Unclarified Chinese exports & CE confusion put industry at risk, say BSCA
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The British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) have made a plea to ensure Chinese exports meet minimum standards for CE marking after tested steel was found to contain ‘elevated levels’ of other metals.
The lack of clarification comes from the discovery of higher levels of Boron, Chromium and Copper in Chinese steel which doesn’t meet European standards. In an interview with New Civil Engineer, the BSCA director general Sarah McCann-Bartlett said the discrepancies come from differing interpretation of EU standards.
She told NCE: “One of the issues is that because there are export rebates in China, some of the steels may be classed as alloy steels, and there’s a little bit of contention about whether the steels that are coming in are alloy or non-alloy.”
“It is possible to weld non-alloy steel and industry has being doing so for a long time,” she added.
McCann-Bartlett’s suggestion with this plea is that clearer standards should be in place to allow qualified firms and employees to be able to follow the correct process for the type of metal compositions they are dealing with.
New Plea Follows Earlier Reports of CE Mark Confusion
This is not the first time that all businesses operating in the EU have been warned about CE mark confusion, due to the incredibly close similarities between the EU ‘CE Mark’ and the Chinese ‘China Export’ Mark. This creates a number of issues for those in the industry, as CE marking has been required for products since July 2013 and confusion in this area not only raises concerns about safety but also has legal implications.
Numerous UK companies, such as construction and architect product specialists Attenborough Doors Ltd and countless other large firms, work hard to ensure products are genuinely CE marked for customers. But smaller firms or those buying exports directly may find it more difficult to make the distinctions.
To tackle this, the BSCA’s McCann-Bartlett also added that some of the onus has to fall on governments and their approach to policing CE marking across the whole supply chain.
“Clients, consulting engineers and main contractors should be ensuring that all the construction products they use are properly CE marked,” she added.
For further information visit www.attenboroughdoor.co.uk