Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the treatment of waste containing persistent organic pollutants in thermal and metallurgical production processes
Date: 2008-07-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: air quality, environmental protection, metallurgical industry, organic pollution, power plant, public health, thermal pollution

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 16.7.2008 
COM(2008) 462 final 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council as regards the treatment of waste containing persistent 
organic pollutants in thermal and metallurgical production processes 

(presented by the Commission) 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Article 7(2) of Regulation 2004/850/EC on persistent organic pollutants provides that waste 
consisting  of,  containing  or  contaminated  with  persistent  organic  pollutants  is  treated  in 
accordance  with  Annex  V  of  this  Regulation  in  such  a  way  that  the  persistent  organic 
pollutant content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed. Under Articles 7(6) and 14(3) the 
Commission may adapt Annex IV and V to the scientific and technical progress. According to 
Articles  14(3),  17(1)  and  17(2)  the  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Committee 
established by Art 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC, repealed by Directive 2006/12/EC. 

The  Commission  submitted  a  draft  Regulation  amending  Annex  IV  and  V  for  vote  in  the 
Committee established under Art 18 of Directive 2006/12/EC on 7 May 2008. There was no 
qualified majority for the draft Regulation. 

Thus according to the procedure set out in Article 5 of Decision 468/1999/EC a proposal for a 
Council Regulation is submitted to Council. If Council has not acted within three month from 
the  date  of  referral  of  the  proposal,  the  proposed  measures  shall  be  adopted  by  the 
Commission. 

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Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council as regards the treatment of waste containing persistent 
organic pollutants in thermal and metallurgical production processes 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, 

Having  regard  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  29  April  2004  on  persistent  organic  pollutants  and  amending  Directive 
79/117/EEC1, and in particular Article 7(6) and Article 14(3) thereof, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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2 

At  the  eighth  meeting  of  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  to  the  Basel  Convention 
updated  general  technical  guidelines  for  the  environmentally  sound  management  of 
waste  consisting  of,  containing  or  contaminated  with  persistent  organic  pollutants 
(Decision  VIII/16)  were  adopted.  The  subsection  on  thermal  and  metallurgical 
production of metals was added to the section IV.G.2 dealing with the destruction and 
irreversible transformation. 

The  update  of  the  guidelines  should  be  reflected  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004, 
because  they  provide  a  relevant  source  for  scientific  and  technical  progress  in  the 
treatment of wastes containing persistent organic pollutants. 

The  updated  guidelines  also  define  the  levels  of  destruction  and  irreversible 
transformation  necessary  to  ensure  that  the  characteristics  of  persistent  organic 
pollutants are not exhibited. The methods should inter alia not exceed the atmospheric 
emissions  value  for  polychlorinated  dibenzo-p-dioxins  (PCDDs)  and  polychlorinated 
dibenzofurans (PCDFs) of 0.1 ng TEQ/Nm3. This value is identical to the air emission 
limit value laid down in Directive 2000/76/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste2. Because it is essential to 
require  that  the  facilities  for  the  treatment  of  waste  containing  persistent  organic 
pollutants  meet  the  emission  limit  values  for  PCDDs  and  PCDFs  laid  down  in 
Directive  2000/76/EC  those  limit  values  should  be  applied  whether  or  not  the 
processes are subject to that Directive. 

The  updated  general  technical  guidelines  on  persistent  organic  pollutants  also 
recommend in section IV.G.1 to separate the part of waste equipment which contain or 
is  contaminated  with  persistent  organic  pollutants.  This  requirement  clarifies  the 
implementation  of  pre-treatment  operations  as  referred  to  in  Part  1  of  Annex  V  to 

OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 7 , as corrected by OJ L 229, 29.6.2004, p. 5 and OJ L 204, 4.8.2007, p. 28. 
Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 323/2007 (OJ L 85, 27.3.2007, p. 3). 
OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 91. 

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Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004.  Therefore  Part  1  of  Annex  V  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 
850/2004 should be amended accordingly. 

(5) 

The  toxic  equivalent  factors  used  in  Annexes  IV  and  V  to  Regulation  (EC)  No 
850/2004 to calculate concentration limits for PCDDs and PCDFs were updated by the 
World Health Organisation in 2005 on the basis of latest scientific information. This 
should be reflected in Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004. 

(6) 

The measures provided for in this Regulation are the most appropriate to ensure a high 
level of protection of human health and environment. 

(7) 

Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Annexes  IV  and  V  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/2004  are  amended  in  accordance  with  the 
Annex to this Regulation. 

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 2 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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ANNEX 

Annexes IV and V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 are amended as follows: 

1. 

Annex IV is amended as follows: 

Footnote (**) is replaced by the following: 

"The  limit  is  calculated  as  PCDD  and  PCDF  according  to  the  following  toxic 
equivalency factors (TEFs): 

PCDD 

2,3,7,8-TeCDD 

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD 

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD 

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD 

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD 

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD 

OCDD 

PCDF 

2,3,7,8-TeCDF 

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF 

2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF 

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF 

2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF 

1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF 

OCDF 

TEF 

1 

1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.01 

0.0003 

TEF 

0.1 

0.03 

0.3 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.01 

0.01 

0.0003 

". 

2. 

(a) 

Annex V is amended as follows: 

Part 1 is amended as follows: 

(a)  the  following  is  added  after  “R1  Use  principally  as  a  fuel  or  other  means  to 

generate energy, excluding waste containing PCBs”: 

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"R4  Recycling/reclamation  of  metals  and  metal  compounds,  under  the  following 
conditions:  The  operations  are  restricted  to  residues  from  iron-  and  steel-
making processes such as dusts or sludges from gas treatment or mill scale or 
zinc-containing  filter  dusts  from  steelworks,  dusts  from  gas  cleaning  systems 
of copper smelters and similar wastes and lead-containing leaching residues of 
the  non-ferrous  metal  production.  Waste  containing  PCBs  is  excluded.  The 
operations  are  restricted  to  processes  for  the  recovery  of  iron  and  iron  alloys 
(blast furnace, shaft furnace and hearth furnace) and non-ferrous metals (Waelz 
rotary  kiln  process,  bath  melting  processes  using  vertical  or  horizontal 
furnaces), provided the facilities meet as minimum requirements the emission 
limit  values  for  PCDDs  and  PCDFs  laid  down  in  Directive  2000/76/EC, 
whether  or  not  the  processes  are  subject  to  that  Directive,  and  without 
prejudice  to  the  other  provisions  of  Directive  2000/76/EC  *  where  it  applies 
and to the provisions of Directive 96/61/EC. 

(*)  Directive  2000/76/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  4 
December 2000 on the incineration of waste (OJ L 332, 28.12.2000, p. 91)." 

(b) the following sentence is inserted before the last sentence: 

"Where  only  part  of  a  product  or  waste,  such  as  waste  equipment,  contains  or  is 
contaminated  with  persistent  organic  pollutants,  it  shall  be  separated  and  then 
disposed of in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation." 

(b) 

In Part 2 footnote 6 is replaced by the following: 

"(6)  The  limit  is  calculated  as  PCDD  and  PCDF  according  to  the  following  toxic 
equivalency factors (TEFs): 

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PCDD 

2,3,7,8-TeCDD 

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD 

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD 

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD 

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD 

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD 

OCDD 

PCDF 

2,3,7,8-TeCDF 

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF 

2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF 

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF 

2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF 

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF 

1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF 

OCDF 

TEF 

1 

1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.01 

0.0003 

TEF 

0.1 

0.03 

0.3 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.1 

0.01 

0.01 

0.0003 

". 

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