Search Results for: Environmental Health⊂mit=Search

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has overhauled its advice on the monitoring of genetically modified organisms in foodstuffs, to ensure they do not spark unexpected health and environmental problems after being authorised. Its GMO panel says that general surveillance, designed to identify unexpected risks that were not anticipated in any earlier studies, should always be included in a food company’s environmental monitoring plan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Environment Agency (EEA) has called for greater caution amongst governments when dealing with potential environmental health risks, notably from unpredictable ‘cocktail effects’ caused by multiple pollutants. A detailed report concluded: "Due to the complexity and multi-causality of the links between environment and health, there needs to be a wider use of the precautionary principle in order to prevent significant causes of disease and ill health".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NEW tough fuel and road transport pollution standards have been proposed for the European Union (EU) by the European Commission, removing a loophole enabling sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to be covered by looser emission limits currently allowed for commercial vans.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPE’S business newspapers are reporting that German publishing giant Bertelsmann will join the Quaero serach engine consortium that wants to create a European rival to Google. A spokeswoman for Bertelsmann’s information logistics arm Empolis however would only confirm to the Bookseller that "we are considering this", adding that there may be a formal announcement by the end of this week.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

THE EUROPEAN Commission is threatening to take legal action against Sweden at the European Court of Justice following a decision by several Swedish nuclear operators to exclude the consultancy firm of Karnteknik from services contracts. Karnteknik, set up by Lars Olov Hoglund, a former employee of the Swedish state nuclear operator Vattenfalls, is locked in legal dispute with Ringhals and other nuclear operators over a technique that he lays claim to.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s atomic energy community EURATOM has formally joined the Generation IV International Forum, which is tasked with developing nuclear power generators that address ongoing environmental and public safety concerns. The EU Council of Ministers agreed EURATOM will help joint research undertaken by the forum, which includes the US and Britain.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

THE MEDIA rush to pick up on the revival of nuclear energy as a serious UK option, made plain in the Department of Trade and Industry’s recent Energy Review consultation document, has diverted attention from which tail will, in practice, be wagging the UK energy dog over the coming months.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers and MEPs will this spring consider a major overhaul of the EU’s rules governing organic food production, which has been proposed by the European Commission. It aims to simplify standards saying when a foodstuff can be labelled organic, with EU agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel appealing for support, saying it will help "consumers to recognise organic products and understand their environmental and animal welfare benefits".…

BY MATTHEW BRACE, in Sydney

RECENT positive advances in the paint and coatings industry symbolise general satisfaction with Malaysia’s business outlook. It might not have the cheapest labour in Asia but the workforce is skilled, productive and highly competitive. Access to infrastructure (especially ports) for exports is also reported to be good.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE BRITISH government has been censured by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for dragging its feet over removing an exemption allowing development on Crown lands without environmental impact assessments. Under European Union directive 85/337/EEC all projects "likely to have significant effects on the environment" are supposed to be screened by such inquiries, but UK law exempts "Crown development" from them.…