One substantial novelty of the new EU Drinking Water Directive will be the establishment of a positive list of substances in contact with drinking water. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) already initiated the process to establish an initial version of this positive list (cf. ECHA press release). For the first time, a harmonized European Framework for the use of substances in contact with drinking water will be established and this will considerably improve market harmonisation.
The positive list will be subject to a continuous Review Programme as substances will only be included in the list for a limited period. It will be a key task for affected market actors to ensure that the substances relevant for their business will remain on the positive list. Already now companies should carefully monitor further developments in this regard and take appropriate measures to secure the marketability and usability of their materials and products placed on the market for the use in contact with drinking water.
With Martin Ahlhaus and Dr. Carsten Schucht two lawyers of the Produktkanzlei were actively involved in the recast of the EU Drinking Water Directive and advised business associations with respect to the legislative proceeding on EU level.
Do you have any questions about this article or would you like to discuss it with the author? Please contact: Martin Ahlhaus.
