Brussels, 29/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption during its April plenary session of the opinion by Finnish Liberal Ossi Martikainen on the proposal of directive establishing a framework for a national collection and recycling plan for spent batteries, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) confirms the opinion of the European Parliament (EUROPE of 23 April, p.13) and invites the European Commission to move toward a "near-total ban on the use of mercury, lead and cadmium in household batteries" and to "toughen up a proposed directive aimed at reducing the serious health risks associated with heavy metals in batteries". The CoR proposes a minimum collection rate representing 50% of national annual sales of batteries and accumulators, instead of 160 gr per head and per year as initially proposed by the Commission.
The CoR, on the other hand, considers that the legislation proposed should exempt certain categories of batteries from the sales ban as no alternatives are available on the market: lead in car batteries and accumulators; cadmium in batteries and accumulators for aeroplanes and trains; mercury in button cells for hearing aids and cadmium for industrial applications.
In a press release, the CoR recalls the health risks linked to the use of heavy metals in batteries: - mercury is toxic for the human central nervous system; links have been established between exposure to cadmium and kidney diseases; lead can cause brain damage in children and has also been cited as a cause in cases of heart failure, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.