Modification of environmental emission pathways from livestock housing
Until now, when assessing environmental risks for disinfectants and insecticides in livestock housing (product types 3 and 18) under Dutch transitional law, it was assumed that emissions to the environment only take place via the spreading of manure. However, under the European Biocidal Products Regulation, discharge into the sewage system is also included as an emission route to the environment.
New agreements on this aspect have recently been made in the EU (ENV-168 and ENV-194 as published in the Technical Agreements for Biocides, version of 2 February 2021). The Ctgb will also implement these agreements for applications under transitional law with effect from 01-07-2021. This means that all types of animal housing and uses for which a fraction to the sewage system is included in the associated exposure models are also reviewed according to the endpoints for the sewage treatment plant, surface water and sediment.
What does this mean for applicants?
Until now, a restriction sentence has always been included in the legal conditions for use (WG/GA) stating that wastewater must be discharged into the manure storage and not into the industrial sewage system because of possible risks to installations for individual wastewater treatment (IBA). If, however, according to the new exposure models, emission to the sewer leads to an acceptable risk, the sentence is changed and discharge into the municipal sewage system is permitted. In all other cases, the current restriction sentence is maintained. The dossier requirements do not change, so applicants do not have to provide additional data.