First and foremost, the European Union (EU) can be described as an organization of the countries found in Europe whose main aim is to foresee the management of its member states in terms of social, economic political and other sectors. In regard to release of waste products and management, release and discharge of hazardous materials; the European Union has stipulated several governing laws and rules which should be obeyed and complied with by its member states. It is very much important to note that these laws and regulations are to be implanted through legislation by each member state and not by the EU. The main reasons for these rules and regulations are to preserve the environment and human health at large. The following are some of the types of rules and regulations the EU has stipulated to its member states regarding the waste management and release of hazardous and dangerous materials (Williams, 2005)
The first type of regulation concerns the imposition of barriers to the manufacture, processing and commercial use of hazardous and dangerous materials that are stipulated in Act 1 chapter two of their commission which includes the control and regulation of the production of substances enumerated in Annex 1 of their commission (). These mainly include the following chemicals and waste products: “Anatomical substances; hospitals and veterinary compounds; pharmaceuticals, medicines and wood preservatives; biocides and other dangerous materials. According to the description of the commission, the danger of a substance can be described in terms of its explosiveness, oxidizing ability, flammability, toxicity and harmfulness to the environment and human health at large. These laws and regulations are stipulated in the Council Directive 91/689/EEU of 1991 (Council Directive, 1991).
The second type of regulation imposed by the EU to its member states regards the establishment of proper waste disposal authorities and systems that foresee the appropriate and suitable waste control regimes, governments and organizations that foresee the total disposal of harmful and toxic materials that may cause harm to the environment and human health in general.
The third type of regulation regards to the control of air pollution, contamination and littering from industrial plants. This requires authorization and authentication from the involved government states and also the EU. In addition, the EU union also imposes laws and regulations that are involved in the control of underground water and other sources of water which include oceans, seas and rivers. Furthermore, it regulates the production of harmful nuclear weapons which in reality may harm the environment and the human race respectively. Finally, it is important to note that all these laws and regulations are enacted by European Environmental Agency (EEA) established in the year 1990 which makes sure that these laws and regulations are actually implemented by every member state (Buclet, 2002).
References
Paul, T. W. (2005). Waste Treatment and Disposal. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons Ltd,. Retrieved on 17 January, 2010. From <http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=JJBeTviuPeQC&printsec=copyright#v=onepage&q&f=false>
The Council Directive of 12 December 1991 on Hazardous Waste (91/689/EEC). (1991). The Council of the European Union. Retrieved on 17 January, 2011. From < http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/consleg/1991/L/01991L0689-20060224-en.pdf>
Buclet, N. (2002). Municipal Waste Management in Europe: European Policy between Harmonization. AH Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Retrieved on 17 January, 2011. From < http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=zK9zm9M-n-AC&printsec=copyright#v=onepage&q&f=false>
