87/217/EEC - - - I
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its con-
tents
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 19 March 1987
on the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution by asbestos
(87/217/EEC)
(OJ No L 85, 28. 3. 1987, p. 40.)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31. 12. 1991
Amended by:
Agreement on the European Economic Area (2 94 A 0103(70)) L 1 494 3. 1. 1994
87/217/EEC - - - I
ICOUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 19 March 1987
on the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution by asbestos
(87/217/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMU-
NITIES,
Having regard to the T reaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 100 and
235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(3),
Whereas successive action programmes of the European
Communities(4)on the environment emphasize the import-
ance of preventing and reducing environmental pollution ;
whereas in this context asbestos has been listed among the
first-category pollutants to be investigated on the grounds
of their toxicity and of their potentially serious effects on
human health and the environment;
Whereas Council Directive 83/478/EEC(5)inserted in Di-
rective 76/769/EEC(6),a sl a s ta m e n d e db yD i r e c t i v e
85/467/EEC(7), provisions restricting the marketing and
use of crocidolite (blue asbestos) and products containing
crocidolite fibres and special provisions concerning the la-
belling of products containing asbestos;
Whereas Council Directive 83/477/EEC(8)lays down
provisions on the protection of workers from the risks re-
lated to exposure to asbestos at work;
Whereas Directive 84/360/EEC(9), lays down provisions on
the combating of air pollution from industrial plants;
Whereas Member States should take the measures necess-
ary to ensure that asbestos emissions into the air, asbestos
discharges into the aquatic environment, and solid asbestoswaste are, as far as possible, reduced at source or pre-
vented;
Whereas it is appropriate to allow a sufficient period of
time for the application of these measures to existing
plants;
Whereas Member States should have the possibility, whilst
respecting the provisions of the T reaty, to introduce more
stringent provisions in order to protect health and the
environment;
Whereas disparities between the provisions in force or
being amended in the Member States as regards the con-
trol of pollution ftom industrial plants can create unequal
conditions of competition and thereby directly affect the
(1)OJ No C 349, 31. 12. 1985, p. 27.
(2)Opinion delivered on 9. 3. 1987 (not yet published in the
official Journal).
(3)OJ No C 207, 18. 8. 1986, p. 21.
(4)OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.
(5)OJ No L 263, 24. 9. 1983, p. 33.
(6)OJ No L 262, 27. 9. 1976, p. 201.
(7)OJ No L 269, 11. 10. 1985, p. 56.
(8)OJ No L 263, 24. 9. 1983, p. 25.
(9)OJ No L 188, 16. 7. 1984, p. 20.
87/217/EEC - - - I
IIfunctioning of the common market; whereas it is therefore
necessary to approximate legislation in this field pursuant
to Article 100 of the T reaty;
Whereas reducing pollution by asbestos serves to further
one of the Community’s objectives regarding the protection
and improvement of the environment; whereas, however,
specific powers for this purpose are not expressly provided
for in the T reaty and Article 235 must therefore also be
invoked,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
87/217/EEC - - - I
1Article 1
1. The objective of this Directive is to lay down
measures and to supplement provisions already in force,
with a view to preventing and reducing pollution by asbes-
tos in the interests of the protection of human health and
the environment.
2. This Directive shall be applied without prejudice to
the provisions laid down by Directive 83/477/EEC.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Directive:
1. Asbestos means the following fibrous silicates:
— crocidolite (blue asbestos),
— actinolite,
— anthophyllite,
— chrysotile (white asbestos),
— amosite (brown asbestos),
—t r e m o l i t e .
2. Raw asbestos means:
the product resulting from the primary crushing of as-
bestos ore.
3. Use of asbestos means:
activities which involve the handling of a quantity of
more than 100 kilograms of raw asbestos per year and
which concern:
(a) the production of raw asbestos ore excluding any
process directly associated with the mining of the
ore, and/or
(b) the manufacturing and industrial finishing of the
following products using raw asbestos: asbestos
cement or asbestos-cement products, asbestos
friction products, asbestos filters, asbestos tex-
tiles, asbestos paper and card, asbestos jointing,
packaging and reinforcement materials, asbestos
floor coverings, asbestos fillers.
4. Working of products containing asbestos means:
activities other than the use of asbestos, which are
liable to release asbestos into the environment.
5. Waste means:
any substance or object as defined in Article 1 of Di-
rective 75/442/EEC(10).
(10)OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 47.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
2Article 3
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to
ensure that asbestos emissions into the air, asbestos dis-
charges into the aquatic environment, and solid asbestos
waste are, as far as reasonably practicable, reduced at
source and prevented. In the case of the use of asbestos,
these measures should entail using the best available tech-
nology not entailing excessive cost, including where ap-
propriate recycling or treatment.
2. In the case of existing plants, the requirement in
paragraph 1 that best available technology not entailing ex-
cessive costs be used to reduce and eliminate emissions of
asbestos into the air shall be applied taking into account
the elements set out in Article 13 of Directive
84/360/EEC.
Article 4
1. Without prejudice to Article 3, Member States shall
take the measures necessary to ensure that the concentra-
tion of asbestos emitted through the discharge ducts into
the air during use of asbestos does not exceed a limit value
of 0,1 mg/m3(milligrams of abestos (SIC! asbestos) per m3
of air discharged).
2. Member States may exempt from the obligation re-
ferred to in paragraph 1 the plants emitting less than
5 000 m3/hour total gaseous discharges, where the dis-
charge of asbestos into the air is not more than 0,5 grams
per hour at any time under normal operating conditions.
When this exemption applies, the competent authorities of
Member States shall take appropriate measures in order to
ensure that the thresholds referred to in the first subpara-
graph are not exceeded.
Article 5
Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure
that:
(a) all aqueous effluent arising in the manufacture of as-
bestos cement is recycled. Where such recycling is not
ecoomically (SIC! economically) feasible, Member
States shall take the measures necessary to ensure
that the disposal of liquid waste containing asbestos
does not result in pollution of the aquatic environ-
ment and other sectors including the air.
To t hi s end :
— the limit value of 30 grams of total suspended
matter per m3of aqueous effluent discharged
shall apply,
— the competent authorities of Member States
shall, for each plant concerned, specify the vol-
ume of discharges into water of the total quanti-
ty of suspended matter discharged per tonne of
product taking account of the specific situation
of the plant.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
3These limits shall apply at the point where the waste
waters leave the industrial plant.
(b) All aqueous effluent arising in the manufacture of as-
bestos paper or board is recycled.
However, the discharge of aqueous effluent containing
not more than 30 grams of suspended matter per m3
of water may be authorized during routine cleaning ormaintenance of the plant.
Article 6
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to
ensure that measurements are taken at regular intervals of
emissions into the air and of discharges of aqueous efflu-
ent from facilities to which the limit values provided for in
A r t i c l e s4a n d5a p p l y .
2. For the purposes of checking compliance with the
said limit values the sampling and analysis procedures and
methods shall be in conformity with those described in the
Annex or with any other procedure or method which gives
equivalent results.
3. Member States shall notify to the Commission the
procedures and methods they are using together with the
information relevant to assess the pertinence of such pro-
cedures and methods. On the basis of this information, the
Commission will keep under review the equivalence of the
different procedures and methods and report to the Coun-
cil five years after notification of the Directive.
Article 7
Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure
that:
— activities involving the working of products containing
asbestos do not cause significant environmental pollu-
tion by asbestos fibres or dust,
— the demolition of buildings, structures and installa-
tions containing asbestos and the removal therefrom
of asbestos or materials containing asbestos involving
the release of asbestos fibres or dust do not cause
significant asbestos environmental pollution; to that
end they shall satisfy themselves that the plan of work
provided for in Article 12 of Directive 83/477/EEC
prescribes the introduction of all the necessary pre-
ventive measures to this end.
Article 8
Without prejudice to Directive 78/319/EEC
(1),a sl a s t
amended by the 1985 Act of Accession, Member States
shall take the measures necessary to ensure that:
(1)OJ No L 84, 31. 3. 1978, p. 43.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
4— in the course of the transport and deposition of waste
containing asbestos fibres or dust, no such fibres or
dust are released into the air and no liquids which
may contain asbestos fibres are spilled,
— where waste containing asbestos fibres or dust is land-
filled at sites licensed for the purpose, such waste is
so treated, packaged or covered, with account being
taken of local conditions, that the release of asbestos
particles into the environment is prevented.
Article 9
A Member State may, in order to protect health and the
environment, introduce provisions which are more stringent
than those of this Directive, in compliance with the condi-
tions laid down by the T reaty.
Article 10
The procedure provided for in Articles 11 and 12 is estab-
lished for the adaptation of the Annex to technical prog-
ress and shall be followed for any modification of the
methods of sampling and analysis mentioned in the Annex.
This adaptation must not result in any direct or indirect
modification of the limit values indicated in Articles 4 and
5.
Article 11
A Committee for the adaptation of this Directive to scien-
tific and technical progress, hereinafter called ‘the Com-
mittee’, consisting of representatives of the Member States
and chaired by a representative of the Commission, is
hereby set up.
The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.
Article 12
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
be followed, the Chairman shall refer the matter to the
Committee, either on his own initiative or at the request
of the representative of a Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to
the Committee a draft of the measures to be adopted. The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a
time limit which the Chairman may lay down according to
the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered
by a majority of 54 votes, the votes of the Member States
being weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the
T reaty. The Chairman shall not vote.
3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the intended
measures when they are in accordance with the
Committee’s opinion.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
5(b) Where the intended measures are not in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Committee, or in
the absence of any opinion, the Commission
shall forthwith submit to the Council a proposal
relating to the measures to be taken. The Coun-
cil shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of three months from the date
on which the matter was referred to it, the
Council has not adopted any measures, the Com-
mission shall adopt the proposed measures and
apply them immediately.
Article 13
1. At intervals of three years the Member States shall
send information to the Commission on the implementa-
tion of this Directive, in the form of a sectoral report
which shall also cover other pertinent Community Direc-
tives. This report shall be drawn up on the basis of a ques-
tionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accord-
ance 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 months before the
start of the period covered by the report. The report shall
be sent 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 1994 to 1996
inclusive.
The Commission shall publish a Community report on the
implementation of the Directive within nine months of re-
ceiving the reports from the Member States.
2. Where necessary, in the light of the evolution ofknowledge in the medical field and that of technological
progress, the Commission shall submit further proposals
aimed at preventing and reducing pollution by asbestos in
the interests of the protection of human health and the
environment.
Article 14
1. Subject to paragraph 2, Member States shall bring
into force the laws, regulations and administrative provi-
sions necessary to comply with this Directive not later than
31 December 1988. They shall forthwith inform the Com-
mission thereof.
2. Member States shall adopt and publish the provisions
necessary to comply with Articles 4 and 5 as soon as poss-
ible and in any case not later than 30 June 1991 for plants
built or authorized before the date given in paragraph 1.
3. Member States shall communicate to the Commission
the texts of the provisions of national law which they adopt
in the field governed by this Directive.
Article 15
This Directive is addressd to the Member States.
(1)OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.87/217/EEC
91/692/EEC
87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
6ANNEX
METHODS OF SAMPLING AND ANALYSES
A. DISCHARGE OF AQUEOUS EFFLUENT
The reference method of analysis to determine total sus-
pended matter (filterable matter from the non precipitated
(SIC! non- - -precipitated) sample) as expressed in mg/l shall
be filtering through a 0,45 μm filter membrane, drying at
105ûC and weighing(1).
Samples must be taken in such a way as to be representa-
tive of the discharge over a 24- - -hour period.
This determination must be conducted to a precision of ±
5 % and an accuracy(2)of ± 10 %.
B. SPECIFICATIONS TO BE MET WHEN SELECTING
A METHOD FOR MEASURING EMISSIONS INTO
THE AIR
I. Gravimetric method
1. The method selected shall be a gravimetric meth-
od which is capable of measuring the total quan-
tities of dust emitted through the discharge
ducts.
Account shall be taken of the concentration of
asbestos in dust. When concentration measure-
ments are required, the concentration of asbestos
in dust shall be measured or evaluated. The con-
trolling authority shall decide on the periodicity
of such measure, according to the characteristics
of the plant and of its production, but this
should be initially at least every six months. If a
Member State has established that the con-
centration does not display any significant varia-
tion, the frequency of measurement may be re-
duced. Where periodical measures are not taken,
the limit value specified in Article 4 of the Di-
rective applies to the total dust emissions.
Sampling shall be conducted before any dilution
o ft h ef l o wt ob em e a s u r e d .
2. The sampling must be conducted to a precision
of ± 40 % and an accuracy of ± 20 % at the
limit value. The limit of detection must be 20 %.
At least two measurements under the same
conditions shall be made in order to check the
compliance with the limit value.
3. Operation of the installation
Measurements shall only be valid if sampling
takes place while the installation is operating
normally.
(1)See Annex III to Directive 82/883/EEC (OJ No L 378, 31. 12.
1982, p.1).
(2)These.tems are defined in Article 2 of Directive 79/869/EEC(OJ No L 271, 29. 10. 1979, p. 44) as amended by Directive81/855/EEC (OJ No L 319, 7. 11. 1981, p. 16).87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
74. Selecting the sampling point
Sampling shall take place at a point where there
is a laminar flow of air. As far as possible, care
shall be taken to avoid turbulence, and obstacles
which might disrupt the flow of air.
5. Modifications required for sampling
Suitable apertures shall be made in ducts where
sampling is to take place and proper platforms
shall be provided.
6. Measurements to be taken before sampling
Before sampling commences, it is first necessary
to measure air temperature and pressure and the
velocity of flow in the duct. Air temperature and
pressure shall normally be measured along the
sampling line at normal flow rates. Under excep-
tional conditions, it is also necessary to measure
the water vapour concentration so that the re-sults can be amended accordingly.
7. General requirements of the sampling procedure
The procedure requires a sample of air from a
duct carrying the emissions of asbestos dust to
be drawn through a filter, and the asbestos con-
tent of the dust retained in the filter to be mea-
sured.
7 . 1 .T h es a m p l i n gl i n es h a l lf i r s tb ec h e c k e dt oe n -
sure that it is airtight and that there are no leaks
which might give rise to measurement errors.
The sampler head shall be carefully sealed off
and the sampler pump started up. The rate of
leakage shall not exceed 1 % of the normal sam-
pling flow.
7.2. Normally sampling shall be conducted under iso-
kinetic conditions.
7.3. Duration of sampling shall depend on the type
of process being monitored and the sampling line
used and the sampling period shall be sufficient
to ensure that an adequate quantity of material
is collected for weighing. It shall be representa-
tive of the full process being monitored.
7.4. When the sampler filter is not in the immediate
proximity of the sampler head, it is essential to
recover materials deposited in the sampling
probe.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
87.5. The sampler head and the number of points
where samples must be taken shall be deter-
mined in accordance with the national standard
adopted.
8. Nature of the sampler filter
8.1. The filter appropriate to the technique of analy-
sis used shall be chosen. For the gravimetric
method, glassfibre filters are preferable.
8.2. A minimum filtration efficiency of 99 % is re-
quired, as defined with reference to the DOP
test using an aerosol with particles of 0,3 μmd i -
ameter
9. Weighing
9.1. An appropriate high precision balance shall be
used.
9.2. In order to achieve the accuracy required for
weighing it is essential to condition filters thor-oughly before and after sampling.
10. Expression of results
In addition to measurement data, results shall re-
cord temperature, pressure and flow data and
shall include all relevant information, such as a
simple diagram showing the location of sampling
points, the dimensions of ducts, the volumes
sampled and the method of calculation used to
obtain the results. These results shall be ex-
pressed at normal temperature (273 K) and pres-
sure (101,3 kPa).
II. Countable fibres method
Where fibre counting procedures are used for the
purpose of checking compliance with the limit value
in Article 4 of the Directive, subject to the provisions
of Article 6 (3) of the Directive, a conversion factor
of two fibres/ml to 0,1 mg/m
3of asbestos dust may be
used.
For the purposes of the Directive a fibre is defined as
any object of length greater than 5 μm, breadth less
than 3 μm, and having a length/breadth ratio greater
than 3/1, which is countable by phase contrast optical
microscopy using the European reference method de-
fined in Annex I of Directive 83/477/EEC.
A fibre counting method shall meet the following
specifications:
1. The method shall be capable of measuring the
concentration of countable fibres in the emitted
gases.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
9The controlling authority shall decide on the pe-
riodicity of such measures, according to the char-
acteristics of the plant and of its production, but
this should be at least every six months. Where
periodical measures are not taken, the limit value
specified in Article 4 applies to the total dust
emission.
Sampling shall be conducted before any dilution
o ft h ef l o wt ob em e a s u r e d .
2. Operation of the installation
Measurement shall only be valid if sampling
takes place while the installation is operating
normally.
3. Selecting the sampling point
Sampling shall take place at a point where there
is a laminar flow of air. As far as possible, care
shall be taken to avoid turbulence and obstacleswhich might disrupt the flow of air.
4. Modifications required for sampling
Suitable apertures shall be made in ducts where
sampling is to take place, and proper platforms
shall be provided.
5. Measurements to be taken before sampling
Before sampling commences, it is first necessary
to measure air temperature and pressure, and
the velocity of flow in the duct. Air temperature
and pressure shall normally be measured along
the sampling line at normal flow rates. Under ex-
ceptional conditions, it is also necessary to mea-
sure the water vapour concentration so that the
results can be amended accordingly.
6. General requirements of the sampling procedure
The procedure requires a sample of air from a
duct carrying the emissions of asbestos dust to
be drawn through a filter, and the countable as-
bestos fibres in the dust retained on the filter to
be measured.
6 . 1 .T h es a m p l i n gl i n es h a l lf i r s tb ec h e c k e dt oe n -
sure that it is airtight, and that there are no
leaks which might give rise to measurement er-
rors. The sampling head shall be carefully sealed
off and the sampling pump started up. The rate
of leakage shall not exceed 1 % of the normal
sampling flow.87/217/EEC
87/217/EEC - - - I
106.2. Sampling of the emitted gases shall be conducted
inside the emission duct under isokinetic condi-
tions.
6.3. Duration of sampling shall depend on the type
of process being monitored and the size of the
sampling nozzle used. The sampling period shall
be sufficient to ensure that the sample collection
filter carries between 100- - -600 countable asbes-
tos fibres/mm2. It shall be representative of the
full process being monitored.
6.4. The sampling head and the number of points
where samples must be taken shall be deter-
mined in accordance with the national standard
adopted.
7. Nature of the sampling collection filter
7 . 1 .T h ef i l t e ra p p r o p r i a t et ot h et e c h n i q u eo fm e a -
surement shall be chosen. For the countablefibre method, membrane filters (mixed esters of
cellulose or cellulose nitrate) of nominal pore
size 5 μm, with printed squares and a diameter
of 25 mm shall be used.
7.2. The sample collection filter shall have a mini-
mum filtration efficiency of 99 % with respect to
countable asbestos fibres.
8. Counting of fibres
The fibre counting method shall conform to the
European reference method, as set out in Annex
I of Directive 83/477/EEC.
9. Expression of results
In addition to measurement data, results shall re-
cord temperature, pressure and flow data and
shall include all relevant information, such as a
simple diagram showing the location of sampling
points, the dimensions of ducts, the volumes
sampled and the market of calculation used to
obtain the results. These results shall be ex-
pressed at normal temperature (273 K) and pres-
sure (101,3 kPa).87/217/EEC