D10: Impact of Contaminants - Hydromod

Integrated Water Resource Management for Important Deep European Lakes and their Catchment Areas
EUROLAKES
D10: Impact of Contaminants
FP5_Contract No.: EVK1-CT1999-00004
Version: 4.0
Date: 25/07/01
File: D10-vers.4.0.doc
Page 16 of 136
stance in certain products (e.g. flame retardants or mercury) from which after or during
use emissions of the substance into the environment occur; priority hazardous substances
can also occur as by-products of certain processes (e.g. PAHs from combustion
processes) and as metabolites in the breakdown of other substances. It is clear
that this multitude of pathways calls for a whole package of different measures to
achieve the objective of the Water Framework Directive. While a substance ban is the
appropriate measure to achieve the required protection against priority hazardous substances,
which are directly used in the environment or in products, this might not necessarily
be the case for by-products of manufacturing processes, which are isolated
from the environment.
The assumption put forward by some industry associations that there is only one
measure – namely a substance ban – is simplistic and does not reflect the flexibility of
the WFD. The overriding objective of the Water Framework Directive is the precautionary
protection of European waters, an objective that does not ask the impossible of either
the European Union or its Member States. Unintentional releases, for instance due
to accidents and undetected leaks etc., can never be ruled out entirely, and are accounted
for by the WFD. However, where priority hazardous substances consistently
occur as by-products of industrial production, or are identified as breakdown products
(metabolites) of other substances, or evaporate and leach from consumer products,
measures have to be taken with the aim to end their releases into the environment. It
should be kept in mind that the Water Framework Directive provides for up to 20 years
to achieve the environmental objective of cessation of releases, which allows ample
time for the development of new technologies and substitute substances.
List of Priority Substances
The European Union pay attention to the subject “endocrine disrupter” already discussed
in 2.1. Now it is described how the selection and classification of contaminants
are effected at the moment and in the near future.
The definition oft “hazardous substances” have been contentious for a long time. According
to the OSPAR agreement, hazardous substances are toxical, persistent, and
bioaccumulative (bioakkumulierbar). That means, according to their intrinsic properties
measurable in laboratory tests they are classified to be toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative
(bioakkumulierbar) [FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE (98/788/3040/DEB/E1) 1999].
At the moment the Council Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by certain
dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community
and the included individual directives is the most important instrument to control the
emissions of hazardous substances from diffuse and selective sources into the surface
waters. In 1982 the Commission submitted a communication to the council about hazardous
substances according to list I of council directive 76/464/EEC. Here 130 substances
are listed to be regular by the community. The selection of these substances
took place according to a high production capacity and the toxicity, persistence and
bioaccumulation. After the publication of this list 17 substances were regulated in individual
directives [FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE (98/788/3040/DEB/E1) 1999].