Water policy

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the establishment of a regularly updated list of priority substances and a procedure for the identification of priority substances/priority hazardous substances as well as the adoption of the specific measures against pollution from these substances. 

The Priority substances Quality Standards was adopted in December 2008. The Directive established environmental quality standards (EQS) for 33 priority substances that were likely to be found in rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Of these priority substances 11 have been identified as priority hazardous substances which are subject to cessation or phase out of discharge, emission and loss within an appropriate timetable that does not exceed 20 years.

By 2018 the Commission was to verify that emissions, discharges and losses were making progress towards compliance with the reduction or cessation objectives laid down in WFD. Euro Chlor has closely followed the development of this directive as 11 of the listed substances are chlorinated chemicals and mercury is also included on the list. Euro Chlor has also contributed to the process of establishing EQS via its Science activities and helped define threshold values in biota for mercury and the unintended by-products hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD). Euro Chlor will continue to contribute to the science-based and workable implementation of the WFD.