Brussels, 04/08/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 1 August, the European Commission launched an 8 week internet consultation on a draft proposal to gradually introduce upper limits for cadmium in phosphate fertilizers. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal naturally present at low concentrations in the environment. The proposal would see a step by step introduction of maximum cadmium levels in fertilizers over a period of several years to allow phosphate suppliers the necessary time to adapt to the new rules and ensure continuity of supply to EU farmers. The result will be that the accumulation of cadmium in agricultural soils will be stopped. The consultation exercise will enable interested parties to comment on the impact and the detail of the future legal requirements before the proposal is finalised by the Commission. The consultation will end on 26 September 2003.
Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said: “This draft proposal strikes a balance between the need to protect the environment on the one hand and to ensure the supply of phosphate fertilizer to EU farmers on the other. It ensures a sustainable use of phosphate fertilizers in the EU in the medium and long term.” Cadmium is present in significant amounts in the phosphate rocks which are mined for use in the manufacture of phosphate fertilizers. Unless there is a specific decadmination treatment during the manufacturing of the phosphate fertilizer, the final product retains most of the original cadmium content. The use of phosphate fertilizer therefore tends to increase the concentration of cadmium in agricultural soil. Crops tend to absorb cadmium from the soil and this leads to subsequent intake of cadmium by consumers in the food they eat.
While there is already EU legislation in place to protect the consumer by ensuring that the level of cadmium in foodstuffs does not pose a risk to human health, the new legislation the Commission is considering unveiling in the next few months would be an appropriate complement by ensuring that agricultural land does not become unfit for food production. Given the scale of the problem, most Member States have taken measures, albeit often of an informal nature, to cut the cadmium content in fertilizers. As a result, the EU fertilizer market is highly fragmented. The draft proposal aims at completing the Internal Market for fertilizers while at the same time protecting the environment from further accumulation of cadmium in cultivated soils that would occur as a result of the application of phosphate fertilizers. The draft proposal is accompanied by an extended impact assessment that addresses socio-economic and environmental aspects and on which stakeholders are invited to comment. Stakeholders are invited to consult the above-mentioned texts at the following website: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/chemicals/legislation/fertilizers/riskassest/cadmium.htm
They can submit their comments, preferably by e-mail, to the following address: ENTR-Cadmium@cec.eu.int