Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-14-Speech-2-064"
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"en.20061114.7.2-064"2
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"Mr President, it is high time we acknowledged that mercury can and indeed does cause serious health problems. Mercury poisoning through the ingestion of mercury-contaminated food – usually fish – is the main source of contamination in the general public.
Mercury and its compounds are not only toxic for humans: they also have very negative effects on wildlife and ecosystems. Therefore, the restriction of the use of mercury is highly desirable.
However, I acknowledge the need to be realistic in the restriction of certain measuring devices containing mercury. Therefore, I welcome the fact that some medical devices are being excluded
from the scope of the directive. Medical experts have indicated that in certain cases non-mercury devices may not be fully accurate, for example, for some cardiac conditions and in cases of pre-eclampsia. It is therefore preferable to continue to use mercury devices in these limited situations until suitable alternatives are fully examined and endorsed by the medical professions, but with a time-limited review clause for suitable alternatives appropriately validated. Given the toxicity of mercury, that is a reasonable demand to make on the industry, and I invite the industry to respond.
I support the amendment originally tabled by my colleagues, which allows for a derogation for antique barometers and scientific instruments intended for sale or trade on the international antiques market and for the production and servicing of traditional barometers using small amounts of mercury in controlled and licensed environments. It is worth noting that traditional barometer-makers do not introduce new quantities of mercury into the marketplace but recycle existing mercury and, in this way, help to control and limit the substance – not to mention the fact that antique barometers are usually highly valued items and so even more unlikely to end up in our waste streams. Remember that the purpose of this directive is to ban the marketing of mercury-containing devices. It will allow the sale of a barometer with a separate phial of mercury to be added later by the consumer if we do not have a derogation for these antique barometers – a far less hazardous option in my view."@en1
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"for the time being"1
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