Document ID: 31982L0242

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 31 March 1982 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to methods of testing the biodegradability of non-ionic surfactants and amending Directive 73/404/EEC (82/242/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas the methods of testing in force in the Member States, while pursuing the same objective, differ in certain respects and are thus detrimental to the proper functioning of the common market;
Whereas Council Directive 73/404/EEC of 22 November 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to detergents (4) provides in Article 4 for the adoption of Directives specifying methods of testing as well as relevant tolerances to enable compliance with the requirements of that Directive to be established ; whereas Council Directive 73/405/EEC of 22 November 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to methods of testing the biodegradability of anionic surfactants (5) specified such methods and tolerances for anionic surfactants;
Whereas, to enable Member States to determine the level of biodegradability of non-ionic surfactants, it is advisable to employ methods of testing already in use for this purpose in certain Member States ; whereas, however, in the event of disputes, biodegradability should be tested by a common reference method;
Whereas, in regard to the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to detergents, suitable tolerances for measuring biodegradability should be laid down, as provided for in Article 4 of Council Directive 73/404/EEC, in order to safeguard against the unreliability of methods of testing which could lead to rejection decisions having considerable economic consequences ; whereas a rejection decision must be taken only if the results obtained by an analytical method mentioned in Article 2 show a level of biodegradability lower than 80 %; (1) OJ No C 104, 28.4.1980, p. 112. (2) OJ No C 197, 4.8.1980, p. 66. (3) OJ No C 310, 30.11.1981, p. 7. (4) OJ No L 347, 17.12.1973, p. 51. (5) OJ No L 347, 17.12.1973, p. 53.
Whereas for the time being small quantities of certain non-ionic surfactants of low biodegradability must be used for some purposes because of technical problems and in order to prevent other undesirable effects on health and the environment ; whereas it will nevertheless be necessary to have the opportunity of reviewing the use of these surfactants of low biodegradability in the light of technical progress;
Whereas technical progress necessitates a rapid adaptation of the technical requirements specified by the Directives on detergents ; whereas, to facilitate implementation of the necessary measures designed to achieve this, a procedure should be established providing for close collaboration between the Member States and the Commission by means of a Committee for the adaptation to technical progress of the Directives on the removal of technical barriers to trade in detergents,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive concerns the methods of testing the biodegradability of non-ionic surfactants present in the detergents defined in Article 1 of Directive 73/404/EEC.
Article 2
In accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Directive 73/404/EEC, the Member States shall prohibit the placing on the market and use on their territory of a detergent if the level of biodegradability of the non-ionic surfactants contained in such detergent is less than 80 % determined in accordance with one of the following methods: - the OECD method, published in the OECD technical report of 11 June 1976 on the "Proposed Method for the Determination of the Biodegradability of Surfactants used in Synthetic Detergents",
- the method in use in Germany, established by the "Verordnung über die Abbaubarkeit anionischer und nichtionischer grenzflächenaktiver Stoffe in Wasch- und Reinigungsmitteln" of 30 January 1977, published in the Bundesgesetzblatt, 1977, Part I, page 244, as set out in the Regulation amending that Regulation of 18 June 1980, published in the Bundesgesetzblatt, 1980, Part I, page 706,
- the method in use in France, approved by Decree of 28 December 1977 published in the Journal officiel de la République française of 18 January 1978, and experimental standard T 73-270 March 1974, published by the Association française de normalisation (AFNOR),
- the method in use in the United Kingdom called the "Porous Pot Test", as described in Technical Report No 70/1978 of the Water Research Centre.
Article 3
Under the procedure laid down in Article 5 (2) of Directive 73/404/EEC, the laboratory opinion on non-ionic surfactants shall be based on the reference method (confirmatory test procedure) described in the Annex to this Directive.
Article 4
The amendments required for adapting the Annex to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7b of Directive 73/404/EEC.
Article 5
The following Articles shall be inserted in Directive 73/404/EEC:
"Article 2a 1. Until 31 March 1986: (a) Member States may exempt the following products from the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 2 : low-foaming alkene oxide additives on such substances as alcohols, alkylphenols, glycols, polyols, fatty acids, amides or amines used in dish-washing products;
(b) the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 2 shall not apply to alkali-resistant terminally blocked alkyl and alkyl-aryl polyglycol ethers and substances of the type referred to in paragraph (a), used in cleaning agents for the food, beverage and metal-working industries.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply to the abovementioned non-ionic surfactants which come on the market after 30 September 1983 only if they have a higher level of biodegradability than existing products for the same application.
3. The use of the non-ionic surfactants benefiting from a temporary derogation mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 must not, under normal conditions of use, be harmful to human or animal health.
Article 7a 1. A Committee shall be established for the adaptation to technical progress of Directives for removing technical barriers to trade in the detergents sector, hereinafter called "the Committee", which shall consist of representatives of the Member States under the chairmanship of a representative of the Commission.
2. The Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
Article 7b 1. Where recourse is had to the procedure defined in this Article, the matter shall be referred to the Committee by its chairman, on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member State.
2. The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a period which may be fixed by the chairman according to the urgency of the matter. A qualified majority of votes as laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty shall be required before the Committee can deliver its opinion.
The chairman shall not vote.
3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the proposed measures where they are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
(b) Where the proposed measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall submit to the Council without delay a proposal on the measures to be adopted. The Council shall decide by a qualified majority.
(c) If the Council has not acted within three months of the date on which the proposal was submitted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
Article 7c 1. In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7b, - the references to test methods in the Directives referred to in Article 4 shall, if necessary, be brought up to date or supplemented by other references to test methods established in other Member States,
- the reference methods (confirmatory test) in the Annexes to the Directives referred to in Article 4 shall be modified in order to adapt them to technical progress.
2. These adaptations should not have the effect of modifying in a negative fashion the biodegradability requirements of surfactants, already laid down in accordance with Article 4."
Article 6
1. The Member States shall bring into force the provisions necessary to comply with this Directive within a period of 18 months following its notification. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 7
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 31 March 1982.

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