WRITTEN QUESTION E-0495/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 February 2002)

Subject: The 1991 Nitrates Directive

The UK National Farmers' Union claims that the science on which the Nitrates Directive is based is not proven, that evidence of the harmful effects of nitrates on human health is increasingly doubtful and that there may be some benefits from nitrates within the human diet, and that an inappropriate limit of nitrates in river waters of 50 parts per million has been imposed despite the lack of any empirical evidence.

It also claims that the blanket designation to include all freshwater catchment areas of vast tracts of land in England as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones is unwarranted, given that, as an island surrounded by much deep water with vigorous tidal movements, the UK is less affected than many other Member States by eutrophication in inshore waters.

What is the Commission's response to those claims?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2002)

Methaemoglominaemia, linked to high levels of nitrates in drinking water, still exists, both in Eastern Europe (hundreds of cases in Romania, Lithuania, or Poland, linked with high nitrates content of village wells) and in the Unites States. The limit value of 50 milligram per litre (mg/l) set for drinking water in the Union (Council Directive 75/440/EEC of 16 June 1975 concerning the quality of surface waters intended for the abstraction of drinking water in the Member States) is one of the main factors together with higher bacteriological quality, explaining the better situation in the Union as compared to other parts of the world. The internationally recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) standard for nitrate content in drinking water is a maximum limit of 50 mg/l; the same as the Union standard.

In addition to its effects on human health, nitrate pollution from agriculture and waste water treatment is a major factor of eutrophication in both fresh and marine water. Nitrogen in the form of nitrate ions act in synergy with phosphorus, promoting unnaturally high growth in planktonic algae, macroscopic algae and macrophytes. In the extreme case this can result in severe disturbance to both freshwater and marine habitats. It should be remembered that the natural level of nitrate in water is below 10mg/l (and even below 2mg/l in nordic or mountain waters). In marine waters nitrogen is recognised by the scientific community as the limiting factor, causing for example huge problems of algal blooms and oxygen variations (with fish mortalities) in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea (see technical reports from European Environment Agency). The United Kingdom is engaged, through the Union marine protection policies and the Oslo-Paris (OSPAR) Convention, in a common action for strong reduction of the nitrogen inputs (more than 1 million tons/year, 60 % from agriculture,(1) from riverine countries to the North Sea.

The Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 13 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources(2)) is designed to protect the human population from the toxic effects of nitrates and to reduce the eutrophication of lakes, rivers, coastal and marine waters in the Union. The designation of nitrate vulnerable zones by Member States is part of the approach foreseen in the Directive to protect water resources in areas, which are susceptible to nitrate pollution. In the light of the explanations set out above, the Commission cannot accept the suggestion that nitrate pollution does not

constitute a threat to human health and the environment. Nor can the Commission accept that the Directive requires unnecessary or inappropriate designation of sensitive zones: the identification and designation of such zones constitutes one of the primary tools for reducing pollution in a targeted and balanced way.

(1) Source: European Economic Area (EEA)).

(2) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991.