WRITTEN QUESTION E-2333/03 by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Prevalence of birth defects near crematoriums.
Date: 2003-07-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: air quality, cemetery, congenital disease, death, health policy, motherhood, public health, waste incineration

C 65 E/134

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

13.3.2004

Nevertheless, the position of the Commission in this respect is to use a projected area system for the
measurement of parcels, which,
indeed, does not take into account slopes. This principle has been
discussed since 1993 in expert groups and formulated since in different documents. Therefore, the working
document which gives guidance for on-the-spot checks on areas (cid:1) doc. VI/8388/94 rev. 6, replaced by
doc. AGRI/2254/2003 as from 16 May 2003 (cid:1) states in Chapter 2 that:

The area measured will be expressed as the area projected in the national system used for the IACS/
LPIS.

However, although the method of the projected area does not take account of hillocks and depressions, the
general slope enters into consideration for the definition of the area eligible for certain aid schemes or for
the determination of different rates of payment per hectare (e.g. according to ‘slope classes’).

In this context, it should be noted that the Rural Development measure Compensatory Allowances for less-
favoured areas is an aid introduced in order to compensate farmers for certain disadvantages presented by
determined regions, taking into account for instance that the land involved may be in hilly or mountainous
areas.

As regards the second question presented by the Honourable Member to the Commission, it should be
underlined that the definition of mountainous and other less favoured areas in Greece is exclusively based
on parameters chosen by initiative of the Greek Government, taking into account the conditions defined
for rural
by Chapter V of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999 of 17 May 1999 on support
development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and amending and
repealing certain Regulations (3).

(1) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992.
(2) OJ L 327, 12.12.2001.
(3) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999.

(2004/C 65 E/149)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2333/03

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 July 2003)

Subject: Prevalence of birth defects near crematoriums

According to a study recently published by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, the risk of congenital
abnormalities and stillbirths is greater if the mother lives near a crematorium or incineration plant. British
scientists studied 245 000 births in Cumbria between 1956 and 1993. The study revealed that the risk of
abnormalities of the spinal cord (particularly spina bifida) was 17 % higher in the case of women who had
spent their pregnancy in the vicinity of a crematorium. There was also a significant increase in the
probability of their babies’ suffering from heart defects.

Is the Commission aware of the increased risks run by babies whose mothers live near crematoriums?

Has the Commission already taken action to reduce these risks, or what proposals to this end are planned?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(11 September 2003)

The Commission is not aware of the results of the epidemiological study conducted by the Newcastle-
upon-Tyne University.

13.3.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Regulatory provisions to prevent adverse health effects from waste incineration plants do exist at European
level under the framework of Directives 89/429/EEC, 89/369/EEC, 94/67/EC and 2000/76/EC (1). Some
Community initiatives have already been taken in the field.

Under the Decision No 1296/99 EC of the Council and the Parliament of 29 April 1999 adopting a
programme of Community action on pollution-related diseases in the context of the framework for action
in the field of public health 1999-2001 (2), a project presented by the Imperial College of Science
Technology and Medicine, entitled European Health Information System for Exposure and Diseases
Mapping and Risk Assessment (Euroheis), was granted funding. It aims at improving health information
and analysis in order to assess relationships between environmental pollution and disease, and to respond
to health threats by improving knowledge and understanding of risk management. Health effects of waste
incinerators was one of the scenario tested without having highlighted any direct causality links but,
rather, pointing out the multifactorial aspect of such neonatal malformations, including the important role
of socio-economic factors in their appearance.

The World Health Organisation/European Environment Agency (WHO/EEA) Publication on ‘Children’s
health and environment: a review of evidence’ (2002) states that ‘… few environmental exposures have
been documented so far as very likely causal factors for birth defects. Many obstacles such as multicausality
hamper research in this field and many published studies suffer from limitations in design and bias
problems.’

To date there is no conclusive scientific evidence of a causal relationship between birth defects and living
in the vicinity of crematoria. As a matter of fact, it is often not possible to establish a clear causal link
between adverse health effects and environmental factors.

On 11 June 2003 the Commission adopted the ‘Communication from the Commission to the Council, the
European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee on a European Environment and
Health Strategy’ (3).

This strategy aims to achieve a better understanding of the environmental threats to human health to
identify the disease burden caused by environmental factors in the Union and to plan policy responses to
the challenges that emerge.

The objectives of the proposed strategy are:

(cid:1) to reduce the disease burden caused by environmental factors in the Union;

(cid:1) to identify and to prevent new health threats caused by environmental factors;

(cid:1) to strengthen Union capacity for policymaking in this area.

The ultimate goal of
the proposed strategy is to develop an environment and health ‘cause-effect
framework’ that will provide the necessary information for the development of Community policy dealing
with sources and the impact pathway of health stressors. To achieve this goal an integrated approach is
needed. For further details on the Strategy, the Honourable Member is referred to the following website
address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/health/index_en.htm

(1) Council Directive 89/429/EEC of 21 June 1989 on the reduction of air pollution from existing municipal waste-
incineration plants, OJ L 203, 15.7.1989Council Directive 89/369/EEC of 8 June 1989 on the prevention of air
pollution from new municipal waste incineration plants, OJ L 163, 14.6.1989Council Directive 94/67/EC of
16 December 1994 on the incineration of hazardous waste, OJ L 365, 31.12.1994Directive 2000/76/EC of the
Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste, OJ L 332, 28.12.2000.

(2) OJ L 155, 22.6.1999.
(3) COM(2003) 338 final.