Proposal for a Council Directive relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air
Date: 1997-10-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, air quality, environmental protection, pollutant, quality of the environment

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

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Brussels, 08.10.1997 
COM(97) 500  final 

97/0266 (SYN) 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 
relating to limit values for  sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, 
particulate matter and lead in ambient air 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

"Council  Directive  96/62/EC  of  27  September  19961  on  ambient  air  quality 
assessment  and  management  (the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive)  provides  the 
framework  for  future  EC  legislation  on  air  quality.  The  four  objectives  of  the 
Directive are to: 

-  define  and  establish  objectives  for  ambient  air  pollution  in  the  Community 
designed  to  avoid,  prevent  and  reduce  harmful  effects  on  human  health  and  the 
environment as a whole; 

-  assess  ambient  air  quality  in  Member  States  on  the  basis  of  common  methods 

and criteria; 

-  obtain  adequate  information  on  ambient  air  quality  and  ensure  that  it  is  made 

available to the public inter alia by means of alert thresholds; 

-  maintain ambient air quality where it is good and improve it in other cases. 

Annex  I  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  lists  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen 
dioxide,  particulate  matter  and  lead  as  the  first  priorities  for  action.  The  present 
proposals  include  limit  values  including  target  dates  for  attainment  for  these 
pollutants; fill in  the  details  of  requirements  for  assessment  of  concentrations,  and 
provide  for  the  dissemination  of information  about  the  pollutants  to  the  public.  The 
proposed  Directive  is  only  part  of  an  integrated  package  of  measures  designed  to 
combat  problems  of  air  pollution.  Further  proposals  are  now  being  developed  for 
benzene,  carbon  monoxide  and  ozone,  together  with  a  strategy  for  reducing 
emissions of precursors of ozone. 

2. 

REQUIREMENTS OF THE AIR QUALITY FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE 

Article  4  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  requires  that  daughter  legislation 
lead  should 
on  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter  and 
include provisions: 

-  setting limit values, including the attainment  dates by which they should be met; 

-  setting any temporary  margins of tolerance during the period between the coming 

into force  of the Directive and the attainment  date for the limit value; 

-  setting  alert  thresholds  if  appropriate  and  listing  details  to  be  supplied  to  the 

public if an alert threshold  is exceeded; 

-  setting out criteria and techniques for  measurement; 

OJL296,  21.11.1996, p. 55. 

-  setting  out  criteria  for  the  use  of  other  techniques  for  assessing  ambient  air 

quality, particularly modelling; 

-  defining  upper  and  lower  assessment  thresholds  for  the  determination  of 
the assessment  requirements  applicable  in  an  agglomeration2  or  other  zone. 
These terms  are  used  in  the  present  proposal  to  mean  the  levels  referred  to  in 
Articles  6(3)  and  6(4)  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  which  determine 
the overall framework  for air quality assessment. 

3.  PREPARATORY WORK FOR THE PROPOSALS 

3.1.  Technical aspects 

The Air Quality Framework  Directive requires that  daughter  legislation  be based  on 
strong technical  and  scientific  grounds.  Accordingly  a technical  working  group  was 
set up for each pollutant, consisting of experts from Member  States, industry, NGOs, 
the  European  Environment  Agency,  the  World  Health  Organization  and  other 
representatives  of  international  scientific  groups  and  the  Commission.  Their  tasks 
were  to  assess  the  current  state  of  knowledge  and  to  prepare  technical  position 
papers  on  each  pollutant.  The  Working  Groups  on  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate 
matter  and  lead  were  chaired  by experts from Member  States. The Working  Group 
on sulphur dioxide was chaired by the Commission. 

3.2.  Economic aspects 

A separate  consultancy  study  'Economic evaluation of air quality targets for  sulphur 
dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  fine  and  suspended  particulate  matter  and  lead'  was 
undertaken  to  provide  information  on costs  and benefits  of meeting limit  values.  Its 
purpose  was  to  determine  whether  additional  action  would  be  needed  beyond  that 
already planned in order to meet proposed limit values and if so, to estimate the costs 
using  the  most  cost  effective  solutions  and  to  assess  the  additional  benefits  which 
could be expected from meeting the limit values. 

Implementing  the  proposals  requires  the  use  of  some  valuable  inputs  that  could 
be used  to  produce  other  things.  In  this  study  the  valuation  of  these  inputs 
(such as capital,  labour,  materials  and  energy)  is based  on their  market  price.  These 
market  prices  reflect  the opportunity  costs  (that  is the  value of  the  input  in  its  best 
alternative use) of these inputs. 

One should realize, however, that even if the benefits  of the strategy exceed the costs 
that  this  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  policy  should  be  implemented,  If  there 
are constraints on financial resources the same amount  of money spent  on  abatement 
costs  could  perhaps  be  spend  on  another  policy  with  higher  net  benefits.  When 
comparing the costs and benefits  care is essential  since costs are usually expressed in 
terms of financial expenditures whereas the benefits  are usually expressed  in terms of 
welfare gains and not necessarily in terms of financial gains. 

Defined by the Air Quality Framework Directive as 'a  zone with a population concentration in excess 
of  250  000  inhabitants  or,  where  the  population  is  250  000  or  less,  a  population  density  per  km2 
which for the Member States justifies the need for air quality to be assessed and managed". 

The  study  took  a  top-down  approach,  assessing  air  quality  at  regional  level  and 
focusing  in  to  city  level  for  those  cities  for  which  air  quality  information  was 
available.  The  main  merits  of  a  top-down  approach  are  its  practical  feasibility  and 
consistency;  its  disadvantage  is  that  is  not  used  in  the  process  of  scaling  down 
specific  local  information.  Therefore,  the  detailed  city-level  results  should  be 
regarded  as indicators of the scale and type of likely problems, but  do  not  take  into 
account local plans which might alter the outcome. 

As  a  starting  point,  reference  scenarios  were  determined  for  each  pollutant,  taking 
into  account  existing  national,  EC  and  international  legislation,  together  with 
proposals  adopted by the Commission up to the end  of  1996. They  are  described  in 
Annex I and the consultancy report (Second Interim Report). 

3.2.1.  Quantification of benefits 

Where  possible  benefits  were  quantified  in  monetary  terms  to  help  indicate  the 
different  scales of impact  which  may be gained  by meeting  new  limit  values  for  the 
different  pollutants.  Clearly  it  is  not  possible  to  quantify  all  benefits.  Reduced 
damage  to  eco-systems  and  to  cultural  heritage  are  examples.  Some  impacts  on 
health,  such  as  increased  medicine  use  can  be  assigned  a  monetary  value. 
Others cannot. 

Mortality impacts are particularly difficult  to assess. The present  study employed  the 
technique known as valuation of a statistical life (VOSL). This technique assesses the 
willingness-to-pay  of  individuals  to  reduce  the  risk  of  mortality.  The  result  is  an 
indicator  of  the  importance  which  people  attach  to  different  types  of  risk,  not  an 
assessment of how valuable life is. 

(reflecting  wage  differences  between  more  and 

Willingness-to-pay  estimates  are  derived  from  three  types  of  studies:  (1)  wage-risk 
jobs); 
studies 
reduce 
(2) survey techniques  (asking  people  for 
certain  risks);  (3) market  studies  (analysing  actual  expenses  that  people  incur  to 
increase  safety  such as buying  air bags).  The average  VOSL using these  techniques 
has  been  estimated  at  ECU 2.6  to  4.2  million  per  case  reflecting  the  average  of  a 
wide range of studies.  In a recent  survey the lowest  estimate  was ECU 0.36  million 
and  the  highest  almost  ECU  10  million.  The  DGXII  research  programme 
'Green Accounting in Europe' uses ECU 2.8 million as average. 

their  willingness-to-pay 

risky 
to 

less 

The  choice  of  a  value  for  a  particular  study  is  difficult.  Although  speculation  is 
possible  on  the  relation  between  age  and  willingness-to-pay  to  reduce  the  risk  of 
mortality  there  is no  convincing  evidence  in the  literature.  The  lower  estimates  for 
VOSL are however likely to be appropriate in those cases where the reduction  in life 
expectancy attributable to exposure is small. This will often  be the case for  example, 
where preexisting chronic respiratory or cardiac disease is a factor in death. 

The  present  study  considered  impacts  on  mortality  from  long-term  exposure  to 
pollution  (often  called  chronic  mortality)  and  impacts  on  mortality  from  short-term 
exposure 
to  peaks  of  pollution  (often  called  acute  mortality).  Studies  of 
"chronic mortality"  enable  estimates  to  be  made  of  the  extent  to  which  life 
expectancy is shortened.  Each case was valued at the average value described  above 
of ECU 2.6 to 4.2 million.  Studies of "acute mortality" typically look  at  associations 
between daily variations in pollution and daily death rates. It is impossible to estimate 

from these  studies  the  extent  to  which  life  expectancy  is  reduced  due  to  exposure. 
Two  cases  were  therefore  evaluated  in  order  to  test  the  sensitivity  of  results 
across the  range  of  possibilities:  the  low  estimate  does  not  assign  a  value  to 
"acute mortality"; the high estimate assigns the full VOSL3 to all cases. 

A further  issue that arises in choice of values is whether valuation should be  adjusted 
to  income,  living  standards  and  the  like. Within the  Community  one  single  value  is 
employed since there is no evidence that values vary systematically across countries. 

The  valuations  used  in  this  study  were  those  used  in  major  recent  research 
programmes such as the ExternE4 project  carried  out for the Commission, the results 
of  which  were  also  fed  into  development  of  the  proposed  Council  Directive  on 
sulphur in liquid fuels. 

3.3.  Limit values 

The  recital  to  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  notes  that  the  numerical 
concentrations  included  in  limit  values  and  alert  thresholds  should  be based  on  the 
work  of international  scientific  groups active in the field. Following the  commitment 
in the fifth action plan of  1992 that future  legislation on air quality would be based on 
World  Health  Organization  Air  Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe5,  the  Commission 
signed a Common Agreement with the World Health Organization's Regional  Office 
for  Europe  to  work  cooperatively  on  air quality  and  in particular  on revision  of  the 
Guidelines.  Updated  Air  Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe  were  adopted  by  WHO  in 
October  1996. They will be published  during  19976. All relevant working  documents 
were made  available to  the  four  Working  Groups  during  the  updating  process,  and 
experts from  the WHO European  Centre for Environment  and Health participated  in 
the Working Groups referred  to in Section 3.1 above. 

All proposed  limit  values  in the  present  Directive  are  based  on  the  work  of  WHO. 
Under  the  Commission's  proposals  new  limit  values  for  SO2,  NO2,  and  lead  will 
replace  existing  limit  values  for  these  substances.  For  particulate  matter  new  limit 
values  for  PM107 will  replace  existing  limit  values  for  suspended  particulate  matter 
(SPM).  Annex  I  of the  Air  Quality Framework  Directive  lists both  'fine  particulate 
matter  including  PM10' and  'suspended  particulate  matter'  as  priorities  for  study. 
This dual reference  reflects the fact  that particulate matter is not a single pollutant. It 
is  a  complex  mixture.  Any  method  of  measuring  it  provides  an  indicator  of  some 
aspects  of  the  mixture.  The  two  methods  of  measuring  SPM  under  existing 
legislation  (the Black  Smoke Method  and  the  Total  Suspended  Particulate  Method) 
formerly  provided  the best indicators available. The scientific  consensus is that  more 
recently developed  methods, including the PM10 method,  are better  indicators  of the 
particulate mix as it affects  human health. 

3 

IVM  (1997)  Economic  Evaluation  of  Air  Quality  Targets  for  Sulphur  Dioxide,  Nitrogen  Dioxide, 
Fine and Suspended Particulate Matter and Lead. EC DG XI, Amsterdam, Vrije  Universiteit. 

4  ETSU  (eds)  (1995)  ExternE,  Externalities  of  Energy,  Vol.  1,  Summary.  European  Commission. 

DG XII, Brussels. 

5  Ref:  ... 
6  Ref for WHO Guidelines. 
7 

PM10 is defined  as the mass of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of  10 microns or less. 
The term is therefore  specific  to a particular  method of measuring particulate  matter. 

3.4.  Margins of tolerance 

Article 4 of the Air Quality Framework  Directive  enables margins of tolerance  to  be 
set in relation to a limit value and its attainment  date. Despite its name, the margin of 
tolerance  is  not  a  temporary  limit  value  in  the  sense  of  a  level  of  pollution  which 
must  not  be  exceeded.  It  is a  trigger  level  for  certain  types  of  action  in  the  period 
leading to the attainment date. 

A margin  of tolerance,  if set,  is a concentration  which  is higher than  the  limit  value 
when  legislation  comes  into  force.  It  decreases  to  meet  the  limit  value  by  the 
attainment  date.  It  identifies  the  agglomerations  and  other  zones  where  current  air 
quality  is  worst.  These  are  the  areas  which  are  most  likely  to  have  to  take  action 
beyond  that  entailed  in  current  legislation  in  order  to  meet  the  limit  value  on  time. 
Detailed  action  plans must be prepared  for  these areas  (Group  1 in Figure  1 below) 
showing how the limit value will be met. Action plans must be made available to the 
public and sent to the Commission, which will monitor progress. 

Agglomerations  and  other  zones  where  pollution  levels  are between  the  limit  value 
and  the  margin  of  tolerance  (Group  2  in  Figure  1)  must  report  annually  to  the 
Commission. They are not required to forward  detailed  plans but  any necessary  steps 
must be taken to ensure that the limit value is met by the attainment date. 

Figure  1: effect  of margins of tolerance 

Qi 
C 
<u  o 
SZ  M 
53  -  i 

Group  1: above  margin  of 
tolerance:  action  plans  sent  to 
Commission.  Limit  value  must 
be met  by  attainment  date 

limit  value 

limit  value 

Directive  comes 
into  force 

time 

attainment  date: 
limit value  must  be 
met  everywhere 

Member  States'  obligation, whether or not a margin of tolerance is set,  is to  see that 
the  limit  value  is  met  everywhere  by  the  attainment  date.  A  margin  of  tolerance 
therefore  need have no direct  effect  on the rate at which pollution levels are reduced. 
The effect  if no margin of tolerance were set would be to oblige Group  2 in Figure 1 
to  provide  detailed  action  plans.  This is wasteful  of valuable  effort  if the  limit  value 
will be easily met on current trends. 

3.5.  Alert thresholds and public  information 

Article 2 of the Air Quality Framework Directive defines an alert threshold  as a level 
of pollution beyond which there is a risk to  human health from brief exposure and at 
which immediate  steps shall be taken by Member  States. Article 4 recognizes that it 
may  not  be  appropriate  to  set  alert  thresholds  for  all  pollutants.  The  present 
proposals  include  an  alert  threshold  for  S02  only.  This  alert  threshold  is based  on 
results  from  experiments  in  which  asthmatic  patients  were  exposed  to  SO2 whilst 
exercising  and  is  targeted  at  this  sensitive  sector  of  the  population.  Although 
relatively  short  term  exposures  to  NO2  and  particulate  matter  are  associated  with 
adverse effects,  there are no clear thresholds for  particular  effects  of significance  on 
which  alert thresholds  can be based.  In the  case of lead,  effects  on human health  at 
concentrations  likely  to  be  found  in  ambient  air  are  associated  solely  with 
long-term exposure. 

Article  1 of the  Air Quality Framework  Directive  envisages  alert  thresholds  as  only 
one  element  of public information  strategies.  The present  proposals  make clear  that 
information  about  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter  and  lead 
should  be  regularly  and  actively  supplied  to  the  public,  and  that  this  information 
should  identify  when  the  concentrations  incorporated  into  limit  values  have 
been exceeded. 

3.6.  Air quality  assessment 

3.6.1.  A ssessment methods 

Air  quality  assessment  is the  term  used  in the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  to 
cover all methods of obtaining information  about  air quality, including measurement, 
the compilation of emission inventories and air quality modelling. Previous Directives 
setting  air  quality  limit  values  have  included  harmonised  requirements  only  for 
measurement.  However,  even  a  relatively  dense  network  of  monitoring  stations 
cannot represent  fully  the quality of the air over a large zone, particularly  a complex 
urban  area.  Firstly,  each  station  may be  representative  of  only  a  small  surrounding 
area.  Furthermore,  measurement  alone  is  not  sufficient  to  relate  concentrations  to 
sources of emissions nor to allow the likely results of actions to be predicted.  These 
steps  are  an  essential  part  of  successful  air  quality  management.  Article  6  of  the 
Air Quality  Framework  Directive  therefore  provides  for  the  use  of  all  appropriate 
tools for assessing air quality. 

3.6.2.  Requirements in agglomerations and other zones 

Article  6 of  the  Air  Quality Framework  Directive  identifies  two  levels  of  pollution, 
which  are  used  to  relate  the  intensity  of  assessment  requirements  for  an 
agglomeration  or  other  zone  to  the risk that  a  limit  value  might  be  exceeded.  The 
current  proposal  refers  to  these  two  levels  as  the  upper  and  lower  assessment 
thresholds. Table  1 summarizes the requirements of Article 6. 

Table 1: Air quality assessment and pollution levels 

Maximum pollution level in 
agglomeration or zone 
1. greater than upper 

assessment threshold 

2. less than upper assessment 
threshold but greater than 
lower assessment threshold 

3. less than lower assessment 

threshold 

a. In agglomerations only for 

pollutants for which an alert 
threshold has been set: 

b. In non-agglomeration zones 
for all pollutants and in all 
types of zone for pollutants for 
which no alert threshold 

Assessment Requirements 

High quality measurement is mandatory. Data from measurement 
may  be  supplemented  by  information  from  other  sources, 
including air quality modelling. 
Measurement  is  mandatory,  but  fewer  measurements  may  be 
needed,  or  less  intensive  methods  may  be  used,  provided  that 
measurement data are supplemented by reliable information  from 
^^ 
other sources 

At  least  one  measuring  site  is  required  per  agglomeration, 
combined  with  modelling,  objective  estimation, 
indicative 
measurements8 
Modelling,  objective  estimation,  and  indicative  measurements 
alone are sufficient. 

In  developing  proposals 
Commission's aim has been: 

for  upper  and 

lower  assessment 

thresholds 

the 

- 

- 

to  ensure  that  the  most  intensive  assessment  requirements  apply  in  those 
agglomerations  and  other  zones  within  which  there  is the  highest  risk  of  a limit 
value being exceeded. 

to  ensure  that  the  least  intensive  requirements  apply  only  where  pollution  levels 
are  sufficiently  low  that  there  is  virtually  no  risk  of  an  exceedance.  If  an  alert 
threshold  has  been  set  for  a  pollutants  measurements  must  be  made  within 
agglomerations even at these low pollution levels. 

Proposed values for the upper and lower assessment thresholds have been derived by 
looking  at  the  interannual  variability  of measured  concentrations  in Member  States 
for which long series of data are available, taking into account any trend in pollution. 
Upper assessment  thresholds are set at twice the standard  deviation of annual values 
for the limit value in question. Lower assessment thresholds are set at three times the 
standard  deviation. 

Indicative measurements are measurements using simple methods, or carried out for a restricted time. 
They  are  less  accurate  than  continuous  high  quality  measurement  but  can  be  used  to  explore  air 
quality  as  a  check  where  pollution  levels  are  relatively  low,  and  to  supplement  high  quality 
measurement in other areas. 

3.6.3.  Numbers of measurement stations and use of other assessment methods 

The  Commission's  proposals  provide  criteria  for  calculating  minimum  numbers  of 
measurement  stations  for  agglomerations  and  other  zones  in which  measurement  is 
mandatory,  if measurement  is the only  source of reported  data.  Member  States  will 
classify  the  stations  according  to  the  scheme  set  out  in  the  Council  Decision  on 
Exchange  of  Information  of  27  January  19979,  which  will  provide  a  measure  of 
comparability  between  different  zones.  The  extent  to  which  measurements  are 
representative  of  air  quality  may however  still be  difficult  to  ascertain  if  no  further 
information  is provided. 

Member  States  will  often  undertake  a  more  comprehensive  analysis  of  air  quality 
within an area, involving other tools such as indicative measurements  and air quality 
modelling.  Where  a  comprehensive  picture  is  generated,  the  number  and  siting  of 
permanent  measurement  stations  should  be  sufficient,  with 
the  additional 
information,  to give confidence  in the quality of the total  package. Depending on the 
local  situation  more  or  fewer  stations  may  be  required  than  in  the  default  case. 
Member  States  will  be  required  to  compile  information  to  support  decisions  on 
network  design.  This  strategy  has the  potential  to  provide  a much better  picture  of 
pollution  levels  throughout  the  Community  than  reliance  on  measurement  alone. 
It will  however  require  care  and  cooperation  during  implementation  to  ensure 
consistency  of  implementation.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  has  worked  with 
the European  Environment  Agency  and  other  experts  to  develop  guidance  for 
Member States  on  how  to  undertake  air  quality  assessment  for  a  number  of 
purposes, including the  siting  of permanent  measurement  stations10.  It  is  anticipated 
that further  guidance  will  be  developed  as  experience  grows.  Article  12  of  the 
Air Quality Framework  Directive  also provides for  requirements  for  assessment  and 
data reporting to be updated if necessary as techniques develop. 

3.6.4.  Uncertainty 

All  methods  of  air  quality  assessment,  including  measurement,  are  subject  to 
uncertainty.  Some  of  the  uncertainties  associated  with  measurement  can  be 
reduced by  good  quality  assurance  programmes  as  required  by  the  Air  Quality 
Framework Directive. The present  proposals include rigorous data quality  objectives 
-  the  precision  and  accuracy  which  should  be  achieved  -  for  measurement  and  for 
other  assessment  methods  for  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide  particulate  matter 
and lead. 

4. 

SULPHUR DIOXIDE 

4.1.  Background 

Sulphur is naturally present  in coal and liquid  petroleum  products, the  sulphur being 
derived  from  the  proteins  present  in  the  tissues  of  the  plants  and  other  organisms 
from  which  coal  and  oil  are  formed.  When  coal  and  liquid  petroleum  products  are 
burnt  in  power  stations,  industry,  domestic  heating  appliances,  internal  combustion 
engines etc., the sulphur is oxidized to sulphur dioxide and, in the absence of suitable 

9  OJL  35 5.2.1997, p.  14. 
10  Guidance  on assessment  of air quality:  under development  - to be available  from  the  Commission. 

abatement  measures,  released  to  the  atmosphere.  Sulphur  is  also  present  in  some 
metallic ores  and  is emitted  when they are smelted.  Sulphur  dioxide  is directly  toxic 
to  humans  and  plants.  Sulphur  dioxide  is one  of the  principal  pollutants  (the  others 
being  nitrogen  oxides  and  ammonia)  which  cause  acidification.  In  addition,  sulphur 
dioxide  together  with  these  other  pollutants  contributes  to  the  formation  of  small, 
suspended,  atmospheric  particles  which  are  now  recognized  to  have  a  significant 
impact upon human health. 

S02  and  its  oxidation  products  are  removed  from  the  atmosphere  by  wet  and  dry 
deposition.  In  spite  of  these  processes  of  transformation  and  removal,  sulphur 
dioxide  and 
large  distances,  causing 
transboundary as well as local pollution. 

its  products  can  be  transported  over 

Emissions  of  sulphur  dioxide  have  declined  substantially  over  the  last  twenty  years 
and  will  continue  to  decline.  The  object  of  this  Directive  with  respect  to  sulphur 
dioxide  is  to  reduce  the  remaining  risk  direct  damage  to  human  health  and  the 
environment  from  exposure  to  sulphur  dioxide  in  ambient  air.  Reductions  in 
emissions of sulphur dioxide to  meet the proposed  limit value will also contribute  to 
meeting the limit values for particulate matter which form part of this proposal. 

4.2.  Existing  legislation 

Council  Directive  80/779/EEC  of  July  15,  1980  on  Air  Quality  Limit  Values  and 
Guide Values  for  Sulphur Dioxide  and  Suspended  Particulates11  and  its  amendment 
Directive  89/427/EEC12 were  adopted  to  protect  human health  and the  environment 
against adverse effects  from  SO2 and Suspended Particulates. 

For  this  purpose,  the  Directive  lays  down  limit  values  for  SO2  and  Suspended 
Particulates  which are mandatory  throughout  the  territory  of Member  States.  These 
limit  values  are  linked  -  that  is,  permitted  concentrations  of  SO2  depend  on  the 
simultaneous  concentration  of  particulate  matter  and  vice versa.  The Directive  also 
sets long term guide values. 

Member States are required to measure S02 and particulate matter, to ensure that the 
limit  values  are  met  and  in  the  long  run,  meet  the  guide  values  and  to  inform  the 
Commission  of  any  breaches  of  the  limit  value(s)  and  to  undertake  any  necessary 
abatement  measures. 

4.3.  Sources  of  S02 

The  largest  single  source  of  emissions  of  S02  within  the  Community  at  present  is 
power  generation  (around  50%)13,  with  the  industrial  sector  in  second  place. 
Emissions from large sources  such "as power  stations are normally  dispersed  through 
high  stacks.  Whilst  they  are  at  present  important  contributors  to  problems  of 
long-range  transport  they  are  relatively  unlikely  to  cause  local  exceedances  of 
health-based  limit values.  Smaller  industrial  sources,  and  in some  regions,  coal-fired 
domestic heating are more likely causes of present-day local exceedances. 

11  OJ L 229, 30.8.1980, pp. 30-48. 
12  OJL  201, 14.7.1989. 
13  Source: CORINAIR  90 

10 

4.4.  Trends in emissions and in air quality 

Emissions of SO2 have declined  markedly over the last twenty years. Air quality has 
improved  as a result.  The two figures  below  show results from the database  (APIS) 
built up under the Council Decision on Exchange of Information. 

Figure 2: Annual average concentrations of sulphur dioxide in Member States 

Annual  mean  concentration  of S 02  in  the  Community 
(based  on  daily  values  from  all  station  in  extended  APIS  database) 

60 

E 

O)  40 

«  30 
E 

77 

78 

79 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84  85 

86 

87 

89 

90 

91 

92  93 

year 

Figure 3: Average 98th percentile of daily values  in Member  States 

D a i ly  c o n c e n t r a t i o ns  of  S 02 

- a v e r a ge  of  y e a r ly 

98 

p  e  re  e  n t i le  s 
( a ll  s t a t i o ns  o f e x t e n d ed  A P IS  d a t a b a s e) 

A 

*0 

SI 

il 

;5 

84 

S 5 

es 

il 

tZ 

S3 

'tO 

5  1 

5 2 

9  3 

y e ar 

11 

Peak  concentrations  can  be much  higher.  Hourly  maxima  of over  1000  ug/m3  were 
recorded in several Member States in 1993 and 1994. 

The  downward  trend  will  continue,  particularly  in  the  case  of  large  stationary 
sources.  Measures  such  as  the  existing  Large  Combustion  Plants  Directive,  the 
IPPC Directive,  proposals  to  combat  acidification  within  the  Community  and 
commitments entered into by Member States and others in the framework of the UN-
ECE will result in further  substantial reductions in the period to 2010. Table 2 shows 
the projected  decline in emissions according to the reference  scenario. 

Table 2: Expected trends in emissions of S02  (kilotons) 

Country 

1990 

2010 

Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
1  EC15 

90 
317 
180 
260 
1298 
5 331 
510 
178 
1_687 
14 
205 
283 
2 266 
136 
3 752 
16 497 1 

57 
215 
71 
116 
691 
740 
361 
155 
847 
4_ 
56 
194 
1  035 
97_ 
980 
5 619  1 

1 

4.5.  Impact of sulphur dioxide on human health and the environment 

4.5.1.  Damage to human health 

Sulphur  dioxide is directly toxic to  humans. It  acts upon  the  mucous  membranes  of 
the mouth, nose and lungs and its main impact is on respiratory function.  Asthmatics 
are  particularly  sensitive.  Sulphur  dioxide  can,  through  its  impact  upon  respiratory 
function,  also  aggravate  cardiovascular  conditions.  In  addition,  there  is evidence  of 
indirect  effects  due  to  the  formation  of  small  acidic  particles  resulting  from  the 
interaction of oxides of sulphur with other pollutants and small water droplets. These 
small  particles  are  associated  with  further  effects  on  public  health,  including 
respiratory and cardiovascular problems among vulnerable sectors of the population. 

12 

Historically  sulphur  dioxide  and  particulate  matter  derived  from  the  combustion  of 
fossil  fuels  were  the  main  components  of  air  pollution  in  many  parts  of  the 
Community.  They  were  dealt  with  collectively,  drawing  on  epidemiological  studies 
done several decades ago in areas which were then heavily polluted,  such as London. 
In  its  latest  revision  to  the  Air  Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe,  the  World  Health 
Organization has drawn on more recent work to derive guidelines for  sulphur dioxide 
alone  whether  or  not  accompanied  by  high  concentrations  of  particulate  matter. 
Despite  the  notable  progress  of  recent  decades  a  significant  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  towns  and  cities  in  the  Community  are  presently  exposed 
to 
concentrations of sulphur dioxide exceeding the WHO  1996 annual guideline for human 
health  protection  (50jig/m3).  Exposure  will  reduce  as  emissions  continue  to  decline 
(see Table 2 above). 

Table 3: WHO Guidelines (1996) for S02:  human health 

Averaging  period 

Concentrations  (|ig/m3) 

10 minutes 

24  hours 

one year 

500 

125 

50 

4.5.2.  Damage to vegetation 

Declining  emissions  have  reduced  the  importance  of  SO2 as  a  phytotoxic  pollutant 
relative  to  other  pollutants  such  as  ozone  and  nitrogen  compounds.  Nevertheless 
it still  plays  a  role  in  damage,  particularly  in  combination  with  other  stresses  such 
reduced 
as cold.  Potential  effects 
photosynthesis,  raised  respiration  rates,  and  changes  in  protein  metabolism. 
The sensitivity  of  different  types  of  plants  varies  considerably,  with  lichens  the 
most susceptible. 

the  degradation  of  chlorophyll, 

include 

The  1996  WHO  Air  Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe  include  a  range  of  values  for 
different  degrees  of  protection  of  vegetation  from  exposure  to  gaseous  SO2.  They 
are  based  on  the  critical  levels  for  S02  developed  within  the  framework  of  the 
United Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  Convention  on  Long-Range 
Transboundary Air Pollution. 

Target  Affected 

Crops 

Forests / Natural.  Vegetation. 

Sensitive  forests  / Natural.  Vegetation. 

Lichens 

Annual  and  winter  mean  value  (fig/m3) 

3(3 

20 

15 

10 

13 

4.5.3.  Damage to buildings, materials and cultural heritage 

Sulphur  dioxide  accelerates  the  natural  weathering  and  corrosion  of  buildings  and 
building  materials.  It  is  the  most, important  pollutant  in  determining  the  rate  of 
deterioration  of  a  number  of  materials,  including  stonework.  The  old  buildings  and 
monuments  which  form  part  of  Europe's  rich  cultural  heritage  are  especially 
susceptible to  attack. 

4.5.4.  The damage costs of sulphur dioxide pollution 

A number  of  studies14'15  have been  carried  out  on the costs  of  sulphur  dioxide  and 
other  acidifying  emissions.  In  general,  these  studies  provided  relatively  good 
estimates of the economic cost of the impact on human health, buildings and building 
materials. However,  the damage to  the  structure  and  functioning  of ecosystems  and 
in  particular  to  biodiversity  have  not  been  quantified.  While  the  impact  of  SO2 
emissions varies from  region to region in relation to the population which is exposed 
arid the sensitivity of the environment,  it is estimated  that,  on average, the  economic 
cost  of  the  damage  resulting  from  1 tonne  of  SO2 emissions  in  the  Community  is 
approximately  ECU 4 000: the  major  part  (80+  %)  of  these  costs  is  attributable  to 
damage to human health. 

4.6.  The Commission's proposals 

4.6.1.  Protection of human health 

The  present  proposals  will  set  two  limit  values  for  the  protection  of  human  health, 
based on WHO  1996 Air Quality guidelines. 

Averaging 
period 

Limit  value 

Margin of 
tolerance 

1 hour 

1. hourly 
limit value 
for  the 
protection  of 
human 
health 

350ug/m3 not to 
be exceeded more 
than 24 times per 
calendar year 

150|ig/m3 (43%) on 
entry into force of 
the Directive, 
reducing  linearly 
on  1  January  2001 
and every 12 
months  thereafter 
to reach 0% by 
2005. 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2005 

24 hours 

2. daily  limit 
value for  the 
protection of 
human  health 

125ug/m3notto 
be exceeded more 
than 3 times per 
calendar year 

none 

1 January 2005 

14  Case  Study  2:  Benefits  of  an  Acidification  Strategy  for  the  Community.  ExternE  Project. 

European Commission, DG XII, JOULE programme. 

15  Cost Benefit  Analyses of the Different  Municipal  Solid  Waste Management  Systems. Objectives  and 
Instruments for the year 2000. Carried out for DG XI by Coopers and Lybrand. Final Report  1996. 

14 

Hourly limit value 

WHO  1996 Guidelines for  SO2 include a concentration  of 500  ug/m3  averaged  over 
ten  minutes.  This  is  derived  from  experiments  on  asthmatic  subjects  undertaking 
exercise. It is not practical  to assess and manage air quality over ten-minute periods. 
The Commission  considers nevertheless that risks from short-term  exposure to  high 
peaks of SO2 should be guarded  against and is proposing an hourly limit value which 
has been developed from the WHO Guideline. 

The relationship between  short peak  concentrations  and hourly averages varies from 
place to  place  according to  the  nature  of local  sources.  There  is therefore  no  single 
factor  that  can  be  applied  to  the  ten-minute  Guideline  to  produce  an  hourly  value 
which  would  be  equivalent  at  all possible  sites.  The  proposed  hourly  limit  value  of 
350 U-g/m3 has  been  derived  from  data  provided  by  Member  States  on  short-term 
peaks in industrial areas as one which should provide a good  degree of protection in 
such locations. Under the Commission's proposals Member States will report data on 
ten-minute  concentrations  alongside  hourly  concentrations  in  order  to  enable  the 
effectiveness  of the hourly limit value to be checked. 

In  principal  it  is  undesirable  to  allow  any  exceedances  of  health  based  guidelines. 
However  it  has  been  found  that  in  practice  it  is  not'possible  to  base  compliance 
regimes  and  management  plans  for  limit  values  with  short  averaging  times  on 
maximum  measured  values.  The  maximum  few  values  in  a year  are  highly  variable 
from  year  to  year because  of weather  conditions.  They  are bad  indicators  of  trends 
and  not  susceptible  to  management  steps.  It  is  therefore  normal  to  define  short 
period limit values either as percentiles or as concentrations with a certain number of 
exceedances allowed in a given time before an area is deemed out of compliance. It is 
proposed that the hourly limit value should  not be exceeded  for  more than 24 hours 
out  of  8 760  in  a  calendar  year.  It  should  be  noted  that  percentiles  are  not  used 
in these  proposals  to  allow  for  inevitable  measurement  inaccuracies.  These  are 
dealt with  by  the  definition  of  data  quality  objectives  and  the  setting  up  of 
rigorous quality assurance programmes to minimize error  and to  weed  out  incorrect 
and unrepresentative data. 

24-hour limit value 

The  Commission  proposes  to  incorporate  the  WHO  1996  Guideline  for  24-hour 
exposure into a limit value of  125 ug/m3, not to be exceeded on more than three days 
out of 365 per calendar year. 

Examination  of data  from  Member  States16  shows that  if this  24-hour  limit  value is 
met, annual average concentrations will be well below the WHO Guideline for  annual 
exposure of 50 ug/m3. A separate annual limit value is therefore  unnecessary. 

16  See  consultancy  study  'Economic  evaluation  of  air  quality  targets  for  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen 
dioxide, fine and suspended particulate matter and lead.'  Second Interim Report, April  1997, Institute 
for Environmental  Studies, Amsterdam. 

15 

Ongoing research 

: 

In  deriving  revised  guidelines  WHO  examined  results  from  a  number  of  recent 
epidemiological  studies which looked  at associations between daily concentrations of 
SO2  and  health  outcomes,  including  hospital  admissions  and  daily  mortality  rates. 
These  include  the  APHEA  study  financed  by  the  DG XIFs  ENVIRONMENT  and 
CLIMATE Programme17.  Associations have been found  at concentrations below the 
WHO  1996  Guidelines.  WHO  concluded  that  the  data  are  not  yet  sufficient  to 
determine  whether  there  is  a  causal  connection,  or  whether,  for  example  SO2 is  a 
surrogate for  another pollutant  or for  some other factor.  The date of 2005  proposed 
by the Commission for  meeting  limit values based  on the guidelines  and the  absence 
of a margin of tolerance for the 24-hour limit value, take into account the desirability 
of reducing  SO2 concentrations  quickly  on  precautionary  grounds.  Research  in  this 
area  continues 
to  be  supported  by  the  ENVIRONMENT  and  CLIMATE 
Programme.  Under  Article  4  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  the 
Commission will keep under review the results of this and other scientific research on 
the health effects  of S02 and other pollutants. The present  proposals  include  specific 
provision for the Commission to report progress on the effects  of SO2 to Council and 
the European Parliament by 31 December 2003 at the latest. 

4.6.2.  Protection of ecosystems 

A single concentration  of 20 ug/m3 is proposed,  to be measured  over two  averaging 
periods: the calendar year and the winter period of October to March.  Certain plants, 
including  some  forest  trees,  are  most  susceptible  to  damage  S02  when  exposure  is 
combined  with  the  stress  of  low  temperature.  The  proposed  concentration  will 
protect against direct ecotoxic effects  in all but the most sensitive species. 

It  is not  feasible  to  attain  these  annual  and  winter  limit values within  the  immediate 
influence  of  agglomerations  and  other  built-up  areas  throughout  the  Community, 
even  given  very  substantial  reductions  in  emissions.  Compliance  will  therefore 
initially be assessed  away from  such  situations, in locations  similar to those  at which 
EMEP18 stations  are  located.  On  the  basis  of  data  from  the  EMEP  network19  and 
from  Member  States it would  appear that the annual  limit value is already  generally 
met  in  such  situations.  In  contrast  the  winter  limit  value  is  at  present  exceeded  in 
some Member  States. In view of the expected further  decline in emissions of S02  it is 
proposed  that  both  the annual  and winter limit values should  be met  two years  after 
entry into force of the Directive. 

17  Katsouyanni  et  al  (1997):  Short  term  effects  of  ambient  sulphur  dioxide  and  particulate  matter  on 
the  APHEA  project: 

mortality  in  12  European  cities:  results  from 
British Medical Journal  Volume 314, 7 June 1997. 
See also Journal of Empidemiology and Community Health, April  1996, Vol. 50 Supplement 1 
18  EMEP: the Cooperative Programme for  Monitoring and Evaluation  of the Long  Range  Transmission 
of  Air  Pollutants  in  Europe.  Set  up  in  support  of  the  requirements  of  the  United  Nations  Geneva 
Convention on Long Range Transboundary  Air Pollution.  1979. 

time  series  data  from 

19  EMEP-MSCAV Report  1/95. 

4.6.3.  Costs and environmental benefits of the limit value s for  SO 2 

The  costs  and  environmental  benefits  of  the  proposal  have  been  estimated  for  the 
year  2010  for  those  cities  for  which  air  quality  data  were  available.  These  are  the 
additional  costs  and  benefits  compared  to  the  reference  scenario  which  reflects 
current  policy including legislative proposals  accepted  by the  Commission  end  1996 
(thus  excluding  the  acidification  strategy).  For  SO2 the  database  covers  151  cities 
with 75 million inhabitants. This represents 22% of the population in the Community, 
and about half the population in cities with more than 75 000 inhabitants. 

To meet the proposed  limit values in the  151 cities an additional  emissions reduction 
of  10  percent  would  be  needed  compared  to  the  reference  scenario.  This  totals 
around 46 ktons. This is a small additional reduction in Community-wide terms since 
overall  emissions  are expected  to  decline  from  16 497  ktons  in  1990 to  5619  ktons 
by 2010 as a result of current policy (reference  scenario). 

The  average  estimate  of  the  costs  of  meeting  the  proposed  limit  values  in  the 
151 cities  is ECU 21  million  per  year.  The  highest  estimate  ECU 48  million.  These 
estimates  do  not  take  into  account  the  recently  adopted  acidification  strategy.  The 
lowest  estimate  of the  costs  (ECU 4  million)  results  if  emissions  reductions  aim  at 
reducing the average concentration  in the cities below the limit values proposed.  The 
higher value pertains to the reductions needed to meet the limit value at that  location 
in the cities ("hot  spots") which  shows the highest  exceedance  of the proposed  limit 
value.  The  average  cost  estimate  bases  the  costs  on  the  average  of  the  emission 
reduction  needed  to  meet  the  limit  value  for  the  average  city  concentration  and  to 
meet the limit value at the location with the highest exceedance. 

The  distribution  of  costs  over  the  Member  States  for  the  average  estimate  for  the 
cities  studied  is as follows:  Austria,  Denmark,  Finland,  Italy,  Ireland,  Luxembourg, 
the  Netherlands  and  Sweden  would  not  face  additional  costs.  Costs  for  Belgium 
would be ECU 3.9 million, for France ECU 0.4  million, for  Greece ECU 2.4 million, 
for  Germany  ECU 0.8  million 
for  Spain 
ECU 8.3 million and for the UK ECU 4.7  million.  The costs are due to  measures  to 
reduce  process  emissions  form  stationary  sources  and  the  use  of  low  sulphur  fuels. 
These already low figures represent an overestimate since the reference  scenario does 
not  include  the  significant  emission  reductions  foreseen  under  the  acidification 
strategy  and  the  Council  Directive  relating  to  the  Sulphur  Content  of Liquid  Fuels. 
Taking these into account would reduce the costs of this proposal  substantially,  with 
any remaining problem areas most likely to be found  in southern Member States. 

for  Portugal  ECU 0.6  million, 

Because  of  the  absence  of  air  quality  data  for  other  cities  it  is  difficult  to  make  a 
reliable  estimate  of  the  costs  of  meeting  standards  everywhere  in  the  Community. 
According  to  EUROSTAT20  around  195  million  people  (of  a  total  Community 
population  of  362  million)  live  in  cities  with  more  than  25 000  inhabitants.  On  the 
assumption that the air quality data of the  151 cities are representative for  cities with 
more  than  25 000  inhabitants,  the  annual  costs  would  be  a  factor  of  3  higher  and 
amount to around 60 million ECU/year for the average estimate. 

EUROSTAT digital population database. 

17 

The costs of meeting the limit values by 2005 would be higher than those of 2010 in 
a  number  of countries  since the  emissions  in 2005  under the  reference  scenario  will 
be  higher  than  in  2010.  Conversely,  however,  the  benefits  would  also  be  higher. 
Due to the lack of data on the impact of current  legislation on the emissions in 2005 
it  was  not  possible  to  estimate  the  (additional)  costs  of  meeting  the  limit  values 
in 2005. 

It is expected that in the cities investigated  18 of the 75 million inhabitants would be 
at risk of exposure to ambient  concentrations exceeding the limit values if no  further 
action  were taken  beyond  current  plans. Achieving the  proposed  limit  values would 
lead  to  reduced  effects  on  mortality,  morbidity,  materials  damage  and  damage  to 
ecosystems as well as cultural heritage compared  to the reference  scenario. Mortality 
from short-term  exposure to  peaks of pollution (often  called  acute  mortality) would 
decrease  by  around  330-826  cases.  Hospital  emergency  room  admissions  would 
come  down  by  some  170-300  cases  per  year.  The  proposal  would  also  reduce 
mortality  and  respiratory  morbidity  due  to 
long-term  exposure  to  elevated 
concentrations  of  pollution  (often  called  chronic  mortality).  These  effects  occur 
indirectly through the reductions in secondary particulate matter formed  as a result of 
emissions  of  SO2.  The  reduction  in  mortality  from  long-term  exposure  that  would 
result  from  meeting  the  limit  values  has  been  estimated  at  10-60  cases  per  year. 
Meeting  the  limit  values  in the  cities  would  also  lead  to  improvements  outside  the 
cities  which  have  not  been  quantified.  In  addition,  damage  to  materials,  buildings, 
crops and ecosystems will be reduced. 

A part  of the  environmental  benefits  from  meeting  limit  values  in  the  cities  studied 
compared  to present  air quality (health benefits  and materials)  has been quantified  in 
monetary  terms.  The  results  show  that  the  monetary  benefits  of  the  proposed  limit 
values for those cities ranges from ECU 85 to 3 784 million per year. The large range 
is  mainly  due  to  the  uncertainty  in  dose-effect  functions  and  the  uncertainty  in 
valuation  of  mortality  due  to  short  term  peaks.  The  monetary  benefits  are  clearly 
dominated  by the mortality  impacts which range from  ECU 26 to  3723  million/year, 
of  which  26  to  255  relates  to  mortality  from  chronic  exposure  and  ECU 0  to 
3 468 million  to  mortality  associated  with  short  term  peaks.  (Section  3.2.1  above 
explains  how  these  estimates  were  derived.)  Damage  to  materials  is  estimated  at 
ECU 58 million whereas morbidity impacts are estimated  at only ECU  1  to  2 million 
per year. 

A comparison of the costs and benefits  of meeting the proposed  limit values needs to 
be  done  carefully  (see  Section  3.2.1).  In  so  far  as  benefits  are  quantifiable  and 
bearing  in  mind  the  limitations  inherent  in  the  estimation,  monetary  benefits, 
(ECU 85 to  3 784 million), are expected  significantly  to  exceed  the costs (ECU 4 to 
48 million) for the cities studied. This conclusion holds under a range of different  test 
cases,  including  assigning  no  value  to  short  term  mortality  and  using  the  lowest 
estimate  for  chronic  mortality,  and  taking  at  the  same  time  the  highest  estimates  of 
the costs. 

18 

4.7.  Opinions of affected  parties 

Meeting  the  limit  values  for  the  protection  of  human  health  is  considered  by 
Member States  to  be  generally  achievable  without  undue  difficulty.  A  number  of 
Member  States  are  concerned  about  management  aspects  of  the  small  numbers  of 
exceedances  allowed  each  year.  The  highest  few  measurements  per  year  can  be 
highly  variable  and  unpredictable  owing  to  weather  conditions,  and  therefore 
unsuitable  for  assessing trends  and  progress.  Austria  would  prefer  a more  stringent 
hourly limit value. 

Member  States  with  dense  patterns  of  urban  settlement  are  concerned  that 
assessment  relating to the limit value for  protection  of ecosystems  should  be limited 
to  locations  outside  the  immediate  influence  of  urban  areas.  Industry  is  concerned 
that it should also not apply in the vicinity of industrial development. 

Industry  considers  also that  2010 would  be  a  more  appropriate  attainment  date  for 
meeting limit values. 

5. 

NITROGEN  DIOXIDE 

5.1.  Background 

There  are  many  different  oxides  of  nitrogen,  formed  chiefly  by  the  oxidation  of 
nitrogen in the air during combustion.  The air pollutant  species of most  interest from 
the point  of view  of human  health  is nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2).  It  is associated  with a 
number of adverse effects,  including increased risk of respiratory infection  in children 
and  effects  on  lung  function,  particularly  in  those  with  pre-existing  lung  disease. 
Nitrogen  dioxide acts together  additively with nitric oxide (NO) to  cause  damage  to 
vegetation. NO2 and NO together are known as NOx. 

The  air  chemistry  of  NO2  is  complex.  In  most  situations  primary  emissions  from 
combustion  consist  predominantly  of NO.  This then  reacts with  oxygen  or  ozone  to 
produce NO2, the proportion  converted  depending on atmospheric  conditions.  Once 
formed  N02  can react further  in a number of different  ways. 

Some NO2 will be removed from the  air by dry  deposition.  Some will  eventually  be 
removed as acid deposition. NO2 is an important  precursor of ozone. It is also one of 
the pollutants which leads to the formation  of small suspended  atmospheric particles, 
which are themselves associated with adverse effects  on human health. 

The  object  of  the  present  directive  with  respect  to  nitrogen  dioxide  is  to  reduce 
damage to  human  health  and  the  environment  from  direct  exposure  to  NO2,  and  in 
the case of vegetation from exposure to the combination of NO2 and NO. Reductions 
in  emissions  to  meet  the  proposed  limit  values  will  also  contribute  to  meeting  the 
limit values  for  particulate  matter  which form  part  of this Directive,  and  to  meeting 
separate  targets  for  combating  acidification.  The  Commission  intends  to  bring 
forward  next  year  a  strategy  for  reducing  concentrations  of  ozone,  which  will  also 
require reductions in emissions of NO2. 

19 

5.2.  Legislation 

Council  Directive  85/203/EEC  of  20  December  1985  on  air  quality  standards  for 
nitrogen  dioxide was adopted  to  protect  human  health  and  the  environment  against 
adverse  effects  from  exposure  to  NO2.  It  lays  down  a  limit  value  for  NO2 of  200 
ug/m3 as the 98th percentile  of hourly values recorded  throughout  a year,  not  to be 
exceeded  throughout  the  territory  of Member  States.  The Directive  also  sets  guide 
values for  NO2,  as reference  points  for  special  schemes within  zones  established  by 
Member  States. Member  States  are  required  to  set  up  measuring  stations  for  N02, 
and to report to the Commission any exceedances of the limit value and the steps that 
have been taken to deal with them. 

There are a number of instruments controlling emissions of NOx (NO2 plus NO)  from 
stationary  and  mobile  sources.  The Large  Combustion  Plant  Directive  has  reduced 
emissions  from  power  generations.  Its  revision  and  the  IPPC  Directive  will  being 
about  further  reductions  from  stationary  sources  over  the  next  decade.  There  is an 
extensive body of legislation dealing with control of emissions from vehicles. In June 
1996,  following  the  completion  of  the  first  stage  of  the  Auto-Oil  programme  the 
Commission  adopted  a  strategy  for  further  control  of  vehicles  emissions,  aimed  at 
meeting air quality targets by 2010. 

5.3.  Sources of nitrogen dioxide 

Within the Community as a whole mobile sources  contribute  over  60% of emissions 
of  NO2.  Point  combustion  sources,  including  power  generation  and  manufacturing 
combustion  take  second  place  at  over  30%21.  The  contribution  of  different  source 
types  to  ambient  concentrations  varies  from  place  to  place.  In  general  however 
within  urban  areas,  emissions  and  therefore  exposure  are  due  mainly  to  road 
transport.  Other  sources  are  important  for  long-range  transport,  for  exposure  of 
ecosystems  and  for  formation  of  other  pollutants  such  as  ozone  and  secondary 
particulate matter. 

5.4.  Trends in emissions and air concentrations 

The  most  recent  international  figures  show  that  emissions  of  oxides  of  nitrogen 
decreased  by  only  3% over  the  Community  as  a  whole  between  1980  and  199322. 
Within  the  Community  there  is  wide  variability  between  countries.  Emissions  have 
increased  substantially in some whilst decreasing in others. 

Although no trend in total emissions is discernible, emissions from point sources have 
declined  in  many  areas  because  of  measures  such  as  the  large  combustion  plant 
directive. The introduction of catalytic converters and other  improvements to vehicle 
technology  means  that  emissions  from  this  sector  are  now  also  decreasing,  despite 
continued growth in transport  activity. 

Table  4  shows  emissions  of  NOx  in  Member  States  during  1990  and  projected 
emissions for  2010 under the reference scenario described in Annex I. 

21  CORINAIR  1990. 
22  EMEP. 

20 

Table  4: Projected  emissions  of NOx  (thousand  tonnes) 

1 Country 
Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
1 EC15 

n  1990 

1 2010 

222 
352 
269 
300 
1 585 
3 071 
30(3 
U5 
2047 
23 
575 
215 
1 178 
41] 
2 702 
13 370  1 

1 

I 

116 
196 
119 
163 
895 
1  279 
282 
73 
1  160 
10 
140 
206 
851 
207_ 
1244 
6 921 I 

Trends  in ambient  concentrations  emerge more  slowly  than  trends  in emissions.  Long 
series of data  are needed,  particularly  in the  case  of pollutants  such  as NO2 whose  air 
chemistry  is  complex  and  dependant  on  weather  conditions.  Decreases  in  urban 
concentrations  can  however  be  seen  in  Member  States  such  as  Austria,  Denmark, 
Germany  and  Sweden  which  have  made  substantial  reductions  in  emissions  of  NOx 
through  early  introduction  of  catalyst  technologies  or  other  steps.  As  part  of  the  of 
the  Auto-Oil  I  programme  detailed  air  quality  modelling  was  carried  out  for  seven 
European  cities  to  determine  the  cost-effectiveness  of  new  vehicle  and 
fuel 
technologies  needed  to  meet  air  quality  targets  including  targets  for  N 02.  This 
showed  that  substantial  reductions  in  ambient  concentrations  of  N 02  would  be 
achieved  due  to  legislation  already  in  place  and  resulted  in  proposals  for  legislation 
which will  improve  air quality  even  further. 

5.5. 

Impact  of NO2 on  human  health  and  the  environment 

5.5.1.  Damage  to human  health 

Exposure  to  nitrogen  dioxide  can  bring  about  reversible  effects  on  lung  function  and 
airway  responsiveness,  particularly  in  those  with  pre-existing  lung  diseases.  It  may 
also  increase  reactivity  to  natural  allergens.  The  WHO  1996  Guidelines  include  an 
hourly  concentration  of  200  ug/m3,  derived  from  chamber  studies  on  these  effects 
using  subjects  with  asthma  and  chronic  obstructive  pulmonary  disease. 

21 

Long-term  exposure to NO2 is associated  with  increased  risk of respiratory  infection 
in  children.  The  quantitative  studies  which  have  looked  at  these  effects  relate  to 
indoor  concentrations,  which  are  high  in  homes  with  gas  cookers.  They  cannot  be 
directly extrapolated  to  outdoor  concentrations.  The effects  are however  of concern 
because  repeated  lung infections  in early  life  can  result  in lung  damage  later  in  life. 
Repetitive  exposure in animals can produce  non-reversible  changes in lung  structure 
and metabolism  and  in susceptibility  to  infection.  WHO  have,  as a result,  adopted  a 
precautionary annual guideline of 40 ).ig/m . 

Table 5: WHO Guidelines (1996) for N02:  human health 

Averaging period 

Concentrations (|ig/m3) 

1 hour 

one year 

200 

40 

Present-day  exposure  above  the  new  guidelines  cannot  be  accurately  estimated. 
There  are  few  data  from  hotspot  situations  (relevant  to  the  hourly  value)  nor  on 
annual concentrations (for which there is no present  limit value). A study carried  out 
for  WHO  on  exposure  to  daily  concentrations  of  N02  in  1993  suggested  that  in 
urban  areas  at  least  21  million  people  were  exposed  to  concentrations  in  excess  of 
the then  Guideline (1987) of  150 ug/m\  Taking the  exposed  population  only, WHO 
estimated  that  17 000 to  29 000  cases  of lower  respiratory  illnesses (LRI)  requiring 
medical  visits  could  be  attributed  to  these  elevated  levels  of  N02.  If  the  exposure 
situation in other urban areas is comparable,  58 000 to 99 000 cases of LRI could be 
ascribed to high NO2 levels. 

5.5.2.  Damage to vegetation 

Both  NO2  and  NO  (together  known  as  NOx)  are  absorbed  by  vegetation.  Their 
effects  on  plants  are  additive  and  the  scientific  consensus  is  that  they  should  be 
treated  together.  Nitrogen  is an  essential  plant  nutrient.  Low  exposures  to NOx  can 
promote growth. Higher exposures can cause adverse effects  including leaf or needle 
damage and reduced growth.  The point at which damage begins to occur depends on 
the  species,  on  its nutritional  state and  on other  environmental  factors.  Work  within 
the UN-ECE  has resulted  in development  of a critical  level  at  which  the majority  of 
species should be protected. WHO has adopted this critical level as a Guideline. 

Table 6: WHO Guidelines (1996) for NOx: ecotoxic  effects 

Target Protected 

Majority  of plant  species 

Annual  mean value NO + N02 
(Ug/m3) 
30 

22 

5.5.3.  Damage to buildings, materials and cultural heritage 

Nitrogen  oxides  have been  shown  to  damage  or to  accelerate  damage  to  materials. 
However, whilst the contributions of different  pollutants to  such damage are  difficult 
to  separate  from  each  other,  it  seems  likely  that  the  role  of  nitrogen  oxides  is 
secondary compared to that of other pollutants such as ozone and SO2.. 

5.6.  The Commission's  proposals 

5.6.1.  Protection of human health 

The present  Directive proposes two  limit values to  protect  human  health.  The  short 
term limit value will be a concentration of 200 |ig/m3 averaged over- one hour and not 
to  be exceeded  during  more than  8 out  of  8760  hours  per  calendar  year.  The  long 
term limit value will be 40 |ig/m3 averaged over a calendar year 

Limit  value 

Margin  of tolerance 

Averaging 
period 

1 hour 

200ug/m3 N02 not 
to be exceeded 
more than 8 times 
per calendar year 

calendar year 

40ug/m3NO2 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2010 

1 January 2010 

50% reducing  linearly 
on  1  January 2001 and 
every  12 months 
thereafter  to zero by 
2010 

50% reducing linearly 
on  1  January 2001 and 
every  12 months 
thereafter  to zero by 
2010 

Hourly  limit 
value for  the 
protection of 
human  health 

Annual  limit 
value for  the 
protection  of 
human  health 

5.6.2.  Protection of  ecosystems 

Following  the  work  of UNECE  and  WHO  on the  additive  ecotoxic  effects  of  N02 
and  NO  (NOx),  the Directive  proposes  a joint  limit  value  of 30  ug/nr" for  the  total 
concentration  of the two  substances,  measured  over  a calendar  year.  As in the  case 
of  SO2,  compliance  with  this  limit  value  will  initially  be  assessed  away  from  the 
immediate  influence  of agglomerations  and  other  development.  The  situations  to  be 
assessed  will  therefore  be  similar  to  those  at  EMEP  stations.  On  the  basis  of  data 
from the EMEP network23 it is proposed that the limit value should be met two years 
from entry into force of the Directive. 

5.6.3.  Costs and environmental benefits of meeting the limit values for  N02 

The costs and environmental benefits  of the proposal compared  to the reference  case 
have been  estimated  for  those  cities  for  which  air  quality  data  were  available.  The 
database covers  142 cities with 74 million inhabitants. 

23  Hjellbrekke  A.-G.,  Schaug J, Skjelmoen J.E: EMEP Data Report  1994. 

23 

To  meet  the  proposed  limit  values  in  the  cities  covered  an  additional  emissions 
reduction of nearly  10 percent would be needed  compared to the reference  scenario. 
This  totals  around  76ktons  for  all  cities  covered.  This  is  a  small  addition  to 
Community wide emissions which are expected to decline from 13,370 ktons in 1990 
to 6 921 ktons in 2010 as a result of current policy (reference  scenario). 

The  average  estimate  of  the  costs  of  meeting  the  limit  values  in  the  142  cities  is 
ECU 80 million per  year.  The  upper  estimate  of the  costs  is ECU 285  million.  The 
lower estimate of the cost  (ECU 5 million) is obtained  if reductions  aim at  reducing 
the  average  concentration  in the  cities below the  proposed  limit  values.  The  higher 
value pertains to the reductions  needed to meet the limit value at the location in the 
city  showing  the  highest  exceedance  of  the  proposed  limit  value.  The  average 
estimate bases the costs on the average of these two  emission  reductions.  Owing to 
the large reductions in emissions from road transport built into the reference  scenario 
as  a  result  of  the  Auto-Oil  I  programme,  the  majority  (90%)  of  the  costs  for 
eliminating  remaining  problems  are  due  to  measures  to  be  taken  at  (low  stack) 
stationary sources. There are also additional costs for road transport in implementing 
road-pricing  schemes and the introduction  of LPG/CNG buses. Both these  measures 
also  lead  to  the  reduction  of  other  pollutants  such  as  PMio,  carbon  monoxide  and 
benzene, and of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. All costs have been allocated  to 
NO2 control which implies a small overestimation (less than 5%) of the costs. 

The  distribution  of  costs  over  the  Member  States  for  the  average  estimate  for  the 
cities  studied  is  as  follows:  Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  Ireland,  Luxembourg,  the 
Netherlands,  Sweden and the UK would not face additional costs. Costs for the other 
countries would be the following:  Austria ECU 0.1 million; France ECU 7.3  million, 
Germany ECU 0.4 million and Portugal ECU 5.0 million. Costs for  Greece would be 
ECU  18.3 million; for Italy ECU 38.2 million; and for  Spain ECU  10.9 million. These 
results were  prefigured  by the results of the Auto-oil  programme.  This found  that it 
would  not  be  cost-effective  to  meet  targets  similar  to  the  proposed  limit  values  in 
Athens,  Madrid  and  Milan  through  application  of  new  vehicle  and  fuel  standards 
alone. Further local action would be needed. Note that the costs in general represent 
an overestimate since the reference  scenario does not include the significant  emission 
reductions foreseen under the acidification  strategy. 

Because  of  the  absence  of  air  quality  data  for  other  cities  it  is  difficult  to  make  a 
reliable estimate of the costs of meeting standards everywhere  in the Community.  If 
the  air  quality  data  of  the  142  cities  were  representative  for  cities  with  more  than 
25 000 inhabitants, the annual costs would be a factor of 3 higher. 

The  physical  and  monetary  benefits  of  the  proposal  compared  to  current  policy 
(the reference  case)  have been  analysed  for  the  142 cities.  Of the  cities  investigated 
23 million out  of the 74 million inhabitants would  be  at  risk  of exposure to  ambient 
concentrations  exceeding the limit values. Meeting the limit values reduce  mortality, 
morbidity, materials damage and damage to ecosystems as well as damage to cultural 
heritage compared to the reference  case. As a result  of the proposed  standards short-
term  mortality  would  decrease  by  140-465  cases  a year.  Hospital  emergency  room 
admissions  would  drop  by  up  to  496  cases  each  year.  The  number  of  cases  of 
reduced  long-term  respiratory  morbidity  of  children  would  be  reduced  by  up  to 
1 050 cases. The number of restricted  activity days would fall by some 600 cases per 
year.  The proposal  would  also reduce chronic mortality by  157-939 cases as a result 
of  the  indirect  reduction  in  secondary  (nitrate)  particles.  Finally,  meeting  the 
24 

proposed limit values would lead to positive, but not quantified impacts on materials, 
crops and vegetation. 

As  far  as  possible  the  health  benefits  in the  cities  studied  have  been  quantified  in 
monetary  terms  since  health  impacts  were  expected  to  be  the  dominating  ones  in 
monetary  terms.  The  analysis  suggests  that  the  monetary  benefits  of  the  proposed 
limit  values  ranges from ECU 408  to  5 900  million  per  year.  Section  3.2.1  above 
explains how these values are derived.  The large range is due to  the uncertainty in 
dose-effect  functions and the uncertainty in valuation of mortality due to  short term 
peaks.  The monetary benefits  are clearly dominated by the mortality  impacts which 
amount to ECU 407 to 5 899 million/year (of which 407 to 3 944 relates to mortality 
from chronic exposure and ECU 0 to  1955 million to mortality associated with short-
term peaks). Morbidity impacts are estimated at ECU 1 million per year. The highest 
estimates are obtained if the impact on chronic mortality is high and the impacts on 
acute mortality are valued at a full VOSL. 

A  comparison  of  the  expected  monetary  benefits  with  the  costs  of  meeting 
the proposed  limit  values  in  the  cities  under  study  needs  to  be  done  carefully 
(see Section 3.2.1).  In  so  far  as  benefits  are  quantifiable  and  bearing  in  mind 
the limitations  inherent  in  the  estimation,  benefits  (ECU 408  to  5 900  million), 
are expected  to  exceed  the  costs  (ECU 5  to  2851  million).  This  conclusion  is 
relatively robust.  It  holds  when  the  lowest  estimate  is  made  of  benefits  (benefits 
ECU 407 million)  and  costs  are  put  at  the  high  end  of  range.  This  case  is  overly 
pessimistic 
ignored 
(vegetation, materials) and benefits  due to reduced impacts  on people  outside  cities 
(resulting from emission reductions in the cities) have also been excluded. 

since  a  number  of  benefit 

categories  have  been 

5.7.  Opinions of affected  parties 

Member States are generally of the opinion that it should be possible to meet hourly 
limit values to  protect  human health in most urban areas, largely as a result  of new 
vehicle  emission  standards  and  new  fuel  quality  standards.  Local  action  will  be 
required if it is to be met in the busiest streets in urban areas. The study on economic 
aspects of meeting limit values found that the hourly limit value was the determinant 
of the need for action when average concentrations in cities were considered. More 
detailed  modelling  was  not  possible.  Some Member  States  consider  that  additional 
local  action will be needed to meet the proposed  annual health based limit value  of 
40 ug/m3 in urban hotspots. 

Italy  anticipates  that  both  limit  values  will  continue  to  be  exceeded  in  some 
Italian cities  even  if  emissions  are  reduced  by  a  large  percentage,  because  of  the 
atmospheric chemistry of NO2 under local weather conditions.  Spain also anticipates 
difficulties in some areas. 

Member States and industry are concerned that assessment  for compliance  with the 
limit  value  to  protect  vegetation  should  be  confined  to  locations  outside  the 
immediate influence of urban areas and other development. 

25 

6. 

PARTICULATE  MATTER 

6.1.  Background 

Particulate  matter (PM) differs  fundamentally from the other pollutants  dealt with in 
the  present  proposal.  It  is  a  complex  mixture,  rather  than  a  single  chemical 
compound,  emitted  into  the  air  by  a  wide  range  of  anthropogenic  and  natural 
sources.  The  sizes,  other  physical  characteristics  and  chemical  composition  of  the 
particles which these sources emit are very diverse. 

Anthropogenic  particulate  matter  falls  into  two  major  categories.  Primary  PM  is 
emitted  directly  into the  atmosphere from combustion  of fossil  and  non-fossil  fuels, 
from  a wide variety  of  non-combustion  industrial  processes,  and from other  human 
activities.  Secondary PM is formed  in the atmosphere by chemical reactions  amongst 
other  pollutants,  especially  SO2,  NO2  volatile  organic  compounds  (VOCs)  and 
ammonia.  The main natural  sources of particles  are  sea  spray  and  wind  blown  dust. 
Particles  of  all  types  may  be  carried  great  distances  and  therefore  contribute  to 
transboundary  pollution. 

Until recently, particulate matter was studied and controlled in conjunction  with SO2. 
Interest centred on industrial and domestic combustion of coal and other  sulphur-rich 
fossil  fuels,  which  can  give  rise  to  simultaneous  high  concentrations  of  both 
pollutants.  Particulate  matter  was  usually  measured  by  either  to  the  Black  Smoke 
method,  which  relies  on  the  blackness  of  particles,  or  by  the  Total  Suspended 
Particulate  (TSP)  method.  This  collects  particles  of many  sizes  including  those  too 
large to be inhaled. 

In recent  years attention has moved to the effects  of PM alone, and  new methods of 
measurement  have  been  developed.  There  are  many  different  possible  methods  of 
measuring  PM.  Each  provides  an  indicator  only  of the  total  particulate  mix.  Black 
Smoke and TSP were the best indicators available until recently. The newer  methods 
are  considered  by  medical  opinion  to  provide  better  indicators  for  future  use.  The 
most  common  is  the  PM10 method,  which  measures  the  mass  of  particles  with  a 
diameter  of  10 microns  or  less.  These particles  are  small  enough  to  be inhaled  into 
the  lung.  A  number  of the  most  recent  studies  have used  the  PM2.5 method,  which 
measures the mass of particles with a diameter  of 2.5 microns or less. These are the 
particles  which  can  penetrate  most  deeply  into  the  lung.  Outdoor  particles  in  these 
size ranges penetrate easily into the indoor environment. 

the  PM10  range,  with  most  within 

Neither  PM10 nor PM2.5 is a  new  pollutant.  The  particles  produced  by  coal  burning 
the  PM2.5  fraction. 
lie wholly  within 
(The Black  Smoke method  collects  particles  which  are typically  4.5  microns  or  less 
in size.) Historic levels of PM10 and PM25 in many urban areas are therefore  likely to 
have been  far  higher than today's  concentrations.  However,  recent  studies using the 
new  indicators  have  demonstrated  consistent  associations  between  changes  in  daily 
levels  of  PM10 from diverse  sources  and  adverse  effects  on  human  health  even  at 
concentrations  commonly  encountered  now  within  the  Community.  Studies  in  the 
United  States  have  also  found  associations  between  concentrations  of  PM25  and 
health  outcomes,  but  there  is  little  information  on  PM2.5  within  the  Community. 
Some studies, again in the United  States, have suggested  that long-term  exposure to 

26 

PM  is  associated  with  reduced  life  expectancy  and  with  chronic  effects  on 
lung  function. 

6.2.  Legislation 

Ambient  concentrations  of  particulate  matter  are  presently  controlled  under 
Council Directive  80/779/EEC  of  15  July  1980  on  Air  Quality  Limit  Values  and 
Guide  Values  for  Sulphur  Dioxide  and  Suspended  Particulates.  It  is  described  in 
Section  4.2  above.  Under  the  Directive,  limit  values  were  set  for  suspended 
particulate matter measured according to the Black  Smoke or TSP method.  The limit 
values for  Suspended  Particulates  are dependant  on the simultaneous  concentrations 
ofS02. 

6.3.  Sources of particulate matter 

Emission  sources  of  primary  anthropogenic  particles  are  similar  throughout  the 
Community.  The  most  significant  primary  sources  are  traffic,  power  plants,  other 
combustion 
fugitive  dust, 
loading/unloading of bulk goods, mining activities, human-started  forest fires and, in 
some local cases non-combustion  sources such as building demolition or construction 
and quarrying. 

(industrial  and 

residential), 

industrial 

sources 

Detailed  inventories  are  available  for  Germany,  the  Netherlands  and  the  UK.  Data 
from  these  can  be  found  in the  position  paper  prepared  by the  Working  Group  on 
Particulate  Matter24.  An  inventory  has  also  been  developed  by  TNO25  for  the 
Government  of the  Netherlands  covering  primary  emissions  of  PM  throughout  the 
Community.  The  Government  of  the  Netherlands  made  work  in  progress  on  this 
available  to  the  Commission's  consultants  on  the  economic  aspects  of  meeting 
limit values. 

National  figures  do  not  reflect  the  fact  that  the  relative  importance  of  different 
sources  can  vary  significantly  from  one  area  to  another.  For  instance,  in  the  1990 
inventory for the UK, road  transport  accounted  for  25% of primary PMio emissions, 
while in London  road transport  accounted  for  85% of such emissions.  Similarly, the 
relative  importance  of  sources  during  episodes  can  vary  from  the  annual  picture. 
Again  in the  UK,  studies  have  shown  that  during  winter  episodes  road  traffic  may 
contribute  some  75-85%  of  total  PMj0.  Nationally  insignificant  sources,  such  as 
wood burning, may be locally very important in some places. 

Secondary particles are formed  from  reactions between other pollutants such as  S02, 
NO2,  volatile  organic  compounds  and  ammonia.  They  are  therefore  predominantly 
man-made in origin. The inventories described  above do not include source estimates 
for  secondary  particulate  matter.  Secondary  PM has been found  to  be  an  important 
contributor to concentrations of PM in the United  States. This is likely also to be the 
case within the Community,  though  proportions  may be different.  The  formation  of 
secondary  particulate  matter  will  tend  to  be  favoured  during  the  hot  summer 

24  Available from  the Commission. 
25  Berdowski. 

J.M.M.,  W.  Mulder,  C.  Veldt,  A.J.H.  Visschedijk 

and  P.Y.J.  ZandvcId 
(1997-forthcoming),  Particulate  emissions  (PM10-PM2.5-PM0.1)  in  Europe  in  1990  and  1993, 
TNO. Apcldoorn. 

27 

conditions  which  give  rise  to  high  concentrations  of  ozone  and  as  with  ozone  may 
occur on a regional scale. 

The main natural  sources of local  airborne PM  in the  Community  are  sea-spray  and 
soil  resuspension  by  the  wind.  In  the  Mediterranean  basin  volcanic  ash  and 
long-range  transport  of  Saharan  dust  may  be  important  natural  sources.  Biogenic 
particles such as pollens and fungal  spores add to the mass, particularly in rural areas. 

6.4.  Trends in emissions and air concentrations 

Ambient  levels of PMio have been  monitored  within  the  Community  in  some urban 
networks  since  1990. However,  there is no coherent  PMio data  set  since there  is no 
standardized method for monitoring PMio across the Community and there are only a 
few  cities  across  the  Community  where  monitoring  has  been  carried  out  for  a 
significant  length of time using continuous  instruments.  There  are no  good  series of 
PM2.5 concentrations. 

The Working  Group  on Particulate Matter  has summarized  available  information  on 
PMio in the Community.  Levels vary considerably  across the Community  and within 
individual countries from  10 ug/mJ  in remote areas to  above  100 ug/mJ  as an annual 
average in some urban industrial areas. There is however  a less consistent  pattern  of 
concentrations across different  types of location than might be expected. 

Table 7 shows concentrations found  at different  types  of urban  measurement  site, as 
classified  by Member States. There is no clear pattern of variation between site types. 
A  recent  study  (PEACE26)  which  measured  PMio  concentrations  for  six  winter 
weeks  at  matched  sites  in  a  number  of  European  countries  found  also  that  urban 
background  and rural differences  in concentration  tended  to be small or even absent. 
This may be in part  due to  differences  in classification  of site types  and  to  the  small 
amount of information  available. It may also be that PM displays less spatial variation 
than  other  pollutants  over  both  short  and  long  distances.  The  smallest  particles  can 
persist for long periods in suspension,  and may travel hundreds or even thousands of 
kilometres in that time. 

26  PEACE. 

28 

Table 7:  Average  concentrations  of  PMio  at  Urban,  Traffic  and  Industrial 

Sites in the Community  1992 - 1994 

Country 

Number of Sites 

Annual Mean 
ug/m3 

98th Percentile of 
Daily Means ug/m3 

Urban Background  (UB) 
Sites 
France 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 

Sweden 
United Kingdom 

Urban Traffic  (UT) Sites 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Sweden 

Urban Industrial  (UÏ) Sites 
France 
German}' 
Luxembourg 

4 
1 

5 
13 

41-67 

37-41 
72 - 75 

12-16 
20-34 

13-145 
51  -54 
36 - 65 
30 
39 - 43 
35 

43 - 78 
50 - 58 
32 

68-  136 

92 - 126 
144 - 146 
(95th%ile) 

41 - 95 

43 - 204 
94 - 136 
77-98 
61 
90 -129 

58 - 143 
128 
71 

UB = 

UT = 
UI = 

Urban  Background:  a site in a central  urban  area  not influenced  by a single  major  source 
(including a road), and not necessarily mainly  residential. 
Urban Traffic:  a site in a central urban area influenced  by and close to a major  road. 
Urban Industrial: A site in a central  urban area influenced  by industrial sources. 

Both  Table  7  and  PEACE  do  show,  however,  a  reasonably  consistent  pattern  of 
lower  concentrations  in  the  far  north  of  Europe  and  higher  concentrations  in  the 
southern  countries.  There  are  also  suggestions  from  PEACE  of  an  increasing  slope 
from  west  to  east.  It  should  be  noted  that  similar  concentrations  of  PM  may  have 
very  different  composition,  depending  on  the  dominating  local  source.  Little 
information  is  available  at  present  on  the  composition  of  the  PM  mix  at  different 
types of site or in different  regions of the Community. 

29 

The  emission  inventories  for  the  UK,  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  suggest  that 
there  has  been  a  decline  in  particulate  matter  emissions  over  time,  although  the 
picture  varies  from  country  to  country  and  the  period  covered 
is  short. 
Measurements of Black Smoke and TSP indicate that concentrations of PMio due to 
traditional  sources have declined markedly in many areas, but cannot be used to give 
accurate  estimates  of  overall  trends,  especially  where  new  sources  have  appeared. 
The relationship  between  these Black  Smoke  or  TSP  and  PMio varies  from  site  to 
site and will change if the dominant  source changes, for  example from coal to  traffic 
or to secondary particulate matter. 

Some reduction in concentrations of both primary and secondary PM is anticipated in 
future years due to improvements in diesel engine standards, in industrial combustion 
standards,  the  continuing  decrease  in  domestic  coal  use,  and  the  anticipated 
reductions in emissions of precursors of secondary PM. Table 8 shows projections of 
primary  emissions  only  of  PMio for  Member  States  for  which  air  quality  data  are 
available.  There  are  large  uncertainties  in these  projections;  they  should  be  treated 
with caution. 

Table 8: Projected emissions of (primary) particulate matter (ktons) 

Country 
Austria 
Belgium 
Denmark 
Finland 
France 
Germany 
Greece 
Ireland 
Italy 
Luxembourg 
Netherlands 
Portugal 
Spain 
Sweden 
UK 
|EC15 

1990 

2010 

37.5 
812 
5j 
45.7 
402.4 
1326.4 
55.1 
323 
292.1 
6 
24J5 
3L3 
183J 
408 
273.3 
2884.7  | 

-_ 
-_ 
-_ 
-_ 
296.7 
932.7 
-_ 
-_ 
-_ 
5.4 
23.5 
27.9 
133.3 
34.4 
181.5 
1365.4 | 

. 

1 

30 

6.5.  Impact on human health and the environment 

6.5.1.  Damage to human health 

Effects  of short-term exposure 

A large body  of recent  studies  shows that  short-term variations  in concentrations  of 
PMio are  associated  with  health  effects  even  at  low  ambient  levels.  Effects  include 
increases  in  daily  mortality  rates,  in  hospital  admissions,  use  of  bronchodilators 
amongst  asthmatics,  lower  respiratory  symptoms  and  changes  in  Peak  Expiratory 
Flow. The data do not  allow determination  of a threshold below which these  effects 
would be unlikely to occur. 

The  many  studies  which  have  looked  at  short-term  variations  in  PMio  show  risk 
estimates  which  are  reasonably  consistent  despite 
in  the 
composition  of  PM  from  study  area  to  study  area.  Particle  composition  and  size 
distribution  may  be  nevertheless  be  important.  Somev  of  the  most  recent  studies 
suggest  that  health  effects  may be more  closely  associated  with  smaller fractions of 
PM,  strong  aerosol  acidity  or  sulphates.  A few  studies  on dust  storms  and  volcanic 
ash suggest that these natural particles are less toxic than primary particles associated 
with combustion sources or secondary particles27. 

likely  differences 

Quantification  of the effects  of short-term exposure to PM is extremely  difficult.  No 
thresholds can be identified from present data. It is not possible to test zero exposure 
since  there  is  a  natural  background  of  PM.  Within  the  range  of  concentrations 
normally  measured  within  the  Community  the  associations  between  concentration 
and  effect  seem  linear  but  this  relationship  may  or  may  not  remain  linear  at  lower 
concentrations.  These  two  factors  mean  that  the  baseline  from  which  numbers  of 
additional  effects  should  be  calculated  cannot  be  known.  For  the  mortality  results 
there is the additional difficulty  that the studies do not enable an estimate to be made 
of the extent  to which life  has been  shortened.  If  some or  all of the deaths  occur in 
people who are already in poor health effects  on age at death may not be large. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  the  World  Health  Organization  in  revising  the 
Air Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe  did  not  derive  guideline  values  for  short  term 
exposure to  PM.  Instead they provide, with  considerable  reservations,  summaries of 
relative  risk  estimates  for  different  effects  of PMio and  PM25,  together  with  a table 
showing  the  estimated  number  of  subjects  experiencing  effects  of  a  period  of 
three days  characterized  by  a  mean  PM10  concentration  of  50  or  100  j.tg/m3 
(see Annex  II). These tables give an indication  of the  potential  magnitude  of  effects 
on  public  health.  They  show  that  although  individual  relative  risks  are  small 
compared with the effects  of such factors  as smoking (an important  source of indoor 
PM), changes in weather,  or epidemics of influenza,  the total  effect  on public health 
can be large because of near universal potential exposure. 

27  Ref.  WHO/EPA. 

31 

Effects  of long-term exposure 

Evidence  is emerging from studies in the  United  States  that  long-term  exposure  to 
low  concentrations  of  PM  in  air  is  associated  with  increased  rates  of  bronchitis, 
reduced  lung  function  and  reduction  in  life-expectancy  of  the  order  of  one  to  two 
years. Risk estimate tables based on these studies have been derived by WHO and are 
provided in Annex II 

6.5.2.  Damage to buildings, materials and cultural heritage 

Primary particulate matter from combustion is responsible for the soiling of buildings 
and other materials. Although the rate of soiling is much reduced in comparison with 
that  experienced  when  coal  was  a  major  source  of  energy  it  may  still  be  locally 
significant  in some urban centres. 

6.5.3.  The damage costs of PM pollution 

A survey of studies28 has been completed  on the damage costs of PMio. That  survey 
indicates that  the  damage  costs  are  attributable  chiefly  to  health  damage.  Estimates 
for  human  health  damage  range  from  a  low  ECU 2 900/ton  PMio  to  a  high 
ECU 59 000/ton. Estimates of total damage to buildings and materials are as low as 
ECU  180/ton PMio. 

6.6.  The Commission's proposals 

Since  it  is  not  possible  from  the  evidence  presently  available  to  identify  no-effect 
thresholds  for  particulate  matter  the  Commission  has  adopted  a  risk  management 
approach  to  the  definition  of  limit  values.  This  seeks  to  identify  concentrations  at 
which effects  on the population as a whole would be small. 

In  line  with  the  most  recent  scientific  advice  the  Commission  proposes  that  there 
should  no  longer  be  a  limit  value  for  Suspended  Particulate  Matter,  as  measured 
under the existing Directive on Sulphur Dioxide and Suspended Particulate Matter. 

The  Commission  believes that  it  is necessary  to  set  new limit  values for  PM  in the 
Community  in order to  achieve  speedy  reduction  in concentrations  arising  from  the 
wide  range  of  man-made  sources  which  emit  particles.  The  most  recent  data  on 
health  effects  and  concentrations  of PM  in the  Community  and  the  largest  body  of 
studies world-wide relate to  PMio. The Commission  has concluded  that  limit  values 
should  therefore  be  set  for  PMio.  It  is  aware  however  of  theoreticaL  reasons  for 
believing  that  PM2.5 is  a  more  accurate  surrogate  for  human  exposure  than  PMi0. 
PM2.5 measurements  are  also  likely  to  be  linked  more  strongly  with  anthropogenic 
sources. However,  it is not  at present  clear that  associations with the coarse fraction 
of  PMio  can  be  ignored;  there  are  at  present  almost  no  data  on  concentrations  of 
PM2.5 and none on any associated  health outcomes in the Community.  It  should  also 
be borne in mind that PM2.5 is itself a mixture in which the causal component  has not 
been  identified. 

28  Ozdemiroglu.  E  and  D.  Pearce  (1995)  Economic  Evaluation  of  benefits  of  abating  nitrogen  oxides 
and  related  substances.  United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe.  EB.AIR./WG.5/R.56, 
20 June  1995, Geneva. 

32 

The  Commission's  proposals  recognize  that  the  concentrations,  sources  and  effects 
of  PM within  the  Community  should  be  the  subject  of  further  investigation.  Limit 
values  for  PMio  will  be  introduced  in  two  stages,  to  ensure  that  action  is  taken 
quickly  and  that  room  is  allowed  for  adaptation  to  further  development  of  the 
knowledge base. 

Averaging 
period 

Limit value 

Date by which limit 
value is to be met 

24 hours 

calendar year 

50ug/m3 PMio not to be 
exceeded more than two 
times per year 
30ug/m3PM10 

1 January 2005 

1 January 2005 

24 hours 

calendar year 

50ug/m3 PMio not to be 
exceeded more than 
seven times per year 
20ug/m3PM,0 

1 January 2010 

1 January 2010 

Stage 1 

1. 24-hour limit value 
for the protection of 
human health 

2. Annual limit value for 
the protection of humai 
health 

Stage 2 

1. 24-hour limit value 
for the protection of 
human health 

2. Annual limit value for 
the protection of humai 
health 

During  Stage  1  Member  States  will  be  required  to  reduce  both  maximum  daily 
concentrations  and  annual  average  concentrations  of PMio from their  present  levels. 
During this  phase  measurements  will be  made  also  of PM25  and  plans  for  reducing 
concentrations  of PMio should  explicitly  include  reductions  of  PM2.s  as  part  of  the 
total.  The  proposed  limit  values  for  PMio  to  be  met  in  2010  represent  a  further 
tightening,  to  concentrations  which,  according  to  the best  evidence  available  should 
present  small risks to  public health.  The  Commission  is  promoting  further  research 
into the health  effects  of PM,  including the funding  of  a second  APHEA  study29.  It 
will  report  to  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  at  the  latest  by  31  December 
2003  on  further  developments  in  scientific  and  technical  understanding  of PM.  The 
report  will  be  accompanied  by  any  proposals  which  the  Commission  considers 
necessary in the light of those developments. 

The  Commission  has taken  account  also  of possible  difficulties  in the  drier  parts  of 
the  Community  due  to  natural  sources  of  PMio.  There  are  no  systematic  analyses 
available of particles sizes and sources in these parts of the Community. However, it 
is known that  high concentrations of mineral dusts can occur  in such  areas and  that 
such  dusts  tend  to  fall  within  the  coarse  fraction  of  PMio,  that  is  PMio  - PM2.5. 
Where  a Member  State  can  demonstrate  that  limit values  for  attainment  in  Stage  1 
cannot  be  met  owing  to  persistent  high  concentrations  of  natural  dusts,  they  shall 

29  Katsouyanni  et  al  (1997):  Short  term  effects  of  ambient  sulphur  dioxide  and  particulate  matter 
on mortality  in  12  European  cities:  results  from  time  series  data  from  the  APHEA  project: 
British Medical Journal Volume 314 7 June 1997. 
See also Journal of Empidemiology and Community Health, April 1996, Vol. 50 Supplement 1. 

33 

adopt  action  levels for  PM25  as reporting  levels, as test  levels to  determine  whether 
action plans should be developed  and as indicative targets  for  any  such  action  plans. 
These  action  levels  will  not  be  mandatory  goals,  but  Member  States  should  make 
best efforts  to see that they are met as far as possible. 

The action levels proposed  in the  accompanying  Directive  are derived  from  data  on 
the  proportion  of  PMio  made  up  of  particles  less  than  2.5  microns  in  diameter  in 
Member  States  where  concentrations  of natural  dusts  tend  to  be  low.  It  is  intended 
that  they  should  be  reviewed  when  the  Commission  reports  to  Council  and  the 
European Parliament on PM as described above. 

6.6.1.  Costs  and  environmental  benefits  of  meeting  the  limit  values  for 

particulate matter 

The costs  and  environmental  benefits  of the  proposal  have been  estimated  for  cities 
for which air quality data were available. For PMio, the air quality  database  covered 
only 35 cities with a total of 27 million inhabitants. 

The average reduction  in city emissions that  is expected  to be necessary to  meet  the 
proposed  limit  values  is  around  50  percent.  This  equals  a  reduction  of  around 
15 ktons  for  all  cities  covered.  Overall  Community-wide  emissions  have  been 
estimated  at  roughly  2 880  ktons  in  1990  and  are  projected  to  decrease  to  some 
1 365 ktons  by  2010  as  a  result  of  current  policy  (reference  scenario).  The  results 
should be regarded with caution since the uncertainties  in the emission  data are large 
(50%), the emission inventory  does not  capture  all  sources  and  sufficient  air  quality 
data  to  allow  projections  to  be  made  were  available  for  only  a  limited  number  of 
countries. Consequently, the cost estimates should be evaluated with caution . 

For the cities covered, the mid point estimate of the annual costs of attaining the limit 
values in the 35 cities ranges from  ECU 87 to  225 million per year.  The range is due 
to  the  uncertainty  surrounding  both  the  actual  emission  levels  and  the  cost  of 
controlling  stationary  sources.  Taking  into  account  the  further  uncertainties  of  air 
quality  modelling  the  costs  could  range  from  ECU 50  to  300  million.  The  lower 
estimate of the cost occurs if reductions aim at reducing the average concentration in 
the cities below the (daily average) limit value proposed.  The higher value pertains to 
the reductions  needed  to  meet the limit value at the location  in the  city  showing  the 
highest  exceedance  of  the  proposed  limit  value.  As  with  N02,  large  reductions  in 
emissions  from  road  transport  are  built  into  the  reference  scenario  owing  to 
proposals resulting from the Auto-Oil  I programme.  The majority  (90%) of the costs 
of  achieving  further  reductions  are  due  to  measures  to  be  taken  at  (low  stack) 
stationary  sources.  There  are  also  some  additional  costs  for  road  transport  for 
implementing  road-pricing  schemes  and  the  introduction  of  LPG/CNG  buses.  Both 
these  measures  also  lead  to  the  reduction  of  other  pollutants.  All  costs  have  been 
allocated  to  PMio control  which  implies  a  insignificant  overestimate  (less  than  5%) 
of the  costs.  The  benefits  of  reducing  non-PM10  emissions  are,  however,  not 
accounted  for. 

An estimate of the distribution  of costs over  the Member  States  is hampered  by the 
lack of air quality data for  a number of countries. For those countries for  which data 
for  several  cities  were  available  mid-point  cost  estimates  for  those  cities  are  as 
follows:  France  ECU 24-57  million;  Germany  ECU 35-105  million;  Luxembourg 
ECU 0.6-1.1;  the Netherlands  ECU  1.3-3.2;  Spain  ECU 25-57  million  and  the  UK, 
34 

no  cost.  For  countries  with  only  one  city  covered  estimates  are:  Portugal 
ECU 0.3-0.8  million and  Sweden ECU 0.8 million. 

Because of the absence of air quality data for  other cities it is virtually  impossible to 
make  a  reliable  estimate  of  the  costs  of  meeting  standards  everywhere  in  the 
Community.  If the air quality data of the 35 cities covered  is representative for  cities 
with more than  25 000  inhabitants,  the  annual  costs  for  the  Community  as  a whole 
might be a factor  5 to 6 higher. 

An  analysis  has  been  made  of  the  physical  and  monetary  benefits  of  the  proposal 
compared to current policy (the reference case) for the cities in the database. In these 
cities  16 million  out  of  38  million  inhabitants  are  expected  to  be  at  risk  in the  year 
2010  of  exposure  to  ambient  concentrations  exceeding  the  limit  values.  If  the 
proposed  standards  were  attained,  mortality  from  short-term  exposure  to  peaks  in 
PM  pollution  would  decrease  by  470-650  cases  a  year  compared  to  the  reference 
case  representing  current  policy.  Admissions  to  hospital  emergency  rooms  would 
drop by 240-560 cases per year. The number of cases of respiratory symptoms would 
fall  by  500-540  cases.  The  number  of  restricted  activity  days  would  fall  by  7 500. 
The  proposal  would  also  reduce  long-term  (chronic)  mortality  by  5 000-48 500 
cases,  respiratory  morbidity  of  children  by  around  4 500  cases  and  the  number  of 
cases with  respiratory  symptom  prevalence by some 6 500 each year.  Other  impacts 
such  as  materials  damage  have  not  been  quantified.  The  indirect  positive  health 
impacts for people living outside cities have also been neglected. 

The  monetary  valuation  has  been  restricted  to  the  health  benefits.  Section  3.2.1 
above  explains  how  the  valuation  was  done.  The  available  results  suggests  that  the 
monetary  benefits  of  the  proposed  limit  values  in  the  cities  for  which  data  are 
available range from ECU 5 000 to  51 250 million.per year. The large range is chiefly 
caused  by  the  uncertainty  in  dose-effect  functions  for  mortality  due  to  long-term 
exposure.  The  monetary  benefits  are  clearly  dominated  by  these  chronic  mortality 
impacts  (ECU 5 000  -  48 500  million).  Acute  mortality  is  less  significant,  at 
ECU 0-1 500  million/year.  Morbidity  impacts  are  estimated  at  ECU 2-5  million 
per year. The highest estimates are obtained if the impact on chronic mortality is high 
and  the  impacts  on  acute  mortality  are  valued  at  a  full  VOSL  (see  Section  3.2.1). 
Impacts  on  materials  damage  have not  been  assessed  but  are  expected  to  be  small. 
Positive  impacts  resulting  from  emission  reductions  in  the  cities  on  the  health  of 
population 
living  outside  cities  are  probably  more  important  but  have  not 
been  quantified. 

The  available  estimates  of  the  costs  and  benefits  need  to  be  compared  with  care 
(see Section  3.2.1). They show clearly show that in so far  as benefits  are  quantifiable 
and  bearing  in mind  the  limitations  inherent  in  estimation,  the  monetary  benefits  of 
meeting  the  proposed  limit  values  (ECU 5 000  to  51 250  million  per  annum)  are 
expected  significantly  to  exceed  the  costs  (ECU 50 to  300  million)  for  the  cities  at 
risk. In view of the large difference  between  costs and benefits  the conclusion  would 
also be valid  if short-term  mortality  effects  were not  valued  at  all and  the impact  on 
chronic mortality were in the lower range of the estimate. 

35 

6.7.  Opinions of affected  parties 

The  principal  of  a two-stage  process,  with  limit  values  defined  at  present  only  for 
PMio is supported  by many Member  States  as a way of  ensuring  early  action  whilst 
allowing review and adjustment  if necessary as knowledge develops.  Industry  agrees 
that targets can only be set for PMio at present.  They would  prefer  indicative targets 
only.  Spain would  prefer  limit values for  PM25.  The Netherlands  are concerned  that 
the  action  levels  for  PM2 5  for  areas  subject  to  high  concentrations  of  natural  dusts 
may  be  too  lenient.  Industry  suggests  that  it  is  premature  to  set  action  levels 
for PM2.5 and  proposes  that  simple derogations  should  be allowed  until further  data 
are available. 

7. 

LEAD 

7.1.  Background 

Lead  is  one  of  the  most  widely  used  non-ferrous  metals.  When  ambient  air  quality 
standards for lead were first developed it was a ubiquitous pollutant in urban air. With the 
decline  in the  use  of leaded  petrol  urban  concentrations  have  also  declined  markedly. 
When leaded petrol is no longer in use, locally elevated concentrations of lead in air will 
be a potential problem only in the immediate vicinity of certain non-ferrous  metal plants. 
Long-range transport of lead in air can result in deposition to waters and accumulation in 
soils,  even  in  remote  areas.  Deposition  rates  will  also  be  substantially  reduced  as 
emissions from petrol decline, but may still be sufficient  to result in accumulation. 

Most of the lead in air exists in the form of particles less than one micron in diameter 
except  in the immediate vicinity  of smelters where larger  particles predominate.  It is 
removed  from  the air by dry or wet  deposition.  It  contributes to  human  exposure by 
direct  inhalation,  and  via  intake  of  food,  water,  and  dust  and  soil.  For  low-level 
long-term exposure the most critical effects  of lead on human health include those on 
blood  metabolism,  on the nervous system, including the development  of intelligence, 
on foetal  development  and on blood pressure. 

7.2.  Legislation 

Council Directive 82/884/EEC of 3 December  1982 on a limit value for lead in air set 
a  maximum  annual  concentration  for  lead  in  air  of  2  ug/m3.  Member  States  are 
required to install and operate measuring  stations at places where individuals may be 
exposed  continually  for  long  periods  and  where  they  consider  that  the  limit  value 
might be exceeded. 

7.3.  Sources of lead 

Lead  is  released  into  the  environment  during  the  mining  and  smelting  of  lead  and 
other  ores,  during  the  production,  use,  recycling  and  disposal  of  lead-containing 
products  and  during  the  combustion  of  fossil  fuels  and  wood.  Emissions  from 
industry are becoming  predominant  as the use of leaded  petrol  declines. The  ferrous 
metal  industry  is the  largest  source  of  industrial  emissions,  taken  as  a whole  within 
the Community.  The non-ferrous  metal sector is smaller in total,  but  at  a local level, 
smelters  of  non-ferrous  metals  (lead,  zinc,  copper)  are  the  most  likely  sources  of 
elevated ambient concentrations of lead. 

36 

7.4.  Trends in emissions, air concentrations and deposition 

Ambient  concentrations  in  urban  areas  in  the  Community  are  now  generally  well 
below  the  present  limit  value  of  2  ug/m3.  In  most  places  they  are  below  the 
WHO  1996 Guideline of 0.5  ug/m3. In some urban centres concentrations are already 
below 0.1 |ig/mJ. General urban concentrations throughout  the Community will drop 
to this low level when leaded petrol is no longer used. 

Concentrations  in  excess  of  1 ug/mJ  still  occur  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  some 
non-ferrous  metal smelting plants. 

Deposition measurements are carried out in the immediate vicinity of industrial  plants 
in  some  Member  States.  Deposition  measurements  are  also  carried  out  in  remote 
areas with a view to assessing potential damage to ecosystems. A number of methods 
are used and their intercomparability is unclear. 

7.5.  Impact on human health and the environment 

7.5.1.  Damage to human health 

Most  people  receive  the  largest  portion  of  their  daily  lead  intake  from  food.  The 
most important pathway by which lead enters the food  chain is believed to be  fallout 
from  air  onto  the  foliage  of  plants.  Exposure  through  water  is  lower  except  in  old 
houses with  lead  pipes.  Some lead  is directly  inhaled from the  air.  The  WHO  1996 
Guideline  of  0.5  ug/m3  as an annual  average  allows  for  uptake  of  lead  emitted  into 
air by the various different  routes described above. 

Amongst  pre-school  children  ingestion  of  lead-containing  dust  and  soil  during 
outdoor  activity is thought  to be an important  exposure  route. WHO recognized  the 
importance  of deposition to  soil for this route but were not  able on current  evidence 
to develop a numerical guideline. 

7.5.2.  Damage to ecosystems. 

Deposition  of  lead  from  air  to  water  and  soils  can  have  direct  toxic  effects  on 
animals, plants and micro-organisms.  In sufficient  doses lead can inhibit plant  growth 
and microbial  decomposition  of organic  matter.  Animals high  in the  food  chain may 
be  especially  affected  owing  to  accumulation  from  repeated  intake  of  low  doses  in 
organisms further  down  the chain.  Work aimed  at  reducing  bioaccumulation  of lead 
and  other  heavy  metals  is  presently  underway  within  the  framework  of  the 
UNECE Convention  on  Long-Range  Transboundary  Air  Pollution.  Negotiations 
should  complete  soon on a heavy  metals protocol  setting  national  emission  ceilings. 
Work will then continue on the development of critical loads. 

37 

7.5.3.  The damage costs of lead pollution 

EFTEC30  has  recently  completed  an  overview  of  damage  valuation  estimates  for 
heavy metals. That  overview  reports that  the following  impacts of inhalation  of lead 
require  valuation:  IQ  points  loss  in  children,  increased  blood  pressure,  which  is 
associated  with  hypertension,  and  premature  mortality  of  babies  (neonatal  death). 
EFTEC  reports  the  following  damage  costs  attributed  to  lead  (Pb)  in  billion 
ecu per microgram Pb/m3 air for the UK as a whole: 

IQ losses 

2.2 

(95% confidence levels: 0.7-3.6) 

hypertension 

21 

(95% confidence levels:  10.8.-31.7) 

neonatal deaths 

97 

(95% confidence levels: 64.5-129.6) 

TOTAL 

120 

(95% confidence levels: 85-156) 

The  economic  value  of  an  IQ  point  is  based  on  the  expected  value  of  the  lifetime 
earnings  of  a  child  rather  than  the  Willingness-to-Pay  to  avoid  such  IQ  losses. 
Both hypertension  and neonatal death  are based  on Willingness-to-Pay.  On the basis 
of  the  total  UK  population  the  above  calculation  suggest  a  damage  costs  per 
microgram  Pb/m3  of  ECU 2 080  per  person,  of  which  ECU  1  681  would  be 
attributed to neonatal death. 

7.6.  The Commission's proposals 

7.6.1.  Protection of human health 

Populations living in the immediate vicinity of industrial sources should be afforded  a 
high degree of protection against the effects  of lead emissions. The study carried  out 
for  the  Commission  on  the  economic  aspects  of  meeting  limit  values  found  that 
concentrations are already below the WHO Guideline of 0.5  ug/m3 in the vicinity of 
some lead-emitting  industrial  sources.  It  is proposed  that  a limit  value  of 0.5  ug/m3 
should be met in remaining problem areas by 2005. 

Measurements  of  lead  in  air  are  likely  to  underestimate  potential  exposure  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  industrial  sources,  particularly  for  young  children.  The 
Commission  will  keep  under  review  developments  in  measurement  techniques  for 
heavy  metals,  including  lead.  It  will  report  to  the  Council  at  the  latest  by 
31 December 2003 on the feasibility  of developing  deposition  limit values for  lead in 
addition to, or in substitution for  limit values for  lead in air in the immediate vicinity 
of industrial plants. 

30  EFTEC(1996)  Research  into damage valuation estimates for  nitrogen based pollutants: heavy  metals 
and  persistent  organic  pollutants.  Main  report  1:  nitrogen  oxides.  Final  report  -  August  1996; 
EFTEC, London. 

38 

7.6.2.  Costs and benefits of meeting the limit value for  lead 

It  is estimated  that  10 000 to  30 000 people living around  lead  producing  plants  are 
currently  at  risk  of  exposure  to  concentrations  exceeding  the  proposed  limit  value, 
despite the fact  that  ambient  concentrations  around  these plants have decreased  as a 
result  of  economic-technological  developments.  The  costs  and  environmental 
benefits  of  the  proposal  have  been  estimated  for  those  primary  lead  smelters  for 
which  additional  measures  are  expected  to  be  needed  to  meet  the  proposed  limit 
values.  The  cost  data  have been  collected  for  a  restricted  number  of  plants  by  the 
Lead  Development  Association.  The  cost  data  vary  from  plant  to  plant  mainly  as a 
result of the particular lead producing technology in place. In view of the uncertainty 
an  upper  and  lower  range  of  the  cost-estimates  is  given.  The  annual  costs  are 
estimated  at ECU  12.3 to 41.2 million on the basis of available literature data for  the 
capacity  of  primary  smelters,  where  it  is  assumed  that  in  only  half  of  the  smelters 
additional investments would be needed to meet the proposed  standard  of 0.5  ug/m3. 
Estimates  on  the  basis  of  data  on  the  necessary  investments  supplied  by  the  Lead 
Development  Association  for  both  primary  and  secondary  smelters  suggest  that 
annual  costs  range  from  ECU 24  to  31  million  per  year.  The  distribution  of  these 
costs  over  the  Member  States  is  as  follows:  Belgium:  ECU 5.2-12.4  million; 
Germany  ECU  10.2  million;  France  ECU 4.9  million  and  the  United  Kingdom 
ECU 3.8 million. 

Data  supplied  by the Lead Development  Association  for  a small number  of  smelters 
indicates  that  the  expected  costs  vary between  0.5  to  3 %  of  the  value  of  the  lead 
sales. Depending  on the plant the annual costs can vary between  1.5  and  58% of the 
net  profits  for  those  companies  that  make  profits.  Some  companies  for  which  data 
were reported,  however, were making losses over the last few years. 

The  scarce  data  available  suggest  that  the  proposal  would  on  average  cut  the  lead 
concentrations  around  the  smelters  from  0.75  to  0.5  ug/m3.  The  consultancy  study 
conducted  indicates benefits  of ECU 3.5 to  5.8 million per year. The benefits  consist 
of a reduction in IQ point losses and decreased  mortality due to high blood  pressure. 
The loss of benefits due to IQ point losses is underestimated  since the loss of benefits 
is based  on  the  loss  of  expected  earnings  rather  than  Willingness-to-Pay.  Neonatal 
deaths were  not  included  in the mortality figures.  A study by EFTEC7  suggested  an 
increase  in  damage  costs  of  ECU 2 080/person  exposed  for  an  increase  in the  lead 
concentration  of  1  microgram/m3.  Using  the  EFTEC  value  suggest  benefits 
(decrease in  damage  costs)  of  ECU 5.2  -  15.6  million  per  year.  This  includes 
neonatal  mortality  but  still  bases  IQ  point  losses  only  on  the  earnings  lost.  The 
available  evidence  suggests  that  in  so  far  as benefits  are  quantifiable  and  bearing in 
mind  the  care  that  needs  to  be  exercised  in  comparing  costs  and  benefits 
(see Section 3.2.1),  benefits  (ECU 3 to  16 million) would  tend  to  be  lower  than  the 
costs (ECU  12-41 million). The benefits,  however,  are underestimated  since the loss 
of  earnings  rather  than  individual  willingness-to-pay  (WTP)  was  used  to  estimated 
the loss of IQ points. The relatively low costs seem to justify  the limit value. 

39 

7.7.  Opinions of affected  parties 

Member  States and industry are agreed that concentrations in most locations will fall 
well below the limit value in coming years.  Some Member  States  and NGOs  would 
prefer  to  see this  reflected  in  a more  stringent  limit  value.  Member  States  in which 
lead  emitting  industries  are  located  are  generally  in  agreement  with  the  proposed 
limit value of 0.5 ug/m3  . Belgium would  prefer  to  see a limit value of  1.0  |ig/m3,  to 
be  supplemented  or  replaced  in  due  course  by  a  deposition  limit  value  in  the 
immediate vicinity of point  sources. Industry argue for the setting of a limit value of 
1.0  }ig/m3  in  the  region  of  point  sources,  pending  development  of  a  deposition 
limit value. 

8. 

THE NEED FOR COMMUNITY ACTION -  SUBSIDIARITY 

lead 

in 
explanatory  memorandum 

The  present  proposal  amends  existing  EC  legislation  on  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen 
fulfilment  of  obligations  under 
dioxide,  particulate  matter  and 
Directive 96/62/EC.  The 
that 
Directive (COM(94)  109  final)  sets  out  reasons  for  and  the  scope  of  the  new 
framework  for  action  on  ambient  air  quality.  The  present  proposal  adheres  to  the 
principals  of  the  framework  by  setting  broad  Community-wide  ambient  air  quality 
objectives  but  leaving  to  the  Member  States  the  responsibility  for  determining  and 
taking the specific  actions which are most appropriate to local circumstance. 

accompanying 

9. 

LEGAL  BASE 

The legal  basis for  the  proposal  is Article  130S of the  Treaty.  This is also the  legal 
basis of Directive 96/62/EC. The objectives of the framework Directive and daughter 
legislation  relate to  conservation,  protection,  and  improvement  of the  quality  of  the 
environment,  and the protection of health. 

10.  DESCRIPTION OF  THE LEGISLATIVE SITUATION IN MEMBER STATES 

All Member  States have informed  the Commission that they have transposed  existing 
EC legislation  on ambient  air quality standards for  sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
particulate  matter  and lead  into  national  legislation.  Additional  legislation  is in  force 
in  some.  Details  are  given  in  the  position  papers  prepared  by  Working  Groups  on 
individual  pollutants31 and in the Commission's  recent32  report  on implementation  of 
existing air quality Directives. 

A table  showing  standards  for  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter 
and  lead  in  the  United  States  and  Japan  is  included  for  information  purposes  as 
Annex IV to this document. 

31  Available  from  the  Commission. 
32 

In preparation. Reference  to be added  when  available. 
40 

11.  EXPLANATION OF THE DETAILED PROVISIONS OF  THE PROPOSAL 

Article 1 

This Article sets out the aims of the present proposals. 

Article 2 

All'the definitions  of the Air Quality Framework  Directive  also apply within  the  daughter 
further 
legislation  accompanying 
definitions necessary for the interpretation of the present Directive. 

this  Explanatory  Memorandum.  Article  2  adds 

Article 3 

Under this Article new limit values will be set for  sulphur dioxide, to protect human health 
and the environment.  The limit values for the protection of human health are to be met by 
1  January  2005.  The  limit  values  for  the  protection  of  the  environment  are  to  be  met 
two years from the  date  on  which  the  Directive  comes  into  force.  Annex  I  sets  out  full 
details. The Article will also set an alert threshold for  sulphur  dioxide. The public must be 
informed  if it is exceeded. 

Information  will also be compiled  on concentrations  measured  over ten minutes to  enable 
an assessment to be made of the extent, if any, to which the WHO Guideline of 500 ug/m3 
is exceeded. 

Article 4 

Under  this  Article  new  limit  values  will  be  set  for  nitrogen  dioxide,  to  protect  human 
health  and  for  the  sum  of  nitrogen  dioxide  and  nitric  oxide  to  protect  ecosystems.  The 
limit values for  the  protection  of human  health  are to  be  met  by  1 January  2010.  This is 
the  same timetable  as that  of  proposals  to  combat  acidification.  The  limit  values  for  the 
protection  of  vegetation  are  to  be  met  two  years  from  the  date  on  which  the  Directive 
comes into force.  Annex II sets out full details. 

Article 5 

Article  5 will  set  new  limit  values  for  PMio to  be met  by  2005  and  a further  set  of limit 
values to  be  met  by  2010.  Member  States  will  be  required  to  measure  PM25  as  well  as 
PMio.  Plans  for  reducing  concentrations  of  PMio  must  aim  also  to  reduce  the  PM25 
fraction  of PMio. This Article also provides for the use of action levels for PM25  as targets 
in places where high concentrations  of natural  dusts  make  it  impossible to  meet  the limit 
values.. The PM2.5 fraction of particulate matter is believed to be less influenced  by natural 
sources. Action levels are less binding than limit values and are seen by the Commission as 
a first step, in the absence of data on concentrations  of PM25  in the Community,  towards 
the future  development  of limit  values for  PM2 5 for  areas  subject  to  natural  dusts  and,  if 
appropriate, for more general application. 

Under  Article  10  of  this  Directive  the  Commission  will  report  to  the  Council  and  the 
European  Parliament  at  the  latest  by  31  December  2003  on  the  latest  developments  in 
knowledge  of  particulate  matter  and  its  effects.  The  Commission  will  accompany  the 
report  by  any  proposals  for  amendments  to  limit  values  and/or  action  levels  for 
particulate matter. 

41 

Article 6 

This  Article  sets  a  new  limit  value  for  lead  in  air  and  a  date  for  its  attainment  of 
1 January 2005. 

Article 7 

This  Article  deals  with  assessment  of  concentrations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  oxides  of 
nitrogen, particulate matter and lead. It is supplemented by a number of Annexes. 

Annex  V  sets  out  the  thresholds  which  determine  which  methods  of  assessment 
(continuous  measurement,  indicative  measurement,  modelling,  objective  assessment) 
should be used in an agglomeration or other zone. 

Article  7(2)  refers  to  Annex  VI,  which  deals  with  siting  of  measurement  points,  and 
Annex VII which specifies  the minimum number of measurement  stations which should be 
installed in a zone or agglomeration if information from these stations is the sole source of 
data reported to the Commission, However,  the Air Quality Framework  Directive enables 
other methods,  such as indicative measurement  and air quality modelling to be used  in all 
zones  and  agglomerations  even  where  continuous  measurement  is  mandatory.  Where  a 
frill  analysis has  been  carried  out  the  number  of continuous  stations  required  depends  on 
the  overall  quality  of  the  information  available.  It  may be  more  or  less  than  the  number 
in  Annex  VII.  The  Commission  is  working  with  Member  States,  the 
specified 
Environment  Agency  and  other  experts  to  develop  guidance  on  the  assessment  of 
air quality in order to ensure consistency of implementation and comparability of results. 

Article  7(4)  deals  with  reference  methods  for  air  quality  measurement.  The  European 
standards  organization  CEN  is  presently  working  on  harmonisation  of  measurement 
methods  for  all  the  pollutants  dealt  with  in  these  proposals.  It  is  anticipated  that  new 
standards  will  be  available  in time  for  the  implementation  of  the  present  Directive.  This 
Article provides  for  existing reference  methods  for  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide and 
lead to be carried forward  and for a draft  CEN standard  for  sampling PM!0 to be adopted 
as a first step.  The Air Quality Framework  Directive  (Article  12) includes procedures  for 
adapting  measurement  methods  to  technical  progress  when  the  new  CEN  standards  are 
available  for  consideration.  The  same  procedures  will  enable  criteria  and  techniques  for 
other assessment  methods also to be adapted as necessary to technical progress. 

Article 8 

This  Article  requires  Member  States  to  ensure  that  up  to  date  information  on 
concentrations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter  and  lead  is easily 
available to the public. 

Article 9 

This Article sets out the timetable for replacing the requirements of Directive 80/779/EEC 
(sulphur  dioxide  and  suspended  particulates),  82/884/EEC  (lead),  and  85/203/EEC 
(nitrogen  dioxide) by the new provisions  of the Air Quality Framework  Directive  and the 
present  proposals.  Limit  values  set  by  Directives  80/779/EEC,  82/884/EEC  and 
85/203/EEC  will  remain  in  force  until  the  dates  on  which  the  new  limit  values  of  these 
proposals  must  be  met.  Most  of  the  provisions  of  Directives  80/779/EEC,  82/884/EEC 
and  85/203/EEC  concerning  air  quality  measurement  will  however  be  replaced 

42 

immediately  by  the  more  comprehensive  requirements  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework 
Directive and the present proposals. These new requirements will take effect from the date 
by which the  present  proposals  must  be transcribed  by Member  States  into  national  law. 
An exception is made for the measurement  of particulate matter. 

The  methods  for  measuring  particulate  matter  under  Directive  80/779/EEC  are  entirely 
different from the methods proposed under this Directive. It is not possible to use the new 
methods  to  assess  compliance  with  existing  limit  values  with  any  accuracy.  The 
assessment  requirements  of  Directive  80/779/EEC  with  respect  to  PM  will  therefore 
remain  in  force  until  1 January  2005,  the  proposed  attainment  date  for  first  stage  limit 
values for PMio. Under Article 6 of Directive 80/779/EEC Member States will be required 
to  monitor  using  the  old  methods  in  particular  where  limit  values  are  likely  to  be 
approached or exceeded. 

Annex III to this document provides full details. 

Article 10 

This  Article  requires  the  Commission  to  report  to  Council  and  the European  Parliament 
no  later  than  31  December  2003  on  implementation  of  this  Directive  and  progress  in 
understanding  of the pollutants with which it deals. Particular  attention will be paid to the 
results of ongoing research into the health effects  of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter 
and to the feasibility  of developing deposition limit values for lead. 

Articles  11. 12.  13. 14 

These are standard provisions. 

Annex I 

This  Annex  sets  out  limit  values,  attainment  dates  and  margins  of  tolerance  for 
sulphur dioxide. It also sets out an alert threshold. 

Annex II 

This Annex  sets  out  limit  values,  attainment  dates  and  margins  of tolerance  for  nitrogen 
dioxide and,  in the case of the limit value related  to  protection  of vegetation,  for  the sum 
of nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide (known as NOx). 

Annex III 

This Annex  sets out  limit values,  action  levels, attainment  dates and  margins  of tolerance 
for particulate matter. 

Annex IV 

This Annex sets out a limit value, attainment dates and margin of tolerance for lead in air. 

43 

Annex V  . 

This Annex sets out the upper and lower assessment  thresholds for  the four  pollutants  for 
which  limit  values  are  being  set.  These  thresholds  determine  the  intensity  of  monitoring 
activity  required  in an  agglomeration  or  other  zone.  Annex  VII  is linked.  It  sets  out  the 
default  requirement  for different  types of zone. 

Annex VI 

This  Annex  deals  with  siting  of  sampling  points  for  measurement  of  sulphur  dioxide, 
nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter  and  lead.  It  has  two  sections.  The  first  deals  with 
macroscale  siting,  which  relates  to  the type  of location  at  which  measurement  should  be 
undertaken to fulfil  the aims of the proposed^ Directive. The second deals with  microscale 
siting - details for  setting up of measurement points at suitable types of location. 

Annex VII 

This Annex  sets out  the criteria  for  determining  default  numbers  of measurement  sites in 
agglomerations  or other zones. Where the aim of a limit value is the protection  of human 
health the number  of sampling points is related to population.  The strategy will have to be 
modified  in  the  case  of  measurement  near  industrial  sources,  according  to  emission 
density, the way in which emissions are dispersed  at a particular locality and the  potential 
for exposure of the population. 

The number  of  sampling points for  the assessment  of compliance  with  limit  values  which 
aim to protect  ecosystems or other vegetation is dependant  on area. 

Annex VIII 

All  methods  of  air  quality  assessment  are  subject  to  uncertainty,  because  of  technical 
limitations,  because  of  operational  limitations  or  the  absence  of  data.  Some  of  the 
uncertainties  can  be  reduced,  for  example  in  the  case  of  measurement  by  rigorous 
programmes of quality assurance. 

Part I of this Annex sets out guidelines for the quality of the results which Member  States 
should aim to achieve as a result of different  air quality assessment methods. 

Part  II  sets  out  a minimum  dataset  which  should  be compiled  where  methods  other  than 
measurement  are  used  to  assess  air  quality.  This  dataset  includes  the  level  of  any 
uncertainties. 

Annex IX 

Annex  IX  deals  with  reference  methods  for  monitoring  and  modelling.  These 
requirements will  be  adapted  to  technical  progress  in  accordance  with  Article  12  of  the 
Air Quality Framework Directive. 

Annex X 

This Annex  lists  indicator  levels for  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide,  particulate  matter 
and lead. Information  supplied to the public should note when the indicators are exceeded. 

44 

Annex I  Reference  scenarios  for  assessment  of  economic  aspects  of  meeting 

limit values 

1.  Reference scenario for SO2 and  N02 

For  S02  and  N02  the  analysis  was  based  on  energy  projections  provided  by DG  XVII, 
extracted  from  the  so-called  Conventional  Wisdom  Scenario.  In  this  scenario,  a  20  per 
cent  increase in energy  consumption  and  a  10 per  cent  increase  in the  emissions  of  C02 
between  1990 and 2010, is envisaged. 

The emission levels resulting from current .national, EC, and international legislation were 
estimated,  given the projections  for  future  energy use. The scenario includes the directive 
on  large  combustion  plants  (88/609/EEC),  the  directive  on  sulphur  in  liquid  fuels 
(93/12/EEC),  the  IPPC-directive  (96/61/EEC),  and  directives  related  to  emissions from 
road  vehicles  as well  as  non-road  vehicles. Proposals  on  vehicle  emission  standards  and 
fuel  quality 
final,  96/0163 (COD), 
96/0164 (COD)) were also included. Mandatory technical requirements in protocols of the 
UNECE Convention  on Long-Range Transboundary  Air Pollution  and firm commitments 
by Member  States  under  these  protocols  were  taken  into  account.  The  scenario  shows 
that  if  current,  and  planned,'  legislation  is  fully  implemented  in  all  European  countries, 
emissions  of  S02 and NOx will be  reduced  by 66  and  48  per  cent,  respectively,  between 
the base year  1990 and 2010. 

auto-oil  programme 

(COM(96) 248 

(the 

The same emissions basis was used in parallel work on acidification.  The Commission has 
now  adopted  a  strategy  to  combat  acidification  and  legislation  which  proposes  further 
reductions  in  the  sulphur  content  of  liquid  fuels.  These  proposals  will  result  in  further 
reductions of emissions of both  S02 and N02 by the 2010. 

2.  Reference scenario for particulate  matter 

The sources of airborne PMio are much more diverse than those of S02  and N02  and vary 
greatly from place to  place.  This complicates greatly the process of developing  emissions 
scenarios for air quality modelling. 

The  reference  scenario  for  PMio  was  based  on  the  emissions  inventory  for  primary 
emissions compiled by TNO. City-specific  emission inventories were built by apportioning 
each  country's  PMio emission  data to  cities in proportion  to their  emissions  of NOx.  The 
calculations of emissions from fuel  combustion were made using the same energy scenario 
on  which  the  S02  and  N02  scenarios  were  based.  The  expected  development  in  NOx 
emissions was used  as a proxy  for  expected  developments  in primary  PMj0  emissions.  It 
was assumed that primary PM emissions from non-combustion  industrial sources and  from 
other  categories  such  as  mining  and  quarrying,  construction,  agriculture  and  natural 
sources would remain unchanged. 

Secondary  PM10  concentrations  are  dependent  on  emissions  of  S02  and  N02.  The 
contribution  of  secondary  PMio  was  estimated  according  to  the  reference  scenarios  for 
S02 and N02  described above. 

45 

3.  Reference scenario for lead 

The  reference  scenario  for  lead  assumes  that  leaded  petrol  will  be  banned  in  the 
Community from 2000. There is little information  in the public domain  about  ambient  air 
concentrations  of  lead  around  point  sources.  Information  about  air  quality  in  such 
locations  and  future  abatement  plans was obtained from the  industries  concerned  via  the 
Lead Development  Association. 

Annex II:  WHO  Air  Quality  Guidelines  for  Europe  1996:  Risk  estimates  for 

particulate matter 

Table 9:  Summary of relative risk estimates associated with increases of 10 p,g/m3 

in concentration of PMio and PM25 

Endpoint 

Relative Risk for PM25 (95%  Relative Risk for  PM10 (95% 
confidence interval) 

confidence interval) 

Bronchodilator use 

„. 

Cough 

Lower respiratory symptoms 

hospital 

... 

Respiratory 
Admissions 

Mortality 

1.0337 (1.0205-10470) 

1.0455(1.0227-1.0687) 

1.0345 (L0184-1.0508) 

1.0084(1.0050-1.0117) 

[ 1.0151  (1.0112-1.01910) 

|  1.0070(1.0059-1.0082) 

Table  10: Estimated number of subjects experiencing health effects  over a period of 
three days characterized  by a mean PMio concentration  of 50 or 100 ug/m3 

Health effect  indicator 

number of subjects affected  by a three-day episode of PMi0 at 

50 txg/m3 

100 ug/m3 

Mortality 

Respiratory hospital 
admissions 

Person-days of bronchodilator 
use 

Person-days of symptom 
exacerbations 

7 

6 

10 200 

12 000 

| 

3.5 

3 

5 100 

6 000 

46 

Table  11 :  Summary of relative risk estimate for effects  of long-term exposure to 
PM on morbidity  and mortality, associated with a 10 ug/m3 increase in 
the concentration  of PMi0 or PM2.5 

Endpoint 

Relative  risk  for  PM25  (95% 
confidence interval) 

Relative  risk  for  PM10  (95% 
confidence interval) 

Mortality 

1.14 (1.04,1.24) 

Bronchitis 
Symptoms 

1.34 (0.94,1.99) 

1.10 (1.03,1.18) 

1.29 (0.96,1.83) 

Table 12:  Estimated  number of subject experiencing health effects  due to long term 

exposure to a PM2.5 concentration of 10 or 20 ug/m3 over a background 
of 10 u-g/m3 

Health effect  indicator 

Number  of  subjects  affected  per  year  at  PM? 5 concentration 
over background of: 
10 ug/m3 

20u.g/m3 

Mortality 

1  200 

Number of additional children  3 350 
with bronchitis symptoms 

Number  of  addition  children  4 000 
with  lung  function  (FVC  or 
85%  of 
FEV1) 
predicted 

below 

2 400 

6 700 

8 000 

assumes population  of  1  000 000 with annual  death rate of  12 000,  a baseline  prevalence 
of  5%  for  bronchitis  symptoms  among  children,  assumed  to  make  up  20%  of  the 
population  and  a baseline prevalence of 3%  of children having a lung function  lower than 
85% of predicted. 

47 

Annex III: Schedules for repeal 

1.  Council  Directive  80/779/EEC  of  15 July  1980 on  air quality  limit  values  and 
guide  values  for  sulphur  dioxide  and  suspended  particulates  as  amended  by 
Council Directive 89/427/EEC 

Provisions to be repealed from  1 January  2005 

Article  1 

* 

Purpose 

Article 2.1 

definition  of limit value 

Article 3.1 

Member States' obligation to respect limit values 

Article 6 

Requirement  to  establish  measuring  stations  in  particular  where  limit  values 
are likely to be approached or exceeded 

Article 7.1. 7.2 

Member  States'  obligation  to  report  exceedances  of  limit  values  to  the 
Commission 

Article 8 

Obligation of the Commission to publish an annual  report 

Article 9 

Prevention of transboundary  pollution 

Article 
10.3 

10.1 

-  Measurement  methods 

Article  15 

Bringing  into force of provisions 

Article  16 

Directive is addressed to Member  States 

Annex I 

Limit values 

Annex Illb 

Reference  method  for  measurement  of  suspended  particulates  by  the  black 
smoke method 

Annex IV 

Limit values measured by gravimetric  method 

Provisions to  be  repealed  on  date  by  which  present  proposals  should  be  brought  into force  in 
Member  States 

Article 2.2 

Definition  of guide values 

Article 3.2 

Provision for derogations for identified  zones 

Article 4 

Requirement to set lower limit values in certain  zones 

Article 5 

Obligations of Member  States with respect to guide values 

Article 7.3 

Reporting of concentrations  in zones notified  under Article 4. 

Article  10.4 

Obligation for  Commission to report to the Council on measurement  methods 

Article  10.5 

Promotion of harmonisation  of measurement  methods 

Article  11 

Provisions  respecting  limit values in Article 4 zones near international  borders 

48 

Article  12 

Adaptation to technical progress 

Article  13 

Setting up of Committee for purposes of Article 12 

Article  14 

Procedures of Committee established under Article 13 

Annex II 

Guide values 

Annex Ilia 

Reference methods for sampling and analysis of  S02 

Annex V 

Reference method of analysis for SO2 

Annex B 

Standardization of the sodium bisulphite stock solution 

2. Council Directive 85/203/EEC of 7 March  1985 on air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide 

Provisions to be repealed  from  1 January  2010 

Article  1 

Purpose and scope 

Article 2 

Definitions 

Article 3.1 

Member States' obligation to respect limit values 

Article 5 

Enables Member States to set lower limit values 

Article 7.1 - 7.2  Member States' reporting obligations 

Article 8 

Obligation of the Commission to publish an annual  report 

Article 9 

Prevention of trans-boundary pollution 

Article  15 

Bringing into force of provisions 

Article  16 

The Directive is addressed to Member States 

Annex I 

Limit value 

Provisions  to  be  repealed  on  date  by  which  present  proposals  should  be  brought  into force  in 
Member  States 

Article 3.2 

Provision for derogations in identified  zones 

Article 4 

Provision for Member States to set lower limit values in identified  zones 

Article 6 

Obligation for Member States to establish measuring  stations 

Article 7.3 

Member States' reporting obligations with respect to Article 4 zones 

Article  10 

Measurement  methods 

Article  11 

Provisions applicable in Article 4 zones 

Article  12 

Adaptation  to technical  progress 

49 

Article  13 

Setting up of Committee for the purposes of Article  12 

Article  14 

Procedures of Article  13 Committee 

Annex II 

Guide values 

Annex III 

Measurement  requirements 

Annex IV 

Reference  method of analysis 

3. Council Directive 82/884/EEC of 3 December 1982 on lead in ambient air 

Provisions to be repealed  from  1 January  2005 

Article  1 

Aim and scope 

Article 2 

Setting of limit values 

Article 3.1 

Member States' obligation to respect limit values 

Article 5 

Members States'  reporting obligations 

Article 6 

Commission's obligation to publish a report 

Article 7 

Application of Directive should nçt bring about  significant  deterioration  where 

1  » 

air quality is good 

Article  12 

Bringing into force of provisions 

Article  13 
Provisions  to  be  repealed  on  date  by  which  present  proposals  should  be  brought  into force  in 
Member  States 

Directive  is addressed to Member States 

Article 3.2. 3.3 

Derogations 

Article 4 

Location of measurement  stations 

Article 8 

Measurement  methods 

Article 9 

Adaptation  to technical  progress 

Article  10 

Setting up of Committee for the purposes of Article 9 

Article  11 

Procedures of Article  10 Committee 

Annex 

Reference  methods for  sampling and analysis 

50 

ANNEX IV 

Comparable ambient air quality standards  in the United States and Japan 

United  States 

Japan 

Proposal 

Time 

Level 

Time 

Level 

Time 

Level 

Pollutant 
S 02 

N 02 

24  hours 

annual 

365  ^ig/mJ 
1  exceedance 
80  ug/m3 

-

-

-

-

1  hour 

24  hours 

-

-

24  hour 

annual 

100  ug/m3 

Lead 

annual 
Particulate  matter 

1.5  ug/m3 

-

-

260 
ug/m3 

104 
ug/m3 
-

1  hour 

24 
hours 
-

350  ug/m3 
24 
exceedances 
125  ug/m3 
3  exceedances 
-

80-120 
ug/m3 
-

-

1  hour 

200 (.tg/m3 
8  exceedances 
-

-

annual 

40  |ig/m3 

-

annual 

0.5  ug/m3 

1  hour 

24  hours 

200 
ug/m3 
PMio 
100 
ug/m3 
PM10 

-

-

-

-

24  hours 

annual 

65 o-g/m* 
PM25 
(approx.  7 
exceedances) 
150  ug/m3 
PMio 
(approx.  3 
exceedances) 
15 ug/nr" 
PM25 
50  u£/nf 
PMl0 

24 
hours 
by  2005 

annual 
by  2005 
24 
hours 
by 2010 

50 ug/m"' 
PMio 
25 
exceedances 
30  |ig/m3 
PMio 
50 ug/m3 
PMio 
7  exceedances 

annual 
by  2010 

20  ug/m3 
PM,0 

51 

PM standards 

Primary  standards  for  particulate  matter  in  the  US  employ  a  different  measurement 
method  - PM2.5 - from that  proposed  in the  EC.  The  relationship  between  the  results  of 
different  measurement  methods  varies  from  site  to  site  and  the  standards  are  difficult 
to compare. 

However,  the  proposed  primary  annual  average  US  standard  for  PM2.5 is  likely to  be of 
the  same order  of  stringency  as the proposed  EC  annual  average  limit value  for  PMio to 
be met by 2010.  The timescale for  meeting the US  standard  is also  comparable.  The US 
24-hour standard  is less demanding.  It is anticipated  however that  emission reductions will 
generally be determined by the annual average standard.  The daily standard  is expected  to 
provide extra leeway only for local sources with intermittent  emissions. The US  standards 
for  PMio  are  secondary  standards  to  tackle  remaining  problems  of  visibility.  A  lower 
degree of legal obligation attaches to these standards. 

The Japanese standards do refer to PMio, as proposed  for the new EC standards. However 
they were put in place in 1973, well before the emergence of recent evidence on the health 
effects  of particles.  The  Japan  Clean  Air Programme  will  shortly  begin  a major  study  of 
motor vehicle environmental  pollution.  It will include detailed  investigation  of  particulate 
matter in the light of present concerns. 

52 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE 
relating to limit values for  sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, 
particulate matter and lead in ambient air 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 

Having  regard  to  Council  Directive  96/62/EC  of  27  September  1996  on  ambient  air 
quality assessment  and management33, and in particular Article 4(1) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission34, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee35, 

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  189c  of  the  Treaty,  in 
cooperation with the European  Parliament36, 

Whereas,  on  the  basis  of  principles  enshrined  in  Article  13 Or  of  the  Treaty,  the 
European Community programme  of policy and action in relation to the environment  and 
sustainable  development  (the  fifth  Environment  Action  Programme37)  envisages  in 
particular  amendments  to  existing  legislation  on  air  pollutants;  whereas  the  said 
programme recommends the establishment of long-term air quality objectives; 

Whereas  Article  129  of  the  Treaty  provides  that  health  protection  requirements  are  to 
form  a  constituent  part  of  the  Community's  other  policies;  whereas  Article  3(o)  of  the 
Treaty  provides  that  the  activities  of the  Community  are to  include  a contribution  to  the 
attainment of a high level of health protection; 

Whereas  particles  which  can  be  inhaled  and  may  penetrate  deeply  into  the  lungs  are  a 
matter  of  public  health  concern;  whereas 
information  should  be  collected  on 
concentrations  of  particulate  matter  which  may  penetrate  most  deeply  into  the  lung; 
whereas  there  is  evidence  that  risks  to  human  health  associated  with  exposure  to 
man-made  particulate  matter  are  higher  than  risks  associated  with  exposure  to  naturally 
occurring  particles  in  ambient  air;  whereas  the  best  means  of  preventing  diseases 
associated  with  exposure  to  man-made  particulate  matter  is  to  reduce  concentrations 
thereof in ambient air; 

Whereas  vegetation  should  be  protected  against  the  adverse  effects  of  nitrogen  dioxide 
and of nitric oxide; 

33  OJL  296, 21.11.1996, p. 55. 
34 
35 
36 
37  OJC  138,  17.5.1993, p. 5. 

53 

Whereas Directive 96/62/EC provides that the numerical limit values and alert thresholds 
are to be based on the findings of work carried out by international scientific groups active 
in  the  field;  whereas  the  Commission  is  to  take  account  of  the  most  recent  scientific 
research data in the epidemiological  and. environmental  fields  concerned  and of the most 
recent  advances  in  metrology  for  re-examining  the  elements  on  which  limit  values  and 
alert thresholds are based; 

Whereas Directive 96/62/EC requires action plans to be developed for zones within which 
concentrations  of pollutants in ambient  air exceed  limit values plus applicable temporary 
margins  of  tolerance  in  order  to  ensure  compliance  with  limit  values  by  the  date(s) 
specified; whereas in so far as they relate to particulate matter such action plans and other 
reduction  strategies  should  aim to  reduce  concentrations  of fine particles  as  part  of the 
total reduction in concentrations of particulate matter; 

Whereas limit values  for the protection  of ecosystems  or vegetation  should  not  apply in 
the immediate vicinity of agglomerations and other developments; 

Whereas  standardized  accurate  measurement  techniques  are  an  important  element  of 
assessment of ambient air quality; 

Whereas up-to-date information on concentrations of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, 
particulate matter and lead in ambient air should be readily available to the public; 

for 

values 

Whereas  Council  Directive  80/779/EEC  of  15  July  1980  on  air  quality  limit  values 
particulates38, 
and  guide 
Council Directive 82/884/EEC of 3 December  1982  on a limit value for  lead  in the air39 
and Council Directive 85/203/EEC of 7 March 1985 on air quality standards for nitrogen 
dioxide40; all those Directives, as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland 
and Sweden, should be repealed, 

suspended 

sulphur 

dioxide 

and 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

Article  1 

Objectives 

The aims of this Directive are: 

-  to  establish  limit  values  and,  as  appropriate,  alert  thresholds  for  concentrations  of 
sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead in ambient air designed 
tp avoid,  prevent or reduce harmful  effects  on human health and the environment as a 
wjiole; 

-  to assess concentrations of sulphur dioxide,  oxides of nitrogen,  particulate matter and 

lead in ambient air on the basis of common methods and criteria; 

38  OJL229,  30.8.1980, p. 30. 
39  OJL378,  31.12.1982, p. 15. 
40  OJL87.  27.3.1985, p. 1. 

54 

- 

to  obtain  adequate  information  on  concentrations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  oxides  of 
nitrogen,  particulate matter and lead  in ambient  air and ensure that  it is made available 
to the public; 

- 

to  maintain  ambient  air  quality  where  it  is  good  and  improve  it  in  other  cases  with 
respect to sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and lead. 

Article 2 

Definitions 

The definitions  in Article 2 of Directive 96/62/EC shall apply. 

For the purposes of this Directive: 

(1)  "oxides of nitrogen" shall mean nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide; 

(2)  "PMio"  shall  mean  particles  which  pass  through  a  size  selective  inlet  with  a 

50% efficiency  cut-off at  10 urn aerodynamic diameter; 

(3)  "PM2.5"  shall  mean  particles  which  pass  through  a  size  selective  inlet  with  a 

50% efficiency  cut-off at 2.5 urn aerodynamic diameter; 

(4)  "upper  assessment  threshold"  shall  mean  the  level  of  pollution  referred  to  in 

Article 6(3) of Directive 96/62/EC; 

(5)  "lower  assessment  threshold'  shall  mean  the  level  of  pollution  referred  to  in 

Article 6(4) of Directive 96/62/EC; 

(6)  "public  information  indicator"  shall  mean  a  level  of  pollution  such  that,  if  it  is 
exceeded over a given period, this fact  shall be recorded  in information  disseminated 
pursuant to Article 8 of this Directive. 

Article 3 . 

Sulphur dioxide 

1.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  concentrations 
of sulphur  dioxide  in  ambient  air,  as  assessed  in  accordance  with  Article  7,  do  not 
exceed  the  limit  values  set  out  in  Section  I  of  Annex  I  as  from  the  dates 
specified  therein. 

The  margins  of tolerance  set  out  in  Section  I  of  Annex  I  shall  apply  in  accordance 
with Article 8 of Directive 96/62/EC. 

2.  The alert  threshold  for  concentrations  of sulphur  dioxide  in ambient  air is set  out in 
Section II of Annex I. Details supplied to the public in accordance with Article  10 of 
Directive  96/62/EC  shall  include  as  a  minimum  the  items  listed  in  Section  III 
of Annex I. 

55 

3.  Member  States shall record  data on concentrations of sulphur dioxide averaged  over 
ten  minutes  from  measuring  stations  at  which  hourly  concentrations  are  measured. 
Member  States  shall  report  to  the  Commission  the  98th  and  99th  percentile  of 
10-minute concentrations measured within the calendar year at the same time as data 
are supplied on hourly concentrations. 

Article 4 

Oxides of nitrogen 

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that concentrations of nitrogen 
dioxide,  and  where  applicable  of  nitrogen  dioxide  plus  nitric  oxide,  in  ambient  air,  as 
assessed  in accordance with Article 7, do not exceed the limit values  set  out  in  Section I 
of Annex II as from the dates specified  therein. 

The margins of tolerance  set  out  in  Section  I of Annex II  shall  apply  in accordance  with 
Article 8 of Directive 96/62/EC. 

Article 5 

Particulate matter 

1.  Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  concentrations  of 
PMio  in  ambient  air,  as  assessed  in  accordance  with  Article  7,  do  not  exceed  the 
limit values set out in Section I of Annex III as from the dates specified  therein. 

The margins of tolerance  set out  in Section I of Annex III  shall  apply in accordance 
with Article 8 of Directive 96/62/EC. 

2.  Member  States  shall  install  and  operate  measuring  stations  to  supply  data  on 
concentrations  of PM2.5.  Where  possible  sampling  points  should  be  collocated  with 
sampling  points  for  PMio.  The  number  and  the  siting  of  stations  at  which  PM25  is 
measured  shall  be  chosen  by  each  Member  State  to  be  representative  of 
concentrations of PM2.5 at local and regional level within that Member State. 

Member  States shall forward  to the Commission  annually,  no later than nine months 
after  the  end  of each year,  the  arithmetic  mean,  the  median,  the  98th  percentile  and 
the  maximum  concentration  calculated  from  measurements  of  PM25  over  24  hours 
within that  year.  The 98th  percentile  shall  be calculated  according  to  the  procedure 
set out in Annex I, Section 4, to Council Decision 97/101/EC41. 

3.  Action  plans for PMio prepared  in accordance  with  Article  8 of Directive  96/62/EC 
and  general  strategies  for  decreasing  concentrations  of  PMio  shall  aim  to  reduce 
concentrations of PM2.5 as part of the total reduction. 

41  OJL35,  5.2.1997. p. 14. 

56 

4.  Exceptionally,  Member States-may designate zones or agglomerations  within which 
limit values for PMj0 are exceeded owing to  significant  concentrations of particulate 
matter  in  ambient  air  due  to  natural  sources.  Member  States  shall  send  to  the 
Commission  a  first  list  of  any  such  zones  or  agglomerations  together  with 
information  on  concentrations  and  sources  of  PMio  and  PM25  therein  within 
two years of the entry into force of this Directive. 

Within such zones or agglomerations Member States shall apply the action levels and 
margins  of  tolerance  for  PM25  set  out  in  Section  II  of  Annex  III  in  place  of  the 
limit values  and margins  of  tolerance  for PMio in determining  whether  action plans 
should be prepared in accordance with Article  8 of Directive  96/62/EC.  The action 
levels for PM2.5 shall be used as indicative targets, to be met as far as possible by the 
relevant attainment date. 

Within such zones or agglomerations the upper and lower assessment thresholds for 
PMio  set  out  in  Section  I  of  Annex  V  shall  determine  assessment  requirements. 
Continuous  measurement  stations  for  particulate  matter  shall  measure  PMÎ0 
and  PM2.5. 

Within such zones or agglomerations  information  shall  be supplied to  the public on 
concentrations of PM25 instead of concentrations of PMio. 

Article 6 

Lead 

Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that concentrations of lead in 
ambient air, as assessed  in accordance  with Article  7,  do  not  exceed  the  limit values set 
out in Section I of Annex IV as from the dates specified therein. 

The margins of tolerance set out in Section I of Annex IV shall apply in accordance with 
Article 8 of Directive 96/62/EC. 

Article 7 • 

Assessment of concentrations of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter 
and lead in ambient air 

1.  Upper  and lower  assessment  thresholds  for  sulphur dioxide,  particulate  matter and 
lead for the purposes of Article 6 of Directive  96/62/EC  are set  out in.Section  I of 
Annex V. 

The  classification  of  each  zone  or  agglomeration  for  the  purposes  of  the  said 
Article 6  should  be  reviewed  at  least  every  five  years  in  accordance  with  the 
procedure set out in Section II of Annex V. Classification  should be reviewed earlier 
in  case  of  significant  change  to  activities  relevant  to  ambient  concentrations  of 
sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide  or  where  relevant  nitrogen  dioxide  plus 
nitric oxide, particulate matter or lead. 

57 

2.  Annex  VI  sets  out  criteria  for  determining  locations  of  sampling  points  for  the 
measurement  of  sulphur  dioxide,  oxides  of  nitrogen,  particulate  matter  and  lead. 
Annex  VII  sets  out  the  minimum  number  of  continuous  measurement  stations  for 
each  relevant  pollutant  to  be  installed  in  each  zone  or  agglomeration  within  which 
measurement  is required, if measurement  is the sole source of data on  concentrations 
within it.  The method used  to  measure each relevant  pollutant  shall be the  reference 
method  specified  in  accordance  with  paragraph  4  or  a  method  which  can  be 
demonstrated by the Member State concerned to give equivalent results. 

3.  For  zones  and  agglomerations  within  which 

information 

from  continuous 
measurement  stations  is  supplemented  by  information  from  other  sources,  such  as 
emission  inventories, indicative  measurement  methods  and  air quality  modelling,  the 
number  of continuous measuring  stations to be installed  and the  spatial  resolution  of 
other techniques shall be sufficient  to enable the concentrations of air pollutants to be 
established  at  the  types  of  location  defined  in  Section  I  of  Annex  VI,  within  the 
achievable  limits  of  accuracy  set  out  in  the  guidelines  to  be  found  in  Section  I  of 
Annex VIII. 

4.  Reference  methods for  analysis of  sulphur  dioxide,  oxides of nitrogen  and  lead,  and 
for  sampling  of  lead,  PMÎ0  and  PM2.5  are  set  out  in  Sections  I  to  V  of  Annex  IX. 
Section VI of Annex IX sets out reference techniques for air quality modelling. 

5.  The date by which Member  States shall inform the Commission of the methods used 
ll(l)(d)  of 

the  preliminary  assessment  of  air  quality  under  Article 

for 
Directive 96/62/EC shall be 31 December  1999. 

6.  Any  amendments  necessary  to  adapt  this  Article  and  Annexes  V to  IX  to  scientific 
and  technical  progress  shall be  adopted  in accordance  with  the procedure  set  out  in 
Article  12 of Directive 96/62/EC. 

Article 8 

Dissemination of information  to the public 

1.  Member  States shall take appropriate  steps to  disseminate up-to-date information  on 
ambient  concentrations of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter and 
lead  to  the  public  by  means,  for  example,  of  broadcast  media,  press,  information 
screens  or  computer  network  services  and  by  notification  of  appropriate 
organizations  such  as  environmental  organizations,  consumer  organizations, 
organizations  representing  the  interests  of  sensitive  populations  and  other  pertinent 
health  care  bodies.  A  list  of  the  organizations  notified  shall  be  sent  to  the 
Commission  at  the  same  time  as  information  transmitted  under  Article  11  of 
Directive 96/62/EC. 

Such  information  shall  indicate  exceedances  of  the  public  information  indicators 
listed in Sections I to IV of Annex X. 

2.  The  public  information  indicators  of  Section  V  of  Annex  X  shall  apply  for  the 

purposes of Article 5(4) above. 

58 

3.  When  making  plans  or  programmes  available  to  the  public  under  Article  8(3)  of 
Directive  96/62/EC  Member  States  shall  also  make  them  available  to  appropriate 
organizations  such  as  environmental  organizations,  consumer  organizations, 
organizations  representing  the  interests  of  sensitive  populations  and  other  pertinent 
health  care  bodies.  A  list  of  the  organizations  notified  shall  be  sent  to  the 
Commission at the same time as the plan or programme. 

Article 9 

Repeals and transitional arrangements 

1.  Directive 80/779/EEC  shall be repealed as follows: 

Articles 2(2), 3(2), 4, 5, 7(3),  10(4),  10(5),  11 to  14, and Annexes II, Ilia and 
V shall be repealed with effect from 1  January 2000; 

Articles  1, 2(1), 3(1), 6,  7(1), 7(2), 8, 9,  10(1),  10(2),  10(3),  15, and  16, and 
Annexes I, Illb and IV shall be repealed with effect  from  1 January 2005. 

2.  Directive 82/884/EEC shall be repealed as follows: 

Articles 3(2), 3(3), 4, 8 to  11 and the Annex shall be repealed  with effect  from 
1 January 2000; 

Articles  1,  2,  3(1),  5,  6,  7,  12  and,  13  shall  be  repealed  with  effect  from 
1 January 2005. 

3.  Directive 85/203/EEC  shall be repealed as follows: 

Articles 3(2), 4, 6, 7(3)  10 to  14, and Annexes II, III and IV shall be repealed 
with effect  from  1  January 2000; 

Articles  1, 2, 3(1), 5, 7(1), 7(2), 8, 9,  15 and  16 and Annex I shall be repealed 
with effect  from  1  January 2010. 

4 

From  1 January  2000  Member  States  shall  employ  measurement  stations  and  other 
methods of air quality assessment conforming to the requirements of this Directive to 
assess  concentrations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  oxides of nitrogen  and  lead  in  ambinet  air 
to  obtain  data  for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  compliance  with  the  limit  values 
established 
and 
Directive 85/203/EEC  until  such  time  as  the  limit  values  established  by  those 
Directives are repealed. 

80/779/EEC,  Directive 

by  Directive 

82/884/EEC 

Article 10 

Report 

The  Commission  shall  submit  to  the European  Parliament  and  the  Council  not  later  than 
31 December  2003  a report based  on experience of the application  of this Directive,  and 
in particular  on the results of the most recent  scientific  research concerning the effects  on 
human  health  of  exposure  to  sulphur  dioxide,  to  different  fractions  of  particulate  matter 
and to  lead,  and  on  progress  achieved  in methods  of  measuring  and  otherwise  assessing 
concentrations of particulate matter in ambient air and the deposition  of lead on  surfaces. 

59 

Article 11 

Implementation 

1.  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. 

When Member  States  adopt  these  provisions, these  shall  contain  a reference  to  this 
Directive  or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such  reference  at  the  time  of  their  official 
publication. The procedure for such reference  shall be adopted by Member States. 

2.  Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions 

of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. 

Article 12 

Penalties 

The Member  States shall lay down the system of penalties for infringement  of the national 
provisions  adopted  pursuant  to  this  Directive  and  shall  take  all  necessary  measures  to 
ensure  that  they  are  applied.  The  penalties  thus  provided  for  must  be  effective, 
proportionate  and  dissuasive.  The  Member  States  shall  notify  the  relevant  provisions  to 
the Commission by 31 December  1999 at the latest  and  shall notify  it of any  amendments 
to them without delay. 

Article 13 

Entry into force 

This Directive  shall enter  into force  on the twentieth  day following  that  of its  publication 
in the Official Journal oj the European Communities. 

Article 14 

Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

60 

ANNEX I 

LIMIT VALUES AND ALERT THRESHOLDS  FOR SULPHUR DIOXIDE 

I.  Limit values for sulphur dioxide 

Limit  values  shall  be  expressed  in  ug/m3.  The  volume  must  be  standardized  at  the 
following  conditions of temperature and pressure: 293°K and  101.3 kPa 

Averaging 
period 

Limit value 

Margin of 
tolerance 

350ug/m3 not to 
be exceeded 
more than 
24 times per 
calendar year 

125ug/m3 not to 
be exceeded 
more than 
3 times per 
calendar year 

1. Hourly  limit value 
for the protection 
of human  health 

1 hour 

2. Daily limit value 
for the protection 
of human  health 

24 hours 

3. Limit value for 

the protection of 
ecosystems, to 
apply away  from 
the  immediate 
vicinity of sources 

calendar year 
and winter 
(1 October to 
31 March) 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2005 

150ug/m3(43%) 
on entry into force 
of this Directive, 
reducing linearly on 
1 January 2001  and 
every7 12 months 
thereafter  to reach 
0% by 1  January 
2005." 

none 

1 January 2005 

20ug/m3 

none 

two years from 
entry into force 
of the Directive 

61 

ri.  Alert threshold for sulphur dioxide 

350ug/m3 measured  over  three  consecutive  hours  at  locations  representative  of  air 
quality  over  at  least  100km2  or  an  entire  zone  or  agglomeration,  whichever  is 
the smaller. 

III.  Minimum  details  to  be  supplied  to  the  public  when  the  alert  threshold  for 

sulphur dioxide is exceeded 

Details to be supplied to the public should include as a minimum: 

•  date, hour and place of the occurrence 

• 

forecasts: 

-  change in concentrations (improvement, stabilisation, or deterioration) 

- 

reason for occurrence and expected change 

-  geographical area concerned 

-  duration 

• 

type of population potentially sensitive to the occurrence 

•  precautions to be taken by the sensitive population  concerned. 

62 

LIMIT VALUES FOR NITROGEN  DIOXIDE AND NITRIC OXIDE 

ANNEX II 

I. 

Limit values for nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide 

Limit  values  shall  be  expressed  in  ug/m3.  The  volume  must  be  standardized  at  the 
following  conditions of temperature and pressure: 293°K and  101.3 kPa 

Averaging 
period 

Limit value 

Margin of 
tolerance 

1. Hourly  limit  value 

1 hour 

for the protection of 
human  health 

200ug/m3 NO, 
not to be 
exceeded more 
than 8 times per 
calendar year 

2. Annual limit value 

calendar year 

40ug/m3NO2 

for the protection of 
human  health 

50% on entry into 
force of this 
Directive, reducing 
linearly on 
1 January 2001  and 
every  12 months 
thereafter to reach 
0% by  1  January 
2010 

50% on entry into 
force of this 
Directive, reducing 
linearly on  1 
January 2001  and 
every  12 months 
thereafter  to reach 
0% by  1  January 
2010^ 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2010 

1 January 2010 

3. Annual  limit value 

calendar year 

for the protection of 
vegetation to apply 
away from the 
immediate vicinity of 
sources 

30ug/m3 NO + 
N02 

none 

two years  from 
entry into force of 
the Directive 

63 

LIMIT VALUES AND ACTION LEVELS FOR PARTICULATE  MATTER 

ANNEX HI 

I.  Limit values for particulate matter 

Limit value 

Margin  of tolerance 

Averaging 
period 

24 hours 

50ug/m3 PM10 
not to be 
exceeded more 
than 25* times 
per year 

calendar year 

30ug/m3PM]0 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2005 

1 January 2005 

50% on entry into force 
of this Directive, 
reducing linearly on 
1 January 2001  and 
every  12 months 
thereafter  to reach 0% 
by  1  January 2005 

50% on entry into 
force of this Directive, 
reducing linearly on 
1 January 2001  and 
even»' 12 months 
thereafter  to reach 0% 
bv  1  January 2005 

24 hours 

50 ug/m3 PMio 
not to be 
exceeded more 
than 7 times 
per year 

calendar year 

20ug/m3 PM,0 

[to be derived from  data 
and to be equivalent to 
the Stage  1  limit value] 

1 January 2010 

1 January 2010 

50% on  1  January 
2005 reducing linearly 
eveiy  12 months 
thereafter  to reach 0% 
bv  1  January 2010 

Stage 1 

1. 24-hour  limit 
value for the 
protection of 
human  health 

2. Annual limit 
value for the 
protection of 
human  health 

Stage 2 

1. 24-hour  limit 
value for the 
protection of 
human  health 

2. Annual limit 
value for the 
protection of 
human  health 

Where  exceedances  are  associated  with  unusual  acute  effects,  the  number  of 
exceedances permitted  shall be reduced to  14 times per year. 

64 

II.  PM2 5 action levels for the purposes of Article 5(4) 

Averaging 
period 

Action level 

Margin  of tolerance 

1. 24-hour 

24 hours 

action level 
for  the 
protection of 
human  health 

40ug/m3 PM2 5 
not to be exceeded 
more than 14 
times per year 

calendar year 

20ug/m3PM25 

2. Annual  action 
level for  the 
protection  of 
human  health 

50% on entry into 
force of diis 
Directive, reducing 
linearly on  1  January 
2001 and every • 
12 months  thereafter 
to reach 0% by 
1 January 2005 

50% on entry into 
force of this 
Directive, reducing 
linearly on  1  January 
2001 and every 
12 months  thereafter 
to reach 0% by 
1 January 2005 

Date by which 
action level 
should  be met as 
far  as possible 

1 January 2005 

1 January 2005 

65 

ANNEX  IV 

Date by which 
limit value is to 
be met 

1 January 2005 

LIMIT VALUE FOR LEAD 

I. 

Limit values for lead 

Averaging 
period 

Limit value 

Margin  of tolerance 

calendar year 

Goug/m"' 

Annual limit 
value for the 
protection of 
human  health 

100% on entry into 
force of this 
Directive, reducing 
linearly on 1  January 
2001 and every 
12 months  thereafter 
to reach 0% by 
1 January 2005 
* 

66 

ANNEX V 

DETERMINATION  OF REQUIREMENTS  FOR ASSESSMENT OF 
CONCENTRATIONS  OF SULPHUR DIOXIDE, OXIDES OF NITROGEN, 
PARTICULATE MATTER AND LEAD IN AMBIENT AIR WITHIN A 
ZONE OR AGGLOMERATION 

I.  Upper and lower assessment thresholds 

The following upper and lower assessment thresholds shall apply: 

a.  Sulphur dioxide 

Health  protection 

Ecosystem  protection 
60% of winter limit value 
(12 ug/nr") 

60% of 24-hour limit value, 
(75 ug/m3 not to be exceeded 
more than 3 times per calendar 
year) 
40% of 24-hour limit value (50  40% of winter limit value 
l^g/nr' not to be exceeded more 
than 3  times per calendar year) 

(8 ug/nr ) 

Upper 
assessment 
threshold 

Lower 
assessment 
threshold 

b.  Nitrogen  dioxide 

Hourly  limit value 
for  the protection of 
human  health 

Annual  limit  value 
for  the protection  of 
human  health 

70% of limit value 
(32 ug/m3) 

Annual  limit 
value for  the 
protection  of the 
vegetation 

70% of limit value 
(21  ug/m3) 

65% of limit value 
(26 ug/m3) 

65% of limit value 
(19.5  ug/m3) 

Upper 
assessment 
threshold 

Lower 
assessment 
threshold 

60% of limit value 
(120 ug/m3 not to be 
exceeded more than 
8 times per calendar 
year) 
50%) of limit value 
( 100 ug/m3 not to be 
exceeded more than 
8 times per calendar 
year) 

67 

c.  Particulate matter 

The upper and lower assessment thresholds for PMio are based on the limit values to 
be met by  1  January 2010. 

Upper 
assessment 
threshold 

Lower 
assessment 
threshold 

24-hour  average 

60% of limit value 
(30 |J.g/m3 not to be 
exceeded more than 7 times 
per calendar year) 
40% of limit value (20|ig/m3 
not to be exceeded more 
than 7 times per calendar 

1  year) 

| 

Annual  average 
70% of limit value 
(14 [xo/nf ) 

50% of limit value 
(10 ug/m3) 

d:  Lead 

Upper assessment  threshold 
Lower assessment  threshold 

70% of limit value (0.35 ug/m3) 
50% of limit value (0.25 ug/nr) 

Annual  average 

II.  Determination  of exceedance of upper and lower assessment threshold 

Exceedance  of  upper  and  lower  assessment  thresholds  shall  be  determined  on  the 
basis  of  concentrations  during  the  previous  five  years  where  sufficient  data  are 
available. An assessment  threshold  shall be judged  to  have been exceeded  if the total 
number of exceedances  of the  numerical  concentration  of the threshold  during those 
five years exceeds three times number of exceedances allowed per year. 

Where  fewer  than  five  years'  data  are  available  Member  States  may  combine 
measurement  campaigns  of  short  duration  during  the  period  of  the  year  and  at 
locations likely to be typical of the highest  pollution levels with results obtained with 
information  from  emission inventories and modelling to determine exceedances of the 
upper and lower assessment  thresholds. 

68 

ANNEX VI 

LOCATION OF SAMPLING POINTS FOR ASSESSMENT OF 
CONCENTRATIONS  OF SULPHUR DIOXIDE, OXIDES OF NITROGEN, 
PARTICULATE MATTER AND LEAD IN AMBIENT AIR 

The following  considerations apply to continuous and quasi-continuous  measurement. 

I.  Macroscale siting 

a. 

Protection of human health 

Sampling points directed at the protection of human health should be sited: 

(i) 

to  provide  data  on  the  areas  within  zones  and  agglomerations  where  the 
highest  concentrations  occur to which the population is likely to be directly or 
indirectly exposed for  a period which is significant  in relation to the  averaging 
period of the limit value(s); 

(ii) 

to  provide  data  on  levels  in other  areas within  the  zones  and  agglomerations 
which are representative of the exposure of the general  population,  and which 
provide information  for air quality management  purposes. 

Sampling  points  should  in  general  be  sited  to  avoid  measurement  of  very  small 
microenvironments in their immediate vicinity. 

Sampling  points  may  be  representative  of  similar 
immediate vicinity. 

locations  not 

in 

their 

b. 

Protection  of ecosystems and other vegetation 

Sampling points targeted  at the protection of ecosystems or other vegetation  should 
be  sited  to  be  representative  of  air  quality  away  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
sources such  as agglomerations  and other built-up  areas, industrial  installations and 
roads.  As  a  guideline  a  sampling  point  should  be  sited  to  be  representative  of  air 
quality in a surrounding area of at least  1  000km2. 

II.  Microscale siting 

As a minimum the following  guidelines should be met as far as practicable: 

• 

The flow  around the  inlet  sampling  probe  should  be unrestricted  without  any 
obstructions  affecting  the  air  flow  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sampler  (normally 
some metres away from  buildings, balconies, trees, and other obstacles and at 
least  0.5  metres  from  the  nearest  building  in  the  case  of  sampling  points 
representing air quality at the building line); 

69 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

In  general,  the  inlet  sampling  point  should  be  between  1.5m  (the  breathing 
zone)  and  4m  above  the  ground.  Higher  positions  (up  to  8m)  may  be 
necessary  in some circumstances. Higher  siting may also be appropriate  if the 
station is representative of a large area; 

the inlet probe should not be positioned  in the very near vicinity of sources in 
order to avoid direct intake of emissions unmixed with ambient air; 

the  sampler's  exhaust  outlet  should  be  positioned  so  that  recirculation  of 
exhaust air to the sample inlet is avoided; 

traffic-orientated  samplers  should  be  at  least  25  metres from major  junctions 
and should be no less than 4m from the centre of the nearest traffic  lane; 

traffic-orientated  samplers  for  the  measurement  of  NO2  should  be  sited  less 
than 5 metres from the kerb side; 

in  built-up  areas, 
the  measurement  of 
particulate  matter  or  lead  should  be  sited  to  be  representative  of  air  quality 
close to the building line. 

traffic-orientated 

samplers  for 

The following  factors  may also be taken into account: 

interfering  sources; 

security; 

access; 

availability of electrical power and telephone communications; 

visibility of the site in relation to its surroundings; 

safety of public and operators; 

the desirability of collocating sampling points for different  pollutants; 

planning requirements. 

III.  Documentation  and review of site selection 

The  site  selection  procedures  should  be fully  documented  at the classification  stage 
by such means as compass point photographs of the surrounding and a detailed map. 
Sites should be reviewed  at regular intervals with repeated  documentation  to  ensure 
that selection criteria remain valid over time. 

Member  States  intending  to  close or  move measurement  stations  established  under 
Directives  80/779/EEC,  82/884/EEC  and  85/203/EEC  for  the  assessment  of 
lead  shall  supply 
concentrations  of  sulphur  dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide  and 
information  to support this decision to the Commission. 

70 

ANNEX VH 

CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING NUMBERS OF SAMPLING POINTS FOR 
CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF CONCENTRATIONS  OF 
SULPHUR DIOXIDE, OXIDES OF NITROGEN, PARTICULATE  MATTER 
AND LEAD IN AMBIENT AIR 

I.  Minimum  number  of  sampling  points  for  continuous  measurement  to 
assess compliance  with  limit  values  for  the  protection  of  human  health  and 
alert  thresholds  in  zones  and  agglomerations  where  continuous  measurement 
is the sole source of information 

If maximum 
concentrations  are 
between the  upper 
and  lower 
assessment 
thresholds 
1 
I 
1 
2 
2 
3 

. 

4 
4 
5 

For  SO2, in  agglomerations 
where maximum 
concentrations  are below 
the lower  assessment 
threshold 

2 
2 
2 
2 

a.  Diffuse  sources 

Population of 
agglomeration 
or zone 

If  concentrations 
exceed the upper 
assessment 
threshold 

250 000 
500 000 
750 000 
1 000 000 
1 500 000 
2 000 000 
2 750 000 
3 750 000 
4 750 000 
6 000 000 

2 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
For N02 and 
particulate matter: to 
include at least one 
urban background 
station and one 
traffic-orientated 
station 

b. 

Point sources 

For the assessment  of pollution  in the vicinity of point  sources, the-number of 
sampling points for  continuous  measurement  should  be  calculated  taking  into 
account  emission  densities,  the  likely  distribution  patterns  of  ambient  air 
pollution and potential exposure of the population. 

71 

II.  Minimum  number of  sampling  points  for  continuous  measurement  to assess 
compliance  with  limit  values  for  the  protection  of  ecosystems  or  other 
vegetation in zones other than agglomerations 

If maximum concentrations exceed 
the upper assessment threshold 

1 station per 20 000km2 

If maximum concentrations are 
between the upper and lower 
assessment threshold 
|  1  station per 40 000km2 

72 

DATA QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND COMPILATION OF RESULTS OF AIR 
QUALITY  ASSESSMENT 

ANNEX  VIII 

I. 

Data quality  objectives 

The  following  data  quality  objectives,  for  required  precision  and  accuracy  of 
assessment  methods,  and  of  minimum  time  coverage  and  data  capture  of 
measurement  provided to guide quality assurance programmes. 

Nitrogen dioxide and 
sulphur dioxide 

Particulate matter and lead 

Continuous measurement 

Accuracy and precision of 
individual measurements 
Minimum data capture 
Minimum time coverage 

15% 

90% 
100% 

Indicative measurement 

Accuracy and precision of 
individual measurements 
Minimum data capture 
Mminimum time coverage 

25% 

90% 
20% (every fifth  day, or 
ten weeks evenly 
distributed over the year, 
or at random throughout 
the year) 

25% 

90% 
100% 

50% 

90% 
20% (every fifth  day, or 
ten weeks evenly distributed 
over the year, or at random 
throughout the year) 

Modelling 

Daily averages 
Monthly averages 
Annual averages 

Objective estimation 

50% 
40% 
30% 

75% 

p.m. 

50% 

100% 

73 

II.  Results of air quality assessment 

The following  information  should be  compiled  for  zones  or  agglomerations  within  which 
information  from 
sources  other  than  measurement  are  employed 
measurement,  or as the sole means of air quality assessment: 

to  supplement 

•  a description of assessment activities carried out; 

•  spécifie methods used, with references to descriptions of the method; 

•  sources of data and  information; 

•  a description  of results, including uncertainties and in particular,  the extent  of any area 
or,  if  relevant  the  length  of  road  within  the  zone  or  agglomeration  over  which 
concentrations  exceed  limit  value(s),  or  as  may  be  limit  value(s)  plus  applicable 
margin(s)  of tolerance  and  of  any  area  within  which  concentrations  exceed  the  upper 
assessment threshold or the lower assessment area; 

•  for  limit  values  whose  object  is  the  protection  of  human  health,  the  population 

potentially exposed to concentrations in excess of the limit value. 

Where possible  Member  States  should  compile maps showing  concentration  distributions 
within each zone and agglomeration. 

74 

REFERENCE METHODS FOR ASSESSMENT OF CONCENTRATIONS  OF 
SULPHUR DIOXIDE, OXIDES OF NITROGEN, 
PARTICULATE MATTER AND LEAD 

ANNEX IX 

I. 

Analysis of sulphur dioxide 

[Annex  V  of  Council  Directive  80/779/EEC  of  15  July  1980  on  air  quality  limit 
values and guide values for sulphur dioxide and suspended particulates] 

U.  Reference  method of analysis of oxides of nitrogen 

[Annex  IV  of  Council  Directive  85/203/EEC  of  7  March  1985  on  air  quality 
standards for nitrogen dioxide] 

III.  Sampling  method and reference  method of analysing the concentration  of lead 

in air 

[Annex  of  Council  Directive  82/884/EEC  of  3  December  1982  on  lead  in 
ambient air] 

IV.  Reference  method for sampling PMio 

The  reference  method  used  to  sample  PMio  shall  be  the  method  described  in 
prEN1234142. 

V.  Reference  method for sampling PM2.s 

p.m. 

VI.  Reference  modelling  techniques 

p.m. 

42  "Âir Quality  - Field  lest Procedure  to demonstrate reference  equivalence of sampling  methods  for  the 

PMi o fraction  of particulate  matter". 

75 

ANNEX X 

PUBLIC INFORMATION  INDICATORS 

I. 

Public information  indicators for sulphur dioxide 

Concentration 

Averaging time 

Type of station 

Hourly  health  protection 
indicator: 35Qug/m 
Daily health  protection 
indicator:  125jng/m3 

j  h o uf 

24 hours 

any 

Vegetation  protection 
ind.cator:  20^g/m 

o n e y e ar 

station targeted at 
protection of vegetation 

II.  Public information  indicators for oxides of nitrogennitrogen  dioxide 

Concentration 

Averaging time 

Type of station 

Short-term  health  indicator: 
200 ug/m3 NQ2 
Long-term  health  indicator: 
40jng/m3 NQ2 
Vegetation  indicator:  30 ug/m3 
NO + NQ2 

1 hour 

one year 

one year 

any 

any 

station  targeted  at 
protection  of vegetation 

HI 

Public information  indicators for PMJ0 

Concentration 

Averaging time 

Type of station 

Short-term  health  indicator: 
50ug/m3 
Long-term  health  indicator: 
30ug/m3 

24 hours 

one year 

I 

any 

any 

I 

76 

IV.  Public information indicator for lead 

0.5ug/m3 measured over a calendar year 

V.  Public information indicators for PM25 for the purposes of Article 5(4) 

Concentration 

Averaging time 

Type of station 

Short-term health indicator: 
40 ng/m3 
Long-term  health indicator: 
20 u/gm3 

24 hours 

one year 

I 

any 

any 

| 

VI. 

Standardization 

For sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen the volume must be standardized at the 
following conditions of temperature and pressure: 293°K and 101.3 kPa. 

77 

IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM 

The Impact of the Proposal on Business with Special Reference to 
Small and Medium-Sized  Enterprises (SMEs) 

TITLE OF THE PROPOSAL 

Proposal  for  a Directive of the Council Relating to  Ambient  Air Quality Limit  Values  for 
Sulphur Dioxide, Oxides of Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter and Lead. 

Reference Number (Repertoire): 

1. 

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, WHY IS 
COMMUNITY  LEGISLATION  NECESSARY  IN THIS  AREA  AND  WHAT 
ARE ITS MAIN AIMS? 

On  27  September  the  Council  adopted  Directive  96/62/EC  1996  on  Ambient  Air 
Quality Assessment and Management (the Air Quality Framework Directive). As the 
Explanatory Memorandum to this Directive explained43, it provides a framework  for 
future  EC legislation on air quality. It  is fully  in line with objectives  of Article  130r 
of  the  Treaty,  which  include  preservation,  protection  and  improvement  of  the 
quality of the environment  and  protection  of human  health.  It  is aimed  in particular 
at  fulfilling  the  objectives  of  the  5th  Action  Programme  for  ambient  air  quality. 
These  are  the  effective  protection  of  the  population  of  the  Community  against 
recognized 
the  establishment  of  permitted 
concentrations  of  air  pollutants  which  take  into  account  the  protection  of 
the environment. 

from  air  pollution  and 

risks 

Article 4 of the Air Quality Framework  Directive requires the Commission to bring 
forward  daughter proposals filling in the framework  which it provides for  individual 
pollutants.  Daughter  proposals  will,  amongst  other  things,  establish  air  quality 
limit values  and  elaborate  requirements  for  assessing  levels  of  pollution.  The  first 
pollutants  to  be  dealt  with  are  those  for  which  EC  legislation  already  exists. 
They are: 

sulphur dioxide (Council Directive 80/779/EEC of  15 July  1980); 
nitrogen dioxide (Council Directive 85/203/EEC of 20 December 1985); 
particulate matter (Council Directive 80/779/EEC of  15 July  1980); 
lead (Council Directive 82/884/EEC of 3 December  1982). 

Limit  values  were  established  early  for  these  substances  owing  to  their  ubiquity  in 
the  atmosphere  and  the  importance  of their  potential  effects  on  human  health  and 
the  environment.  They  remain  the  first  priority  for  further  action  under  the 
Air Quality  Framework  Directive.  Implementation  of  the  existing  legislation  has 
revealed  a  number  of  areas,  including  harmonisation  of  assessment  strategies  and 
reporting  of  information,  which  require  further  attention.  In  addition,  research  into 

43  COM(94)  109 final,  4 July 1994. 

78 

the effects  of air pollution has continued  since the above legislation came into force. 
The  present  proposals  will  update  limit  values  in  the  light  of  the  results  of  this 
research. 

2.  WHO WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSAL? 

Which  Sectors of industry? 

The  present  proposals  fix  objectives  for  ambient  air  concentrations  of  sulphur 
dioxide,  nitrogen  dioxide  (or,  in  some  circumstances,  the  sum  of  nitrogen  dioxide 
and nitric oxide), particulate matter and lead. Existing and planned EC legislation on 
emissions from vehicles and industry, and other internationally agreed  action will go 
a long way towards  meeting these targets.  It  is left  to  Member  States to  determine 
what  further  local  action  should  be taken  in  order  to  improve  air  quality  in  those 
places where there is a risk that limit values may still not be met. The Directive does 
not  therefore  directly  impose  requirements  on  industry  and  the  impact  may 
vary from  place 
to  place  depending  on  Member  States'  decisions  about 
suitable measures. 

Clearly  however  some  sectors  are  more  likely  to  be  affected  than  others  by  the 
proposed  limit  values  for  the  various  substances.  A  study  carried  out  for  the 
Commission  by the Institute  for  Environmental  Studies  (IVM)  at  Vrije  Universiteit 
Amsterdam44  has evaluated  economic impacts including the measures most likely to 
be cost-effective  as part  of local action plans. The study looked  at regional  level air 
quality  and  at  cities  for  which  air  quality  data  were  available.  It  took  into  account 
expected  reductions in emissions as a result of existing EC legislation,  the proposals 
resulting  from  the Auto-Oil  I  programme  and firm  commitments by Member  States 
to  reduce  sulphur emissions within the framework  of the United  Nations  Economic 
Commission  for  Europe  Convention  on Long-Range  Transport  of  Air Pollution.  It 
did  not  take  account  of the  strategy  subsequently  developed  by the  Commission  to 
combat  acidification. 

Sulphur dioxide 

The  economic  evaluation  carried  out  for  the  Commission  found  that  some  9%  of 
cities  studied,  containing  23%  of  the  population  analysed,  remain  at  risk  of  not 
meeting  proposed  limit  values  by  2010  on  current  trends.  A  further  reduction  in 
emissions  of  some  10%  over  current  trends  would  be  needed  to  meet  the  limit 
values.  This  would  in  general  be  achieved  most  cost-effectively  by  reductions  in 
emissions from industrial processes and by use of low sulphur fuels. 

Since the study was carried  out the Commission has brought  forward  a strategy  for 
combating acidification,  accompanied by proposals to reduce the sulphur content  of 
heavy  fuel  oil  from  1 January  2000  and  of  gas  oil  from  1 January  199945.  This 
measure  will  contribute  greatly  to  meeting  the  proposed  limit  values by the  earlier 
date  of  1  January  2005.  Further  local  action  may  be  required  in  some  areas, 
depending on patterns of local fuel use and of industrial and domestic emissions. 

44  Economic  Evaluation  of  Air  Quality  Targets  for  Sulphur  Dioxide,  Nitrogen  Dio.xide,  Fine  and 

Suspended Particulate Matter and Lead:  Second Interim  Report. 

45  COM(97) 88 final, 12.3.1997. 

79 

These  proposals  are not  expected  to  have any  significant  effect  on  the  importation 
of heavy fuel  oil from  countries outside the EC. 

Oxides of Nitrogen 

Of the  cities  investigated  some  31%, including  33% of  the  population  covered  by 
the analysis, remain  at risk of not  meeting proposed  limit values by 2010  after  new 
emission  limits  for  road  vehicles  and  other  trends  in  emissions  are  taken  into 
account.  A  further  reduction  in  emissions  of  some  8%  would  be  needed  to  meet 
limit values in these cities. The options for achieving these reductions are: 

traffic  management (i.e. road pricing) - the most cost-effective  action; 

the  introduction  of  buses  fuelled  with  Liquid  Petroleum  Gas  (LPG)  or 
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG); 

further  measures  to  control  emissions  from  stationary  sources.  (This  is 
generally  the  least  cost-effective  option  because  such  many  sources  are 
located away from  the areas most at risk.) 

Traffic  management  would  impact  on  all  road  users  within  a  locality.  The 
introduction  of  alternative  fuels  for  buses  would  affect  transport  providers,  bus 
manufacturers  and  fuel  providers. No  estimate  can be given  of the  sectors  affected 
by  measures  to  reduce  emissions  from  stationary  sources.  This will  depend  on  the 
pattern of industrial development  in localities at risk. 

Particulate matter 

Particulate  matter  is  a  complex  mixture  rather  than  a  single  pollutant.  There  are 
many ways of measuring it, each of which provides a different  indicator  of the mix. 
The  present  Directive  proposes  limit  values  for  particulate  matter  measured  as 
PMio46  Many  different  sources  contribute  to  concentrations  of  PMio.  PMio  is 
emitted  directly by combustion  sources. Road  transport  is an  important  contributor 
in  population  centres.  Domestic  and  industrial  combustion  can  also  be  locally 
important.  Many industrial  processes  emit  PMio and  there  are  a number  of  natural 
sources such as sea salt and wind-blown  dusts. PMin is also formed  as a  secondarv 
pollutant from  reactions between  emissions of other pollutants, primarily  SO2, NO2, 
ammonia and volatile organic compounds. 

Data  on  future  trends  in  emissions  are  available  only  for  combustion  sources.  The 
study  carried  out  for  the  Commission  took  these  trends  into  account  for  both 
primary  and  secondary  PMi0.  On this basis  some  70% of the  cities  included  in the 
analysis, with 60% of the study population, are at risk of not meeting proposed limit 
values bv 2010. 

46  The mass of particulate  matter  less than  10 microns in diameter.  This  method  of measuring  particles 
is relatively new. Existing EC legislation uses older methods to indicate concentrations of particles. 

80 

If  limit  values  are  to  be  met  throughout  the  Community  further  measures  will  be 
necessary at EC and local level. The Auto-Oil  II programme  is presently  looking at 
the cost-effectiveness  of further  measures to reduce emissions of PMio from mobile 
and  stationary  sources.  The  Commission  will  bring  forward  proposals  for  vehicle 
emission  standards  and  fuel  quality  standards  resulting from the  programme  by  the 
end of 1998. Measures taken under the IPPC Directive will further  reduce emissions 
from 
local  action  will  be  determined  by 
Member States and will depend on the pattern of sources in a given locality. 

industrial  installations.  Additional 

Lead 

With  the  phasing  out  of  lead  in  petrol  concentrations  of  lead  in  ambient  air  are 
expected  to  fall  to  well  below  the  proposed  limit  value  of  0.5ug/m3  everywhere 
except  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  certain  industrial  sources.  The  main  sector 
affected  is lead  smelting.  Smelters of other  non-ferrous  metals may also give rise to 
relatively  high  emissions  of  lead.  It  has  been  suggested  by  industry  that  some 
manufacturers  of lead-acid  batteries  may also be affected  by the  proposals but  data 
are not available. 

Which Sizes of Business? 

It is not possible to analyse in detail the size of business potentially affected  for  S02, 
N02,  and PMio,  since local  action plans will depend  on the distribution  of emission 
sources  in  the  particular  area  at  risk.  It  is  likely  however  that  small  and  medium 
enterprises  will  bear  control  costs  for  these  pollutants.  In  the  case  of  SO2 in 
particular,  reductions  in process  emissions  have been  identified  as part  of the  most 
cost-effective  package  for  meeting  proposed  limit  values.  Larger  industries  are 
already tightly regulated  and costs in some areas may therefore  fall  mainly on small 
and  medium  enterprises.  Case  studies  carried  out  using  information  on  lead  plants 
supplied  by  the  Lead  Development  Association  cover  about  half  the  European 
production  capacity.  It  is expected  that  action  beyond  that  already  planned  will  be 
necessary  mainly  at  some  primary  and  secondary  non-ferrous  smelters.  Sales  and 
employment  figures  supplied  to  the  Commission  suggest  that  none  of  these  falls 
within the definition  of a small or medium-sized  enterprise. 

Overall impact 

A  study  of  economic  impacts  carried  out  for  the  Commission  indicated  that 
exceedances of proposed limit values for  S02, N02,  and particulate were likely to be 
confined  to  cities.  Exceedances  of  the  proposed  limit  value  for  lead  would  be 
confined  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  certain  industrial  plants.  For  the  cities  for 
which air quality data are available, and for industrial plants which emit lead, overall 

81 

costs  have  been  estimated  at  ECU 0.1  to  0.7  billion  per  year.  Benefits  for  these 
locations  have  been  estimated  and  where  possible  a  monetary  value  has  been 
assigned to them. The total is ECU 5.5-60 billion per year47. 

The low estimates for costs are those for emissions reductions needed  to reduce the 
average  city  concentration  to  meet  the  limit  values.  The  high  estimates  make 
allowance  for  further  reductions  to  deal with  peak  concentrations.  The large  range 
for  particulate matter reflects  uncertainties in data  on both emissions and  abatement 
costs.  The ranges for  benefit  estimates  reflect  uncertainties  in dose-effect  functions 
and in valuation of mortality. 

If  the  cities  studied  are  representative  of  the  cities  in  the  EC  as  a  whole, 
extrapolation  suggests that  overall costs may vary between ECU 0.3  and  2.9 billion 
per year.  Benefit  estimates have not been  extrapolated.  Dose-response  relationships 
for  some  health  outcomes  appear  to  be  linear.  Additional  reductions  in  emissions 
within  cities  should  reduce  impacts  on  populations  in  neighbouring  regions.  These 
cannot be captured by extrapolating the estimates for cities alone. (See Table 1). 

Tablel.  Costs and benefits  (ECU  million/year) 

Pollutant 

Estimated costs 
for cities with 
data 

Estimated  benefits 

Estimated 

% for cities with data  Community-wide  costs 

Sulphur dioxide 
Nitrogen  oxides 
Particulate 
matter 
Lead 

4 - 48 
5-285 

50 - 300 
12-  40 

85 - 3 784 
408-5  900 
5 000 - 5 1250 

3.5- 

5.8 

1 2 - 1 50 
15-  855 
250 -  1  500 

12-  4048 

Total 

71-673 

5497-60940 

299-2  875 

47  Estimated  benefits  relate  mainly  to  human  health  and  are  derived  partly  by  use  of  the  concept  of 
Value of Statistical  Life  (VOSL). This  is a measure  of Willingness to Pay to avoid  certain  risks.  It is 
not a measure of the value of life. Benefit figures do not such items as damage to valuable  ecosystems 
or  cultural  heritage,  to  which  monetary  values  cannot  be  easily  assigned.  Estimated  costs  include 
control  costs only.  See  Section  3 of the  explanatory  memorandum  accompanying  the  proposals  for a 
full  discussion. 
Costs  for  lead  relate  to  specific  industrial  sites,  not  to  the  general  urban  environment  and  arc 
therefore  not  extrapolated. 

48 

82 

Are  There  Particular  Geographical  Areas  of  the  Community  Where 
These Businesses Are Found? 

Sulphur dioxide 

Problem areas are most likely to be found  in southern Member States. Some cities in 
northern Europe in which coal  is still  an important  source of domestic  heating may 
also remain at risk. 

Oxides of Nitrogen 

*•** 

Of  the  cities  studied  those  most  at  risk  of  not  meeting  limit  values  are 
concentrated  in. southern  Member  States.  More  limited  local  action  may  also  be 
required elsewhere. 

Particulate matter 

For  PMio  the  database  on  present  air  quality  covers  only  35  cities.  No  data  are 
available  for  Austria,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Ireland,  Italy,  Greece  and  Finland.  This 
limits  the  possibilities  for  extrapolating  results  and  for  analysis  of  geographical 
differences  in  impact.  Available  data  suggest  increasing  trends  in  concentrations 
within  the  Community  from  north  to  south  and  from  west  to  east.  Some  of  this 
trend  may  be  due  to  the  greater  contribution  from  natural  sources  in  the  drier 
southern Member  States. The Commission's proposals include special provisions  for 
areas where there are high concentrations of natural PMio. 

Lead 

The concentration  of lead in air in the immediate vicinity of an industrial  installation 
depends  on  a  number  of  factors,  including  the  capacity  and  design  of  the  plant. 
Case-by-case  information  obtained  from  industry  suggests  that  the  proposed  limit 
value  will  not  be  met  by  the  application  of  BAT  alone  near  certain  industrial 
installations in Belgium, Germanv, France and the United Kingdom. 

3.  WHAT  WILL  BUSINESS  HAVE  TO  DO  TO  COMPLY  WITH 

THE PROPOSAL? 

Existing  EC  legislation  on  emissions  from  vehicles  and  industry,  and  other 
internationally  agreed  action  will  do  much  to  ensure  that  limit  values  are  met  in 
many  parts  of  the  Community.  The  cost-effectiveness  of  further  EC.measures  in 
respect  of  mobile  sources  and,  where  appropriate,  stationary  sources  also,  will  be 
considered  during  the  Auto-Oil  II  programme.  It  is  left  to  Member  States  to 
determine  the  most  appropriate  additional  according  to  local  circumstance  where 
this is still necessary.  For sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter a 
range  of  options  is  likely  to  be  available.  For  lead,  it  will  be  necessary  to  reduce 
emissions  from  some  industrial  plant,  particularly  fugitive  emissions  from  certain 
primary and secondary non-ferrous  metal smelters. 

83 

4.  WHICH ECONOMIC EFFECTS IS THE PROPOSAL  LIKELY TO HAVE? 

On Employment and Investment and the Creation of New Businesses 

The additional costs entailed in meeting proposed new limit values for  SO2 and NO2 
are  small  and  are  not  expected  to  have  a large  impact  on  business.  The  additional 
costs  for  meeting  limit  values  for  PMi0  are  low  relative  to  the  GDP  of  the 
Community  as  a whole,  but  are  subject  to  greater  uncertainty.  The  Commission's 
proposal for  a two-stage  strategy takes account of this uncertainty.  The limit values 
for  the  vehicle  related  pollutants  (NO2 and  particulate  matter)  will  encourage  the 
wider  use  of  vehicles  fuelled  by  cleaner  fuels  such  as  CNG  and  LPG,  and  the 
development  of  new  technologies,  such  as  particle  traps,  for  reducing  exhaust 
emissions  from  conventionally  fuelled  vehicles.  Estimated  investment  costs  for 
individual  lead  production  plants vary from 0.5  to  3% of the lead  sales.  Additional 
costs  for  the  sources  of  pollution  should  be  offset  against  increased  sales,  value 
added  and  employment  for  those  sectors which  supply  the abatement  technologies. 
The  positive  effects  on  employment,  investment  and  the  creation  of  new  business 
will  be  amplified  by  the  quality  of  the  value  added,  since  in  it  based  on  newly 
developed technologies, thereby stimulating technical progress. 

On the Competitiveness of Business 

The  proposals  are  not  expected  to  affect  the  competitiveness  of  most  sectors. 
Individual  lead production  plants, particularly  older  plants which tend  to have  most 
difficulty  in managing fugitive  emissions and those  plants which  are already  making 
losses are most likely to be adversely  affected. 

5.  DOES  THE  PROPOSAL  CONTAIN  MEASURES  TO  TAKE  INTO 
ACCOUNT  THE  SPECIFIC  SITUATION  OF  SMALL  AND  MEDIUM 
SIZED FIRMS (REDUCED OR DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS, ETC)? 

Given  that  the  proposals  set  ambient  air  quality  standards,  rather  than  imposing 
direct  requirements  on  business,  no  explicit  provisions  are  made  for  small  and 
medium-sized  enterprises. 

However,  the  framework  of  the  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  is  designed  to 
limit the impact  of actions resulting from daughter legislation,  with the major  effort 
in  terms  of  monitoring  and  remedial  measures  concentrated  in  the  areas  where 
pollution levels are highest. 

Of the four  pollutants dealt with in the present  proposals, particulate matter  has the 
greatest  potential  impact  on  human  health.  The  emissions  database  and  possible 
abatement  options  for  particulate  matter  are  however  less  well-developed  for 
particulate matter than for  other pollutants. The present  proposals therefore  set up a 
two  stage process for  particulate matter,  with a first set of limit values to be met by 
1 January  2005  and  a second  more stringent  set to  be  met by  1 January  2010.  The 
Commission  will  report  to  Council  and  Parliament  by  31  December  2003  at  the 
latest  on  the  most  recent  advances  in  scientific  and  technical  knowledge  of 
particulate  matter  and  its effects  and may propose amendments to  the  second  stage 
targets  if appropriate.  The two  stage process will  provide  Member  States  with  the 
flexibility  to  set  different  timetables  for  any  local  requirements  for  different  sectors 
or different  sizes of business. 

84 

6. 

CONSULTATION 

In  preparing  its  proposals  the  Commission  has  drawn  on  position  papers 
prepared by  small  technical  working  group,  consisting  of  experts  from  five  or 
six Member  States,  industry,  NGOs,  the  European  Environment  Agency,  the 
•  World Health  Organization,  representatives  of  other  international  scientific  groups 
and the Commission.  During  1996 and  1997 the Commission  held  four  meetings of 
the  Steering  Group  on  Ambient  Air Pollution  to  discuss  the  progress  of  this  work 
and  of  the  separate  economic  evaluation  (8-9  February  1996,  2-3  May  1996, 
17-18 December  1996,  13-14  February  1997).  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the 
position  of  the  Industry  organizations  as  expressed  at  the  last  meeting  held  on 
13-14 February and in subsequent  correspondence. 

Sulphur dioxide 

UNlCE  considers that  the  attainment  date  for  meeting  the  new  limit  values  should 
be  2010  in  view  of  the  investments  that  industry  is  already  making  to  reduce 
emissions under previously  agreed  measures.  These  previously  agreed  measures  do 
not include proposals to reduce the sulphur content  of certain liquid fuels from 1999 
and  2000.  These  further  measures  will  result  in  early  additional  reductions  in 
emissions  of  SO2 in the  areas  where  the  population  is most  at  risk  of  exposure  to 
concentrations  above  the  proposed  limit  values.  In  the  light  of  this,  and  of  recent 
studies in Europe  and the United  States which  suggest  associations between  health 
outcomes  and  changes  in  concentration  of  SO2 at  concentrations  below  the  WHO 
Guidelines  on which  the proposed  limit  values  are based,  the  Commission  believes 
that an attainment date of 2005 is desirable and practical. 

Nitrogen dioxide 

UNICE  considers  that  the  proposed  hourly  limit  value  200  ug/m3  as  a  99.9th 
percentile  of  values  measured  throughout  the  year  will  be  difficult  to  meet, 
particularly  around  point  sources. 200  |J.g/m3 is the hourly WHO Guideline for  N02 
for the protection  of human health.  A limit value of 200  ug/m3 as a 98th  percentile 
of hourly values measured  throughout  the year has been  in force  since  1 July  1987 
under  Council  Directive  85/203/EEC.  This  means  that  the  concentration  may  be 
exceeded  for  178  hours  during  the  year.  Information  supplied  by  Member  States 
shows that  this existing  limit  value  is widely  met,  with  problems  remaining  only in 
some  southern  Member  States  owing,  to  local  climatic  conditions..  Emissions  of 
NO2 are  expected  to  decline  across  the  Community  from  13 370  ktons  in  1990  to 
6 291  ktons  by  2010  as  a  result  of  actions  agreed  or  adopted  by  the  Commission 
prior  to  1997. The  acidification  strategy  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Commission 
will  result  in  further  reductions  beyond  this.  The  Commission  considers  that  the 
proposed  new limit value for N 02  is a practical  advance in the protection  of human 
health against air pollution. 

Particulate matter 

UNICE's general concern about uncertainties with respect to the effects  of pollution 
and  costs  of  abatement  is  strongest  for  particulate  matter.  They  agree  that  a  two 
stage  process  to  particulate  matter  is  sensible.  They  suggest  however  that 
provisional limit values only should be set until further  data are available. 

85 

The  Air  Quality  Framework  Directive  does  not  envisage  the  setting  of  such 
provisional limit values. Action both to reduce concentrations and to gather the data 
which  will  enable  goals  and  strategies  to  be  further  refined  as  progress  is made  is 
linked to binding limit values. The Commission considers that the two  stage process 
which will be initiated  by the  present  Directive  provides the  necessary  platform  for 
progress.  It  believes,  in  the  light  of  recent  studies  on  health  effects  of  particulate 
matter that practical first steps must be taken to reduce concentrations of as soon as 
possible. It agrees that the strategy for  dealing with this pollutant  in the Community 
must  nevertheless  provide  for  the  further  refinement  of  goals  and  measures  once 
more information has become available as a result of these first steps. The two  stage 
strategy  which  will  be  initiated  by the  present  proposals  is  a  sound  basis  for  both 
immediate action and adaptation to developing knowledge. 

Lead 

UNICE  argue  that  special  conditions  should  be  established  for  lead  in  air  in  the 
immediate vicinity of identified  industrial plants, which can be shown to be unable to 
meet  the  proposed  limit  value  of 0.5  M,g/m3 by  2005  by  application  of BAT  alone. 
They suggest  a limit value of  1.0  ug/m3, to be reviewed  in 2003.  The review would 
consider whether  revised  standards  could be set for  2010, and in particular  whether 
a setting a deposition limit value might better address lead in the immediate vicinity 
of  such  plants.  The  Commission  notes  that  concentrations  in  the  vicinity  of  some 
lead  smelters  are  already  below  0.5  /ugm\  It  is  not  therefore  persuaded  of  the 
necessity to  set a higher limit value for  others.  It agrees that the technical  feasibility 
of  developing  a  deposition  limit  value  for  lead  should  be  kept  under  review.  It 
therefore  proposes to report further  on lead to Council and the European Parliament 
by 31 December 2003 at the latest. 

86 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 500  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

14  12 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-97-525-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-25796-6 

Office  for  Official  Publications of the European  Communities 

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87