EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/223

(2004/C 88 E/0227)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0790/04

by Roberto Bigliardo (UEN) to the Commission

(11 March 2004)

Subject: Presence of dangerous dioxin in the town of Acerra (Na), Italy

In March 2003, a set of analyses of milk from ewes grazing in roaming pasture in Acerra, a populous town in the Province of Naples, Italy, which went unpublished until October 2003, made some disturbing findings, recording a presence of dioxin of 12 pg, compared with the 3 pg limit set by the law.

In the face of such alarming data that demonstrates the existence of serious environmental damage, the Campania Region, which is responsible for monitoring and the relevant provisions, has remained deaf to all requests by the Acerra town authorities to carry out the necessary land reclamation.

The relevant local health authority for the area has taken no action.

The situation is currently extremely dangerous for the population (around 50 000 inhabitants) of the town. The latest analyses carried out by the Mario Negri Institute in Milan have revealed unimaginable levels of dioxin in milk from the same ewes: 50 pgTe/g.

This is an astonishing and highly serious statistic, unprecedented in the area, showing dioxin traceability in the area at the level of serious pollutants, which was duly reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Nola on 31 October 2003 by local political representatives of Alleanza Nazionale.

Given that I have already written to the Chairman of the Committee on Petitions requesting a proper study of the objective environmental situation in and around Acerra, can the Commission call on the Campania Region to safeguard the environment and, with it, the life of tens of thousands of people living there?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 2004)

The Commission was informed of this contamination case on 26 March 2003 and the information was distributed to the competent authorities of the other Member States through the Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food on 28 March 2003. The contamination was detected by analysing sheep milk samples taken in application of the monitoring plan provided for in Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products (1). The levels found exceeded significantly the maximum levels for dioxins established by Commission Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 of 8 March 2001 setting maximium levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs (2), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2375/2001 of 29 November 2001 (3).

In accordance with Commission Recommendation 2002/201/EC of 4 March 2002 on the reduction of the presence of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs in feedingstuffs and foodstuffs (4) investigations were initiated to identify the source of contamination and to take measures to reduce or eliminate the source of contamination. The investigations revealed that one of the causes of the contamination could be the uncontrolled burning of materials that have been dumped in the countryside.

Following the information provided by the Italian authorities, the contamination was limited to parts of the province Caserta and to adjacent municipalities in the northern part of Naples. The affected areas were demarcated. No commercial animal feed was found with dioxin levels above the maximum levels established in Directive 2002/32/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed (5) as amended by Commission Directive 2003/57/EC of 17 June 2003 (6).

The Italian authorities have provided guarantees:

— to eliminate/remove the mentioned source and to undertake further investigations to identify possible other sources and to rehabilitate the areas contaminated,

— to eliminate the possible sources of contamination,

— to continuously monitor the environment, farms, the feedingstuffs used and the products in the affected areas,

— to withdraw contaminated products from the market and to destroy them under controlled conditions.

Given these guarantees and should all the above-mentioned measures be strictly applied, the Commission is of the opinion that the measures are sufficient to protect public health and the environment.

(1) OJ L 125, 23.5.1996.

(2) OJ L 77, 16.3.2001.

(3) OJ L 321, 6.12.2001.

(4) OJ L 67, 9.3.2002.

(5) OJ L 140, 30.5.2002.

(6) OJ L 151, 19.6.2003.