CELEX: 51983PC0498
Language: en
Date: 1983-09-07
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR NITROGEN DIOXIDE

27.9.83                               Official Journal of the European Communities                          N o C 258/3
                                                             II
                                                     (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
                    Proposal for a Council Directive on air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide
                          (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 September 1983)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                      Whereas, in order to protect human health in
COMMUNITIES,                                                     particular and the environment, it is necessary to set
                                                                 for nitrogen dioxide a limit value which must not be
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                     exceeded in the territory of the Member States during
European Economic Community, and in particular                   specified periods, and this value should be based on
Articles 100 and 235 thereof,                                    the findings reached within the framework of the
                                                                 World Health Organization, particularly with regard
                                                                 to the dose/effect relationships established for this
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                 pollutant;
Having regard to the opinion of the European
                                                                 Whereas, despite the measures taken, it may not be
Parliament,
                                                                 possible to comply with the limit value in certain
                                                                 zones; whereas the Member States must therefore be
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                 allowed temporary derogations on conditions that
Social Committee,                                                they forward to the Commission plans for the gradual
                                                                 improvement of the quality of the air in these zones;
Whereas the programmes of action of the European
Communities on the environment of 1973 ('), 1977 (2)             Whereas the measures taken pursuant to             this
and 1982 (J) provide that priority is to be given to             Directive must be economically feasible            and
measures against nitrogen dioxide because of its                 compatible with balanced development;
noxiousness and the current state of knowledge of its
effects on human health and the environment;                     Whereas nitrogen monoxide, given that it has no
                                                                 noxious effect on health, constitutes an intermediate
Whereas, since any discrepancy between the                       stage in the formation of nitrogen dioxide and that it
provisions already applicable or being drawn up in               should therefore be measured to enable a check to be
the various Member States with regard to nitrogen                kept on the pollutants which can be formed
dioxide in the atmosphere could give rise to unequal             therefrom;
conditions of competition and could in consequence
directly affect the functioning of the common market,            Whereas nitrogen dioxide is also a precursor in the
the legislative provisions in this area should be                formation of photochemical oxidants; whereas,
harmonized as prescribed in Article 100 of the                   therefore, preventive action on nitrogen dioxide can
Treaty;                                                          contribute     to   reducing     the   formation     of
                                                                 photochemical oxidants;
Whereas one of the basic tasks of the European
Economic Community is to promote throughout the                  Whereas it is necessary to establish suitable
Community a harmonious development of economic                    arrangements for monitoring the quality of the air
activities and a continued and balanced expansion,                and particularly the observance of the limit value;
which is inconceivable, without measures to combat               whereas the Member States should therefore be
pollution, improve the quality of life and protect the            obliged to establish not only measuring stations to
environment; whereas, since the Treaty has not                    supply the data necessary for the application of the
provided the powers in this field, recourse must be               Directive but also stations to measure the nitrogen
 had to Article 235 of the Treaty;                                monoxide which can be converted into nitrogen
                                                                  dioxide;
 (') OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1.                             Whereas, since different sampling and analysis
 O OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 1.                                methods are applied in the Member States, it is
 O OJ No.C 46, 17. 2. 1983, p. 1.                                 necessary to permit, under certain conditions, the use
 ---pagebreak---  No C 258/4                         Official Journal of the European Communities                              27.9. 83
 of sampling and measurement methods other than the                                    Article 3
 reference methods laid down in the Directive;
                                                                1. Member States shall take the necessary measures
Whereas there is a need to provide for guide values            to ensure that as from [1 April 1986] the
 separate from the limit value which must assist the           concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere
 Member States in taking action with a view to                 outside the work place and buildings are not greater
complying with the limit value and which also                  than the limit value given in Annex I.
represent medium- and long-term air quality
objectives;
                                                               2. However, when in particular circumstances the
Whereas the subsequent development of reference                nitrogen oxide concentrations in the air in certain
methods of sampling and analysis referred to in this           declared zones are likely to exceed the limit value of
Directive may be desirable in the light of technical           Annex I beyond [1 April 1986], despite the measures
and scientific progress in this area; whereas, in order        taken, the Member State concerned shall inform the
to facilitate the implementation of the work necessary         Commission before [1 October 1985].
to this end, a procedure should be set up to establish
close cooperation between Member States and the
Commission within a Committee on Adaptation to                 It shall at the same time forward to the Commission
Scientific and Technical Progress,                             plans for the gradual improvement of the quality of
                                                               the air in these zones. These plans, drawn up on the
                                                               basis of relevant information on the nature, origin
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                                    and development of this pollution, shall describe, in
                                                               particular, the measures taken or to be taken and the
                                                               procedures implemented or to be implemented by the
                         Article 1                             Member State concerned. These measures and pro-
                                                               cedures must bring the nitrogen dioxide con-
                                                               centrations in the atmosphere within these zones to
The purpose of this Directive is to lay down:
                                                              values not exceeding the limit value given in Annex I
                                                               as rapidly as possible and by [1 April 1993] at the
1. A limit value (Annex I) for nitrogen dioxide in the         latest.
    atmosphere and lay down the conditions for the
    application thereof in order:
                                                               3. When the guide values laid down in Annex II
    — to improve the protection of human health,               are exceeded, the Member States are obliged to
                                                              provide for all suitable surveillance and/or reductions
    — to contribute, if possible, to the protection of        to prevent any risk of exceeding the limit value.
        the environment.
2. Guide values (Annex II) to assist Member States in                                  Article 4
    taking action with a view to respecting the limit
    value.
                                                               1. In the zones in which the Member State
                                                               concerned considers it necessary to limit or prevent a
                         Article 2                             foreseeable increase in pollution by nitrogen dioxide
                                                               in the wake of urban or industrial development in
                                                               particular, the Member State shall fix values lower
For the purposes of this Directive:                            than the limit value in Annex I;
'Limit value' means the concentrations of nitrogen
dioxide as defined in the table in Annex I, which must         2. In zones which the Member States concerned
not be exceeded throughout the territory of the                considers should be afforded special environmental
Member States during specified periods and under the           protection, the Member State shall fix values much
conditions laid down in the following Articles.                lower than the limit value given in Annex I.
'Guide values' means the nitrogen dioxide
concentrations set out in Annex II. If those                   3. The Member States shall inform the
concentrations are exceeded, the Member States must            Commission of the values, deadlines and timetables
exercise special vigilance and provide for measures to         they have laid down for the zones referred to in
reduce them in order to avoid exceeding the limit              paragraphs 1 and 2, and of any appropriate measures
value.                                                         they have taken.
 ---pagebreak--- 27.9.83                             Official Journal of ie European Communities                              No C 258/5
                        Article 5                             2. The Commission shall determine, before
                                                              [1 April 1985], the terms for establishing proof of this
1. The Member States shall establish measuring                equivalence.
stations designed to supply the data necessary for the
application of this Directive, in particular in zones
where the limit value referred to in Article 3 (1) is                                  Article 10
exceeded or likely to be exceeded and where the
population is likely to be exposed, as well as in the         1. Where, in accordance with Article 4 (1) and (2),
zones referred to in Article 4.                               a Member State intends to fix, in a region near a
                                                              border with one or more Member States, values for
2. In the zones referred to in Article 3 (2) and              concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere,
Article 4, the measuring stations shall be set up in          it shall hold prior consultations with the Member
accordance with the specifications laid down in               States or States concerned. The Commission shall
Annex III.                                                    be informed and, at its request, attend such
Such stations should if possible also measure the             consultations.
concentrations of nitrogen monoxide.
                                                              2. Where the limit value given in Annex I or the
                        Article 6                            values referred to in Article 4 (1) and (2) — inasmuch
                                                              as the latter values have been the subject of consul-
1. After [1 April 1986] Member States shall inform            tations in accordance with the provisions of
the Commission, not later than six months after the           paragraph 1 — are or might be exceeded following
end (31 March) of the annual reference period, of             significant pollution which originates or may have
instances in which the limit value laid down in Annex         originated in another Member State, the Member
I have been exceeded and of the concentrations                States concerned shall hold consultations with a view
recorded.                                                     to remedying the situation. The Commission shall be
                                                              informed and attend such consultations.
2. Member States shall also notify the Commission,
not later than one year after the end of the annual                                    Article 11
reference period, of the reasons for such instances
and of the measures they have taken to avoid their
recurrence.                                                  The amendments necessary to adapt the provisions of
                                                             Annexes III and IV to technical progress shall be
3. In addition, Member States shall forward infor-            taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in
mation to the Commission, at its request, on the              Article 13. These modifications shall not be such as to
concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the zones they           alter, directly or indirectly, the limit value specified in
have designated pursuant to Article 4 (1) and (2).            Annex I.
                        Article 7                                                      Article 12
The Commission shall periodically publish a summary
report on the application of this Directive.                  1. For the purposes of Article 11, a Committee on
                                                              the adaptation of this Directive to scientific and
                                                              technical progress, hereinafter called 'the Committee',
                        Article 8
                                                              shall be set up: it shall consist of representatives of
The application of the measures taken pusuant to this         the Member States, with a Commission representative
Directive must not lead to a significant deterioration        as chairman.
in the quality of the air in zones outside the urban
areas where the level of pollution by nitrogen                2. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of
dixodide at the time of implementation of this                procedure.
 Directive is low in relation to the limit value set out
 in Annex I. This provision does not imply a ban on                                    Article 13
the construction of roads to bypass urban areas.
                                                               1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is
                        Article 9
                                                              to be followed, the Committee shall be convened by
 1. For the purposes of applying this Directive, the           the chairman, either on his own initiative or at the
 Member States shall use either the reference methods          request of the representative of a Member State.
 of sampling and analysis referred to in Annex IV or
 any other method of sampling and analysis in respect          2. The Commission representative shall submit a
 of which they demonstrate to the Commission that it           draft of the measures to be taken to the Committee.
 ensures satisfactory equivalence with the results             The Committee shall give its opinion on the draft
 obtained using the method.                                    within a time limit set by the chairman having regard
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 258/6                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                  27.9. 83
to the urgency of the matter. Decisions shall be taken                                              Article 14
by a majority of 45 votes, the votes of the Member
States being weighted as provided in Article 148 (2)                    1.    The Member States shall bring into force the
of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.                             laws, regulations and administrative provisions
                                                                        necessary to comply with this Directive by [1 April
3.    The Commission shall adopt the proposed                           1986] at the latest and shall forthwith inform the
measures if they are consistent with the opinion of the                 Commission thereof.
Committee. Where the proposed measures are not
consistent with the opinion of the Committee, or if                     2.    The Member States shall communicate to the
no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without                   Commission the texts of the provisions of national
delay submit to the Council a proposal on the                           law which they adopt in the field covered by this
measures to be taken. The Council shall decide by a                     Directive.
qualified majority. If, within three months of the
proposal being submitted to it, the Council has not                                                 Article 15
acted the proposed measures shall be adopted by the
Commission.                                                            This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
                                                              ANNEX I
                                                   Limit value for nitrogen dioxide
             (expressed in ug/m3, the volume has to be standardized at a temperature of 293 °K and the
                                                       pressure of 101,3 kPa)
                              Reference period (')                             Limit value for nitrogen dioxide
                                                                                             200
                                     Year
                                                                      98 percentile calculated from the hourly mean
                                                                      values recorded throughout the year (*)
             (') The annual reference period begins on 1 April in a given calendar year and ends the following
                 year on 31 March.
             (2) To ensure that the validity of the calculation of the 98 percentile is recognized, at least 60 % of
                 the annual values must be available and, as far as possible, distributed uniformly over the year in
                 question for that particular measurement site. In the case when readings on a certain site were
                 not available over a period at longer than two weeks, the calculated percentiles must mention it.
                 The calculation of the 98 percentile on the basis of hourly mean values recorded throughout the
                 year is to be carried out as follows: the 98 percentiles must be calculated from the values actu-
                 ally measured and not from interpolated or extrapolated values. The measured values are to be
                 rounded to the nearest jig/m3. All the hourly values are to be listed in increasing order for each
                                         Xj < X2 ^ X3              ^ Xfc ^           XN-I ^ X N
                 The 98 percentile is the vaue of the component of rank k where k is calculated from the
                 following:
                                                           k = (q X N) + 1
                 where q is equal to 0,98 for the 98 percentile and to 0,50 for the 50 percentile, N being the
                 number of values actually measured. The value of (q x N) has to be rounded-off to nearest
                 integer value.
 ---pagebreak--- 27.9. 83                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                 N o C 258/7
                                                        ANNEX II
                                              Guide values for nitrogen dioxide
                               J
         (expressed in ug/m , the volume has to be standardized at a temperature of 293 °K and the
                                                  pressure of 101,3 kPa)
                             Reference period                            Guide values for nitrogen dioxide
                                                                                        50
                                                                 50 percentile calculated from the hourly mean
                                                                 values recorded throughout the year
                                  Year
                                                                                        135
                                                                 98 percentile calculated from the hourly mean
                                                                 values recorded throughout the year
         The formula given in Annex I (2) must be used in calculating these percentiles, the value of q being
         0,50 for the 50 percentile and 0,98 for the 98 percentile.
                                                        ANNEX III
                 A. The siting of measurement stations monitoring the atmospheric concentration of N 0 2
         1. For the surveillance of NO2 concentration, it is necessary to take measurements for two types of
             situation where people are exposed and where the limit value is likely to be exceeded:
             — confined spaces (e.g. street canyons),                              .
             — critical zones (e.g. affected by photochemical smog).
         2. For confined spaces, a minimum of measurement stations must be placed in a site where N 0 2
             concentrations are principally influenced by traffic emissions and where the highest N 0 2
             concentrations are likely to be found.
          3. For critical zones, the N 0 2 concentrations should be surveyed by means of stations located
             outside the direct influence of traffic with a density of three stations per 100 square kilometers.
             One station will be placed where the highest concentration is most likely encountered.
          4. The sampling intake should be located at a height of between 1,5 and 5 metres.
          5. There must be a sufficient distance between the sampling point and local fixed sources of N 0 2
             emissions in order to avoid the measurement results being influenced directly by such sources.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 258/8                           Official Journal of the European Communities                             27. 9. 83
                                           B. Operation of the measurement stations
            1. If a Member State chooses a measurement method different from the reference method of
               Annex IV, nevertheless it must consider the general recommendation concerning sampling which
               is in the reference method.
            2. The degree of precision in processing and transmitting the measured values should be at least
               equal to 5 ug/m3.
            3. The final reading of the instruments should be processed in such a way that an hourly mean may
               be calculated. These hourly mean values should be stored:
               — where the limit value has not been exceeded: until the final report by the Commission is
                    drawn up as provided for in Article 7,
               — where the limit value has been exceeded: until the measures called for in Article 3 have been
                    taken successfully.
                                                          ANNEX IV
                         Reference sampling and analysis methods to be used pursuant to this Directive
            The reference sampling and analysis methods used to plot nitrogen oxides shall be those described
            in standard ISO DP 7996.
            For these methods the language versions published by the International Standards Organization
            (ISO) and any other versions certified by the Commission as being in line with these shall be
            considered authentic.