FE622 Proposal for a Selection of National Priority Substances
Fulfillinf the Requirements Set by Dangerous Substances Directive (76/464/EEC) and the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
Susan Londesborough, 2003.
The Finnish Environment 622, Environmental protection, p. 80.
URN:ISBN:9521113871. ISBN 952-11-1387-1 (PDF). The publication is available also in printed form ISBN 952-11-1386-3 (nid.).
Abstract
The purpose of this work was to develop a systematic method for the prioritisation and selection of chemicals used in Finland, and present a well-founded list of National Priority Substances in the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the
Dangerous Substances Directive (DSD). The proposed list of National Priority Substances comprises of 18 industrial chemicals, six pesticides and three metals.
For the National Priority Substances environmental quality standards will be determined. Their concentrations will be monitored in the environment, and if necessary they will be included in monitoring programmes in accordance with the Water Framework
Directive. When needed, pollution reduction programmes will be established for the priority substances.
The selection procedure covered intentionally produced chemicals. Process born substances were excluded from the selection procedure. Their prioritisation and possible inclusion on the list of National Priority Substances must be done separately. Also
chemicals present solely in imported products and chemicals regulated by other that the chemicals and pesticide acts, such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, were excluded from the selection procedure.
The selection procedure aimed at identifying substances that are of relevance in the whole country. Substances that might cause adverse effects locally, need to be addressed on the local level. The selection criteria used served the identification of
substances that are expected to exhibit environmental risks in surface waters. For groundwaters a different approach should be used.
The selection procedure was based on the intrinsic properties of the chemicals (persistence (P), liability to bioaccumulate (B) and toxicity (T)) and their exposure potential. The selection of metals was based on existing monitoring data.
The list of National Priority Substances needs to be revised as new information becomes available. This may lead to exclusion of substances present on the current National Priority Substances list, e.g. if monitoring data show that particular
substances are not of national concern. Similarly substances may be included on the list if new data on the intrinsic properties of substances or e.g. increased use volumes indicate that they should be added. In future work special attention must be given
to those substances not covered in this work, e.g. pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and chemicals occurring in imported products.
More information:
Susan Londesborough, Finnish Environment Institute, firstname.surname@ymparisto.fi
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