Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1977 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 59 - Toxic and Dangerous Wastes and Substances

REPORT

1. Introduction

In this report the Joint Committee deals with a number of Commission proposals which are part of or relate to the Community’s Action Programme on the Environment. The proposals are in the form of Council Directives based on Article 100 of the EEC Treaty which are intended to secure by the approximation of national laws a common series of rules applicable throughout the Community.

A. TOXIC AND DANGEROUS WASTES DISPOSAL

(R/1966/76 and R/615/77)

2. Contents of Proposal

An outline Directive on Waste (75/442/EEC) adopted by the Council on 15 July, 1975 lays down basic provisions relating to waste disposal and recovery in general. This Directive, which is to be implemented by national measures within two years, envisages the possible adoption of specific rules relating to certain types of waste. The present proposal is for the adoption of such rules governing toxic and dangerous waste disposal. If adopted, Member States will be obliged to adopt a uniform system of controls and safeguard measures for dealing with such wastes.

The draft Directive outlines a common field of action within which rules on toxic and dangerous waste disposal are to be applied. The concepts of “toxic and dangerous waste” and of “disposal” are defined (Article 1). Obligations are to be imposed on Member States (a) to take the necessary measures to encourage the recycling and processing of toxic waste, the extraction of raw materials and possibly of energy therefrom; (b) to ensure that toxic and dangerous waste is disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment and that uncontrolled disposal is prohibited; (c) to establish competent authorities to be responsible for disposal operations (Article 5); and (d) to set up a licensing system. Other provisions require the drawing up of special plans for the disposal of toxic and dangerous wastes and for their publication, the giving of orders by competent authorities for the transfer and treatment for such wastes in case of emergency or grave danger and the keeping of registers by the producers, holders and disposers of such wastes. The list of toxic and dangerous substances as set out in the proposal is the result of preparatory studies carried out by the Commission in co-operation with national experts. It is proposed that the list may be amended in the light of technical progress by an ad hoc Committee composed of representatives of the Member States.

3. Existing Irish Legislation

At present there is no special legislation relating to the disposal of toxic or dangerous wastes in Ireland. Waste generally is governed by Sections 107 and 108 of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878 which provide that any accumulation or deposit which is a nuisance or injurious to health is a statutory nuisance, and constitutes an offence punishable by fine, and impose an obligation on sanitary authorities to secure the abatement of nuisances within their district.

The Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 provides (Section 3) that where land is used for the deposit of waste its use is materially changed and planning permission is required. Conditions may be attached by planning authorities to permissions to protect human health and the environment both in cases where land is used for the disposal of wastes and in cases where new development creates emissions or effluents of a toxic or dangerous nature.

4. Implications for Ireland

The Joint Committee is informed that the problem of the disposal of toxic and dangerous wastes is becoming a serious one particularly in the Dublin and Cork areas. Legislation to deal with the matter is required quite apart from any obligations arising under EEC Directives. The Joint Committee is informed that proposals for legislation are in fact being prepared and that a survey is being carried out through local authorities to determine the extent of the problem nationally.

The Joint Committee believes that it is desirable and should be possible for the proposed Irish legislation to implement the main provisions of the draft Directive. It welcomes, in particular, the provision for a possible processing of waste to extract raw materials and possibly energy and it recommends that the possibility of initiating such processes in Ireland should be energetically pursued.

B. DUMPING OF WASTE AT SEA

(R/105/76)

5. Contents of Proposal

For the purpose of this proposal dumping signifies the conveyance of of wastes—usually industrial by-products—to sea for the specific purpose of disposal, as contrasted with, for example, the discharge of waste oil from a tanker on an ordinary commercial voyage.

A primary aim of the proposal is the harmonisation of the measures taken or to be taken by Member States in the implementation of existing non-EEC international Conventions on the subject of the dumping of harmful wastes at sea from ships or aircraft. The Conventions in question are:—

(a) the Oslo Convention, on the NE Atlantic and the North Sea;

(b) the London Convention, global in coverage;

(c) the Baltic Convention; and

(d) the Barcelona Convention, on the Mediterranean Sea Area.

The proposed Directive, following the model of these Conventions, sets up a system for monitoring dumping operations and introduces safety measures with a view to preventing or reducing marine pollution caused by the deliberate dumping of waste at sea from ships and aircraft. Ships and aircraft will not be allowed to dump certain particularly harmful substances at sea, and they will have to obtain a permit from the appropriate national authorities before discharging any other substances into the sea. The permits issued will be of a general or specific nature, according to the extent to which the waste pollutes. The substances which would be banned under the terms of the Directive are:—

(i) organohalogen compounds;

(ii) organosilicon compounds;

(iii) mercury and its compounds;

(iv) cadmium and its compounds;

(v) persistent plastics and other persistent synthetic materials;

(vi) crude oil and hydrocarbons derived from oil, as well as mixtures containing these products taken on board for the purpose of dumping at sea;

(vii) waste and other materials which have a high, medium or low level of radioactivity and which are to be defined by the Council on a proposal from the Commission before 1st January, 1978 as being unsuitable for dumping at sea;

(viii) acids and alkalis from the titanium and aluminium industries; and

(ix) materials produced for biological and chemical warfare.

The ban on dumping, and the permits system, will apply (i) in the case of ships and aircraft registered in a Member State or flying the flag of a Member State, to all seas in the world irrespective of the origin of the waste involved, and (ii) in the case of ships and aircraft registered in a non-member country, to all seas if they are transporting Community waste and otherwise to all waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States.

6. Irish Legislation

The Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1962, prohibits the dumping at sea from Ireland of any “deleterious matter”, defined generally as matter which could harm fish or fishing grounds, and requires the licensing by the Minister for Fisheries of any other substance being dumped at sea from an Irish source.

The Joint Committee is informed that the Dumping at Sea Bill, 1976 which was introduced in the Seanad on 13 July, 1976 but has not yet been circulated, will when enacted, enable Ireland to ratify the Oslo and London Conventions. The lists of prohibited substances, and of substances requiring special care in dumping are very similar in the two Conventions, but not identical, while the lists in the EEC Directive show some variations from those of the two Conventions. The Joint Committee understands that the Bill will not be tied to any particular list of substances so that it will be possible to give legal effect to the draft Directive as well as to the two Conventions.

7. Implications for Ireland

The Joint Committee is informed that only one licence has been issued under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1962, and that any possibility of unauthorised dumping by Irish concerns can be discounted. It is, however, obviously in Irish interests to contribute to the international control of dumping at sea and the Joint Committee supports the Commission proposals in principle. The Joint Committee trusts, however, that variations between the provisions of the draft Directive and the Conventions to which it is proposed to accede will not give rise to conflicts between the Community and the regulatory bodies set up by the Conventions.

C. PACKAGING AND LABELLING OF DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES

(R/2203/76)

8. Contents of Proposal

This proposal purports to amend and extend Directive No. 67/548/EEC (as amended) which lays down conditions for the clsssification, packaging, labelling and sale of dangerous substances in order to eliminate technical barriers to trade and to protect human health by the introduction of additional requirements to protect the environment.

The proposed Directive, if adopted, would involve the designation of a national authority which would exercise controls over new chemicals coming on the market with certain exceptions. Any person marketing a new chemical substance would be required to carry out a study, prior to marketing, to enable its effects on man and the environment to be assessed and to furnish the results of specified tests to the national authority, at the latest on the date of marketing. The data furnished would be considered by the national authority and, if it appeared that a new substance presented a hazard to man or to the environment, the national authority could impose conditions of use pending adoption of Community measures.

The present proposals are also relevant to the Solvents Directive (73/173/EEC) and to a draft Directive on Paints, Varnishes, Glues and Related Products (R/785/75). The latter proposal was dealt with by the Joint Committee in its Twenty-Seventh Report (Prl. 5342), the view being expressed that there was no objection to its adoption.

9. Views of Joint Committee

The Joint Committee understands that in Ireland there are small scale industries engaged on research and development up to a certain stage of new chemical substances which are then sold to manufacturers for further development. It would be extremely costly and an inhibiting factor in the development of the industry if the proposed tests had to be carried out before substances requiring further development could be sold. Accordingly, the Joint Committee considers that the specified tests should not be required on substances at an intermediate stage of development.

Directive 67/548/EEC and the earlier amendments thereto have not yet apparently been implemented in this country but the Joint Committee understands that it is proposed to make appropriate regulations under the European Communities Act, 1972. The Joint Committee believes that these regulations should be as comprehensive as possible and should include all relevant amendments of the original Directive including, if possible, amendments arising from the adoption of the present proposal.

D. PROTECTION OF HEALTH OF WORKERS IN PLASTICS INDUSTRY

(R/2885/76)

10. Contents of Proposal

This draft Directive would oblige Member States to require employers of workers in factories in which vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is manufactured or used to form poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) to take specified steps to protect the health of their workers and others.

11. Implications for Ireland

The Joint Committee is informed that none of the processes referred to in the draft Directive is at present carried out in this country. Unformed or raw vinyl chloride polymers are imported and processed to produce PVC moulding compound and finished articles. PVC moulding compound is also imported and likewise further processed into finished articles. If adopted in its present form, the provisions of the draft Directive would not apply to these processes and consequently would have no immediate effects in this country.

E. PROTECTION OF FOODSTUFFS FROM VCM CONTAMINATION

(R/11/77)

12. Contents of Proposal

This draft Directive proposes that—

(i) plastic packaging intended to come into contact with foodstuffs should not contain more than a specific quantity of VCM; and

(ii) migration of VCM into foodstuffs should not exceed a specific amount.

An outline Directive (76/893/EEC) relating to materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs was adopted on 23 November, 1976. This Directive, which allows eighteen months for implementation by national measures, provides for the adoption of “specific Directives” applicable to certain groups of materials and articles. The present proposal falls into this category.

13. Implications for Ireland

Raw material used in the production of materials and articles which contain vinyl chloride monomer and are intended to come into contact with foodstuffs is not produced in Ireland and consequently Irish manufacturers do not control the amount of vinyl chloride monomer contained therein. However, the Joint Committee is advised that it is intended that the draft Directive will not apply at the raw material stage but only to materials and articles which in their finished state contain vinyl chloride monomer and are intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. Therefore, Irish manufacturers of such materials and articles will have to ensure that their products comply with the Directive and to indicate such compliance when putting the products on the market.

The Joint Committee is informed that the ICI Plastics Division does not consider that the draft Directive presents any problem for them as manufacturers of the raw materials. If manufacturers such as ICI make a product which meets the prescribed specifications, Irish manufacturers should have no problem in complying with the Directive.

The draft Directive also provides that the migration of VCM into foodstuffs may not exceed a specified limit. Presumably this provision is necessary because of a possibility of foodstuffs, free of VCM and packaged in material complying with the Directive, being found on subsequent examination to contain VCM beyond the prescribed limit. Presumably this provision could be implemented in national legislation by empowering public authorities to carry out spot checks, the results of which might lead in due course to a revision of the technical standards laid down in the Directive. It would not be proper, in the Joint Committee’s view, to place the responsibility on or to penalise food manufacturers.

Generally speaking, the Joint Committee considers that the proposed measure is desirable in the interests of consumers.

14. Acknowledgements

The Joint Committee wishes to acknowledge with thanks the assistance it received from the Food, Drink and Tobacco Federation, the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards and Professor George Dawson, Faculty of Natural Sciences, TCD.

(Signed) CHARLES J. HAUGHEY.

Chairman of the Joint Committee.

4th May, 1977.