Dioxin Pollution

In a Written Question by Mrs. Roudy, it was stated that the dioxin pollution incident ill New York State which neces- sitated the declaration of a state of emergency and the evacuation of 700 families raised once again the question of the storage of dangerous products; for according to initial estimates, this disaster looks as though it may be worse than Seveso in 1976.

Therefore, the Commission was asked to supply the following information:

1. Can the Commission state the manner in which chemical waste is stored in the Community and who gives authorization for such operations ? 2. Does the Commission have a chart detailing the locations and conditions of storage of dangerous chemical products, indicating the type of products stored and the quantities ? If not, is it ready to draw up such a chart? 3. Are there Community directives pro- tecting the population of the Commu- nity against such disasters ?

Answer given by Mr. Natali on behalf of the Commission:* 1. The Commission at present lacks de- tailed information on the storage and dumping of chemical waste in the Com- munity.

The total toxic and dangerous waste produced in the Community - of the type apparently referred to - may be estimated at 15 to 20 million tonnes a year.

According to the Commission's pre- sent information some 170 treatment centres and dumps are now in operation in the Member States with a total capa- city of about 6 million tonnes. There are eight dumps in France and 33 in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Installations forming part of indus- trial establishments are not included in the above figure.

Article 6 of the Directive of 20th March 1978 on toxic and dangerous waste provides that Member States shall designate or establish the competent authority or authorities to be respon- sible, in a given area, for the planning, organization, authorization and supervi- sion of operations for the disposal of toxic and dangerous waste.

Under Article 16 of the same Direc- tive, every three years Member States must draw up a situation report on the

*19th September 1980.

Environmental Policy and Law, 7 (1981)

disposal of toxic and dangerous waste in their respective countries and forward it to the Commission which submits a re- port to the Council and the European Parliament on the application of the Directive.

The Member States will be required to meet this obligation for the first time in 1981.

The Commission hopes that the Mem- ber States will inform it fully and in time for its obligations to the Council and Parliament to be fulfilled.

Only then - probably at the end of 1981 - will the Commission be able to give the Honourable Member a suffi- ciently detailed answer, particularly as regards competent authorities in the Member States, quantities, sites and con- ditions governing the storage of danger- ous waste. 2. Neither does the Commission have a map showing the quantities of dangerous wastes stored in the Community, the sites or the conditions of storage.

A study of the stream of toxic and dangerous wastes in the Community and the methods of treating and disposing of them is in progress.

The results of the study, and the re- ports on the disposal of dangerous waste required from all Member States in 1981 about their respective situations will enable tile Commission to prepare a map of this type. 3. The Commission is of the opinion that the Directive of 20th March 1978 on toxic and dangerous w a s t e - which has been operative in all Member States since 31st March 1980 - provides an important framework of common rules and provisions for protecting the Com- munity's inhabitants from the potential hazards of the production and disposal of toxic and dangerous wastes.

In view of the high risk with these wastes - and their special nature - the Commission will continue to give atten- tion to them as a matter of priority and to introduce appropriate specific mea- sures to supplement the framework Di- rective of 20th March 1978 on toxic and dangerous waste. []

SELECTED DOCUMENTS

UN/UNEP COORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UP OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN OF ACTION TO COMBAT DESERTI F ICATION*

23. ACC agreed that in order to strengthen the efforts and co-operation of the United Nations system, the following priority areas of activity in the field of desertification con- trol shou Id be u nderta ken : (a) Collection of information for the assess- ment and monitoring of desertification, and for evaluating its impact on people and the environment, including its economic, social and demographic consequences; that would require the establishment of national or re- gional systems for monitoring natural re- sources and human conditions; (b) Application of avaialble scientific know- ledge and technologies to land use planning and resource management in areas affected by desertification, including the implementation of protective and corrective measures against desertification. Moreover, in the light of the programmes of the United Nations system in the field of desertification, and in order to fill gaps, special attention should be given to: (i) Water resources, development and con- servation ; (ii) Rangeland assessment, development and conservation, with special reference to various

*UNEP/GC.9/4/Add.1 (see also p. 58).

aspects of livestock production and wildlife management and utilization;

(iii) Management of rain-fed and irrigated agricultural land; (iv) Conservation of natural ecosystems; (v) Afforestation; (vi) Stabilization of moving sands; (vii) Development and use of alternative sources of energy;

(c) Strengthening of national and regional capabilities in science and technology that will enable developing countries to take full ad- vantage of scientific knowledge and socio- economic insights in the planning and man- agement of campaigns against desertification; (d) Promotion of national and regional re- search programmes aimed at fil l ing gaps in scientific knowledge and introducing techno- logical innovations related to combating deser- tif ication; (e) Promotion of national and international programmes for training, education and infor- mation related to desertification and land use management in areas prone to desertification; (f) Strengthening popular participation in desertification control schemes.

24. ACC noted that in order to meet the needs of the years ahead, the following condi- tions had to be met: (a) Need for national plans of action to com- bat desertification; (b) Need for training of specialists for various activities related to combating desertification, particularly middle-level technicians;

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