Catchment News

The term "dangerous substances" describes a wide range of chemicals that may be toxic to people, plants and animals and are harmful to our water environment. They are contained in many everyday products used increasingly in households (for example medicines and cleaning products), industry, forestry, agriculture, small businesses, mines, construction sites and water treatment works. Surface run-off from roads and urban areas can also contain dangerous substances from motor vehicle emission.

Objectives of Dangerous Substances Programme of Measures and Standards (POMS) study

The key objectives of the Dangerous Substances Usage POMS study are summarised as follows:

• 
  To establish (via literature review and examination of Irish datasets) the dangerous substances likely to arise in Irish water bodies due to particular human activities.
• To provide information and/or tools for the ongoing collation of the pressures and sources of dangerous substances in Irish water bodies.
• To establish a framework for the licensing and control of dangerous substances discharges.
• To optimise the design of the facility (i.e. point source) and status monitoring programmes to be established in accordance with Article 8 of the WFD.

The focus of the Dangerous Substances usage study was on the manufacturing and processing industry’s use of dangerous substances. Investigations were also carried out on the use of dangerous substances in forestry, agriculture and aquaculture.