9.5.   Industrial chemicals, etc.

The approach taken to regulation in both the EC and Denmark is limitation of use, and in some cases, prohibition of use. As will become apparent, full harmonization of this area within the EC has not yet been achieved.

9.5.1.   Measures to protect human health:

One of the first comprehensive attempts at EC harmonization within the chemicals area was cosmetic products. i.e. all products designed for skin and body care. Cross-frontier turnover is enormous, and were it not for the regulations unhealthy products might reach the market. The EC regulations are stipulated in Directive 76/768 with subsequent amendments.

The EC has also drawn up a long and very varied list of restrictions on the placing on the market and use of dangerous substances and products, the restrictions being founded on consideration for health or the environment (the "Prohibition Directive", Directive 76/769). The list includes benzene, hellebore alkaloids, anti-fouling paint, PCB, PCT, and much more. The prohibition Directive and the subsequent 14 amendments to the Directive are extremely wide-ranging. The last but one amendment concerns certain inflammable aerosols (Directive 94/48), while the last amendment concerns carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductively toxicologic substances, creosote and some chlorinated organic solvents (Directive 94/60).

In 1993 the EC regulated n-nitrosamines and n-nitrosatable substances in the elastomer or rubber teats and soothers used by babies (Directive 93/11), while in 1994 regulations were introduced on the nickel content of earrings, jewellery, buttons and zip fasteners that come into direct contact with the skin (Directive 94/27).

The above mentioned regulations are incorporated in Danish law. The Danish regulations on n-nitrosamines in teats and soothers are older than the EC regulations, as are those on the nickel content of jewellery, etc. The background for the regulations on nickel was that up to 20% of Danish women develop nickel allergy on contact with nickel earrings, jewellery, buttons, etc. These two examples illustrate that in developing its regulations, the EC allows itself to be inspired by interventions in Member States.

There are also a few individual purely Danish restrictions. The most important is that a limit has been set in Denmark for how much formaldehyde may be released from chipboard, plywood, etc., used in furniture and fixtures, etc. The reason for this is that the substance can cause airway problems or disease or can cause allergy upon contact with the skin.

There are also special Danish regulations on the rust prevention agent hydrazine in district heating systems.

Progress as a result of the regulation of the areas described above has not been reckoned up.

9.5.2.   Measures to protect the environment:

With a view to protecting the aquatic environment the EC introduced regulations as early as 1973 on the biodegradability of detergents and cleaning fluids (Directive 73/404). The main requirement is that biodegradability shall be at least 90% measured in terms of primary degradation.

The regulations have been implemented unamended in Danish law.

Consideration for the aquatic environment was also partly behind introduction of the above mentioned "Prohibition Directive" that regulates among other things, PCB and PCT21.Progress resulting from the regulation of these substances is in part reflected by the fact that the PCB concentration in the Baltic Sea has fallen from 300 ppm in 1970 to 100 ppm in 1989. At the same time it should be mentioned that the concentration of DDT, which was also prohibited quite early in the EC, has fallen from 600 ppm to 100 ppm. The other Baltic States have no doubt also contributed to the decrease.

Since the mid 1980s, the EC and the international community have been fighting to stop the thinning of the ozone layer. The basis for this is the UNEP Vienna Convention of 1985 with the Montreal Protocol of 1987 (as amended in London in 1990 and in Copenhagen in 1992). The Convention requires from Signatory States stepwise reductions and/or the phasing out of ozone depleting substances, including CFCs. The EC has introduced regulations aimed at compliance with the Montreal Protocol’s requirements for the phase-out before 1996 of substances that deplete the ozone layer (Council Regulation 3093/94), certain of the substances having nevertheless to be phased out earlier in the EC.

Denmark has gone even further. The 50% target was attained in 1991 and by 1993 the consumption of CFCs had been reduced by over 80%. The considerable advance already made in Denmark is attributable to the good possibilities for substituting the ozone depleting substances with other coolants. It has also helped that Danish enterprises have had access to subsidies for the development of substitute coolants, and that a 200% levy has been imposed on CFCs. Furthermore, the refrigeration branch has also helped by implementing a private scheme for the collection and recycling or environmentally sound destruction of CFCs already in circulation.

ODP-weighted consumption of ozone-depleting compounds (1986-93)

As far as concerns heavy metals, the EC has recently issued regulations on cadmium in industrial products (Directive 91/338). They prohibit the use of cadmium as a pigment, as a stabilizer and for cadmiumization. Denmark has had its own special regulations since 1983, but has now merged these with the requirements in the EC Directive.

In addition, there are some purely Danish regulations on heavy metals. Thus in 1989 a limit was set for the cadmium content of phosphate fertilizers - 150 mg/kg in 1992 and 110 mg/kg in 199526. The reason for this measure is that Danish agricultural land already has a very high cadmium content as a result of many years of intensive use of commercial fertilizer. Cadmium is an impurity of the raw phosphate used in the manufacture of fertilizer.

Lead shotgun pellets have hitherto been spread in the countryside by hunters in considerable quantities. However, their use has now been restricted to hunting in forests, and only until 1996. Hunters are normally required to use other types of shot (in practice, steel shot).

Regulation of mercury has just recently been introduced. Among other things, mercury thermometers and new mercury amalgam dental fillings have been regulated.

Progress as a result of the regulation of heavy metals has been positive. The consumption of cadmium in the regulated areas was approx. 75 tonnes in 1980, but had fallen to 7 tonnes in 1990 as a result of regulation. The total cadmium content of phosphate fertilizer used in Denmark was 3.8 tonnes in 1987/88 but had fallen to 2.6 tonnes two years later. Mercury consumption has fallen from 30 tonnes in 1977 to approx. 10 tonnes in 1990, partly as a result of regulation (e.g. the prohibition of mercury treatment of seed grain), and partly because of mercury’s poor environmental image. By 1999 consumption is expected to have fallen to under 2 tonnes.

Cadmiium emissions to air, soil and water

Finally, there is a measure that is purely Danish. At the end of the 1980s around 75,000 tonnes of PVC plastic was used in Denmark annually, partly in the building and construction industry, and partly for packaging. PVC creates problems when it is disposed of by incineration. The latter results in the formation of hydrochloric acid, and the removal of chlorine from the flue gasses gives a very acidic waste product that has to be deposited. In 1991 a voluntary agreement was entered into between the Ministr y of the Environment and the relevant branch organizations (the Confederation of Danish Industries, the Danish Plastics Federation, Danish Commerce and Services, etc.). The agreement includes a number of reduction targets, the most important of which are that by the year 2000, the amount of PVC packaging material destined for incineration or deposition is to be reduced by 85% in relation to the 1987 level, and that by the same year 77% of the PVC used in building products is to be recycled through the establishment of a recycling scheme for that trade. So far (1994), the reductions have been in accordance with the plans, and it would seem that the targets in the agreement will be attained.