WORLD TRADE
G/TBT/N/FRA/70
26 September 2007
ORGANIZATION
(07-4052)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
Original: French
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1.
Member to Agreement notifying: FRANCE
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):
2.
Agency responsible:
Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries)
Direction Générale de la Forêt et des Affaires Rurales / Sous-Direction de l’Environnement et
de la Ruralite / Bureau des Sols et de l’Eau (Directorate-General of Forestry and Rural Affairs /
Sub-Directorate of the Environment and Rurality / Soil and Water Management Bureau)
78, rue de Varenne
75 349 PARIS 07 SP
Tel.: +(0)1 49 55 59 27
Fax: +(0)1 49 55 59 87
E-mail: kristell.cohu@agriculture.gouv.fr
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and E-mail and website
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding
the notification shall be indicated if different from above:
3.
Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:
4.
Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Sprayers (new and used)
5.
Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Avis aux professionnels du
machinisme concernant l’application des articles D. 256-1 à D. 256-10 du code rural et l’application
de l’arrêté du XX XX XX pris en application du a) de l’article D. 256-10 du code rural (Notice to
mechanized equipment professionals with regard to the implementation of Articles D. 256-1 to
D. 256-10 of the Rural Code and the implementation of the Order of XX XX XX implementing
Article D. 256-10(a) of the Rural Code).
6.
Description of content: Pursuant to Article 41 of the Law on Water and Aquatic Environments
(Loi sur l'eau et les milieux aquatiques, LEMA), No. 2006-1772 of 30 December 2006, new or
used sprayers sold by mechanized equipment professionals for use within national territory are
required to comply with provisions designed to reduce environmental and public health risks.
The implementing legislation for this Article was developed on the basis of the
principles of the EC doctrine of the "New Approach": an Order, which is being notified at the
same time as this draft notice, lays down the requirements for boom sprayers and tree and shrub
sprayers, new or used, while the references of standards establishing the presumption of
conformity with these requirements are set out in this draft notice for the Official Journal of the
French Republic (harmonized European standards).
G/TBT/N/FRA/70
Page 2
7.
Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:
The standards specified in this draft notice for the Official Journal establish the
presumption of conformity with the requirements for boom sprayers and tree and shrub sprayers,
new or used, laid down in the Projet d’arrêté pris en application du a) de l’article D. 256-10 du
code rural (Draft Order implementing Article D. 256-10(a) of the Rural Code), which is being
notified at the same time as this notice. These requirements seek to reduce the environmental
and public health risks posed by plant protection products. In particular, they serve to prevent
contamination of the drinking water supply network, to limit contamination of the soil, the air or
a body of water as a result either of product loss during the use of equipment or of effluent
generated by such use, and to ensure that products are applied evenly, thereby preventing
localized over-application, and that sprayers are in good working order.
These requirements form part of the implementation of priority action under the
Interministerial Plan for reducing pesticide-related risks 2006-2009 (Plan interministériel de
réduction des risques liés aux pesticides 2006-2009, PIRRP), published in June 2006 by the
Ministries responsible for ecology, agriculture, health and consumption in response to the
following findings: in 2004, in terms of the quantity of substances sold, France ranked third on
the world market for phytosanitary products and first on the European market (75,100 tonnes of
active substances sold, 90 per cent of which being for agricultural use); it also ranked fourth in
Europe per cultivated hectare (excluding grass-covered surfaces). The use of these substances
can generate direct or indirect risks for humans (both users and the general public, who are
exposed via the air, water and food) and for ecosystems (biodiversity). The information
available demonstrates:
-
Generalized contamination of water by pesticides. The requirement under the
Water Framework Directive with regard to achieving good ecological and
chemical status by 2015 has currently only been met by a third of watercourses
and half of groundwater. The quality of the water supply is, on the other hand,
good as far as pesticides are concerned, with 99 per cent of analyses being
standards-compliant;
-
the presence of certain pesticides in other compartments of the environment: in
soils, with, for example, a high persistence of organochlorines which have been
banned for over 10 years, and in the air;
-
potential effects on human health, as shown by epidemiological studies, which
may be chronic (for example, congenital malformations, cancers, lymphomas) or
acute, but without it being systematically possible to prove the causal link. By
way of example, farmers are observed to have a lower incidence of cancer than
other sectors of the population, but a heightened risk exists for certain specific
types of cancer.
At Community level, a similar finding led the European Union (EU) to adopt a series of
measures designed to reduce the risks of pesticide use to the environment and human health and,
more generally, to achieve a more sustainable use of pesticides as well as a significant overall
reduction in risks and of the use of pesticides (cf. the Communication from the Commission of
12 July 2006, entitled: "A Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides"
[COM(2006) 372]). One element of this strategy is the measure making it mandatory for
pesticide application equipment to meet environmental requirements before being placed on the
market. This particular measure was not, however, incorporated into the Proposal for a Directive
G/TBT/N/FRA/70
Page 3
7.
Objective and rationale,
applicable: (cont'd)
including
the
nature
of
urgent
problems
where
of 12 July 2006 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve a sustainable use of
pesticides, which is currently under review by the European Council and the European
Parliament. The Commission will subsequently propose another directive in this field which
could amend Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending Directive 95/16/EC.
Compliance with the time-frame established in Article 102.I of the Law on Water and
Aquatic Environments (LEMA), No. 2006-1772 of 30 December 2006, by the French Parliament
with regard to the entry into force of this measure (1 January 2009) and with the time-limits
established in the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) for achieving good water status (by
2015) requires the prompt adoption of a domestic regulation, pending the adoption, at
Community level, of a directive harmonizing the environmental requirements applicable to
pesticide application equipment.
This draft regulation has been well received by the agricultural sector, which considers
that its impact on farmers' income will be minimal.
Compliance with this new regulation will not present any difficulties for mechanized
equipment professionals.
The notice for the Official Journal states that compliance with the requirements laid
down in the draft Order is automatic for all new sprayers manufactured in accordance with
standard NF EN 12 761-1, -2 and -3 (September 2001): Sprayers and liquid fertilizer
distributors. Environmental protection. This standard is known to sprayer manufacturers and its
practical applicability has already been demonstrated. Furthermore, the fulfilment of certain
specific requirements under these standards, compliance with which requires structural changes
to a sprayer (unless already implemented), is required only as of 1 January 2011, to afford
manufacturers sufficient time to bring their production into line.
With regard to used sprayers, only the requirements corresponding to the provisions of
this standard which do not involve any structural changes and which present the greatest
environmental benefit have been incorporated in the measure in order to ensure its
proportionality.
8.
Relevant documents: Décret relatif aux prescriptions applicables aux matériels, vendus neufs
ou d’occasion, destinés à l’application de produits phytosanitaires (Decree establishing the
requirements for new or used equipment designed for the application of phytosanitary products),
notified in document G/TBT/N/FRA/68.
Arrêté pris en application du a) de l’article D. 256-10 du code rural (Order
implementing Article D. 256-10(a) of the Rural Code), notified in document G/TBT/N/FRA/69.
9.
Proposed date of adoption:
Proposed date of entry into force:
10.
Final date for comments: -
April 2007
1 January 2009
G/TBT/N/FRA/70
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11.
Texts available from: National enquiry point [ X ] or address, telephone and fax numbers,
E-mail and website addresses, if available, of other body:
National enquiry point
CINORTECH
AFNOR
11 avenue Francis Pressensé
93571 Saint Denis La Plaine Cedex