Member states and MEPs concluded an agreement on Thursday to gradually eliminate the use of mercury, a “highly toxic” component harmful to health, in the EU by banning dental amalgam and the manufacture of certain lamps.
The text adopted by the negotiators of the European Parliament and the Twenty-Seven plans to eliminate a large part of
“residual uses”
, with a view to gradually arriving at
“a Europe without mercury”
, according to a press release from the European Council.
“When released into the environment, mercury can seriously endanger our lungs, our brain and our kidneys
,” said Belgian Minister Alain Maron, who participated in the talks on behalf of the States.
After having already contributed
“to considerably reducing the use and exposure to this highly toxic chemical component”
, the EU now intends
to “target the uses which remain”
, he insisted.
New legislation
A 2017 European regulation strictly regulated the life cycle of mercury, from mining to waste disposal, with the objective of limiting and gradually abandoning the use and manufacture of products containing added mercury.
The new text goes further: while until now only the use of dental amalgam to treat the teeth of children under 15 and pregnant women was prohibited, the ban will become total in the EU from January 2025, unless an amalgam is deemed strictly necessary by the dentist due to specific medical needs.
An eighteen-month exemption is provided for
“states in which low-income people would be disproportionately affected”
by too sudden a change, the press release specifies.
Likewise, the EU will have to stop exporting dental amalgam from January 2025. Importation and manufacturing in the EU will be banned after June 2026. Finally, the text broadens the bans on the manufacturing and the marketing of certain types of lamps containing mercury, from 2026 or 2027 depending on the category.
The European Parliament and member states will still need to give the formal green light before the legislation comes into force.
By the end of 2029, the European Commission will be required to make proposals to completely eliminate remaining uses of mercury and review the treatment of contaminated waste.