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Brussels, 31.5.2006

COM(2006) 252 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Article 7(5 ) of Regulation 850/2004/EC on persistent organic pollutants provides that concentration limits in Annex V shall be established for the purposes of paragraph 4(b) before 31 December 2005, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 17(2). In accordance with Article 17(1), the Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC, for matters relating to waste under this Regulation.

Accordingly, the Commission submitted a draft Regulation for vote in the Committee established under Article 18 of Directive 75/442/EEC on waste on 25 January 2006. There was no qualified majority for the draft Regulation.

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

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

amending Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on persistent organic pollutants and amending Directive 79/117/EEC

(Text with EEA relevance)

T HE 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/EEC[?], and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 7(5), Article 7(6), and Article 14(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Commission conducted a study on the implementation of the waste-related provisions of Regulation No (EC) 850/2004. The study established maximum concentration limits for the purpose of part 2 of annex V of Regulation (EC) 850/2004. Beyond that, risks to human health and the environment may not be excluded. Therefore Annex V of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 should be amended accordingly.

(2) For toxaphene, a mixture of over 670 substances, no agreed and relevant analytical methodology to determine the total concentration is available. However the above mentioned study has not identified any stocks consisting of, containing or contaminated with toxaphene in the European Union. In addition the study demonstrates that, whenever any persistent organic pollutant pesticides were detected in wastes, their concentrations were usually high when compared with the proposed concentration limits. Therefore, for the time being, the available analytical methodologies for the determination of toxaphene can be considered as sufficiently fit for the purpose of this Regulation.

(3) The concentration limit for PCDF/PCDD is expressed in toxic equivalent concentration (“TEQ”), using the 1998 World Health Organisation toxic equivalency factors (“TEFs”). Available data on dioxin-like PCB is not sufficient to include these compounds in the TEQ.

(4) Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is the name of a technical mixture of various isomers. The effort to completely analyse them would be inadequate. Only alpha-, beta- and gamma-HCH is of toxicological relevance. Therefore the concentration limit exclusively refers to them. Most commercially available analytical standard mixtures for the analyses of this compound class only identify these isomers.

(5) The measures provided for in this Regulation are the most appropriate to ensure a high level of protection.

(6) The Committee established under Article 17(1) of Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 has not delivered an opinion on the measures laid down in a draft Commission Regulation, following its consultation, on 25 January 2006, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 17(2) of that Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

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

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council

The President

ANNEX

The table in Part 2 of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 is replaced by the following:

Wastes as classified in Commission Decision 2000/532/EC | Maximum concentration limits of substances listed in Annex IV[?] | Operation |

10 | WASTES FROM THERMAL PROCESSES | Aldrin: 5000 mg/kg; Chlordane: 5000 mg/kg; Dieldrin: 5000 mg/kg; Endrin: 5000 mg/kg Heptachlor: 5000 mg/kg; Hexachlorobenzene: 5000 mg/kg; Mirex: 5000 mg/kg; Toxaphene: 5000 mg/kg; Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)[?]: 50 mg/kg DDT (1,1,1-trichloro -2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethane): 5000 mg/kg; Chlordecone: 5000 mg/kg; Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF)[?] 5 mg/kg; the sum of alpha-, beta- and gamma- HCH: 5000 mg/kg; Hexabromobiphenyl: 5000 mg/kg | Permanent storage only in: safe, deep, underground, hard rock formations, salt mines or a landfill site for hazardous waste (provided that the waste is solidified or partly stabilised where technically feasible as required for classification of the waste in subchapter 19 03 of Decision 2000/532/EC) whereby the provisions of Council Directive 1999/31/EC[?] and Council Decision 2003/33/EC[?] have to be adhered to and whereby it has been demonstrated that the selected operation is environmentally preferable. |

10 01 | Wastes from power stations and other combustion plants (except 19) |

10 01 14 (*)4 | Bottom ash, slag and boiler dust from co-incineration containing dangerous substances |

10 01 16 (*) | Fly ash from co-incineration containing dangerous substances |

10 02 | Wastes from the iron and steel industry |

10 02 07 (*) | Solid wastes from gas treatment containing dangerous substances |

10 03 | Wastes from aluminium thermal metallurgy |

10 03 04 (*) | Primary production slags |

10 03 08 (*) | Salt slags from secondary production |

10 03 09 (*) | Black drosses from secondary production |

10 03 19 (*) | Flue-gas dust containing dangerous substances |

10 03 21 (*) | Other particulates and dust (including ball-mill dust) containing dangerous substances |

10 03 29 (*) | Wastes from treatment of salt slags and black drosses containing dangerous substances |

10 04 | Wastes from lead thermal metallurgy |

10 04 01 (*) | Slags from primary and secondary production |

10 04 02 (*) | Dross and skimmings from primary and secondary production |

10 04 04 (*) | Flue-gas dust |

10 04 05 (*) | Other particulates and dust |

10 04 06 (*) | Solid wastes from gas treatment |

10 05 | Wastes from zinc thermal metallurgy |

10 05 03 (*) | Flue-gas dust |

10 05 05 (*) | Solid waste from gas treatment |

10 06 | Wastes from copper thermal metallurgy |

10 06 03 (*) | Flue-gas dust |

10 06 06 (*) | Solid wastes from gas treatment |

10 08 | Wastes from other non-ferrous thermal metallurgy |

10 08 08 (*) | Salt slag from primary and secondary production |

10 08 15 (*) | Flue-gas dust containing dangerous substances |

10 09 | Wastes from casting of ferrous pieces |

10 09 09 (*) | Flue-gas dust containing dangerous substances |

16 | WASTES NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED IN THE LIST |

16 11 | Waste linings and refractories |

16 11 01 (*) | Carbon-based linings and refractories from metallurgical processes containing dangerous substances |

16 11 03 (*) | Other linings and refractories from metallurgical processes containing dangerous substances |

17 | CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTES (INCLUDING EXCAVATED SOIL FROM CONTAMINATED SITES) |

17 01 | concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics |

17 01 06 (*) | Mixtures of, or separate fractions of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics containing dangerous substances. |

17 05 | Soil including excavated soil from contaminated sites, stones and dredging spoil |

17 05 03 (*) | Inorganic fraction of soil and stones containing dangerous substances |

17 09 | Other construction and demolition wastes |

17 09 02 (*) | Construction and demolition wastes containing PCB, excluding PCB containing equipment. |

17 09 03 (*) | Other construction and demolition wastes containing dangerous substances |

19 | WASTES FROM WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES, OFF-SITE WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND THE PREPARATION OF WATER INTENDED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION AND WATER FROM INDUSTRIAL USE |

19 01 | Wastes from incineration or pyrolysis of waste |

19 01 07 (*) | Solid wastes from gas treatment |

19 01 11 (*) | Bottom ash and slag containing dangerous substances |

19 01 13 (*) | Fly ash containing dangerous substances |

19 01 15 (*) | Boiler dust containing dangerous substances |

19 04 | Vitrified waste and waste from vitrification |

19 04 02(*) | Fly ash and other flue-gas treatment wastes |

19 04 03 (*) | Non-vitrified solid phase |

[1] OJ L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 7; corrected version in OJ L 229, 29.6.2004, p. 5.

[2] Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (OJ L 182, 16.7.1999, p. 1). Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003.

[3] Council Decision 2003/33/EC of 19 December 2002 establishing criteria and procedures for the acceptance of waste and landfills pursuant to Article 16 of and Annex II to Directive 1999/31/EC (OJ L 11, 16.1.2003. p. 27).

4 Any waste marked with an asterisk (*) is considered as hazardous waste pursuant to Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste (OJ L 337, 31. 12 .1991, p. 20. Directive as amended by Directive 94/31/EC, OJ L 168, 2. 7. 1991, p. 28), and is subject to the provisions of that Directive.

[i] The limits exclusively apply to a landfill site for hazardous waste.

6 Where applicable, the calculation method laid down in European standards EN 12766-1 and EN 12766-2 shall be applied.

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

PCDD | TEF |

2,3,7,8-TeCDD | 1 |

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDD | 1 |

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD | 0.1 |

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD | 0.1 |

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDD | 0.1 |

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD | 0.01 |

OCDD | 0.0001 |

PCDF |

2,3,7,8-TeCDF | 0.1 |

1,2,3,7,8-PeCDF | 0.05 |

2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF | 0.5 |

1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDF | 0.1 |

1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDF | 0.1 |

1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDF | 0.1 |

2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF | 0.1 |

1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDF | 0.01 |

1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDF | 0.01 |

OCDF | 0.0001 |