1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of26September1983
onlimit valuesandqualityobjectivesforcadmiumdischarges
(83/513/EEC)
(OJ L 291, 24.10.1983, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31.12.1991
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of26September1983
onlimitvaluesandqualityobjectivesforcadmiumdischarges
(83/513/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 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 Articles 6 and 12
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 introduces a system of prior authorization layingdown emission standards for discharges of the substances in List I in
the Annex thereto; whereas Article 6 of the said Directive provides
that limit values shall be laid down for such emission standards andalso quality objectives for the aquatic environment affected bydischarges of these substances;
Whereas cadmium and its compounds are included in List I;Whereas the Member States are required to apply the limit values
except in the cases where they may employ quality objectives;
Whereas, since pollution due to the discharge of cadmium into water is
caused by a large number of industries, it is necessary to lay down
specific limit values according to the type of industry concerned andto lay down quality objectives for the aquatic environment into whichcadmium is discharged by such industries;
Whereas at the present time it is not, however, possible to establish
limit values for discharges arising from the manufacture of phosphoric
acid and phosphatic fertilizer from phosphatic rock;
Whereas the purpose of the quality objectives must be to eliminate
cadmium pollution of the various parts of the aquatic environmentwhich might be affected by cadmium discharges;
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 aquaticenvironment;
Whereas a specific monitoring procedure should be laid down to enable
Member States to demonstrate that the quality objectives are being
complied with;
Whereas provision should be made for the monitoring by Member
States of the aquatic environment affected by the aforesaid cadmiumdischarges with a view to effective implementation of this Directive;whereas Article 6 of Directive 76/464/EEC does not provide for the
powers to introduce such monitoring; whereas, since the specific
powers have not been provided for in the Treaty, Article 235 thereofshould be invoked;1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 129, 18. 5. 1976, p. 23.
(2) OJ No C 118, 21. 5. 1981, p. 3.
(3) OJ No C 334, 20. 12. 1982, p. 138.
(4) OJ No C 230, 10. 9. 1981, p. 22.
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Whereas it is important that the Commission forward to the Council,
every five years, a comparative assessment of the implementation ofthis Directive by Member States;
Whereas, since groundwater is the subject of Directive 80/68/EEC(
1), it
is excluded from the scope of this Directive;
Whereas the level of industrialization is very low in Greenland because
of the overall situation of the island, and in particular the fact that it issparsely populated, its considerable size and its special geographicalposition; whereas, therefore, this Directive should not apply to Green-
land,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive:
— in pursuance of Article 6 (1) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
limit values for emission standards for cadmium in dischargesfrom industrial plants as defined in Article 2 (e) hereof,
— in pursuance of Article 6 (2) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
quality objectives for cadmium in the aquatic environment,
— in pursuance of Article 6 (4) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
the time limits for compliance with the conditions specified in the
authorizations granted by the competent authorities of Member
States in respect of existing discharges,
— in pursuance of Article 12 (1) of Directive 76/464/EEC, lays down
the reference methods of measurement enabling the cadmium
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,
— requires Member States to cooperate with one another in the case of
discharges affecting the waters of more than one Member State.
2. This Directive applies to the waters referred to in Article 1 of
Directive 76/464/EEC withth e exception of groundwater.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘cadmium’ means:
— the chemical element cadmium,
— the cadmium contained in any of its compounds;
(b) ‘limit values’ means the values specified in Annex I;
(c) ‘quality objectives’ means the requirements specified in Annex II;
(d) ‘handling of cadmium’ means any industrial process involving the
use or production of cadmium, or any other process in which thepresence of cadmium is inherent;
(e) ‘industrial plant’ means any plant at which cadmium or any
substance containing cadmium is handled;
(f) ‘existing plant’ means an industrial plant which is operational on
the date of notification of this Directive;
(g) ‘new plant’ means:
— an industrial plant which had become operational after the date
of notification of this Directive,
— an existing industrial plant whose cadmiumprocessing capacity
has been substantially increased after the date of notificationof this Directive.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 20, 26. 1. 1980, p. 43.
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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.
2. The limit values shall normally apply at the point where waste
waters containing cadmium leave the industrial plant.
When waste waters containing cadmium are treated outside the indus-
trial plant at a treatment plant intended for the removal of cadmium,the Member State may permit the limit values to be applied at the pointwhere the waste waters leave the treatment plant.
3. The authorizations referred to in Article 3 of Directive 76/464/
EEC must contain provisions at least as stringent as those in Annex Ito this Directive, except where a Member State is complying with
Article 6 (3) of Directive 76/464/EEC on the basis of Annexes II and
IV to this Directive.
Authorizations shall be reviewed at least every four years.4. Without prejudice to their obligations arising from paragraphs 1,
2 and 3 and to the provisions of Directive 76/464/EEC, Member Statesmay grant authorizations for new plants only if those plants apply thestandards corresponding to the best technical means available whenthat is necessary for the elimination of pollution in accordance with
Article 2 of the said Directive or for the prevention of distortion of
competition.
Whatever method it adopts, the Member State shall, where for tech-
nical reasons the intended measures do not correspond to the besttechnical means available, provide the Commission, before any author-ization, withevidence in support of th ese reasons.
The Commission shall forward this evidence to the other Member
States immediately and shall send all Member States a report as soon
as possible giving its opinion on the derogation referred to in the
second subparagraph. If necessary, it shall at the same time submitappropriate proposals to the Council.
5. The reference method of analysis to be used in determining the
presence of cadmium is given in Annex III (1). Other methods maybe used provided that the limits of detection, precision and accuracyof such methods are at least as good as those 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 more than one
Member State, the Member States concerned shall cooperate with aview to harmonizing monitoring procedures.
Article 5
1. At intervals of three years the Member States shall send informa-
tion to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive, in theform of a sectoral report which shall also cover other pertinentCommunity Directives. This report shall be drawn up on the basis of
a questionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance
withth e procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC(
1).
The questionaire (SIC! questionnaire) or outline shall be sent to theMember States six months before the start of the period covered bythe report. The report shall be sent to the Commission within ninemonths of the end of the three-year period covered by it.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.▼M1
▼M1
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 months of receiving the reports from
the Member States.
2. In the event of a change in scientific knowledge relating princi-
pally to the toxicity, persistence and accumulation of cadmium inliving organisms and sediments, or in the event of an improvement inthe best technical means available, the Commission shall submit appro-priate proposals to the Council with the aim of reinforcing, if
necessary, the limit values and the quality objectives or of establishing
new limit values and new quality objectives.
Article 6
1. Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to
comply with this Directive within two years following its notification.They shall 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 this Directive.
Article 7
This Directive shall not apply to Greenland.
Article 8
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 5
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ANNEX I
Limit values, time limits fixed for compliance with these values and moni-
toringprocedurestobeappliedtodischarges
1.Limit values and time limits
Industrial sector (1) Unit of measurementLimit values which must
be complied withas from
1. 1. 19861. 1.
1989 (2)
1. Zinc mining, lead and zinc
refining, cadmium metal and
non-ferrous metal industryMilligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,3(3) 0,2(3)
2. Manufacture of cadmium
compoundsMilligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,5(3) 0,2(3)
Grams of cadmium discharged
per kilogram of cadmium
handled 0,5(4)(5)
3. Manufacture of pigments Milligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,5(3) 0,2(3)
Grams of cadmium discharged
per kilogram of cadmium
handled 0,3(4)(5)
4. Manufacture of stabilizers Milligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,5(3) 0,2(3)
Grams of cadmium discharged
per kilogram of cadmium
handled 0,5(4)(5)
5. Manufacture of primary and
secondary batteriesMilligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,5(3) 0,2(3)
Grams of cadmium discharged
per kilogram of cadmium
handled 1,5(4)(5)
6. Electroplating (6) Milligrams of cadmium per litre
of discharge 0,5(3) 0,2(3)
Grams of cadmium discharged
per kilogram of cadmium
handled 0,3(4)(5)
7. Manufacture of phosphoric acid
and/or phosphatic fertilizer from
phosphatic rock (7)— —
(1) Limit values for industrial sectors not mentioned in this table will, if necessary, be fixed by the Council at a
later stage. In the meantime the Member States will fix emission standards for cadmium discharges autono-
mously in accordance with Directive 76/464/EEC. Such standards must take into account the best technical
means available and must not be less stringent than the most nearly comparable limit value in this Annex.
(2) On the basis of experience gained in implementing this Directive, the Commission will, pursuant to Article 5
(3), submit in due course to the Council proposals for fixing more restrictive limit values with a view to theircoming into force by 1992.
(
3) Monthly flow-weighted average concentration of total cadmium.
(4) Monthly average.
(5) It is impossible for the moment to fix limit values expressed as load. If need be, these values will be fixed by
the Council in accordance with Article 5 (3) of this Directive. If the Council does not fix any limit values,the values expressed as load given in column ‘1. 1. 1986’ will be kept.
(
6) Member States may suspend application of the limit values until 1 January 1989 in the case of plants which
discharge less than 10 kg of cadmium a year and in which the total volume of the electroplating tanks is lessthan 1,5 m
3, if technical or administrative considerations make such a step absolutely necessary.
(7) At present there are no economically feasible technical methods for systematically extracting cadmium from
discharges arising from the production of phosphoric acid and/or phosphatic fertilizers from phosphatic rock.
No limit values have therefore been fixed for such discharges. The absence of such limit values does not1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 6
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release the Member States from their obligation under Directive 76/464/EEC to fix emission standards for
these discharges.
2. Limit values expressed as concentrations which in principle must not be
exceeded are given in the above table for the industrial sectors in sections
2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. In no instance may limit values expressed as maximum
concentrations be greater than those expressed as maximum quantities
divided by water requirements per kilogram of cadmium handled. However,
because the concentration of cadmium in effluents depends on the volume of
water involved, which differs for different processes and plants, the limit
values, expressed in terms of the quantity of cadmium discharged in relation
to the quantity of cadmium handled, given in the above table must be
complied within all cases.
3. The daily average limit values are twice the corresponding monthly average
limit values given in the above table.
4. A monitoring procedure must be instituted to check whether the discharges
comply with the emission standards which have been fixed in accordance
with the limit values laid down in this Annex.
This procedure must provide for the taking and analysis of samples and for
measurement of the flow of the discharge and the quantity of cadmium
handled.
Should the quantity of cadmium handled be impossible to determine, the
monitoring procedure may be based on the quantity of cadmium that maybe used in the light of the production capacity on which the authorization
was based.
5. A sample representative of the discharge over a period of 24 hours will be
taken. The quantity of cadmium discharged over a month must be calculated
on the basis of the daily quantities of cadmium discharged.
However, a simplified monitoring procedure may be instituted in the case of
industrial plants which do not discharge more than 10 kg of cadmium per
annum. In the case of industrial electroplating plants, a simplified monitoring
procedure may only be instituted if the total volume of the electroplating
tanks is less than 1,5 m
3.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 7
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ANNEX II
Qualityobjectives
For those Member States which apply the exception referred to in Article 6 (3)
of Directive 76/464/EEC, the emission standard which Member States must
establishand ensure are applied, pursuant to Article 5 of th at Directive, will 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
cadmium. The competent authority shall determine the area affected in eachcase and shall select from among the quality objectives listed in paragraph 1
the objective or objectives that it deems appropriate having regard to the
intended use of the area affected, while taking account of the fact that the
purpose of this Directive is to eliminate all pollution.
1. The following quality objectives(
1), which will be measured sufficiently
close to the point of discharge, are fixed, with the object of eliminating
pollution within the meaning of Directive 76/464/EEC and pursuant to
Article 2 of that Directive(2):
1.1. The total cadmium concentration in inland surface waters affected by
discharges must not exceed 5 µg/litre.
1.2. The concentration of dissolved cadmium in estuary waters affected by
discharges must not exceed 5 µg/litre.
1.3. The concentration of dissolved cadmium in territorial waters and in internal
coastal waters other than estuary waters affected by discharges must not
exceed 2,5 µg/litre.
1.4. In the case of waters used for the abstraction of drinking water, the
cadmium content must conform to the requirements of Directive 75/440/
EEC(3).
2. In addition to the above requirements, cadmium concentrations must be
determined by the national network referred to in Article 5 and the results
compared withth e following concentrations (2):
2.1. In the case of inland surface waters, a total cadmium concentration of 1 µg/
litre.
2.2. In the case of estuary waters, a dissolved cadmium concentration of 1 µg/
litre.
2.3. In the case of territorial and internal coastal waters, other than estuary
waters, a dissolved cadmium concentration of 0,5 µg/litre.
If these concentrations are not complied with at any one of the points on
the national network, the reasons must be reported to the Commission.
3. The concentration of cadmium in sediments and/or shellfish, if possible of
the species Mytilus edulis, must not increase significantly with time.
4. Where several quality objectives are supplied to waters in an area, the
quality of the waters must be sufficient to comply with each of those objec-
tives.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 8
(1) The cadmium concentrations indicated in 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 are the minimum require-
ments necessary to protect aquatic life.
(2) With the exception of quality objective 1.4, all concentrations relate to the arithmetic
mean of the results obtained over one year.
(3) Directive 75/440/EEC concerns the quality required of surface water intended for the
abstraction of drinking water in the Member States (OJ No L 194, 25. 7. 1975, p. 26).It provides for a mandatory cadmium value of 5 µg/litre on the basis of 95 % of the
samples taken.
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ANNEX III
Reference methodsofmeasurement
1. The reference method of analysis used for determining the cadmium content
of waters, sediments and shellfish is atomic absorption spectrophotometry
after preservation and suitable treatment of the sample.
The limits of detection(1) must be such that the cadmium 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 cadmium specified in the authorization,
— in the case of surface water, 0,1 µg/litre or one-tenth of the cadmium
concentration specified in the quality objective, whichever is the greater,
— in the case of shellfish 0,1 mg/kg, wet weight,— in the case of sediments, one-tenth of the cadmium concentration in the
sample or 0,1 mg/kg, dry weight, with drying being carried out between
105 and 110 ºC at constant weight, whichever value is the greater.
2. Flow measurement must be carried out to an accurancy of ± 20 %.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 9
(1) The definitions of these terms are given in Council Directive 79/869/EEC of 9 October
1979 concerning the methods of measurement and frequencies of sampling and analysisof 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 will specify the restrictions, monitoring procedure and time limits
for ensuring compliance withth e quality objective(s) concerned.
2. In accordance withArticle 6 (3) of Directive 76/464/EEC, th e Member State
will, for each quality objective chosen and applied, report to the Commission,
on:
— the points of discharge and the means of dispersal,
— the area in which the quality objective is applied,— the location of sampling points,— the frequency of sampling,— the methods of sampling and measurement,— the results obtained.
3. Samples must be sufficiently representative of the quality of the aquatic
environment 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 variations in the hydrological
regime.1983L0513 — EN — 23.12.1991 — 001.001 — 10