1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 3 December 1982
on a limit value for lead in the air
(82/884/EEC)
(OJ L 378, 31.12.1982, p. 15)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31.12.1991
Amended by:
►A1 Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A2 Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
►A3 (adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
▼B
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 3 December 1982
on a limit value for lead in the air
(82/884/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas one of the essential tasks of the European Economic
Community is to promote throughout the Community a harmonious
development of economic activities and a continuous and balancedexpansion, which cannot be imagined in the absence of a campaign tocombat pollution and nuisances or of an improvement in the quality oflife and the protection of the environment;
Whereas the use of lead is currently causing lead contamination of many
areas of the environment;
Whereas inhaled lead contributes significantly to the total body burden
of lead;
Whereas the protection of human health against the hazards of lead
requires that the individual's exposure to lead in the air be monitored;
Whereas the first (
4) and second (5) programme of action of the European
Communities on the environment state that this pollutant should receivepriority consideration; whereas the said programmes provide for thecoordination of national programmes in this field and for theharmonization of national policies within the Community on the basis
of a common long-term plan aiming at improving the quality of life;
whereas since the specific powers of action required to this end have notbeen provided for in the Treaty, it is necessary to invoke Article 235thereof;
Whereas insufficient technical and scientific information is available to
enable the Council to lay down specific standards for the environmentgenerally; whereas the adoption of limit values for the protection ofhuman health will contribute to the protection of the environment aswell;
Whereas it is desirable to fix a limit value for lead in the air;Whereas the measures taken pursuant to this Directive must be
economically feasible and compatible with balanced development;whereas in consequence a sufficient time limit should be laid down forits implementation; whereas account should also be taken of the
provisions of Council Directive 78/611/EEC of 29 June 1978 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the leadcontent of petrol (
6);
Whereas it is desirable to monitor the quality of t_he air in places where
people may be exposed continuously and for a long period and wherethere is a risk that the limit value may not be observed;
Whereas it is important that the Commission should obtain information
concerning the sites used for sampling, the sampling and analysisprocedures used to determine the concentration of lead in the air, the1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 154, 7. 7. 1975, p. 29.
(2) OJ No C 28, 9. 2. 1976, p. 31.
(3) OJ No C 50, 4. 3. 1976, p. 9.
(4) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.
(5) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
(6) OJ No L 197, 22. 7. 1978, p. 19.
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places where the limit value laid down in the Directive has been
exceeded and the concentrations measured in these places as well as themeasures taken to avoid a repetition of the occurrence;
Whereas each year as from the second year after the implementation of
this Directive the Commission should publish a summary report on the
implementation of national provisions adopted pursuant to the Directive;
Whereas the application of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive
should not lead to a noticeable deterioration of the quality of the airwhere the level of lead pollution observed when the Directive isimplemented is lower than the limit value fixed;
Whereas, to implement the Directive, it is desirable to comply with the
characteristics adopted in the Annex for choosing the sampling method;
whereas, to analyze the samples taken, it is desirable to use the referencemethod adopted in the Annex or any other method for which theCommission has previously had proof that it provides equivalent results;
Whereas further development of the characteristics to be complied with
for choosing a sampling method and the reference method of analysis,set out in the Annex to this Directive, may be desirable in the light of
technical and scientific progress achieved in this field; whereas, to
facilitate the implementation of the necessary work, it is desirable toprovide for a procedure introducing close cooperation between theMember States and the Commission within a committee responsible foradapting the Directive to scientific and technical progress,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive shall fix a limit value for lead in the air specifically
in order to help protect human beings against the effects of lead in theenvironment.
2. This Directive shall not apply to occupational exposure.
Article 2
1. For the purpose of this Directive, ‘limit value’ means the
concentration of lead in the air which, subject to the conditions laid
down hereinafter, must not be exceeded.
2. The limit value shall be 2 micrograms Pb/m
3expressed as an
annual mean concentration.
3. Member States may, at any time, fix a value more stringent than
that laid down in this Directive.
Article 3
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that
five years after notification of this Directive, the concentration of lead inthe air, measured in accordance with Article 4, is not greater than thelimit value given in Article 2.
2. Where a Member State considers that the limit value fixed in
Article 2 (2) may be exceeded in certain places four years after
notification of this Directive, it shall inform the Commission thereof.
3. The Member States concerned shall, within two years of the
implementation of this Directive, forward to the Commission plans forthe progressive improvement of the quality of the air in such places.These plans, drawn up on the basis of relevant information as to thenature, origin and development of the pollution, shall in particular
describe the measures already taken or envisaged and the procedures
implemented or planned by the Member States concerned. The objectiveof these measures and procedures must be to bring the concentration oflead in the air in those places below the level of the limit value fixed inArticle 2 (2) or down to that level, as soon as possible and at the latestseven years after notification of this Directive. These measures and1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 3
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procedures must take into account the provisions of Directive 78/611/
EEC and the results of its application.
Article 4
Member States shall ensure that sampling stations are installed and
operated at places where individuals may be exposed continually for along period and where they consider that Articles 1 and 2 are likely notto be observed.
Article 5
1. For the purposes of applying this Directive, the Member States
shall provide the Commission at its request with information on:
— the sites used for sampling,
— the sampling and analysis procedures used to determine the
concentration of lead in the air.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission not later than 1 July
of each year, beginning in the calendar year following the implementa-tion of this Directive, of the places in which the limit value fixed in
Article 2 (2) has been exceeded in the previous calendar year and of the
concentrations recorded.
3. They shall also notify the Commission, not later than during the
calendar year following that in which the limit values were exceeded, ofthe measures they have taken to avoid recurrence.
4. The Commission shall each year communicate to the Member
States the information it has received pursuant to this Article.
Article 6
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 questionnaireor outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedurelaid 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 theCommission within nine months of the end of the three-year periodcovered by it.
The first report shall cover the period from 1995 to 1997 inclusive.The Commission shall publish a Community report on the implementa-
tion of the Directive within nine months of receiving the reports fromthe Member States.
Article 7
Application of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive must not
bring about a significant deterioration in the quality of the air where thelevel of pollution by lead, at the time of implementation of thisDirective, is low in relation to the limit value fixed in Article 2 (2).
Article 8
For the purposes of applying this Directive, Member States shall comply
with the characteristics laid down in the Annex for choosing thesampling method; for analyzing the samples taken, Member States shalluse the reference method mentioned in the Annex or any other method1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.▼M1
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which they prove to the Commission beforehand produces equivalent
results.
Article 9
The procedure in Articles 10 and 11 for the adaptation of this Directive
to scientific and technical progress shall relate to the characteristics to be
complied with for choosing a sampling method and the reference
method referred to in the Annex.
This adaptation must not have the effect of directly or indirectly
modifying the application of the actual concentration value fixed inArticle 2 (2).
Article 10
1. A committee on the adaptation of this Directive to scientific and
technical progress hereinafter called ‘the committee’, is hereby set up; itshall consist of representatives of the Member States with a Commission
representative as chairman.
2. The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
Article 11
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
the matter shall be referred to the committee by its chairman, either on
his own initiative or at the request of a representative of a Member State.
2. The Commission representative shall submit to the committee a
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall give its opinionon that draft within a time limit set by the chairman having regard to theurgency of the matter. Opinions shall be delivered by a majority of►
A2►A362◄◄ votes, the votes of the Member States being
weighted as provided in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty. The chairman
shall not vote.
3. Where the measures envisaged are in accordance with the opinion
of the committee, the Commission shall adopt them.
Where the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of
the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shallwithout delay submit to the Council a proposal on the measures to be
taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If within three months of the proposal being submitted to it, the Council
has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by theCommission.
Article 12
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within24 months of its notification and shall forthwith inform the Commissionthereof.
2. Member States shall forward to the Commission the texts of the
provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed by this
Directive.
Article 13
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 5
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ANNEX
CHARACTERISTICS TO BE COMPLIED WITH FOR CHOOSING A
SAMPLING METHOD AND A REFERENCE METHOD FOR
ANALYZING THE CONCENTRATION OF LEAD IN THE AIR
The atmospheric particles shall be collected on the filter of a sample for
subsequent determination of lead content.
A.Characteristics to be complied with for choosing the sampling method
1.Filter
The filter shall have a collection efficiency at the face velocity used in the
sampling of not less than 99% for all particles of a mean aerodynamic
diameter of 0.3 µm.
2.Sampler efficiency
The sampler efficiency is defined as the ratio of the mass concentration of
the particles in the air, as collected on the filter, to the concentration in the
atmosphere. The efficiency of a sampler may not be less than the values
given in the following table and must be independent of wind direction.
Minimum acceptable efficiencies (%) for a sampler
Wind speedParticle size
(aerodynamic diameter)
5µm1 0 µm
2m s−195 65
4m s−195 60
6m s−185 40
3.Aspiration flow rate of sampling
The aspiration flow rate of sampling must remain constant to within ± 5 %
of the nominal value throughout a sampling period.
4.Location
As far as possible the sampling stations (or samplers) must be located in
such a way as to be representative of the zones in which measurements
must be made.
5.Operation
Sampling must be continuous although breaks of a few minutes each day
or week are permissible to enable filters to be changed. An annual mean
value will not be considered valid unless sampling has occurred on a
minimum of 10 working days per month, during the first five years after
the notification of the Directive and on a minimum of 15 working days per
month thereafter, as far as possible, evenly spread over the period under
consideration. The mean annual value is calculated by dividing the sum of
the valid daily values by the number of days on which valid values have
been obtained.
B.Reference method of analysis
The reference method of analysis shall be atomic absorption spectrometry in
which the analytical error, for the determination of lead in the collected
particles is less than a value corresponding to an atmospheric concentration of
0.1µgm−3of lead (5 % of the 2 µgm−3limit value). This analytical error
should be maintained within the specified range by an appropriate calibration
frequency.1982L0884 — EN — 01.01.1995 — 002.001 — 6