STANDARDS NEWS DIGEST FROM RUSSIA – March 2006

UNREFORMABLE MUDDLE

In reforming Russia’s technical regulation system, one of problems is a seven-year transition period (the similar period in China makes 15 years). The law on technical regulation "has frozen" the existed system of statutory acts (GOSTs, SNiPs, SanPiNs, etc.). Thus, from the moment the law was entered into force (2003) and till the moment of coming into force of the corresponding technical regulations it is impossible to make changes in the operating documentation.

"During this period, it is important to not admit legal collisions or gaps," said Industry and Energy (Minpromenergo) Deputy Minister Andrey Reus. He has changed his mind on amending the law. For example, three years ago the Federal Agency for Construction and Housing and Communal Services (Gosstroy of Russia) prepared 16 SNiPs, including a SNiP on high-rise buildings. These building codes and rules could not pass registration with the Justice Ministry because of the current legal situation.

"Our position, consolidated with Rostehregulirovaniye, is to resolve promptly the collision," has told Reus. "Minpromenergo suggests legalizing these SNiPs in the form of technical regulations as presidential edicts or governmental decrees." However, these are the temporary measures. The situation should be changed radically with introducing into the law 11 amendments prepared by the Working Group at the Governmental Commission: now they are completely agreed upon with government bodies and shortly will be brought for discussion into the Government ".
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Feb. 20

COURT FORBIDS TRADE IN RUSSIAN STANDARDS

The Krasnogvardeysky Regional Court of St.-Petersburg has satisfied a complaint of Institute for Information Development lawyers and obliged the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rostekhregulirovaniye) to provide free full-text access to Russian standards and classifiers on its Web site.

The Russian legislation, in particular Governmental Decree 594 of September 25, 2003, obliges Rostekhregulirovaniye (former Gosstandart) to post on its Web site all state standards on a quality of product made and sold on Russian territory.
However, for the time being the web site instead of texts of standards contains only references to the Internet-shops of two organizations offering to buy them for non-symbolical money. Thus, Rostekhregulirovaniye broke the regulation and created conditions for illegal trade in the official socially-significant information.

In opinion of Alexei Demidov, a vice-president of the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program, "the decision of court marks an important stage in realization of citizen rights on access to socially-significant information created by the state bodies.

The situation is scandalous when some government bodies erect artificial obstacles to the access of citizens and organizations to information created on taxpayer money." http://www.svobodainfo.org, Feb. 20

NEW LIST OF PRODUCTS TO BE ACCOMPANIED WITH SANITARY-AND-EPIDEMIOLOGIC CONCLUSIONS OR CERTIFICATES OF STATE REGISTRATION

The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumers Protection and Welfare has posted a new list of products to be accompanied with sanitary-and-epidemiologic conclusions or certificates of state registration at customs clearance. http://www.gsen.ru, Feb. 2

STATE CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISORY BODIES

On February 1, 2006, the Russian government issued Decree 54 on realization of state construction supervision in the country.

The Decree has authorized conducting state construction supervision the following Federal bodies of executive power:

(1) Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision - at construction, reconstruction, overhaul of objects using atomic energy (including nuclear installations, storages of nuclear materials and radioactive substances), dangerous industrial objects, communication lines (including linear-cable constructions), defense and security objects, secret objects, especially dangerous, technically complex and unique objects, except for the objects of a military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;

(2) Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - at construction, reconstruction, overhaul of objects of a military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision has been charged with organizing a scientific-and-methodical assurance of the state construction supervision in the Russian Federation.

THE ROAD TO REFORM

AmCham in Russia Technical Regulations Committee News

On Oct. 24, Deputy Chair of the MinPromEnergo Public Council on Technical Regulations Natalia Fonareva gave Technical Regulations Committee members a unique historical insight into the struggle to bring about reform of technical regulations in Russia.

The new Federal law № 184-ФЗ “On Technical Regulation” was promulgated on

Dec. 30, 2002, yet it comprises both old and new standards and often lacks clarity and consistency; gaps exist in classification systems and individual regulations sometimes contradict one another.

Complicating the situation is the scale of regulatory acts – between 60,000 and

70,000 exist in the Russian Federation.

GosStandard, currently known as RosTechRegulirovania, began reforms in the early ’90s in conjunction with the RF Ministries of Defense, Communications and Agriculture. Despite initial progress, internal competition between the ministries began to impede the pace of change. Another hindrance has been bureaucracy and the incompleteness of records within control and inspection bodies. Summing up the extent of disorder, Fonareva commented, “Some control departments do not even hold a complete database of their own standards.”

On April 15, 2005, RF Minister of Industry and Energy Victor Christenko signed order № 83 “On the Formation of a Technical Regulations Public Council within the RF Ministry of Industry and Energy.” The council was tasked with four goals – to provide analytical information on MinPromEnergo activities at the request of the Department for Technical Regulations and Metrology; to prepare recommendations for improving and creating unity in legal norms; to prepare recommendations for improving state policy on technical regulations; and to elucidate and popularize reform of technical regulations in Russia.

The council holds weekly public hearings, usually at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays at the

MinPromEnergo headquarters. Comprehensive reports are prepared on issues raised during each session. Information on public hearings may be found on the RF Ministry of Industry and Energy website: www.mte.gov.ru.

AmCham News, Volume 12, No. 68

http://www.amcham.ru/amcham-v14/page.php?pageid=105033679100503

NEW NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

1. From January1, 2006, it is put into operation GOST 1.3-2002: Intergovernmental Standardization System. Rules and Methods of Adopting International and Regional Standards as Intergovernmental Standards.

The standard has concretized the provisions of ISO/IEC Guide 21 given the current practice of standardization and special features of translating international and regional standards into Russian. The standard is recommended for developing the corresponding national standards by the state members of the Agreements on Conducting an Agreed Policy on Standardization, Metrology and Certification.

2. From February 1, 2006, it is introduced into action GOST R 51901.4-2005: Project Risk Management. Application Guidelines.

The standard is a modification of IEC 62198:2001: Project Risk Management - Application Guidelines.

3. From July 1, 2006, it is introduced into the action GOST R 52373-2005: Insulated and Protected Wires for Overhead Power Lines. General Specifications.

Standard applies to self-supporting insulated wire for the air electric power lines to the nominal stress to 0.6/1 kV the inclusively and self-supporting protected wires for the airlines power transmission to the nominal stress 20 kV (for the networks to stress 10, 15 and 20 kV) and 35 kV (for the networks to the stress 35 kV) with the nominal frequency of 50 Hz (further - wire). Standard establishes basic requirement for the constructions and to the technical characteristics of wires, their performance properties and the methods tests. Climatic performance of wires - in, the category of arrangement - 1, 2 and 3 according to GOST 15150. In the standard is given the classification, the basic parameters and the sizes of wires, and also are presented the rule of inspection, the methods of control, the transportation and storage, indication on operation and guarantee of producer.

4. It is approved an Order on Formalization of Declarations of Industrial Safety of Dangerous Production Objects and a List of Included Data.

The order determines the principles, which should be used in solving the problem about the mandatority of declaring industrial safety, the structure of the declaration and the list of data to be included in it, the list of data to be included in the explanatory note and in the information sheet, which it serves for submission to citizens (on their requests), the requirements to formalizing the declaration of industrial safety and annexes to it.

5. From June 1, 2006, it is introduced into the action GOST R ISO 10006-2005: Quality Management Systems. Guidelines for Quality Management in Projects.

The standard is identical to ISO 10006: Quality Management Systems - Guidelines for Quality Management in Projects.

It is recommended to use instead of the referenced international standards the national standards corresponding to them, the data on which is represented in an additional annex.

6. From 1 July, 2006, it is introduced into action GOST R 52366-2005: Rough Tires for Locomotives on Broad Gauge Railways.

Standard applies to rough bandages for the pair of wheels the locomotives (electric locomotives, diesel locomotives, locomotives) of railroads. In the standard, there are established classification, basic parameters and sizes, and also methods the inspection of the dimensional characteristics of bandages.

7. From January 1, 2007, it is introduced into action GOST R 52350.0-2005 (IEC 60079-0:2004): Electrical Apparatus for Explosive Gas Atmospheres. Part 0. General Requirements.

The standard has been modified with respect to IEC 60079-0: Electrical Apparatus for Explosive Gas Atmospheres - Part 0: General Requirements by the way of introducing some additional requirements and technical deviations.

8. From May 1, 2006, there are introduced into the action Requirements for the content of report on the substantiation of safety of the atomic stations

Rostekhnadzor has passed Decree 9 of December 2, 2005, "Requirements to Contents of Reports on Substantiation of a Safety of Fast Neutrons Atomic Reactors" (НР -018-05) to be introduced into effect since May 1, 2006.

9. New Interstate GOST 7.89-2005: SIBID. Author’s and Publisher’s Text Originals on is introduced into force since July 1, 2006, for application in Russia as its national standard. The standard has been approved by the Intergovernmental Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification.

10. GOST R 41.44-2005 (UNECE Regulation No. 44) with the additional provisions reflecting peculiarities of Russia’s standardization should be commissioned from January 1, 2007.

11. GOST R 52161.2.12-2005 (IEC 60335-2-12:2002): Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances. Part 2-12: Particular Requirements for Warming Plates and Similar Appliances has been modified with respect to IEC 60335-2-12:2002 by introducing the additional provisions reflecting the national economy’s needs. The standard is introduced into effect since January 1, 2007, instead of GOST R IEC 335-2-12-96.

12. GOST R 52405-2005: Dry Children's Foodstuff. Porridge. General Technical Conditions is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

13. GOST R 52406-2005: Water. Determination of Petroleum Products by a Gas Chromatography Method is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early introduction.

14. GOST R 52408-2005 (ISO 8178-2:1996): Internal Combustion Piston Engines. Ejections of Harmful Substances with Waste Gases. Part 2. Measurements in Operation, which is modified with respect to ISO 8178-2:1996 with the additional provisions reflecting peculiarities of Russia’s national standardization, is introduced into action from January 1, 2007.

15. GOST R 52409-2005: Nonalcoholic and Weak Alcoholic Products. Terms and Definitions is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

16. GOST R 52416-2005: Food Concentrates. Gravimetric Method of Determining a Mass Fraction of Ashes is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

17. GOST R 52417-2005: Poultry Meat. Mechanical Processing. Methods of Determining a Mass Fraction of Bones and Calcium is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

18. GOST R 52418-2005: Chicken Meat for Children’s Foodstuff. Mechanical Processing is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

19. GOST R 52419-2005: Hard Alloy Haft Cutters for Processing Wood Materials and Plastics. Technical is introduced into action from January 1, 2007. 20. GOST R ISO 13493-2005: Meat and Meat Products. Determination of Chloramphenicol Content (Levomitecin) Using Liquid Chromatography is introduced into action from January 1, 2007, with the right of early application.

21. GOST R ISO 13752-2005: Air quality. Assessment of Uncertainty of a Measurement Method under Field Conditions Using a Reference Method, identical to ISO 13752:1998, is introduced into action from January 1, 2007.

22. GOST R ISO 14588-2005: Blind rivets. Terminology and Definitions, identical to ISO 14588:2000, GOST R ISO 14589-2005: Blind rivets. Mechanical Testing, identical to ISO 14589:2000, GOST R ISO 15973-2005: Closed and Blind Rivets with Break Pull Mandrel and Protruding Head (Aluminum-Alloy Housings and Steel Cores), identical to ISO 15973:2000, GOST R ISO 15974-2005: Closed and Blind Rivets with Break Pull Mandrel and Countersunk Head (Aluminum-Alloy Housings and Steel Cores), identical to ISO 15974:2000, are introduced into action from January 1, 2007.

23. Recommendations on Metrology, R 50.2.045-2005: State System for Securing Measurement Uniformity. Analyzers of Oxygen Dissolved in Water. Verification Technique, is introduced into action from July 1, 2006.

Publication and propagation of R 50.2.045-2005 is assigned to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, All-Russian Research Institute for Physicotechnical and Radiotechnical Measurements (VNIIFTRI).

24. Recommendations on Metrology, R 50.2.046-2005: State System for Securing Measurement Uniformity. Foreign Capillary Glass Viscosimeters. Verification Technique, is introduced into action from March 1, 2006.

Publication and propagation of R 50.2.046-2005 is assigned to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, D.I. Mendeleyev All-Russian Research Institute for Metrology (VNIIM).

25. Recommendations on Metrology, R 50.2.047-2005: State System for Securing Measurement Uniformity. Aerosol Particle Counters. Verification Technique, is introduced into action from July 1, 2006.

Publication and propagation of R 50.2.047-2005 is assigned to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, All-Russian Research Institute for Physicotechnical and Radiotechnical Measurements (VNIIFTRI).

26. Recommendations on Metrology, R 50.2.048-2005: State System for Securing Measurement Uniformity. Measuring Instruments of Flash Points in Open Crucibles. Verification Technique, is introduced into action from March 1, 2006.

Publication and propagation of R 50.2.048-2005 is assigned to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, D.I. Mendeleyev All-Russian Research Institute for Metrology (VNIIM).

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