National Profile
Chemi c al s M anagement in Germany
U. Schlottmann
National Profile
Chemicals Management in Germany
Dortmund/Berlin/Dresden 2005
Division 5 „Chemicals, Notification and Authorisation“ of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Telephone: +49 231 - 90 71 - 23 19 / 25 16 Telefax: +49 231 - 90 71 - 26 79
E-Mail: chemg@baua.bund.de Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlottmann
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
Telephone: +49 18 88 - 3 05 - 27 40 Telefax: +49 18 88 - 3 05 - 35 24
E-Mail: ulrich.schlottmann@bmu.bund.de
Publisher: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1-25, D-44149 Dortmund, Germany Telephone: +49 231 - 90 71 - 0
Telefax: +49 231 - 90 71 - 24 54 E-Mail: poststelle@baua.bund.de Internet: www.baua.de
Berlin:
Nöldnerstr. 40-42, D-10317 Berlin, Germany Telephone: +49 30 - 5 15 48 - 0
Telefax: +49 30 - 5 15 48 - 41 70 Dresden:
Proschhübelstr. 8, D-01099 Dresden, Germany Telephone: +49 351 - 56 39 - 50
Telefax: +49 351 - 56 39 - 52 10
All rights reserved, including photomechanical reproduction and the reprinting of extracts.
OVERVIEW OF CONTENTS
Introduction 9
Chapter 1 Background information 11
Chapter 2 Production, export/import and use of
chemical substances 17
Chapter 3 Special environmental problems with
chemical substances 22
Chapter 4 Statutory regulations and voluntary agreements 29 Chapter 5 Procedures, participating ministries and authorities 57 Chapter 6 Non-governmental organizations 81 Chapter 7 Cooperation between the federal and regional
authorities as well as with further participating
institutions 86
Chapter 8 Data stocks and databases 96
Chapter 9 Technical infrastructure 103
Chapter 10 International relations 105
Annexes 107
LIST OF CONTENTS
Introduction 9
Chapter 1 Background information 11
1.1 Basic geographical and demographic conditions 11
1.2 Politico-geographical structure 13
1.3 Industry and agriculture 15
Chapter 2 Production, export/import and use of chemical
substances 17
2.1 Turnover, numbers of employees, export/import 17
2.2 Use of chemicals according to classes of substances 19
2.3 Chemical wastes and environmental pollution 20
Chemical wastes 20
Environmental pollution 21
Chapter 3 Special environmental problems with chemical
substances 22
Example: drinking water 23
Example: soil protection 24
Chapter 4 Statutory regulations and voluntary agreements 29
4.1 Basic administrative framework 29
4.2 Statutory regulations 29
4.2.1 Chemicals management in the narrower sense 30
4.2.1.1 General legislation on hazardous substances 30
EC Regulations, directives and guidelines 30
National laws and guidelines 33
National ordinances 34
National administrative provisions 35
Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances (TRGS) 35
4.2.1.2 Special legislation on hazardous substances 35
Biocides 36
Plant protection products and fertilizers 37
Pharmaceuticals 40
4.2.2 Chemicals management in the wider sense 41
Laundry and cleaning products 41
Foodstuffs and commodities 42
Waste law 43
Immission control 45
Protection of aquatic environments 48
Protection of the soil 49
Animal welfare 49
Chemical weapons 49
Transport of dangerous goods 50
Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances 50
4.2.3 Additional regulations specific to individual Länder 52
4.3 Voluntary agreements with the chemical industry 54 Self-imposed obligations on the part of the associations of the chemical industry at national level 54 Self-imposed obligations on the part of the associations of the chemical industry at Länder level 56
Hamburg 56
Lower Saxony 56
North Rhine-Westphalia 56
Chapter 5 Procedures, participating ministries and authorities 57
5.1 General legislation on hazardous substances 57
5.1.1 Procedure for new chemical substances 57
General information on the duty to notify chemical substances 57
Tonnage-related procedure 58
Prior inquiry duty / utilization of existing test reports 58
Good laboratory practice (GLP) 58
Submission of the notification documents 59
5.1.2 European procedure for existing chemical substances 60
5.1.3 International activities concerning existing chemical substances 61 5.1.3.1 OECD High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals – Programme / Screening Information
Data Sets (SIDS) 63
5.1.3.2. ICCA High Production Volume (HPV) Chemicals Initiative 63
5.1.4 Marketing, production and use of chemicals 64
Classification 65
Labelling, safety data sheet 65
Prohibitions and restrictions 65
Occupational safety rules 66
Notification duty in the case of new knowledge about carcinogenic, mutagenic or reproductive
toxic properties of chemical substances 65
5.1.5 Export/Import of dangerous substances, PIC procedure 67
Notification procedure for the export from the EU of certain dangerous chemicals 67
Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure 67
Labelling rules 67
General export ban 67
The European Commission's database "EDEXIM" 68
Import notifications by non-EU countries 68
5.1.6 CFC regulations 70
5.2 Special dangerous substances legislation 71
5.2.1 Biocides 72
5.2.1.1 Procedure for active biocidal substances 72
5.2.1.2 Procedure for biocidal products 73
5.2.1.3 Further procedures 74
5.2.1.4 Biocide procedures at other authorities 75
5.2.2 Pharmaceuticals 76
5.2.3 Plant Protection Products 77
5.3 Dangerous substances legislation in the wider sense 77
5.3.1 Laundry and cleaning products 77
5.3.2 Transport of dangerous goods 78
5.3.3 Chemical weapons 80
Chapter 6 Non-governmental organizations 81
6.1 Industry associations 81
6.1.1 The Chemicals Industry Association (VCI) 81
6.1.2 The Agricultural Industry Association (IVA) 82
6.1.3 The Chemical Trading Association (VCH) 82
6.2 German Statutory Accident Insurance Institutions and trade unions 82 6.2.1 The Federation of German Statutory Accident Insurance Institutions for the Industrial
Sector (HVBG) 82
6.2.2 The Industrial Trade Union for the Mining, Chemicals and Energy Industries (IG BCE) 83
6.3 Environmental and consumer protection organizations 83
6.3.1 Exemplified by Greenpeace 84
6.3.2 Exemplified by the non-profit Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) 84
6.4 Scientific organizations 85
Exemplified by the Society of German Chemists (GDCh) 85
Chapter 7 Cooperation between the federal and regional authorities as well as with further participating
institutions 86
7.1 Interministerial commissions and general coordination mechanisms 86
Federal/regional Committee on the Safety of Chemicals (BLAC) 86
Federal/regional Working Group on Environmental Information Systems (BLAK-UIS) 86 Federal/regional Expert Committee "Transport of Dangerous Goods" (BLFA-GG) 86 Commission for the Identification and Treatment of Symptoms of Poisoning (Poison Information
Centres, GIZ) 86
Regional Committee on Protection against Immissions (LAI) 87
Regional Working Group on Water (LAWA) 87
Regional Working Group on Waste (LAGA) 87
Regional Committee on Soil Protection (LABO) 87
Regional Committee on Occupational Safety and Safety Technology (LASI) 87 Committees for the Harmonization of Procedures for the Notification of New and Existing Chemical
Substances 87
Committee for Harmonization Within the Biocide Procedure 87
Committee on Hazardous Substances (AGS) 88
MAK Commission 88
Advisory Committee on Existing Chemicals of Environmental Relevance (BUA) 88
7.2 Enforcement at regional level 88
7.2.1 Hamburg 88
Enforcement of the Chemicals Act 88
Enforcement of the rules on the transport of dangerous goods 91
Enforcement of the Foodstuffs and Commodities Act 92
7.2.2 Saxony 93
Enforcement of the rules and regulations on chemicals 93
Enforcement of the rules and regulations on plant protection 94
Enforcement of the rules and regulations on waste and soil protection 95
Enforcement of the rules and regulations on water 94
Chapter 8 Data stocks and databases 96
8.1 Databases available to the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division 5
(own and external) 96
• Admin (administration relating to the Chemicals Act) 96
• NST database for new chemical substances 96
• EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances) 97
• IUCLID database for existing chemical substances 97
• BUA substance reports 98
• EDEXIM and the national database EPA notification 98
8.2 Joint substance-data pool shared by the Federal Government and the Länder (GSBL) 99
8.3 Joint Länder Database on Hazardous Substances (GDL) 100
8.4 Central substance-data pool 100
8.5 Further databases 101
Chapter 9 Technical infrastructure 103
9.1 GLP Procedure 103
9.2 Good professional practice 104
Chapter 10 International relations 105
10.1 Participation in international organizations and bodies 105
10.2 Technical assistance projects 105
Annexes 107
Annex 1: List of abbreviations 107
Annex 2: Address List 111
Federal Authorities 111
Regional Authorities 112
International Institutions 113
Non-governmental Organizations 114
Introduction
In 1992 Rio de Janeiro was the setting for a United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Known by the general public as the Rio Conference, it succeeded in turning "sustainable development" into a key international goal. The more than 170 participat- ing countries passed Agenda 21, a programme of action for the 21st century. Implementation of the aims described in Agenda 21 is monitored by the Commission on Sustainable Develop- ment (CSD).
Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 contains objectives for environmentally compatible handling of toxic chemicals, including measures for the prevention of the illegal international trade in toxic and dangerous products. An essential part of chapter 19 concerns the coordination of international and regional activities as well as the intensification of international cooperation.
For the purpose of controlling compliance with Chapter 19 and its harmonized implementation, in April 1994 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) held the Chemical Safety Con- ference in Stockholm. It was at this conference, which was attended by participants from 130 countries, that the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) was established. The IFCS elaborates recommendations for governments as well as for international and transna- tional organizations.
As an important element in improving global cooperation in the field of chemicals safety, the IFCS recommends that, as a matter of urgency, the individual states take stock of the national structures for chemicals management in the form of a so-called "National Profile" (NP). The aim of the National Profile is to provide relevant information on the areas of responsibility and procedures associated with chemical substances as well as to make statements on the effec- tiveness of the specific rules and regulations. In addition, the National Profiles from the indus- trialized nations can serve as a model for developing countries and countries undergoing eco- nomic change. Together with the IFCS secretariat, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has published a guidance document which, by laying down a structure and providing useful advice on how to proceed, assists in the production of a NP and helps ensure international comparability. So far, almost 50 countries have published a NP, e.g.:
Australia, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary, and the USA.
At the beginning of 1997 the Federal Environment Ministry asked the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) – Division 5 – chemicals, notification and authoriza- tion - in Dortmund to produce a NP for Germany. This task is to be seen against the back- ground of the fact that the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health – Division 5 is the central coordinator for the notification procedure according to the Chemicals Act as well as the competent authority for the enforcement of the following European regulations and agree- ments: the export-import regulation, the Rotterdam Convention on protection against the im- port of dangerous chemicals, the existing substances regulation, the regulation on CFCs and the Montreal Protocol. Since June 2002 Division 5 of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is additionally the authorization unit for biocidal products.
The positive expectations associated with the publication of a NP for Germany such as
• increased effectiveness of the work performed by the government/authorities through the provision of clear information on chemicals management;
• initiation or simplification of the information-exchange and dialogue procedures between authorities on the one hand and between authorities and non-governmental organizations on the other;
• the provision of more comprehensive information to the general public and to industry by means of readily comprehensible descriptions of areas of responsibility;
• critical analysis of the procedural channels in order to avoid duplication of work,
have largely been met by the first edition in 2000. The first edition of the NP has made an im- portant contribution towards enabling participating groups and any interested party to acquire an overview of chemicals management in Germany.
New and amended rules and regulations as well as a reorganization of authority structures have made a new edition an urgent necessity. It was only possible to undertake revision of the existing content of the first edition. Continuation of the work on the NP in the form of closing gaps in content was not possible.
The National Profile is also available in the English language.
The editorial team wishes to thank all who have supported the production of the NP.
Further advice, corrections and additions will be gratefully received.
Dortmund, December 2004
The editorial team
Chapter 1 Background information
1.1 Basic geographical and demographic conditions
From the North Sea and the Baltic to the Alps in the south, the Federal Republic of Germany is divided geographically into the North German Plain, the Central German Upland Range, the Southwest German Central Upland Scarps, the South German Alpine Foreland and the Bavarian Alps. The total area amounts to 357 022 km².
At 53.5% of the total area, agriculture accounts for the greatest share of land utilization. Forest areas make up 29.5 %. Traffic infrastructures and settlements constitute approx. 12.3 %. The remainder is divided up between aquatic environments, marshlands and land left in a natural state.
The climate in Germany is temperate and the weather very changeable. The average monthly temperatures are between -6° C in January and + 20° C in July, the average annual tempera- ture amounting to +9° C. Prevalent west winds as well as precipitation throughout the year, with annual amounts of between 500 and 700 mm in the lowland plain region of northern Ger- many and up to more than 2,000 mm in the Alps, are typical. The climate zones are divided into a maritime climate in the north and a continental climate in central Germany and the south.
The official national language is German. The capital city is Berlin, the seat of government having transferred from Bonn to Berlin in 1999.
With 82 million inhabitants (230 inhabitants per km2), German is densely populated. The greatest population density is to be found in the Ruhr area, along the Rhine, in the area around Halle and Leipzig as well as in a few city conurbations in the south of the country.
The most densely populated cities are Berlin (3.4 million), Hamburg (1.7 million) and Munich (1.2 million).
Population according to sex and nationality in the year 2003
Male: 40 359 000 German: 75 183 400
Female: 42 172 600 other: 7 348 300
Birth rate: 1.35 children per woman
Level of education (persons over 15 years old)
45,3%
20,1%
19,2%
7,5%
4,6%
2,4% 0,9%
still in education no qualifications
secondary modern school unified comprehensive school
secondary school leaving certificate or similar college/university entrance qualification no data
No. of employed persons: 38.2 mio.
of whom 47.1% women
Unemployment rate: 10.5%
Percentage of persons em ployed in particular sectors of the econom y
agricultural industry
2,4%
service industries 44,3%
com merce, catering
and transport
25,5%
m anufactur- ing industry
(w ith buildung industry) 27,8%
Percentage of employed persons according to professional status
civil servants 6,4%
workers 30,2%
employees 51,8%
self-employed 10,3%
assisting members of
the family 1,3%
(Source: Federal Statistics Office: 2002)
1.2 Politico-geographical structure
The Federal Republic of Germany is a federal constitutional state comprising the 16 Länder:
Land Population Area | Land Population Area Baden-Württemberg 10.6 mio. 35 751 km²| Bavaria 12.3 mio. 70 554 km² Berlin* 3.4 mio. 891 km²| Brandenburg 2.5 mio. 29 476 km² Bremen* 0.6 mio. 404 km²| Hamburg* 1.7 mio. 755 km² Hesse 6 mio. 21 114 km²| Mecklenburg-W-Pomerania 1.8 mio. 23 173 km² Lower Saxony 7.9 mio. 47 617 km²| North Rhine-Westphalia 18 mio. 34 082 km² Rhineland-Palatinate 4 mio. 19 849 km²| Saarland 1 mio. 2 570 km² Saxony 4.3 mio. 18 413 km²| Sachsen-Anhalt 2.5 mio. 20 444 km² Schleswig-Holstein 2.8 mio. 15 762 km²| Thuringia 2.4 mio. 16 172 km² (* city states)
The Lower House of the German Parliament is the body which represents the will of the people. It currently consists of 601 members of parliament who are elected for a period of four years according to an electoral system combining elements from majority voting and proportional representation. Via the Upper House the Länder participate in legislation and the administration of the Federal Government. The Upper House consists of the minister- presidents and other representatives of the regional governments.
The Head of State is the Federal President, a role which is largely representative. As a rule, a politician from the largest political group in the Lower House of Parliament assumes the office of Federal Chancellor. It is the Chancellor's task to lay out policy guidelines.
By means of the separation of powers, the state's responsibilities – legislative power, execu- tive power and the administration of justice - are divided between the state organs - parlia- ment, governments, including administrations - and the courts. Executive power and the ad- ministration of justice are bound by the law. Legislative power is in turn bound by the consti- tutional order (the German Constitution).
State responsibilities are divided up between the Federal Government and the 16 Länder.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany guarantees the separation of legislative powers between the Federal Government and the Länder as well as the execution of Federal laws.
The Federal Government has sole legislative power, inter alia, in the areas relating to foreign policy, defence, currency, customs duties, air transport and the postal serv- ice.
The 16 Länder possess the quality of states. They have their own power of jurisdiction – albeit one limited to specific areas – which they exercise through their own legislative acts, enforcement and administration of justice.
The task of administrative en- forcement of federal laws and, therefore, of exercising the powers vested in the State mainly falls to the Länder. Federal Authorities assume responsibility for matters which require uniform enforcement throughout the country but not a local presence of the competent authority.
1.3 Industry and agriculture
In 2003 the gross domestic product amounted to 2,129.20 thousand million euros.
The contribution of the individual economic sectors to the gross domestic product can be meas- ured according to the gross value which they add. The gross value added is the sum of the goods and services produced by domestic economic units or economic sectors minus the mate- rials and services (e.g. raw materials, primary products, merchandise, repair services) pur- chased from other economic units or other economic sectors.
Gross value added according to economic sectors in %
3 0 , 5 1 , 1 4 , 2
2 1 , 7
2 4 , 5 1 8
a g r i c u l t u r e , f o r e s t r y , f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y
m a n u f a c t u r i n g i n d u s t r y ( w i t h o u t b u i l d i n g i n d u s t r y ) c o m m e r c e ,
t r a n s p o r t , c a t e r i n g
p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r s
f i n a n c i n g , l e t t i n g , c o r p o r a t e s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r s
b u i l d i n g i n d u s t r y
Germany has only an insufficient supply of non-renewable natural resources. Significant mineral resources include, inter alia, brown coal and hard coal, iron ore, some petroleum and natural gas as well as mineral salts.
Both with regard to imports and exports Germany takes second place in world trade behind the United States and ahead of Japan. In 2002 goods to the value of 651.3 thousand million euros were exported and goods amounting to 518.5 thousand million euros imported. Since approxi- mately 72 % of German exports and imports remain in Europe or come from Europe, Germany’s most important sales and employment markets are based in Europe. In the form of the United States, Japan and China, only three of the ten most important trade partners were located out- side Europe.
Germany’s largest trade partners 2002 in thousand million euros
69 68
54 47
40 34 31 29 27
16
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
France United States
United Kingdom
Italy Netherlands Austria Belgium Spain Switzerland Poland data in
thousand million
euros
Export
48
41 40
33 33
25 21 21 20 19
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
France Netherlands United States
Italy United Kingdom
Belgium China Austria Japan Switzerland data in
thousand million
euros
Import
(Source: Federal Statistics Office)
Chapter 2 Production, export/import and use of chemical substances
2.1 Turnover, numbers of employees, export/import
The chemical industry accounts for a significant share of the German economy. It is impossible to imagine many areas of life without chemical products. They make a wide-ranging contribution to increased prosperity.
2 0 8 , 6 5 4 , 3
1 2 , 7
4 4 4
8 3 7 4 9 9
2 5 8 1 0 4
1 0 8 , 7 1 4 4 , 3 1 5 1 , 7
1 1 3 , 3
9 5 4
7 7 3
0 2 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 8 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
m o t o r v e h i c l e s a n d v e h i c l e p a r t s
c h e m i s t r y m e c h a n i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g o f f i c e e q u i p m e n t , D P
e q u i p m e n t f o o d i n d u s t r y m e t a l p r o d u c t i o n a n d
w o r k i n g t e x t i l e t r a d e
n u m b e r o f e m p l o y e d p e r s o n s i n 2 0 0 3 i n t h o u s a n d s t u r n o v e r i n 2 0 0 3 i n t h o u s a n d s o f m i l l i o n s o f e u r o s
(source: VCI)
In 2003 the turnover per employee amounted to 293,830 euros. By comparison, a turnover of 221,400 was achieved per employee in manufacturing industry.
The world turnover for chemicals amounted to over 1,600 thousand million euros in 2003. Be- hind the USA and Japan but ahead of France, China and Italy, Germany is the third largest pro- ducer of chemicals in the world. The position of the German chemical industry within Europe is exceptional: in 2003 it had a share of over 25 % of the turnovers for chemical products in the European Union and provided more than one in four jobs in the chemical industry within the EU.
In 2003 chemical products to the value of 87.4 thousand million euros were exported from Ger- many. Germany is therefore the “world champion” in terms of exports.
However, with regard to these data it is necessary to take account of the fact that, as a result of globalization, international comparison of turnover figures is becoming increasingly difficult. An ever-greater percentage of the turnover is namely being generated by German subsidiaries abroad, something which these statistics fail to record. The importance of the foreign branches is meanwhile almost as great as that of the companies at home: in 2002 401,000 employees in the foreign branches generated a turnover of 124.5 thousand million euros.
51% of the turnover in the chemical industry was achieved in Germany, 49% abroad. With a percentage share of worldwide chemical exports of 15.5%, Germany was the world's leading exporter of chemicals in 1996, ahead of the United States, France and Japan.
E x p o r t o f c h e m ic a l p ro d u c ts in 2 0 0 3 in th o u s a n d s o f m illio n s o f e u ro s
4 4 .6 9 1
6 .3 4 8
8 .5 2 9 9 .1 6 9
1 8 2 4 ,1
4 8 8 6 ,2
2 5 4 6 ,1
1 2 0 8 ,1 7 1 1 ,3
0 5 .0 0 0 1 0 .0 0 0 1 5 .0 0 0 2 0 .0 0 0 2 5 .0 0 0 3 0 .0 0 0 3 5 .0 0 0 4 0 .0 0 0 4 5 .0 0 0 5 0 .0 0 0
E U c o u n trie s
o th e r w e s t E u ro p e a n c o u n tr ie s C E E (in c lu d in g C IS )
N A F T A L a tin A m e r ic a
E a s t A s ia w ith o u t J a p a n o th e r A s ia n c o u n trie s A fr ic a
A u s tr a lia /O c e a n ia
Import of chemical products in 2003 in thousands of millions of euros
38.283
4.130 2.214
6.473
301,5 1696,2 779,1 249,6 105,4 0
5.000 10.000 15.000 20.000 25.000 30.000 35.000 40.000 45.000
EU countries
other west European countries CEE (including CIS)
NAFTA Latin America
East Asia without Japan other Asian countries Africa
Australia/Oceania
EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom Other west-europ. countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey
CEE (incl. CIS): Croatia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hun- gary
NAFTA countries: Canada, Mexico, United States Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia
East Asia without Japan: The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan,Thailand,
(source: VCI)
2.2 Use of chemicals according to classes of substances
The chemical industry has an extremely wide range of products, extending from intermediates for manufacturing processes in other branches of industry to finished products in areas relating to the environment, health and nutrition.
4 8 ,4 7 2 2 ,4 4
7 , 7 3 7 ,8 4 3 , 1 7
0 , 9 3
9 ,4 2
0 1 0 2 0 3 0 4 0 5 0 6 0
P r o d u c t io n in d e x f o r 2 0 0 2 in % b a s ic c h e m ic a l s u b s t a n c e s
p h a r m a c e u t ic a l p r o d u c t s s o a p s , la u n d r y a n d c le a n in g p r o d u c t s , b o d y - c a r e p r o d u c t s p a in ts , p r in t in g in k s a n d fille r s s y n th e tic f ib r e s p e s t ic id e s a n d p la n t p r o t e c t io n
p r o d u c t s
o t h e r c h e m ic a l p r o d u c t s
The sales structure of chemical products has hardly changed over recent years. The largest part remains within the chemical industry itself, followed by the areas relating to the health service, the automobile industry, private consumption and the building industry.
21,7 9,9
13,8 10,4
6,5 5,9 1,9
2,3 3,1
4,3
11
0 5 10 15 20 25
sales structure for 2002 in % chemical industry
private consumption health service motor vehicle industry building industry agriculture textile industry paper industry electronics industry packaging industry others
(source: VCI)
2.3 Chemical wastes and environmental pollution
Chemical wastes
As a result of changes made to processes and the increased utilization of waste in the chemi- cals industry, it is generally possible to observe a clear reduction in the quantities of waste re- quiring disposal.
Year Wastes requiring disposal
(in millions of tonnes)
1995 3.97
1996 2.37
1997 2.55
1998 1999
2.13 2.00 Waste requiring spe-
cial monitoring
Waste not requiring special monitoring 2000
2001 2002
0.91 0.99 1.10
1.49 1.20 1.10
(As from the year 2000 the wastes intended for disposal were for the first time recorded separately according to
“wastes requiring special monitoring” and “wastes not requiring special monitoring”. This represented adaptation to reporting in the EU).
(Source: VCI)
To the greatest possible extent, the cross-border shipment of wastes is regulated by provisions contained in European legislation. In Germany, rules relating to this area are to be found in the EC Regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community and the law on the supervision and control of cross-border shipments of wastes. Both the European and German regulations transpose the "Basle Convention of 22.03.1989 on the Control of Transboundary Shipment of Dangerous Wastes and their Dis- posal".
According to the EC regulation on the supervision and control of shipments of waste, the export, import and transit of wastes are only permitted after all relevant countries have been notified and have given prior informed consent. With few exceptions, the shipment of notifiable wastes to states not belonging to the OECD or EU is prohibited. The exporter and, in a supporting ca- pacity, the country of origin are responsible for compliance with the demands of the EC regula- tion on the supervision and control of shipments of waste. The duty to return the waste exists in the case of failed or illegal shipments.
Export of notifiable wastes in 2003
(Source: Federal Environmental Office)
Export in total: 907 000 t
- for utilization 843 000 t
- for disposal 64 000 t
- hazardous wastes 186 000 t
Import of notifiable wastes in 2003
(Source: Federal Environmental Agency)
Import in total 4 854 000 t
- for utilization 4 223 000 t
- for disposal 631 000 t
- hazardous wastes 1 244 000 t
Environmental pollution
In the past the improper use of chemical substances and the environmentally incompatible dis- posal of wastes has resulted in extensive soil contamination. Above all, soil contamination due to heavy metals, active substances and mineral-oil products must be mentioned in this connec- tion. Old production sites such as those found in brown-coal excavation and uranium mining in the new federal states as well as the former military training areas there represent a particular problem. In the old and new federal states about 362,689 areas are suspected of being hazard- ous waste sites (as at 2000).
The restoration of hazardous waste sites and the proper disposal of unavoidable wastes are an essential contribution to environmental protection. Which disposal procedure is used in a par- ticular case depends on the type and quantity of the waste, in particular on the risk potential.
Account must be taken of the fact that during air cleaning measures, waste-water treatment or waste disposal new hazardous wastes may also occur which, in turn, have to be disposed of in an environmentally compatible way. As far as possible, the wastes occurring in the chemical industry during secondary reactions and cleaning stages should be used as raw materials or disposed of in the works itself.
In the years 1995-2001 the German chemical industry spent almost 20 thousand million euros on end-of-pipe environmental protection. During this period it invested almost 2.8 thousand mil- lion euros in end-of-pipe environmental equipment, so-called additive environmental protection.
Measures for the protection of aquatic environments and air pollution control accounted for most of the investment. Thus far the statistics do not record measures by means of which emissions or water pollution are avoided at the outset, for example, through changes in production tech- nology. These measures are assuming increasing importance.
Chapter 3 Special environmental problems with chemical substances
The following problem areas have been identified:
Problem Scale of problem
Level of concern
Ability to control problem
Availability of statistical data
Specific chemi- cals causing concern
Priority ranking (1=high - 5=low) Marine pollu-
tion
Local, regional, national, global
Dependent on the substance
Dependent on the substance
Insufficient 1998: OSPAR &
HELCOM conven- tion
Reduction measures for mercury, orga- notin compounds, musk xylols
Priority measures are being elaborated on a priority basis for a further 24 sub- stances (e.g. lindane, PCBs, cadmium).
1
Pollution of aquatic envi- ronments
National interna- tional
High Medium Insufficient Pesticides (pro-
tected asset:
drinking water supply) Agriculture:
Diuron, isoproturon, terbutylazine, di- chlorprop, mecoprop, atrazine, chloridazon, chlorotoluron, lin- dane
Production:
River Rhine: Chlorid- azon, diuron, meta- benzthiazuron, melamitron, thi- azaphos Rivers
Elbe/Saale/Mulde:
Ametryn, dimethoate, parathionmethyl, prometryn, propa- zine, lindane, atra- zine, simazine Industrial chemi- cals:
Dichloromethane, hexachlorobenzene, trichloromethane, nitrobenzene, 1,4- dichlorobenzene
2
Problem Scale of problem
Level of concern
Ability to control problem
Availability of statistical data
Specific chemi- cals causing concern
Priority ranking (1=high - 5=low)
Ground water pollution
Local,
regional Medium,
high Low Insufficient
Data source:
Nitrates:
Nitrate report pro- duced by LAWA Pesticides:
PSM report produced by LAWA (in print)
N-containing fertiliz- ers
Pesticides, wide- spread critical pesti- cides are listed in detail (PSM report produced by LAWA, annex 9)
N-containing fertilizers:
1
Pesticides:
1-2
Drinking wa- ter contami- nation
Local Low High Sufficient Nitrates
Pesticides (atrazine) Contamination of areas after the de- parture of the military and industrial pro- duction sites
3
Hazardous waste Disposal / removal
National High High
(for the purpose of occupa- tional safety and health = medium)
Sufficient (for the purpose of occupational safety and health = insuffi- cient)
PCB, CFCs 2
Storage / disposal of obsolete chemicals
National High Medium Insufficient PCP
PCDD/PCDF
2
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP)a)
Global/
national Some POPs such as PCB or PCDD/F cause local problems (contami- nated sites)
Low (for pesti- cide POPs) Medium (for other POPs, mostly occurring as by- products)
High Databases/ monitor- ing of individual POPs (e.g. PCB, PCDD):
Information system belonging to the environmental sam- ple bank
Dioxin database (inter alia, all of the reports from the Länder are entered here)
PCB PCDD/PCDF
4
a)The data refer to the substances currently identified by UNEP as priority POPs
Example: drinking water
The management of water resources, including ensuring an adequate supply of water in terms of both quantity and quality, has always been one of the tasks a community has had to perform.
It represents the oldest environmental protection task of all. Consequently, the protection of aquatic environments includes protecting the environmental medium water against pollution and against too many demands being made upon it.
Only a few problems exist with regard to drinking water, e.g. lead in old drinking-water pipes. In general, the monitoring and control of the quality of drinking water as well as the quality of the sources and resources comply with European guidelines. Problems which do exist result from the fact that, in part, one and the same region is used for both the extraction of ground and surface water for the purpose of providing drinking water as well as for the cultivation of agri- cultural products (e.g. wine and asparagus).
Water pollution arising from the abandonment of military bases and industrial production sites also has a problematical impact on the protection of sources and resources.
Legislation on water protection and legislation on hazardous substances overlap. Their sub- stance-related and medium-related regulatory approaches are also interlinked. This applies to the rules for restricting the use of agricultural chemicals in the interest of water and soil protec- tion as well as to protection against chemical accidents.
The act of spreading fertilizers on areas of land used for agricultural purposes does not consti- tute a case of water utilization even if the fertilizers which are washed out may enter surface waters. As a rule, fertilizers are used to improve the fertility of the soil. The Federal Govern- ment's concept for soil protection which, inter alia, has had an influence on the Federal Soil Protection Act, provides for a reduction in the release of harmful substances such as cadmium, heavy metals, nitrate and persistent organic compounds resulting from the use of plant protec- tion products, fertilizers and sewage sludge.
Example: soil protection
Soil protection and hazardous waste sites number among the current topics in the area of envi- ronmental protection.
The soil is a sink for contaminants. As a rule, the contaminants which are released into the soil remain there for long periods. They may then slowly seep into the ground water and enter the plants growing there or they may be dispersed or released as gas.
Hazardous waste sites are themselves sources of contaminants for the surrounding soil, the ground water and the air. Consequently, when their emissions pose a risk, hazardous waste sites must be dealt with actively and restored.
The Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG), which came fully into force on the 01.03.1999, was enacted in order to safeguard or restore sustainably the functions of the soil. As a subordi- nate body of regulations the Federal Soil Protection and Hazardous Site Ordinance came into force on 17.07.1999. It regulates the requirements for the investigation and assessment of soil contamination as well as restoration and restriction measures and lays down soil values. This legislation therefore improves the prevention of adverse changes to the soil and creates legal and investment-related certainty by placing uniform demands on hazard prevention throughout the Federal Republic of Germany.
Restoration technologies are continuously being further developed or refined, inter alia, in order to increase the effectiveness of the acts of restoration while keeping costs at an acceptable level.
The Federal Soil Protection Act differentiates between hazardous waste-disposal sites and haz- ardous waste sites. Hazardous waste-disposal sites include waste removal plant which has been shut down and other sites on which waste has been treated, stored or disposed of. Haz- ardous waste sites include plant which has been shut down and other industrially utilized sites on which environmentally dangerous substances have been handled. However, contamination caused by agricultural or horticultural uses as well as contamination resulting from warfare agents or nuclear fuels is excluded here. Areas suspected of being hazardous waste sites are hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites about which there is concern that they may adversely affect the public good.
dangers. Decontamination and safeguarding measures may be employed to avert dangers as long as they ensure that dangers are permanently averted. In order to ensure this, monitoring and the subsequent restorability of the safeguarding effect are required in the case of safe- guarding measures and, in particular, with regard to other protection and restriction measures.
An additional rule for so-called "new cases" states that in instances where soil contamination or hazardous waste sites occur after the Act has come into force, removal of the contaminants (decontamination) shall always have priority over other restoration measures, account being taken here of the extent of the prior contamination.
Sequence of the work on hazardous waste sites
The first stage of work on hazardous waste sites involves the systematic and comprehensive recording and geographical localization of areas suspected of being hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites as well as the gathering or additional ascertainment of all of the information which is available on them. During the information-gathering phase, particular im- portance attaches to questions concerning possible effects of relevance to contamination and the possible contaminant inventory.
The data-recording phase is followed by a decision on whether, and how intensively, work on areas suspected of being hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites should con- tinue, i.e. on whether they have to be examined and, if necessary, restored. Thorough research of all available data creates the requisite basis for further rational planning of a programme of investigation into an area suspected of being a hazardous waste-disposal site or a hazardous waste site.
Responsibility
According to the German Constitution, the Länder have the responsibility of recording hazard- ous waste sites, estimating the risk posed by them, and restoring them. On the basis of waste law and general police-law and water-law clauses contained in legislation pertaining to the Länder, the relevant competent authorities are authorized to record areas suspected of being hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites.
The current state of the recording process
The hazardous waste site registers in the Länder were developed and structured even before the federal soil protection rules came into force. The differences in the data recording and data administration caused by this prevent direct comparability of the statistics.
The data which the Länder have made available to the Federal Environmental Agency can be found in the following table. It reflects the state of the recording of areas suspected of being hazardous waste sites in the individual Länder.
At the initiative of the hazardous waste site committee of the Länder, work is on harmonization of the data is now in progress.
National overview of the recording of hazardous waste sites
Table showing the number of areas suspected of being hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites in the Federal Republic of Germany on the basis of the data conveyed by the Länder.
(Data compiled by the Federal Environmental Agency on the basis of information provided by the Länder as at De- cember 2000)
Länder
Number of recorded hazardous waste-
disposal sites
hazardous waste sites
total areas
Baden-Württemberg 6,229 11,567 17,796
Bavaria 10,034 3,295 13,329
Berlin 763 6,220 6,983
Brandenburg 8,189 14,447 25,313*
Bremen 173 18,154 18,327
Hamburg 491 1,638 2,129
Hesse 6,630 63,539 70,169
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
4,078 7.264 11,342
Lower Saxony 8,957 50,000 58,957
North Rhine-Westphalia 18,116 17,147 35,263
Rhineland-Palatinate 10,578 No data 10,578
Saarland 1,686 3,530 5,216
Saxony 8,590 19,115 27,705
Saxony-Anhalt 6,296 14,692 20,988
Schleswig-Holstein 3,181 16,451 19,632
Thuringia 6,138 12,824 18,962
Total for the Federal Re- public of Germany
100,129 259,883 362,689
* The difference in the total number of areas in Brandenburg results from individual areas there which cannot be assigned to hazardous waste-disposal sites or hazardous waste sites.
National overview of the status of the assessment of areas suspected of being hazardous waste sites
(Source: Data compiled by the Federal Environmental Agency on the basis of information provided by the Länder as at December 2000)
Status of the investigations/estimations of risk
Land
initiated concluded
total
hazardous waste-disposal sites
hazardous waste sites
hazardous waste-disposal sites
hazardous waste sites
Baden-Württemberg 5,339 2,660 409 149 8,557
Bavaria 670 280 1,085 450 2,575
Berlin 1092 6102 1812 4722 1,3722
Brandenburg 5911 1,4951 2,208
Bremen 771 1,0901 1,167
Hamburg 57 1044 222 4204 803
Hesse 900 866 1,7663
Mecklenburg-West Pom-
erania no data no data 519 1,148 1,6673
Lower Saxony 170 no data 650 no data 820
North Rhine-Westphalia 844 343 3,733 2,832 7,752
Rhineland-Palatinate no data no data no data no data
Saarland no data no data no data no data
Saxony 5,612 10,685 357 826 17,480
Saxony-Anhalt 552 2,384 309 650 3,895
Schleswig-Holstein 162 341 847 756 2,106
Thuringia together 3,0071
Total for the Federal Republic of Germany
approx.
55,175
1. Initiated and concluded 2. Investigation and restoration 3. Only concluded cases
4. Without petrol stations and dry cleaners
In Rhineland-Palatinate new data will not be ascertained until 2001. They will then be inserted into this overview.
National survey of the status of the restoration of hazardous waste sites
(Source: Data collated by the Federal Environmental Agency on the basis of information provided by the Länder as at December 2000)
state of restoration type of restora- tion
Land
Temporary protection and restriction or monitoring measures
initiated concluded safe- guarding measures
decon- tamination measures
HWDS HWS HWDS HWS
Baden-Württemberg no data no
data no
data approx. 500 no data no data
Bavaria 75 130 165 215 115 160
Berlin 1091 6101 1811 4721
Brandenburg no data no
data
no data
547 442 388 151
Bremen 4 4 64 15 274 49 72
Hamburg 35 504 67 1104 213 1453
Hesse no data 35 136 37 273 75 395
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
no data 339 169 1,350 666 no data no data
Lower Saxony no
data
no data
no data
no data
no data no data North Rhine-
Westphalia
4402 1,4662 537 1,7853 Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland no data no
data
no data
no data
no data
no data no data
Saxony 186 188 808 251 1,302 no data no data
Saxony-Anhalt k. A. 29 32 272 126 no data no data
Schleswig-Holstein 3204 16 68 40 370 no data no data
Thuringia 280 7142
Bundesrepublik gesamt
1 Investigation and restoration 2 Initiated and concluded 3 Only concluded cases
4 Without petrol stations and dry cleaners
In Rhineland-Palatinate new data will not be ascertained until 2001. They will then be inserted into this overview.
Legend: HWDS = hazardous waste-disposal sites HWS = hazardous waste sites
Chapter 4 Statutory regulations and voluntary agreements
4.1 Basic administrative framework
The concept of environmental protection is standardized in Article 20a of the German Constitu- tion. However, environmental legislation is integrated into the widest variety of statutory areas.
Although a uniform "Environmental Code" is in preparation it has not been realized yet.
The competences of the various legislative organs in the federal system which exists in the Federal Republic of Germany are regulated by the German Constitution. Draft bills can be intro- duced by the German government, the Lower House of Parliament or the Upper House of Par- liament. A decision on them is then taken in the Lower House. Implementation of the statutory regulations is generally the responsibility of the Länder.
The Federal Republic of Germany is a member of the European Union (EU) and is therefore subject to the "Treaty for the Foundation of the European Community (EC)". Areas such as the health service, consumer and environmental protection in the European single market are regulated in a uniform manner by means of Community legislation such as EC Directives - which must be transposed into national law by national regulations - and EC Regulations which enter into force directly.
4.2 Statutory regulations
The following table (as at August 2004) provides an overview of the essential areas of hazard- ous substances legislation. It is not final.
Hazardous substances legislation in the narrower sense protects the environment as such against environmental chemicals and aims, above all, at preventive product control whereas hazardous substances legislation in the wider sense in each case records the environmental chemicals as a source of risk for a particular environmental medium and mainly regulates the disposal of the hazardous substance.
Within hazardous substances legislation in the narrower sense it is necessary to distinguish between the special rules and regulations relating to hazardous substances on the one hand and the general hazardous substance rules on the other hand.
The texts of the laws are in part available on the Internet (see Annex 2 for the Internet ad- dresses).
4.2.1 Chemicals management in the narrower sense
4.2.1.1 General legislation on hazardous substances
EC Regulations, directives and guidelines
Regulation Competent
Authority
Where to find the regulation/date
Content Available
translations Directive 67/548/EEC of
27.06.1997 on the approxi- mation of the laws, regula- tions and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances (fundamental chemicals directive)
BMU Official Journal of the EC L 196 p. 1 of 16. 8.1967; last amended on 29.04.2004 (Official Journal of the EC L 152 p. 1)
Notification of substances and assessment of the dan- gers they pose to man and the environment
Official EC lan- guages
Council Directive 76/769/
EEC of 27.07.1976 relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain danger- ous substances and prepa- rations (chemicals prohibi- tion directive)
BMU Official Journal of the EC L 262 p. 201 of 27.09.1976; last amended on 16.06.2004 (Official Journal of the EC L 162 p. 3)
Restrictions on the marketing and use of the dangerous chemicals listed in the annex
Official EC lan- guages
Directive 1999/45/EC of 31.05.1999 concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administra- tive provisions of the Mem- ber States relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations (new prepara- tions directive)
BMWA Official Journal of the EC L 200 p. 1 of 30.07.1999; last amended on 22.08.2001 (Official Journal of the EC L 226 p. 5)
Rules on the classification, packaging and labelling of preparations
Official EC lan- guages
Directive 91/155/EEC of 05.03.1991 defining and lay- ing down the detailed ar- rangements for the system of specific information re- lating to dangerous prepara- tions (safety data sheet di- rective)
BMWA Official Journal of the EC L 76 p. 35 of 22.03.1991, last amended on 07.08.2001 (Official Journal of the EC L 212 p. 24)
Information required in the
safety data sheet Official EC lan- guages
Council Regulation (EEC) No 793/93 of 23.03.1993 on the evaluation and control of the risks of existing substances (existing substances regula- tion)
BMU Official Journal of the EC L 84 p.1 of 05.04.
1993, last amended on 03.09.1993 (Offi- cial Journal of the EC, L 224 p.34)
Announcement duties and the assessment of existing substances
Official EC lan- guages
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1179/94 of 25.05.1994 concerning the first list of priority substances as fore- seen under Council Regula- tion (EEC) No 793/93
BMU Official Journal of the EC L 131 p.3 of 26.05.1994
1st Priority list Official EC lan- guages
