Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council concerning Article 8a of Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC

Article 8a of Directive 98/70/EC requires the Commission to report its conclusions on the development of a test methodology to assess the risks for health and the environment from the use of metallic additives in fuels, to the European Parliament and the Council.

Metallic fuel additives (“MFA”) are substances intentionally added to fuel (petrol, diesel and biodiesel) to improve its performance. These additives eventually enter the environment since their metallic portion is not degraded during any stage of their production or use. Thus, they can become a source of exposure for humans and/or biota throughout their life cycle. This creates a possible impact on health and the environment. This potential impact justifies their regulation through the adoption of limit values based on the precautionary principle.

The Directive contains a current limit value for methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (“MMT”) of 6mg of manganese per litre. This value will become 2mg of manganese per litre from 1 January 2014. This limit value may be revised, through a Comitology procedure, on the basis of an assessment carried out following the test methodology referred to in this report.

See also:
- Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Tenth annual report (Reporting year 2011)