Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-13-Speech-1-157"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060313.21.1-157"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
". – Mr President, I should like to thank Mr Matsakis for all the work he has done on this report. The outcome of the votes in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety is a report that is the first step towards a coherent approach being taken towards mercury and the ultimate reduction of mercury levels in the environment. That is a tribute to the work that Mr Matsakis has done.
The PPE-DE Group has tabled two amendments to the report that was adopted in committee. One of those amendments – that concerning traditional measuring instrumentation, such as barometers – would allow the extremely small number of people in the EU who repair, maintain and recycle barometers to continue to operate under very strictly controlled conditions. A ban would see the end of the tradition of barometer-making and craftsmanship, which began over 400 years ago when mercury barometers were first introduced. If those businesses are forced to close, people will be unable to have their instruments properly repaired and they will potentially dispose of them straight into household waste, which would be in nobody's interests.
I am, however, completely in favour of legislation to protect the public from the highly toxic substance that mercury is, but the approach that we should take on environmental issues must be proportionate and it must be balanced.
A complete ban, in my view, would be a disproportionate response. Barometers are made by only a small group of people in Europe and those operators, who have an extremely good and safe working understanding of mercury and all the hazards it represents, are best placed to help reduce that pollution. Appropriate product safety warnings and the licensing of suitable establishments would enable the usage of mercury to be controlled and monitored and people could continue to use their barometers, as they have for centuries, without a threat to the environment or to health.
The second amendment concerns mercury-cell chlor-alkali plants. I believe my colleagues will speak about those later on."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples