EC declares war against heavy metal
17 Jul 2003
Yesterday, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive aimed at minimising the harmful effects of heavy metals in the air.
The heavy metals in question - arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - can cause adverse effects on human health if they are inhaled for prolonged periods of time.
'This Directive is the last building block of the full overhaul of our air quality legislation, which started with the Air Quality Framework Directive in 1996,' said Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom.
'It will lead to concrete health benefits for citizens by obliging authorities across Europe to curb pollution,' she added.
In more than 150 areas within the enlarged EU, current ambient air concentrations of specific dangerous heavy metals - arsenic, cadmium and nickel - is estimated to result in death from cancer of one or more person in one million. According to the EU, without new abatement measures, in 2010, more than 400 additional cases of lung cancer will be caused through inhalation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are a group of more than 20 carcinogens of similar chemical character, which are mainly emitted by incomplete combustion. Their total effect on human health can be assessed through monitoring the concentration of one of them, namely benzo-a-pyrene.
In some residential areas, annual average concentrations of benzo-a-pyrene are as high as 3 nanogramme/m3, due to domestic heating by solid fuels such as coal and wood. The proposed legislation will require Member States to take measures to meet an annual target value of 1 ng/m3 of benzo-a-pyrene. It will also draw Member States' attention to the need for abatement measures in busy streets where, due to emissions from road traffic, current levels of benzo-a-pyrene can amount to more than 3 ng/m3.
The proposed Directive follows on from an earlier Air Quality Framework Directive, which required the establishment of air quality standards for 13 pollutants. Three Directives addressing SO2, NOx, particulate matter, lead, carbon monoxide, benzene and ozone have already been adopted.
