WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/Notif.99.243
18 May 1999
(99-2001)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
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:  Ministry for Regional Development and the Environment, Directorate
for the Prevention of Pollution and Hazards, Industrial Environmental Service
Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall beindicated if different from above:
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [ X ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [X ], other:
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Turbines, engines and
afterburning equipment in installations with a total power exceeding 20 MWth
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Ministerial Order for the
Reduction of Polluting Emissions from Combustion Engines and Turbines and Boilers used
in Afterburning, Subject to Authorization under Heading 2910 (15 pages)
6. Description of content:  Limit values on emissions into the atmosphere of the main
pollutants (SO 2, No x, COV, CO, HAP and heavy metals).
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  The
draft order appears in a context in which the impact of atmospheric pollution on public
health and on the environment is becoming a subject of priority concern to:
- Public opinion, sensitized by recurrent pollution peaks of ozone, nitrogen oxides (NO x)
and sulphur dioxide (SO 2) in the great urban centres and near industrial sites, and by
the long-term degradation of ecosystems (greenhouse effect, acidification of waters
and soils, eutrophication, etc.); and
- European and United Nations decision-making bodies which are devising ambitious
policies to control the phenomena of transboundary pollution.  Examples that may be
cited are the Community programme for combating acidification of waters and soilsand photochemical pollution, which requires of the member States a major reduction in
emissions of the corresponding pollutants (No
x, SO 2, NH 3 and COV) and the
programme of the United Nations Econom ic Commission for Europe (EEC) which
provides for the establishment of a protocol to control all the phenomena of
transboundary pollution.
8. Relevant documents:
9. Proposed date of adoption:  1 September 1999
Proposed date of entry into force:
10. Final date for comments:  1 August 1999
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ X ] or address, e-mail and telefax number of
the other body:  (CINORTECH)