Proposal for a Council Directive on limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain industrial activities (97/C 99/02) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(96) 538 final - 96/0276(SYN)

(Submitted by the Commission on 18 February 1997)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 130s (1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty, and in cooperation with the European Parliament,

(1) Whereas the European Community action programme on the environment approved by the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council by resolutions of 22 November 1973 (1), 17 May 1977 (2), 7 February 1983 (3), 19 October 1987 (4) and 1 February 1993 (5) stress the importance of the prevention and reduction of air pollution;

(2) Whereas in the resolution of 19 October 1987 the importance of Community action to concentrate, inter alia, on implementation of appropriate standards in order to ensure a high level of public health and environmental protection is emphasized;

(3) Whereas the European Community and its Member States are parties to the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution concerning the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds in order to reduce their transboundary fluxes and the fluxes of the resulting secondary photochemical oxidant products so as to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects;

(4) Whereas pollution due to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in one Member State often influences the air and water of other Member States; whereas in accordance with Article 130r of the Treaty, action at Community level is necessary;

(5) Whereas, because of their characteristics, the use of organic solvents in certain processes and industrial installations gives rise to emissions of organic compounds into the air which can be harmful for public health; and/or contributes to the local and transboundary formation of photochemical oxidants in the boundary layer of the troposphere which cause damage to natural resources of vital environmental and economic importance and, under certain exposure conditions, have harmful effects on human health;

(6) Whereas the high incidence of high tropospheric ozone concentrations in recent years has triggered widespread concern regarding the impact on public health and the environment;

(7) Whereas, therefore, preventive action is required to protect public health and the environment against the consequences of particularly harmful emissions from the use of organic solvents and to guarantee citizens the right to a clean and healthy environment;

(8) Whereas emissions of organic compounds can be avoided or reduced in many processes and installations because potentially less harmful substitutes are available or will become available within the coming years; whereas, where appropriate substitutes are not available, other technical measures should be taken to reduce emissions into the environment as much as economically and technically feasible;

(9) Whereas the use of organic solvents and the emissions of organic compounds which have the most serious effects on public health should be reduced as much as technically feasible;

(10) Whereas installations and processes which fall within the meaning of this Directive should at least be registered if they are not subject to authorization under Community or national legislation;

(11) Whereas organic solvents are used by many different types of installations and processes so that - in addition to general requirements - specific requirements must be defined, and at the same time, thresholds for the size of the installations which have to comply with this Directive;

(12) Whereas a high level of environmental protection requires the setting and achievement of emission limits for organic compounds and appropriate operating conditions - in accordance with the principle of best available techniques - for certain industrial installations and processes using organic solvents within the Community.

(13) Whereas operators should reduce emissions of organic solvents, including fugitive emissions, and of organic compounds; whereas a solvent management plan is an important tool to verify this; whereas, although guidance may be given, the solvent management plan is not developed to the stage where a Community methodology can be established; whereas the Commission should take account of developments in the use of such plans to establish such a methodology where appropriate;

(14) Whereas in some cases Member States may exempt operators from complying with the emission limit values because other measures, such as the use of low-solvent or solvent-free products, provide alternative means of achieving equivalent emission reductions;

(15) Whereas existing processes and installations should be adapted so that, within an appropriate period; they meet the emission limit values established for new installations and processes; whereas that period should be consistent with the timetable for compliance with Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (6);

(16) Whereas emission limiting measures adapted before entry into force of this Directive should be taken into account in an appropriate way;

(17) Whereas in many cases small and medium-sized, new and existing installations may be allowed to comply with somewhat less stringent requirements to maintain their competitiveness;

(18) Whereas the relevant parts of existing installations which undergo substantial change must meet the new installation standards for the substantially changed equipment;

(19) Whereas monitoring of emissions is required, including the application of measurement techniques, to assess the mass concentrations or the quantity of the pollutants whose release into the environment is permitted;

(20) Whereas Member States have to establish a procedure to be followed and measures to be taken in case of exceedance of the emission limitations;

(21) Whereas Member States should take appropriate measures to promote the developments of best available techniques to minimize emissions of organic solvents and organic compounds into the environment;

(22) Whereas Member States should report to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive;

(23) Whereas certain Member States have already adopted measures to reduce VOCs which may not be compatible with the measures in this Directive; whereas alternative approaches to reduction may allow the objectives of this Directive to be achieved more effectively than by implementing uniform emission limit values; whereas, therefore, Member States may be exempted from compliance with the emission limits, if they implement a national plan, which will, within the timetable for implementation of this Directive, lead to an at least equal reduction in emissions of organic compounds from these processes and industrial installations;

(24) Whereas the Commission and the Member States should collaborate in order to ensure that information on the implementation of this Directive and on the progress of substitution options is exchanged,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1 Aim and scope

The aim of this Directive is to prevent or reduce the direct and indirect effects of emissions of volatile organic compounds to the environment, in particular to air, and the potential risks to public health, by providing measures and procedures to be implemented for the industrial activities defined in Annex I, in so far as they are operated within the thresholds bands listed in Annex III (A).

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions shall apply:

1. authorization:

means a procedure by which the competent authority grants authorization to operate all or part of an installation, by means of a written decision or decisions;

2. competent authorities:

means the authorities or bodies responsible under the legal provisions of the Member States for carrying out the obligations arising from this Directive;

3. contained conditions:

means an installation operated in such a way that the emissions can be collected, and are therefore not entirely fugitive;

4. emission:

means any discharge of substances or preparations from an installation or process into the environment;

5. emissions, fugitive:

means any uncaptured emissions of volatile organic compounds into air, soil and water as well as, unless otherwise stated in Annex III, solvents contained in the product. It includes uncaptured emissions released to the outside environment via windows, doors, vents and similar openings;

6. emission guide value:

means an emission control which should not be exceeded as far as technically and economically feasible;

7. emission limit value:

means the maximum quantity of a gaseous organic compound or a group of gaseous organic compounds contained in the waste gases from an installation, which is not to be exceeded under normal operating conditions. If not specified differently in Annex III, it shall be calculated in terms either of mass of total organic carbon or of mass of individual organic compounds per volume of the waste gases, assuming standard conditions for temperature and pressure. Gas volumes which are added to the waste gas for cooling or dilution purposes, shall not be considered when determining the mass concentration of the pollutant in the waste gas;

8. emission requirement:

means any type of numerical emission requirement other than emission limit values, fugitive emission limit values or fugitive emission guide values;

9. fugitive emission limit value:

means the limit, expressed as a percentage of the solvent input to the installation, which the quantity of volatile organic compounds emitted in the form of fugitive emissions is not to exceed.

10. fugitive emission guide value:

means the limit, expressed as a percentage of the solvent input to the installation, which the quantity of volatile organic compounds emitted in the form of fugitive emissions is not to exceed as far as technically and economically feasible;

11. installation:

means a stationary establishment operating one or more of the activities specified in Annex I. It includes the production machines and all auxiliary equipment necessary for the operation of the process or processes which is located at the same site;

12. installation, existing:

means an installation which is in operation or, in accordance with legislation existing before the date on which this Directive is brought into effect, an installation authorized or in the view of the competent authority the subject of a full request for authorization, provided that the installation is put into operation no later than one year after the date on which this Directive is brought into effect;

13. installation, new:

means an installation which makes its first full request for authorization after the date on which this Directive is brought into effect or which is brought into operation more than one year after the Directive comes into effect;

14. operator:

means any natural or legal person who operates or controls the installation, or, where this is provided for in national legislation, to whom decisive economic power over the technical functioning of the installation has been delegated;

15. organic compound:

means any compound containing at least the element carbon and one or more of hydrogen, halogens, oxygen, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon or nitrogen, with the exception of carbon oxides and inorganic carbonates and bicarbonates;

16. organic solvent:

means any volatile organic compound which is used alone or in combination with other agents, and without undergoing a chemical change, to dissolve raw materials, products or waste materials, or is used as cleaning agent to dissolve contaminants, or as a dissolver, or as a dispersion medium, or as a viscosity adjuster, or as a surface tension adjuster, or a plasticizer, or as a preservative. For the purpose of this Directive the fraction of creosote which exceeds the threshold given for the vapour pressure under the particular condition of use shall be considered as an organic solvent;

17. registration:

means a procedure, specified in a legal act, involving notification to the competent authority by the operator of the intention to operate an installation or process coming within the scope of this Directive. The competent authority must acknowledge receipt of the notification;

18. substances:

means chemical elements and their compounds, as they occur in the natural state or as produced by industry, whether in solid or liquid form in the form of a gas or vapour;

19. substantial change:

- for a small installation, means an increase in the nominal capacity of more than 25 %,

- for an installation falling within the scope of Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 on integrated pollution prevention and control, means the definition specified within that Directive,

- for all other installations, means an increase in the nominal capacity of more than 10 %;

20. volatile organic compound (VOC):

means any organic compound having at 293,15K a vapour pressure of 0,01kPa or more, or having a corresponding volatility under the particular conditions of use.

Certain technical terms are defined in Annex II.

Article 3 Obligations applying to new installations

Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that, before being put into operation, all new installations which are not already permitted pursuant to Directive 96/61/EC undergo registration or authorization so far as the activities within the scope defined in Article 1 are concerned and that new installations comply with the requirements set out in Articles 5 to 9 of this Directive.

Article 4 Obligations for existing installations

Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to ensure that:

1. All existing installations which are not already permitted pursuant to Directive 96/61/EC undergo registration or authorization by the time of the first compliance date in Annex III (B) to this Directive.

2. Existing installations comply with the requirements set out in Articles 5 to 9 no later than 30 October 2007.

3. Where an installation undergoes a substantial change, or comes within the scope of this Directive for the first time as a result of a substantial change, that part of the installation which undergoes the substantial change shall be treated either as a new installation or as an existing installation provided that the total emissions of the installation do not exceed those that would have resulted if it had been treated as a new installation.

Article 5 Emission limits

1. Member States shall take the appropriate measures, either by specification in the conditions of the authorization or, for installations subject to a registration procedure, by general binding rules, to ensure that paragraphs 2 to 9 are complied with.

2. All installations shall comply with the emission limit values, fugitive emission limit values and other emission requirements laid down in Annex III (A), or the requirements of the reduction scheme specified in Annex III (B). The reduction scheme does not exempt installations discharging substances specified in paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 from fulfilling the requirements of these paragraphs. Certain installations with abatement equipment already in operation on the date prescribed for transposition of this Directive shall enjoy a derogation from the emission limit values in Annex III (A), provided that the total emissions of the installation do not exceed those that would have resulted if all the requirements of Annex III (A) were met. The scope and nature of this exemption is specified in Annex III (A). However, for installations not using the reduction scheme, any abatement equipment installed after the date prescribed for transposition of this Directive shall meet all the requirements of Annex III (A).

3. Installations where two or more activities are carried out, each of which exceeds the thresholds in Annex III (A) shall:

(a) as regards the substances specified in paragraphs 6 and 8, meet the requirements of those paragraphs for each process individually;

(b) as regards all other substances, either:

(i) meet the requirements of paragraph 2 for each process individually; or

(ii) have total emissions not exceeding those that would have resulted if point (i) had been applied.

4. The fugitive emission guide values given in Annex III (A) shall be complied with, as far as technically and economically feasible.

5. Those processes and installations not making use of the reduction scheme under Annex III (B) shall be operated under contained conditions unless this is not technically or economically feasible, and emissions arising from all processes and installations pursuant to this Directive shall be discharged in such a way as to safeguard public health and the environment.

6. Substances or preparations which, because of their content of volatile organic compounds classified as carcinogens, mutagens, or toxic to reproduction under Council Directive 67/548/EEC (7), have labels containing the R phrases R45, R46, R49, R60 and R61 are replaced as far as possible by less harmful substances or preparations within the shortest possible time.

7. For significant discharges of the organic compounds referred to in paragraph 6, that is, discharges where the mass flow of the sum of the compounds causing the labelling referred to in paragraph 6 is greater than or equal to 10 g/h, an emission limit value of 2 mg/m³ shall be complied with. The emission limit value refers to the mass sum of the individual compounds.

8. For significant discharges of halogenated organic solvents which have labels containing the risk phrase R40, that is, discharges where the mass flow of the sum of the compounds causing the labelling R40 is greater than or equal to 100 g/h, an emission limit value of 20 mg/m³ shall be complied with. The emission limit value refers to the mass sum of the individual compounds.

9. All appropriate precautions shall be taken to minimize emissions during start-up and shut-down.

10. Where a risk assessment is carried out in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 (8) or Council Directive 88/379/EEC (9) of any of the substances causing the labelling R40, R60 or R61 which are controlled under this Directive, the Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13 of this Directive, shall consider the conclusions of the risk assessment and shall modify the controls on those substances as appropriate.

Article 6 Substitution

1. The Commission shall ensure that an exchange of information between Member States and the sectors concerned on the use of organic substances and their potential substitutes takes place, in an administratively efficient way, to consider the questions of fitness for use, potential environmental effects and the costs and benefits of the options available, with a view to providing guidance on the use of materials which have the least potential effects on air, water, soil, ecosystems and public health. The Commission shall publish the results of the exchange of information for each sector.

2. Member States shall ensure that:

(a) for installations undergoing authorization, the guidance referred to in paragraph 1 is taken into account during authorization so that materials which have the least potential effects on air, water, soil and public health are used;

(b) those installations subject to registration are issued with the guidance referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 7 Monitoring

Member States shall specify appropriate release-monitoring requirements, including measurement methodology and frequency, evaluation procedure and an obligation to supply the competent authority with data required for checking compliance with this Directive. However, emissions from stacks to which abatement equipment has been connected and which at the final point of discharge emit more than 10 kg/h of total organic carbon (determined as an eight-hour moving average) shall be measured continuously.

Article 8 Verification of compliance with emission limitations

1. Compliance with the provisions of Article 5 (7) and (8) shall be verified on the basis of the sum of the mass concentrations of the individual organic compounds concerned. For all other cases, compliance shall be verified on the basis of the total mass of organic carbon emitted.

2. In the case of continuous measurements, the emission limit values laid down in Article 5 and in Annex III (A) shall be considered to be complied with if:

(a) none of the moving averages over eight hours of normal operation exceeds the emission limit values;

(b) none of the one-hourly averages exceeds the established emission limit value by more than a factor of 1,5.

For the purpose of calculating the values referred to in the first subparagraph, only the periods in which the installations or the processes are actually in normal operation shall be taken into account.

3. For periodic measurements, three readings shall be obtained during each measurement exercise, and the measurement exercises shall not be more than 24 months apart. Compliance with the emission limit values laid down in Article 5 and in Annex III (A) shall be considered to be achieved if none of the valid, randomly measured values exceeds the emission limit value. Compliance shall be re-verified following a substantial change.

4. Compliance with the following shall be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authority:

- fugitive emission limit and guide values,

- the requirements of the reduction scheme in accordance with Annex III (B),

- the provisions of Article 5 (3), and

- emission requirements expressed in terms of solvent emissions per unit product.

Guidance is provided in Annex IV on solvent management plans serving to demonstrate compliance with these parameters.

5. The Commission shall organize an exchange of information on the use of solvent management plans in Member States based on the data for the implementation of this Directive in the three years following the date prescribed for its transposition. On the basis of the results of the exchange of information, the Commission, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 13, shall if appropriate amend this Article and Annex IV.

Article 9 Non-compliance

1. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, if it is found that the requirements of this Directive have been breached:

(a) the operator informs the competent authority and takes measures to ensure that compliance is restored within the shortest possible time;

(b) if necessary, the operation of the installation is prohibited.

2. Where the targets of an agreed national plan are not achieved, the Member State shall ensure that those industry sectors which fail to achieve their commitments and obligations under the plan are required to comply with emission controls in the form specified in Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III which ensure that those commitments and obligations are achieved and which at least meet the provisions of Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III. This compliance must be achieved on the same time scale as for any other installation of the same type, or within two years of the establishment of non-compliance, whichever is the later.

Article 10 Information systems and reporting

1. At intervals of three years Member States shall send information to the Commission on the implementation of this Directive, in the form of a sectoral report which shall also cover other pertinent Community Directives. The report shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Council Directive 91/692/EEC (10). 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 made to the Commission within nine months of the end of the three-year period covered by it. Member States shall publish the reports produced at the same time as they are transmitted to the Commission, subject to the restrictions laid down in Article 3 (2) and (3) of Council Directive 90/313/EEC (11). The first report shall cover the period 2000 to 2003.

2. The information submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 shall, in particular, include:

(a) details of authorizations and registrations issued pursuant to this Directive;

(b) details of the extent of compliance with the requirements of Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III, or with the requirements of Article 12;

(c) compliance with the requirements of Article 5 (6) and (8).

Article 11 Public access to information

1. Without prejudice to Directive 90/313/EEC, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that applications for authorization for new installations or for substantial changes are made available for an appropriate period of time to the public, to enable it to comment on them before the competent authority reaches a decision. Without prejudice to Directive 96/61/EC, no obligation to reformat the information for public consumption is implied.

That decision, including at least a copy of the authorization, and any subsequent updates, must also be made available to the public.

For installations undergoing registration, the register and the general rules applicable shall be made available to the public.

2. The results of emission monitoring as required under the authorization or registration conditions referred to in Article 7 and held by the competent authority must be made available to the public.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply subject to the restrictions regarding grounds for refusal by public authorities to provide information, including commercial and industrial confidentiality, laid down in Article 3 (2) and (3) of Directive 90/313/EEC.

Article 12 National plans

1. Member States may define and implement national plans for reducing emissions from the processes and industrial installations covered by Article 1. These plans shall result in a reduction of the annual emissions of volatile organic compounds from installations covered by this Directive by at least the same amount as would have been achieved by applying the emission limits pursuant to Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III by 30 October 2007.

A Member State which does so shall be exempt from implementation of the emission limit values laid down in Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III.

2. The plan shall include a list of the legal measures taken or to be taken to ensure that the aim specified in paragraph 1 will be achieved, including details of the proposed plan monitoring mechanism. It shall also include binding interim reduction targets against which progress towards the aim can be measured.

3. The Member State shall supply to the Commission a copy of the plan by the date prescribed for the transposition of this Directive. The plan must be accompanied by supporting documentation sufficient to verify that the aim of paragraph 1 will be achieved, including any documentation specifically requested by the Commission.

4. The Member State shall designate a national authority for the collection and evaluation of the information required by paragraph 3, as well as for the implementation of the national plan.

5. If the Commission, in considering the plan, or in considering the progress reports submitted by the Member State pursuant to Article 10, is not satisfied that the objectives of the programme will be achieved within the prescribed period, it shall inform the Member State and the committee referred to in Article 13 of its opinion and of the reasons for reaching such an opinion. It shall do so within six months of receipt of the plan or report. The Member State shall then notify the Commission, within three months, of the corrective measures it will take in order to ensure that the objectives are achieved.

6. As regards the original plan, if the Commission decides within six months of the notification of the corrective measures that those measures are insufficient to ensure that the objective of the plan is achieved within the prescribed period, the Member State shall be obliged to satisfy the requirements of Article 5 (2), (3) and (4) and Annex III within the period specified in the Directive in the case of existing installations, and within 12 months of the date of the Commission's decision in the case of new installations.

Article 13 Advisory committee

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the committee established in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 19 of Directive 96/61/EC (hereinafter 'the committee`) operating according to a consultative procedure.

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft of the measures to be taken within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.

The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.

Article 14 Sanctions

Member States shall determine the sanctions applicable to breaches of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all necessary measures for their implementation. The sanctions determined must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify these provisions to the Commission at the latest by the date mentioned in Article 15, and shall notify any subsequent modification of them as soon as possible.

Article 15 Transposition

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 1999 at the latest. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

These laws, regulations and administrative provisions shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 16 Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 17 Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.

(2) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.

(3) OJ No C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.

(4) OJ No C 328, 7. 12. 1987, p. 1.

(5) OJ No C 138, 1. 2. 1993, p. 1.

(6) OJ No L 257, 10. 10. 1996, p. 26.

(7) OJ No 196, 16. 8. 1967, p. 1.

(8) OJ No L 84, 5. 4. 1993, p. 1.

(9) OJ No L 187, 16. 7. 1988, p. 14.

(10) OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.

(11) OJ No L 158, 23. 6. 1990, p. 56.

ANNEX I

SCOPE

Categories of industrial activity are referred to in Article 1. In each case the process includes the cleaning of the process equipment but not the cleaning of work.

Adhesive coating

- any process in which an adhesive is applied to a surface, with the exception of adhesive coating and laminating associated to printing processes.

Coating processes

- any process in which a single or multiple application of a continuous film of a coating is laid onto:

- vehicles as listed below:

- new cars, defined as vehicles of category M1 in Directive 70/156/EEC, and of category N1 in so far as they are coated at the same installation as M1 vehicles,

- truck cabins, defined as the housing for the driver, and all integrated housing for the technical equipment, of vehicles of category N2 and N3 in Directive 70/156/EEC,

- vans and trucks, defined as vehicles of categories N1, N2 and N3 in Directive 70/156/EEC, but not including truck cabins,

- buses, defined as vehicles of category M2 and M3 in Directive 70/156/EEC,

- metallic and plastic surfaces,

- wooden surfaces,

- textile, fabric, film and paper surfaces,

- leather.

It does not include the coating of substrates with metals by electrophoretic and chemical spraying techniques. If the coating process includes a step in which the same article is printed, that printing step is considered part of the coating process. However printing processes operated as a separate process are not included.

Coil coating

- any process where coiled steel, stainless steel, coated steel, copper alloys or aluminium strip is coated with either a film forming or laminate coating in a continuous process.

Conversion of natural or synthetic rubber

- the mixing, milling, blending, calendering, extrusion and vulcanization of natural or synthetic rubber and any ancillary operations for converting natural or synthetic rubber into a finished product.

Dry cleaning

- any process using volatile organic compounds to remove contamination from the following manufactured consumer goods: furs, leather, down feathers, textiles or other objects made of fibres.

Impregnation of wooden surfaces

- any process giving a loading of preservative in the timber.

Manufacturing of coatings, varnishes, ink and adhesives

- the manufacture of the above final products, and of intermediates where carried out at the same installation, by mixing of pigments, resins and adhesive materials with organic solvent or other carrier, including dispersion and predispersion activities, viscosity and tint adjustments and operations for filling the final product into its container.

Manufacturing of pharmaceutical products

- the chemical synthesis, fermentation, extraction, formulation and finishing of pharmaceutical products or intermediates.

Printing

- a reproduction process of text and/or images in which, with the use of an image carrier, ink is transferred onto whatever type of surface. It includes associated varnishing, coating and laminating techniques. Only the following sub-processes are subject to this Directive:

flexography - a printing process using an image carrier of rubber or elastic photopolymers on which the printing inks are above the non-printing areas, using liquid inks which dry through evaporation,

heatset web offset - a web-fed printing process using an image carrier in which the printing and non-printing area are in the same plane, where web-fed means that the material to be printed is fed to the machine from a reel as distinct from separate sheets. The non-printing area is treated to attract water and thus reject ink. The printing area is treated to receive and transmit ink to the surface to be printed. Evaporation takes place in an oven where hot air is used to heat the printed material,

laminating associated to a printing process - the adhering together of two or more flexible materials to produce laminates,

publication rotogravure - rotogravure used for printing paper for magazines, brochures, catalogues or similar products, using toluene-based inks,

rotogravure - a printing process using a cylindrical image carrier in which the printing area is below the non-printing area, using liquid inks which dry through evaporation. The recesses are filled with ink and the surplus is cleaned off the non-printing area before the surface to be printed contacts the cylinder and lifts the ink from the recesses,

rotary screen printing - a web-fed printing process in which the ink is passed onto the surface to be printed by forcing it through a porous image carrier, in which the printing area is open and the non-printing area is sealed off, using liquid inks which dry only through evaporation. Web-fed means that the material to be printed is fed to the machine from a reel as distinct from separate sheets,

varnishing - a process by which a varnish or an adhesive coating for the purpose of later sealing the packaging material is applied to a flexible material.

Surface cleaning

- any process except dry cleaning using organic solvents to remove contamination from the surface of material including degreasing. A cleaning process consisting of more than one step before or after any other processing step shall be considered as one surface cleaning process. This process refers to the cleaning of work and not to the cleaning of process equipment.

Vegetable oil extraction and fat and vegetable oil refining processes

- the extraction of vegetable oil from seeds and other vegetable matter, the processing of dry residues to produce animal feed, the purification of fats and vegetable oils derived from seeds, vegetable matter and/or animal matter.

Vehicle refinishing (1)

- all coating processes of a road vehicle as defined in Directive 70/156/EEC, or a part of it, carried out as part of vehicle repair, conservation or decoration outside of manufacturing installations, and the original coating of vehicle with refinishing-type materials, where this is carried out away from the original manufacturing line.

Winding wire coating

- coating of metallic conductors used for winding the coils in transformers and motors, etc.

Wood and plastic lamination

- the adhering together of wood and/or plastic to produce laminates.

(1) The Commission shall consider approaches to the regulation of this sector by control of the products it uses, and may consequently remove the sector from the scope of this proposal in order to control it by other means.

ANNEX II

DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this Directive:

Adhesive

- means any preparation, including all the organic solvents or preparations containing organic solvents necessary for its proper application, which is used to adhere separate parts of a manufactured article;

Halogenated organic solvent

- means an organic solvent which contains at least one halogen atom per molecule;

Coating

- means any preparation, including all the organic solvents or preparations containing organic solvents necessary for its proper application, which is used to provide a decorative, protective or other functional effect on a surface;

Consumption

- means the total input of organic solvents into an installation or a process per calendar year, or any other 12 month period, less any volatile organic compounds that are recovered for reuse;

Ink

- means a preparation, including all the organic solvents or preparations containing organic solvents necessary for its proper application, which is used in a printing process to impress text or images onto a surface;

Moving average over eight hours

- means the calculation, once per hour, of the arithmetic average of all valid readings taken during the preceding eight hours period of normal operating conditions and calculated after each period of eight hours of normal operating conditions;

Nominal capacity

- means the maximum mass use of organic solvents by an installation averaged over one day, if the installation is operated under normal operating conditions at its design output;

Normal operation

- means all periods of operation of an installation or a process except start-up and shut-down operations and maintenance of equipment;

Preparation

- means mixtures or solutions composed of two or more substances;

Reuse of organic solvents

- means the use of organic solvents recovered from an installation for any technical or commercial purpose including use as a fuel where this is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the competent authority, but excluding the treatment of such recovered organic solvent as waste;

Standard conditions

- means a temperature of 273,15 kelvin and a pressure of 101,3 kPa;

Start-up and shut-down operations

- means operations while bringing a process, an equipment item or a tank into or out of service or into or out of an idling state. Regularly oscillating process phases are not to be considered as start-ups and shut-downs;

Small installation

- means an installation which falls within items 6, 11 or 12 of Annex III (A), or within the lower threshold band of items 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, or 18 of Annex III (A);

Varnish

- means a transparent coating;

Waste gases

- means the final gaseous discharge containing organic compounds or other pollutants, from a chimney, a stack or an abatement equipment into air. The volumetric flow rates shall be expressed in m³/h at standard conditions.

ANNEX III

A: THRESHOLDS AND EMISSION CONTROLS

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Article 5(2) derogation

Those installations which are identified in the above table as having to meet emission limits of 75 mgC/m³ or 100 mgC/m³, and which operate existing abatement equipment which meets an emission limit value of 150 mgC/m³ and which was put into operation no earlier than 1994, are derogated from the emission limit values in the above table, provided the total emissions of the installation do not exceed those that would have resulted if all the requirements of the above table were met.

The vehicle coating industry

The emission limits are expressed in terms of grams of solvent emitted in relation to the surface area of product in square metres.

The surface area of any product dealt with in the table below is defined as follows:

- the surface area calculated from the total electrophoretic coating area, and the surface area of any parts that might be added in successive phases of the coating process which are coated with the same coatings as those used for the product in question, or the total surface area of the product coated in the installation.

The surface of the electrophoretic coating area is calculated using the formula:

>NUM>2 × total weight of product shell

>DEN>average thickness of metal sheet × density of metal sheet

This method shall also be applied for other coated parts made out of sheets.

Computer aided design or other equivalent methods shall be used to calculate the surface area of the other parts added, or the total surface area coated in the installation.

The total emission limit in the table below refers to all process stages carried out at the same installation from electrophoretic coating, or any other kind of coating process, through to the final wax and polish of topcoating inclusive, as well as solvent used in cleaning of process equipment. The limit is expressed as the mass sum of organic compounds per m² of the total surface area of coated product.

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Vehicle coating installations below the solvent consumption thresholds in the table above shall meet the requirements for the vehicle refinishing sector in Annex III (A).

B: REDUCTION SCHEME

1. Principles

The purpose of the reduction scheme is to allow for the possibility to achieve emission reductions, equivalent to those achieved if the limit values were to be applied, by other means. The design of the scheme takes into account the following facts:

(i) where substitutes containing little or no solvent are still under development, a time extension must be given to the operator to implement his emission reduction plans;

(ii) the reference point for emission reductions should correspond as closely as possible to the emissions which would have resulted had no reduction action been taken.

The following scheme shall operate for installations for which a constant solid content of product can be assumed and used to define the reference point for emission reductions. Where the following method is inappropriate the competent authority may operate any alternative exemption scheme which it is satisfied fulfils the principles outlined here.

2. Practice

(i) The operator shall forward an emission reduction plan which includes in particular decreases in the average solvent content of the total input and/or increased efficiency in the use of solids to achieve a reduction of the total emissions from the installation to a given percentage of the annual reference emissions, termed the target emission. This must be done on the following time frame:

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(ii) The annual reference emission is calculated as follows:

(a) The total mass of solids in the quantity of coating and/or ink, varnish or adhesive consumed in a year is determined.

(b) The annual reference emissions are calculated by multiplying the mass determined in (a) by the appropriate factor listed in the table below. Competent authorities may adjust these factors for individual installations to reflect documented increased efficiency in the use of solids.

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(iii) The target emission is equal to the annual reference emission multiplied by a percentage equal to:

- (the fugitive emission limit value + 15), for installations falling within item 6 and the lower threshold band of items 8 and 10 of Annex III (A),

- (the fugitive emission limit value + 5) for all other installations.

(iv) Compliance is achieved if the actual solvent consumption determined from the solvent management plan is less than or equal to the target emission.

ANNEX IV

SOLVENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

1. Introduction

This Annex provides guidance on carrying out a solvent management plan. It identifies the principles to be applied (item 2), provides a framework for the mass balance (item 3) and provides an indication of the requirements for verification of compliance (item 4).

2. Principles

The solvent management plan serves the following purposes:

(i) verification of compliance as specified in Article 8 (4),

(ii) identification of future reduction options,

(iii) provision of information on solvent consumption, solvent emissions and compliance with this Directive to the public.

3. Definitions

The following definitions provide a framework for the mass balance exercise.

Inputs of organic solvents:

I/1. The quantity of organic solvents or their quantity in preparations purchased which are used as input into the process in the timeframe over which the mass balance is being calculated.

I/2. The quantity of organic solvents or their quantity in preparations recovered and reused as solvent input into the process. (The recycled solvent is counted every time it enters the process.)

Outputs of organic solvents:

O/1. Captured emissions of organic solvents and/or organic compounds, due to solvent consumption, emitted at the outlet of stacks or after abatement equipment.

O/2. Organic solvents lost in water, if appropriate taking into account waste-water treatment when calculating O/5.

O/3. The quantity of organic solvents which remains as contamination or residue in products output from the process.

O/4. Uncaptured emissions of organic solvents to air. This includes the general ventilation of rooms, where air is released to the outside environment via windows, doors, vents and similar openings.

O/5. Organic solvents and/or organic compounds lost as a result of chemical or physical reactions (including for example those which are destroyed, for example by incineration or other waste gas or waste-water treatments, or captured, for example by adsorption, as long as they are not counted under O/6, O/7 or O/8).

O/6. Organic solvents contained in collected waste.

O/7. Organic solvents, or organic solvents contained in preparations, which are sold or are intended to be sold as a commercially valuable article.

O/8. Organic solvents contained in preparations recovered for reuse but not as input into the process, as long as they are not counted under O/7.

O/9. Organic solvents disposed of into soil.

4. Guidance on use of solvent management plan for verification of compliance

The use made of the solvent management plan will be determined by the particular requirement which is to be verified, as follows:

(i) Verification of compliance with the reduction option in Annex III (B), with an emission limit expressed in solvent emissions per unit product, and with the requirements of Article 5 (3) (b).

(a) For all processes using Annex III (B) the solvent management plan should be performed annually to determine consumption. Consumption can be calculated using the following equation:

C = I/1 - O/8

A parallel exercise should also be undertaken to determine solids used in coating in order to derive the annual reference emission and the target emission each year.

(b) For assessing compliance with an emission limit expressed in solvent emissions per unit product the solvent management plan should be performed annually to determine emissions. Emissions can be calculated according to the following equation:

E = F + O/1

where F is the fugitive emission as defined at (ii) (a). The emission figure should then be divided by the relevant product parameter.

(c) For assessing compliance with the requirements of Article 5 (3) (b), the solvent management plan should be performed annually to determine total emissions from all processes concerned, and that figure should then be compared with the total emissions that would have resulted had the requirements of Annex III been met for each process separately.

(ii) Determination of fugitive emissions for comparison with the guide and limit values in Annex III (A):

(a) Methodology

The fugitive emissions can be calculated using the following equation:

F = I/1 - O/1 - O/5 - O/6 - O/7 - O/8

This quantity can be determined by direct measurement of the quantities. Alternatively, an equivalent calculation can be made by other means, for instance by using the capture efficiency of the process.

The fugitive emission limit is expressed as a proportion of the input, which can be calculated using the following equation:

I = I/1 + I/2

(b) Frequency

Determination of fugitive emissions for a piece of plant can be done by a short but comprehensive set of measurements. It need not then be done again until the equipment is modified. However unless each piece of plant meets the fugitive emission limit values individually, an annual solvent management plan should be performed for the installation as a whole, to ensure that it complies with the fugitive emission limit value.