Mexico Safety Requirements for Electrical Products
The Mexican government has updated the safety requirements for electrical products included in mandatory official standard NOM-003-SCFI-2000 to ensure that they are harmonised with relevant international standards, including in particular IEC Guide 104. The new standard (NOM-003-SCFI-2014) is based on Mexican norms NMX-J-521/1-ANCE, NMX-J-524/1-ANCE, NMX-J-038/1-ANCE and NMX-J-307-ANCE, which are themselves modified versions of IEC 60335-1, IEC 60745-1, IEC 60974-1 and IEC 60598-1. Among other things, NOM-003-SCFI-2014 requires electrical products to be designed and manufactured in a way that ensures that the consumer is protected against electric shock; mechanical hazards; a risk of explosion; hazards associated with electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields; ionising and non-ionising radiation; electrical, magnetic and electromagnetic disturbances; optical radiation; fire hazards; thermal hazards; audible noise hazards; biological and chemical hazards; emission, production and use of hazardous substances; hazards associated with unsupervised operation; hazards associated with the connection and interruption of the power supply; dangers arising from the combination of the product with other products; and safety and functional reliability. Products must also comply with the specific requirements laid out in Chapter 7 of the standard. For example, electrical products must comply with the requirements of Mexican norm NMX-J-508-ANCE, household appliances must adhere to the conditions established under NMX-J-521/1-ANCE, electric toys (with the exception of electronic toys) must follow the standards set forth under NMX-J-175/1-ANCE, and luminaires and seasonal decorative products must comply with requirements of NMX-J-307-ANCE and NMX-J-588-ANCE, respectively. Products covered by the scope of NOM-003-SCFI-2014 are required to have an official password that attests compliance with all applicable requirements, in accordance with the requirements of NOM-106-SCFI, and that password must be placed on the product, its packaging or both. If a label is used to comply with this requirement it must remain on the product or its packaging until the product is acquired by a consumer in Mexico. NOM-003-SCFI-2014 also includes extensive conformity assessment provisions as well as technical annexes regarding technical documentation, product groups, management system production process report, traceability system, minimum information required in the conformity assessment certificate, partial tests, requirements for the approval of the reconstruction or reconditioning manual, qualification of conformity assessment body staff, minimum information required in the contract to provide services, specific Mexican norms, and description of general safety requirements for electrical products. The final standard clarifies that it applies to electrical products connected to the public electricity grid, as well as products powered by other energy sources such as batteries, accumulators and self-generation mechanisms, in an AC or DC current, with a rated voltage up to 1,000 volts AC and up to 1,500 volts DC. Excluded from the requirements of the standard are
(1) electrical products subject to a specific mandatory standard;
(2) devices for use in maritime or air transport;
(3) devices and equipment intended for use under special conditions such as in a place with an explosive atmosphere;
(4) electric motors on their own;
(5) certain exempted electrical products; and
(6) power sources for arc welding and plasma cutting that comply with certain conditions.