Chemicals

The German Environment Agency (UBA) is calling for the sustainable use of chemicals. At its Sustainability Transformation Conference held on 30.11.2021, UBA identified six key aspects of chemicals management that protects human health and the environment. These include giving preference to the use of non-harmful substances and achieving climate neutrality of chemicals throughout their life cycle.

The Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030 are only achievable if chemicals are used in the right extent, says the German Environment Agency (UBA). The risks for health and the environment need to be globally minimized. At the same time, the opportunities for the societies by chemicals need to be maximized worldwide. Read more in our Thought Starter.

In autumn 2021, the new European research project "ZeroPM: Zero Pollution of Persistent, Mobile substances" will start. The German Environment Agency (UBA) is involved as a project partner. ZeroPM will develop political, technological and market-based tools that aim to reduce the use and emissions of persistent and mobile substances as well as contamination from such substances.

In May 2021, the European Commission presented the Zero Pollution Action Plan, which aims to show how air, water and soil can become pollution-free. The Action Plan must be expanded to include a cross-regulatory approach that considers the entire life cycle of pollution, including its most important sources and effects on humans and the environment.

The formation of non-extractable residues (NER) is a frequently observed phenomenon during the degradation of substances in soil and sediment. So far, there is no accepted approach to assess their hazard potential for the environment. At a workshop in February 2021, UBA presented two proposals for evaluating NERs in the persistence assessment.

All affected stakeholders (associations and companies) as well as manufactures of alternatives are invited to complete the questionnaire for a restriction proposal on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) before October 17 2021. The restriction shall cover the manufacture, placing on the market and use of all PFASs in the EU.

In the context of the EU Green Week, UBA organised a partner event on the need to finally include biocides in Directive 2009/128/EC on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides or similar legislation. Contributions from stakeholders showed the need for regulatory provisions and also highlighted the opportunities this would bring to foster innovation towards sustainability.

Current rainwater measurements commissioned by the German Environment Agency (UBA) show that TFA concentrations have risen sharply since the 1990s.

The "Environmental Monitor" for 2020 from the German Environment Agency (UBA) draws a mixed picture of the condition of the environment in Germany. While there have been recent improvements in air quality or greenhouse gases, other indicators fare poorly.

As long as the Covid-19 pandemic makes face-to-face events impossible, online conferencing formats serve to inform German SAICM stakeholders and provide opportunities for exchange with each other and with BMU and UBA. A series of online workshops focuses on different topics of chemicals management throughout the first half of 2021.

The third PMT Workshop entitled " Getting control of PMT and vPvM substances under REACH" took place as an online conference on the 25th and 26th of March 2021. It was organized by the German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).

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.