18/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 12 April, the Council of the EU reached a common position without debate on the modification of directive 2004/35/EC on the management of waste produced by the mining industry. Hungary and Austria abstained. The draft directive aims, amongst other things, to prevent accidents resulting directly from the exploration, extraction, handling, storage, recovery and elimination of minor waste and limit the harmful effects of these accidents on the environment and human health. The draft directive notably established conditions for: 1) the issuing of operation licences, including in matters relating to public participation; 2) obligations on waste management; 3) an obligation to provide categorize waste before disposing of or treating it; 4) measures to guarantee the security of waste installations; 5) provisions on the preparations for plans to close down a waste treatment facility; 6) the obligation for an adequate level of financial security. It is worth noting that waste from the mining industry represents around 29% of waste produced within the EU every year, equating to an annual volume of over 400 million tonnes. Serious mining accidents have taken place in, for example, Aberfan, UK, Aznalcollar in Spain and Baia Mare, Romania.