Medical certificate of Conformity (ACS)

The Medical Attestation of Conformity delivered by the Head office of Health became obligatory in France since December 24th, 2006.

Since this date the owner of a dwelling, a community or an accommodating building of the public is responsible, starting from the water meter, of the conformity and the good maintenance of the water supply networks as well as water quality distributed to the consumer.

To be in conformity it must require the Medical Certificate of Conformity for all equipment in contact with water in networks of Eau of human distribution and medical warm water.

In 1997, the Arrêté of May 29th defined the general medical principles applicable to materials coming into water contact intended for consumption human and specified the obligations falling to the various manufacturers (harmlessness of materials with respect to health…).

The manufacturers of equipment and the manufacturers of works for the fixed installations of production, treatment and distribution of the water intended for the human Consumption, today are well sensitized with the system of the Certificates of Medical Conformity (ACS) set up by France since the publication of this decree, just like in theory, the operators, engineering, the project superintendents and the administrations concerned.

In 1998, the commission of the European Union undertook the installation of a European system of acceptability of materials in contact of the water intended for human consumption.

The directive 98/83/CE of November 3rd, 1998, encourages from now on the Member States to take the appropriate measures to limit the effects of materials on water quality.

These provisions are transposed in the Décret 2001-1220 of December 20th, 2001 relating to the water intended for human consumption. Thus, article 32 of this decree, shows and reinforces the provisions concerning materials since it specifies:

they should not be likely to deteriorate the Water quality,
their use is subjected to authorization of the Minister in charge for the Santé, given near the French agency of safety Sanitaire of food (AFSSA).

the French system of the ACS

The materials used for the transport and the storage of the water intended for human consumption can negatively influence the water quality delivered to the consumers.

This influence can become important when phenomena of corrosion or organic degradation develop. If there are deterioration of materials and migration of the substances which compose them, that can involve for transported water a modification of the organoleptic properties, a deterioration of the microbiological quality and even the appearance of undesirable toxic elements in a water intended for human consumption.

lawful Context

Old decree 89-3 of the 1/3/89 on the water quality intended for human consumption stipulated that the materials used in the systems of production or of distribution and who are in contact of this water should not be likely to deteriorate quality of it. But no routine inspection was envisaged.

The decree of May 29th, 1997 defines the general medical principles applicable to materials entering in contact with water intended for human consumption and indicates the obligations of the manufacturers and operators.

The manufacturers must now make sure of the compatibility of the materials which they manufacture with the water quality of food and their harmlessness with respect to health, by constituting a request file addressed to a laboratory entitled by the Ministry in charge of Health.

As for the operators (manufacturers, owners of the installations of potabilisation, transport and storage), they must make sure to their suppliers that the materials, equipment or preparations which are provided to them are in conformity with the regulation, by requiring near them the Certificates of Medical Conformity of all the products which they buy and install.

See too

: Category: Policy or program related to the environment

External bonds

http://www.afssa.fr/
http://ile-de-france.sante.gouv.fr/santenv/eau/mater/c_060821.pdf
http://www.sante.gouv.fr/adm/dagpb/bo/2000/00-18/a0181282.htm
http://www.sante.gouv.fr/adm/dagpb/bo/2006/06-09/a0090027.htm
http://www.pasteur-lille.fr/fr/expertises/eau/analyses/materiaux/acs.html
http://www.isb-water.com/acs.pdf
http://www.gis.gov.pl/ppt/dhs/Autugelle.ppt
http://www.carso.fr/Eaux-et-environnement,7,41.htm

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