CELEX: 51988PC0562
Language: en
Date: 1988-10-18
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES IN RESPECT OF THE TRACE ELEMENTS BORON, COBALT, COPPER, IRON, MANGANESE, MOLYBDENUM AND ZINC CONTAINED IN FERTILIZERS

No C 304/8                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                     29. 11. 88
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States in
              respect of the trace elements boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc
                                                      contained in fertilizers
                                                 COM(88) 562 final — SYN 160
                               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 27 October 1988)
                                                           (88/C 304/08)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                                        Article 2
                                                                    EEC fertilizers complying with the provisions of Article
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               1 shall be packaged.
Economic Community and in particular Article 100a
thereof,
                                                                                                Article 3
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  The content of one or more of the trace elements boron,
                                                                    cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum or zinc in
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                        the EEC fertilizers listed in Annex I to Directive
                                                                    76/116/EEC shall be declared where the following two
                                                                    conditions are fulfilled:
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
                                                                    (a) the elements are added and present at least in the
                                                                          minimum quantities specified in chapters C and D of
Whereas it is necessary to adopt measures            intended             the Annex to this Directive;
gradually to establish the internal market during     a period
expiring on 31 December 1992; whereas the              internal
                                                                    (b) the EEC fertilizers continue to satisfy the
market consists of an area without internal           frontiers
                                                                          requirements of Annex I to Directive 76/116/EEC.
within which the free movement of goods,              persons,
services and capital is guaranteed;
                                                                    Where they are the normal ingredients of the raw
                                                                    materials intended to supply major and secondary
Whereas Council Directive 76/116/EEC of 18                          elements their declaration shall be optional in the case of
December 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the               fertilizers applied to the soil.
Member States relating to fertilizers ( ! ), as last amended
by Directive 88/183/EEC (2) lays down rules on the
marketing of EEC-type solid fertilizers; whereas it has                                         Article 4
proved necessary to extend this Directive to cover trace
elements contained in fertilizers and mixtures thereof;             The compulsory markings for the identification of the
                                                                    fertilizers covered by this Directive shall be as follows:
Whereas Directive 76/116/EEC should henceforth apply
 to solid or fluid fertilizers containing certain of the trace       (a) 'EEC FERTILIZER' in capital letters,
 elements referred to in the above recital;
                                                                     (b) the designation of the type of fertilizer:
 HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                                                          — either in accordance with chapter A of the
                                                                              Annex,
                            Article 1
 1.      Solid or fluid fertilizers containing one of the                 — or as the type designation 'Mixture of trace
 trace elements boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese,                        elements', followed by the name or names of the
 molybdenum and zinc which meet the requirements of                            trace elements present or their chemical symbol,
 Chapter A of the Annex may be marked 'EEC fertilizer'.
                                                                          — or in accordance with Annex I to Directive
 2.      Mixtures of at least two of the fertilizers referred                  76/116/EEC, by adding to the type designation
 to in paragraph 1 containing at least two different                           either 'with trace elements' or 'with . . . ' followed
 fertilizers may be termed 'EEC fertilizers' if they meet                      by the names of the trace elements present or by
 the requirements of Chapter B of the Annex.                                   the chemical symbol.
                                                                           Only the numbers stating the contents of the major
 (') OJ No L 24, 30. 1. 1976, p. 21.                                       and secondary elements covered by Directive
  (2) OJ No L 83, 22. 3. 1988, p. 33.                                      76/116/EEC follow the type designation.
 ---pagebreak--- 29. 11. 88                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 304/9
     Where several trace elements are present they shall          The trace element content of a fertilizer shall be declared
     be listed in the alphabetical order of their chemical        in the following manner:
     symbols: B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Zn.
                                                                  (a) for the fertilizers referred to in Article 1 (1): in
(c) the guaranted content in respect of each nutrient and              accordance with the requirements set out in Chapter
     the guaranteed content expressed as forms and/or                  A (column 6) of the Annex.
     solubilities where these are specified in the Annexes
                                                                  (b) for the fertilizers referred to in Article 1 (2) and
     to Directive 76/116/EEC and, for each trace
                                                                       Article 3 by indicating:
     element present, as required by Article 6.
                                                                       — the total content, expressed as a percentage by
(d) where all or part of the trace element is chemically                   weight of the fertilizer (content determined
     linked with an organic molecule, the name of that                     under the conditions laid down in the methods of
     element is then followed by one of the following                      analysis provided for in Article 8 of Directive
     qualifiers:                                                           76/116/EEC.
    — 'chelated by . . . ' (name of chelating agent or its             — the water-soluble content, expressed as a
         abbreviation as set out in Chapter El of the                      percentage by weight of the fertilizer, where that
         Annex)                                                            solubility is at least half of the total content.
    — 'complexed by . . .' (name of the complexing                         Where an element is totally water-soluble, only
         organic matter, as set out in Chapter E2 of the                   the water-soluble, content shall be declared.
         Annex.
                                                                 Where an element is chemically linked with an organic
The trace element content shall be expressed as a                 molecule the quantity present in the fertilizer shall be
percentage by weight, in whole numbers for fertilizers            declared immediately following the water-soluble
only containing one trace element (Chapter A of the               quantity as a percentage by weight of the product,
annex). Where fertilizers contain several trace elements          followed by one of the terms: 'chelated by' or
the number of decimal places may, for a given element,            'complexed by' with the name of the organic mulecule as
be as set out in Chapters B, C and D of the Annex.                set out in chapter E of the Annex. The name of the
                                                                  organic molecule may be replaced by its initials.
Trace elements shall at the same time be expressed by
their literal designation and by their chemical symbol.                                        Article 7
The following shall be entered on the label or ac-               The tolerance allowed in respect of the declared trace-
companying papers, below the obligatory or optional               element content shall be:
declarations:
                                                                 — for a content of more than 2 % : 0,4 % in absolute
    'To be used only where there is a recognized need.                terms
    Do not exceed the appropriate dose rates'.
                                                                  — for a content not exceeding 2 % : 20 % of the
                                                                      declared value.
                          Article 5
Member States may authorize on their territory and on                                          Article 8
the responsibility of the person in charge of its marketing       1.    Member States shall bring into force the laws,
that dose rates and conditions of use may be stated               regulations and administrative provisions necessary in
which are suitable for the soil and crop conditions under         order to comply with this Directive by 1 January 1991 at
which the fertilizer is used. This information must be            the latest. They shall forth with inform the Commission
clearly separated from the obligatory declarations                thereof.
provided for in Article 4.
                                                                  2.    Member States shall communicate to the
                          Article 6                               Commission the text of the provisions of national law
                                                                  which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
Member States shall require that the trace-element
content of EEC fertilizers placed on the market must be                                        Article 9
stated in the form of elements (B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo,
Zn).                                                              This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 304/10                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                                        29. 11. 88
                                                                         ANNEX
                                                                      CHAPTER A
                                                     Fertilizers only containing one trace element
                   Note 1:
                  A chelating agent may be designated by means of its initials as set out in Chapter E of this Annex.
                   Note 2:
                  If the product leaves no solid residue after dissolution it may be described as 'for dissolution'.
                   Note 3:
                  Where a trace element is present in a chelated form, the pH range guaranteeing acceptable stability of the
                  chelated fraction shall be stated.
                                                                   Minimum content of nutrients                                Nutrient content to be declared;
                                         Data on method                (percentage by weight)
  Number     Type designation           of production and              data on the expression   Other data or type designation      forms and solubilities
                                       essential ingredients                of nutrients;                                              of the nutrients;
                                                                         other requirements                                              other criteria
    (1)            (2)                           (3)                             (4)                         (5)                              (6)
BORON
la       Boric acid               Product obtained by the          14 % water-soluble B         The normal trade                Water-soluble (B)
                                  action of an acid on a                                         designations may be
                                  borate                                                         added
lb       Sodium borate            Product obtained                 10 % water-soluble B         The normal trade                Water-soluble boron (B)
                                  chemically and having as                                       designations may be
                                  its essential ingredient a                                     added
                                  sodium borate
lc       Calcium borate           Product obtained partly          7 % total B                   The normal trade               Total boron (B)
                                  from colemanite or               Particle size at least 98 %   designations may be
                                  pandermite, and having as        passing through a 0,063       added
                                  its essential ingredient         mm sieve
                                  calcium borates
Id       Boron ethanol amine      Product obtained from             10 % water-soluble B                                        Soluble boron (B)
                                  the reaction of boric acid
                                  with an alcohol amine
le       Borated fertilizer in    Product obtained by              2 % total B                                                  Total boron (B) and
         solution or suspension   dissolution or suspension                                                                     water-soluble boron (B) if
                                  in water of types la, lb,                                                                     this accounts for at least
                                  Id                                                                                            one quarter of the total B
COBALT
2a       Cobalt salt              Product obtained                  19 °/o water-soluble cobalt  The designation must           Water-soluble cobalt (Co)
                                  chemically, and having as         (Co)                         include the name of the
                                  its essential ingredient, a                                    combined mineral anion
                                  mineral salt of cobalt
 ---pagebreak--- 29. 11. 88                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 304/11
    (1)               (2)                   (3)                         (4)                       (5)                        (6)
2b         Cobalt chelate     Product obtained by          2 % water-soluble Co, at Nature of the chelating      Water-soluble cobalt (Co)
                              combining cobalt             least Vio of which has   agent                        Chelated cobalt
                              chemically with a            been chelated
                              chelating agent
2c         Solution of cobalt Product obtained by          2 % water-soluble Co     The designation must         Water-soluble cobalt (Co)
           fertilizer         dissolving types 2a and/or                            include the name of the      Chelated cobalt
                              2b                                                    mineral anion and/or the
                                                                                    nature of the chelating
                                                                                    agent
COPPER
3a         Copper salt        Product obtained             20 % water-soluble Cu    The designation must         Water-soluble copper (Cu)
                              chemically and having as                              include the name of the
                              its essential ingredient a                            combined anion
                              mineral salt of copper
3b         Copper oxide       Product obtained             70 % total Cu                                         Total copper (Cu)
                              chemically and having as     Particle size: at least
                              its essential ingredient     98 % passing through a
                              copper oxide                 0,063 mm sieve
3c         Copper hydroxide   Product obtained             45 % total Cu            Designation by means of      Water-soluble copper (Cu)
                              chemically and having as     Particle size: at least  initials shall be permitted
                              its essential ingredient     98 % passing through a
                              copper hydroxide             0,063 mm sieve
3d         Copper chelate     Product obtained by          9 % water-soluble copper Nature of the chelating      Water-soluble copper (Cu)
                              combining copper             of which at least V10    agent                        Chelated copper (Cu)
                              chemically with a            chelated
                              chelating agent
3e         Copper-based       Product obtained by          5 % total copper         Nature of the chelating      Total copper (Cu)
           fertilizer         mixing types 3a, 3b, 3c,     Particle size: 98 %      agent                        Water-soluble copper if
                              3d and a filler that is      passing through a                                     this accounts for at least
                              neither nutrient nor toxic   0,063 mm sieve                                        one quarter of the total
                                                                                                                 copper
                                                                                                                 Chelated copper (Cu)
3f         Copper fertilizer  Product obtained by          3 % water-soluble Cu     Nature of the chelating      Copper (Cu), a proportion
           solution           dissolving types 3a and 3d                            agent                        of which is chelated copper
                              in water
IRON
4a         Iron salt          Product obtained             12 % water-soluble Fe    The designation will         Water-soluble iron (Fe)
                              chemically in water and                               include the name of the
                              having as its essential                               combined anion, if the
                              ingredient a ferrous salt                             product leaves no solid
                              (Fe II)                                               residue after dissolution it
                                                                                    may be described as 'for
                                                                                    dissolution'
4b         Iron chelate       Product obtained by          5 % water-soluble Fe, of Nature of the chelating      Water-soluble iron (Fe)
                              combining iron               which at least '/to has  agent                        Chelated iron (Fe)
                              chemically with a            been chelated
                              chelating agent
 ---pagebreak--- No C 304/12                                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                        29. 11. 88
    (1)             (2)                        (3)                         (4)                        (5)                     (6)
4c      Iron fertilizer solution Product obtained by          2 % water-soluble Fe      Nature of the chelating   Water-soluble iron (Fe)
        and suspension           dissolving types 4a and/or                             agent                     Chelated iron (Fe)
                                 4b in water
MANGANESE
5a      Manganese salt           Product obtained             17 % water-soluble Mn     The designation must      Water-soluble manganese
                                 chemically and having as                               include the name of the   (Mn)
                                 its essential ingredient a                             combined anion
                                 mineral salt of manganese
                                 (II)
5b      Manganese chelate        Product obtained by          5 % water-soluble Mn, of  Nature of the chelating   Water-soluble manganese
                                 combining manganese          which at least 'Ao has    agent                     (Mn)
                                 chemically with a            been chelated                                       Chelated manganese (Mn)
                                 chelating agent
5c      Manganese oxide          Product obtained             40 % total Mn                                       Total manganese (Mn)
                                 chemically and having as     Particle size: at least
                                 its essential ingredients    80 % passing through a
                                 manganese oxides             0,063 mm sieve
5d      Manganese-based          Product obtained by           17 % total Mn                                      Total manganese (Mn)
        fertilizer               mixing types 5a and/or                                                           Water-soluble manganese
                                 5b in water                                                                      (Mn) if this accounts for at
                                                                                                                  least one quarter of the
                                                                                                                  total manganese
5e      Fertilizer in            Product obtained by           3 % water-soluble Mn     Nature of the chelating   Water-soluble manganese
        manganese-based          dissolving types 5a and/or                             agent                     (Mn)
        solution                 5b in water                                                                      Chelated manganese
                                                                                                                  content
5f      Organic manganese        Product obtained by           2 % water-soluble Mn, of                           Water-soluble manganese
        complex                  combining manganese          which at least 80 %                                 (Mn)
                                 chemically with an           complexed                                           Complexed manganese
                                 organic complexing agent                                                         (Mn)
                                 provided for in the Annex
MOLYBDENUM
6a       Sodium molybdate         Product obtained             35 % water-soluble Mo     If the product leaves no Water-soluble
                                 chemically and having as                                solid residue after      molybdenum (Mo)
                                  its essential ingredient                               dissolution it may be
                                  sodium molybdate                                       described as 'for
                                                                                         dissolution'
6b       Ammonium                 Product obtained             50 % water-soluble Mo                              Water-soluble
         molybdate                chemically and having as                                                         molybdenum (Mo)
                                  its essential ingredient
                                  ammonium molybdate
6c       Molybdenum-based         Product obtained by          35 % water-soluble Mo                               Water-soluble
         fertilizer               mixing types 6a and 6b                                                           molybdenum (Mo)
 6d      Molybdenum fertilizer    Product obtained by          3 % water-soluble Mo                                Water-soluble
         in solution              dissolving types 6a and/or                                                       molybdenum (Mo)
                                  6b in water
 ---pagebreak--- 29. 11. 88                                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                N o C 304/13
    (1)              (2)                        (3)                       (4)                       (5)                     (6)
ZINC
7a         Zinc salt              Product obtained             15 % water-soluble Zn    The designation will    Water-soluble zinc (Zn)
                                  chemically and having as                              include the name of the
                                  its essential ingredient a                            combined anion
                                  mineral salt of zinc
7b         Zinc chelate           Product obtained by          5 % water-soluble Zn     Nature of the chelating Water-soluble zinc (Zn)
                                  combining zinc                                        agent                   Chelated zinc (Zn)
                                  chemically with a
                                  chelating agent
7c         Zinc oxide             Product obtained             75 % total Zn                                    Total zinc (Zn)
                                  chemically and having as
                                  its essential ingredient
                                  zinc oxide
7d         Zinc-based fertilizer  Product derived from         30 % water-soluble Zn                            Total zinc (Zn)
                                  types 7a and 7b                                                               Water-soluble zinc (Zn), if
                                                                                                                this accounts for at least
                                                                                                                one quarter of the total
                                                                                                                zinc
7e         Zinc-based solution or Product obtained by          3 % water-soluble Zn     Nature of the chelating Water-soluble zinc (Zn)
           suspension             dissolving or suspending                              agent                   Content of chelated zinc
                                  in water types 7a and 7b
7i         Organic zinc complex   Product obtained by          2 % water-soluble Zn, of                         Water-soluble zinc (Zn)
                                  combining zinc               which at least 80 %                              Complexed zinc (Zn)
                                  chemically with a            complexed
                                  complexing agent
                                  provided for in the Annex
 ---pagebreak--- No C 304/14                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                     29. 11. 88
                                  Minimum trace element contents, percentage mass of the product
                                                              CHAPTER B
                                                 Solid fluid mixtures of trace elements
                                                                    Where the trace element is present in a form
                                                             exclusively mineral                   chelated or complexed
          For a trace element:
          Boron (B)                                                  0,2                                    0,2
          Cobalt (Co)                                                0,02                                   0,02
          Copper (Cu)                                                0,5                                    0,1
          Iron (Fe)                                                  2,0                                    0,3
          Manganese (Mn)                                             0,5                                    0,1
          Molybdenum (Mo)                                            0,02                                    —
          Zinc (Zn)                                                  0,5                                    0,1
          Minimum total of trace elements in a solid mixture: 5 % by mass of the fertilizer.
          Minimum total of trace elements in a fluid mixture: 2 % by mass of the fertilizer.
                                                              CHAPTER C
               EEC fertilizers containing major and/or secondary elements with trace elements applied to the soil
                                                           For crops or grassland                   For horticultural use
          Boron (B)                                                 0,01                                    0,01
          Cobalt (Co)                                               0,002                                     —
          Copper (Cu)                                               0,01                                    0,002
          Iron (Fe)                                                 0,5                                     0,02
          Manganese (Mn)                                            0,1                                     0,01
          Molybdenum (Mo)                                           0,001                                   0,001
          Zinc (Zn)                                                 0,01                                    0,002
                                                              CHAPTER D
                  EEC fertilizers containing major and secondary elements with trace elements for leaf sprays
          Boron (B):                 0,01
          Cobalt (Co)( l ):          0,0005
          Copper (Cu):               0,002
           Iron(Fe):                 0,02
           Manganese (Mn):           0,01
           Molybdenum (Mo):          0,001
           Zinc(Zn):                 0,002
           (') Cobalt is only authorized for fodder crops and grassland.
 ---pagebreak--- 29. 11. 88                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                    Nr. C 304/15
                                                                CHAPTER E
                                 List of authorized organic complexing agents for trace elements
           Definition of complexed trace elements:
           Within the meaning of this Directive complexed trace elements are defined as combinations where the
           metal is present in the form of:
           — a chelated product
           — a complexed product
           The following products are authorized in this Directive:
           1. Chelating products:
              Sodium, potassium or ammonium acid or salts of:
              ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid                                                  EDTA       C 10 H 16 O 8 N 2
              diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid                                               DTPA       C 14 H 23 O 10 N 3
              ethylene diamine-di(0-hydroxyphenyl acetic) acid                                   EDDHA      C 18 H 20 O 6 N 2
              hydroxy-2 ethylene diamine triacetic acid                                          HEEDTA     C 1 0 H„O 7 N 2
              ethyldiamine-di(0-hydroxy-p-methyl phenyl)acetic                                   EDDHMA     C 18 H 20 N 2 O 6
              ethylene diamine-di(5-carboxy-2-hydroxyphenyl) acetic acid                         EDDCHA     ^-20^20*-'10^>"2
           2. Complexing products
              Lignosulphates
              Protide hydrolysates