution of sulphuric acid, then two or three times with ethyl alcohol. Dry for one hour in an oven at 150°c. Weigh BaSO4 + PbSO4.

1.1.2 Determination of BaO

Weigh, to within 0·0001 g, about 0·5 g of powdered glass and place in a platinum dish. Moisten with water and add 10 ml of hydrofluoric acid and 5 ml perchloric acid. Heat in sand bath until white fumes are given off.

Allow to cool and add a further 10 ml hydrofluoric acid. Heat until reappearance of white fumes. Allow to cool and rinse the sides of the dish with distilled water. Heat again and evaporate until almost dry. Start again with 50 ml of a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid and heat gently to aid dissolution. Transfer to a 400 ml beaker and dilute to 200 ml with water. Bring to boil and pass a current of hydrogen sulphide through the hot solution. When the precipitate of lead sulphide drops to the bottom of the beaker, turn off the hydrogen sulphide. Pass through a fine filter paper and wash with cold water saturated with hydrogen sulphide.

Boil the filtrates and then, if necessary, reduce them by evaporation to 300 ml. Add to boiling mixture 10 ml of a 10% solution of sulphuric acid. Remove from heat and leave to stand for at least 4 hours.

Pass through a fine filter paper, wash with cold water. Calcine the precipitate to 1050°C, and weigh the BaSO4.

1.2 Determination of ZnO.

Evaporate the filtrates from the separation of BaSO4 so as to reduce their volume to 200 ml. Neutralise with ammonia in the presence of methyl red and add 20 ml of N/10 sulphuric acid. Adjust the pH to 2 (pH-meter) by adding N/10 sulphuric acid or N/10 caustic soda whichever the case, and precipitate the zinc sulphide in the cold by passing a current of hydrogen sulphide. Let the precipitate settle for four hours, then collect on a fine filter paper. Wash with cold water saturated with hydrogen sulphide. Dissolve the precipitate on the filter by pouring through it 25 ml of a hot 10% solution of hydrochloric acid. Wash the filter with boiling water until a volume of about 150 ml is obatined. Neutralise with ammonia in the presence of litmus paper, then add 1-2 g solid urotropine to buffer the solution to about pH 5. Add a few drops of a 0·5% freshly prepared aqueous solution of xylenol orange and titrate with an N/10 solution of Complexon III until the pink changes to citron yellow.

1.3 Determination of K2O.

by precipitation and weighing of potassium tetraphenylborate.

Procedure:

2 g of glass are attacked, after crushing and sieving, by

2 ml concentrated HC1

15 ml HC104

25 ml HF

in a platinum dish on a water-bath then in a sand bath. After dense fumes of perchloric acid have been given off (continue until dry), dissolve with 20 ml of hot water and 2-3 ml concentrated HC1.

Transfer to a 200 ml graduated flask and adjust to volume with distilled water.

Reagents: 6% solution of sodium tetraphenylborate: dissolve 1·5 g of the reagent in 250 ml distilled water. Remove the light cloudiness which remains by adding 1 g of hydrated alumina. Shake for five minutes and filter, taking care to re-filter the first 20 ml obtained.

Washing solution for the precipitate: prepare a little of the potassium salt by precipitation in a solution of about 0·1 g KCl to 50 ml N/10 HCl into which the solution of tetraphenylborate is poured while stirring, until precipitation ceases. Filter through a sinter. Wash with distilled water. Dry in a desiccator at room temperature. Then pour 20-30 mg of that salt into 250 ml of distilled water. Stir from time to time. After 30 minutes, add 0·5-1 g of hydrated alumina. Stir for a few minutes. Filter.

Method of operation: Take an aliquot of the acid digest corresponding to about 10 mg of K2O. Dilute to about 100 ml. Slowly add the reagent solution, about 10 ml per assumed 5 mg of K2O, while gently stirring. Allow to stand for a maximum of 15 minutes then filter through a tared sintered crucible of porosity 3 or 4. Wash with washing solution. Dry for 30 minutes at 120°C. Conversion factor 0·13143 for K2O.

1.4 Tolerances.

±0·1 in absolute value for each determination. If the analysis gives a lower value, within the tolerances, than the limits fixed (30, 24 or 10%), the average of at least three analyses must be taken. If that average is greater than or equal to 29·95, 23·95 or 9·95 respectively, the glass must be accepted in the category corresponding to 30, 24 and 10% respectively.

2 PHYSICAL DETERMINATIONS.

2.1 Density

Method by hydrostatic balance to within ±0·01. A sample of at least 20 g is weighed in air and weighed immersed in distilled water at 20°C.

2.2 Refractive index

The index is measured on the refractometer to within ±0·001.

2.3 Microhardness

Vickers hardness is to be measured according to the standard ASTM E 92-65 (Revision 1965) but using a load of 50 g and taking the average of 15 determinations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 13th day of December, 1972.

PATRICK J. LALOR,

Minister for Industry and Commerce.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations are made to give full effect to the European Communities Council Directive (69/493/EEC) of 15 December, 1969, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to crystal glass (OJ NO L326—29/12/69).