1985L0203 — EN — 19.07.2001 — 003.001 — 1
Thisdocumentismeantpurelyasadocumentationtoolandtheinstitutionsdonotassumeanyliabilityforitscontents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of7March1985
onairqualitystandardsfornitrogendioxide
(85/203/EEC)
(OJ L 87, 27.3.1985, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive of 20 December 1985 (85/580/EEC) L 372 36 31.12.1985
►M2Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31.12.1991
►M3Council Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 L 163 41 29.6.1999
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C 241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of7March1985
onairqualitystandardsfornitrogendioxide
(85/203/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty 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 Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(3),
Whereas the programmes of action of the European Communities on the
environment of 1973(4), 1977(5) and 1982(6) provide that priority is to
be given to measures against nitrogen dioxide because of its noxiousnessand having regard to the current state of knowledge of its effects onhuman health and the environment;
Whereas insufficient technical and scientific information is available to
enable the Council to lay down specific standards for the environment
generally and whereas the adoption of limit values for the protection ofhuman health will contribute to the protection of the environment aswell;
Whereas any discrepancy between the provisions already applicable or
being drawn up in the various Member States with regard to nitrogen
dioxide in the air could give rise to unequal conditions of competitionand could in consequence directly affect the functioning of the commonmarket; whereas, therefore, the approximation of laws prescribed inArticle 100 of the Treaty should be carried out in this area;
Whereas one of the basictasks of the Community is to promote
throughout the Community a harmonious development of economicactivities and a continued and balanced expansion, which is incon-ceivable without an attack on pollution and nuisance or an improvementin the quality of life and the protection of the environment; whereas,
since the Treaty has not provided the necessary powers, recourse must
be had to Article 235 of the Treaty;
Whereas, in order to protect in particular human health and the
environment, it is necessary to set for nitrogen dioxide a limit valuewhich must not be exceeded in the territory of the Member States during
specified periods and whereas this value should be based on the results
of work carried out for the World Health Organization, particularly withregard to the dose/effect relationships established for this pollutant;
Whereas, despite the measures taken, it may not be possible to comply
with the limit value in certain zones; whereas the Member States may be
allowed temporary derogations on condition that they forward to the
Commission plans for the gradual improvement of the quality of the airin these zones;
Whereas it is expected that the Council will shortly establish a further
legal act enabling Member States to impose significantly lower limit
values for exhaust gases from motor vehicles;
Whereas the measures taken pursuant to this Directive must be
economically feasible and compatible with balanced development;1985L0203 — EN — 19.07.2001 — 003.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 258, 27. 9. 1983, p. 3.
(2) OJ No C 337, 17. 12. 1984, p. 434.
(3) OJ No C 206, 6. 8. 1984, p. 1.
(4) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.
(5) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.
(6) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.
▼B
Whereas nitrogen dioxide is also a precursor in the formation of
photochemical oxidants which can be harmful to man and theenvironment and whereas preventive action can help reduce their
formation;
Whereas it is necessary to establish measuring stations to monitor
compliance with the limit value for nitrogen dioxide and whereas it is
desirable that these stations also measure nitricoxide whic h is anintermediary step in the formation of nitrogen dioxide;
Whereas, in view of the existence of different methods of analysis in the
Member States, it is necessary to permit, under certain conditions, theuse of methods of analysis other than the reference method laid down inthe Directive;
Whereas, in addition to the limit value, there is a need to provide for
guide values to improve the protection of human health and contribute tothe long-term protection of the environment;
Whereas subsequent changes in the reference method of analysis
referred to in this Directive may be desirable in the light of technical andscientific progress in this area; whereas, in order to facilitate theimplementation of the work necessary to this end, a procedure should be
set up to establish close cooperation between Member States and the
Commission within a Committee on Adaptation to Scientific andTechnical Progress,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. The purpose of this Directive is to:
— fix a limit value (Annex I) for nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere
specifically to help protect human beings against the effects ofnitrogen dioxide in the environment.
2. This Directive shall not apply to exposure at work or insidebuildings.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
— ‘limit value’ means the concentration of nitrogen dioxide as defined
in the table in Annex I which must not be exceeded throughout the
territory of the Member States during specified periods and under theconditions laid down in the following Articles.
Article 3
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that as
from 1 July 1987 the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the
atmosphere measured in accordance with Annex III are not greater
than the limit value given in Annex I.1985L0203 — EN — 19.07.2001 — 003.001 — 3
▼M3
▼B
▼M3
▼B
▼M3
Article 5
Member States may, at any time, fix values more stringent than those
laid down in this Directive.
Article 9
The application of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive must
not lead to a significant deterioration in the quality of the air in zones,
outside urban areas, where the level of pollution by nitrogen dioxide at
the time of implementation of this Directive is low in relation to thelimit value laid down in Annex I.
Article 15
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 1
January 1987 at the latest and shall forthwith inform the Commissionthereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered bythis Directive.
Article 16
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1985L0203 — EN — 19.07.2001 — 003.001 — 4
▼B
▼M3
▼B
▼M3
▼B
▼B
ANNEX I
LIMITVALUEFORNITROGENDIOXIDE
(The value limit shall be expressed in µg/m3. The volume must be standardized at
the following condition of temperature and pressure: 293º K and 101,3 kPa)
Reference period (1) Limit value for nitrogen dioxide
Year200
98th percentile calculated from the
mean values per hour or per period
of less than an hour recorded
throughout the year (2)
(1) The annual reference period begins on 1 January in any given calendar year and ends on
31 December.
(2) To ensure that the validity of the calculation of the 98th percentile is recognized, 75 % of
the possible values must be available and, as far as possible, distributed uniformly
throughout the year in question for that particular measurement site.
In cases where the values measured on certain sites are not available over a periodexceeding 10 days. (SIC! days,) the calculated percentile must mention this fact.The calculation of the 98th percentile on the basis of the values recorded throughout theyear is to be carried out as follows: the 98th percentile must be calculated from thevalues actually measured. The measured values should be rounded off to the nearest µg/
m
3. All the values are to be listed in increasing order for each site:
X1≤X2≤X3≤…≤Xk≤…≤XN−1≤XNThe 98th percentile is the value of the component of rank k where k is calculated from
the following formula:k=( q*N )
where q is equal to 0,98 for the 98th percentile and to 0,50 for the 50th percentile, N
being the number of values actually measured. The value of (q x N) should be roundedoff to the nearest whole number.Where measuring equipment does not yet allow the production of discrete values butprovides only classes of values higher than 1 µg/m
3, the Member State concerned may,
for the calculation of the percentile, use an interpolation, provided that the interpolation
formula is accepted by the Commission and that the classes of values are not higher than10µg/m
3. This temporary waiver is only valid for equipment currently installed for a
time span not exceeding the life of the equipment and in any case limited to 10 yearsfrom the application of this Directive.1985L0203 — EN — 19.07.2001 — 003.001 — 5
▼M3