European Union Water Framework

The adoption of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD) has set new requirements for water quality monitoring in Europe. Innovative tools could play a main role in the design and implementation of operational, surveillance and investigative monitoring as described by WFD. Moreover, the monitoring requirements for successfully implementing the WFD will directly depend upon available measurement techniques of demonstrated quality, which will be able to deliver reliable data at an affordable cost. 

Despite all of these obstacles, the development of immunochemical methods has continued over the last two decades, and in many cases they have proved to be fast, cost-effective, easy to use and fit for purpose technologies, that can make an important contribution in the field of environmental analysis. This chapter provides a brief description of the basics and principles of immunoassay, together with a selection of examples of environmental applications, especially with respect to the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD). 

Keywords food safety European Union Water Framework Directive triple quadrupole GC-MS/MS. 

The monitoring of organotin compounds is regulated by the European Union Water Framework Directive (European Commission, 2008). This includes the mono-, di-, tri-, tetrabutyl and triphenyl tin compounds. Tributyltin compounds... 

EC (2000) European parliament and the council of the European union. Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework for the community action in the filed of water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities L32, 1-72... 

The European Union (EU) environmental policy has put water protection and its sustainable management high on its agenda, reflected by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD), which is now in its implementation phase. 

Allan, I.J., B. Vrana, R. Greenwood, G.A. Mills, B. Roig, and C.A. Gonzalez. 2006. Toolbox for biological and chemical monitoring requirements for the European Union s Water Framework Directive. Talanta 69 302-322. 

European Union (2000) Parliament and Council Directive 2000/60/EC of the 23rd October 2000, Establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. Official Journal PE-CONS 3639/1/00 REV 1, Brussels. 

Watercatox Not an established process, but a project of the Fifth Framework Program of the European Union. The purpose was to develop catalytic processes for destroying organic residues in water by wet air oxidation ( WAO).The chosen system used a tubular catalytic membrane reactor for contacting the aqueous solution with air. Several companies and research institutes participated in this project from 2000, and the process was piloted with several real industrial liquid effluents. 

Belfatmi el al., 2005) in water and of PAH metabolites in the urine of PAH exposed persons (Algarra el al., 2000 Lamotte el al., 2003) at sub ppb level. In this chapter we describe the application of this method in a field monitoring trial conducted on the bank of the River Meuse, where river water was pumped into a tank and fortified by the addition of a controlled flow of a stock solution containing a mixture of PAHs. This test was conducted in Eijsden (NL) from 22 April to 27 April 2005 and was a part of a field trial that formed part of the European Union Project SWIFT-WFD (Screening method for Water data InFormation in support of the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive). This project involved the simultaneous testing of a number of commercially available and prototype monitoring tools under natural river conditions. 

The implementation of the European Union s Water Framework Directive will require all Member States to design water monitoring programmes for the measurement of a range of ecological, hydromorphological, physico-chemical and chemical water quality elements (European Commission, 2000). This has increased the amount of monitoring... 

Phthalates, the di-esters of o-phthalic acid, are ubiquitous in the environment. They are used as plasticisers in different kinds of plastics. One of the most widespread phthalates, di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate or DEHP, occurs in the list of priority pollutants (Annex X) of the Water Framework Directive of the European Union. In the coming years measures have to be taken to reduce discharges, emissions and losses of DEHP into the environment. 

Further on, the protection of the fresh water systems is a big challenge also for the politics not only of the individual nations but also of the European Union. As a first result of EU-activities the Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced in 2002 in order to organise and optimise the national activities in the field of water science and technology (s.a. Irmer 2000). 

The aims of the European Union s Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) (WFD) are similar to those of the equivalent legislation in Australia, Canada and the United States of America and have been discussed thoroughly in earlier chapters of this book. However, it is worth stressing that the main aims are to improve and protect the quality of all water bodies across Europe, and to achieve sustainable use of water resources. The quality of surface waters is to be managed at river basin level, and there is a tight deadline (2015) for the achievement of tlie main aims. In iJiis context, this chapter will deal witli the methods that are available, or in some cases under development, for use in monitoring the chemical and biological quality of water, and... 

---