1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of22March1982
on limit values and quality objectives for mercury discharges by the chlor-alkali electrolysis
industry
(82/176/EEC)
(OJ L 81, 27.3.1982, p. 29)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31.12.1991
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of22March1982
on limit values and quality objectives for mercury discharges by
thechlor-alkali electrolysis industry
(82/176/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles100 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to Directive 76/464/EEC of 4 May 1976 on pollution
caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic
environment of the Community(1), and in particular Article 6 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(4),
Whereas, in order to protect the aquatic environment of the Community
against pollution by certain dangerous substances, Article 3 of Direc-tive 76/464/EEC provides for a system of prior authorization layingdown emission standards for discharges of the substances in List I inthe Annex thereto; whereasArticle 6 of the s ame Directive providesthat limit values shall be laid down for such emission standards and
also quality objectives for the aquatic environment affected by these
substances;
Whereasmercury and itscompoundsare included in Lis t I;Whereasthe Member Statesare required to apply the limit values
except in the cases where they may employ quality objectives;
Whereas, since the pollution caused by discharges of mercury into
water is caused, to a large extent, by the electrolysis of alkali chlorides,in the first instance limit values should be established for this industryand quality objectivess hould be laid down for the aquatic environmentinto which mercury is discharged by this industry; whereas such
discharges should therefore require prior authorization;
Whereas the purpose of such quality objectives must be to eliminate
mercury pollution of the variouspartsof the aquatic environmentwhich might be affected by mercury-bearing discharges from thechlor-alkali electrolysis industry;
Whereas such quality objectives must be laid down expressly for this
purpose and not with the intention of establishing rules pertaining toconsumer protection or to the marketing of products from the aquatic
environment;
Whereas a specific monitoring procedure should be instituted to enable
the Member Statesto demons trate that the quality objectivesarecomplied with;
Whereas provision should be made for the monitoring by the Member
Statesof the aquatic environment affected by the s aid mercurydischarges with a view to efficient application of this Directive;whereasArticle 6 of Directive 76/464/EEC doesnot provide for the
powers to introduce such monitoring; whereas, since the necessary
powersof action have not been provided for in the Treaty, Article235 thereof should be invoked;1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.
(2) OJ No C 169, 6. 7. 1979, p. 2.
(3) OJ No C 341, 31. 12. 1980, p. 24.
(4) OJ No C 83, 2. 4. 1980, p. 16.
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Whereas it is important that the Commission forward to the Council,
every five years, a comparative assessment of the implementation ofthisDirective by the Member States ;
Whereas, since groundwater is the subject of a specific Directive, it is
excluded from the scope of this Directive,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. ThisDirective:— in pursuance of Article 6 (1) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
limit values for emission standards for mercury in discharges fromindustrial plants as defined in Article 2 point (d) of this Directive,
— in pursuance of Article 6 (2) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
quality objectivesfor mercury in the aquatic environment,
— in pursuance of Article 6 (4) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
the time limitsfor compliance with the conditionsof the authoriza-tionsgranted by the competent authoritiesof Member Statesin thecase of existing discharges,
— in pursuance of Article 12 (1) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
the reference methodsof meas urement enabling the mercury
content in discharges and in the aquatic environment to be deter-
mined,
— in pursuance of Article 6 (3) of Directive 76/464/EEC, establishes a
monitoring procedure,
— requiresMember Statesto cooperate with one another in the cas e of
discharges affecting the waters of more than one Member State.
2. ThisDirective appliesto the watersreferred to in Article 1 of
Directive 76/464/EEC with the exception of groundwater.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘mercury’ means:
— the chemical element mercury,
— the mercury contained in any of itscompounds ;
(b) ‘limit values’ means:
the valuess pecified in Annex I;
(c) ‘quality objectives’ means:
the requirementss pecified in Annex II;
(d) ‘industrial plant’ means:
a plant in which alkali chloridesare electrolyzed by meansof
mercury cells;
(e) ‘existing plant’ means:
an industrial plant which is operational on the date of notification
of thisDirective;
(f) ‘new plant’ means:
— an industrial plant which has become operational after the date
of notification of thisDirective,
— an existing industrial plant whose capacity for the electrolysis
of alkali chlorides by means of mercury cells has been substan-tially increased after the date of notification of this Directive.
Article 3
1. The limit values, the time limits by which they must be complied
with and the monitoring procedure for discharges are laid down inAnnex I.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 3
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2. The authorizationsreferred to in Article 3 of Directive 76/464/
EEC must contain provisions at least as stringent as those in Annex Ito thisDirective, except in cas eswhere a Member State iscomplying
with Article 6 (3) of Directive 76/464/EEC on the basis of Annexes II
and IV to the present Directive.
The authorizations shall be reviewed at least every four years.3. Without prejudice to their obligationsaris ing out of paragraphs1
and 2 and the provisions of Directive 76/464/EEC, Member States maygrant authorizationsfor new plantsonly if s uch authorizationscontain a
reference to the standards corresponding to the best technical means
available for preventing discharges of mercury.
Whatever the method it adopts, the Member State, where for technical
reasons the intended measures do not conform to the best technicalmeans available, shall provide the Commission, before any authoriza-tion, with the justifications for these reasons.
Within three months, the Commission shall send a report to the
Member Statess tating itsopinion on the derogation covered by thesecond subparagraph.
4. The reference method of analysis for determining the presence of
mercury are given in Annex III.1. Other methodsmay be us ed providedthat the limits of detection, precision and accuracy of such methods are
at leas t asgood asthos e laid down in Annex III.1. The accuracy
required in the measurement of effluent flow is given in Annex III.2.
Article 4
The Member States concerned shall be responsible for monitoring the
aquatic environment affected by industrial discharges.
In the case of discharges affecting the waters of several Member States,
the Member Statesconcerned s hall cooperate with a view to harmo-
nizing monitoring procedures.
Article 5
At intervals of three years the Member States shall send information to
the Commission on the implementation of this Directive, in the form ofa sectoral report which shall also cover other pertinent CommunityDirectives. This report shall be drawn up on the basis of a question-
naire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC(
1). The
questionnaire or outline shall be sent to the Member States six monthsbefore the start of the period covered by the report. The report shall besent to the Commission within nine months of the end of the three-year
period covered by it.
The first report shall cover the period from 1993 to 1995 inclusive.The Commission shall publish a Community report on the implementa-
tion of the Directive within nine monthsof receiving the reportsfromthe Member States.
In the event of a change in scientific knowledge relating principally to
the toxicity, persistence and accumulation of mercury in living organ-isms and sediments or in the event of an improvement in the besttechnical means available, the Commission shall submit appropriateproposals to the Council with the aim of reinforcing, if necessary, thelimit valuesand the quality objectives .1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.▼M1
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Article 6
1. Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to
comply with thisDirective before 1 July 1983. They s hall forthwith
inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of
the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governedby thisDirective.
Article 7
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 5
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ANNEX I
Limit values, time limits by which they must be complied with, and moni-
toringprocedurefordischarges
1. The limit values expressed in terms of concentration which, in principle,
should not be exceeded are set out in the following table.
Unit of measurementMonthly average limit valuesnot
to be exceeded from 1 JulyRemarks
1983 1986
Recycledbrine andlost brine
Microgramsof mercury per
litre 75 50 Applicable to the total quantity
of mercury present in all
mercurycontaining waterdischarged from the site of the
industrial plant
In all cases, limit values expressed as maximum concentrations may not be
greater than those expressed as maximum quantities divided by water
requirementsper tonne of ins talled chlorine production capacity.
2. However, because the concentration of mercury in effluents depends upon
the volume of water involved, which is different for different processes and
plants, the limit values expressed in terms of quantity of mercury discharged
in relation to installed chlorine production capacity given in the following
table must be observed in all cases.
Unit of measurementMonthly average limit valuesnot
to be exceeded from 1 JulyRemarks
1983 1986
Recycledbrine
Gramsof mercury per tonne of
installed chlorine production
capacity 0·5 0·5 Applicable to the mercury
present in effluent discharged
from the chlorine production
unit
1·5 1·0 Applicable to the total quantity
of mercury present in all
mercury-containing water
discharged from the site of the
industrial plant
Lost brine
Gramsof mercury per tonne of
installed chlorine production
capacity 8·0 5·0 Applicable to the total quantity
of mercury present in all
mercury-containing water
discharged from the site of the
industrial plant
3. The daily average limit valuesare four timesthe corres ponding monthly
average limit valuesgiven in points1 and 2.
4. In order to check whether the discharges comply with the emission standards
which have been fixed in accordance with the limit valueslaid down in this
Annex, a monitoring procedure must be instituted. This procedure must
provide for:
— the taking each day of a sample representative of the discharge over a
period of 24 hoursand the meas urement of the mercury concentration of
that sample, and
— the measurement of the total flow of the discharge over that period.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 6
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The quantity of mercury discharged during a month must be calculated by
adding together the quantitiesof mercury dis charged each day during that
month. This total must then be divided by the installed chlorine production
capacity.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 7
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ANNEX II
Qualityobjectives
For those Member States which apply the exception provided for in Article 6 (3)
of Directive 76/464/EEC, the emission standards which Member States must
establish and ensure are applied, pursuant to Article 5 of that Directive, shall
be fixed so that the appropriate quality objective or objectives from among those
listed below is or are complied with in the area affected by discharges of
mercury from the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry. The competent authority
shall determine the area affected in each case and shall select from among the
quality objectiveslis ted in paragraph 1 the objective or objectivesthat it deems
appropriate having regard to the intended use of the area affected, taking
account of the fact that the purpose of this Directive is to eliminate all pollution.
1. In order to eliminate pollution asdefined in Directive 76/464/EEC, and
pursuant to Article 2 of that Directive, the following quality objectives are
set:
1.1. The concentration of mercury in a representative sample of fish flesh
chosen as an indicator must not exceed 0·3 mg/kg wet flesh.
1.2. The total concentration of mercury in inland surface waters affected by
discharges must not exceed 1 µg/l as the arithmetic mean of the results
obtained over a year.
1.3. The concentration of mercury in solution in estuary waters affected by
discharges must not exceed 0·5 µg/l as the arithmetic mean of the results
obtained over a year.
1.4. The concentration of mercury in solution in territorial sea waters and
internal coastal waters other than estuary waters affected by discharges
must not exceed 0·3 µg/l as the arithmetic mean of the results obtained
over a year.
1.5. The quality of the waters must be sufficient to comply with the require-
mentsof any other Council Directive applicable to s uch watersasregards
the presence of mercury.
2. The concentration of mercury in sediments or in shellfish must not increase
significantly with time.
3. Where several quality objectives are applied to waters in an area, the
quality of the waters must be sufficient to meet each of them.
4. The numerical valuesof the quality objectivess pecified in 1·2, 1·3 and 1·4
may, as an exception and where this is necessary for technical reasons, be
multiplied by 1·5 until 30 June 1986, provided that the Commission has
been notified beforehand.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 8
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ANNEX III
Reference methodofmeasurement
1. The reference method of analysis for determining the mercury content in
waters, the flesh of fish, sediments and shellfish is by flameless atomic
absorption spectrophotometry after suitable pretreatment of the sample which
takes account in particular of pre-oxidation of the mercury and of successive
reduction of the mercury ionsHg (II).
The limitsof detection(1) must be such that the mercury concentration can be
measured to an accuracy (1) of ± 30 % and a precision (1) of ± 30 % at the
following concentrations:
— in the case of discharges, one tenth of the maximum permitted concentra-
tion of mercury specified in the authorization,
— in the case of surface water, one tenth of the mercury concentration
specified in the quality objective,
— in the case of the flesh of fish and shellfish, one tenth of the mercury
concentration specified in the quality objective,
— in the case of sediments, one tenth of the mercury concentration in the
sample or 0·05 mg/kg dry weight, whichever is the greater.
2. Flow measurement must be carried out to an accuracy of ± 20 %.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 9
(1) The definitionsof thes e termsare asgiven in Council Directive 79/869/EEC of 9
October 1979 concerning the methods of measurement and frequencies of samplingand analysis of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the
Member States(OJ No L 271, 29. 10. 1979, p. 44).
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ANNEX IV
Monitoringprocedureforqualityobjectives
1. For each authorization granted in pursuance of this Directive, the competent
authority shall specify the restrictions, the monitoring procedure and dead-
linesfor ens uring compliance with the quality objective or objectives
concerned.
2. In accordance with Article 6 (3) of Directive 76/464/EEC, the Member State
shall report to the Commission for each quality objective chosen and applied,
on:
— the points of discharge and the means of dispersal,
— the area in which the quality objective isapplied,— the location of sampling points,— the frequency of sampling,— the methods of sampling and of measurement,— the results obtained.
3. Samples must be properly representative of the quality of the aquatic envir-
onment in the area affected by the discharges, and the frequency of sampling
must be sufficient to show any changes in the aquatic environment, taking
into account in particular natural variationsin the hydrological regime. The
salt-water fish analysis must be carried out on a sufficiently representative
number of samples and species.
4. With regard to the quality objective in 1.1 of Annex II, the competent
authority shall choose the species of fish to be adopted as indicators for
analysis. For salt waters the species chosen from among those inhabiting
coastal waters and caught locally may include cod, whiting, plaice, mackerel,
haddock and flounder.
StatementonArticle3(3)
The Council and the Commission state that the application of the best technical
means available makes it possible to limit discharges of mercury from the site of
a new industrial plant using the recycled-brine process to less than 0·5 g/tonne
of installed chlorine production capacity.1982L0176 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 10