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EUROPEAN REVIEW

ISSUE 24 - Page 7

EU passes ozone protection directive as UK flouts environment laws

THIS SUMMER'S HOT WEATHER HAS led to increased levels of ground-level ozone throughout Europe so the European Commission's latest directive to come into force is timely.

The third daughter directive in the EU's 'Air Quality Framework' seeks to make governments inform their population when ozone readings reach 180 milligrammes per cubic metre (mg/m3) and to take steps to prevent levels reaching 240 mg/m3. These steps could include restrictions on road traffic and the use of solvents. Ozone is formed from the reaction of volatile organic compounds with sunshine. The chief sources of the compounds are the petrochemical industry, domestic users of paints and road traffic emissions. Hot weather then increases the amount of these compounds that are turned into ozone.		Whereas the ozone layer in the higher atmosphere provides protection from skin cancer and crop damage by filtering short-wave solar radiation, ground level ozone may have adverse effects on human health and vegetation. Ozone irritates the airways of the lungs when inhaled at higher concentrations and can make asthma symptoms worse at concentrations greater than 120mg/m3. Much of western Europe including the London area reported levels above 240mg/m3 this summer. In the long term the Commission hopes to reduce ozone peaks by 20-40% by setting national emissions ceilings for nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.
	Ozone levels climb with the temperature

Meanwhile the UK has been referred to the European Court of Justice for not implementing part of at least three existing environmental directives on habitats, waste and water. The problems concern the designation of areas which are sensitive to waste and water treatment as well as protection of natural habitats. A particular problem involved a bat roost near Caerphilly in Wales which was threatened by a new road.

Fatal explosion must be the last at Spanish oil refinery, say unions

AN EXPLOSION AT A SPANISH OIL REFINERY in August, which killed seven people, was the latest in a long line of accidents at the plant according to Spanish trade unions. Six incidents in the last ten years have claimed a total of fifteen lives, including four workers killed in 1996 when a boiler exploded. Following the explosion at the refinery at Puertollano, owned by Repsol, the largest oil company in Spain and one of the top ten worldwide, dense smoke and huge flames billowed into the air as firefighters battled to quell the blaze and cool other storage tanks. A series of blasts went off twelve hours after the initial accident and a reporter about half a mile from the scene said he could feel the ground shake. Some of the more seriously injured had burns over most of their bodies, said a spokesman at a Madrid area hospital where victims had		been taken. Town officials in Puertollano declared three days of mourning. Leaders of the CCOO and UGT unions, José María Fidalgo and Cándido Méndez led a demonstration of thousands of workers from the plant demanding tighter safety measures 'It is intolerable. How can we work under conditions where we don't know whether we will be blown up or not?' one demonstrator told Spanish television channel Telecinco. Subcontractors threatened to strike if better safety precautions were not forthcoming, The UGT union said in a statement 'This incident has uncovered shortcomings in resources, organisation and information'. The company responded by bringing forward a planned shutdown for maintenance purposes while workers' representatives on a commission of investigation insisted that, in any case, the refinery would remain closed until they had finished their work.
	Leaders of the UGT and CCOO unions attended the demonstration

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