Brussels, 30/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's environment committee, chaired by Matthias Groote (S&D, Germany), said that certain pharmaceutical products are sufficiently hazardous to warrant immediate monitoring of their presence in water. On Wednesday 28 November in Brussels, he also requested that three pharmaceutical substances - 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol, 17beta-estradiol and Diclofenac - be added to the priority risk list of those to be monitored and controlled in EU surface waters. MEPs also endorsed a proposed “watch list” of 25 other chemicals that could pose a threat to surface waters. They voted in favour of the project by a large majority (43 votes in favour, seven against, with eight abstentions) to re-examine the list of priority substances for water in view of obtaining an acceptable chemical balance in surface waters.
The three pharmaceutical products were among 15 chemicals that MEPs added to the priority risk list of those to be monitored and controlled in EU surface waters. However, Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), which lay down chemical concentration limits in water (directive 2008/105/EC), will only be set for the pharmaceuticals during the next review by the Commission, when the extent of the problem is better known.
The “watch list” of no more than 25 substances will be monitored for at least 12 months by the member states. They will have to use several monitoring stations, depending on their surface area and population, and report their results periodically. The watch list's validity is limited to 4 years.
The rapporteur explained that “the watch list mechanism is an effective way to break the existing conundrum between the necessity of monitoring substances in order to regulate them, and the necessity of regulating substances in order to monitor them”.
Members of the parliamentary committee inserted a new article to ensure the mutual consistency of various EU laws on chemicals (Water Framework Directive, REACH, pesticides, biocides, etc). They also included an amendment requiring member states to make public the measures that they take to prevent surface water pollution, in particular via a single website. The list is updated every four years. (AN/transl.fl)