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4.3. National action programs for combating risks from micro-pollutants
To protect their citizens and the environment, some Member States have initiated national programmes and strategies to reduce the risks posed by substances harmful at low concentrations (“micropollutants”). Examples of such programmes are:
The Swedish MistraPharma Project 2008-15 worked to identify human pharmaceuticals that are likely to be of concern to aquatic ecosystems, and addressed the risk for antibiotic resistance promotion in the environment[2]. It also proposed risk management strategies, in particular improved regulatory test requirements and waste water treatment technologies.
In France, a comprehensive monitoring program was established on micropollutants, the “National plan against micro-pollutants 2016- 2021”[3]. It aims to reduce micro-pollutant emissions in order to protect water quality and biodiversity to preserve water quality and biodiversity.
In Britain, United Kingdom Water Industry Research (UKWIR) collaborate upon the “Chemicals Investigation Programme” (CIP), as a response to current and emerging legislation on trace substances in the water environment, bringing together water and waste water companies in England and Wales with regulators (Gardner et al, 2012, 2014). CIP phase 1, 2010-14, obtained a comprehensive view of concentrations in effluents for over 70 contaminants, finding that the principal source of many trace contaminants is domestic. The second phase, comprises sampling of 74 substances at over 600 sewage treatment plants. Substances of interest include metals, industrial chemicals such as fire retardants and biocides, hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, hormones and personal care products. The research program has examined several novel waste water treatment techniques that can be used to supplement existing processes.
The Pharmaceutical Chain Approach is a Dutch strategy, which considered the life cycle of pharmaceuticals from development, authorisation, prescription, use and wastewater treatment. End of pipe measures, e.g. wastewater treatment are seen as complementary to measures in the health sector. With a focus on pharmaceuticals a set of programs was started in the Netherlands. These are inter alia the programs: medicines out of water’s, public communication strategies on the reduction of antibiotic use and substitution of certain drugs by others that are less harmful to the environment (Grinten, et al., 2016)[4].
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Previous comments
DE-NW:
Please add the German "Spurenstoff-Dialog" (Micropollutant-Dialogue)
DE-UBA II 2.2:
We strongly suggest to add the German Trace Substance Strategy:
The German Trace Substance Strategy is being developed on the basis of a multi-stakeholder dialogue, with stakeholders from industry, environmental NGOs, associations of municipal companies, drinking water suppliers, operators of wastewater treatment plants, federal government departments, public authorities and Federal States representatives. The strategy’s purpose is to prevent and reduce inputs of trace substances from biocides, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, plant protectants, industrial chemicals, detergents and personal care products to the aquatic environment. Guided by the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays-principle, both of which are enshrined in EU and in German law, the stakeholders have developed recommendations for measures at the source, on the user side and at the end of pipe1. These recommendations are now further concretised in a follow-on phase.
1 German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (June 2017): Policy Paper - Recommendations from the multi-stakeholder dialogue on the trace substance strategy of the German federal government: To policy makers on options to reduce trace substance inputs to the aquatic environment. http://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Download_PDF/Binnengewaesser/spurenstoffstrategie_policy_paper_en_bf.pdf
DE-UBA II 2.2:
We suggest to delete the reference to Grinten, 2016 in the paragraph about the Dutch Pharmaceutical Chain Approach.
P63, 3rd bullet: The CIP programme was also run in Scotland, and CIP2 is on-going in England, Wales and Scotland with plans afoot for a third CIP from 2020 to 2025.