Incineration of toxic and dangerous waste: rectification of legal basis

In its amended proposal, the Commission incorporated 15 of the 26 amendments adopted by Parliament, including those: - underlining the high level of environmental protection, and the precautionary principle underpinning the proposal for a directive; - drawing attention to the proper treatment of waste produced by incineration, in particular filtration dusts; - making it possible to reduce, as far as possible, the environmental impact of incineration; - facilitating a better understanding of the types of hazardous waste excluded from the scope of the directive; - introducing the concept of 'state of the art' by stressing the requirement to comply with the state of the art once an application for a permit has been applied for; - stressing the importance of strictly monitoring waste for incineration, by extending the period during which samples and the results of analyses of waste prior to incineration are retained; - providing details on the total oxidation of combustion gases; - reducing the period of operation of existing installations before they close permanently. The Commission also accepted the amendments: - calling for the Commission to report to the Council and European Parliament by 1 January 2000; - extending to all installations the ban on discharging waste water from the purification of combustion gases; - calling on the Member States to use as a guide value, until 1 January 1997, an emission value of 0.1 ng/m3 for dioxins and furans. �