WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/CHE/95 
10 December 2007 
 (07-5463) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   SWITZERLAND
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:    
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) 
Air Pollution Control and NIR division Dr. Martin Schiess 
CH-3003 Berne 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:    
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO 
Non-tariff Measures Division 
Effingerstrasse 1 CH-3003 Berne Tel: +(41) 31 323 25 95;  Fax:  +(41) 31 324 09 58;  Email: kathrin.bucher@seco.admin.ch 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Diesel-powered 
machines and equipment for use on constr uction sites and similar installations 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft revision of the 
Ordinance on Air Pollution Control (4 pages, in French and German). 
6. Description of content:   The draft ordinance contains measures to reduce particle 
emissions from diesel engines on construction sites.  Most of these measures have already 
been in force since September 2003.  The proposed amendment of the Ordinance on Air Pollution Control is due to the need for harmoni zed enforcement at the national level as well 
as the extension of the applicability of the measur es to all construction sites.  In particular, 
the draft ordinance stipulates that with effect from 1 May 2008 new diesel-powered construction machines over 37 kW as well as  new machines between 18 and 37 kW from 
2010 must comply with the following emission standards:  
 
- a new particle number emission limit value (1x1012 1/kWh according to the UNECE 
PMP-Method),  G/TBT/N/CHE/95 
Page 2  
 
  - a limit ratio of NO 2 to NO x (30 percent mass),  
- no use of copper-based additives or copper-b ased coatings in the exhaust system,  
- fulfilment of the requirements for the othe r pollutants at the time when the machines 
were put on the market, according to Directive 97/68/EG.  
 
These new emission standards are regarded as fulfilled, if the construction machines are 
equipped with tested and a pproved particulate filters. 
A certificate of conformity to the proposed re gulation is mandatory for new diesel-powered 
machine types or for particle filter system types.  A certificate of conformity must be issued by a recognized technical service or engine test  laboratory.  Also mandatory is labelling or 
marking of each individual diesel-powered machine indicating compliance with the new 
emission standards. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human health: 
Airborne pollution in the form of particul ate matter is currently one of the greatest 
challenges facing Swiss environmental policy.  People living in cities and areas near major 
transport routes in particular are affected by high levels of particulate matter.  In these areas 
the limit values of the Ordinance on Air Pollution Control are frequently exceeded, 
sometimes massively.  Particularly urgent acti on is required in relation to diesel soot which 
is carcinogenic and must be minimized in accordance with environmental legislation as a precautionary measure.  According to the WHO there is compelling toxicological evidence 
of deleterious health effects due to ultrafine particles.  Diesel soot is emitted from engines 
into the atmosphere as a very large number of  ultrafine particles with diameters of around 
100 nanometers. In order to minimize diesel soot a particle number limit value is required in 
addition to the exhaust mass limit value.  This principle, based on precautionary measures, is also implemented at the international level (UNECE-WP29-GRPE) by the PMP programme (Particle Measurement Programme).  
Highly effective particle filter systems with f iltration efficiencies in excess of 97% (particle 
number) and a marked reduction in diesel soot  (over 93%) are now state-of-the-art for 
construction machines and are also econo mically viable for large machines. 
8. Relevant documents:    
Legal bases: 
Federal Law relating to the Protection of the Environment (LPE) http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c814_01.html 
Ordinance on Air Pollution Control (OPair) 
http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/c814_318_142_1.html 
Air pollution Control at Constructions Sites: 
http://www.bafu.admin.ch/php/modules/shop/files/pdf/phpH2Wacn.pdf 
FOEN/Suva Filter List 
http://www.bafu.admin.ch/luft/00632/ 00639/00644/index. html?lang=en 
Particle Measurement Programme of the UNECE-WP.29-GRPE 
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29grpe/pmp19.html 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    April 2008 
1 May 2008 
10. Final date for comments:   10 February 2008  G/TBT/N/CHE/95 
 Page 3 
 
 
  11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   
http://www.bafu.admin.ch/aktuell/medieninf ormation/00004/index. html?lang=de&msg-
id=16009