21. 4. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 105/17 
Opinion on the 
— proposal for a Council Decision on a Supplement, in Respect of Mercury originating in Sectors 
other than the Chlor-Alkali Electrolysis Industry, to Annex IV to the Convention for the 
Protection of the Rhine against Chemical Pollution 
and the 
— Commission Communication to the Council on the Recommendation by the International 
Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution on the Monitoring of Mercury 
Discharges by Sectors other than the Chlor-Alkali Electrolysis Industry 
(87/C 105/08) 
On 22 December 1986 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
documents. 
The Economic and Social Committee decided to appoint Mr Van Dam as Rapporteur-General with 
the task of preparing its work on the subject. 
At its 244th Plenary Session (meeting of 26 February 1987) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following Opinion with no dissenting votes and seven abstentions: 
1. In its Opinion of 19 November 1980 (l) on the 
proposal for a Council Decision supplementing Annex IV 
to the Convention on the Protection of the Rhine against 
Chemical Pollution 
id the 
Communication from the Commission to the Council on 
the Recommendation by the International Commission for 
the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution on Control­
ling Discharges of Mercury by the Chlor-Alkali Electrolysis 
Industry of June 18, 1980, 
the Committee called on the International Commission to 
tackle other sources of pollution such as mercury 
discharges from laboratories, dental surgeries and the 
electrical equipment industry. 
2. In its Opinion of 6 July 1983 (2) the Committee 
endorsed the Proposal for a Council Directive on Limit 
Values and Quality Objectives for Mercury Discharges by 
Sectors other than the Chlor-Alkali Electrolysis Industry. 
0) OJ No C348, 31. 12. 1980. 
(2) OJ No C 286, 24. 10. 1983. 3. The proposal now before the Committee is broadly 
similar in content to Directive 84/156/EEC and its wording 
is compatible with the existing Community rules. 
4. The Committee therefore approves the new proposal. 
5. The Supplement to Annex IV of the Agreement 
allows more stringent limit values to be set for the non-
ferrous metal industry at the instigation of the International 
Commission and on the basis of experience, once a period 
of ten years has elapsed. 
The Economic and Social Committee wonders whether 
consideration could be given to shortening this ten-year 
period by agreement with the International Commission. 
6. The recommendations of the International Commis­
sion to the Contracting Parties include provision for joint 
monitoring of emission standards by the authority and the 
producer. The Committee would be interested to know 
whether this joint monitoring system operates satisfacto­
rily. 
7. The Committee recognizes that the agreement cannot 
be amended unilaterally or in the short term. The 
Committee would nonetheless be pleased if the Commis­
sion were at an appropriate moment to consider these two 
questions raised above. 
Done at Brussels, 26 February 1987. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Alfons MARGOT