UNITED NATIONS
ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
Chemicals Branch, DTIE
COMPILATION OF AN INVENTORY OF
EXISTING RISK MANAGEMENT MEASURES
LEAD AND CADMIUM
Companion document to the
Draft final reviews of scientific information on
lead and cadmium
Version of November 2008
Table of Contents
1.
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1
1.1
Background and mandate ............................................................................................. 1
1.2
Scope and coverage in this compilation ....................................................................... 1
1.3
Process for call for information .................................................................................... 2
2.
SUBMISSION FROM GOVERNMENTS ....................................................................... 4
2.1
Sweden ......................................................................................................................... 4
2.2
Togo .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.3
United States of America ............................................................................................ 10
2.3.1
Some existing risk management measures for lead ............................................ 10
2.3.2
Some existing risk management measures for cadmium.................................... 10
3. INFORMATION SUBMITTED FROM OR RELEVANT TO
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OR TO REGIONAL ECONOMIC
INTEGRATION ORGANIZATIONS .................................................................................... 12
3.1
European Commission................................................................................................ 12
3.2
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) .................................. 15
3.3
World Bank ................................................................................................................ 26
4. INFORMATION SUBMITTED FROM OR RELEVANT TO NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.............................................................................. 27
4.1
International Lead Association ................................................................................... 27
4.2
International Lead Management Centre (ILMC) ....................................................... 28
4.3
Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) ............................. 29
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background and mandate
1.
In February 2005, the UNEP Governing Council, by decision 23/9 III, requested UNEP to
undertake the development of reviews of scientific information on lead and cadmium, focusing
especially on long-range environmental transport, in order to inform future discussions of the
Governing Council on the need for global action in relation to lead and cadmium.
2.
UNEP established a Working Group to assist it in developing the reviews of scientific
information. The Working Group on lead and cadmium consisted of members nominated by
Governments, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations. Working Group
members provided a first round of comments on the draft reviews by mail. A first meeting of the
Working Group was convened 18 to 22 September 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. During that meeting
the members of the Working Group considered the revised drafts of the reviews of scientific
information on lead and cadmium circulated in advance of the meeting and finalized the reviews.
Technical summaries of the key findings of each of the reviews were also prepared.
3.
The Working Group recognised that, as there was ongoing work underway on the issues in
other forums, it was not possible to finalise the reviews. The version finalised by the secretariat after the
Working Group meeting was therefore to be considered ‘interim’.
4.
The interim reviews of scientific information on lead and cadmium were updated following the
working group meeting in September 2006 and additional information was sought to fill the remaining
data gaps. Information provided by Governments, intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations was included in the updated interim reviews finalized in March 2008.
5.
By its decision 24/3 III of 9 February 2007 on lead and cadmium, the Governing Council of
UNEP
“Acknowledges the data and information gaps identified in the United Nations Environment
Programme Interim Scientific Reviews on Lead and Cadmium and that further action is needed to fill
those data and information gaps, taking into account the specific situation of developing countries and
countries with economies in transition;
Encourages efforts by Governments and others to reduce risks to human health and the
environment of lead and cadmium throughout the whole life cycle of those substances;
Requests the Executive Director to provide available information on lead and cadmium to
address the data and information gaps identified in the Interim Reviews and to compile an inventory of
existing risk management measures”.
1.2
Scope and coverage in this compilation
6.
This document responds to Governing Council Decision 24/3 III. It compiles submitted
information from Governments, Intergovernmental Organizations and Non-governmental Organizations
with regard to the inventory of existing risk management measures which are organized into three main
sections accordingly.
7.
Submissions of specific relevance to risk management measures were received from the
following: Canada, Germany, Sweden, Togo, the United States of America, the European Union, the
International Cadmium Association –which information has been included under the European Union
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Lead and Cadmium
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entry-, the International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) and the Scientific Committee on
Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) from which the following sections have been drawn. Additional
information, where easily available, has either been included or referenced by hyperlinks.
1.3
Process for call for information
8.
In response to Governing Council decision 24/3 III in relation t, UNEP sought technical input
and information submissions from Governments and other stakeholders with regard to the interim
scientific reviews on lead and cadmium and the compilation of an inventory of existing risk
management measures between April and September 2007.
9.
As of 27 August 2008, a total of 16 Governments, 1 Intergovernmental Organization and 5
Non-governmental Organizations submitted information with regard to the interim scientific reviews on
lead and cadmium and the compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures. All
information received by the Chemicals Branch has been made available on the Lead and Cadmium
Activities website (http://www.chem.unep.ch/Pb_and_Cd/default.htm ).
10.
The current compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures can be found at
the Lead and Cadmium Activities website. It is noted that the compilation was not formally circulated
for comments, as it is a compilation of received information; however, UNEP welcomes any comments
or additional information.
11.
Throughout the different submissions, it was reiterated several times that information contained
in the interim review of scientific information on lead and cadmium chapters 8 (prevention and control
technologies and practices) and chapter 9 (initiatives for preventing or controlling releases and limiting
exposures) could usefully be examined to identify risk reduction measures.
12.
Chapter 8 summarizes information about prevention and control technologies and practices, and
their associated costs and effectiveness, which could reduce and/or eliminate releases of lead and
cadmium, including the use of suitable substitutes, where applicable. It notes that the specific methods
for controlling lead and cadmium releases from these sources generally fall under the following four
groups:
•
•
•
•
Reducing consumption of raw materials and products that include lead and cadmium as impurity or
use of low-lead and cadmium raw materials;
Substitution (or elimination) of products, processes and practices containing or using lead and
cadmium with non-lead and cadmium alternatives;
Controlling lead and cadmium releases through low-emission process technologies and cleaning of
off-gases and wastewater;
Management of lead and cadmium-containing waste.
13.
Chapter 9 contains information on initiatives and actions for management and control of
releases and exposures of lead and cadmium and indicates which adverse effects on human health and
the environment various countries and international organisations have considered to be significant
enough to merit restriction measures. The global coverage of these organisations shows how important
such adverse effects have been. Initiatives for preventing or controlling releases and limiting exposures
take place at different levels. The chapter briefly describes initiatives specifically addressing cadmium
at four levels:
•
•
•
•
National initiatives;
International conventions and treaties;
Programmes of international organisations;
Sub-regional and regional initiatives.
14.
In addition, the appendices to the reviews provide an overview of existing and future national
actions relevant to lead and cadmium that could provide information on risk management measures. To
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Lead and Cadmium
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avoid duplication, readers are requested to look at those documents for information supplementary to
that contained in the current document.
15.
The scientific reviews on lead and cadmium and the compilation of an inventory of existing risk
management measures will be presented for the twenty-fifth session of the Governing Council/Global
Ministerial Environment Forum in February 2009.
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2. SUBMISSION FROM GOVERNMENTS
2.1 Sweden
16.
KEMI, the Swedish Chemicals Agency indicated that risk management measures had been
included in their recently updated version of the report “Lead in Articles”. The report is an account of
the assignment given by the Swedish Government to the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency in June 2005 to investigate the consequences of the forthcoming
prohibitions of ammunition containing lead in hunting and target shooting and to conduct a review of
the use of lead in articles and products. The Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency were each given identical assignments. The first part of the
assignment was to investigate the consequences of the prohibitions of lead in ammunition. The results
of the investigation were presented to the Swedish Government on 10 November 2006 (Swedish EPA
report 5627). In a second part of the assignment the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency review the use of lead in articles and products as a whole and submit
proposals for the regulations they consider to be most urgently needed to attain the environmental
quality objective of A Non-Toxic Environment.
17.
The following summary on lead in articles is reproduced here-below for ease of consultation.
The whole report can be viewed at:
http://kemi.se/upload/Trycksaker/Pdf/Rapporter/Report5_07_Lead_in_articles.pdf . Further background
reports are available on the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency website
( www.naturvardsverket.se ) and can be downloaded free of charge in electronic form.
LEAD IN ARTICLES - SUMMARY
Lead is an element commonly present in soil at low concentrations. Lead, zinc and silver to a
large extent occur together in nature. In the majority of mines around the world where zinc is
extracted, large quantities of lead are also extracted.
Lead is a non-essential metal. The harmfulness of the lead ion has long been known and is
fairly well documented. The lead ion is classified as toxic to reproduction, category 1, i.e. it
affects fertility and can be harmful to fetal development. Lead compounds, for example lead
acetate, are suspected of being carcinogenic (cancer, category 3) because of the lead ion.
Substances that can release lead ions to the environment are also classified as very toxic to
aquatic organisms and can cause harmful long-term effects in the aquatic environment, that is
to say they pose an environmental hazard.
The Swedish Parliament has adopted environmental quality objectives in 16 areas. One of these
objectives is “A Non-Toxic Environment”. This means that “the concentrations of substances
that naturally occur in the environment are close to background levels”. According to the
wording of interim target 3 for A Non-Toxic Environment, newly manufactured finished
products are as far as possible to be free from lead by 2010.
The commission
In June 2005 the Swedish Government commissioned the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency jointly to investigate the consequences of the ban
on lead in ammunition that comes into force in 2008 and to review the use of lead in articles
and products. A report on the first part of this commission, concerning the consequences of the
ban on lead in ammunition, was presented to the Government on 10 November 2006.
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In the second part of the commission the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency are to review the use of lead in articles and products as a
whole and submit proposals for regulations they consider to be most urgently needed to attain
the environmental quality objective of A Non-Toxic Environment. The two government
agencies are also to consider the cost-effectiveness of the regulations proposed. Part two of the
commission is the subject of this report.
Environmental risks
Lead in petrol in the past was the most significant source for the dispersal of lead to the
environment and gave rise to the effects on microorganisms suspected of occurring in forest
soil in parts of Sweden. As the use of leaded petrol continues to decrease in Europe and the rest
of the world, fallout of lead will decline further and levels in forest soil can be expected to
diminish. The general level of exposure to lead in urban environments is also falling sharply
with the decreasing use of leaded petrol.
Lead-containing articles that end up in waste may contribute to atmosphere fallout of lead when
the waste is incinerated, or potentially be dispersed to the environment in some other way.
The use of articles containing lead, such as shot and fishing weights, can result in general
dispersal of metallic lead in some areas, similar to that from atmospheric fallout. It has not been
possible to quantify what effects this will have on aquatic and soil organisms. The
environmental impact of lead from the use of other types of articles will be more concentrated,
and risks may possibly arise locally in soil and water.
The greatest environmental risk identified in the use of articles is the poisoning of birds and
other animals that can ingest lead objects (shot, fishing weights) directly or through the food
chain.
Health risks
Measures to reduce the dispersal of lead in Sweden have been successful. They have resulted in
reduced blood levels of lead over the last 20 years. The mean value of lead in the blood of
Swedish men at present is approximately 0.2 μmol/l. The mean value is lower in women,
adolescents and children. The average level of lead in the blood of children in areas without
activities that result in major emissions is approximately 0.1 μmol/l.
However, it is difficult to establish a safe level for lead exposure as lead can damage the
nervous system even at low levels of exposure. Sensitivity is particularly great during brain
development in fetuses and small children. In studies on children, delayed development, lower
IQ and behavioural disorders have been observed at blood lead levels of around 0.5 μmol/l.
Suppressed erythropoiesis (blood formation) and hearing impairment are other effects observed
at relatively low lead exposure. The neuropsychological effects on children are severe, and lead
levels in the blood of children and women of childbearing age should therefore be lower than
0.5 μmol lead per litre of blood. However, there are indications that these effects do not have a
threshold, which means that it is not possible to establish a “safe” level of lead in the blood of
children and fetuses.
Today the general population is exposed to lead principally through food, but based on
calculations of weekly intake of lead through food this exposure generally appears to be low in
Sweden.
Certain at-risk groups which may be exposed to harmful quantities of lead through consumer
products have, however, been identified. Examples of such at-risk groups are anglers who make
their own fishing weights, people who use solder and those who cast tin soldiers and make lead
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
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bullets for black powder shooting. These activities can lead to high “uncontrolled” exposure to
lead vapour. Lead vapour is formed when lead melts at high temperatures. This “vapour”
contains small inhalable lead particles, and uptake in the lung is assumed to be 100 per cent.
Another example of at-risk groups is people who spend time in rooms in which scented
candles/gel candles with a lead-containing wick are lit. When these candles are lit lead vapour
is released, which might give rise to high concentrations of lead in air.
Rules on lead in articles
Lead is found in a large number of applications, and regulations on lead can therefore be found
in a number of different European directives. The report presents a broad description of
regulations in the EU that explicitly relate to lead, either as a substance or in articles. Certain
other products that are of great significance in limiting the use of lead, e.g. cars, petrol and
batteries, have been regulated. Another example of the regulation of the level of lead in articles
is a new directive which imposes limits on lead in electrical and electronic products. New
product directives concerned with lead will probably also be added. The new chemicals
legislation REACH may signify further restrictions on lead.
Use of lead in articles
The use of lead has decreased in most of the groups of articles considered in the report over the
last decade. It is principally in paint pigments, plastics, crystal, lead-jacketed cable, electronics
and shot that quantities of lead have fallen. The forces driving this positive development have
been tightened legislation for certain uses of lead in products but also customer requirements
and other voluntary initiatives in industry.
Product areas where the use of lead has not diminished are batteries, boat keels, fishing tackle,
alloys, weights and radiation protection. A reduction in the quantity of lead is, however,
expected shortly, with regard to balance weights, as the previous exemption from the limitation
of lead in end-of-life vehicles has ceased to apply (ELV Directive, 2000/53/EC, see Annex 3).
Prioritised groups of articles
The risks associated with lead vary between different product groups. This principally depends
on the form in which the lead occurs, what volumes of lead are used in the product group, the
dispersal of the products in society and how they are disposed of at the end of their life. In
addition, it is significant to the risks whether use of the product may mean that people or the
environment are exposed to lead, particularly in the case of sensitive groups such as children.
Lead can emit and be dispersed during various phases of the life cycle of products. Emissions
in production are principally a working-environment issue, but in some cases also have an
impact on the natural environment. The release of lead during the use of products may pose a
risk to humans and the environment, as may emissions from end-of-life articles. Dispersal of
lead and the risk of harm must be taken into account in prioritising products for proposed
measures. In addition, account must be taken of whether there are already rules limiting lead in
the product group. On the basis of these criteria the following product groups have been
prioritised for further measures:
• Fishing tackle in angling and commercial fishing – because of substantial dispersal to the
environment. Seabirds are poisoned by ingesting lead fishing weights. Fishing tackle is not
separated from other waste and lead therefore ends up in domestic waste. Lost lead fishing
tackle corrodes which may lead to exposure of organisms in the aquatic environment. The
private casting of lead for fishing tackle also implies health risks.
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• Consumer products – as they can pose a risk of serious health effects. Certain products lead
to exposure by inhalation, such as leaded wicks and tin solder. Other articles such as chalks and
jewellery could imply a health risk since children might swallow parts of the article.
• Aviation spirit – as lead in the aviation spirit is dispersed to the environment. Lead in petrol is
the most dangerous form of lead from the toxicological point of view.
• Batteries – due to the large quantities of lead they contain.
• Residual products, e.g. iron sand – as waste and residual products may contain a large
amount of lead, from the quantitative point of view. The exposure scenario is often unclear with
regard to both health and the environment.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Swedish Chemicals Agency proposals
Rules on limitation in fishing products
On the basis of the risk scenario that exists for products in angling and commercial fishing and
for certain consumer products that contain lead, these products appear to represent the most
pressing need for further regulation. Taking account of the consequences possible regulation
may have for the parties concerned and for society in general, the Swedish Chemicals Agency
and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency propose that a ban be introduced on fishing
tackle. The limitation should at first hand be introduced at EU level. However, the timetable for
limitations under the Limitations Directive (see section 14.1) is, highly uncertain and it is
therefore proposed that a national ban be introduced.
A national ban is proposed for all fishing tackle, i.e. tackle for angling and for household
requirements as well as commercial fishing tackle. The tackle must not contain lead in an
amount exceeding 0.1 per cent by weight. Under this proposal, the sale and use of tackle would
be banned, according to the proposal. Some transitional provisions are also proposed, adjusted
for the availability of alternatives. Tackle which was in use prior to the ban coming into force
may continue to be used.
Rules on limitations in consumer products
The Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency propose
that Sweden should press for a limitation under the Products Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) in
the case of certain consumer products since the risk pattern for these products makes them
suitable for regulation. Other product groups considered in the report could also be regarded as
consumer products, but this proposal only concerns the kind of consumer products known to
the Swedish Chemicals Agency to be capable of causing a health risk. In the opinion of the
Swedish Chemicals Agency, consumer products to be regulated are jewellery and accessories
that have been soldered and cast, chalks, plus candles and alloys containing lead, which are
available to consumers for casting.
Authorization to the Swedish Chemicals Agency concerning lead in consumer products
There may be a need to regulate further consumer products of which we are not currently aware
and which are not regulated by other rules on limitations. This need is reinforced by the
argument that zinc production controls lead availability on the market and that if the use of lead
in batteries decreases new applications may become relevant. An alternative option to a ban at
government level may be to authorize the Swedish Chemicals Agency to decide on bans on
certain consumer products at the level of agency regulations, if there are serious environmental
and health reasons for doing so. Therefore, it is proposed that the Swedish Chemicals Agency
be given an authorization in Section 14 of the Chemical Products (Handling, Import, and
Export Prohibitions) Ordinance (1998:944).
A general authorization could also send a signal to the market that lead must not be present in
consumer articles.
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Aviation spirit
Sweden has to date had a derogation from EU provisions that fuels for private recreational
flying have to be taxed. This derogation came to an end on 31 December 2006 and Sweden will
probably need to introduce taxation of aviation spirit in the near future. In conjunction with
investigation of the formulation of this tax, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and
the Swedish Chemicals Agency consider this to be an appropriate time to also investigate ways
of making it advantageous to use the alternative unleaded aviation spirit through differentiation.
Batteries
With regard to batteries, the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency consider it important to follow developments both in Sweden and the EU
closely. If the interim target of newly manufactured finished products being free of lead is to be
attained, there is a need for extensive technical development of lead-free battery alternatives.
Residual products
A discussion is under way in the EU on the interpretation of what is waste, and the Commission
has recently published a communication concerning waste and residual products. Iron sand is
an example of problems concerned with residual products containing lead. In view of this
ongoing discussion it is difficult at present to propose limitations for iron sand or other waste
and residual products as the options depend on whether these are products (raw materials,
substances, preparations) or waste.
REACH covers raw materials, substances and preparations, but not waste. When all titles in
REACH comes into force, the requirements for registration and risk assessment will gradually
also come to apply to iron sand, provided iron sand has ceased to be waste. If iron sand is still
to be regarded as waste, it is the rules under the Framework Directive on Waste and its national
implementation in Sweden that are applicable.
In view of the fact that many activities are in progress both nationally and in the EU with regard
to increased requirements for risk assessment of both products and waste, the Swedish
Chemicals Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency do not consider there to
be reason within the framework of this commission to propose further measures for iron sand or
other wastes and residual products.
The example of iron sand makes it clear, however, that the aim of the strict policy in relation to
lead in articles (phasing out lead in newly manufactured articles as far as possible and handling
existing articles that contain lead in such a way that nothing leaks into the environment) will
not be successfully met unless the rules on waste also have the same orientation and level of
ambition.
Crystal Directive
With regard to the Crystal Directive (69/493/EEC), the Swedish Chemicals Agency and the
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency consider it essential to press for this directive to be
amended in the EU.
18.
Swedish measures related to cadmium were provided in extenso as a result of the call for
information for the interim reviews on cadmium and lead and their respective appendices. The
information provided is available at the UNEP Lead and Cadmium Activities website at
http://www.chem.unep.ch/Pb_and_Cd/default.htm
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2.2 Togo
19.
The following is an excerpt from the submission by the Republic of Togo for the lead and
cadmium reviews in which national measures and strategies for the prevention and management of lead
and cadmium wastes are described (in French). The whole text can be downloaded at
http://www.chem.unep.ch/Pb_and_Cd/SR/GOV/Subm2007_TGO.pdf
VI-
MESURES ET STRATEGIES DE PREVENTION ET DE MAITRISE DES
REJETS
Parallèlement aux études d’impact de ces rejets, des travaux de recherches sur les voies et
moyens de réduction des risques ont été entrepris. Ces travaux portent essentiellement sur de
nouvelles méthodes de gestion des déchets industriels en général et miniers en particulier. C’est
ainsi que des essais de traitement des boues phosphatées en vue de récupérer la fraction solide
contenant la matière phosphatée source de cadmium et de plomb ont été réalisés en utilisant la
méthode de coagulation –floculation. Ces essais ont donné des résultats satisfaisants car on est
parvenu à ramener la plupart des paramètres de l’eau (turbidité, dureté, concentration en ions
métalliques etc.) à des valeurs conformes aux normes admises. Toujours dans le souci de
freiner la dissémination du cadmium et du plomb dans l’environnement, une autre étude a
consisté en des essais de réduction de la teneur en cadmium du minerai marchand exporté par le
Togo. Là aussi les résultats sont très encourageants.
Dans le même ordre d’idée, le Togo vient d’introduire la commercialisation sur toute l’étendue
du territoire national la vente du carburant sans plomb (en réalité carburant à très faible teneur
de plomb) en vue de réduire le rejet du plomb dans l’environnement. La mesure a pris effet à
partir du 1er juillet 2005.
Toutes ces actions ne seront bénéfiques que si elles sont coordonnées sur le plan régional. C’est
pourquoi le Togo, dans le cadre de la lutte contre la dégradation des zones côtières et la
réduction des ressources vivantes dans le grand écosystème marin du courant de Guinée, par
des actions régionales, a souscrit au projet grand écosystème marin du Courant de Guinée qui
démarre pour l’heure sur le volet lutte contre la pollution de la mer par des boues de phosphates
par l’application de la méthode de décantation et d’identification d’une stratégie de gestion
durable.
Aussi, des programmes visant à éliminer certains produits chimiques sont-ils mis en place
notamment le programme d’élimination des substances altérant la couche d’ozone, le
programme d’élimination de certains polluants organiques persistants et le projet d’élaboration
du profil national sur les produits chimiques.
Toujours dans ce même objectif, une étude de faisabilité du projet de développement d’outils de
planification et de suivi de la gestion du littoral a été réalisée.
Les textes législatifs et réglementaires en matière d’étude d’impact sur l’environnement sont
également mis à jour au Togo. Cela permettra d’envisager désormais les mesures d’atténuation
et de minimiser autant que possible les dégâts sur l’environnement lors de l’installation des
projets industriels pouvant porté préjudice à la santé humaine et l’environnement.
Encore faut-il rappeler que le manque de structures adéquates de gestion écologiquement
rationnelle des déchets qu’ils soient industriels ou ménagers contribue énormément à
l’accentuation de cette menace sur la santé et l’environnement de ces éléments traces nocifs.
Notons également que les campagnes de sensibilisation et d’éducation des populations et des
industriels constituent une des priorités actuelles du Ministère de l’Environnement et des
Ressources Forestières pour combattre cette pollution des produits chimiques.
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2.3 United States of America
2.3.1 Some existing risk management measures for lead
20.
Measures to address emissions. Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the U.S. EPA
regulates Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions (including lead emissions) by industrial source categories
using Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for each "major source" in any
source category. A MACT standard is defined based on an analysis of existing control technologies
among the best-controlled sources in a given source category (U.S. EPA, 2006a). U.S. EPA has
promulgated MACT standards for various industries including, inter alia: Primary Lead Production,
Secondary Lead Production, Industrial/Commercial/Institutional Boilers (i.e., facilities that burn coal,
oil, gas, or wood for heat and/or power), Cement Production, and Waste Incineration. U.S. EPA also
develops emissions standards under the Clean Air Act for smaller sources (called area sources) based on
generally available control technologies (GACT) or management practices. More information on these
regulations are available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/mactfnlalph.html
21.
The U.S. EPA established a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for lead of 1.5 ug/m3 (as a
quarterly maximum average) in year 1978. Any area in the U.S. found to be exceeding this level must
implement actions to reduce emissions to achieve attainment of the standard. The U.S. EPA is currently
reviewing this standard and reviewing possible options for revising this standard. More information is
available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pb/s_pb_index.html.
22.
Measures to address waste management (disposal, recycling, etc). Under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) standards have been developed for the management of lead in
solid and hazardous waste (see http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazwaste.htm).
23.
Measures to address lead use in products. The Consumer Products Safety Commission has
banned lead in paint (both household paint and paint used on consumer products), lead in venetian
blinds, and lead cored-wicks.
24.
Risk Communication and Education/Outreach to reduce exposures/risks, etc. The U.S. EPA
and other Federal agencies and departments (such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, Occupation Safety and Health Administration,
the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and others) as well as State and local health
departments, have conducted extensive outreach on lead to reduce exposures and risks. These include,
outreach campaigns and educational materials to help parents, health care professionals, home owners,
and other professionals learn what they can do to protect their families, patients, communities, and
themselves, from the dangers of lead. These materials can be found at www.epa.gov/lead,
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/, http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/lead/index.html,
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/, http://www.cpsc.gov/ and other related websites.
2.3.2 Some existing risk management measures for cadmium
25.
Measures to address emissions. Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the U.S. EPA
regulates Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions (including cadmium emissions) by industrial source
categories using Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for each "major source"
in any source category. A MACT standard is defined based on an analysis of existing control
technologies among the best-controlled sources in a given source category (U.S. EPA, 2006a). U.S.
EPA has promulgated MACT standards for various industries including, inter alia: Primary Copper
Production, Primary Steel Production, Industrial/Commercial/Institutional Boilers (i.e., facilities that
burn coal, oil, gas, or wood for heat and/or power), Cement Production, and Waste Incineration. U.S.
EPA also develops emissions standards under the Clean Air Act for smaller sources (called area
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
11
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sources) based on generally available control technologies (GACT) or management practices. More
information on these regulations is available at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/mactfnlalph.html.
26.
Measures to address waste management (disposal, recycling, etc). Under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) standards have been developed for the management of lead in
solid and hazardous waste (see http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazwaste.htm).
27.
Risk Communication and Education/Outreach to reduce exposures/risks, etc. The Occupation
Safety and Health Administration, U.S. EPA, National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, and
other agencies have conducted some outreach on cadmium to reduce exposures and risks. Some of this
information is available at the following websites: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/cadmium/,
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/cadmium.html,
http://thecommunityguide.org/niosh/topics/Cadmium/.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
12
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3. INFORMATION SUBMITTED FROM OR RELEVANT TO
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OR TO
REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ORGANIZATIONS
3.1 European Commission
28.
The following paragraphs have been submitted by the European Commission and include a
short compilation of European regulation on lead and cadmium, providing a description of the various
regulations and directives addressing those substances.
29.
European Union Risk Assessment Report- Cadmium (1). The Institute for Health and
Consumer Protection of the European Chemicals Bureau has produced in 2007 a European Union Risk
Assessment Report on cadmium oxide and cadmium metal (Part 1 environment) – (3rd Priority List,
Volume 72). Section 2.3 of the report covers Legislative control measures including European Union
legislation and national legislation.
30.
European Union Risk Assessment Report- Cadmium (2). There exists a Risk Assessment
Report (RAR) for cadmium prepared within the Existing Substance Assessment Programme of the
European Union. The Draft Report has been prepared by Belgium and is available on the homepage of
the European Chemicals Bureau: http://ecb.jrc.it/ (under "ESIS" with CAS-No. 7440-43-9 or substance
name “Cadmium”.
31.
European Union legislation. The following is an overview of the main provisions of European
Community Legislation with a relevance to lead and cadmium:
Council Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries and accumulators and waste batteries and
accumulators. Explicitly addresses the question of cadmium and lead.
Council Directive 2000/76/EC on Incineration of waste. To prevent and limit negative
environmental effects by emissions into air, soil, surface and ground-water, and the resulting risks
to human health, from the incineration and co-incineration of waste.
Council Directive 2001/80/EC Large Combustion Plants. On the limitation of emissions of
certain pollutants into the air from Large Combustion Plants
Council Directive 96/61/EC on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control
Council Directive 76/116/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating
to fertilizers. Treaty concerning the maximum admissible content of cadmium in fertilisers
Council Directive 304/2003 on the export and import of dangerous chemicals
Council Directive 91/338/EC (amending Directive 76/769/EC) restricts the use of cadmium (1)
as pigment, (2) as stabilizer in plastics and (3) as plating of metallic products or components of
products. Restricts the levels of cadmium in certain consumer goods.
Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous
substances. Lead metal, as the powder or in bulk form, is not (yet) classified. However, lead
compounds not otherwise specified in Annex 1 of Directive 67/548/EEC are classified as follows:
 Repr. Cat. 1; R61 (risk to unborn child)
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
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 Repr. Cat. 3; R62 (risk of impaired fertility
 Xn; R20/22 (harmful by inhalation and ingestion)
 R33 (danger of cumulative effects)
 N; R50-53 Very toxic to aquatic organisms; may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic
environment
Council Directive 1999/45/EC on the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous
preparations. All preparations containing dangerous substances classified under Directive
67/548/EEC above a certain threshold have to be classified accordingly
Commission Directive 2001/58/EC amending Directive 91/155/EEC defining and laying down
detailed arrangements for the system of specific information relating to dangerous
preparations and substances (safety data sheets). For dangerous substances and dangerous
preparations, professional users are entitled to receive a safety data sheet which contains
information on the intrinsic properties of the substance / components of the preparations, their
classification and labelling requirements, and information on for example storage, waste disposal,
emergency measures etc.
Council Directive 76/769/EEC on restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous
substances and preparations. Bans the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and
preparations. With regard to lead and lead compounds, the following are restricted:
Lead-based Paint
The use of lead-based paint in residential applications was officially banned under EU Council
Directive 89/677/EEC amending Council Directive 76/769/EEC (prohibits the use of lead
carbonates and lead sulphates in paints except for the restoration of works of art and historic
buildings)
Council Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks
related to chemical agents at work (Fourteenth individual Directive within the meaning of
Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC). Sets binding occupational exposure limits for lead and
its ionic compounds in blood.
Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in
the safety and health of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are
breast-feeding (Tenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive
89/391/EEC). Sets out measures to protect pregnant workers and workers who have recently
given birth or are breast-feeding, including the requirement to assess exposure to health risks
including lead compounds due to their reprotoxic effects.
Council Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work. Prohibits the use of
certain chemical agents, including lead compounds as a reprotoxic agent, by young workers.
Council Directive 88/378/EEC on the safety of toys. Established extraction limits for the
bioavailability any lead contained in children’s toys.
Council Directive 76/768/EEC on cosmetic products. Bans the use of lead and lead compounds
in cosmetics, with an exemption for the use of lead acetate in hair treatments.
Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste. Sets out the requirements for the
management of hazardous wastes, such as wastes containing lead compounds above a certain
threshold.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
14
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European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste as
amended by Directive 2005/20/EC. The Directive eliminated this application of lead by reducing
the sum of the amount of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium present in packaging
or packaging components to 100 ppm by the year 2001
Council Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
(RoHS). Bans the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated
biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in new electrical and electronic
equipment put on the market from 1 July 2006. There are exemptions for certain uses such as
lead as an alloying element in steel, aluminium and copper.
Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste electrical and
electronic equipment (WEEE) as amended by Directive 2003/108/EC. Sets criteria for the
collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment and
makes producers responsible for financing most of these activities.
Council Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life
vehicles. Bans the use of lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium in new vehicles put
on the market from 1 July 2003. There are exemptions for certain uses such as lead as an alloying
element in steel and copper, and lead in batteries and vibration dampers.
Council Directive 91/157/EEC on batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous
substances as amended by Directive 98/101/EC. Sets out measures relating to the recovery and
disposal of spent batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous substances, such as
batteries containing greater than 0.4% lead by weight.
Council 85/210/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the
lead content of petrol – repealed by Directive 98/70/EC as amended. Restricts the content lead in
petrol to 0,005 g/ltr.
Council Directive 96/62/EC on ambient air quality assessment and management. The
Framework Directive 96/62/EC set-out a common strategy to define and set objectives for
ambient air quality. Lead concentrations in the ambient air were addressed by the 1st Daughter
Directive (1999/30/EC), and a limit value (expressed as an average over a calendar year) of 0.5
ng/m3 was specified based upon WHO guidelines.
Commission Decision 2000/479/EC on the implementation of a European pollutant emission
register (EPER). According to the EPER Decision, Member States have to produce a triennial
report on the emissions of industrial facilities regulated under Council Directive 96/61/EC on
integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) into the air and waters. The report covers 50
pollutants including lead.
Council Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October
2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. Sets out
objectives in the field of water policy including priority status and quality standard requirements
for lead. Lead and its compounds are classed as ‘priority substances under review’ under the
Water Framework Directive; this classification means that the substances so listed may be
proposed as priority hazardous substances if justified by further investigation.
Council Directive 86/278/EEC on the protection of the environment, and in particular of
the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture. This Directive prohibits the sludge
from sewage treatment plants from being used in agriculture unless specified requirements
are fulfilled, including the testing of the sludge and the soil. Parameters subject to the
provisions of the Directive include amongst others the content of lead and cadmium.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
15
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Council Directive 84/500/EEC October 1984 on the approximation of the laws of the Member
States relating to ceramic articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs as amended by
Directive 2005/31/EC. The Directive lays down maximum limits for the cadmium and lead
transferred by ceramic objects to the foodstuffs with which they enter into contact.
Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption. In the
Directive the guideline for Pb in drinking water is reduced from 50 µg Pb L-1 to 10 µg Pb L-1,
with a 15 year transition period to allow for replacing lead distribution pipes.
3.2 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
32.
Several countries, in particular Canada and Germany, referred to the valuable information
available from the work of the Task Force on Heavy Metals of the UNECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution.
33.
The Executive Body (representatives of the Parties to the Convention) adopted the Protocol on
Heavy Metals on 24 June 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark. It targets three metals: cadmium, lead and mercury.
According to one of the basic obligations, Parties will have to reduce their emissions for these three
metals below their levels in 1990 (or an alternative year between 1985 and 1995). The Protocol aims to
cut emissions from industrial sources (iron and steel industry, non-ferrous metal industry), combustion
processes (power generation, road transport) and waste incineration. It lays down stringent limit values
for emissions from stationary sources and suggests best available techniques (BAT) for these sources,
such as special filters or scrubbers for combustion sources or mercury-free processes. The Protocol
requires Parties to phase out leaded petrol. It also introduces measures to lower heavy metal emissions
from other products, such as mercury in batteries, and proposes the introduction of management
measures for other mercury-containing products, such as electrical components (thermostats, switches)
measuring devices (thermometers, manometers, barometers), fluorescent lamps, dental amalgam,
pesticides and paints. The Protocol can be seen at
http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/full%20text/1998.Heavy.Metals.e.pdf
34.
The Executive Body for the Convention established the Task Force on Heavy Metals in 2004.
Led by Germany, the Task Force: i) addresses the technical needs of the reviews and assessments
required by the 1998 Aarhus Protocol on Heavy Metals, ii) schedules evaluations of limit values, the
review of sufficiency and effectiveness and the review of additional heavy metals, product control
measures or products/product groups ; among others activities. The work takes into account activities of
relevant bodies under the Convention and synergies with the abatement of particulate matter.
Documents and papers prepared for the different meetings of the task force can be found in full on the
convention website at http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/tfhm/welcome.htm
35.
The review of the sufficiency and effectiveness of the 1998 Heavy Metals Protocol to the
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution has been completed. An assessment of
technological developments and improved product control and product management measures
(prepared by the Task Force on Heavy Metals by experts from Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, United
States, International Cadmium Association and Lead Development Association International) was
published in June 2006.
36.
The following two documents prepared by The Netherlands which may be useful as sources of
additional information for this compilation were presented at the fourth meeting of the Task Force on
Heavy Metals, held in Vienna, Austria from 6-8 June 2007. Additional relevant information can be
found at http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/tfhm/4thmeeting.htm

The report on “Heavy Metal Emissions, Depositions, Critical Loads and Exceedances in
Europe”, which summarizes knowledge of – and comparison between – heavy metal emission
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
16
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reduction scenario´s and resulting depositions and critical exceedances. The focus of this report
is on the relative assessment of the effect on mercury, cadmium and lead and – more tentatively
– of other heavy metals on human health and the environment. The report is available under:
http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/tfhm/COMBINED%20HM%20REPORT.pdf

The report on “Study to the effectiveness of the UNECE Heavy Metals (HM) protocol and cost
of additional measures”. The report is available under: http://www.tno.nl/downloads%5C2006A-R0087-B_rapport_AV_hdg_V04_1-8.pdf
37.
Recently, the Task Force on Heavy Metals held its fifth meeting from 4 - 6 June 2008 in
London, United Kingdom. Further information on the work of the task force can be found on the
UNECE website, and meeting documents for the fifth meeting can be found at
http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/tfhm/5thmeeting.htm
38.
Annex VI of the Heavy Metals Protocol contains binding product control measures and Annex
VII contains guidance to Parties on a range of possible product management measures. The abovementioned document describes how measures and technological developments have improved relative
to the measures given in the two annexes of the Heavy Metals Protocol. It includes information on how
many Parties have undertaken measures, what kinds of management measures have been introduced,
changes in the consumption of heavy metals and estimates of the products contributions to air emissions
where available. In 10 Annex E of the document, regulatory measures, non-regulatory measures,
technological developments, use and emissions and a summary are, where possible, provided for
cadmium containing batteries, cadmium as surface treatment, stabiliser and colouring agent, cadmium
in electrical and electronic equipment, lead in electrical and electronic equipment, lead containing
batteries, lead-containing paint, lead stabilisers in PVC products and heavy metals in packaging, sewage
sludge and vehicles. Annex 10 E addresses the issue of products with potential for indirect air emission
of lead and cadmium. The report provides a good example of a clear structure and disposition
presenting both regulatory measures and non- regulatory measures for each concerned product group or
use.The chapters on Best Available Techniques and Products may contain information relevant to the
current inventory of existing risk management measures, especially in terms of emerging techniques
and is reproduced here below.
39.
Technological developments in best available techniques (BATs). The following overview
of the most recent technological BAT developments in relation to annex III of the Protocol covers both
new and existing stationary sources and is given for each source category as indicated in annex III (See
table 1 below). Additional information is given for emerging technologies. Techniques already
described in annex III are not taken into account for this summary. For further information on
techniques with regard to application, environmental performance etc., reference is made to the
background information.
Table 1. Overview on Most Recent Developments with BAT and other Emissions Control
Techniques1
Sector
Combustion
of fossil fuels
in utility and
industrial
boilers
1
BAT
Stable combustion conditions (reduce peak emissions)
Wet FGD plus particulate control device (ESP or FF) (plus
high dust SCR)
Injection of sorbent prior to FGD
Carbon filter bed filtration of flue gas
For low sulfur fuels (e.g. biomass):
FF
Emerging Techniques
New designs of ESPs
Improving the liquid-to-gas ratio
Wet FGD Tower Design
Injection of activated carbon
impregnated with additives
Low-NOx technologies
Reburning
Simultaneous control of sulfur
dioxide, nitrogen oxides and Hg
(Source: http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/TaskForce/tfhm/third%20meetingdocs/PostOttawa/Background_BATELV_14.06.06.FINAL.doc )
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
Primary iron
and steel
industry
Direct reduction/smelting reduction (alternatives to the
coke oven/BF route)
Efficient capture and exhaust of emissions
Processing of ferrous metal ores
Increase the mercury rejection to the tailing
Sinter plants
Fine wet scrubbers or FF with lime addition
Exclusion of PM from last ESP field from recycling to the
sinter strand
Recirculation of waste gas
Pelletisation plants
Scrubbing
Semi-dry desulfurization and subsequent PM removal
Blast furnaces
Hot stoves
Cast house PM removal
Secondary
Minimize the presence of mercury in the scrap by
iron and steel removing mercury-bearing components
industry
Electric arc furnace
Direct off gas extraction (4th or 2nd hole)
Iron foundries Minimizing fugitive emissions
Cupola furnace melting of cast iron
Improve the thermal efficiency
Divided blast operation (2 rows of tuyères) for cold blast
cupolas
Oxygen enrichment of the blast air
Minimize the blast-off periods for hot blast cupolas
Induction furnace melting of cast iron and steel
Increase furnace efficiency
Dry flue-gas cleaning
Rotary furnace melting of cast iron
Increase the melting efficiency
Post combustion
Dry PM removal
Primary and
Minimize emissions from materials handling, storage and
secondary
transfer
non-ferrous
Sealed reactors and furnaces
metal industry Processes connected to a sulfuric acid plant:
Wet scrubber or wet ESP
Removal of mercury from off-gas
Activated carbon filter
Spray dry systems with downstream FF
Removal of mercury from sulfuric acid
Superlig Ion Exchange process
Potassium iodide process
Primary and secondary production of copper
Various processes depending on raw materials
FF (with lime injection)
Scrubbing (if necessary)
Secondary production of aluminium
Various processes depending on raw materials
FF or ceramic filter
Primary and secondary production of lead and zinc
Various processes depending on raw materials
FF /wet ESP /wet scrubbing (depending on process)
Production of gold
FF / wet ESP / scrubbing (depending on process)
Production of mercury
Phase out primary production of mercury
17
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Fuel cells
Biomass-fired IGCC
Blast furnaces
Continuous steelmaking
Basic oxygen steelmaking and
casting
New reagents in the desulfurisation
process
Foaming techniques at pig iron pretreatment and steel refining
Electric arc furnace
Comelt EAF / Contiarc furnace /
Direct reduction / Liquid iron
Selenium filter
Odda chloride process
Primary and secondary production
of copper
Bath smelting
ISA Smelt
hydro-metallurgical processes (e.g.
leach-solvent extraction-electro-win
(L:SX:EW) process)
Secondary production of aluminium
Reuse of filter PM
Catalytic filter bags
Primary and secondary production
of lead and zinc
Leaching processes based on
chloride
Injection of fine material
EZINEX process (direct treatment
of EAF dusts)
Direct smelting
Lead sulfide process
BSN process using PM from EAF
Production of gold
'J' process
Gold production from pyrite
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
Cement
industry
Stop surpluses re-entering the market
Production of mercury from secondary raw materials
Mercury scrubber (Boliden, thiosulphate etc).
concentrate
Production of mercury
Process with abatement of fine
mercury particles
Dry process kiln with multi-stage preheating and
precalcination
Fluidised bed cement
manufacturing
Lower exhaust temperature
Adsorption on activated carbon
Plasma melter
Glass industry ESP or FF (with dry or semi-dry acid gas scrubbing)
Dry Injection FF/ Dry Lime Scrubber combination, or wet
scrubber
Minimize downstream emissions
Chlor-alkali
PARCOM decision 90/3 of 14 June 1990 (phase-out of the
industry
mercury process) was reviewed in 1999-2001 without any
changes
Conversion to membrane cell technology
Non-asbestos diaphragm technology
Stop surplus of Hg from decommissioning re-entering the
market
Minimizing emissions from handling, storage, treatment
and disposal of mercury-contaminated wastes
Gas stream cooling to remove mercury from hydrogen
stream
Mist eliminators
Scrubbers
Adsorption on activated carbon and molecular sieves
Complete enclosure of the cell room
Municipal,
In some countries, no differentiation between municipal,
medical and
hazardous and medical waste in terms of applied
hazardous
techniques or achievable emission limits.
waste
Separate collection and treatment of mercury-containing
incineration
wastes
Substitution of mercury in products
Sorbent injection
FGD
Carbon filter beds
Wet scrubber with additives
Selenium filters
Activated carbon injection prior to the ESP or FF
Activated carbon or coke filters
Selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
Co-incineration of waste and recovered fuel in cement
kilns
BAT for cement kilns
Co- incineration of waste and recovered fuel in
combustion installations
Avoid Hg entering as an elevated component of the
secondary fuel
Gasification of the secondary fuel
Injection of activated carbon
BAT for combustion installations
Definition of Acronyms used in Table 1:
BAT
BF
BOF
BREF
CFA
18
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Best available techniques
Blast furnace
Basic oxygen furnace
Best available technique reference document
Circulating fluidized-bed absorber
Heavy metal evaporation process
Hydro-metallurgical treatment +
vitrification
Municipal waste incineration
PECK combination process
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
EAF
ESP
FF
FGD
IGCC
PM
SCR
19
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Electric arc furnace
Electrostatic precipitator
Fabric filter
Flue gas desulfurization
Integrated gasification combined-cycle
Particulate matter
Selective Catalytic Reduction
40.
Elements from the report entitled “Exploration of possible options for the reduction of heavy
metals from a technical point of view, including costs and benefits” (by Maarten van het Bolscher,
Johan Sliggers and Jean-Paul Hettelingh) are reproduced here-below. The report summarized
knowledge of – and comparison between – heavy metal emission reduction scenarios and resulting
depositions and critical exceedences. The focus of the report is on the relative assessment of the effect
on mercury, cadmium and lead – and more tentatively of other heavy metals – on human health and the
environment.
Exploration of possible options for the reduction of heavy metals from a technical point of
view, including costs and benefits
(Maarten van het Bolscher, Johan Sliggers and Jean-Paul Hettelingh)
Introduction. At the 24th Executive Body meeting in December 2006 Parties to the Heavy
Metals (HM) Protocol agreed that the first review of the Protocol had been completed. Also, the
EB endorsed the work plan of the Task Force for 2007. Main items in this work plan are:
(a) Explore from a technical point of view options for further reducing the emissions of the
heavy metals listed in Annex I. Advantages and disadvantages of the options will be compiled;
and
(b) Assess quantitative and, where this is not possible, qualitative information on health and
ecosystem benefits of further measures to reduce emissions of heavy metals listed in Annex I.
Parties to the Protocol at the EB felt that more insight was necessary on the various options to
reduce emissions of heavy metals further including their costs and (qualitative) benefits before
they conclude on a possible revision of the Protocol. This paper addresses possible options for
the further emission reduction of heavy metals.
For a number of options the emission reduction, the costs involved with those options and their
effects, expressed as exceedances of critical loads, have been compiled. The basis of the
compilation is formed by two studies and reports:
• Study to the effectiveness of the UNECE Heavy Metals (HM) Protocol and cost of possible
measures, Phase II: Estimated emission reduction and cost of options for a possible revision of
the HM Protocol (Visschedijk et al., 2006)
• Heavy Metal Emissions, Depositions, Critical Loads and Exceedances in Europe
(Hettelingh et al., 2006).
Both reports have been presented at the Working Group on Strategies and Review in September
2006 and will be presented at the Task Force on HM in Vienna in June 2007. The reports can
also be found on the home page of the Task Force on HM.
In this paper, which deals with the European case only, you will find the description of the
options for the further reduction of heavy metals in chapter 2. The compilation on the emission
(reduction)s, costs and exceedances per option is given in chapter 3. This chapter also presents
and discusses results. The paper concludes with a more general discussion on a possible
revision of the HM Protocol in chapter 4.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
20
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Options for the further reduction of heavy metals. Seven options have been explored starting
from the full implementation of the current 1998 HM Protocol. The option that all countries
fully implement the current HM Protocol is to be seen as a baseline and forms the minimum
case. The maximum case is when additional measures for all three priority metals at new and
existing sources are taken. Figures on emission (reductions), costs and exceedances have been
compiled for all European countries in the EMEP domain. In the various options distinctions
are made between EU+ (EU25 countries plus Norway and Switzerland. Note: When the
underlying studies, that have been used for this paper, were performed Bulgaria and Romania
were not part of the EU yet) and non-EU countries. Two main sets of measures are explored,
one for dust related mesures that reduce emissions of Cd and Pb and one for measures that
reduce emissions of Hg. Other distinctions between scenarios are whether measures are taken
for new stationary sources only or for both new and existing stationary sources. Product
measures on Hg as foreseen in the EU have not been taken into account.
For the following seven options figures have been compiled:
1. Full implementation HM Protocol. In this first option all European countries ratify and
implement the 1998 HM Protocol.
2. Additional measures Cd and Pb new. In this option all countries fully implement the HM
Protocol and take additional measures at new stationary sources for Cd and Pb. This means in
effect that they take dust related measures at all relevant significant sources.
3. Additional measures Cd and Pb new. The EU(25)+ also existing. All countries take dust
related measures at new stationary sources. The EU+ countries also take these measures at
existing stationary sources.
4. Additional measures Cd and Pb new and existing.All countries take dust related measures at
new and existing stationary sources.
5. Additional measures Cd and Pb new and existing. The EU(25)+ also additional measures Hg
new. All countries take dust related measures at new and existing stationary sources. The
EU(25)+ countries also take Hg measures at new stationary sources.
6. Additional measures Cd and Pb new and existing. Additional measures Hg new and the
EU(25)+ also for existing. All countries take dust related measures at new and existing
stationary sources. All countries take measures for Hg at new sources and the EU(25)+
countries also take measures at existing stationary sources.
7. Additional measures Cd and Pb new and existing plus additional measures Hg new and
existing. All countries take measures to reduce emissions of dust and Hg at new and existing
stationary sources.
1. Emission, costs and exceedances of the options to reduce HM emissions
Options
The starting point for the identification of possible options for the reduction of HM emissions is
the selection of sources based on the contribution to the 2020 HM emissions. For 2020 full
implementation is assumed (all European UNECE countries) of the current HM Protocol and
implementation of all foreseen autonomous developments. The reduction will be discussed via
a possible strengthening of the Protocol and subsequent quantification of emission reductions
and costs.
As described in chapter 2, we have identified seven different possible options for strengthening
of the Protocol on HM. Option 1 can be seen as the baseline scenario, where no additional
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
21
_______________________
measures have been included. Step-wise, additional measures are shown for two country groups,
EU(25)+ and non-EU(25)+. Finally Option 7 includes all additional measures.
The possibility for further reductions of HM emissions has been explored by selecting new
emission limit values (ELVs) based on information submitted by IFARE to the Task Force on
Heavy Metals for updating the Annex V of the Protocol. These more strict ELVs could replace
those that are currently in the Protocol upon a possible revision.
Emissions
The projected emissions of Cd, Hg and Pb in 2020 and the reduction percentage in relation to
the ‘baseline’ Option 1 are shown in Table 2. Within the analysis a distinction has been made
between the EU 25 member states plus Norway and Switzerland (EU(25)+) and the other
European UNECE countries (non-EU(25)+). The projected emissions for 2020 for the EU(25)+
assume implementation of the IPPC Directive as autonomous policy. This implies that in 2020
all major industrial sources of air pollution will use technologies equal or equivalent to BAT as
described in the IPPC BREF Documents.
Costs
Besides the emissions and emission reduction for Cd, Hg and Pb in 2020 as a result of the
different options, Table 2 shows the costs. The costs of the options are shown as incremental
costs, calculated as additional costs on top of the costs of a full implementation of the present
HM Protocol. This implies that the differences between the costs of the present ELVs and the
adjusted ELVs will be calculated.
Within the TNO study, costs have been described as the modification costs of an installation
without distinguishing new and old installations. Since measures for only new installations
could be an option we have made a rough estimation of the emissions, costs and exceedances
when taking this into account.
The estimation is based on the assumptions that installations have a life expectancy of 30 years,
that the installations will be renewed gradually, and that this option will be applied starting
from 2010. This implies that costs will increase slowly and emissions reduces slowly. For new
installations measures have to be taken. In 2020 we estimate that 1/3 of the installations will be
renewed making total annual costs in 2020 1/3 of the costs necessary to apply the measure to all
installations at that time
This estimation is of course a rough one and has its limitations. When building a new
installation for example, new technologies will be used and costs and emissions could be much
lower as described here. On the other hand the additional costs will be relatively small
regarding the total costs of new installations. The cost figures and emissions within the grey
rows of Table 2 must therefore be seen as a conservative estimation.
It should be mentioned that ex-post evaluations of costs made show that these costs are a factor
of 2 to 10 lower compared to the ex ante calculated costs.
Exceedances
Exceedances are computed by comparing critical loads with atmospheric depositions.
Depending on the endpoint, exceedances can be computed to identify the risk for human health
or the risk for ecotoxicological effects (see Hettelingh et al., 2006). However, the results
described in this report focus on the most sensitive endpoint. Thus, the lowest critical load has
been chosen if critical loads have been computed for both endpoints for any single ecosystem
point in the European database.
In this paper the risk of impacts caused by the deposition of Cd, Pb and Hg has been expressed
as (a) the Area at risk, and (b) the Average Accumulated Exceedance (AAE). Table 2 (last
column) shows the percentages of areas at risk of health or environmental effects caused by
deposition of the heavy metals for the year 2020.The area at risk is computed as the percentage
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
22
_______________________
of the European ecosystem areas (forest soils, grassland, arable land or freshwaters) as
submitted by National Focal Centres (forest soils otherwise) of which the critical load of a
metal is exceeded by the deposition of this metal. The AAE is the ecosystem area-weighted
sum (in g ha-1 yr-1) of the individual exceedances (deposition minus critical load, with zero for
non-exceedance) of all ecosystems in a region (see Hettelingh et al., 2006, pp.38).
As any other statistic, an AAE can be computed for Europe, a country, a (sub-) region, an
EMEP grid cell, or ecosystems within and EMEP grid cell. In this paper both the Area at risk
and the AAE are computed for EU25 Member States plus Switzerland and Norway, the nonEU(25)+ countries under the LRTAP Convention and for the whole of Europe (EMEP domain).
Results
Table 2 gives an overview of the options and the related emissions, costs and areas at risk.
Besides grey marked rows, the options show a step by step increase in emission reduction. The
reason for the decrease in emission reduction (grey rows), instead of an increase, is due to the
fact that by implementing the specific Hg measures a few dust measures become redundant.
Those dust sources (Cd and Pb emisions) will also be covered for only 1/3 within this scenario
by the Hg measure, because the dust measure has become redundant compare to a full
implemented Hg measures. Since only 1/3 of these Hg measures will be applied in these ‘grey
rows’, there will be more emission from the dust sources (Cd and Pb emission). Those
installations that aren’t renewed yet within this scenario, but are subject to be renewed within
the future will therefore have a higher emission for Cd and/or Pb for some sources.
As can be seen the emission of Hg is poorly mitigated by generic dust emission reduction
measures (Option 1 to 4). In general, measures under the HM Protocol focus on dust removal,
thereby reducing the emissions of HM. For Hg this is less efficient as most of the Hg emissions
occur in the gaseous phase. Therefore, Hg measures are shown separately from the measures
taken to reduce Cd and Pb. Starting from Option 5 the Hg measures are included, first only for
new installations in the EU(25)+, up to a full implementation for all countries for Option 7.
While analysing Table 2 its good to know that in the non-EU(25)+ countries all costs are
included. For EU(25)+ countries, where the IPPC Directive has been implemented, this is
regarded as autonomous development. Therefore the costs in the EU(25)+ will often appear
lower than for other countries because the EU(25)+ countries have to comply with EC
Directives, such as the IPPC Directive, and may already made (a part of) the costs. So, lower
costs for the EU(25)+ does not imply that they take less measures or that they have lower costs.
It is just showing the incremental costs for additional measures as a result of extra measures in
a revised HM Protocol.
The costs will be presented as total annual costs (the sum of amortization and operational costs)
and are expressed in Euro (€) as of year 2000.
End-of-pipe removal of Hg is in most cases not regarded as BAT by the IPPC, and costs are
usually relatively high. Therefore, Options 6 and 7 show a relative high increase in incremental
costs. The costs of emission reductions give, due to the limitation of cost data underlying the
results, an order of magnitude of the costs range.
Table 3 shows that overall in Europe the area at risk for Cd deposition reduces from 0.10 % for
Option 1 to about nihil for Option 7. The area at risk in non-EU(25)+ diminishes from 0.16 %
under Option 1 to 0,02% under Option 7. Also the exceedance magnitudes are very low.
However, it should be noted that the deposition calculations of Cd are likely to be
underestimated. Additional loads from manure and/or fertiliser will extend the area and
magnitude of exceedance in central Europe.
The risk of Pb deposition expressed as AAE is highest in the EU(25)+ (5 and 3 g/ha yr in
options 1 and 7 respectively), while the area at risk is highest in non-EU(25)+ (35% and 14% in
options 1 and 7 respectively).
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
23
_______________________
Finally, the risk of mercury turns out to cover a broad area in Europe. 80% of the area is at risk
under Option 1 which is reduced by 6% to 74% under option 7. The risk is highest in nonEU(25)+ countries covering 97% of the area (with an AAE of 0,14 g ha-1 yr-1) under option 1.
Peak Average Accumulated Exceedances that are higher than 0,4 g ha-1 yr-1 occur in most of
the Parties under the Convention (see Hettelingh et al., 2006, pp. 53) Under Option 7 the risk of
Hg in the non-EU(25)+ diminishes to an area at risk of still 91% (with an AAE of 0,069 g ha1yr-1). Areas with AAE peaks exceeding 0,4 g ha-1yr-1 are reduced to a limited set of scattered
grid cells in the whole of Europe. The southern part of Greece remains highly exposed.
In the end it should be noted that the risk of Options 2 to 6 lie between those described for
Options 1 and 7.
Other
It is important to note that many measures that target a specific HM have substantial co-benefits
as ultimately a whole group of substances (e.g. other heavy metals, particulate matter and/or
dioxins) will be reduced. So thus, the injection of activated carbon, as a Hg emission reduction
measure has, a co-benefit due to the removal of specific other gaseous compounds, such as
dioxins. The relative decrease of emissions by metal as a result of tightening the ELVs is shown
in Figure 1.
100%
Percentage
90%
80%
Cd
70%
60%
Hg
50%
Cr
40%
30%
Cu
20%
10%
Ni
Pb
As
Se
0%
EU(25) plus
Norway and
Switzerland
Other European
UNECE Members
Total UNECE
Europe
Zn
Country Group
Figure 1
Emission reduction potential of a possible revision of the HM Protocol following
the tightening of the ELVs
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
Emissions, costs and area at risk for the different options in 2020
New
source
Existing
source
Hg measures
New
source
2. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new.
X
X
3. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new. The EU+ also
existing.
4. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new and existing.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
5. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new and existing. The
EU+ also additional measures
Hg new.
6. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new and existing.
Additional measures Hg new
and the EU+ also for existing.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
7. Additional measures Cd
and Pb new and existing plus
additional measures Hg new
and existing.
X
X
X
X
X
X
Cd
Existing
source
1. Full Implementation HM
Protocol.
X
X
X
Emissions (tonnes)
Pb
Hg
Costs (M€)
Reduction
(%)
Countries
Dust measures
Reduction
(%)
Option
Reduction
(%)
Table 2
24
________________________________________________________________________________________
All
149
31%
2813
51%
307
3%
EU(25)+
83
13%
1551
41%
124
12%
0
0
0
448
2 546
2 994
1 344
2 546
3 890
1 344
7 637
8 981
4 848
non-EU(25)+
68
44%
1265
60%
166
5%
7 637
EU(25)+
95
0%
2622
0%
141
0%
non-EU(25)+
121
0%
3139
0%
175
0%
All
217
0%
5761
0%
316
0%
EU(25)+
90
5%
2264
14%
141
0%
non-EU(25)+
103
4778
20%
17%
172
194
15%
11%
2514
All
313
2%
1%
EU(25)+
81
15%
1548
41%
141
0%
non-EU(25)+
103
15%
2514
20%
172
2%
All
184
1548
29%
41%
313
81
15%
15%
4062
EU(25)+
141
1%
0%
non-EU(25)+
68
44%
1265
60%
166
5%
Area at risk (%)*
Cd
Pb
Hg
0,03
38
66
0.1
33
80
<0.10
<33
<80
66
<0.10
<33
<80
66
<0.10
<33
<80
All
151
31%
2816
51%
290
8%
12 485
>0.02
>19
>74
EU(25)+
77
19%
1540
41%
89
37%
11 936
0.02
27
61
non-EU(25)+
74
39%
1276
59%
148
16%
10 187
All
151
30%
2816
51%
237
25%
22 123
>0.02
>19
>74
EU(25)+
77
19%
1540
41%
89
37%
27
61
60
50%
1250
60%
94
46%
11 936
15 454
0.02
non-EU(25)+
All
137
37%
2790
52%
183
42%
27 390
0.02
19
74
Emission and Cost data have been obtained from Visschedijk et al. (2006) (See text for an explanation on the grey marked rows ).
Area at risks data have been obtained from Hettelingh et al. (2006)
*Please be aware that the countries covered within the two studies is not exactly the same.
Due to rounding off the numbers, there migth be a small difference between the numbers in the TNO study and the numbers in the table
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
Table 3
Ecosystem
areas in1:
The area at risk (%) and Average Accumulated Exceedance (g ha-1yr-1) of
areas within the EMEP domain of Europe, in the EU25 Member States plus
Norway and Switzerland (EU(25)+), and other Parties under the Convention
(non-EU(25)+) for the Options 1 and 7.
Option 1
Cd
Area at risk
Pb
Average
Accumulated
Exceedance
Area at
risk
(g/ha yr)
EU(25)+
non-EU(25)+
All
25
(%)
0,03
0,16
0,1
nil
nil
nil
Hg
Average
Accumulated
Exceedance
Area at
risk
Average
Accumulated
Exceedance
(g/ha yr)
(%)
30
35
33
5
2
3
(g/ha yr)
(%)
64
97
80
0,11
0,14
0,12
Option 7
Cd
Pb
Hg
0,02
nil
25
3
57
0,06
EU(25)+
non-EU(25)+
0,02
nil
14
1
91
0,069
0,02
nil
19
2
74
0,064
All
1
EU25+: EU countries before 31 december 2006 excl. Malta for the risk assessments of all metals and
Finland for the assessment of the risk of mercury, due to lack of data.
General discussion on a possible revision of the HM Protocol
In this paper seven options to reduce HM further have been investigated. Although more
options could have been undertaken they give a good overview of what can be done to
abate HM emissions further. Variants to the options in this paper are different time
frames for the implementation of measures for Western countries (the EU+ and North
America) and European non-EU countries. Other possibilities are e.g. a difference in
obligations, binding measures or non-binding measures.
The options are independent of where the further reduction land in a protocol. One could
revise the current HM Protocol or draft a new ‘Second HM Protocol’. Another possibility
is that since the HM Protocol is to a very large extent a dust related protocol that the HM
Protocol is extended to a protocol on primary particulate matter (PM) and heavy metals
(a Protocol on PM/HM). It could be a technology-based protocol with obligations on
BAT and ELVs and not on mandatory emission ceilings. This possibility might be
attractive for emission inventories of HM and PM are not as accurate as are the
substances now addressed in the Gothenburg Protocol. Such a technology-based protocol
can be drafted fairly quickly. Such a protocol on PM/HM would also have the advantage
of not increasing the complexity of the Gothenburg Protocol with PM.
The current idea is to add PM to the possibly revised Gothenburg Protocol. Since HM
and primary PM are largely overlapping one could also include HM into the revised
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
26
Gothenburg Protocol. A distinct disadvantage would be that it would become even more
difficult to implement and ratify such an all-encompassing protocol.
This paper explores options to reduce HM emissions from stationary sources. For Hg the
EU has many product regulations on Hg containing products. These regulations go
beyond the measures in the HM Protocol in Annex VI (mandatory measures) and Annex
VII (voluntary measures). For a new HM protocol one could opt for the EU+ and North
America to have more mandatory Hg product measures in Annex VI. Other European
non-EU countries could possibly have time exemptions on these additional Hg measures.
For Cd and Pb containing products the situation is more complex. It is only after
combustion that these metals are released into the atmosphere. One could place measures
on the limitation of Cd and Pb in products into a non-mandatory annex (e.g. Annex VII).
References
Visschedijk, A.J.H., H.A.C. Denier van der Gon, M. van het Bolscher, P.Y.J. Zanveld
(2006), Study to the effectiveness of the UNECE Heavy Metals (HM) Protocol and costs
of additional measures, Phase II: estimated emission reduction and costs of options for a
possible revision of the HM Protocol, TNO-report 2006-A-R0087/B.
Hettelingh, J.-P., J. Sliggers (eds.), M. van het Bolscher, B.J.Groenenberg, I. Ilyin,
G.J.Reinds, J.Slootweg, O.Travnikov, A.Visschendijk, W.de Vries (2006), Emissions,
depositions, critical loads and exceedances in Europe, Report of the Directorate for
Climate Change and Industry, Dutch ministry of VROM (also available at the CCE from
www.mnp.nl/cce ).
3.3 World Bank
41.
Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines. In April of 2007 new versions of the
World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines were published. These
guidelines consist of general guidelines that address performance levels and measures related to
Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety, Community Health and Safety and Construction
and Decommissioning as well as industry specific guidelines including ones for Base Metal
Smelting and Refining. A copy of the general EHS guidelines is available at:
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/enviro.nsf/Content/EnvironmentalGuidelines .
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
27
4. INFORMATION SUBMITTED FROM OR RELEVANT
TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
4.1 International Lead Association
42.
Voluntary Risk Assessment on Lead (prepared by the Lead Industry). The
Voluntary Risk Assessment on Lead and Lead Compounds (VRAL) has been produced by
consultants appointed by the Lead Development Association International (LDAI). The
VRAL reports have been reviewed by independent scientific review panels. The
Netherlands has acted in the role of Sponsor Country. The reports were submitted in May 2005 to
the Technical Committee on New and Existing Chemicals (an European Commission working
group) of Council Regulation (EEC) 793/93, Directive 67/548/EEC (TC NES). The first in-depth
discussion on the environment assessment took place at TC NES III ’06 (2006).
43.
The following is a descriptive pamphlet on the document from the International Lead
Association website http://www.ila-lead.org/documents/FS_VRAL.pdf
Throughout the world, legislation is under constant review to ensure that both man and
the environment are adequately protected from lead’s hazardous properties. Towards the
end of the 1990s it became clear that, despite the huge body of information available on
lead, some data gaps still existed. As a result industry volunteered to conduct a
comprehensive assessment of lead risks in the European Union (EU).
In the EU at the time, an official procedure already existed for governments to conduct
such assessments. However no assessment had ever been conducted on lead. The lead
industry was the first industry to volunteer to perform such an assessment according to
this procedure. As a result the industry spent many years working with the European
Commission and EU governments to agree on a process by which industry could carry
out a risk assessment in an open and transparent way, and ultimately for the assessment
to be reviewed by EU governments.
To avoid any accusation of bias, independent consultants were appointed to conduct the
assessment and leading international experts in the field of lead were appointed to two
independent scientific review panels which periodically reviewed the work output. Both
the consultants and the review panel members were approved by the European
Commission and a Reviewing Country.
The Netherlands government agreed to participate as the Reviewing Country to monitor
progress. The risk assessment is extremely comprehensive, covering lead metal and the
major lead compounds throughout the life cycle (i.e. from production through to use,
recycling and, where recycling is not possible, disposal).
The process of conducting the risk assessment took four years, after which draft reports
on environment, health and waste were submitted to the European Chemicals Bureau in
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
28
2005. Since then the reports have been extensively reviewed by EU government and will
also be reviewed by the EU’s independent Scientific Committee on Health and
Environmental Risks (SCHER).
The project is already providing valuable information on how risks from lead can be
effectively managed, for example in the case of worker health, and industry is committed
to implementing these measures. The report is also helping to identify areas where further
research is needed and again industry is committed to delivering this.
The €4 million cost of the risk assessment has been met in its entirety by the lead industry.
The work has helped the industry improve its knowledge of the impact of lead on health
and the environment. The information has also been useful to regulators of national and
local issues.
4.2 International Lead Management Centre (ILMC)
44.
The International Lead Management Center (ILMC) has experience over a decade in
management of lead exposure risks through the introduction of specific Environmentally Sound
Management (ESM) procedures tailored to the distinct lead exposure issues unique to each
country’s cultural, technical, geographic and socio-economic circumstances.
45.
The ILMC offers a number of publications containing consensus health materials and
detailed lead risk information for the lead mining, refining, manufacturing and recycling sectors.
Many of these publications address the data needs are highlighted in this compilation. They
include:


















ILMC Ceramics Handbook
ILMC Ceramics Primer for the non-Ceramist
ILMC Fact Sheets
Risk Management Processes
Lead Risk Management at a Lead Recycling Facility
ILMC Guidance Documents
Sound Management of Solid Waste in the Lead Industry
Control and Monitoring of Atmospheric Emissions
Control and Monitoring of Liquid Effluent
Design of Lead Plant Changing Rooms and Washing Facilities
Effective Communication and Public Relations
Voluntary Agreements – The ILMC Experience
The Various Types of Lead Acid Battery and the Importance of Recycling
Battery Design for Cleaner Production
Control Strategies and Policies for Recycling ULAB in the “informal” Sector
Establishing a Community Care and Outreach Program
Strategies for the Remediation of Lead Contaminated Soil
Health Issues for Lead Workers and the General Population.
46.
All of these publications are available on the ILMC web site at
http://www.ilmc.org/pub.html along with other reports on workshops and pilot programs that they
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
29
have conducted throughout the world. Cooperative interactions between ILMC and the Basel
Secretariat have also produced a number of guidance documents directly relevant to waste
disposal and recycling issues specific to the needs of developing countries:
http://www.basel.int/pub/techguid/tech-wasteacid.pdf
http://www.basel.int/stratplan/oewg1/projdocs/elsalvador/issuesrecylcingE.pdf
http://www.basel.int/meetings/sbc/workdoc/tm-ulab/techdocs.html
http://www.basel.int/stratplan/oewg1/projdocs/elsalvador/final-reg-strategy-e.doc
4.3 Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment
(SCOPE)
47.
SCOPE, an interdisciplinary body of natural and social science expertise focused on
global environmental issues, operating at the interface between scientific and decision-making
processes, consists of a worldwide network of scientists and scientific institutions developing
syntheses and reviews of scientific knowledge on current or potential environmental issues.
48.
The SCOPE website provides the working group reports and abstracts of the papers
presented during the workshops as follows: http://www.icsu-scope.org/ >> menu Scientific
Programme >> projects profile >> scroll down to Environment and health >> cadmium in the
environment >> scroll down to bottom of the page and click in a respective workshop paragraphs.
49.
A workshop on risk assessment and management of environmental cadmium was held at
the University of Ghent, in Belgium on 3 to 6 September, 2003. It built on a previous workshop
that involved a multidisciplinary evaluation of the environmental and human health dimensions of
cadmium in the food chain. The second workshop comprised an interdisciplinary approach to risk
assessment and management that involved the setting of standards, the development and
implementation of policies, and the balancing of risk for cadmium in relation to meeting global
food needs, with special reference to the developing world. It also aimed to identify the research
needs and opportunities for risk assessment and management in the context of environmental
cadmium. The workshop included one introductory paper on world food security, 20 technical
background papers which addressed the diverse issues relating to risk management and
assessment, five working group reports, and a meeting to develop a consensus summary report.
The report of the first workshop and an extract from a second workshop are reproduced here
below:
Report from the SCOPE workshop risk assessment and management of
environmental cadmium
This workshop, held at the University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium on 3-6 September, 2003,
builds on a previous workshop entitled 'Environmental Cadmium in the Food Chain:
Sources, Pathways, and Risks' held at the Belgian Academy of Sciences, Brussels,
Belgium on 13-16 September, 2000. This first workshop involved a multidisciplinary
evaluation of the environmental and human health dimensions of cadmium in the food
chain. A Report from the first workshop is available on the SCOPE Website
http://www.icsu-scope.org
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
30
The present workshop comprised an interdisciplinary approach to risk assessment and
management that involves the setting of standards, the development and implementation
of policies, and the balancing of risk for cadmium in relation to meeting global food
needs, with special reference to the developing world. It also aimed to identify the
research needs and opportunities for risk assessment and management in the context of
environmental cadmium.
The workshop included one introductory paper on world food security, 20 technical
background papers which addressed the diverse issues relating to risk management and
assessment, five working group reports, and a meeting to develop this consensus
summary report.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Cadmium is a toxic metal. Although studies of occupationally-exposed workers have
demonstrated that cadmium is a human carcinogen by inhalation, epidemiologic studies
have not confirmed that it is carcinogenic by ingestion. However, some populations have
developed significant renal and bone disease from cadmium ingested through the food
chain, resulting originally from mine waste and industrial pollution of croplands. The
SCOPE Environmental Cadmium project has focused on the transfer of cadmium from
sources through the food chain to human and ecologic receptors. Understanding the
factors that influence the rates and efficiency of transfer from each of the compartments
in the food chain) is essential for a comprehensive risk assessment, and identifies targets
and options for risk management interventions.
Setting standards to protect soil, plants, animals, and humans from exposure to cadmium
is a high-profile policy issue, because, the ability to apply phosphate fertilizer and to reuse sewage sludge (biosolids), may be constrained by current risk assessments for the
cadmium that they contain. A major concern arises because phosphate fertilizers, widely
used throughout the world and essential for food production, contain varying amounts of
cadmium. At the same time, regulations introduced with a view to protecting certain
populations may have unforeseen effects involving nutrition, public health, and social
and economic factors on other populations. The SCOPE Environmental Cadmium
Project has considered these as an integral part of its risk investigation.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a scientific/statistical process. A risk assessment estimates the
probability of an adverse effect occurring under a certain set of circumstances. Risk
assessment of a chemical compound in the environment quantifies the hazardous
properties, exposure, and dose, and their effects, with special emphasis on critical
receptors and significant endpoints. Risk assessments can be multi-chemical, multi-media,
and multi-pathway, taking into consideration the additive contribution from different
exposures. The SCOPE Environmental Cadmium Project has focused its risk assessment
on inputs of cadmium to soil, its transfer through the food chain and effects on humans
and ecological receptors. Because cadmium concentrations in soil may increase or
decrease over time, a risk assessment should estimate the impact of such changes.
Estimating the risk of actual cadmium releases and food chain transfer to humans,
requires quantifying a series of steps. The cadmium exposure to humans is mainly driven
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
31
by cadmium in staple food crops (i.e., cadmium in cereals and tubers) which in turn
originates from cadmium in soil. Soil cadmium concentrations are influenced by the
natural background and by anthropogenic sources that include phosphate fertilizers,
atmospheric deposition (reflecting ongoing emissions from industries and utilities), and
applications of sewage sludge in localized areas. These additions will increase the
cadmium content of agricultural soils, with the increase being dependent on the cadmium
loading from the different inputs and on various removal mechanisms such as leaching.
In addition, not all of the cadmium in soil will be available to plants.
Risk Management
Risk management involves various options for interventions to minimize the input of
cadmium and its transfer through the food chain to the target organ (i.e., the kidney in the
human body). These can occur at any level in the food chain, (i.e., the soil, plant, animal,
and human). However, risk management has to balance potential benefits with actual
costs. This is a particularly complex situation for cadmium, as indicated by the beneficial
effects of phosphate fertilizer on crop yield and the negative effects on the trade in
phosphate fertilizers resulting from regulation based on the cadmium-content.
The sequence of transfer of cadmium from soil to crop to the kidney is fixed, but the
amounts transferred can vary appreciably between each of these compartments. There are
also major areas of uncertainty in the transfer of cadmium from source to receptor.
This workshop focused attention particularly on the availability of soil cadmium to plants
(phytoavailability) and the absorption and retention (bioavailability) by humans. The ease
with which cadmium is transferred from soil to plant is influenced by soil characteristics
(pH, chloride, zinc, iron, calcium, and probably other cations) and by plant
characteristics; these include the species, variety or cultivar, and the cation status of the
plant.
Once food (or soil, in certain cases) has been ingested, there is a second major area of
variability leading to uncertainty, and this relates to the efficiency with which cadmium is
transferred from the matrix to the intestine and into the blood stream, and distributed
within the body.
The third area of uncertainty which remains is the dose that accumulates in the kidney,
which triggers tubular damage manifested mainly by the excretion of a variety of low
molecular weight proteins such as beta-2-microglobulin.
The process of bioavailability comprises both the transfer of food-cadmium from the gut
lumen to the blood (absorption) and the distribution of this cadmium to the vulnerable
organ tissues (retention). In the past, the concentration of cadmium in food has been
considered the overriding risk factor that determines body burden of this element.
However, numerous studies have now revealed other factors that affect intestinal
absorption and organ retention of cadmium. These include the composition of the diet
itself and the age and sex and nutritional status of the consumer. A very important factor
that is often overlooked is the interaction between cadmium and certain other nutrient
cations in the diet that compete for transport sites in the intestinal mucosa, which can
increase or decrease the absorption rate of dietary cadmium. The most important of these
are zinc, iron, and calcium. Several studies have shown that deficient amounts of these
cations in the diet enhance the intestinal absorption of cadmium and increase the
cadmium content of the vital organs, particularly the kidney.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
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32
Only recently, however, has it been shown in animal feeding studies that diets with
mineral concentrations less than adequate, but not low enough to affect weight gain or
general health, also increase absorption and organ accumulation of cadmium by as much
as 10-fold. If these findings in animal studies are duplicated in human studies, they could
be of particular importance in assessing and managing the risk of food cadmium in
certain populations of the world where food is only mildly contaminated with cadmium,
but also provides only low to marginal amounts of zinc, iron, or calcium. Thus a food
cadmium concentration that is low risk to a well-nourished population may become
medium to high risk to a population that is mildly to highly under-nourished with respect
to zinc, iron, and calcium.
STANDARDS FOR
ENVIRONMENT
PROTECTING
PUBLIC
HEALTH
AND
THE
Standards can be set for products, for environmental concentrations, or developed from
allowable daily intakes (dose in ug kg-1day-1). Standards are enforceable components of
regulatory policy. The process of standard setting varies among state, national, and
international agencies.
The types of methodologies available for setting a standard include:









Risk-based endpoints
Soil-loading models for sustainability
A mass-balance approach
Harmonization to existing country or international standards
Using existing food standards (e.g., Codex Alimentarius) coupled with a rigorous
monitoring program
As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA)
Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)
Best Available Control Technology (MACT)
Precautionary approaches
Water-quality standards have been set for cadmium based on ecotoxicology studies of
aquatic life. Developing human health risk-based standards for cadmium, however, has
been thwarted by significant data gaps and uncertainties, even though there is substantial
data on some human populations with chronic exposure. The limitations, however, lie in
the uncertainties mentioned above.
Risk assessments have been completed by several agencies, yielding values to which
individuals (including susceptible individuals) could be exposed on a daily basis,
throughout their lifetime, without showing the symptoms of cadmium toxicity. These
differ by less than an order of magnitude and in two cases they are the same.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
Lead and Cadmium
Agency
World Health
Organization
US Environmental
Protection Agency
Agency for Toxic
Substances and
Disease Registry
33
Name of threshold value
Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake
(PTWI)
Intake level per day
1.0 μg kg-1day-1
Reference Dose (oral) (RfD)
1.0 μg kg-1day-1
Minimal Risk Level (oral chronic)
(MRL)
0.2 μg kg-1day-1
There are many uncertainties regarding phytoavailability and plant uptake, and
bioavailability and absorption, which make the setting of standards very difficult.
Bioavailability, in particular, is a vitally-important issue with respect to scientificallybase standards, supported by a risk assessment.
More reliable and realistic assessments of the social and economic costs and benefits are
required and these should be done as an integral part of any standard setting process.
BALANCING RISK
The workshop re-enforced the point that there has been no conclusive evidence of an
adverse impact of the cadmium in phosphate fertilizer on human health, even in Australia
which has a long history of application of phosphate fertilizer with a high cadmium
content.
In the case of international trade in phosphate fertilizers, limiting use on the basis of their
cadmium content will restrict the export of those fertilizers from certain countries, with
serious implications for their national economies. This must be balanced against the
possible effects on human health in importing countries that use high cadmiumcontaining fertilizers.
In the absence of phosphate fertilizer input, crop yields may be low and crop quality poor,
with adverse effects on farm income and human health, resulting from the poor
nutritional status of the diet. With high phosphate input, crop yields are larger and
nutritional status is better, but if the cadmium content of the crop is also higher, because
of the use of high cadmium-containing phosphate sources, there is a potential risk to
human health, particularly in developing countries where deficiencies in calcium, zinc,
and iron are prevalent. Women of child-bearing age who are iron-depleted and anemic
would be at particular risk of cadmium accumulation. Thus benefits in one country may
be offset by harm in another.
In the context of risk balancing, it is essential that a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis
is conducted on cadmium control measures from all sources.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC
IMPLICATIONS
REGULATIONS FOR CADMIUM
OF
MORE
RESTRICTIVE
Managing environmental cadmium may, in part, involve the use of more restrictive
regulations, for example, the proposed EU-wide Regulation on Cadmium in Fertilizers.
The socio-economic evaluation of such regulation includes consideration of the
associated benefits and costs, including both the source and destination nations. The
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
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34
decision to regulate cadmium by setting standards for concentration in food and
fertilizers, should take into account effectiveness and efficiency.
Although data presented at the present and previous (2000) workshops demonstrate the
toxicity of cadmium and the relationship of dietary exposure to disease, a number of
factors involving bioavailability, suggest that with adequate soil quality management and
human nutrition, the risks associated with levels likely to be achieved in diets, can be
kept low. Thus non-regulatory approaches or a mixed strategy, may be effective in
maintaining cadmium levels as low as reasonably achievable.
Other approaches to reducing cadmium exposure include:
 education (good agricultural practices, awareness of consumers, appropriate selection
of fertilizer type and quantity matched to local soils and crops)
 stimulation of research and development
 reduction of trade-distorting tariffs
 ensuring an adequate supply and use of low-cadmium containing fertilizers
 stimulation of Corporate Responsibility and Product Stewardship programs.
There is an urgent need for information on the efficiency of regulations. An accurate
evaluation is hampered by the incomplete assessment of the social cost dimensions
involved, because the costs may arise in countries remote from where benefits are
realized. Currently, there is not a consensus about a number of costs and benefits. For
example, the estimated costs of decadmiation vary between 8 Euros and 110 Euros per
ton P2O5 . The calculation of these costs depends substantially on the assumptions made
for the process being considered. In addition to a need for reliable and realistic benefit
and costs figures, there is a need for a consensus among stakeholders as to which costs
and benefits need to be considered. However, in general, stakeholders identify the
following benefits and costs:
Benefits:
 Increase of health and safety levels due to lower cadmium intake (associated with a
high level of uncertainty)
 Increased perceived faith in the use fertilizers and consumption of food
 Opportunities for some fertilizers producers
 Stabilization/reduction of cadmium concentrations in soil
 Opportunities to develop alternative farming practices
 Opportunities
for
other
economic
sectors
(e.g.,
cadmium
waste
management/recycling)
 Development of new (cleaner) technologies
Costs:
 Increase in fertilizer costs:
* Decrease in the use of phosphate fertilizers (particularly in developing countries)
* Increased reliance on high cadmium fertilizers in some developing countries
* Decrease in fertilizer production
 Nutrient imbalances due to inadequate or inappropriate fertilizer us
 Higher energy costs
 Increased public concern or "worry" about cadmium in fertilizer and food, may
decrease faith in the use of fertilizers and consumption of food
 Disruption of established production and trade patterns
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



35
Threats to other economic sectors
Costs of new technologies:
* Increase of costs
* Increase of cadmium waste
Less competition (possible monopolistic profits)
Regulatory burdens
Currently, a definitive cost-benefit analysis of cadmium regulation is impossible with the
information available. There is need for further research on determining the effectiveness
and efficiency of various levels of regulation and other adaptations in existing
governmental policies. The current existing gaps in scientific evidence bearing on
effectiveness and efficiency of different standards need to be filled. Regardless of the
standards set or the strategies developed, monitoring programs are required to assess the
effectiveness of any intervention and to allow revisions, when required.
CONCLUSIONS
1. Cadmium is toxic to humans and organisms, and reduction of exposure to cadmium
will be beneficial for human health, soil sustainability, and ecosystems. The need to
reduce inputs of cadmium into the environment is widely accepted.
2. Additions of cadmium to the soil are the main inputs of cadmium into the food chain;
these additions are mainly in phosphate fertilizers, from atmospheric deposition, and
from the application of sewage sludge in localized areas. Further accumulation of soil
cadmium should be prevented.
3. Risk assessment at this workshop has focused on inputs of cadmium to the soil, its
transfer through the food chain, nd effects on human health. There are substantial data
gaps at all stages in the food chain, particularly in assessing the risk to human health from
exposure to dietary cadmium.
4. Risk management involves interventions to minimize the input and transfer of
cadmium through the food chain to the target organ (i.e., the kidney in the human body).
5. Soil management practices (e.g., avoiding saline soils and saline irrigation water) and
correcting zinc deficiency can effectively decrease the plant availability
(phytoavailability) of soil cadmium. Although the correction of soil acidity decreases the
mobility of cadmium in soils, it can have a varying and unpredictable effect on plant
uptake.
6. Breeding plants for low cadmium uptake and a high uptake and storage of bioavailable
iron and zinc in the plant, which can decrease the amount of cadmium absorbed in the
intestine, offers considerable promise as a risk management strategy.
7. Standards are enforceable components of regulatory policy for protecting human
health and the environment. However, there are many uncertainties with regard to
phytoavailability and bioavailability (in particular) which make standard setting for
environmental cadmium very difficult.
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36
8. There are social and economic costs and benefits resulting from the setting of
standards. This is particularly relevant to cadmium, for which the impact of any standards
set should be reliably and realistically assessed.
9. There is no conclusive evidence for any adverse effects on human health of the
cadmium in phosphate fertilizers. Any limitations on the trade in phosphate fertilizers
based on their cadmium content will have a major economic impact on certain phosphateexporting countries and this must be balanced against possible risks to human health in
phosphate-importing countries.
10. Many soils in lesser-developed countries are deficient in phosphate. The introduction
of regulatory measures that lead to a decrease phosphate fertilizer use is likely to have
serious negative impacts on crop production, food quality, and human health, resulting
from an inadequate diet, in those countries.
11. Managing environmental cadmium may partly involve the use of more restrictive
regulations, e.g., the proposed EU-wide Regulations on Cadmium in Fertilizers. Reliable
and realistic studies that assess social and economic costs and benefits are required before
such regulations are imposed.
12. The effectiveness and efficiency of any regulations for cadmium require evaluation
but this is hindered by the incomplete assessment of the social costs involved, in
particular. There is a need for further research on the likely impact of various levels of
regulation and other modifications to government policies, studies that do not appear to
have been conducted.
13. There is an urgent need for further research on the topics identified at this workshop
as being of high priority.
WORKING GROUP REPORTS
Specific details and recommendations provided in the five Working Group Reports are
posted on the SCOPE Website (www.icsu-scope.org ):
1. Data gaps for risk assessment of cadmium in the food chain
2. Prioritizing risk reduction and management strategies for cadmium
3. Identifying methodologies for setting standards for cadmium
4. Risk balancing for agricultural production in developing countries
5. Socio-economic implications of more restrictive regulations for cadmium
50.
In addition an extract from the report of the SCOPE Workshop – Environmental
Cadmium in the Food Chain: sources, pathways and risks held in Brussels, Belgium, September
2000 has been reproduced here covering risk management options.
Compilation of an inventory of existing risk management measures:
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37
POLICY
Risk Management
A defining feature of sound risk management is assuring its relevance to stakeholders,
who must live with the options and should have input into the risk management process.
This requires that the selection of endpoints be relevant to the population, and therefore
risk management strategies to prevent a particular hazard, may differ regionally and over
time. Risk management must take into account competing risks and must not introduce
greater risks.
The precautionary principle dictates that, in the absence of data or the presence of
uncertainty, risks be managed at low levels until data are available indicating that less
protection is warranted or acceptable.
Given that cadmium may continue to build up in the environment, and future exposures
may be substantially higher than at present, and that it is hazardous to human health and
ecosystems, it is prudent to keep cadmium levels and bioavailability at safe levels.
Economic Issues
Measures and policies to reduce the potential risks to human health from food produced
on soils with different levels of accumulated cadmium may be costly. Internationally
food standards and requirements will change the patterns of world trade in both food
products and fertilizers. Imposing food quality criteria will require fertilizer
manufacturers, farmers, marketers, and consumers to modify their behavior. The costs
and benefits to each need careful consideration. Controls at the fertilizer input level may
be costly to the fertilizer production industry and ultimately to farmers and food
consumers, particularly in the developing world where rapidly growing populations
create increased energy demand. The removal of cadmium from phosphoric acid
(decadmiation) is not cost-effective at present prices. The technical and economic
conditions under which decadmiation becomes an economic option need to be established.
The costs and benefits of alternative policy measures must be established in order to set
socially optimal food safety levels. Their consequences for food security and
international trade of less developed countries are particularly important.