Inspection of pressure equipment and installations

The inspection of pressure equipment subjected to a maximum allowable pressure of more than 0.5 bar is aimed at verifying that such equipment meets the mandatory safety conditions by means of checks, inspections with non-destructive tests, hydrostatic tests or other substitute tests.

Inspections of pressure equipment are regulated by Royal Decree 809/2021, of 21 September, approving the Pressure Equipment Regulation and its complementary technical instructions, which establishes the requirements and frequency of inspections of pressure equipment and installations, both periodic inspections and start-up or modification inspections.

The installations affected by this regulation are the following:

• Equipment not included in the ITCs (EP-0)
• Boilers and their associated elements (ITC EP-1)
• Electric Power Generating Plants (JTI EP-2)
• Petroleum refineries/petrochemical plants (EnTIC EP-3)
• Cryogenic Vessels (JTI EP-4)
• Diving cylinders (JTI EP-5)
• Gas Refuelling Plants (JTI EP-6)
• LNG Terminals (JTI EP-7)

For its part, the safety of pressure equipment (appliances, pressure equipment, assemblies, piping, simple or transportable pressure vessels) with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar, is defined by Royal Decree 709/2015, of 24 July, which establishes the essential safety requirements for the marketing of pressure equipment, which applies, among other issues, to conformity assessment and other verification tests.

The Royal Decree transposes into Spanish law Directive 2014/68/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States concerning the placing on the market of pressure equipment, and recasts Directive 97/23/EC, which also governed these laws. It applies to pressure equipment and assemblies constituting a novelty, whether manufactured inside or outside the EU. If imported, it also applies to second-hand products.