RESTRICTIONS ON MERCURY DEVICES (6693/06)
Letter from Lord Rooker, Minister of State
for Sustainable Farming and Food, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs to the Chairman
Further to my letter on 2 June 2006[83]
I am writing to update you on developments concerning the above
proposal and to alert you to the prospect of a first reading deal.
Following the European Commission's proposal
to amend Directive 76/769/EEC (on the marketing and use of certain
dangerous substances and preparations) and restrict the marketing
of certain measuring devices containing mercury, we produced an
initial Regulatory Impact Assessment in March 2006.
You wrote to Lord Bach on 24 April 2006, requesting
further information on the possible impacts of the proposed restrictions
on businesses specialising in supplying such instruments for domestic
use. I wrote with an initial response on 2 June 2006. Since then,
we have conducted an extensive public consultation exercise. Although
documents were sent to all identified UK businesses involved in
manufacture and restoration of domestic mercury instruments, no
responses on the possible impacts of the proposals on industry
were received, despite this being specifically requested. It is
unlikely that we will be able to obtain any further information
on this particular issue.
Discussion of the proposals has continued within
European Commission Technical Harmonisation Working Parties and
the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health
and Food Safety. The UK has supported the Commission's proposals
as they currently stand, but there have been moves to extend their
scope to include health care instruments and specialist industrial
and scientific measuring devices.
We have stated that the UK could accept the
inclusion of healthcare instruments, provided this incorporated
a derogation for sphygmomanometers (blood pressure monitors) in
professional health care, to be reviewed after 36 months, and
that the following special cases were exempted:
— validation of mercury-free blood
pressure monitors;
— use of mercury sphygmomanometers
in pharmaceutical drug trials.
The UK view is that specialist industrial and
scientific measuring devices should not be included at this time,
but such uses should be reviewed as quickly as reasonably possible.
There are several applications where such instruments are still
essential—for example, in high precision pressure measurement
standards for safety critical aerospace instruments.
The Commission has stated that any antique instruments
imported from outside the EU would be unable to be sold under
the proposed restrictions, as they would be deemed as being placed
on the EU market for the first time. However, such devices contain
little mercury and will not be needlessly disposed of, or subject
to casual breakages, because of their intrinsic value. Restricting
these imports would have a disproportionate effect on EU auction
houses, where the presence of a barometer in a mixed lot may cause
the whole lot to be diverted to a non-EU auction house. This would
affect the wider entrepôt role of cities such as
London, without having any impact on the global use of mercury
as antiques trading would continue outside of the EU. The UK has
proposed a derogation to allow antique (i.e. made before 1950)
measuring devices to be exempted from the proposed marketing restrictions.
Support for this position has been received from the European
Parliament.
Negotiations are now approaching a conclusion
and there is the prospect of a first reading deal in the EP Plenary
towards the end of October. The proposal may then go to the October
Environment Council for political agreement, so we may shortly
need to be in a position to vote.
11 October 2006
Letter from the Chairman to Lord Rooker
Thank you for your letter dated 11 October 2006,
which Sub-Committee D considered at its meeting on 1 November.
We have noted the position both on domestic
instruments and on moves to extend the proposed Directive to cover
instruments in other areas, and we have noted your Department's
response in each case. We agree especially with your proposal
to seek a derogation in the case of antique instruments containing
mercury, noting the disproportionate effect that the inclusion
of such instruments could have on the position of London as an
entrepot for the sale of such devices. We are therefore
content to clear this proposal from scrutiny but would ask you
to keep us informed of progress.
2 November 2006
Letter from Lord Rooker to the Chairman
I wrote to you on 11 October about this proposal
and to alert you to the prospect of a first reading deal. In your
reply of 2 November, you requested to be kept informed of progress
and I am therefore writing to update you on recent developments.
Following extensive discussion by the Working
Party Technical Harmonisation (Dangerous Substances) of the Commission's
original proposal and taking account of a number of draft amendments
by the European Parliament, a compromise package was agreed by
the Working Group on 24 October 2006. This contained restrictions
on mercury in fever (clinical thermometers) and other measuring
devices for sale to the general public, but included a permanent
derogation for all instruments over 50 years old (i.e. antiques)
and a two-year derogation for domestic barometers. Devices used
in healthcare and industrial and scientific applications were
not included, but would be reviewed within two years. The package
was approved by the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER)
on 31 October.
The European Parliament adopted its Opinion
at first reading on 14 November. This included not only the compromise
package, but also an amendment granting a permanent derogation
to (domestic) barometers together with licensing mechanisms to
be established by Member States. In addition, the proposed restrictions
would be extended to healthcare and scientific/industrial applications.
The Presidency is aware that for many delegations,
including the UK, the EP's Opinion is not acceptable. It has therefore
been taking steps to find out whether Member States would support
the text of the compromise agreed by COREPER on 31 October, as
a political agreement which could be adopted by Council as a Common
Position. The Presidency has also been talking to the EP.
The Presidency will be reporting back to Member
States shortly. I will keep you informed of how these discussions
have developed.
9 February 2007
83 Correspondence with Ministers, 40th Report of Session
2006-07, HL Paper 187, p 273. Back
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