1982L0884—EN—19.07.2001 —003.001—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
►M2 Council Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 L 163 41 29.6.1999
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
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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 receive
priority 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 wherepeople 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—19.07.2001 —003.001—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 air
where the level of lead pollution observed when the Directive is
implemented 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 oftechnical and scientific progress achieved in this field; whereas, to
facilitate the implementation of the necessary work, it is desirable to
provide 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 specificallyin 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.
Article 7
Application of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive must notbring 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).1982L0884—EN—19.07.2001 —003.001—3
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Article 12
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within
24 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 thisDirective.
Article 13
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1982L0884—EN—19.07.2001 —003.001—4
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