Topics | Umweltbundesamt

Pursuant to the 2nd amendment of the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV), since December 2012 the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA ) has been tasked with stipulating mandatory evaluation criteria for materials and substances that come into contact with drinking water. The guidelines and recommendations issued heretofore by the UBA were less legally binding. These guidelines a... read more

The four Member States (MS) Germany, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2011 have agreed on collaboration in the harmonization of tests for the hygienic suitability of products in contact with drinking-water. These 4MS-collaboration efforts have evolved successfully and now are termed “4MS-Initiative” (4MSI) in view of extension perspectives. read more

The quality of the drinking water in Germany is excellent. Its main source, groundwater, enjoys a high level of protection and should be as free as possible from chemical residues. read more

Drinking water which has been treated in a waterworks or drawn directly from an on-site well must meet the requirements of the German Drinking Water Ordinance all the way to the tap. Its distribution via the water company’s mains and the drinking water systems of individual buildings brings it into contact with a large range of substances. It is essential for the quality not to be impaired. read more

Since 2019, the PMT/vPvM criteria have been widely used under the EU´s chemicals legislation REACH to identify and regulate persistent and mobile substances. In fall of 2021 a new research project “ZeroPM” will be initiated aiming at the reduction of Emissions of persistent and mobile substances to better protect the environment and human health from such substances. read more

Between 2016 and 2019, the UBA carried out several public consultations to ensure a wide agreement on the PMT/vPvM criteria. This led to the publication of the result of the scientific and technical development of PMT/vPvM criteria and guidelines for their assessment under REACH, which were unveiled at the 30th Caracal meeting in 2019 (Doc. CACS/MS/19/2019; CARACAL-30; 01 - 02 July 2019). read more

Between 2009-2015, the UBA scientifically developed, under the EU´s chemical legislation REACH, new criteria to identify substances which have intrinsic properties that indicate a hazard to the sources of our drinking water. Chemical safety experts and regulators agreed on the need to precautionarily identify such substances of concern. This is considered as the emergence of the PMT/vPvM criteria. read more

PMT/vPvM substances are persistent and mobile in the aquatic environment. These intrinsic substance properties allow them to spread to the sources of our drinking water. Contamination can be irreparable as these substances remain in the environment and break through filters and survive drinking water treatment. Consequently, registrants under REACH must minimise any emissions into the environment. read more