WRITTEN QUESTION E-2114/01 by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission. Right to Know and chemicals.
Date: 2001-07-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: chemical product, consumer information, foodstuffs legislation, industrial secret, labelling, packaging product, product safety

4.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/111

The Council attaches however great importance to candidate countries achieving a (cid:145)high level of nuclear
safety(cid:146). To that effect, a report on nuclear safety in these countries was prepared, comprising detailed
recommendations for each country. These recommendations have been forwarded to the candidate
countries including the Czech Republic and apply i.a. to the Temelin nuclear power plant.

Replies to these recommendations are now awaited and will be considered in the framework of the
enlargement negotiations.

(2002/C 81 E/132)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2114/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Right to Know and chemicals

Could the Commission please confirm whether the Product Safety Directive, or any other EU Directive,
currently provides consumers with a legal right to know the chemical constituents of products they buy,
for example whether a food can has a lining containing bisphenol A or whether a perfume contains
artificial musks?

If so, how can a consumer exercise such a right?

If not, does the Commission have any plans to institute such a right so that consumers are free to make
their own decisions about what they and their family are exposed to?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(18 September 2001)

In the case of food contact materials Community legislation does not call for the disclosure of specific
ingredients, as it has been regarded that this could infringe on industrial trade secrets. Instead, a safety-
based approach is taken to authorise only those materials that have been deemed to be safe on the basis of
independent
scientific advice. A similar approach is also taken for perfumes where commercial
confidentiality reasons in some cases can be even stronger.

In other instances, e.g. for dangerous substances and preparations, the legislation calls for the disclosure on
the label and in a safety data sheet of those substances which are responsible for a given hazard
classification. A safety data sheet need not be supplied where dangerous substances or preparations offered
or sold to the general public are furnished with sufficient information to enable users to take the necessary
measures as regards the protection of health and safety.

The Commission is aware of the need for a more coherent and transparent approach on ingredient
disclosure, safety information and consumers(cid:146) right to know. Therefore the proposal for an amending
Directive on General Product Safety (1), which is likely to be adopted in September this year, contains a
general obligation for public authorities of the Member States and the Commission to disclose information
available to them relating to risks to consumer health and safety posed by products, the only exception
being information covered by professional secrecy in duly justified cases.

The importance of these aspects has in addition been explicitly recognised in the Commission White Paper
on a strategy for a future chemical policy, which proposes that the public should have access to non-
confidential
their hazardous
properties, labelling requirements, authorised uses and risk management measures.

information on chemicals and chemical products,

including details of

C 81 E/112

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.4.2002

As one part of the foodstuff labelling review, the Commission will shortly present a new Directive on
labelling for which it will seek the agreement of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.
This draft law will, upon adoption, make it compulsory to list all ingredients of foodstuffs and to label
allergens. This piece of legislation is particularly important for consumers, who are entitled to basic
information. Indeed, this entitlement to information was elevated to a right by virtue of the provisions of
the Amsterdam Treaty.

(1) COM(2000) 139 final.

(2002/C 81 E/133)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2125/01

by Konstantinos Hatzidakis (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Concentrations of radon in Greece

(13 July 2001)

It has been reported in the press that the Greek Government has failed to carry out a national survey of
radon levels in the country, despite the fact that a recent University of Athens research programme has
found that even in a town with low concentrations of radon, such as Kalamata, radon concentrations in
5 % of the sites tested by a team of researchers were above the level at which action is deemed necessary.
These findings were published in (cid:145)Radiation Protection Dosimetry(cid:146) (Vol. 93, No 1, 2001).

Has the Greek Government made any commitments vis-(cid:224)-vis the EU as far as radon is concerned? If

1.
so, is it honouring these commitments?

Does the Commission have any information concerning radon levels in Greece and,

2.
information?

if so, what

3. What is the potential public health risk posed by radon?

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(10 October 2001)

In view of the possible lung cancer risk associated with indoor exposure to high radon concentrations in
some regions in Europe, the Commission addressed a Recommendation (1) to Member States in 1990. One
of the recommendations is that Member States develop criteria for identifying regions likely to be
associated with high indoor radon levels.

In response to this, most Member States have conducted nation-wide surveys in order to determine the
extent of the problem and to identify radon-prone areas, and the affected population was informed of the
results. There is no obligation for Member States to transmit this information to the Commission.

In addition, with regard to radon in workplaces, 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 ionizing radiation (2) requires Member States to identify by means of surveys or any
other appropriate means the work activities where the exposure of workers, and as appropriate members
of the public,
in spas, caves, mines, underground workplaces and above-ground
is of concern e.g.
workplaces in identified areas (Title VII, Article 40).

The Commission is aware of miscellaneous radon studies in Greece but has not been informed of the
results of a nation-wide survey. This does not constitute however a breach of any commitment or legal
obligation. While under Article 36 of the Euratom Treaty Member States shall inform the Commission on
the levels of radioactivity in air, water and soil, this requirement has never been understood to apply to
indoor radon levels, and radon indeed is not mentioned in the list of radionuclide categories in the