WRITTEN QUESTION E-1636/96 by Annemarie Kuhn (PSE) to the Commission (24 June 1996)

Subject: Environmental situation of wool-scouring plants in Europe

In which Member States is the halogenated hydrocarbon, trichlorethene, which is suspected of causing cancer, used in wool scouring?

How much trichlorethene is released into the atmosphere in the process?

How high are the levels of emissions of organic substances into lakes and rivers (measured in Kg COD per tonne of scoured raw wool) when aqueous washing liquor is used? What levels of pesticides are discharged into lakes and rivers?

What official standards must wool-scouring plants meet in the individual Member States with regard to these emissions? Are all discharges into lakes and rivers covered by these standards? Are there requirements relating to the toxic effects of pesticides on aquatic organisms?

What equipment is used (and according to what methods) in wool-scouring plants to reduce these emissions? What is the degree of effectiveness of this equipment?

What type of emissions are released into the atmosphere by wool-souring plants in the EU Member States and what level do they reach?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (13 September 1996)

The Commission is currently consulting industry and collecting data on the extent and location of the use of trichloroethylene in wool souring and the resulting atmospheric emissions.

The level of organic emissions from aqueous wool scouring is around 130 kilogrammes chemical oxygen demand (COD) per tonne of raw wool (taken from United Nations environment programme (UNEP) industry and environment, technical report 16 ' The textile industry and the environment'). Biocide emissions from the scouring of wool are fairly minor compared with those resulting from scouring or other textiles (for instance cotton), but imported wool in particular may be contaminated with biocides such as aldrin and dieldrin. No data is available on the precise amounts of these substances discharged by that sector.

Under Directive 76/464/EEC on pollution caused by certain substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the Community ((OJ L 129, 18.5.1976. )), permits are required for all discharges to surface waters, including lakes and rivers, containing substances in List I or List II to that Directive. Emission limit values and quality objectives which take account of the requirements of aquatic organisms are set in Directive 90/415/EEC ((OJ L 219, 14.8.1990. )) for trichloroethylene, Directive 86/280/EEC ((OJ L 181, 4.7.1986. )) for perchloroethylene, and Directive 88/347/EEC ((OJ L 158, 25.6.1988. )) for aldrin and dieldrin. All these substances are in List I of Directive 76/464/EEC.

Article 7 of Directive 76/464/EEC provides for reduction programmes (including quality objectives) for List II substances to control releases from wool scouring of detergents, substances with an adverse effect on the oxygen balance and a range of farm-applied pesticides. Article 7 requires that emission standards be set by the Member State in the discharge authorization, on the basis of quality objectives which are laid down in accordance with Community legislation, where they exist. Such quality objectives must consider the toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulative potential of the substances and be set so as to protect aquatic organisms from harm.

Cleaner production techniques for this sector may be classified in three groups, namely water and energy conservation, optimisation of chemical usage and process or equipment modifications. In the waste, effluent can be treated by primary processes (such as screening, neutralisation, equalisation and gravity sedimentation), by biological treatment to reduce biological oxygen demand (BOD) and COD, and by advanced physio-chemical processes to remove suspended matter that cannot be easily stabilised. Further detail on all these aspects can be found in the UNEP report cited above.

Atmospheric emissions from wool scouring are mainly oil mists and solvent vapours. The Commission intends to bring forward proposals for the control of solvent emissions from this process in the context of the action on limitation of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from the solvent using industry prefigured in the 1996 work programme. There is no data currently available on the precise level of air emissions from this sector.