Belgium plans to move forward with a proposal to increase the number of water pollutants subject to strict concentration limits to include PFAS “permanent chemicals” and dozens of other substances, civil society says. said Belgium, President of the Council of the European Union, amid calls from industry and industry.
advertisementEnvironmental activists have called on Belgian Environment Minister Zakia Hattavi to monitor “permanent chemicals” PFAS and 24 other hazardous substances across Europe after the incoming EU Council President removed the issue from the program. They called for further agreement on rules that would
In October 2022, the European Commission included the plastic additive BPA, herbicides on its watch list of pollutants affecting surface and groundwater across Europe, subject to mandatory monitoring and legal restrictions. He proposed the first update in nearly a decade to add certain pesticides. The 25 new priority substances include glyphosate as well as a variety of medicines, including antibiotics.
However, although the European Parliament adopted a position last September on the proposal, which calls for tighter maximum concentration limits, or “environmental quality standards”, for chemicals such as the herbicide glyphosate, governments have No consensus has yet been reached prior to negotiations.
Brussels-based NGO umbrella group the European Environment Agency (EEB) said on Monday (8 January) that there are currently “several serious pollutants”, including the group of chemicals at the center of concern in Belgium. has not been investigated,” he warned. , PFAS contamination has been revealed both in the northern region of Flanders and, more recently, in Wallonia.
“Recently uncovered PFAS-contaminated water exposures in Belgium as well as other parts of the EU demonstrate the urgent need to improve monitoring and regulation of water pollutants to protect human and environmental health. ” said EEB Secretary-General Patrick ten Brink in a letter to Mr Khattabi. Other Belgian government officials.
The EU’s watchdog, the European Environment Agency, has determined that rivers and lakes across the region are in “good chemical condition,” despite a 2027 deadline set under the Water Framework Directive. report that less than a third meet current standards. of the millennium.
“This risks further delaying the fight against water pollution, and we cannot afford that,” Ten Brink said of the delays in the EU Council. The presidential palace declined to comment on the letter, but an official told Euronews that Belgium will “definitely work on this proposal” during the six months it chairs intergovernmental negotiations.
Conservationists are not the only ones criticizing the poor state of Europe’s rivers, lakes and groundwater. The government’s lack of consistent compliance with contamination standards is also a problem for water utilities, which must remove contamination standards when purifying drinking water. Industry group Eurow backed the proposal to widen the priority list and welcomed the European Parliament’s call to make polluters pay extra costs.
Sebastien Mouret’s policy adviser Mr Euroux also said further delays would require new watershed management plans before EU member states start developing new watershed management plans, which must be updated every six years, in 2025. He shared the EEB’s concern that the adoption of appropriate pollution limits could be called into question.
“We agree with the EEB that control at source should be the priority when trying to reduce pollution and that the Council should align its position with that of the European Commission. I agree.” [parliament]” Mouret told Euronews, referring to the proposed extended producer responsibility clause. It is also important to classify all persistent, mobile, toxic and bioaccumulative substances as priority hazardous substances, he added. “Doing this will protect the environment, human and animal health, and ensure everyone has access to affordable water services.”
The European Commission is expected to announce a ‘water resilience’ initiative in March to respond to increased drought periods linked to climate change. Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told MEPs in October that rampant pollution meant “a significant reduction in the amount of usable water” and that he supported an expanded list of water pollutants and He said he supported the proposed reform of the Wastewater Treatment Directive. He was “fundamental” to tackling the problem.