7 Community strategy for mercury
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5999/05
COM(05) 20
| Commission Communication on the Community strategy concerning mercury
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| + ADD1 | Commission Staff Working Paper: Annex to the Communication on the Community strategy concerning mercury — Extended Impact Assessment
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 28 January 2005
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| Deposited in Parliament | 9 February 2005
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| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 21 February 2005
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| Previous Committee Report | None, but see footnote
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| To be discussed in Council | June 2005
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
7.1 Mercury is both bio-accumulative and highly toxic, with well-known
effects on the nervous, immune and reproductive systems. It thus
presents a problem described by the Commission as "global,
diffuse and chronic". Although it is released by natural
sources, the largest source of exposure for most people in developed
countries is inhalation of mercury vapour from dental amalgam.
However, exposure to the most toxic form (methyl mercury) mostly
occurs through a high intake of fish and seafood, and is hence
a particular problem in coastal areas.
7.2 The chlor-alkali industry, which produces chlorine
and alkali by electrolysis, using either mercury, diaphragm or
membrane cells, is one of the most important industrial users
of mercury, and, in October 2002, we drew to the attention of
the House a Commission report on the implications of the mercury
cell process being phased out.[31]
This concluded that such a step would be desirable environmentally,
in that it would significantly reduce mercury emissions, but that
that it would lead to some 12,000-15,000 tonnes, currently in
a confined use, becoming generally available in the Community
in the coming years, which could present a higher risk if it is
not dealt with properly. The Council subsequently invited the
Commission to present a coherent strategy to protect human health
and the environment from such an outcome, and it has now sought
to do this in the current document.
The current document
7.3 The Commission says that a key aim is to reduce
mercury levels in the environment and human exposure, especially
from methyl mercury in fish, but that this will "probably
take decades", as present levels would take time to fall
even without further releases. It also points to the importance
of full implementation of existing measures by Member States and
of making progress at the global level. The Communication then
suggests that action should be taken under the following headings.
REDUCING EMISSIONS
7.4 The Commission says that mercury releases have
generally risen with industrialisation, with global atmospheric
emissions having grown by about 20% between 1990 and 2000. It
points out that, although European emissions fell by about 60%
over this period, Europe remains a major source of mercury deposited
in other continents and the Arctic. It also says that one of the
main sources is coal burning, where large plants are covered by
the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive, but
that small combustion plants and residential use also make a significant
contribution. It therefore proposes to:
- review the effects of applying
current legislation on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
and consider if further action in such areas as emission limit
values is needed: the review will also include the benefits of
forthcoming controls under Directive 2001/80/EC to reduce sulphur
dioxide emissions from coal burning in large combustion plants;
- encourage Member States to provide more information
on mercury releases and prevention and control techniques;
- study options to abate emissions from small-scale
coal combustion (which the Commission considers is more likely
to be cost-effective when considered in conjunction with other
pollutants, as in the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme);
and
- review implementation of Community requirements
on the treatment of waste dental amalgam.
REDUCING SUPPLY AND DEMAND
7.5 The Commission notes that mercury is traded freely
on the world market, and that the Community is a major exporter
(of about 1,000 tonnes annually), adding that the dramatic fall
in the price of mercury since the 1960s has encouraged its continued
use outside Europe in areas such as gold mining. It also points
out that, whilst mercury compounds used as pesticides are subject
to international controls,[32]
there are no such restrictions on trading metallic mercury, where
the main global supplier is a Spanish state-owned firm, which
buys for resale the surplus from the chlor-alkali industry. (It
has also sold mercury made from locally mined ore, though the
Commission says the latter enterprise has already been stopped,
and is unlikely to restart.) It proposes that the export of mercury
from the Community should be phased out by 2011 by means of an
amendment to the measure concerning the export and import of dangerous
chemicals.[33]
REDUCING DEMAND
7.6 The Commission says that the global demand for
mercury is about 3,600 tonnes a year, of which about 300 tonnes
arose in the then 15 Member States in 2003. It adds that demand
is declining at both global and Community levels, but that some
significant uses remain, notably gold mining, batteries and the
chlor-alkali industry (which together account for over 75% of
consumption), though only the latter is still significant within
the Community, and is in any case likely to be replaced by dental
amalgam as the major mercury use. It also points out that measuring
and control equipment is the main mercury product group not now
covered by Community law, but says that it intends shortly to
put forward proposals under Directive 2002/95/EC on the use of
hazardous materials in electrical and electronic equipment to
cover some devices, leaving only non-electronic uses such as thermometers,
blood pressure gauges and barometers uncovered. It therefore intends
to:
- propose during 2005 restrictions
on the marketing for consumer use and health care of non-electrical
or electronic measuring and control equipment containing mercury;
- consider whether the remaining uses may be subject
to authorisation and substitution under the proposed Regulation
(REACH) governing the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation
and Registration of Chemicals; and
- request a further study of the use of mercury
in dental amalgam by the Medical Devices Expert Group and seek
an opinion from the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental
Risks on whether additional regulatory measures would be appropriate.
ADDRESSING SURPLUSES AND RESERVOIRS
7.7 The Commission suggests that the intention to
phase out exports will require Member States to store or dispose
of the mercury becoming available as a result of the changes taking
place in the chlor-alkali industry, and that some of them are
already developing national policies in this area. It points out
that, although permanent disposal would be the optimal approach
environmentally, it is currently too expensive and technically
uncertain to pursue at Community level, and that there is a need
to examine ways of finding cost-effective storage arrangements.
It therefore intends to pursue the cost-efficient storage of
surplus chlor-alkali industry mercury, via an agreement with industry,
and a timetable consistent with the intended phase-out of mercury
exports by 2011. Another consideration is the need to handle the
large amount of mercury in products already circulating, once
these become waste, concerning which the Commission says that
it will undertake a further study.
PROTECTING AGAINST EXPOSURE
7.8 The Commission notes that the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) has recently found that the risk from
mercury from those eating large quantities of fish and fishery
products can reach or exceed established safe levels, and it says
that it is therefore reviewing risk management options, including
the maximum levels set for contaminants in foodstuffs. However,
it also points out that the scope to reduce these levels is limited,
and that other measures are needed. It proposes:
- that the EFSA should undertake
further investigation of dietary exposure among vulnerable groups
such as pregnant women and children; and
- to provide additional information on mercury
in food as new data become available, and encourage national authorities
to give advice according to local circumstances.
IMPROVING UNDERSTANDING
7.9 The Commission believes that gaps in knowledge
can be filled by research, development and pilot projects, in
such areas as the effects on human health, how mercury moves or
is retained in the environment, and ecosystem sensitivity and
toxicity. It says that effort should also be directed at addressing
issues associated with mercury in products, emissions and wastes,
particularly those arising from coal combustion. It also intends
to address priorities for mercury research through the Seventh
Framework Programme and other appropriate funding mechanisms.
SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL ACTION
7.10 The Commission stresses the need to make progress
in addressing the mercury problem globally, especially to reduce
emissions, and also to reduce supply and demand. It notes the
considerable potential to reduce mercury emissions and to foster
the use of best available techniques, notably in the power, metals,
chlor-alkali and waste sectors. It suggests that the Community
has already reduced emissions significantly in these areas, and
can be offered as an example in international, regional and bilateral
fora, where it considers that purposeful demand reduction efforts
could cut global mercury use significantly. It proposes to:
- pursue Community and Member
States' input to international fora, including the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long Range
Trans-boundary Air Pollution;
- promote a Community initiative to make mercury
subject to the Prior Informed Consent procedure of the Rotterdam
Convention;
- support and promote international action to reduce
global supply and demand, and to avoid surplus mercury re-entering
the market;
- support the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) Global Mercury Programme and the United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (UNIDO) Global Mercury Project to reduce
use in artisanal gold mining; and
- pursue bilateral engagement with third counties
through, for example, technology transfer and establish a specific
funding scheme for research to reduce emissions from coal combustion.
7.11 The Commission intends to review the strategy
as a whole by the end of 2010.
The Government's view
7.12 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 21 February
2005, the Minister of State (Rural Affairs and Local Environmental
Quality) at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Mr Alun Michael) says that mercury has been recognised as a priority
pollutant for many years, and that a number of national, European
and international efforts have been initiated to reduce emissions
to the environment. He adds that the use of mercury has been greatly
reduced in the UK in recent decades, and that emissions to air,
water and soil, as well as mercury in batteries, paint and seed
dressings, are regulated under a range of European Directives.
More generally, the UK has obligations under the UNEECE Heavy
Metals Protocol which involve the regulation of power stations,
whilst emissions to air have declined by 87% since 1970 as a result
of (i) improved controls on mercury cells in the chlor-alkali
industry and their gradual replacement by diaphragm or membrane
cells, (ii) the decline of coal use, and (iii) enhanced controls
on municipal solid waste incinerators from 1997 onwards.
7.13 He says that the UK warmly welcomes the development
of the Community Strategy, which proposes measures in addition
to those already in place to reduce the use and emissions of mercury.
He suggests that it may contribute to the achievement of existing
UK obligations under, for example, the Water Framework Directive
(under which mercury is designated a Priority Hazardous Substance)
and OSPAR, in which mercury is designated as a Chemical for Priority
Action.
Conclusion
7.14 This document, which builds upon the Commission's
earlier report on mercury from the chlor-alkali industry, covers
important ground, and usefully identifies areas where further
steps can be taken to reduce any hazards to human health or to
the environment. Having said that, the action proposed in the
strategy is in fairly general terms, and will give rise to a number
of more specific measures over the next year or two. For that
reason, we think it sufficient at this stage simply to draw the
document to the attention of the House, leaving any more detailed
proposals to be considered on their merits in due course. We are
therefore clearing the document.
31 (23822) 12210/02; see HC 152-xl (2001-02), para
13 (20 October 2002). Back
32
Under the Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure. Back
33
Regulation (EC) 304/2003. Back
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