24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/1
II
(PreparatoryActs)
ECONOMIC ANDSOCIALCOMMITTEE
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveonAirPollutionbyOzone(*)
(92/C49/01)
On23July1991theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle130SoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity ,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforProtectionoftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumerAffairs,which
wasresponsibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
3December1991.TheRapporteurwasMrColombo.
Atits292ndplenarysession(meetingof18December1991)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeunanimouslyadoptedthefollowingOpinion.
1.3.Hiencetheneedforactiontomonitorozoneso
astocollectandexchangeinformation ,obtainafuller
understanding oftheproblem,identifythesourcesand
plantherequisiteactionandinformation .ThoughtheCommitteewelcomesandsupportsthe
proposedDirective,itisconcernedoverdelaysinthe
coordinatedcollectionandprocessingofdataonair
pollutioncausedbyphotochemical oxidants,whichare
boundtoaffectthemeasuresdesignedtolimitsuch
pollutionatsource.ItthereforeurgestheCommission
totakeheedofthecommentssetoutbelowandto
considerthisproposalasthefirststageinamore
extensiveprogrammetacklingtherootsoftheproblem
ofcurbingairpollutionbyozone.1.4.Measurestotacklephotochemical pollution
startedwiththereductionofpollutantemissions
(oxidesofnitrogenandvolatileorganiccompounds),
concerningbothstationaryandmobilesources.Itwill
takeseveralyearsbeforethesemeasuresarefully
implemented .MeanwhiletheCommissionproposes,as
afirststage,tomonitortheirimpactonozonelevelsin
Europe.1.Introduction
1.1.Airpollutionbyphotochemical oxidantsisone
ofthemajorenvironmental threatstomankind.Photo­
oxidants,andozoneinparticular,havedamaging
effectsonhumanhealth,floraandfaunaandmaterials.1.5.Asregardsprotectionofhumanhealthandflora
andfauna,theproposalisbasedonthelimitvalues
recommended bytheWorldHealthOrganizationfor
permissibleozoneconcentration levelsintheair(see
tablesetoutinpar.3oftheExplanatoryMemor­
andum).
1.2.Ozoneconcentration measurement intheMem­
berStatesiscurrentlyneithercomparablenorstandard­
ized.Inaddition,theinformationavailabledoesnot
allowanoverallassessmentoftheproblemandthe
manycomplexphenomenainvolvedareinadequately
understood .1.6.Onmonitoringandawarningsystem,whenan
ozonepollutionepisodeoccurs,bindinglimitvaluesare
consideredpremature.Meanwhile,asapreliminary
step,thefollowingmeasuresareproposed:
—theMemberStatesshouldsetupnewnetworks,or
supplementexistingones,formeasurementofozone
intheair(themethodsusedmustcomplywith
criteriathatcanbeapprovedorareequivalent), (')OJNoC192,23.7.1991,p.17.

24.2.92 NoC49/2 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
2.4.TheCommitteeregardstheEuropeanEviron­
mentAgency,onceitissetup,astheappropriatebody
forcollectingandharmonizingdataanddetermining
therequiredmeasures.—thedatacollectedwillbeexchangedbetweenthe
MemberStatesandtheCommission inorderto
prepareforasubsequentstageinthecontrolof
photochemical pollution,
—whenanozonepollutionepisodeoccurs,public
informationprocedureswillfocusonprecautions
andpreventivemeasures.
1.7.Lastly,anumberofsubsequentmeasuresto
improveairqualityareplanned:
—aframeworkdirectivetocovergeneralaspectscon­
nectedwithairpollution,
—tobefollowedbyotherspecificdirectivesconcern­
ingindividualpollutants,limitedtoasmallnumber
ofprovisions .2.5.AnyfurtherdelayinsettingupthisAgency
wouldthereforebemostregrettable .TheCommittee
callsontheCouncilofMinisterstodeterminethe
Agency'sseatandresponsibilities soastoensurethat
thedirectivesthathavebeen,orareintheprocessof
being,adoptedhavethebenefitofvitaltechnicaland
planningback-up.
2.6.Thoughconvincedoftheneedtokeepthepublic
fullyinformedonpollution,theCommitteefeelsthat
unnecessaryalarmismshouldbeavoidedbyplacing
emphasisoneffectivepreventiveactionbythecom­
petentauthoritiesintheMemberStates.
2.7.Inviewofthecomplexityofthisphenomenon ,
theCommitteewishesremoteandotherpointsof
measurementtobeidentifiedmoreclearlysothatthe
sources(includingnaturalsources)ofpollutioncanbe
charted.
2.8.TheCommitteeurgestheCommissiontounder­
takeresearchprojectsfocusingonthesystematicstudy
ofozonepatternsandmovementsintheairinconjunc­
tionwithcentresrecordingatmosphericdata.2.Generalcomments
2.1.Theproposeddirective'saimistoharmonize
andcoordinatethecollectionofdata;measurestolimit
precursorswouldonlybeadoptedinalaterphase.
TheCommitteefeelsthattheinformationcurrently
availablecouldjustifyacceleratedaction,startingby
identifyinginitialmeasurestocurbpollutionatsource
(inthefirstinstance,NOxemissions).
2.2.Thefollowinglistofphotochemical precursors,
indicatingthemainsources(besidesnaturalones)—
whichisbasedondataprovidedbytheCORINAIR
system—wouldthereforeseemhelpful:
Oxidesofnitrogen:
—roadvehicles,
—thermalpowerandcombustionplants,
—ships,
—aeroplanes .
Volatileorganiccompounds :
—paintmanufactureanduse,
—methaneplants,
—petrochemicalplantsandrefineries,
—fuelsupplynetworks,
—biomass.
2.3.Researchintopotentialmeasurestolimitprecur­
sorsshouldbesteppeduptopinpointpossibilitiesfor
curbingemissionsandtechnological conversion
measures,tobeaccompaniedinduecoursebyeconomic
andtaxinstrumentsprovidingincentives(*),anchored
inECenvironmentpolicies.2.9.TheCommitteeisanxiousthatthefutureEuro­
peanEnvironmentAgencyshouldprovideadequate
assistancetothoseMemberStateswhichlagbehindin
settingupameasurementnetwork.
3.Specificcomments
3.1.OntherequirementinArticle6.2thatMember
StatesmustinformtheCommission ,theCommitteeis
keenthatexcessiveredtapeshouldbeavoidedand
computerized systemsadoptedtofacilitatecommuni­
cation.
3.2.Article8gives1July1997asthedeadlinefora
proposalonthecontrolofairpollutionbyozone.This
dateseemstoodistantandshouldpreferablybebrought
forwardsincecommitments bytheMemberStates
couldotherwisebeheldoffuntilaftertheturnofthe
century.TheCommitteeobservesthattheCommission
isalreadystudyingmeasurestocurbpollutionin
specificsectorsandurgestheMemberStatestoadopt HOJNoC322,31.12.1990.

24.2.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC49/3
coverthemeasurementofremotepoints(wherethe
concentration isinitsmostnaturalstate).
3.5.Inthefirstlineofpoint3ofAnnexII,after
'additionalmeasurementpoints',thewords'ofozone
precursors'shouldbeaddedtoidentifythepotential
sources .
3.6.InAnnexIVtheCommitteecallsforaclearer
distinctionbetweeninformationofthepublicingeneral
andtheprecautionstobetakeninthecaseofconcen­
trationsinexcessof350^/m3,toavoidunnecessary
alarmism .measuresinthelightoftheinformationcurrentlyavail­
ablesoastoacceleratemeasurestocurbsourcesof
pollution.Inaddition,wherethelimitvaluesforprecur­
sorsareexceeded,suchdatashouldbesubmitted.
3.3.InAnnexIitwouldbepreferabletostatelimit
valuesinfractionsofamillion,aswellasinng03/m3.
HeretheCommitteecallsfortheharmonization of
unitsofmeasurement aswellasmethods.
3.4.Toensurethebalanceddistributionandscien­
tificaccuracyofdataregistrationsAnnexIIshould
DoneatBrussels,18December1991.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
FrancoisSTAEDELIN
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDirectiverelatingtotheexternalprojectionsforward
ofthecab'srearpanelofmotorvehiclesofcategoryN(J)
(92/C49/02)
On14August1991theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100AoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity ,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforIndustry,Commerce,CraftsandServices,whichwasresponsibleforpreparing
theCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon4December1991inthelight
oftheReportbyMrPearson.
Atits292ndplenarysession(meetingof18December1991)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
1.Generalremarks
1.1.TheCommitteefullyapprovesthemeasures
proposedbytheCommissionconcerningtheexternal
projectionstocommercialmotorvehiclecabs,ensuring
thatnosharpexternalprojectionsarepermittedthereby
contributingtothesafetyofthepublicintheeventof
anaccident.1.2.TheproposalsareawelcomeextensionofDirec­
tives70/156/EECand87/403/EECandarepartofthe
ECtypeapprovalprocedureformotorvehicles.
2.Specificcomments
2.1.Article1
(')OJNoC230,4.9.1991,p.32.ThisArticleshouldalsoincludeareferencetoDirective
87/403/EECwhichmodifiesDirective70/156/EEC.