# CE2004084EN.01037501.xml

| 3.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 84/375 |
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3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 84/375

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(2004/C 84 E/0435)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0361/04

by Dana Scallon (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 February 2004)

Subject:   Fluoridation of Irish drinking water

Subject:

| 1. | Will the Commission confirm that its Environment DG has received representations from the EP's Committee on Petitions on the ‘very serious and persistent problems with Irish public water schemes’ (1) in particular the excess amounts of aluminium in fluoridated supplies? |
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1.

Will the Commission confirm that its Environment DG has received representations from the EP's Committee on Petitions on the ‘very serious and persistent problems with Irish public water schemes’ (1) in particular the excess amounts of aluminium in fluoridated supplies?

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| 2. | Will the Commission reveal what, if any, investigations the Commission has made into this serious situation, not only in the Galway area but into the other 42 Sanitary Authorities in Ireland that also add fluoride, three quarters of whom regularly exceed the legal limit for aluminium, according to the EPA's ‘Quality of Drinking Water, 2001’ |
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2.

Will the Commission reveal what, if any, investigations the Commission has made into this serious situation, not only in the Galway area but into the other 42 Sanitary Authorities in Ireland that also add fluoride, three quarters of whom regularly exceed the legal limit for aluminium, according to the EPA's ‘Quality of Drinking Water, 2001’

| 3. | Why were these criticisms about Irish drinking water not scrutinised as part of the review and possible revision of the Drinking Water Directive during 2003 before its implementation? |
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3.

Why were these criticisms about Irish drinking water not scrutinised as part of the review and possible revision of the Drinking Water Directive during 2003 before its implementation?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(22 March 2004)

(22 March 2004)

| 1. and 2. | The Honourable Member appears to be referring to a number of distinct drinking water issues in Ireland. Petitions 333/98, 661/2000, 1497/2002 before the Petitions Committee of the Parliament concern, respectively, microbiological contamination of a public drinking water supply at Carraroe, County Galway, microbiological contamination of and high aluminium levels in the Troyswood public water supply in Kilkenny and the appearance of algal blooms in Lough Guitane, a drinking water source in County Kerry. The most serious, persistent problem with Irish public water supplies consists of microbiological contamination. This has affected a significant number of public water supplies, including those at Carraroe and Troyswood, although the gravest problems are found in private Irish supplies. It is the subject of a decision of the Court of Justice against Ireland (2). The Commission has been in communication with the Irish authorities with a view to ensuring that problems of microbiological contamination are brought to an end and that the Court judgement is addressed as soon as possible. The issue of fluoridation did not figure in these petitions, and it has not been raised with the Irish authorities. |
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1. and 2.

The Honourable Member appears to be referring to a number of distinct drinking water issues in Ireland. Petitions 333/98, 661/2000, 1497/2002 before the Petitions Committee of the Parliament concern, respectively, microbiological contamination of a public drinking water supply at Carraroe, County Galway, microbiological contamination of and high aluminium levels in the Troyswood public water supply in Kilkenny and the appearance of algal blooms in Lough Guitane, a drinking water source in County Kerry. The most serious, persistent problem with Irish public water supplies consists of microbiological contamination. This has affected a significant number of public water supplies, including those at Carraroe and Troyswood, although the gravest problems are found in private Irish supplies. It is the subject of a decision of the Court of Justice against Ireland (2). The Commission has been in communication with the Irish authorities with a view to ensuring that problems of microbiological contamination are brought to an end and that the Court judgement is addressed as soon as possible. The issue of fluoridation did not figure in these petitions, and it has not been raised with the Irish authorities.

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| 3. | The new Drinking Water Directive (3) sets quality standards in particular for microbiological parameters, aluminium and fluorides, based on available scientific evidence, advice from the Commission's Scientific Advisory Committee Toxicology of Chemical compounds (CSTE) and in line with the values recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (4). The values set are also in line with the most recent documents by WHO dating from 2003.
  The Commission is proactively following developments in the drinking water sector, and organised, in October 2003, a seminar on drinking water. This seminar brought together a range of experts from across the European Union including new Member States as well as the WHO, from universities, administrations and agencies, water suppliers and industry as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and addressed, inter alia, the issues of microbiological and chemical parameters (including fluoride). For fluoride values it has been recognized that the current value of 1,5 milligrammes per litre (mg/l) is sufficiently protective, and that a lower value of 1,0 mg/l could be recommended for artificially fluoridated drinking water. At the same time there has been general agreement that there was no urgent need to change the 1998 Directive. |
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3.

The new Drinking Water Directive (3) sets quality standards in particular for microbiological parameters, aluminium and fluorides, based on available scientific evidence, advice from the Commission's Scientific Advisory Committee Toxicology of Chemical compounds (CSTE) and in line with the values recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (4). The values set are also in line with the most recent documents by WHO dating from 2003.

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The Commission is proactively following developments in the drinking water sector, and organised, in October 2003, a seminar on drinking water. This seminar brought together a range of experts from across the European Union including new Member States as well as the WHO, from universities, administrations and agencies, water suppliers and industry as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and addressed, inter alia, the issues of microbiological and chemical parameters (including fluoride). For fluoride values it has been recognized that the current value of 1,5 milligrammes per litre (mg/l) is sufficiently protective, and that a lower value of 1,0 mg/l could be recommended for artificially fluoridated drinking water. At the same time there has been general agreement that there was no urgent need to change the 1998 Directive.

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(1)  See PE 329 242.

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(2)  Commission v Ireland, Case C-316/00, judgement of 14 November 2003.

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(3)  Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption, OJ L 330, 5.12.1998.

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(4)  Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, current 2nd edition (Geneva, 1993-1997), as well as draft 3rd edition (Geneva, 2003).

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