No C 174/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.7. 87 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation laying down maximum permitted radioactivity levels for 
foodstuffs, feedingstuffs and drinking water in the case of abnormal levels of radioactivity or of 
a nuclear accident 
COM(87) 281 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 16 June 1987) 
(87/C 174/09) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 31 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
drawn up after obtaining the opinion of a group of 
experts appointed by the Scientific and Technical 
Committee, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 2(b) of the Treaty requires that the 
Community establish uniform safety standards to protect 
the health of workers and of the general public and 
ensure that they are applied, as further set out in Title 
Two, Chapter III of the Treaty; 
Whereas, on 2 February 1959, the Council adopted 
Directives (*) laying down basic safety standards, the text 
of which was replaced by that of Council Directive 
80/836/Euratom (2), as amended by Directive 84/467/ 
Euratom (3), and whereas Article 45 of that Directive 
requires Member States to stipulate intervention levels in 
the event of accidents; 
Whereas, following the accident at the Chernobyl 
nuclear power-station on 26 April 1986, considerable 
quantities of radioactive materials were released into the 
atmosphere, contaminating foodstuffs and feedingstuffs 
in several European countries to levels significant from 
the health point of view; 
Whereas, the Community adopted provisional measures, 
and in particular Council Regulation (EEC) No 1707/ 
86 (4), to ensure that certain agricultural products are 
only introduced into the Community according to 
0) OJ No 11, 20. 2. 1959, p. 221/59. 
O OJ No L 246, 17. 9. 1980, p. 1. 
C) OJ No L 265, 5. 10. 1984, p. 4. 
(') OJ No L 146, 31. 5. 1986, p. 88. common arrangements which safeguard the health of the 
population while maintaining the unified nature of the 
market and preventing deflections of trade; 
Whereas the need arises to set up a more permanent 
system allowing the Community, in cases of nuclear 
accidents or other events leading to a significant radio­
active contamination of foodstuffs, feedingstuffs or 
drinking water, to fix maximum permitted levels of radio­
active contamination in order to protect the population; 
Whereas the Commission will be informed of a nuclear 
accident or of unusually high levels of radioactivity 
according to the Council Decision on a Community 
system of rapid exchange of information in cases of 
abnormal levels of radioactivity or of a nuclear accident 
or under the Convention on Early Notification of a 
Nuclear Accident of 26 September 1986; 
Whereas the Commission will, if the circumstances so 
require, adopt a Regulation rendering applicable pre-
established maximum permitted levels; 
Whereas, on the basis of current data available in the 
field of radiation protection, derived reference levels can 
be established and serve as a basis for the fixing of 
maximum permitted radioactivity levels which can be 
applied immediately in the case of such an accident or 
other event resulting in significant radioactive contami­
nation of foodstuffs, feedingstuffs or drinking water; 
Whereas such maximum permitted levels have been 
established following an international scientific seminar 
on foodstuff intervention levels after a nuclear accident 
which was organized by the Commission in Luxembourg 
on 27 to 30 April 1987; 
Whereas these levels take due account of the latest 
scientific advice as presently available on an international 
scale whilst reflecting the need for reassuring the public 
2. 7. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 174/7 
and avoiding divergence in international regulatory 
practice; 
Whereas, however, it is necessary to take due account of 
the particular conditions applying and, therefore, to 
establish a procedure allowing the rapid adaptation of 
these pre-established levels to maximum permitted levels 
appropriate to the circumstances of any particular 
nuclear accident or other event leading to a significant 
radioactive contamination of foodstuffs, feedingstuffs or 
drinking water; 
Whereas the adoption of a Regulation fixing maximum 
permitted levels would also preserve the unity of the 
common market, prevent deflections of trade within the 
Community and preclude any national prohibitions or 
restrictions within the meaning of Article 36 of the EEC 
Treaty; 
Whereas, in order to facilitate the adaptation of 
maximum permitted levels, procedures should be 
provided for allowing on the one hand the consultation 
of the group of experts referred to in Article 31 of the 
Treaty and establishing, on the other hand, close 
cooperation between Member States and the 
Commission within a management committee; 
Whereas compliance with the maximum permitted levels 
will have to be the subject of appropriate checks; 
Whereas, in order to supplement, clarify or adjust, as 
necessary, the measures provided for by this Regulation, 
a simplified procedure should be established, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
1. This Regulation lays down the procedure for 
determining the maximum permitted levels of radioactive 
contamination of drinking water, of foodstuffs and of 
feedingstuffs which may be placed on the market or 
exported following a nuclear accident or any other event 
which could lead or has led to significant radioactive 
contamination of foodstuffs, feedingstuffs or drinking 
water. 
2. Foodstuffs within the meaning of this Regulation 
are products which are fit for human consumption either 
immediately or after processing. Feedingstuffs are 
products which are fit only for animal nutrition. 
Article 2 
1. Where a nuclear accident or any other event is 
notified to the Commission according to the procedure 
envisaged by Council Decision No ... of ... (rapid 
information) or under the Convention on Early 
Notification of a Nuclear Accident of 26 September 
1986, the Commission shall immediately, if the circum­
stances so require, adopt a Regulation rendering applicable the maximum permitted levels laid down in 
Annex 1. 
2. The period of validity of any Regulation as referred 
to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed three months. 
Article 3 
1. The Commission shall immediately upon adopting 
a Regulation in accordance with Article 2 obtain the 
opinion of the group of experts referred to in Article 31 
of the Treaty (hereinafter called 'the group of experts') 
on any subsequent Regulation required in the circum­
stances. 
2. When seeking the opinion of the group of experts, 
the Commission may set a time limit within which such 
opinion shall be given. No vote shall be taken. However, 
any member of the group of experts may demand that 
his or her views be set down in the minutes. 
Article 4 
1. If the circumstances so require, the Commission 
shall submit to an ad hoc committee for the radioactive 
contamination of foodstuffs (hereinafter called 'the 
committee'), a draft Regulation replacing the Regulation 
referred to in Article 2 (1) within one month after its 
adoption. The committee shall consist of representatives 
of the Member States with a representative of the 
Commission as chairman. 
2. The Commission shall, when submitting the draft 
Regulation referred to in paragraph 1, take into account 
the basic standards laid down in accordance with Articles 
30 and 31 of the Treaty and in particular shall apply the 
principle that all exposures shall be kept as low as 
reasonably achievable taking economic and social factors 
into account. 
3. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the 
draft within a time limit which the chairman may lay 
down according to the urgency of the matter. The 
opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in 
Article 118 (2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions 
which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal 
from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of 
the Member States within the committee shall be 
weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The 
chairman shall not vote. 
4. The Commission shall adopt the Regulation which 
shall apply immediately. However, if the Regulation is 
not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, it 
shall forthwith be communicated by the Commission to 
the Council. In that event the Commission may defer 
application of the Regulation which it has decided upon 
for not more than 15 days from the date of such 
communication. 
5. The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may 
take a different decision within 15 days. 
No C 174/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.7.87 
Article 5 
The period of validity of any Regulation as referred to in 
Article 4 shall be limited. It may be revised at the request 
of a Member State or on the initiative of the 
Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down 
in Articles 3 and 4. 
Article 6 
1. In order to ensure that the maximum permitted 
levels laid down in Annex I take account of any new 
scientific data becoming available, the Commission shall, 
from time to time, seek the opinion of the group of 
experts. 
2. At the request of a Member State or the 
Commission, the maximum permitted levels laid down in 
Annex I may be revised or supplemented, in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in Article 31 of the Treaty. 
Article 7 
1. Foodstuffs or feedingstuffs not in compliance with 
the maximum permitted levels laid down in any Regu­
lation adopted in accordance with Articles 2 or 4 shall 
not be placed on the market or exported. For the 
purposes of applying this Regulation foodstuffs or feedingstuffs coming from third countries shall be 
considered to be placed on the market when they are, on 
the customs territory of the Community, the subject of a 
customs procedure other than a transit procedure. 
2. Each Member State shall provide the Commission 
with all information concerning the application of this 
Regulation, in particular concerning cases of non­
compliance with the maximum permitted levels. The 
Commission shall communicate such information to the 
other Member States. 
Article 8 
Detailed rules for applying this Regulation and any 
amendments to be made to the list of minor foodstuffs 
contained in Annex II shall be adopted in accordance 
with the procedure laid down in Article 4. 
Article 9 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day 
following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly-applicable in all Member States. 
1/ 
ANNEX I 
MAXIMUM PERMITTED LEVELS FOR FOODSTUFFS, FEEDINGSTUFFS AND DRINKING 
WATER 
(Bq/kg or Bq/1) 
Isotopes of iodine and strontium, 
notably 1-131, Sr-90 
Alpha-emitting isotopes of plu-
tonium and transplutonium el­
ements, notably Pu-239, Am-241 
All other nuclides of half-life 
greater than 10 days, notably 
Cs-134, Cs-137 Dairy 
produce (') 
500 
20 
1000 Other foodstuffs 
except minor 
foodstuffs (2) 
3 000 
80 
1250 Drinking water and 
liquid foodstuffs (3) 
400 
10 
800 Feedingstuffs 
-o 
—(4) 
2 500 
O Dairy produce is defined as milk falling within heading Nos 04.01 and 04.02 of the Common Customs Tariff and 
those foodstuffs intended for the special feeding of infants during the first four to six months of life, which meet, in 
themselves, the nutritional requirements of this category of person and are put up for retail sale in packages which are 
clearly identified and labelled 'food preparation for infants'. 
(') Minor foodstuffs are those foodstuffs listed in Annex II. For these a level of contamination ten times that quoted in 
this column may be allowed. 
(3) Liquid foodstuffs as defined by Chapter 20 and 22 of the Common Customs Tariff. 
(') No value for immediate application. 
2. 7. 87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 174/9 
ANNEX II 
MINOR FOODSTUFFS 
CCT 
heading 
No 
07.01 
07.03 
Chapter 9 Description 
Vegetables, fresh or chilled: 
O. Capers 
Vegetables provisionally preserved in brine, in sulphur water or in other preservative 
solutions but not specially prepared for immediate consumption: 
B. Capers 
Coffee, tea, mate and spices 
No C 174/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.7.87 
DERIVED REFERENCE LEVELS AS A BASIS FOR THE CONTROL OF FOODSTUFFS 
FOLLOWING A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT 
A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE GROUP OF EXPERTS SET UP PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 
31 OF THE EURATOM TREATY 
Introduction 
The previous recommendation of the group of experts, dated 4 September 1986, has been reviewed and 
revised by the group in the light of the Commission's international scientific seminar on foodstuffs 
intervention levels following a nuclear accident held in Luxembourg from 27 to 30 April 1987; the revised 
recommendations are set out below. 
Basic policy 
The radiological control of foodstuffs following an accidental release of radioactive material to the 
environment poses two very different sets of problems. The first, and most urgent, concerns the use of food 
produced, and sometimes consumed, in the area near the accident. Decisions are needed within a day or 
two of the release so that the affected area can be defined and alternative food supplies provided. The 
second set of problems relates to the long-term widespread distribution of food from the local area and 
also from larger, more widely dispersed areas where immediate control is not necessary but where 
measurable contamination exists. In the context of the Community, the emphasis is on this second set of 
problems and on the movement of food between Member States and between the Community and other 
countries. 
On the conventional and prudent assumption that any radiation dose to man causes some increase in the 
risk of long-term consequences, the consumption of food contaminated at any level implies some risk. 
There is thus no way in which decisions about the control of food can be taken solely on consideration of 
risks to health. Although any decision by the competent authorities must be based on a balance between the 
magnitude of these risks and the costs in money resources, and social disruption of any protective action, it 
is fundamental to maintain public confidence in the overall system of radiological protection under which 
the public is legitimately exposed to radiation as a result of the widespread beneficial uses of radiation and 
radioactive materials. This confidence can be strengthened if the reaction to an accident is seen to be 
appropriate. 
Reference levels (RL) 
It is not appropriate to set limits in dealing with emergency situations because an emergency is rarely, if 
ever, susceptible to rigid limitation. It is, however, very useful to establish reference levels which are based 
upon and respect the principles of the basic safety standards and below which action is likely to be inap­
propriate and above which that intervention ought to be taken, or at least seriously considered. The 
reference level must be related to the severity and complexity at the intervention action — simple actions, 
with few social consequences, are appropriate at low levels of radiation exposure; complex actions require 
high levels of exposure before they can be justified. In this report, the group of experts has considered 
those actions needed to control the distribution and importation of foodstuffs in the Community. This type 
of action is complex and has considerable social and economic implications and needs a significant level of 
exposure for justification. 
In principle, the selected RLs should relate to the lifetime dose likely to be accumulated from the continued 
consumption of a single foodstuff. Only then can the benefit of the reduction in dose achieved by control 
of that foodstuff be compared with the costs and detriments of the control action. At the levels of dose 
likely to be encountered and at the scale of the necessary intervention, which is not likely to cause serious 
food shortages at the national or Community level, it is correct to treat each foodstuff as independent of 
all others. 
In practice, however, there are very many foodstuffs potentially involved and it is desirable to make simple 
and comprehensible rules for deciding on intervention. The group of experts has therefore chosen to 
recommend reference levels of dose for the major components of diet and to choose the corresponding 
derived levels in foodstuffs with some conservatism, so that it is unlikely that the reference level of dose 
will be exceeded by any likely combination of contamination in different foodstuffs at different times after 
2.7.87 Official Journal of the European Communities NoC 174/11 
an accident. This procedure is more restrictive than that recommended by the International Commission on 
Radiological Protection but less restrictive than that of taking total diet as a single basis for decisions. The 
group has also chosen to use the dose in a year as the basis for reference levels because the dose in the first 
year is larger than the dose accumulated in any single subsequent year. 
The recommendations apply to the situation resulting from an accident irrespective of any pre-existing 
sources of exposure, including any previous accidents. The reference levels can thus be the same for all 
accidents. On that basis, the group of experts recommends the adoption of two reference levels of dose as 
indicated in reference 1 — a lower RL below which action is extremely unlikely to be justified on radio­
logical protection grounds and an upper RL at which action is almost certain to have been attempted on 
radiological protection grounds. 
For the first year after an accident, the group of experts recommends a lower RL for the committed 
effective dose equivalent to the age of 70 years resulting from the consumption of foodstuffs of 5 mSv. The 
upper RL should be 50 mSv. For the special case of iodine isotopes which deliver almost all their dose to 
the thyroid, an additional lower RL of 50 mSv to the thyroid is recommended, with a corresponding upper 
RL of 500 mSv (reference 2). In all cases, the figures relate to the committed dose resulting from intake of 
food over the year in question. For subsequent years, the levels of contamination will be lower and there 
will have been time to organize effective and economic means of control should these still be necessary. 
Derived reference levels (DRL) 
The practical control of foodstuffs must depend on the measurement or prediction of the concentration of 
radioactive materials in the food; it cannot be achieved by direct estimation of the dose to the consumers. 
It is therefore necessary to derive practical values of concentration from the RLs of dose. The values used 
in the vicinity of an accident for controlling the situation in the first few weeks after an accident have been 
called derived emergency reference levels (DERL). For the long-term control of the trade in foodstuffs the 
term derived reference level (DRL) has been used in this report. It is not in any sense a limit. However, the 
problems of interfering legitimately with international trade may make it necessary to incorporate the 
reference levels into Community regulations. An initial examination of the techniques of optimization of 
protection, formulated by a working group of the WHO and presented at the Luxembourg seminar, shows 
that the levels recommended by the group of experts of Article 31 are close to those reached by the process 
of optimization. The levels recommended are thus sufficient in their own right and no further reduction is 
necessary. 
The estimation of DRLs in foodstuffs poses substantial problems because the different routes by which 
different nuclides reach the food, combined with the different distribution systems for different foodstuffs 
and the differences in diet with age and location, lead to very complex links between the activity in a single 
foodstuff and the total dose to an individual resulting from the consumption of food. If it is intended to 
limit the total dose from all foodstuffs, each foodstuff should have a different DRL for each nuclide and a 
calculation should be carried out on each occasion and for each location, depending on the activity level in 
all the relevant foodstuffs for all the relevant nuclides. This may well be possible in the immediate area of 
an accident where the situation can be closely defined, but it is not feasible as a basis for action at 
Community level. 
The group of experts has therefore established proposals for the major components of diet for three classes 
of radionuclides. The values are shown in the Table. They have been established on the basis of typical 
patterns of diet in the Community. The contamination of foodstuffs after an accident will vary with time 
and with location and it is unrealistic to assume that an individual might consume food all of which is 
contaminated at the DRL for a whole year. The group has assumed, therefore, that, over a whole year, the 
intake would amount to no more than 10 % of that given by continuous consumption of a foodstuff at the 
peak value at any time and any location. Data presented at the Luxembourg seminar and wider consul­
tations have convinced the group that the 10 % value is appropriate and this value was included in the 
computation of derived reference levels. 
No C 174/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.7.87 
However, this value is no longer regarded as conservative enough in all circumstances to cover the addition 
of doses from all foodstuff groups considered. To take account of this, a reduction factor of 5 has been 
applied to each of the values calculated for the individual foodstuffs making up the groups now described 
as milk products, other major foodstuffs (comprising cereals, fruit and vegetables, meat) and drinking 
water (including beverages). Because of the short half-lives of the relevant iodine isotopes there is no need 
to apply this factor for additivity to the values calculated for these nuclides. The figures for the strontium 
isotopes in the nuclide group 'iodine and strontium' do however contain the appropriate reduction factors. 
With regard to the addition of contributions from different radionuclides in the food chain, the following 
points have been taken into account: 
— each nuclide group has been assessed on the basis that the total activity of nuclides in the group is 
compared with the limiting value for the most radiotoxic relevant nuclide in that group applied to the 
most limiting age group, 
— reference levels for iodine isotopes are based on the dose to the thyroid; their contribution to the 
effective dose equivalent is therefore reduced, 
— it is unlikely that, in any accident, nuclides from the three groups will be present together in significant 
amounts in the food chain. 
For these reasons the group concludes that adequate allowance has been made for additivity of the contri­
bution from different radionuclides both within and between nuclide groups. 
The tablulated values have thus been established on the basis that each food group and each group of 
nuclides can be treated quite separately from all the others; adequate allowance has already been made for 
the existence of several contaminated foodstuffs or of nuclides in more than one group. 
The levels apply to the foodstuffs as ready for consumption. In practice, controls are likely to be exercised 
at an earlier stage, e. g. in the processing and marketing of primary produce. No account has been taken of 
the reduction in activity which is due to food processing and preparation. 
TABLE 
DERIVED REFERENCE LEVELS (*) AS THE BASIS FOR THE CONTROL OF FOODSTUFFS 
FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT 
(Bq/kg) 
Isotopes of iodine and strontium (2) 
Notably 1-131, Sr-90 
Milk products (J) Other major foodstuffs (4) Drinking water 
500 3 000/ 400 
Alpha-emitting isotopes ofplutonium and transplutonium elements (2) 
Notably Pu-239, Am-241 
Milk products (5) Other major foodstuffs (4) Drinking water 
20 80 10 
All other nuclides of half-life greater than 10 days (2) (5) 
Notably Cs-134, Cs-137 
Milk products (J) Other major foodstuffs (4) Drinking water 
4 000 5 000 800 
^Bm^ C^ffici^journ^ofL^Euroo^nC^Omrnuniu^ ^ooet^B^ 
(^ These derived reference levels are intended for general application; they are based on the lower RL discussed in the 
te^t,namely,acommitted effective equivalent of^m^vinayearandacommitted dose equivalent to the thyroid of ^0 
m^vinayear.Values based on the higher RL would be lOtimes greater. 
(a within each group of nuclides the values relate to the total activity of all the nuclides in the group.^ach group can 
then be treated as completely independent of the other groups. 
(^ milk products include fresh milk and reconstituted milk drinks or foods prepared from dried milk preparations. Cheese 
should be considered as one of the mother ma^or foodstuffs^. 
(a Forminorfoodstuffs,e.g.thosewithanannualconsumptionof less than about 10kg,values of 10 times those for 
ma^or foodstuffs will be appropriate.lt is not to be expected that restrictions will be needed on items such as spices and 
condiments. 
(^ Carbonic and tritium are not included in this group because of their low contribution to the doses for any forseeable 
accident. 
t. Commission of the ^urooean Communities. Radiological orotection criteria for controlling doses to the 
oublicintheeyentof accidental releases of radioactiyematerial.VB^2^0B^2r^l^.Commissionof the 
r^urooean Communities, Luxembourg, 1^2. 
2. MternationalCommissionon Radiological Protection. Publication^O. Protectionof thePublicinthe 
r^yent of ^a^or Radiation Accidents^ Principles for Planning, annals of theICRP,Volumet4^Co 2, 
1^4