The GEBHARDT Isotec TBX operating manual counts each container's ATP approval as six years from its date of manufacture. When that runs out, a recognised test institute carries out a visual and functional check; a container that passes gets three more years, and the institute marks this on the container.
- First approval: 6 years from manufacture.
- Inspection passed: 3 more years.
- K coefficient measured again: 6 more years (ATP Annex 1, Appendix 2, 5.3).
- Turkish national rule: heavily insulated equipment older than 15 years is treated as normally insulated, and normally insulated equipment is not certified after 15 years.
Arranging the inspection is the operating company's job: both the GEBHARDT manual and the Turkish regulation place it on the user. The expiry month and year are printed on the plate fixed to the container.
For serially built containers under 2 m³ of internal volume, one certificate may cover a whole batch by its range of serial numbers, so every container in that batch expires on the same date.
