European Drinking Water calls for EU harmonised measures on materials/products in contact with drinking water at the 3rd Symposium on contact materials/products.
On May 18th, the European Drinking Water Industrial Alliance, Plastics Europe, the Copper Alliance and EurEau organised the 3rd Symposium on Materials and Products in Contact with Drinking Water in Brussels. The event saw the participation of representatives of the European Commission as well as national regulators and industry players. More than 130 participants attended this year’s symposium.
The main focus of this event has been the situation of materials and products in contact with drinking water (‘contact materials and products’) in view of the upcoming Commission proposal on the revision of the Drinking Water Directive (expected by the end of 2017). As of today, there is no EUwide harmonisation on contact materials. Many Member States have established their own requirements and approval schemes for materials and products in contact with drinking water often leading to contradictory requirements: a material approved in one Member State is not accepted in other Member States and vice-versa.
European Drinking Water calls the Commission to revise the Drinking Water Directive to ensure that the safety of contact materials and products is regulated at the EU level.
Volker Meyer, chairman of the European Drinking Water Industrial Alliance, said
“An EU-wide legislative framework on contact materials is needed to ensure that all European citizens benefit from a high level of human health protection. Only European legally binding measures will fix the current situation. The Commission should take stock of the positive initiatives at national level, in particular the 4 Member States Initiative, aimed at reaching a higher degree of harmonisation”.
All panel participants – Commission, several national regulators and the European water sector - agreed on the need to address the lack of harmonized provisions on contact materials and products in the Commission proposal on the Revision of the Drinking Water Directive.
The Commission is expected to release its proposal on the Revision of the Drinking Water Directive by the end of 2017.
Click here to read the European Drinking Water position paper on the Revision of the Drinking Water Directive.
Contact:
European Drinking Water (+32-2-741.82.87, info@europeandrinkingwater.eu)