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The Seveso Directive
Nations downstream from other nations will always be threatened by environmental spills and accidents caused by upstream nations. Hungary, with 95 percent of its surface waters originating abroad, is particularly vulnerable. For this reason, international treaties and laws governing transboundary pollution are crucial for preventing disasters. They are needed to resolve issues related to liability and compensation. They are also needed to protect countries from domestic disasters caused by the carelessness or exploitative activities of foreign companies. Numerous treaties and laws do now exist. Some include Hungary and Romania as "contracting parties" (see The legal context). But are they enough? Since the Tisza disaster struck, many have taken a fresh look at related European Union (EU) law, especially as accession countries such as Hungary and Romania will be required to abide by the EU's extensive barrage of directives. Legislation aimed at the prevention and control of accidents involving dangerous substances in the EU was significantly prompted by one particular disaster from the past. In 1976, a chemical plant manufacturing pesticides and herbicides in Seveso, Italy accidentally released large amounts of poisonous dioxins into the air, contaminating ten square miles of land and vegetation. Over 600 people were evacuated with as many as 2,000 treated for dioxin poisoning. As a result, in 1982, the Seveso Directive (Council Directive 82/501/EEC) on the major accident hazards of certain industrial activities was adopted, later amended in light of two other major accidents. The first was the 1984 chemical disaster at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India, where over 2,500 people died. The second was the 1986 catastrophe at the Sandoz warehouse in Basel, Switzerland, where a major chemical leak laden with mercury led to the massive pollution of the Rhine River and the death of half a million fish. In 1996, the Seveso Directive II (Council Directive 96/82/EC) replaced its predecessor. Still in effect, it aims to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances and to limit their consequences for humans and the environment. It covers industrial activities and the storage of dangerous chemicals, expands the public's right to access information and requires governmental authorities to carry out regular inspections. During her visit to the Tisza, EC environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom declared that the EC must take another look at the Seveso directive, to avoid a similar disaster from ever happening in the EU. "The Baia Mare accident...has demonstrated that we need to further tighten European legislation," she said. "We must ensure that polluters can effectively be held responsible for damages. We will also need to strengthen our civil protection capabilities."
EC environment commissioner Margot Wallstrom announced, soon after her visit to the Tisza, that the EC would set up the international Baia Mare Task Force to provide an independent assessment of the accident.
The Task Force has pledged to reinforce the
EU's civil protection capabilities and extend
the ongoing Commission study on environmental
hotspots in the mining industry to include the EU accession countries (to be
completed end of 2000). It will review and
adapt existing EU legislation (notably related
to industrial accidents and mining) and accelerate
ongoing preparations for legislation on
environmental liability. Finally, following the The Task Force, chaired by REC Board member Tom Garvey, is based at the Danube Convention secretariat in Vienna. Other members include the Hungarian and Romanian governments, WWF, the President of the Danube River Protection Convention and the United Nations. |
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