Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2011)385 - Requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2011)385 - Requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2011)385  |
| date | 27-06-2011 |
Water is one of the most comprehensively regulated areas of Community environmental legislation. Early European water policy began in the 1970s with the adoption of political programmes as well as legally binding legislation.
A first wave of legislation was adopted, starting with the 1975 Surface Water Directive i and culminating in the 1980 Drinking Water Directive i. Since then scientific and technological knowledge has improved and the approach to Community legislation has evolved. In 1988 the Frankfurt ministerial seminar on water reviewed the existing legislation and identified a number of improvements that could be made. This resulted in a second phase of water legislation.
Legislative results of this substantial restructuring of Community water policy and legislation were the Directive establishing a new framework for Community action in the field of water policy i, adopted by the European Parliament and Council in September 2000 and came into force on 22 December 2000, and a new Drinking Water Directive, reviewing the quality standards and, where necessary, tightening them.
The 1980 Drinking Water Directive not only had to be adapted to the existing scientific and technical progress, but also to the principle of subsidiarity by reducing the number of parameters that Member States were obliged to monitor and by focusing on compliance with essential quality and health parameters.
The process leading to the revision started in 1993 when the Commission organized a European Drinking Water Conference in Brussels to consult all stakeholders in the supply of drinking water. This resulted, in 1998, in the adoption and entry into force of the current Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption. This new directive had to be transposed into national legislation by the end of the year 2000, and had to be complied with by the end of 2003 with some exceptions for critical parameters such as lead and disinfection by products.
Only a very small percentage of drinking water systems are located in areas that have potential sources of man-made radioactive contamination from facilities that use, manufacture, or dispose of radioactive substances. Drinking water contamination may occur through accidental releases of radioactivity or through improper disposal practices. Water systems that are vulnerable to this type of contamination are required to perform extensive monitoring for radioactive contamination to ensure that their drinking water is safe. Yet, there are many regions in Europe where the geological and hydrological features are such that the presence of naturally occurring radioactive substances is of concern.
Under Community legislation, technical requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption have been finalised for more than five years now, after a consultation process involving the Group of Experts provided for under Article 31 EURATOM, the Committee established under the Drinking Water Directive and the consultation of the Committee of Member State representatives established under Articles 35-36 of the EURATOM Treaty. So far the requirements for monitoring tritium and total indicative dose under Council Directive 98/83/EC have not been implemented, pending the adoption of amendments to Annexes II (monitoring) and III (specifications for the analysis of parameters).
Indicator parameters set out in Annex I Part C relating to radioactivity and tritium and the related monitoring provisions in Annex II to Directive 98/83/EC fall within the scope of the basic standards within the meaning of Article 30 of the EURATOM Treaty.
As a result, it is justified to incorporate the requirements for monitoring levels of radioactivity in a specific legislation under the EURATOM Treaty in order to maintain the uniformity, coherence and completeness of radiation protection legislation at Community level.
Therefore the Commission considers it appropriate to present a proposal laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption based on Article 31 of the EURATOM Treaty.
According to the EURATOM Treaty provisions, the Commission is required to consult the Group of scientific experts referred to in Article 31 of the EURATOM Treaty when revising and supplementing the basic standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation. Following this legal obligation, the opinion was already delivered in June 2008.
Taking into account the implementation of the general principle in legal theory and practice that establishes that a law governing a specific subject matter overrides a law which only governs general matters ("lex specialis derogat legi generali"), the provisions of the Directive under the EURATOM Treaty supersede those of the Directive 98/83/EC as regards radioactive substances in drinking water.
In a second step, the Commission will propose the deletion of Tritium and Total Indicative Dose from the list of indicator parameters in part C of Annex I to Directive 98/83/EC and the repeal all references to these parametric values.
2. SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The provisions of this Directive are related to the basic standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public. Consequently, the legal base chosen is the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Articles 31 and 32 thereof.
• Subsidiarity principle
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community. As the Community's legislative powers under Title II Chapter III of the EURATOM Treaty are exclusive in nature, they are not subject to the principle of subsidiarity.
• Proportionality principle
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reason(s).
The proposal sets out minimum harmonised standards for monitoring tritium and total indicative dose and adapts the requirements of Directive 98/83/EC related to radioactivity to the latest scientific and technical progress.
• Choice of instruments
While the Community is responsible for establishing uniform rules in the radiation protection field in order to achieve a high level of health protection of workers and the general public, it falls on the Member States to transpose into their national legislation such rules and to implement them.
A directive is therefore best suited to create a common approach on defining requirements for radioactivity parameters for monitoring the quality of water intended for human consumption in the light of scientific and technical progress.
As a consequence, harmonised requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption are defined.
The proposal has no implication for the Community budget.