Open Letter: Revision of the EU fertiliser regulation and cadmium

On Monday, June 2nd in the context of the revision of the EU fertiliser regulation, ARC2020 signed an open letter(.pdf) with the European Environmental Bureau, IFOAM EU Group, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director General of the DG for Enterprise and Industry.  The harmful effects of cadmium on health and on the environment are serious and uncontested; the letter  underlines the importance of ensuring that limits on the cadmium content of fertilisers are kept as strict as possible.

The Regulation of the 13th October 2003 included the following paragraph:

Fertilisers can be contaminated by substances that can potentially pose a risk to human and animal health and the environment.  Further to the opinion of the Scientici Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (SCTEE), the Commission intends to address the issue of unintentional cadmium content in mineral fertilisers and will, where appropriate, draw up a proposal for a Regulation, which it intends to present to the European Parliament and the Council. Where appropriate, a similar review will be undertaken for other contaminants.”

The letter urges the DG to address this well known problem after 10 years of inaction and to take the opportunity of a new fertiliser regulation to take Europe in the direction of a more resource efficient and resilient economy.

Click here for the letter ‘Revision of the EU fertiliser regulation and cadmium content of fertilisers

See also:

  • All ARC2020 articles on pesticides, see here.
  • The European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry’s page on fertilisers and current legislation