|
|
|
|
Brussels (08.06.2001) The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) today welcomed the decision taken by the Environment Council yesterday to accept the European Parliament’s changes to the first list of priority substances to be controlled through EU-wide measure. The EEB, which represents 135 environmental citizens’ organisations across Europe, said the decision was an important first step by the EU to fulfil its commitments, under international political agreements, to stop the release of all hazardous substances within one generation. The list, which is issued under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), contains 33 substances or groups of substances, all of which pose a major threat to our waters. The Commission now has two years to draw up measures for emission reductions and quality standards. For substances on the list identified as hazardous, the WFD requires measures aimed at ending all emissions within 20 years. At present, 11 substances* are identified as hazardous. For another 14 substances*, the decision on whether they are hazardous or not has been delayed, and the Commission has to make proposals on their status within one year. The remaining 8 substances* are considered not to be hazardous. "It is good for the environment that the Council has made a quick decision, so the measures can now be prepared quickly", says Stefan Scheuer, EEB Water and Chemicals Coordinator. "This will prevent 11 well- known hazardous substances from being released, and we can cease emissions for most of these in a lot less than 20 years." Of the other 14 substances whose status has not yet been decided, most are already identified as being hazardous or attracting a similar level of concern according to international agreements under the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic. This means that these substances pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment. Eight of these substances are pesticides. The Pesticides Industry, in particular, is lobbying for a delay to the decision under the Water Framework Directive on these substances, in order to wait for the more lengthy EU authorization process for pesticides to take place. "Most of these 14 substances are already internationally recognized as hazardous, and must be eliminated from our waters. We cannot allow the new EU water policy to be harnessed to the ineffective and cumbersome pesticides authorization process, and for substances which are clearly hazardous not to be identified as such", says John Hontelez, Secretary General of the EEB. In this respect, the EEB supports the European Water Suppliers Association (EUREAU) which has called for strict measures, including a ban on the most problematic pesticides threatening our drinking water resources. * See attached Annex for list of substances. For further information, please contact:
ANNEX List of priority substances in the field of water policy
Cadmium and its compounds Anthracene
|
