PERFLUOROCTANE SULFONATES (PFOS) (15552/05)
Letter from Lord Rooker, Minister of State
for Sustainable Farming and Food, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs to the Chairman
I am writing to inform your Committee of the
current position on this dossier following its First Reading in
the European Parliament. I am pleased to inform you that the Council,
the European Parliament and the Commission have reached an agreement
on this dossier. At its first reading on 25 October 2006, the
Parliament adopted seven compromise amendments which were agreed
in advance between the three EU institutions.
I would therefore expect the proposed directive
to be adopted at Competitiveness Council on the 4 and 5 of December.
This compromise agreement bans the use and marketing
of PFOS as a substance or constituent of preparations in a concentration
equal to or higher than 0.005% by mass and for semi-finished products,
equal to or higher than 0.1% by mass.
In addition, the agreement allows for five specific
derogations for critical uses: photoresists or anti reflective
coatings for photolithography processes:
(a) photographic coatings;
(b) mist suppressants for non-decorative
hard hexavalent chromium (VI) plating and wetting agents;
(c) hydraulic fluids for aviation;
(d) fire fighting foams (54 month derogation
for use of existing stock).
Instead of imposing a time limit on the derogations
a-d above, the Commission has committed itself to reviewing these
with a view to phasing them out as soon as safer alternatives
are technologically and economically feasible. For each derogation,
Member States must use best available technology to minimise releases
of PFOS into the environment and justify that no safer alternatives
are available.
These provisions are acceptable to us as they
ensure that the derogations are appropriate and not open-ended.
30 November 2006
| 
