S.I. No. 228/1985 - European Communities (Units of Measurement) (Amendment) Regulations, 1985.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Units of Measurement) (Amendment) Regulations, 1985.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 10th day of July, 1985.

2. The European Communities (Units of Measurement) Regulations, 1983 (

S.I. No. 235 of 1983

) are hereby amended by

(

a

) the substitution at reference number 1 in Schedule 1 thereto for the definition of "Unit of length" of the following definition

"Unit of length

The metre is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second.

(Seventeenth CGPM (1983), Resolution 1).",

(

b

) the addition to the Table at reference number 4 in Schedule 1 thereto of the following

"Blood pressure and pressure of other body fluids.

Millimetre of mercury

mm Hg

1 mmHg = 133,322 Pa

Effective cross-sectional area

Barn

b

1b = 10

-28

m

2

"

(

c

) the substitution at reference number 4 in Schedule I thereto for—

(1)

O.J. No. L2, 3/1/85, P. 11.

''

Note

: The prefixes listed in 1.3 may be used in conjunction with the above units. The multiple 10

2

a is, however, called a 'hectare'."

of

"

Note

: The prefixes and their symbols listed in 1.3 may be used in conjunction with the above units and symbols, with the exception of the millimetre of mercury and its symbol. The multiple of 10

2

a is, however, called a 'hectare'.",

(

d

) the deletion in the Table in Schedule 2 thereto of the following

"Blood pressure

Millimetre of mercury

mm Hg

1 mm HG =

133,322 Pa",

(

e

) the substitution in Schedule 2 thereto for—

"

Note

: The prefixes and their symbols listed in 1.3 of Schedule 1 may be used in conjunction with the units and symbols contained in this section, with the exception of millimetre of mercury and its symbol and the symbol 'g'."

of

"

Note

: The prefixes and their symbols listed in 1.3 of Schedule 1 may be used in conjunction with the above units and symbols, with the exception of the symbol 'g'.".

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 9th day of July, 1985.

JOHN BRUTON T.D.,

Minister for Industry, Trade,

Commerce and Tourism.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations are made to give effect to Council Directive 85/1/EEC on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to units of measurement.

The Regulations provide for a new definition of the metre, the retention of the millimetre of mercury as the unit of measurement for blood pressure and other body fluids and the inclusion of the 'barn' which is used in nuclear physics in the list of authorised units permitted in specialised fields.

I, JOHN BRUTON, Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act, 1972

(No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 85/1/EEC of the 18th day of December, 1984

1

, hereby make the following Regulations