. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/98 
2 March 2009 
 (09-1052) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   French 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   FRANCE  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:   Ministère de l'écologie, de l'énergie, du développement durable et de 
l'aménagement du territoire  (Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development, and 
Town and Country Planning) 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
Direction générale de la prévention des risques 
Service de la prévention des nuisances et  de la qualité de l'environnement 
Département Produits chimiques, pollutions diffuses, agriculture 
Bureau des substances et préparations chimiques 
Arche de la Défense 
92055 La Défense Cedex 
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):  Construction products 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Arrêté relatif aux 
conditions de mise sur le marché des produits de construction et de  décoration contenant 
des substances cancérigènes, mutagènes ou reprotoxiques de catégorie 1 ou 2  (Order on 
requirements for the placing on the market of construction and  decorative products that contain Category 1 or 2 carcinogenic, mutageni c or reprotoxic substances) ( 2 pages, in 
French). 
6. Description of content:   The notified text is a ministerial Order prohibiting the placing on 
the market of constructio n and decorative pr oducts that emit certain Categ ory 1 or 2 
carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substa nces.  It provide s that constr uction and 
decorative products may be placed on the market only if they emit less than 1 µg/m3 of the following substances:  benzene, dibutyl phthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.  This limit 
is measured and calculated in accordance with standard NF ISO 16000. G/TBT/N/FRA/98 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  
Generally speaking, the placing on the market  for consumer use of Category 1 and 2 
substances and preparations classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction 
(CMR) is prohibited.  Construction and decorative materials are generally considered as objects and are therefore excluded from  this generic ban.  Nevertheless, th e population 
spends more than 80 per cent of its time indoors and, m ore generally, in confined spaces, 
where high concentrations of pollutants, in particular building-re lated volatile organic  
compounds, including CMR substances, may be present.  The ban on CMR substances in 
construction products will help to ensure the protection of health and reduce the potential 
impact of these materials on indoor air quality. 
8. Relevant documents:   Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the classification, packaging and  
labelling of dangerous substances, Annex I; 
Council Directive 89/106/EEC on construction products; Article L.521-6 of the Environm ent Code:  "Article L.251-6-II.  The following measures 
may be taken in respect of substances a nd preparations that pose unacceptable danger or 
risks to humans or the en vironment, and ma nufactured products or equipment containing 
such substances, under the conditions set forth in  Article L.521-1:  (1) Total, provisional or 
partial ban on production, importation, exporta tion, transportation, placing on the market, 
or certain uses;  (2) Measure to restrict or  regulate production, importation, exportation, 
placing on the market, certain uses, salvaging, re generation, recycling, disposal, storage, 
transportation, composition, labelling, packaging, trade names and advertising, as well as 
any other measure required to safeguard public health and the environment." 
Article L.212-1 of the Consumer Code:  "Ar ticle L.212-1.  As fr om the first placing of  
these products on the market, they must comply with the prescriptions in force on human safety and health, fair comme rcial transactions  and consumer protection.  The person 
responsible for the first pl acing of a product on the market is therefore required to verif y 
that it conforms to the prescriptions in force and, at the request of those authorized to enforce the present provisions, to substantiate the verifications and controls carried out." 
9. Proposed date of adoption: 
 Proposed date of entry into force:   30 May 2009 
30 June 2009 
10. Final date for comments:   30 May 2009 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and website addresses,  if available of the other body: 
Guillaume Bailly or Emilie Brisorgueil 
MEEDDAT/SPNQE/BSPC E-mail:  guillaume.bailly@developpement-durable.gouv.fr or emilie.brisorgueil@develo ppement-durable.gouv.fr 
National enquiry point: 
CINORTECH 
AFNOR 11, Avenue Francis de Pressensé 93571 - SAINT- DENIS – LA PLAINE Cédex 
and:  here