In an article published on May 12, 2016 by the news provider EurActiv, Claudia Castell-Exner, vice-president of the association of Europe’s drinking water and waste water service operators (EurEau), informs about the regulation of materials in contact with drinking water in Europe. According to the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) of 2000, products and materials in contact with drinking water must comply with the drinking water hygiene requirements of Article 10 and Member States (MS) are responsible for implementing the directive, Castell-Exner explains. However, there is no “EU-driven, Europe-wide acceptance scheme for these products and materials,” Castell-Exner writes. This has led to a “patchwork of national approaches” and thus to different levels of consumer health protection and barriers to trade. Castell-Exner calls for a common European approach ensuring that materials and products manufactured for the European market are “not only ‘fit for purpose’ in technical terms but that they also provide hygienic safety during their whole lifetime.” She further reports that the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for Environment (DG Environment), together with EurEau, is re-examining Article 10 DWD and creating an overview of the implementation methods applied by the different MS since 2000. EurEau recommends that the EC considers the food contact materials (FMCs) Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 as a basis for the drinking water requirements.
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Claudia Castell-Exner (May 12, 2016). “EU must guarantee the safety of materials and products in contact with drinking water.” EurActiv
