WRITTEN QUESTION E-1535/98

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(18 May 1998)

Subject: Construction of veterinary laboratory at Ikonio Peramatos

The Ministry of Agriculture has plans to build and run a veterinary laboratory at Ikonio Peramatos in Attica to carry out checks on food of animal origin imported through the port of Piraeus. The facilities will consist of an area for animals to be used in experiments, a room for diagnostic examinations and sterilization, and laboratories for parasitology, bacteriology and serology and other haematological examinations for the purpose of diagnosing animal diseases.

Given that:

- this veterinary laboratory is to be built 100 metres from a residential area on a site next to the Perama High School for Technology, which is attended by 1 200 pupils,

- residents and local organizations have protested vigorously against the use of the site for such a purpose,

- the traffic, the exhaust fumes from machinery and vehicles on site and the disposal of waste, especially hazardous waste, will be an additional burden on an already polluted area,

- the Commission's fifth environment action programme, which is in force until the year 2000, gives considerable priority to measures to improve the urban environment,

- the work is to receive Community funding,

- a public health issue is involved, in relation to which the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties make provision for a specific role for the Commission,

will the Commission say what action it will take and what representations it will make to the Greek authorities to prevent the construction of the veterinary laboratory and the further pollution of the environment, to protect public health at Ikonio Peramatos and ensure that the project is carried out at a more suitable location?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 1998)

Funding for the veterinary laboratory to which the Honourable Member refers was included in the 1994-1999 operational programme for the Attica region after thorough consideration by the monitoring committee.

The Ministry of Agriculture showed in the technical statement for the project that all legislative requirements were complied with. In particular the Environmental Protection Service in approving the project took into account the planned future construction of an adjacent building to house the training school.

As proposed by the Ministry at the time and subsequently confirmed, the laboratory will be concerned solely with checks on foodstuffs of animal origin from outside the Community. Such checks are directly linked to protection of public health. The reagents used in this type of check are completely harmless to the environment and local residents. The laboratory will not be dealing with live animals.

After planning the laboratory the Ministry of Agriculture assigned an adjacent area of 10 000 m2 belonging to it for construction of the training school. Obviously if there was the least risk to the laboratory's neighbours it would not have done this.

In order nonetheless to dispel any uncertainty on the environmental implications of the project, the opinion was sought of two professors of medicine and infectious diseases, of the University of Thessaloniki. They confirmed that the laboratory is not a risk factor for the surrounding area, including the adjacent technical high school.

As with all construction work erection of the laboratory is bound to occasion a certain amount of nuisance, but this is no reason for halting a project of evident utility for control procedures on foodstuffs imported through the neighbouring port of Piraeus.

It is difficult to see how operation of the laboratory can lead to a significant increase in traffic. The building, which will be erected on a site of 7 000 m2, will cover only 6 % of that area. The remaining 94 %, as stated by the Ministry, will be developed as a park and leisure centre, and neither the small size of the laboratory staff nor movement of the samples warrant anxiety on this score.

No reason can be found then for taking action to prevent construction of the laboratory.