Press | Umweltbundesamt

Two government congresses held this month made considerable progress in matters of international chemicals safety. The Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention and the Second International Conference on Chemicals Management took place in short succession so as to lend the decisions reached at them even more weight. This represents one big step made toward achieving mitigation or elimi... read more

Professional clean-up of mould in the home, office and other rooms that are used regularly does not require use of disinfectants; in fact, these substances often pose a health risk. Chemical disinfectants are being used ever more frequently in mould clean-up, presumably on grounds that they solve the problem quickly. However, the disinfectants do not solve the problem and what is more, they can gi... read more

The light bulb will begin to be phased out of the market starting Autumn 2009, as a result of a decision taken by the EU. Starting 1 September 2009 all frosted and other light bulbs of over 75 watts will no longer be for sale, to be followed gradually by lower-wattage light bulbs later on. There are good reasons for this as the conventional light bulb is not too ‘bright’: it only converts about fi... read more

Some 450,000 tonnes of cleansing agents are sold in Germany annually, of which some 250,000 tonnes are dish-washing detergents and another 200,000 tonnes are household cleaners. Manufacturers will sometimes tout their use of natural materials in some products, for example orange oil or citrus oil. However, some natural substances can trigger contact allergies or are harmful to the environment. ”Wh... read more

The EU Parliament is due to decide tomorrow (Wednesday) on more stringent standards in the energy efficiency of refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines. Should the Parliament approve the proposals made by the EU Member States in late March, any washing machine, fridge or freezer with an energy efficiency class lower than ‘A’ would be eliminated from the market starting July 2010. A second st... read more

Daily life exerts constant stress on children’s ears. Tests conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) about noise exposure and the impact of noise on 1,048 children aged 8-14 demonstrate that one in every eight children suffer considerable impairment of hearing ability. One in every six children lives along roads with heavy traffic, and the child’s bedroom in nearly three thirds of the hou... read more

TV sets are to use less energy in future. Citizens can see just how much by means of new energy use labelling, which is the result of a resolution passed in late March by the EU Member States in a regulatory committee for eco-design in Brussels.  Approval by the EU Parliament and Council is still pending. Once the regulations enter into force, a total of 43 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy over the... read more

The newly launched Blue Angel for low-noise and fuel-saving tyres has set new and ambitious standards relating to environment, health and economy that are orientated towards the caps that will apply across the EU as of 2012. The criteria for award of the Blue Angel make high demands of tyres: they must be low-noise and use little fuel, and this will ease the load on car drivers’ purses as well. Mo... read more