Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1978 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 19 - Micro-Pollutants in water Atmospheric Pollutants, Pollution of Ground Water Sulphorous Emissions from Fuel Oil and Protection of Electrical Equipment

REPORT

Introduction

1. The Joint Committee has completed its examination of the following proposals made by the Commission:—

Draft Council Decision adopting concerted action in the field of analysis of organic micro-pollutants in water [R/281/78 (RECH 17)].

Draft Council Decision adopting concerted action in the field of physico-chemical behaviour of atmospheric pollutants [R/280/78 (RECH 16)].

Draft Council Directive on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances [R/236/78 (ENV 3)].

Amendment to draft Council Directive relating to the use of fuel-oils with the aim of decreasing sulphurous emissions [R/1986/77 (ENV 114) (ECO 212)].

Draft Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the general requirements of construction and certain types of protection for electrical equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres [R/3316/77 (ECO 307)].

2. The first four proposals are connected with the Action Programme of the European Communities on the Environment. The fifth proposal is concerned with harmonisation of national laws so as to remove certain barriers to intra-Community trade in electrical equipment.

Micro-pollutants in Water

3. The aim of this proposal is to co-ordinate for a period of four years the research being carried out or planned in the Member States into organic micro-pollutants in water and to enable such co-ordination to be extended to include work being done by other states involved in European Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST). A similar project in which Ireland participated was carried out within COST in 1972-76.

4. The research is concerned with the detection and quantitative determination of polluting substances in water and the evaluation of results (so far, more than 1,200 polluting substances have been identified, among them a number of highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds). The results expected should enable the danger to human health resulting from water pollution to be better assessed.

5. The Joint Committee is informed that Ireland would participate in the project via the exchange of information about work presently being carried out by An Foras Forbartha and would benefit from reciprocal information concerning related research in other participating States.

Atmospheric Pollutants

6. This proposal seeks to co-ordinate the research of Member States into certain areas of atmospheric pollution and to co-operate with the research of other countries involved in COST. As with the proposal for research into water pollution this proposal is a follow up to the COST project in 1972-76.

7. It is proposed to carry out research over a four-year period in the following fields:

(a)Studies of the conversion and transport of atmospheric pollutants

(i)laboratory studies,

(ii)field studies,

(iii)modelling.

(b)Studies on deposition and absorption of atmospheric pollutants.

The research is expected to make for a better understanding of the whole complex of air pollution and its impact on human health and the environment.

8. The Joint Committee is informed that Ireland would participate in the project via the exchange of information about work at present being carried out by the Chemical Engineering Department of University College Dublin. As with the project relating to micro-pollutants in water Ireland would benefit from reciprocal information concerning related research in other participating States.

Pollution of Groundwater

9. This draft Directive is a follow up to Council Directive 74/464/EEC of 4th May, 1976 on pollution caused by certain dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment, Article 4 of which envisaged a separate Directive on groundwater. The object of the proposed Directive is to preserve all usable groundwater resources from contamination, groundwater being defined as all water which is below the surface of the ground in the water saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground. It provides for a prohibition of direct discharges of List I substances (black list) and control through an authorisation system of indirect discharges of such substances as well as List II substances (grey list) whether discharged directly or indirectly.

10. The Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 was designed to ensure that the quality of national water resources is maintained to a satisfactory standard consistent with their various beneficial uses. The controls under the Act extend to aquifers and the term is defined as “any stratum or combination of strata which stores or transmits sufficient water to serve as a source of water supply”. The Department of the Environment regards this as consistent with the terms of the draft Directive which will not apply to isolated unusable groundwater. It considers that the other main concepts of the proposed Directive notably prohibition and authorisation (licensing) of discharges with conditions governing concentration of substances and characteristics of receiving medium are also consistent with existing Irish legislation. However, the Department has drawn attention to one discordant provision in the draft Directive which relates to authorisation of indirect discharges e.g. deposits involving percolation through the ground which while controllable under section 3 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977, are not licensable under the Act. The Joint Committee understands that at the Council Working Party considering the proposal, the Irish and British delegations have pointed out that the control of indirect discharges as proposed in this Directive would be more appropriate to a measure dealing with solid or toxic waste disposal and would overlap provisions of Directives already adopted in this general area. The Joint Committee supports this view and hopes that the proposal will be amended accordingly.

11. The Department of Industry, Commerce and Energy believes that a few industries in this country which discharge waste into groundwater would be compelled to instal treatment plants if the proposed Directive is adopted. The Department states that while firm estimates are not yet available the cost could be relatively sizeable. The Joint Committee considers that no cost additional to whatever may be needed to meet the requirements of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 should be imposed on industry and that, if necessary, the proposed Directive should be amended to ensure that position.

Sulphurous Emissions from Fuel Oils

12. The Commission document examined by the Joint Committee relates to modifications of a proposal for a Council Directive which the Commission made in 1975. The modifications are being proposed in the light of the opinion expressed by the European Parliament. The draft Directive itself was examined by the previous Joint Committee and was dealth with in its fiftieth report (Prl. 6164) of 23rd March, 1977.

13. The draft Directive would provide for the setting up of special protection zones where air pollution by sulphur dioxide and smoke exceed certain specified limits. Inside those zones with some exceptions only low sulphur oil could be used after 1st October, 1978. There would also be provision outside the special protection zones to cover local concentrations of sulphur dioxide and smoke and temporary adverse weather conditions.

14. The amendment now proposed would make a number of changes the most important of which are:

(a)the period for which specified limits must be exceeded before an area is designated as a special protection zone is reduced from three years to one year.

(b)the period for which installations subject to temporary control would be required to burn low sulphur fuel oil after air pollution has fallen to acceptable levels is reduced from 24 hours to 6 hours.

15. The previous Joint Committee concluded that even if the Directive is adopted, the need for declaring zones of special protection is unlikely to arise in this country in the foreseeable future. However, the Committee expressed grave reservations regarding the provision which would oblige combustion installations outside zones of special protection with a thermal power rating of 100 mw to use low sulphur fuel oil “as soon as for a 24-hour period the average concentration of sulphur dioxide and of suspended particulate matter at ground level within the area of influence of these installations” exceeded specified limits. The Committee concluded that this provision would be of minimal benefit to this country and could not be justified because of the heavy additional expenditure involved for the Electricity Supply Board. The proposed amendment would reduce the 24-hour period to 6 hours.

16. The Joint Committee is advised that the sulphur content of fuel oil used by the Electricity Supply Board in their generating stations varies almost from consignment to consignment but averages nearer 3% by weight than 2%. The upper range can be in excess of 4%. The extensive use of low sulphur fuel oil at generating stations would have very significant financial implications for the E.S.B. While there are no overall estimates as to the cost of implementing the draft Directive, the Board has estimated that the use of low sulphur fuel oil at Ringsend Power Station (270mw) on a continuous basis could cost well in excess of £1 million per annum at 1977 prices. The effect for Poolbeg Station, which is currently rated at 240 mw but which will be increased to 510 mw in 1978/79, would be far greater. The Board has estimated very roughly that if it were to change-over entirely to fuel oil with a sulphur content of 1%, its annual fuel bill of around £50 million could be increased by anything up to 20%. Moreover, if full monitoring plant had to be installed at the stations, the indications are that this would involve the Board in an outlay of £300,000 more per station over the life of the station. The Board has no financial reserves and any extra expenditure would have to be passed on to consumers by way of higher charges. Generally speaking, an extra £2 million in costs to the Board means an increase of 1% in the price of electricity. However, while the Joint Committee agrees with its predecessor that the proposal to make the use of low sulphur fuel oil obligatory must be resisted, it feels that the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards might be invited to make periodic measuring on an audit basis so as to ensure that there is some check on the atmospheric concentration of sulphur dioxide.

Protection for Electrical Equipment

17. Directive 76/117/EEC of 18th December, 1975 introduced a number of rules aimed at removing technical barriers to trade in electrical equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. It provided that such equipment must conform with harmonised standards but did not specify those standards. The purpose of the present proposal is to provide for seven harmonised standards.

18. The Joint Committee is advised that neither the original 1975 framework Directive nor the present proposal have substantial implications for Ireland. The type of equipment to which they refer is not manufactured in Ireland. There are no facilities in Ireland for testing such equipment and the provision of such facilities would not be justified on economic grounds at present. It may, therefore, be necessary to have recourse to test facilities outside the country.

19. Existing Irish legislation on the subject is contained in the Electricity Regulations made by the Minister for Labour under the Factories Act, 1955 and the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965. These Regulations may require minor amendments in order to ensure that they do not conflict with Article 4 of the framework Directive which bars Member States from prohibiting the sale or free movement or use for its proper purpose of the equipment to which the specific Directive applies. It will also be necessary for Ireland to establish or appoint an approved body or authorised bodies for the purpose of implementing various provisions in the 1975 Directive and in the present proposal if it is adopted. The latter is consequential on the 1975 Directive and the Joint Committee has no objection to it.

Bodies Consulted

20. The Joint Committee consulted the following bodies in regard to the undermentioned proposals:

The Committee wishes to express its thanks to those bodies which sent it memoranda or otherwise made their views known to it.

(Signed) EOIN RYAN,

Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee.

28th June, 1978.