WRITTEN QUESTION E-0680/02

by Hiltrud Breyer (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(12 March 2002)

Subject: Radioactive contamination of game

In January 2002 radioactivity checks were carried out in the Chemisches Untersuchungsamt in Speyer on samples of wild boar meat from the region of Birkenfeld and Pirmasens (Rheinland-Pfalz). Approximately 5 % of cases investigated were found to exceed the EU maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination (600 Bq/kg of meat), in some cases considerably. According to experts this contamination is due to the effects of the Chernobyl reactor disaster (April 1986). The possibility cannot be ruled out that radioactive substances, particularly caesium, continue to accumulate in the forest soil, and that there could continue to be peaks of radioactive contamination in years to come.

1. What information does the Commission have on recent investigations (dating from 2000, 2001 or 2002) into the radioactive contamination of game in the EU?

2. In which regions of the EU did these investigations find game with levels of radioactive contamination exceeding those currently permitted?

3. What guarantees are there that this radioactive contamination is adequately monitored in all regions that produce game?

4. Does the Commission know of any recent findings (dating from 2000, 2001 and 2002) on the contamination of game imported from European third countries?

5. What guarantees are there that the current maximum permitted levels are not exceeded in game imported from third countries for resale?

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(24 April 2002)

Member States have used the meetings of the regulatory committee set up under Article 7 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90(1) to inform the Commission of radioactive caesium levels in game meat originating in the EU. The information presented in this forum shows that, in some EU territories including Germany, game meat, and wild boar in particular, may have levels of radioactive caesium which exceed the maximum authorised EU limit of 600 Becquerels per kilogramme (Bq/kg). This corroborates the studies carried out following the Chernobyl accident which predicted radioactive caesium retention in some natural and semi-natural environments, such as forests, causing relatively high levels of contamination in products such as mushrooms, berries and game.

Levels exceeding the EU limits have been recorded in game meat from the regions within the EU that were most seriously contaminated following the Chernobyl accident, including southern Germany. In 1998, the Commission published its Atlas of caesium deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl accident(2).

Member States must comply with their legal obligations to take action on their own territory in application of Articles 35 and 36 of the Euratom Treaty and also under Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation(3). The Commission takes all possible action to ensure that the Member States do indeed meet their legal obligations in this area.

In recent years studies have been carried out on behalf of the Commission to assess the risks of importing products whose radioactive caesium content exceeds the limits laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 737/90. They show that a number of products, which include game, can contain relatively high levels of radioactive caesium. The Commission has alerted the authorities in non-EU countries so that they can efficiently inspect the products concerned before they are exported to the EU. Two non-EU countries, Poland and Bulgaria, have been inspected

by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). These measures, alongside the adoption of more restrictive measures on the conditions for the importation of woodland mushrooms(4), have meant that very few cases of EU limits being exceeded have been notified in the last two years via the Commission's rapid alert system. One case of game meat exceeding the values (venison originating in Poland) was notified in 2000, and no cases in 2001.

The above EU measures and, chiefly, the obligation under Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 for Member States to inspect imports of a range of products, including game meat, guarantee that such products do not exceed the maximum radioactive caesium content of 600 Bq/kg.

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of 22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station (OJ L 82, 29.3.1990), as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 616/2000 of 20 March 2000 (OJ L 75, 24.3.2000).

(2) Atlas of caesium deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl accident, 1998, ISBN 92-828-3140-X.

(3) OJ L 159, 29.6.1996.

(4) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1661/1999 of 27 July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 (OJ L 197, 29.7.1999).